Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Obesity In Macrophage-Mediated Mechanisms Promoting Early-Onset Colon Cancer., Katharina Marietta Scheurlen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Early-onset colon cancer (EOCC) is a leading cause of cancer death among people younger than 50 years of age in the United States and is associated with metabolic dysfunction and obesity. Anti-inflammatory tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) and low Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor Gamma (PPARγ) gene expression in colon cancer (CC) tissue promote tumor progression and decreased patient survival. Obesity-related hormones, such as leptin and adiponectin, have the potential to affect gene expression in TAM to promote CC progression and thereby link obesity and EOCC. The aim of this project was to identify target genes in human CC and to investigate the …

Pulmonary Inflammation And Injury Triggered By Spine Surgery In Recovered Covid-19 Patients Demand Consideration, Luciano Rodrigo Lopes, Silvana Kertzer Kasinski

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

Post-Acute Sequelae Of Covid-19 (Pasc): Association With Inflammation And Autoimmunity, Raghava S. Ambadapoodi, Fnu Deepti, Javaria Anwer Mbbs, Rafael Fernandez-Botran

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

It has become increasingly evident that a high percentage of patients that recover from acute COVID-19 infection continue to suffer from a variety of persistent symptoms even months after viral clearance, the most common ones being fatigue, dyspnea, anosmia, dysgeusia, cognitive dysfunction, and psychological problems, including anxiety and depression. This syndrome, known as Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), can severely affect the life quality and represents an important health care concern. The exact causes for the symptoms observed in patients with PASC remain to be adequately characterized, but are likely to be associated with multiple factors, including residual disease and/or …

The Elevated Systemic Cytokine Levels In Hiv Patients Are Not Associated With An Elevated Pulmonary Cytokine Environment., Rafael Fernandez-Botran, Andrea Reyes-Vega, Yasmany García, Chanakya Charan Tirumala, Praneet Kumar Srisailam, Anupama Raghuram, Paula Peyrani, Stephen P. Furmanek, Mahder A. Tella, Jeffrey D. Ritzenthaler, Jesse Roman, Julio A. Ramirez

Faculty Scholarship

Background

HIV-positive patients on anti-retroviral therapy (ART) are at higher risk of developing many non-AIDS related chronic diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), compared to HIV-negative individuals. While the mechanisms are not clear, a persistent pro-inflammatory state appears to be a key contributing factor. The aims of this study were to investigate whether HIV-positive patients without COPD present evidence of potentially predisposing abnormal pulmonary cytokine/chemokine environment and to explore the relationship between pulmonary and systemic cytokine levels.

Methods

This study included 39 HIV-seropositive and 34 HIV-seronegative subjects without COPD. All were subjected to outpatient bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage fluid …

Novel Mechanisms And Biomarkers In Alcohol-Induced Organ Injury., Christine E. Dolin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background. Ethanol (EtOH) consumption is known to affect multiple organs; this is unsurprising, as the concentration of EtOH in the blood at relevant doses reaches the millimolar range. The overarching goal of this dissertation was to elucidate mechanisms of alcohol-induced organ injury, specifically the effects of alcohol on the hepatic extracellular matrix (ECM) proteome, the alcoholic hepatitis (AH) plasma peptidome, and the effects of alcohol on the renal cortex proteome and transcriptome. Methods. Mice were pair-fed ethanol-containing liquid diet chronically, and then some mice were administered lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Liver sections from these mice were processed in a series of increasingly …

Analysis Of The Local And Systemic Cytokine Response Profiles In Patients With Community-Acquired Pneumonia. Relationship With Disease Severity And Outcomes., Rafael Fernandez-Botran, Timothy Lee Wiemken, Robert R. Kelley, Paula Peyrani, Jose Bordon, Rodrigo Cavallazzi, Julio A. Ramirez

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

The goals of this study were to investigate the relationship of systemic and local cytokine responses with time to clinical stability (TCS) in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and to develop a model to integrate multiple cytokine data into “cytokine response profiles” based on local vs. systemic and pro- vs. anti-inflammatory cytokine patterns in order to better understand their relationships with measures of CAP severity and outcomes. Forty hospitalized patients enrolled through the Community Acquired Pneumonia Inflammatory Study Group (CAPISG) were analyzed. Based on the ranked distribution of the levels of eight different pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines (IL-1b, IL-6, IL-8, …

The Role Of Nicotine, A7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors And Extracellular Matrix Remodeling In Pulmonary Fibrosis., Glenn Ward Vicary

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The median survival for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients from diagnosis is a dismal 3 years. This condition is characterized by pulmonary fibroproliferation and excess production and disordered deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins resulting in obliteration of the original tissue architecture, loss of lung function and eventual death due to respiratory failure. The main hindrance to the development of effective treatments against pulmonary fibrosis is the late detection of its progression and is often of unknown cause. Tobacco smoke represents the most important environmental factor linked to the development of pulmonary fibrosis, with over 60% of IPF patients current …

The Role And Regulation Of Inhibitor Of Kappa B Kinase In The Impaired Monocyte Response., Norman James Galbraith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Trauma, major surgery and systemic infection can lead to a subsequent immunosuppressed state which can predispose patients to nosocomial infection and death. Approximately a sixth of patients will have impaired monocyte function, as determined by decreased HLA-DR expression or decreased TNF-α production in response to ex-vivo lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. This project aimed to develop an in-vitro model of impaired monocyte function using isolated monocytes from healthy volunteers, to study the effect of monocyte impairment on IκK signaling, and determine the role of IκK in the impaired monocyte response. These studies have provided the following results:

1. Monocytes treated with low dose …