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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Nuclear Bmp2 And The Immune Response, Daniel S. Olsen Jul 2013

Nuclear Bmp2 And The Immune Response, Daniel S. Olsen

Theses and Dissertations

Nuclear bone morphogenetic protein 2 (nBMP2) is a nuclear variant of the secreted growth factor BMP2. Experiments in nBmp2NLStm mutant mice, which lack nBMP2 in the nucleus, have shown that nBMP2 affects intracellular calcium transport in skeletal muscle and hippocampal neurons. The objective of this study was to determine whether nBMP2 affects the immune system, since activation of lymphocytes and other immune cells depends on intracellular calcium transport. We found that spleens in nBmp2NLStm mutant mice were 24% smaller than in wild type mice. The white pulp of the spleen contains many immune cells, particularly B and T lymphocytes and …


Synthesis And Immunological Evaluation Of Type I, Type Ii, And Gamma Delta Nkt Cell Antigens, Brian L. Anderson May 2013

Synthesis And Immunological Evaluation Of Type I, Type Ii, And Gamma Delta Nkt Cell Antigens, Brian L. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the immune system is to protect our bodies from infection. One way it accomplishes this task is through the presentation of foreign pathogens to NKT cells. After an antigen is presented to the T cell receptor, activated NKT cells quickly release soluble chemical signals, termed chemokines and cytokines, that modulate the response of the immune system. Due to the immunological relevance of NKT cell activation, we developed and synthesised non-natural analogs of immunostimulatory type I, II, and gamma delta NKT cell antigens. The immunological evaluations of these analogs resulted in identification of sulfatide as a gamma delta …