Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Cellular Uptake Of Neutrohpil Elastase Links Inflammation To Adaptive Immunity, Elizabeth A. Mittendorf

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Many tumors arise from sites of inflammation providing evidence that innate immunity is a critical component in the development and progression of cancer. Neutrophils are primary mediators of the innate immune response. Upon activation, an important function of neutrophils is release of an assortment of proteins from their granules including the serine protease neutrophil elastase (NE). The effect of NE on cancer has been attributed primarily to its ability to degrade the extracellular matrix thereby promoting invasion and metastasis. Recently, it was shown that NE could be taken up by lung cancer cells leading to degradation of insulin receptor substrate-1 …

Enhancing The Immune Response Through Ikkbeta-Induced Activation Of Nf-Kappab, Emily Hopewell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) is one of the main regulators of inflammatory and immune responses. It is a family of transcription factors composed of five members: RelA, RelB, cRel, NF-κB1 (p105/p50), and NF-κB2 (p100/p52). Homo- and hetero-dimers of family members are inhibited by inhibitor of &klappaB (IκB) family members and activated by IκB kinase (IKK) family members. The IKK family is comprised of IKKα, IKKΒ, and IKKγ. The focus of my dissertation delves into the role of NF-κB activation by IKKΒ in both an immunotherapy setting and its role in T cell mediated anti-tumor immune responses.

A central focus of immunotherapy …