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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Assessing Inflammation In The Pathology Of Knee Osteoarthritis, Zachary J. Koudys
Assessing Inflammation In The Pathology Of Knee Osteoarthritis, Zachary J. Koudys
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a joint disease that causes pain, stiffness, and loss of function. Inflammation of the synovium plays a role in the pathology of OA. Macrophages are the dominant immune cells in synovial tissue. Activated macrophages over-express the translocator protein (TSPO). [18F]FEPPA is a 2nd generation positron emission tomography (PET) tracer that can target TSPO with high specificity. Hybrid [18F]FEPPA PET/MRI may enable accurate quantification of macrophage activity in vivo. In this work, [18F]FEPPA tracer uptake in knee synovial tissue was measured ex vivo using autoradiography and was validated to correlate to …
The Effect Of Oral And Topical Antibiotics On Foreskin Inflammation And Hiv Target Cells In Ugandan Men., Zhongtian (Eric) Shao
The Effect Of Oral And Topical Antibiotics On Foreskin Inflammation And Hiv Target Cells In Ugandan Men., Zhongtian (Eric) Shao
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Penile circumcision reduces HIV susceptibility by up to 60% in men; however, many men prefer to remain uncircumcised for personal or cultural reasons. Penile circumcision protects against HIV by reducing anaerobic bacteria on the penis. Penile anaerobes cause local inflammation and the recruitment of HIV-susceptible CD4+CCR5+ cells, increasing the likelihood that exposure to HIV during intercourse results in infection. To determine if a non-surgical intervention can reduce penile anaerobes and HIV target cells, we randomized men to antimicrobial treatment prior to circumcision. To be able to quantify the effect of antimicrobials, we developed a novel deep-learning algorithm to quantify HIV …
Effects Of Annexin A5 On Endothelial Inflammation Induced By Lipopolysaccharide-Activated Platelets And Extracellular Vesicles, Brent Jeffrey Tschirhart
Effects Of Annexin A5 On Endothelial Inflammation Induced By Lipopolysaccharide-Activated Platelets And Extracellular Vesicles, Brent Jeffrey Tschirhart
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Sepsis is a dysregulated immune response to infection and the leading cause of mortality globally, accounting for 11 million deaths in 2017. To date, no therapeutics are available to treat the underlying septic response. Previous research from our laboratory has shown that annexin A5 (Anx5) treatment increased survival by 40% in mice with endotoxemia, a model of sepsis. During sepsis, activated platelets release membrane fragments called extracellular vesicles (EVs) with externalization of phosphatidylserine to which annexin A5 binds with a high affinity. We hypothesized that annexin A5 will block the pro-inflammatory response induced by activated platelets and EVs in vascular …
Implications Of Long Non-Coding Rnas In The Pathogenesis Of Diabetic Retinopathy: A Novel Epigenetic Paradigm., Saumik Biswas
Implications Of Long Non-Coding Rnas In The Pathogenesis Of Diabetic Retinopathy: A Novel Epigenetic Paradigm., Saumik Biswas
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
With the rising incidence of diabetic retinopathy (DR), there is an urgent need for novel therapies. Presently, several altered metabolic pathways have been implicated in the pathogenesis of DR. Recent advances in genomic technologies have identified considerable epigenetic alterations that also contribute to DR progression. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs; >200 nucleotides), critical regulators of gene expression, are aberrantly expressed in DR and have not been comprehensively characterized. Our microarray analyses using human retinal endothelial cells (HRECs) revealed thousands of differentially expressed lncRNAs following high glucose (HG) exposure, with profound increases in the lncRNAs MALAT1 and HOTAIR. Using multiple techniques, …
The Role Of Synovium And Synovial Macrophages In Experimental Post-Traumatic Knee Osteoarthritis, Yue Lai-Zhao
The Role Of Synovium And Synovial Macrophages In Experimental Post-Traumatic Knee Osteoarthritis, Yue Lai-Zhao
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
In osteoarthritis (OA), synovitis is associated with symptom severity. As synovium secretes both catabolic and anabolic factors into the joint, the impact of synovitis in OA remains unclear. We developed a novel co-culture system using tissues from an established rat model of post-traumatic knee OA (PTOA) to study signaling between synovium and chondrocytes. We found that synovium from early stage but not later stage PTOA joints caused an overall protective effect in chondrocytes. We then selectively treated synovial macrophages with liposomal drugs causing depletion, STAT1 inhibition, or STAT6 inhibition in early PTOA joints. We found cartilage damage in vivo was …
White Matter Inflammation And Executive Dysfunction: Implications For Alzheimer Disease And Vascular Cognitive Impairment, Alexander Levit
White Matter Inflammation And Executive Dysfunction: Implications For Alzheimer Disease And Vascular Cognitive Impairment, Alexander Levit
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
White matter integrity is crucial to healthy executive function, the cognitive domain that enables functional independence. However, in the ageing brain, white matter is highly vulnerable. White matter inflammation increases with age and Alzheimer disease (AD), which disrupts the normal function of white matter. This may contribute to executive dysfunction, but the relationship between white matter inflammation and executive function has not been directly evaluated in ageing nor AD. White matter is also particularly vulnerable to cerebrovascular disease, corresponding with the common presentation of executive dysfunction in vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). Thus, white matter may be an important substrate by …
Regulation Of Lipid Homeostasis, Inflammatory Signalling And Atherosclerosis By The Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Delta, Lazar A. Bojic
Regulation Of Lipid Homeostasis, Inflammatory Signalling And Atherosclerosis By The Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Delta, Lazar A. Bojic
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) δ is a ligand-dependent transcription factor that has been implicated in metabolic and inflammatory regulation. The molecular and physiological mechanisms by which PPARδ activation regulates lipid metabolism, inflammatory signaling and protection from atherosclerosis in states of metabolic disturbance such as insulin resistance and dyslipidemia, were investigated in a series of in vitro and in vivo studies. In vitro experiments demonstrated that PPARδ activation inhibits atherogenic lipoprotein-induced lipid accumulation and the associated proinflammatory responses. The primary mechanisms for these effects were increased fatty acid β-oxidation, decreased lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity, reduced MAPK signaling and improved insulin …