Immune System Diseases Commons^™

Testing A Novel Peptide-Infused Cream For Treatment Of Rheumatoid Arthritis In Dr4tg Mice, Alisha J. Moynahan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease that causes joint pain and damage. Studies have shown that inducing immune tolerance towards RA-specific proteins/peptides in RA mouse models can reduce arthritis severity and pro-inflammatory responses. The objectives of this study were to determine if a novel peptide cream treatment could modify RA-specific immune responses and reduce joint swelling in a humanized mouse model expressing the HLA-DRB1*0401 allele (known as DR4tg mice), the strongest genetic risk-factor for RA. Hyaluronan-Phosphatidylethanolamine cream infused with synthetic peptides HomoCitJED and CitJED was applied to HomoCitJED-immunized DR4tg mice before or after arthritis induction. Knee joint …

The Effect Of Sepsis On Cerebral Microvascular Blood Flow, Laura Mawdsley, Mamadou Diop, Chris G. Ellis

Western Research Forum

Background: Sepsis is a dysregulated host response to infection that affects 18 000 000 people worldwide, and over 325 000 000 dollars are spent treating sepsis in Canada every year. One of the symptoms of severe sepsis is an altered mental state, which is accompanied with a measured decrease in oxygen levels in the skeletal muscle microvasculature. It is hypothesized that his altered mental state is due to a lack of oxygenated blood reaching the brain.

Hypothesis: After the onset of sepsis, microvascular cerebral blood flow and oxygen levels in the blood will decrease. Onset of decreased blood flow in …

Pulmonary Surfactant Fortified With Cath-2 As A Novel Therapy For Bacterial Pneumonia, Brandon J. Baer

Western Research Forum

Background: Bacterial pneumonia is a leading cause of death worldwide, with high mortality rates persisting even after antibiotic treatment. Current treatments for pneumonia involve administration of antibiotics, however after the bacteria are killed they release toxic substances that induce inflammation and lung dysfunction. Host defense peptides represent a potential solution to this problem through their ability to down regulate inflammation. However, effective delivery to the lung is difficult because of the complex branching structure of the airways. My study addresses this delivery problem by using exogenous surfactant, a pulmonary delivery vehicle capable of improving spreading of these peptides throughout the …

Methotrexate And Cardiovascular Events, Alpesh Shah

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the association of MTX with cardiovascular morbidity, cardiovascular mortality and all-cause mortality in patients with autoimmune disease. Our primary outcome was incident cardiovascular events. After screening 13,479 citations, we identified a total of 30 eligible studies. We synthesized adjusted risk estimates using a random effects model. MTX was significantly associated with a 25% reduction in cardiovascular events (pooled RR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.65, 0.86, I²: 11%), a 55% reduction in cardiovascular mortality (0.45, 95% CI: 0.26, 0.80, I²: 33%) and a 40% reduction in all-cause mortality (0.60, …

Cell Death Regulates Injury And Inflammation During Renal Allograft Transplantation, Arthur Lau

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Renal transplantation invariably results in tissue injury resulting from ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI), inflammation, drug toxicity, and rejection. Tubular epithelial cells (TEC) comprise the majority of renal parenchyma and are susceptible to cell death and injury during diverse forms of inflammation, which has direct and indirect effects on long term allograft function. Renal TEC have the unique ability to attenuate inflammation and alloimmune injury through the expression of various mediators of cell death and inflammatory molecules. Inhibition of cell death pathways in renal allografts may influence outcomes of alloimmune responses and graft survival. In this body of investigation, alteration of …