Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Epidemiology And Pathophysiology Of Common Skin Diseases In West Africa: An Immunodermatological Framework, Osazomon Imarenezor

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

This capstone reviews the common skin diseases on a global scale. With these dermatoses being further funneled into Africa and then magnified into common West African dermatoses, the meta-analyses of literature available paints a clear picture of the epidemiological & pathological factors and their contribution to the skin disease. Each article analysed in this analysis was taken from a 20-year span of January 2000 to December 2019. The selection of articles was fine-tuned by identifying the distribution of skin disease, revealing the populations affected (age, gender, ethnicity, etc), the main causes, country of origin, the prognosis of disease, and the …

An Approach For The In-Vivo Characterization Of Brain And Heart Inflammation In Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Joanne Tang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a neuromuscular disorder caused by dystrophin loss—notably within muscles and CNS neurons. DMD presents as cognitive weakness, progressive skeletal and cardiac muscle degeneration until pre-mature death from cardiac or respiratory failure. Innovative therapies improved life expectancy, but this is accompanied by increased late-onset heart failure and emergent cognitive degeneration. Thus, there is an increasing need to both better understand and track disease pathophysiology in the dystrophic heart and brain prior to onset of severe degenerative symptoms. Chronic inflammation is strongly associated with skeletal and cardiac muscle degeneration, however chronic neuroinflammation’s role is largely unknown in …

Development, Expansion And Role Of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells In Post-Sepsis Immune Suppression, Tuqa Alkhateeb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) numbers increase significantly in sepsis and are associated with high mortality rates. These myeloid cell precursors promote immunosuppression, especially in the late (post sepsis) stage. However, the mechanisms that underlie MDSC expansion and programming are not completely understood. To investigate these mechanisms, we used a cecal-ligation and puncture (CLP) mouse model of polymicrobial sepsis that progresses from an early/acute proinflammatory phase to a late/chronic immunosuppressive phase. Previous studies in our laboratory showed that microRNA (miR)-21 and miR-181b elevate levels of the transcription factor nuclear factor 1 (NFI-A) that promotes MDSC expansion. We report here that miR-21 …

Impact Of Epa And Dha Supplementation And 15-Lox-1 Expression On Colitis And Colitis-Associated Colorectal Cancer, Jonathan Jaoude

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients not only suffer from colitis but also from increased morbidity and mortality of colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC). The enzyme 15-lipoxygenase-1 (15-LOX-1) is crucial to converting omega-3 fatty acid derivatives eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to resolvins, potent anti-inflammatory products. 15-LOX-1 effects on the conversion of EPA and DHA to resolvins that subsequently exert anti-inflammatory and anti-tumorigenic effects have received little attention. To address this knowledge gap, we hypothesize that 15-LOX-1 expression in colonic epithelial cells is essential for resolvin biosynthesis from EPA and DHA to modulate immunophenotype, limit inflammation, promote resolution, and help …

In Vitro Immune Activation By Treponema Pallidum And The Effect On Osteoclastogenesis: First Experimental Step Towards An Integration Between Osteoimmunology And Paleopathology., Emily Ann Rich

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

The presence of pathogens in the human body influences the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines by activated immune cells. These cytokines, and other factors, regulate osteoclastogenesis and osteoclast activity. Through experimental osteoimmunology, interactions between the inflammatory response and bone cell physiology may provide insight into how immune processes can be translated into the lesions or abnormalities observed in the osteological record. In this research, our objective was to determine if the cytokines produced by activated immune cells increase osteoclastogenesis and osteoclast activity. To evaluate this hypothesis, we used two main protocols, one for immune activation and one for osteoclastogenesis, that utilized …

Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein K (Hnrnp K) Overexpression And Its Interaction With Runx1 Rna In Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Marisa Aitken

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an often devastating hematologic malignancy with 5-year overall survival lingering near 20%. Acquiring a deeper understanding of molecular underpinnings of leukemogenesis will provide a basis for developing more effective therapeutic strategies for patients with AML.

Here, we identified overexpression of hnRNP K as a recurrent abnormality in a subset (~20%) of AML patients. High levels of this RNA-binding protein associated with inferior clinical outcomes in de novo AML. Thus, to evaluate its putative oncogenic capacity in myeloid disease, we overexpressed hnRNP K in murine hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells isolated from fetal liver cells (FLCs). …

Mast Cells As Novel Effector Cells In The Pathogenesis Of Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease, Ethan Strattan

Theses and Dissertations--Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is most commonly a treatment for inborn defects of hematopoiesis or acute leukemias. Widespread use of HSCT, a potentially curative therapy, is hampered by onset of graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD), a condition wherein the donor cells recognize the patient tissues as non-self. GVHD can manifest anywhere from weeks to decades post-transplant and is classified as either acute or chronic GVHD, both of which are significant causes of transplant-related morbidity and mortality.

However, GVHD is a complex, multifactorial, and enigmatic disease. The factors driving GVHD at the cellular and molecular level are incompletely understood. Immunosuppression targeting T-cells has …