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Medicine and Health Sciences Commons

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Virginia Commonwealth University

Theses/Dissertations

2009

Microglia

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Triptolide Is A Potential Therapeutic Agent For Alzheimer’S Disease, Matthew Allsbrook Jul 2009

Triptolide Is A Potential Therapeutic Agent For Alzheimer’S Disease, Matthew Allsbrook

Theses and Dissertations

Mounting evidence indicates an involvement of inflammation in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. While there are other mechanisms involved, it is this role of inflammatory processes that we wish to investigate. Triptolide is the major constituent in the Chinese herb, Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F, and has been used for centuries as part of Chinese herbal medicine. The four ringed structure has close homology to drugs of the steroid class and it has been shown to be beneficial as an anti-inflammatory for rheumatoid arthritis and for treatment of certain cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential therapeutic …


The Role Of Acanthamoeba Culbertsoni Serine Proteases In Abating Microglial-Like Cell Cytokines And Chemokines, Jenica Harrison Apr 2009

The Role Of Acanthamoeba Culbertsoni Serine Proteases In Abating Microglial-Like Cell Cytokines And Chemokines, Jenica Harrison

Theses and Dissertations

Acanthamoeba culbertsoni is an opportunistic free-living amoeba that is causative of granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE), a chronic and often fatal central nervous system (CNS) disease that is most prevalent in immune compromised individuals. One hallmark of this disease is the formation of granulomas within the CNS, which are commonly absent in immune compromised individuals. Granulomas are usually composed of amoebae, microglia (CNS macrophages), macrophages, T cells, B cells, and neutrophils. Previous studies have demonstrated that microglia respond to Acanthamoeba by producing pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1α, and IL-1β. In addition, activated microglia and macrophages …