During injury or infection, our body’s immune system protects us by launching inflammation. But uncontrolled inflammation drives common diseases such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson's. This research program will reveal how the body deactivates inflammasomes – protein complexes at the heart of inflammation and disease – so we can design better drugs for treating patients with inflammation-driven disease.
The Effect Of Statin And Colchicine On Pericoronary Adipose Tissue Inflammation And Coronary Artery Plaque Progression: Insights From Cardiac Computed Tomography Using Pericoronary Adipose Tissue Attenuation And Radiomics
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$125,396.00
Summary
Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death in Australia. Inflammation is a key driver of harmful build-up of cholesterol plaques in arteries. Currently it is unclear how to detect patients with high level of inflammation. We examine a new approach to detect coronary inflammation using CT coronary angiography (CTCA). We investigate how to utilise CTCA to guide targeted therapy with statin and colchicine in patients with residual inflammation to reduce risk of future heart attack.
Targeting Inflammatory Skin Disease Using An Immune-modulatory Human Signal Peptide
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$698,836.00
Summary
Effective drugs are desperately needed for the improved treatment of inflammatory diseases. We will determine how a modified human peptide, which we have discovered and can make, works to suppress harmful skin inflammation. We will design new formulations to deliver our drug to the skin in order to better treat psoriasis, an autoinflammatory skin disease. We will also trial our new drug in models of atopic dermatitis a debilitating skin disease for which there is limited treatment options.
The Mechanism Of Action Of Secreted Phospholipase A2 And Its Inhibition In Inflammation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$554,400.00
Summary
Secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) is an important mediator of inflammation and is clinically associated with the onset and severity of several immune-mediated diseases including arthritis, asthma, atherosclerosis, psoriasis and recently prostate cancer. These are complex diseases which are poorly understood. We have shown that sPLA2 can by itself and in combination with inflammatory cytokines modulate signalling pathways in cells derived from the joints of patients with arthritis to upregulate ....Secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) is an important mediator of inflammation and is clinically associated with the onset and severity of several immune-mediated diseases including arthritis, asthma, atherosclerosis, psoriasis and recently prostate cancer. These are complex diseases which are poorly understood. We have shown that sPLA2 can by itself and in combination with inflammatory cytokines modulate signalling pathways in cells derived from the joints of patients with arthritis to upregulate inflammatory molecules. How this happens is completely unknown. We plan to work out how this enzyme does this. We have also developed small cyclic peptide inhibitors of sPLA2 which potently block the function of the enzyme in these cells. We plan to determine how this happens and if these inhibitors are effective at blocking inflammation and arthritis. The proposal may identify new mechanisms by which secreted factors upregulate inflammation in human cells and may lead to the discovery of new ways to intervene to block these pathways.Read moreRead less
Identifying And Preventing Inflammation-induced Brain Injury In Preterm Infants
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$338,652.00
Summary
Exposure to infection/inflammation around the time of birth is one of the most common factors associated with long-term disability. There is no effective treatment. My studies will use world-class techniques for measuring brain structure and function to improve our understanding of how infection/inflammation impacts on development of the preterm brain and determine whether blocking key inflammatory pathways in the brain will help restore normal brain growth and development in preterm infants.
Inflammation And Oxidative Stress In Emerging Psychotic And Mood Disorders
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$432,619.00
Summary
We are conducting four large clinical trials testing anti-inflammatory treatments like ?-3 PUFAs and aspirin in young people who are at high-risk for psychosis or have depression. This proposal adds an important component to this research by investigating inflammatory and oxidative stress markers. We aim to determine if the investigated biomarkers predict the course of illness and response to treatments. The findings will facilitate early intervention and targeted treatment.
During injury or infection, our body’s immune system protects us by launching inflammation. But uncontrolled inflammation drives common diseases such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s. This project will reveal how the body deactivates inflammasomes - protein complexes at the heart of inflammation and disease – so we can design better strategies for treating patients with inflammation-driven disease.
Targeting Protease Activated Receptor 2 In Immunometabolism And Obesity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$720,760.00
Summary
New approaches to prevent and treat obesity and metabolic diseases are National Health Priorities. Obesity is now recognised as an inflammatory disease. This project seeks new biomedical information to verify a new hypothesis that a protein (PAR2) on the surface of fat cells and immune cells is associated with the development of obesity and metabolic disorders.
Structural And Functional Studies Of The Human IL-3 Receptor
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$307,946.00
Summary
This proposal will study a protein hormone that is implicated in blood cell cancers and inflammatory diseases and for which current treatments are inadequate. We will determine how the hormone receptor becomes activated, identify and characterise new agents that block this activation. This information will help in the development of new and highly specific drugs for use in certain cancers in inflammatory diseases.
Role For Dipeptidyl Peptidase-IV In The Innate Immune Response
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$302,123.00
Summary
The innate immune system is the bodyÍs first line of defence in fighting off infections by invading organisms. An inappropriate innate immune response can lead to the development of several inflammatory conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease. A malfunctioning innate immune response has been identified in children with IBD. This project will determine the role of a unique enzyme called DPIV in the development of innate immune responses and its potential as a therapeutic target for IBD.