Investigate The Role Of PAF And CD40 Ligand In Regulating The Proinflammatory Properties Of Platelets
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$507,270.00
Summary
The cells of the blood play an important role in maintaining healthy blood vessels. We are interested in two types of blood cells, platelets and leukocytes, which together play a key role in vessel maintenance, by promoting blood clot formation and vessel wall repair following injury. However, while critical for normal blood vessel maintenance, these cells have also been demonstrated to contribute to disease states including atherosclerosis, thrombosis and inflammatory airway diseases. Underlyin ....The cells of the blood play an important role in maintaining healthy blood vessels. We are interested in two types of blood cells, platelets and leukocytes, which together play a key role in vessel maintenance, by promoting blood clot formation and vessel wall repair following injury. However, while critical for normal blood vessel maintenance, these cells have also been demonstrated to contribute to disease states including atherosclerosis, thrombosis and inflammatory airway diseases. Underlying the function of both blood cell types is their ability to stick (or adhere) to each other. However the way in which they coordinate this adhesion is very complex. New information from our laboratory has demonstrated that the sticky behaviour of each cell type is spatially and temporally regulated, and may involve may factors both inside and outside of the cells themselves. Our studies aim to define the key components regulating the 'stickiness' of these blood cells, in order to undertand how they contribute to maintaining healthy vessel walls, but also how their stickiness may also contribute to the promotion of diseased vessels. This information will not only increase our knowledge of the factors that regulate blood clot formation, but may also assist in the development of new therapies to prevent and-or treat vessel disease.Read moreRead less
Functional Assessment Of CD40 In The Development Of Multiple Sclerosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$521,910.00
Summary
Many of the genes which affect susceptibility to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) have recently been identified. Two of these genes were first discovered in an Australian study published in Nature Genetics in 2009. One of these is CD40, which controls immune cell activation. In this project we aim to establish how the genetic variant identified affects the function of the CD40 gene in MS. CD40 may prove to be a good therapeutic target, with agents available to modulate CD40 available already.