Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Protein-2 Is A Crucial Activator Of Aggressive Behaviour In Cancer Cells
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$612,885.00
Summary
The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system, required for normal development and adult life, is often altered in many diseases including cancer. Key regulators of the IGF system are the IGF binding protein (IGFBP) of which IGFBP-2 is the 2nd most abundant. IGFBP-2 may enhance or inhibit the IGFs, but the mechanisms are not clear. This proposal aims to dissect IGFBP-2 action with the ultimate goal to provide knowledge for the development of targeted therapeutic modulators of IGFBP-2 activity.
Dietary Protein Effects In Elderly Women: Musculoskeletal, Renal, Cardiovascular And Body Composition Endpoints
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$478,946.00
Summary
Fractures and falls of the elderly are major health problems in our community in terms of disability and cost. It is critical to the future health of our aging population to develop non-pharmaceutical interventions to maintain health into old age. Epidemiologic studies have shown that relatively high protein intake is associated with increased bone mineral mass and reduced incidence of osteoporotic fracture in elderly people. Low protein intakes can lead to loss of muscle mass. To date there hav ....Fractures and falls of the elderly are major health problems in our community in terms of disability and cost. It is critical to the future health of our aging population to develop non-pharmaceutical interventions to maintain health into old age. Epidemiologic studies have shown that relatively high protein intake is associated with increased bone mineral mass and reduced incidence of osteoporotic fracture in elderly people. Low protein intakes can lead to loss of muscle mass. To date there have been no randomised trials of sufficient duration to examine the effects of increased dietary protein intake on bone and muscle health of the elderly. The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of protein supplementation for the prevention of osteoporosis and muscle wasting in elderly women, and the safety of such an intervention through monitoring renal function and risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Two hundred and twenty women will be recruited to this study and be assigned to protein group or placebo group. Women in the protein group will received 250 ml high protein drink (containing 30 g protein) per day and women in the placebo group will receive placebo drink containing the same amount of energy, calcium but no additional protein. Bone structure, muscle mass, body composition, renal function and risk factors for cardiovascular disease will be monitored during the 2 year study period. The results of this randomised, controlled study will clarify the role of protein on bone mass and structure, muscle mass and body composition in the elderly. At the same time, the safety of such intervention on renal and cardiovascular endpoints will also be evaluated. It is envisaged that the results of this study if positive will translate into both immediately applicable intervention strategies that are relevant at a program and an individual level.Read moreRead less
Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DiabCM) is common in people with diabetes. It predisposes to heat failure. Its cause remains unclear and there is no specific treatment for DiabCM. Inflammation is a fundamental tissue response to a metabolic insult and it occur in DiabCM. The central hypothesis in this work is that inflammation through myocardial macrophage cells contributes to DiabCM. This hypothesis will be tested in animal models and also in cell culutre studies.
Correction Of Diabetes In An Autoimmune Model Using Insulin-secreting Liver Cells.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$472,500.00
Summary
Type I diabetes mellitus is caused by the autoimmune destruction of the beta cells of the pancreas that secrete insulin. The problems of the chronic complications of diabetes and the lack of donor tissue for transplantation, could theoretically be overcome by engineering from the patient's own cells, an artificial beta cell, i. e. a non-islet cell capable of synthesising, storing and secreting mature insulin in response to metabolic stimuli, such as glucose. The ultimate goal of this technology ....Type I diabetes mellitus is caused by the autoimmune destruction of the beta cells of the pancreas that secrete insulin. The problems of the chronic complications of diabetes and the lack of donor tissue for transplantation, could theoretically be overcome by engineering from the patient's own cells, an artificial beta cell, i. e. a non-islet cell capable of synthesising, storing and secreting mature insulin in response to metabolic stimuli, such as glucose. The ultimate goal of this technology is to deliver the insulin gene directly to a patient's own liver cells which would regulate insulin secretion in response to glucose and other substances that stimulate insulin secretion, controlling blood glucose without the need for immunosuppression. To accomplish this it must be possible to deliver the insulin gene efficiently to primary liver cells (cells derived from an animal's or human's body). Results from our laboratory using a non-pathogenic viral delivery system indicate that we can reverse diabetes in chemically induced diabetic rats by expression of insulin and a beta cell transcription factor NeuroD. The aim of this study is to repeat this in an auto-immune model of diabetes the nonobese diabetic mouse, which mimicks very closely the development of diabetes in humans. We will determine if we can reverse diabetes in these animals and determine if their response to glucose is normal over an extended period of time, with no attack by the factors of the immune system that stimulate the development of diabetes in man. The results from this research proposal should result in the delivery of the insulin gene to large numbers of primary liver cells that will then synthesise, store and secrete insulin in response to glucose. These cells would control blood glucose levels in patients without the need for immunosuppression.Read moreRead less