published_or_final_version / Medical Sciences / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

Πρόσφατα δεδομένα υποδεικνύουν ότι η έκφραση του p75NTR και των Trk υποδοχέων των νευροτροφινών (TrkA, TrkB, TrkC) είναι ιδιαίτερα σημαντική όχι μόνο στη νευρωνική επιβίωση κατά τη διάρκεια της ανάπτυξης και την ενήλικο ζωή αλλά και σε ποικίλες κυτταρικές διαδικασίες όπως η ανοσολογική απάντηση του οργανισμού σε φλεγμονές. Ο σκοπός αυτής της μελέτης ήταν να ερευνήσει την κυτταρική εντόπιση και κατανομή του p75NTR και των Trk υποδοχέων των νευροτροφινών στην ελκώδη κολίτιδα σε σύγκριση με το φυσιολογικό έντερο του ενήλικα ανθρώπου χρησιμοποιώντας την ανοσοϊστοχημική μέθοδο. Στη μελέτη συμπεριελήφθησαν 45 περιπτώσεις ελκώδους κολίτιδας και 5 δείγματα φυσιολογικού εντέρου. Παρατηρήθηκε αύξηση της έκφρασης όσον αφορά τους TrkA υποδοχείς τόσο στο επιθήλιο όσο και στα κύτταρα του εντερικού νευρικού συστήματος στο φλεγμονώδες σε σχέση με το φυσιολογικό έντερο. Έντονη έκφραση των TrkB υποδοχέων ταυτοποιήθηκε στο μυϊκό τοίχωμα των αγγείων και στα εντεροενδοκρινή κύτταρα του επιθηλίου στο φλεγμονώδες και στο φυσιολογικό έντερο. Μειωμένη έκφραση, τόσο στο επιθήλιο όσο και στο εντερικό νευρικό σύστημα, όσον αφορά την έκφραση των TrkB και TrkC υποδοχέων παρατηρήθηκε στις περιπτώσεις ελκώδους κολίτιδας σε σχέση με το φυσιολογικό έντερο. Ο p75NTR παρουσίασε έκφραση αποκλειστικά στα πλέγματα του νευρικού συστήματος, τόσο στο φυσιολογικό όσο και στο φλεγμονώδες έντερο. Τα παραπάνω αποτελέσματα υποδεικνύουν ότι οι νευροτροφίνες μέσω της δέσμευσής τους με τους Trk υποδοχείς και τον p75NTR πιθανόν εμπλέκονται στην παθογένεια των φλεγμονών όπως η ελκώδης κολίτιδα κατά την ενήλικο ζωή. / -

The gastro-intestinal (GI) tract represents the largest surface of the body and is continuously exposed to the microbial environment. In such anatomy, the survival of the host requires that the intestinal microbial flora be contained without excessive immune-reactivity to commensal bacteria while retaining the ability to respond to episodic pathogens. The discriminative recognition between beneficial commensal bacteria and potentially harmful pathogens demands an accurate interpretation by the GI mucosal immune system. Any defects in the processes of innate immune recognition and killing may lead to the development and perpetuation of chronic intestinal inflammation, namely inflammatory bowel disease (i.e. Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC)) and post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS). The aim of ours studies was to evaluate the contribution of candidate genes, involved in the homeostasis and regulation of the intestinal innate immune response, to the susceptibility to CD, DC, and PI-IBS. In the first phase, we describe functional and genetic association results supporting NLRP3, encoding NALP3/cryopyrin, as a novel CD susceptibility gene. We subsequently report that the MEFV gene, encoding pyrin, known to interact with and be involved in the same pathway as NALP3/cryopyrin, does not contribute to CD and DC susceptibility. No CD or DC additional associations were observed upon NLRP3-MEFV gene-gene interaction analyses. In the third phase, we report the first association study evaluating genetic determinants for PI-IBS, using the well-characterized Walkerton population cohort. We uncovered variants in the TLR9, CDH1, and IL6 regions associated with PI-IBS susceptibility. These results are in keeping with the pathophysiologic changes observed in patients with PI-IBS, which include increased intestinal permeability and intestinal immune activation. / Overall, these results contribute to a better understanding of the genetic susceptibility to CD, DC and PI-IBS and shed light on new pathogenic signaling pathways in the development of these diseases.

This thesis is an investigation of the effects of whole beans, with different levels of phenolics level, on colonic inflammation in mice. C57BL/6 male mice were fed a basal diet (BD) supplemented with or without 20% bean flour for 3 weeks. Colitis was induced by 2% dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) in mice drinking water. Phenolic determinations of the bean flours revealed that within each pair of beans, the darker bean had higher phenolic content and antioxidant activity compared to the lighter one. In addition, only coloured beans had anthocyanin. When bean were consumed both prior to and during DSS cycle, the mice experienced both disease attention and aggravation. However, when bean consumption was limited to prior to DSS induction only, mice had reduced colitis upon later DSS induction. Overall, findings suggest that the effects of bean may differ depending on the timing of consumption. / Agriculture and Agri-Food of Canada, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs

No description available.

Access to abstract permanently restricted to Ball State community only. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only. / Department of Physiology and Health Science

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) result from the nexus of a genetic predisposition, dysregulated immunologic insult against commensal microflora, and an environmental trigger. The intestinal epithelium is a single cell layer that separates a highly active mucosal immune system from a large antigenic load in the intestinal lumen. Innate immune recognition combined with a highly regulated adaptive immune response maintains this tolerance. The intestinal epithelium in collusion with antigen presenting cells primarily modulates this activity. In this thesis, we show that, in response to DNA isolated from bacteria, innate toll like receptor 9 (TLR9) activation in intestinal epithelial cells modulates both arms of the immune system, to regulate intestinal homeostasis, and through this mechanism, Bifidobacteria breve DNA exerts its anti-inflammatory function. / Experimental Medicine

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an umbrella term for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. These are characterized by a chronic inflammation of the intestinal mucosa. Living with chronic illness meant that life changed significantly. Quality of life was affected for these individuals and was stressful in their lives.   Aim: The aim was to describe the experiences of living with inflammatory bowel disease.   Method: A qualitative literature review was chosen to analyze articles that were related to the aim of this study.   Results: Based on the chosen articles five themes were created; Commuting between hope and fear, symptoms of the disease and medication become everyday focus, struggling with  the new identity, desire to control the disease- do I control my illness or does it control me and social relationships are affected.   Conclusion: Inflammatory bowel disease is a distressing disease and can cause limitations in social life due to lack of knowledge by others about the disease. The affected felt a loss of control in their life due to the difficulty in managing the symptoms. They experienced a constant struggle and mixed emotions, such as anxiety, depression, stress, and denial of the disease, trying to feel like a healthy person.

Bibliography: leaves 175-206. / 206 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Evaluates the potential therapeutic application of peptide growth factors, in particular epidermal growth factor, in the treatment of colonic ulcerative conditions. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 1993?

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2003. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.