Immunity is known to be sexually dimorphic. This dimorphism may be attributed to the action of different hormones. Aluminum is a component of several vaccines and acts as an adjuvant of immunogenicity. The activation of the Nalp3 inflammasome plays a role in aluminum’s adjuvancy. Estrogen affects immune cells by regulating the expression of genes involved in immune-related mechanisms; such as the modulation of cytokine secretion. We hypothesized that estrogen modulates the aluminum-induced secretion of IL-1β and IL-18. Using an ex vivo mouse macrophage model this study examined: (i) the effects of estrogen on Nalp3 inflammasome genes expression and (ii) the estrogen receptor involved in the modulation of these genes. Our results indicate that estrogen up-regulates Nalp3 gene expression via ERα/β heterodimerization, and caspase-1 activity may be indirectly modulated due to the up-regulation of SPI-6 via ERβ.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:GEORGIA/oai:digitalarchive.gsu.edu:biology_theses-1033 |
| Date | 27 August 2011 |
| Creators | Chesnokov, Anton P, Mr. |
| Publisher | Digital Archive @ GSU |
| Source Sets | Georgia State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Biology Theses |
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