An Investigation Of The Involvement Of Clotting Factors In Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Progression Within A Mouse Model
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$189,401.00
Summary
Early stage weakening of the main abdominal artery is present in ~100,000 Australians and currently has no accepted therapy. Development of drug therapies which limit progression of the weakening process is urgently needed. In this study involvement of the clotting cascade in artery weakening will be investigated. The study have been planned in order to identify new strategies which can be developed as treatments for artery weakening in patients.
The primary aim of this grants to determine how HIV spreads through our immune system. The above knowledge will determine key Achille’s Heel moments in the HIV life cycle and thus lead to better therapeutic HIV treatments/prevention.
Many infants and children suffer from bowel motility disorders, for example, chronic constipation affects up to 1 in 10 children. However, the cause of many of these paediatric motility disorders remains unknown. In this project, we will examine the development of wiring of the nervous system that controls bowel motility. This is the first study to investigate the development of cell-cell communication during early stages of nervous system development.
The Role Of Co-signalling Receptors In Cytotoxic Lymphocyte Activity During Infection And Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$739,657.00
Summary
Cytotoxic lymphocytes (CLs) are immune cells that detect and kill cancer cells. CLs recognise ‘stress’ proteins on cancer cells through specialised receptors, and this provides the signal for them to kill. However, some cancer cells, such as leukemic cells, can interfere with this recognition to avoid killing by immune cells. This project will investigate the mechanism of recognition and killing of cancer cells by CLs, using both mouse models and cells from patients with acute myeloid leukemia.