Monday 19 November 2018

Periprosthetic Joint Infection and Flow Cytometric Immunophenotyping of Salivary Glands in Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome



 

 

ICM Research in Progress Seminar

Monday 19th November

 

Lucy Walker

(Prof. C Harwood, Prof. D Deehan)

The use of Alpha defensin lateral flow test in revision surgery for Periprosthetic Joint Infection

Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) can be a devastating complication of arthroplasty surgery. There is currently no test which confirms the presence or eradication of PJI with 100% reliability. An in-theatre lateral flow test using the biomarker alpha defensin was developed for diagnosing PJI and initial results were encouraging. We conducted a prospective observational study to assess the utility of the alpha defensin lateral flow (ADLF) test in diagnosing PJI and confirming eradication after surgical debridement. We found that the ADLF test had a high specificity and PPV for confirming eradication of infection but had poor diagnostic accuracy for PJI when used on intra-operative samples.

 

Julia Concetti

(Prof. D Mann, Dr. C Wilson, Prof. J Mann)

Discovering the tumour-suppressor function of the p50 subunit of NF-κB

Global p50 knock-out mice develop more liver tumours and exhibit increased inflammation. Here, we aim to elucidate the role of p50 in hepatocytes specifically, by using a similar liver cancer model in p50 hepatocyte knock- out mice.

 

Dr Paul Milne

(Prof. M Collin)

Flow Cytometric Immunophenotyping of Salivary Glands in Primary Sjögren's Syndrome

Primary Sjögren's Syndrome (PSS) is a common autoimmune disease of unknown aetiology.  It is characterised by inflammatory infiltration of exocrine glands, development of a sicca syndrome and a 20-fold increase in the risk of developing lymphoma.  Standard pathological evaluation is based on a lymphocyte 'focus score' but little is known about the composition of the lymphoid infiltrate or its relationship to disease markers such as autoantibodies and the risk of lymphoma. The aim of the study was to use flow cytometry to characterise the lymphoid infiltrate in more detail.

 

Chair: Prateek Saxena Dental Lecture Theatre D 1pm - 2pm

 

 

Wednesday 7 November 2018

Prof Katja Simon - Wednesday 7th November - Ridley 2 - 1.65 - 1 to 2pm

 

 

PI Seminar Series

 

Speaker:

Prof Katja Simon – The Kennedy Institute, University of Oxford

Venue:

Ridley 2 – 1.65

Date:

Wednesday 7th November 2018

Time:

13:00 – 14:00

 

Prof Katja Simon will present:

 

"Autophagy in the immune system"

 

Autophagy is a conserved major cellular degradation process that delivers unwanted bulk cytoplasmic material to the lysosome. It takes place in every cell at all times at basic level, however, it can be induced to recycle material when nutrients are scarce. In addition unwanted organelles and macromolecules are turned over via autophagy once they have been labeled for degradation.

Our in vivo work has demonstrated that under physiological conditions autophagy determines cell fate: it prevents cell death and cellular ageing, and maintains the life span of long-lived cells in particular.

Our recent results also show that autophagy is key to normal differentiation of hematopoietic cells.

Cellular differentiation requires remodeling of the cytoplasm and change of metabolism. Autophagy's contribution to this process is the maintenance of mitochondrial quality and generation of ATP via fatty acid oxidation. We have also recently uncovered a novel pathway signaling for autophagy that relies on translation and is key to rejuvenation of the aging immune system. I will summarise our data on autophagy's impact on the immune system, with a particular emphasis on differentiation, maintenance and aging in mouse and human.

 

Chair: Prof Muzlifah Haniffa