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Neurodegenerative Brain Disease Establishment of an In Vitro Human Colon Model
Neurodegenerative Brain Disease Dr John Xuereb The Trust's support is principally directed towards funding Sister Angela O'Sullivan, the Brain Bank's Research Nurse.
The use of human brain tissue depends on the CBBL's donor programmes. The Trust provides the key for this aspect of the work by funding Humane Research Trust Research Nurse, Sister Angela O'Sullivan. By emotionally supporting both patient and relatives, Angela has helped many families make a donation of brain tissue after the death of their loved one, as well as enlisting new donors for the programme. The programme focuses on ensuring that donors and their families fully understand the nature of the laboratory's activities, give their full consent, and are given every opportunity to withdraw from participation in any aspect with which they may be unhappy. Dr John Xuereb examines the donated brain tissue sections to diagnose the cause of any dementia. The tissue is then cut and stained by his team so that it is available for many other relevant research programmes. Through the Trust's support the CBBL scientists can test whether discoveries made in cell culture systems apply to the intact human brain.
Modelling Human Arteries Prof Shant Kumar and Dr John Garland Animal models of vascular tissue are very poor when applied to human usage, but normal human tissue culture techniques are inadequate for reliably mirroring the situation within the human body. This project aims to build a model of human functional arteries and vascular tissue in vitro using only human tissue, which would reliably replicate full cell functions including stretch (for pulse beat), three dimensions, oxygen content and contact with other cells. The model could be developed and manipulated in many ways with precise control. Such a model will have widespread uses in addressing a number of problems involving blood vessels, for example bypass surgery, cardiovascular diseases, grafts, oncology and tumour spread, gene therapy, diabetes, vascular degenerative diseases, rheumatoid arthritis and stroke. Establishment of an In Vitro Human Colon Model Dr Mark Williams
This project aims to develop a three-dimensional in vitro culture model of the human intestine. There is a great deal of interest in the prevention of inflammatory bowel diseases and colorectal cancer because they are leading causes of death in the developed world. At present, animal models are in widespread use for studying this subject. The in vitro model will allow non-animal techniques to be applied to the research, enabling investigation of stem cell proliferation and survival, and progress toward new forms of treatment. The principles involved will also have application to a range of research involving similar tissue elsewhere in the body, such as breast and prostate problems.
Professor Keith Frayn The aim of this project is to develop a model to investigate fat metabolism using human fat cells. It is intended to study the process of converting excess carbohydrate into fat for storage and conversion from saturated to unsaturated fat. Most knowledge in this area has previously come from studies using rodent cells and it is hoped that the model will give a greater insight into metabolism in humans.
Paralysis Richard Chilman Tetraplegia, involving paralysis of all four limbs, involves a particular problem in India because the traditional practice is to eat with the right hand. Under the supervision of Professor Johnson, Mr Chilman aims to carry out precise studies of the patterns of movement involved in hand-eating with a view to developing devices providing artificial electrical stimulation of the hand and wrist to produce the required movement. A successful outcome would clearly have valuable international and local applications.
Living with Disability
This grant is to support the work of Mr S Guru Nagaran, currently working with the Rehabilitation Institute, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India. Mr Nagaran will undertake a study of the impact of a Community Based Rehabilitation programme on the quality of life of people with disabilities residing in urban slums of South India. The Rehabilitation Programme is funded by the World Health Organisation and further developments in the programme resulting from the study are likely to lead to Vellore becoming a centre for CBR training and development in Asia.
Tetraspanins Dr Peter Monk The aim of the new project is to use in vitro methods to develop a set of tools for the study
of proteins which bind to tetraspanins. Tetraspanins are a recently discovered group of proteins which have been linked to several serious human conditions, such as artherosclerosis, transplant rejection, muscular dystrophy, hepatitis, diphtheria, cardiovascular disease and many forms of cancer. The approach will thus be of potential significance to many other forms of medical research.
Epitope Discovery Dr Richard Phelps The research is aimed at substituting many vaccine-related animal experiments with a novel biochemical technique. The technique identifies an important class of the information required for vaccine design, namely T cell epitopes, using cell lines maintained in culture rather than animal immunisation.
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