ScienceCache

Vol. 149
Sept. 29, 2003

UNIVERSITY NAMED HOME OF AUTOIMMUNITY CENTER OF EXCELLENCE
The medical center has been selected by the National Institutes of Health as one of nine universities and hospitals in the nation that will share $51 million in grants aimed at producing new treatments for autoimmune diseases. Approximately $3.8 million will go to the university’s Autoimmunity Center of Excellence, where basic scientists will work closely with clinical researchers to develop treatments for three autoimmune diseases: type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and lupus. Basic scientists in the laboratory will study blood and tissue samples from patients to identify the immune-system cells that mistakenly attack the body’s own cells – such as cells in the pancreas of patients with type 1 diabetes, or cells in the brains of patients with multiple sclerosis. Once those cells are identified, the researchers will try to find chinks in their armor. Specifically, they’ll look for proteins within those cells which, if disabled by a drug, would cause the cells to die or to stop attacking the body’s own cells. “As we hunt for those proteins, we’ll be on the lookout for ones that can be targeted by drugs that are already on the market,” says Ignacio Sanz, associate professor of medicine and of microbiology and immunology, who leads the center.

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FIBROBLASTS HOLD CLUES TO FAT, SCARS AND INFLAMMATION
Scientists used to think that fibroblasts – the cells that form basic tissue structures – were little more than scaffolding on which more important cells would climb. But scientists have discovered that certain fibroblasts have highly specialized duties and play a major role in how scars form, fat accumulates, and harmful inflammation arises in humans. The work, published in the October issue of the American Journal of Pathology, may help doctors understand why some people suffer from unexplained internal scarring around vital organs, which can lead to serious diseases of the eyes, lungs, heart, kidneys or intestines. It may explain why some accident victims and surgical patients scar easily and take longer to heal. Ultimately, the goal of the research is to pave the way toward drugs that stop unhealthy scars or fatty tissue from developing. “This is the first clear demonstration that certain kinds of human fibroblasts can develop into scar-type or fat-type cells,” says Richard P. Phipps, lead author and professor of environmental medicine, microbiology and immunology, oncology and pediatrics. “In fact, our results show that some fibroblasts may prove to be a useful diagnostic tool by providing clues to the severity of a disease or who might be prone to abnormal wound healing, for example.”

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STUDY TARGETS MOST COMMON CAUSE OF INTERCOURSE PAIN IN YOUNG WOMEN
A new study will test treatments aimed at relieving the debilitating pain associated with vulvar vestibulitis. At some point in their lives prior to menopause, eight to 15 percent of women experience vestibulitis, an inflammation of the tissues that surround the entrance to the vagina. The condition causes intense pain, which is often mistaken for infection or dismissed as psychosomatic, and so many patients go undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, or untreated. Now David C. Foster, an international authority on diagnosing and treating vulvar pain and disease, is principal investigator for a five-year, $1.2 million trial funded by the National Institutes of Health. Foster, associate professor and director of ambulatory care in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is sought out by women from around the world for relief from this misunderstood disease that makes sexual intercourse painful if not impossible. Many patients learn of his work while searching for help on the Internet and then travel to him for treatment. Now his years of experience diagnosing and treating the condition are culminating in a study that he hopes will shed light on the disease and offer new hope to women who are suffering from both the physical effects as well as the emotional toll the condition takes. The study will test the combined use of lidocaine, a topical pain reliever, and desipramine, an antidepressant that affects chemicals in the brain and is expected to alter the brain signal that triggers the pain.

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$5 MILLION GRANT AWARDED TO ANSWER BIOLOGY’S BIGGEST SECRETS
Part of a new effort by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to understand some of the most perplexing puzzles in biology is being spearheaded at the university. Jack Werren, professor of biology, is leading a group of researchers at six different institutions who will investigate Wolbachia, bacteria that are found in more than 20 percent of insect species. Wolbachia manipulate insect reproduction and cellular biology, and could have major influences on insect genetics and evolution. The five-year, $5 million effort will determine how these bacteria alter cell biology and reproduction in their hosts, how they move around between insect species, and how they have had an impact on the genome structure of insects. These studies could provide new tools for insect control, as well as fundamental insights about how animals co-exist with their bacterial parasites. In 2001, Werren showed that by interfering with fertilization between wasps infected with different Wolbachia, these bacteria may have altered the regular course of the wasp’s evolution, leading to the formation of two separate species.

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