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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Christa Caesar
BME PhD Defense Presentation
January 6th, 2016
10am
Division of Cardiology Conference Room (WMB 315)
Woodruff Memorial Building, Emory University
Advisor:
W. Robert Taylor, MD, PhD
Thesis Committee Members:
Hanjoong Jo, PhD
Roy Sutliff, PhD
Rudolph L. Gleason, PhD
Michael Davis, PhD
Title:
Osteopontin as a Mediator of Vascular Inflammation and Biomechanics
Abstract:
Hypertension has an impact on nearly 70 million Americans and 1 billion individuals worldwide currently. It is one of the most readily identifiable risk factors for myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, aortic aneurysms, dissections, and peripheral vascular disease. Studies have shown that the aorta experiences elevated mechanical strain in the setting of hypertension, which leads to vascular inflammation, and a plethora of additional cardiovascular complications. However, many of the underlying molecular mechanisms modulating this strain-dependent inflammation of the aorta are still largely unexplored. Therefore, the overall goal of this work was to analyze the specific role and regulation of the protein, osteopontin (OPN) in the aorta, in the context of hypertension. OPN has recently emerged as an important pro-inflammatory protein and mediator of tissue remodeling.
We first evaluated the expression and regulation of OPN in response to mechanical strain using an in-vitro system, where aortic smooth muscle cells were cultured and cyclically strained on flexible membrane culture plates. Next, we evaluated the expression of OPN and its hydrogen peroxide-dependent regulation in the aorta, using two in-vivomodels of murine hypertension. Finally, we explored the contribution of OPN to the mechanical properties of the aorta under healthy and hypertensive conditions. We have found that OPN is in fact up-regulated with hypertension, and plays an important role in mediating inflammation and remodeling of the aorta. Overall these results deepen our understanding of vascular inflammation, and could have important implications in the design of future therapies and strategies aimed against the consequences of hypertension.
