New arthritic pannus-specific protein promotes fibroblast motility and polarization

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the development of hypercellular pannus tissue in the affected joints of patients. Pannus invasiveness and activation correlates with stronger tissue destruction and worse clinical prognosis. Using murine arthritis model, we recently discovered that synovial concentration of Collagen Triple Helix Repeat-containing 1 (CTHRC1) message and protein is directly correlated with arthritis severity. In carcinogenesis, overexpression of CTHRC1 is associated with enhanced metastatic potential of solid tumors and increased cell motility. Our goal is to investigate the mechanism of synovial cell motility and invasiveness and the role of non-canonical WNT signaling in pannus development

New serum biomarker for rheumatoid arthritis

Development of hypercellular invasive pannus tissue within synovial joints is a hallmark of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Pannus produces proteases that damage bone and cartilage. Non-invasive monitoring of pannus activity is important for clinical assessment of patients as well as for control of the efficacy of therapeutic interventions. Available biomarkers are not satisfactory in terms of pannus specificity and sensitivity for monitoring local inflammation and bone erosion. Our goal is collecting clinical samples of synovial fluid and plasma from patients with RA and/or osteoarthritis (OA) to study the role of WNT signaling in pannus formation and developing set of serum biomarkers to monitor pannus activity

Protective effect of peptide vaccination in murine infection with influenza virus

Vaccination is a major tool to protect people from seasonal infections of different strains of influenza virus that presently infects millions of individuals worldwide. Virus genome is highly polymorphic, and universal vaccine that protects against permanently changing virus is still under development. Despite notable differences between humans and rodents in the disease course, immunobiology and clinical evaluations, murine infectious models remain one of the major tools to test approaches for influenza vaccine development

Genetic homongeneity and major histocompatibility complex haplotyping of white mice

Inbred murine strains are generated to insure genetic homogeneity and uniqueness and define immune characteristics, like major histocompatibility complex (MHC) haplotype, of the experimental model. Maintaining of the perfect inbred stock leads to increased level of homozygosity and sometimes encounters a problem of inbreeding depression and consequently deviation from strict inbreeding protocol. Our goals are (i) study genetic homogeneity of mice in the colony, and (ii) haplotyping of H-2 complex (MHC in mice) in this strain

Protective effect of peptide vaccination in murine infection with influenza virus

Vaccination is a major tool to protect people from seasonal infections of different strains of influenza virus that presently infects millions of individuals worldwide. Virus genome is highly polymorphic, and universal vaccine that protects against permanently changing virus is still under development. Despite notable differences between humans and rodents in the disease course, immunobiology and clinical evaluations, murine infectious models remain one of the major tools to test approaches for influenza vaccine development

Design and development of multivalent peptide vaccine candidate against influenza a virus

Influenza virus is a major pathogen with global spread which infects birds and mammals, including humans. The virus is constantly changing, thus influenza stays in the centre of vaccine research. Effective vaccine should have a wide spectrum of protection from the most circulating and dangerous subtypes of the virus. Our goals are identifying the most immunogenic peptide epitopes among three subtypes of Influenza A virus (H1N1, H3N2 и H5N1) according to affinity to MHC class I & II molecules, and finding epitopes localized in conservative regions of the viral proteome. We propose to screen synthetic oligopeptides emulating conservative and immunogenic regions for the strongest humoral and cell mediated responses in mice to select several epitopes/peptides as multivalent peptide vaccine candidate

Design and development of multivalent peptide vaccine candidate against influenza a virus

Influenza virus is a major pathogen with global spread which infects birds and mammals, including humans. The virus is constantly changing, thus influenza stays in the centre of vaccine research. Effective vaccine should have a wide spectrum of protection from the most circulating and dangerous subtypes of the virus. Our goals are identifying the most immunogenic peptide epitopes among three subtypes of Influenza A virus (H1N1, H3N2 и H5N1) according to affinity to MHC class I & II molecules, and finding epitopes localized in conservative regions of the viral proteome. We propose to screen synthetic oligopeptides emulating conservative and immunogenic regions for the strongest humoral and cell mediated responses in mice to select several epitopes/peptides as multivalent peptide vaccine candidate

Serum collagen triple helix repeat-containing (CTHRC1) levels is associated with circulating stem cell factor and pro-inflammatory cytokines in rheumatoid arthritis

Everyday monitoring disease activity of chronic inflammatory diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a tempting approach for every patient for attaining personalized treatment strategies. Still underdeveloped area of RA biomarkers needs sensitive and specific analytes. CTHRC1 was found earlier expressed in activated synoviocytes and present in circulation that makes it potential valuable RA marker