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SUMMARY:The immunologic determinants of chronic cavitary TB versus TB late
 ncy
DTSTART:20120420T110000
DTEND:20120420T120000
DTSTAMP:20260920T013707Z
UID:eb0b067cb7bed94e159ca7824ccec2d7b1f47998235771069d8f2f48
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Gilla Kaplan\, Public Health Research Institute Center\, UMDNJ
  - New Jersey Medical School\, Newark\, USA\nResearch Summary\n\nGilla Kap
 lan\, Ph.D.\, Professor of Medicine in the Laboratory of Mycobacterial Imm
 unity and Pathogenesis at the Public Health Research Institute Center of t
 he University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Dr. Kaplan’s expe
 rtise encompasses studies of human disease and animal models to better und
 erstand host immune responses and the role of cytokine production in the p
 athogenesis of microbial infections. For the past 30 years\, Dr. Kaplan ha
 s been studying the role of macrophage activation in the host response\, i
 nitially to tumors and later to mycobacterial infections. She and her coll
 eagues have studied immune responses to intradermal administration of reco
 mbinant interferon gamma (rIFN-Gamma)\, interleukin 2 (rIL2) and macrophag
 e colony stimulating factor (rGM-CSF) in persons with lepromatous leprosy\
 ; examined T cell responsiveness and suppression in leprosy\; defined immu
 ne activation and gene expression in patients with tuberculosis (TB) follo
 wing treatment with rIL-2\; and characterized interactions between M. tube
 rculosis and HIV or M. leprae and HIV in co-infected patients. More recent
 ly\, Dr. Kaplan and her group determined that the production of macrophage
  proinflammatory cytokines are differentially induced following infection 
 with different clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis\, leading to different
  extents of disease progression and clinical outcome. Dr. Kaplan and her t
 eam have shown that thalidomide treatment modifies TNF-Alpha and IL-12 pro
 duction and can improve outcome in humans with lepromatous leprosy\, TB or
  HIV infection\, in animal models of inhalational TB (in mice) and TB meni
 ngitis (in rabbits)\, and in vitroin M.tuberculosis-infected human monocyt
 es. Dr. Kaplan and her team have since developed two classes of novel\, sy
 nthetic analogues of thalidomide that reduce TNF-Alpha production by 50\,0
 00 times more than the parent drug\, thalidomide\, and with fewer deleteri
 ous side effects. Co-treatment with these analogues\, in combination with 
 antibiotics\, is significantly more efficient in reducing TNF-Alpha produc
 tion and improving survival of rabbits with experimental TB meningitis tha
 n antibiotic treatment alone. The immunomodulatory drugs are being further
  tested as adjunctive therapy to antibiotic treatment in mice and rabbits 
 with pulmonary TB to reduce tissue injury and improve response to treatmen
 t.
LOCATION:AI 1153 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==AI%201153
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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