Preclinical Model of Cathepsin B?Dependent Pancreatitis

Abstract

This proposal is related to the ?Pancreatitis? Fiscal Year 2018 Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program Topic Area. Acute pancreatitis is a potentially life-threatening inflammatory disease of the pancreas, which can cause significant morbidity. There is no specific therapy for this disease and medical care is only supportive. The initiating mechanism of acute pancreatitis is not well understood, which hampers the development of specific therapeutic approaches. One of the cellular proteolytic enzymes called cathepsin B has been suspected to play a role in pancreatitis onset; however, conclusive evidence from animal models has been lacking. The aim of the present proposal is to generate and characterize a preclinical mouse model of pancreatitis induced by cathepsin B. The availability of this new model will allow us to provide poof of concept for the critical role of cathepsin B in disease initiation and will facilitate future endeavors towards the development of therapy and prevention for pancreatitis.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Mar 05, 2019
Source ID
W81XWH1910003XX0

Entities

People

  • Andrea Geisz

Organizations

  • Boston University Medical Campus
  • United States Army

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Immunology
  • Molecular and Cellular Biology
  • Oncology (Cancer Research).