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DTSTAMP:20160429T160000Z
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CATEGORIES:Conferences / Seminars / Lectures
DTSTART:20160429T160000Z
DTEND:20160429T170000Z
SUMMARY:Cynthia Yu-Wai-Man, MBBS FRCOphth
DESCRIPTION:
 NIHR Crick Clinical Research Fellow\n
 UCL Institute 
 of Ophthalmology, London\n
 \n
 Targeting the 
 MRTF/SRF gene transcription pathway in Ocular 
 fibrosis\n
 \n
 Scarring and fibrosis are responsible 
 for the pathogenesis or failure of treatment 
 of most blinding diseases, with postoperative 
 wound healing responses posing a major 
 problem for most ocular surgery on a worldwide 
 scale.  Fibrosis is a complex multifactorial 
 process but many therapeutic molecules only 
 block a single pathway, for example inflammation 
 or angiogenesis.  The myocardin-related 
 transcription factor/serum response factor 
 (MRTF/SRF) pathway is involved in multiple pathways 
 in the complex fibrosis process and thus 
 represents a promising therapeutic target 
 to prevent ocular fibrosis.\n
 Our results show 
 that inhibiting the MRTF/SRF pathway significantly 
 decreases collagen matrix contraction, 
 fibroblast dynamic index, and matrix remodelling 
 in human conjunctival fibroblasts.  We 
 have also developed receptor-targeted liposome-peptide-siRNA 
 nanoparticles as an efficient 
 delivery system for MRTF silencing in conjunctival 
 fibrosis.  Furthermore, local delivery 
 of novel inhibitors of MRTF/SRF-regulated gene 
 transcription prevents scar tissue formation 
 and significantly prolongs the long-term success 
 of surgery in a validated rabbit model 
 of glaucoma filtration surgery.  As drug delivery 
 represents one of the major hurdles in 
 translational anti-fibrosis research, we are 
 currently developing different drug delivery 
 techniques for sustained release formulations 
 in the eye.  In addition, we are also studying 
 potential novel genetic biomarkers to develop 
 a more personalized and stratified approach 
 in anti-fibrotic ocular therapeutics.\n
 \n
 \n\n
 Price: Free\n
 Sponsor: Dept of Pharmacology & Toxicology\n
 Sponsor's Homepage: http://phmtox.msu.edu/\n
 Contact name: Student Office\n
 Contact phone: (517) 884-0409\n
 Contact email: phm@msu.edu\n
 for more info visit the web at:\n 
 http://phmtox.msu.edu/education/Seminars-PhmTox.htm\n
LOCATION:B448 Life Sciences  (behind Bott Nursing Building)
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