Summer 2010 Research

"Systemic Lupus Erythematosis"

      Systemic Lupus Erythematosis (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease of unknown etiology that often results in severe damage to joint, kidney, heart, lung and brain tissue in humans. Initial symptoms and early progression of the disease are variable. It has been reported elsewhere, for example, that neuropsychiatric, or CNS-lupus, develops in approximately 20% of cases (Boumpas et al. Ann Intern Med. 1995, 122:940-50). The complex molecular interactions involved in lupus, as well as associated changes in gene expression and protein synthesis are poorly understood. Current treatment regimens such as prednisone and other anti-inflammatory drugs are non-specific and over time often lead to adverse effects in people with lupus. Increasing our understanding of the genes involved in the development of lupus in its various forms, as well as the pathways and biological processes into which these genes are organized, may provide the information necessary for developing more narrowly-targeted therapeutic strategies in the future.

      This project is collaborative, interdisciplinary research with Dr. Susan Larson in the Psychology Department. Students working on this project will evaluate behavior, emotionality and cognitive function, as well as measure global gene expression differences, in lupus-prone vs. control mice. Techniques include, behavioral analyses, maintenance of mouse colonies, harvesting and dissection of mouse tissues, isolation of RNA from tissues, cDNA synthesis, microarray data analysis, real-time PCR analysis and possibly protein expression analysis using ELISA.

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