Speaker:
Title:
Proteomic Analysis of Cartilage Matrix Breakdown and Corticosteroid Effects
Abstract:
Currently there exists no prognostic biomarker to identify the
early stages of osteoarthritis (OA), which complicates the application of
potentially disease-modifying drugs such as the corticosteroid dexamethasone.
Here we utilize a model system of post-traumatic OA using human cartilage
explants to quantify the matrix breakdown of diseased cartilage and determine
the effects of corticosteroids via mass spectrometry. This analysis
identifies novel putative disease biomarkers for early OA and reveals
potential metabolic effects of dexamethasone.
Speaker:
Title:
Investigating How Salivary Mucins Influence the Oral Microbiota In Health and Disease
Abstract:
Healthy saliva houses a microbiota marked by high diversity
and functional stability, but the environmental drivers behind these
community assembly patterns are unclear. Mucins have been shown to regulate
microbial behavior in single and dual-species models. Accordingly, we
hypothesize that salivary mucins play a critical role in selecting and
stabilizing oral communities. Here, I discuss approaches and initial results
examining how mucins shape complex oral communities and how saliva is altered
in diseases associated with dysbiotic microbiota.