INFLAMMATORY BIOLOGY CORE (IBC)

University Of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Inflammatory biology plays a central role in illness and disability among older people. The OAIC[unreadable] Inflammatory Biology Core (IBC) at UCLA will provide intellectual and technical support for the analysis of[unreadable] inflammatory dynamics in Pepper Center research programs. In addition to conventional blood-based[unreadable] measures of inflammatory markers, the IBC will also provide extensive molecular biology infrastructure for[unreadable] mapping upstream signaling processes that cause aberrant inflammation, and for defining the down-stream[unreadable] impact of inflammatory signaling on target tissues. IBC analytic infrastructure will expand information yield[unreadable] from six currently funded Pepper Center R01s (e.g., immune dysregulation in aging, effects of cancer[unreadable] therapy on cognitive function in the elderly, and cytokine effects on sleep in healthy elderly), and facilitate[unreadable] analysis of inflammatory dynamics in newly-developed Pepper Center research programs (pilot projects in[unreadable] the OAIC Pilot and Exploratory Core and new R01s emerging from the Center). The Core will generate new[unreadable] technical approaches for assessing molecular bases of inflammatory signaling during aging, measuring[unreadable] functional impacts of genetic polymorphisms, and monitoring the activity proinflammatory cytokines and[unreadable] hormones using genomics-based biomarkers. The OAIC IBC includes multi-disciplinary intellectual support[unreadable] (behavior, genetics, and immunology), vertical integration of inflammatory biology into the full range of[unreadable] research program development, training in molecular analyses of inflammation, and development of new[unreadable] strategies for assessing the sources and targets of inflammatory signals in aging individuals.[unreadable] Three specific aims are proposed: 1) Expand and support the analysis of inflammatory biology in existing[unreadable] UCLA OAIC research programs and in new OAIC pilot projects and developing research programs; 2)[unreadable] Develop new analytic approaches to facilitate in vivo analysis of inflammatory dynamics and their functional[unreadable] genomic impact on elderly individuals; 3) Provide training in behavioral, immunologic, and molecular aspects[unreadable] of inflammatory biology in general, and as they pertain to the unique health and function issues in aging.[unreadable] This training will emphasize biological knowledge about the sources and targets of inflammatory signals, and[unreadable] their role in the health and functional independence of older people..[unreadable]