Molecular Biomarkers & Diagnosis

Carla-Maria Alexander

Publications

• Research Article
  Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Utilized Ex Vivo to Validate In Vivo Findings: Inhibition of Gap Junction Activity in Lung Tumor Promotion is Toll-Like Receptor 4-Dependent
  Author(s): Thomas Hill III, Ross S Osgood, Kalpana Velmurugan, Carla-Maria Alexander, Brad L Upham and Alison K BauerThomas Hill III, Ross S Osgood, Kalpana Velmurugan, Carla-Maria Alexander, Brad L Upham and Alison K Bauer
  
  TLR4 protects against lung tumor promotion and pulmonary inflammation in mice. Connexin 43 (Cx43), a gap junction gene, was increased in Tlr4 wildtype compared to Tlr4-mutant mice in response to promotion, which suggests gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) may be compromised. We hypothesized that the early tumor microenvironment, represented by Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid (BALF) from Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT; promoter)-treated mice, would produce TLR4-dependent changes in pulmonary epithelium, including dysregulation of GJIC in the Tlr4-mutant (BALBLps-d) compared to the Tlr4-sufficient (BALB; wildtype) mice. BHT (4 weekly doses) was injected ip followed by BALF collection at 24 h. BALF total protein and total macrophages were significantly elevated in BHT-treated BALBLps-d over BALB mice, similar to previous findings. BALF was then utilized in an ex vivo manner to.. Read More»
  DOI: 10.4172/2155-9929.1000160

  Abstract PDF