Oxyopia Abstract

February 10, 2006
Friday, 4 PM
489 Minor Hall

Eric Pearlman, PhD
Professor and Director of Research, Department of Ophthalmology; Professor, Center for Global Health and Diseases, Case Western Reserve University
Host: Suzanne Fleiszig

Title

The Role of Toll Like Receptors in the Pathogenesis of Ocular Onchocerciasis (river blindness)

Abstract

Chronic and disabling diseases caused by parasitic filarial nematodes, including lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis affect hundreds of millions of individuals worldwide. The clinical consequences of infection include lymphatic filariasis, with acute and chronic lymphedema of the extremities (elephantiasis), and skin and ocular disease (river blindness). Most of these filarial nematodes harbor endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria (family Rickettsiaceae) in intracytoplasmic vacuoles of the nematode hypodermal lateral cords and female reproductive organs. The discovery that Wolbachia are a target for antibiotic therapy and also play a critical role in the pathogenesis of these filarial diseases has caused a fundamental shift in our understanding of, and approach to the study of these diseases. Studies to be presented will focus on the role of Toll Like Receptors in the host response to Wolbachia, and their role in development of corneal disease in a mouse model of ocular onchocerciasis.

[Back to Pearlman - Oxyopia Page]