Ecology of inflammation in lowland Bolivia

玻利维亚低地炎症生态学

• 批准号: 1027687
• 负责人: Thomas McDade
• 金额: $ 13.19万
• 依托单位: Northwestern University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-10-01 至 2013-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1027687&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Ecology; inflammation; lowland; Bolivia

Inflammation is an important part of immune defenses against infectious disease, but inflammation may also contribute to the development of chronic degenerative diseases, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Historically, humans have lived in environments characterized by high levels of microbial exposure and high rates of mortality due to infectious disease, yet current understandings of inflammation are based primarily on research in industrialized settings with low levels of infectious disease. Methodological obstacles associated with blood collection in non-clinical settings contribute to the limited range of current research. This project is investigating levels of inflammation in an Amazonian population experiencing high levels of infectious disease and validating "field-friendly" methods for measuring pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in non-clinical settings. Health-related information and dried blood spot (DBS) samples (drops of whole blood collected on filter paper following a simple finger stick) are collected repeatedly over an 8 week period from fifty adults in remote lowland Amazonia. These samples are measured for C-reactive protein, a key biomarker of inflammation, in order to document levels and patterns of inflammatory activity. In phase two of this project, the researchers are developing methods for quantifying cytokines in the DBS samples taken from these fifty individual.Results from this project directly address current scientific debates regarding the links among ecology, inflammation, and disease, and advance anthropological research in human ecological immunology. In addition, the development of minimally-invasive methods for measuring cytokines in a single drop of blood will promote future research on inflammation internationally, as well as in community-based settings in the United States. A better understanding of the factors that shape the regulation of inflammation may have significant implications for the prevention and treatment of disease.

炎症是针对传染病的免疫防御的重要组成部分，但炎症也可能导致慢性退行性疾病的发展，包括心血管疾病和糖尿病。 从历史上看，人类生活在微生物暴露水平高、传染病死亡率高的环境中，但目前对炎症的理解主要基于传染病水平低的工业化环境中的研究。 与非临床环境中的血液采集相关的方法学障碍导致当前研究范围有限。 该项目正在调查患有高水平传染病的亚马逊人群的炎症水平，并验证在非临床环境中测量促炎和抗炎细胞因子的“现场友好”方法。 在 8 周的时间内，从偏远的亚马逊低地 50 名成年人身上重复收集健康相关信息和干血斑 (DBS) 样本（通过简单的手指穿刺，在滤纸上收集全血滴）。 测量这些样本的 C 反应蛋白（炎症的关键生物标志物），以记录炎症活动的水平和模式。 在该项目的第二阶段，研究人员正在开发对从这 50 个人采集的 DBS 样本中的细胞因子进行定量的方法。该项目的结果直接解决了当前有关生态、炎症和疾病之间联系的科学争论，并推进了人类学研究人类生态免疫学。 此外，开发用于测量一滴血中细胞因子的微创方法将促进未来国际上以及美国社区环境中的炎症研究。 更好地了解影响炎症调节的因素可能对疾病的预防和治疗具有重要意义。