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Biomedical subjects

Jane Hunt

Publications and source records attributed to Jane Hunt.

3 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

A role for the lymphotoxin/LIGHT axis in the pathogenesis of murine collagen-induced arthritis.

A lymphotoxin-beta (LTbeta) receptor-Ig fusion protein (LTbetaR-Ig) was used to evaluate the importance of the lymphotoxin/LIGHT axis in the development and perpetuation of arthritis. Prophylactic treatment with the inhibitor protein LTbetaR-Ig blocked the induction of collagen-induced arthritis in mice and adjuvant arthritis in Lewis rats. Treatment of mice with established collagen-induced arthritis reduced the severity of arthritic symptoms and joint tissue damage. However, in a passive model of anti-collagen Ab-triggered arthritis, joint inflammation was not affected by LTbetaR-Ig treatment precluding LT/LIGHT involvement in the very terminal immune complex/complement/FcR-mediated effector phase. Collagen-II and Mycobacterium-specific T cell responses were not impaired, yet there was evidence that the overall response to the mycobacterium was blunted. Serum titers of anti-collagen-II Abs were reduced especially during the late phase of disease. Treatment with LTbetaR-Ig ablated follicular dendritic cell networks in the draining lymph nodes, suggesting that impaired class switching and affinity maturation may have led to a decreased level of pathological autoantibodies. These data are consistent with a model in which the LT/LIGHT axis controls microenvironments in the draining lymph nodes. These environments are critical in shaping the adjuvant-driven initiating events that impact the subsequent quality of the anti-collagen response in the later phases. Consequently, blockade of the LT/LIGHT axis may represent a novel approach to the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis that involve both T cell and Ab components.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

An overview of sperm cryopreservation services for adolescent cancer patients in the United Kingdom.

For young men, a consequence of surviving childhood malignancy can be iatrogenic infertility. Current health policies focus on the elimination of "post code lotteries" in cancer services. The extent to which sperm cryopreservation services for young men at risk of infertility from cancer treatment are provided and standardised within the United Kingdom and Ireland, was therefore the subject of this research. This paper draws on data from a three-stage study to describe sperm cryopreservation services for adolescent males, identifying current provision of sperm cryopreservation at the majority of United Kingdom Children's Cancer Study Group (UKCCSG) centres. In particular, the ways in which services are managed and written information provided to patients and their families was focused upon. Nurses from 18 of 22 UKCCSG centres responded to a questionnaire, six nurses from the replying centres participated in further, focused interviews. Results suggested that, during a 1 year period, approximately 118 adolescent males within the United Kingdom and Ireland could potentially have benefited from cryopreservation services. Of the responding centres, 15 offered a cryopreservation service. However, the majority (n=14) lacked consistency and co-ordination in their service provision. The provision of written information to this patient group was limited and analysis revealed all was of a poor quality. Findings from the study led the researchers to conclude that all young men at risk of iatrogenic sterility from cancer treatment could benefit from the production and systematic application of national guidelines and that standardising sperm cryopreservation services would fit with current health policy.

Adolescent↗