The present thesis is comprised of an introduction followed by eight chapters. The introduction gives an overview of the transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedure and details the patient selection process. ...

Cancer cells have been shown to release a variety of extracellular membrane vesicles including microvesicles known as exosomes. Exosomes have recently been found to contain microRNAs (miRNAs) however the full range within ...

Osteoarthritis is a debilitating multi-factorial joint disease which currently has no cure. Due to the significant immune cell mediated component in this disease a therapy which can modulate this inflammation and promote ...

Regulatory T-cells (T-reg) play a pivotal role in maintaining immune homeostasis and tolerance. There has been a significant amount of research devoted to understanding their physiological mechanisms of action and the ...

Methamphetamine (MA) abuse during pregnancy is a significant concern worldwide. Improving our understanding of the consequences of such exposure on the child is paramount and animal models provide an alternative method of ...

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a heterogenous population of multipotent cells that are capable of differentiating into osteocytes, chondrocytes and adipocytes. MSCs reside in various areas such as the bone marrow, ...

Millions of years of infection by viral agents have left their mark on the human genome in the form of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs). These retroelements integrated into our germline, became subject to Mendelian ...

The clinical benefits of mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) based therapies for immune disorders and degenerative diseases are based on their combined ability to modulate the immune system and to differentiate into different ...

SUMMARY UNC-51-like kinase 4 (ULK4) is a novel gene encoding a potential serine/threonine kinase (STK), and little is known about its functions. Limited studies have been carried out so far, and most of the current 12 ...

The focus of this work was to develop and validate in vitro cell culture models of neurodegenerative diseases, with a focus on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). ALS is a devastating neurodegenerative disease characterized ...