Publications by authors named "Angela Jockheck-Clark"

Introduction: Thermal injuries are caused by exposure to a wide variety of agents including heat, electricity, radiation, chemicals, and friction. Early intervention can decrease injury severity by preventing excess inflammation and mitigating burn wound progression for improved healing outcomes. Previous studies have demonstrated that cannabinoids can trigger anti-inflammatory responses and promote wound closure.

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Thermal injuries pose a risk for service members in prolonged field care (PFC) situations or to civilians in levels of lower care. Without access to prompt surgical intervention and treatment, potentially salvageable tissues are compromised, resulting in increases in both wound size and depth. Immediate debridement of necrotic tissue enhances survivability and mitigates the risks of burn shock, multiple organ failure, and infection.

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Necrotic tissue generated by a thermal injury is typically removed via surgical debridement. However, this procedure is commonly associated with blood loss and the removal of viable healthy tissue. For some patients and contexts such as extended care on the battlefield, it would be preferable to remove devitalized tissue with a nonsurgical debridement agent.

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Normal wound healing is a highly complex process that requires the interplay of various growth factors and cell types. Despite advancements in biomaterials, only a few bioactive wound dressings reach the clinical setting. The purpose of this research was to explore the feasibility of electrospinning a novel nanofibrous chitosan (CS)-fibrinogen (Fb) scaffold capable of sustained release of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) for the promotion of fibroblast migration and wound healing.

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GRP94 (gp96)-peptide complexes can be internalized by APCs and their associated peptides cross-presented to yield activation of CD8(+) T cells. Investigations into the identity (or identities) of GRP94 surface receptors have yielded conflicting results, particularly with respect to CD91 (LRP1), which has been proposed to be essential for GRP94 recognition and uptake. To assess CD91 function in GRP94 surface binding and endocytosis, these parameters were examined in mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cell lines whose expression of CD91 was either reduced via RNA interference or eliminated by genetic disruption of the CD91 locus.

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GRP94, the endoplasmic reticulum Hsp90, is a metazoan-restricted chaperone essential for early development in mammals, yet dispensable for mammalian cell viability. This dichotomy suggests that GRP94 is required for the functional expression of secretory and/or membrane proteins that enable the integration of cells into tissues. To explore this hypothesis, we have identified the Drosophila ortholog of GRP94, Gp93, and report that Gp93 is an essential gene in Drosophila.

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Macrophages are important mediators of chronic inflammation and are prominent in the synovial lining and sublining of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Recently, we demonstrated increased TLR2 and TLR4 expression and increased response to microbial TLR2 and TLR4 ligands in macrophages from the joints of RA. The current study characterized the expression of the 96-kDa heat shock glycoprotein (gp96) in the joints of RA and its role as an endogenous TLR ligand to promote innate immunity in RA.

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