Publications by authors named "C P Howard"

Immune-modulating peptides have shown potential as novel immune-stimulating agents which enhance the secretion of anticancer cytokines in vitro. However, fast clearance from blood hampers the ability of such peptides to accumulate in the tumour and results in limited therapeutic efficacy in animal studies. To address the fast blood clearance, this work reports the development and validation of a novel polymeric nanoparticle delivery system for the efficient localization of an immunomodulating peptide in the tumour microenvironment (TME).

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Oncolytic virotherapy has shown great promise in mediating targeted tumor destruction through tumor-selective replication and induction of anti-tumor immunity; however, obstacles remain for virus candidates to reach the clinic. These include avoiding neutralizing antibodies, preventing stimulation of the adaptive immune response during intravenous administration, and inducing sufficient apoptosis and immune activation so that the body's defense can work to eradicate systemic disease. We have developed a co-formulation of oncolytic viruses (OVs) with Imagent lipid-encapsulated, perfluorocarbon microbubbles (MBs) to protect the OVs from the innate and adaptive immune system.

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Signal transduction downstream of activating stimuli controls CD8+ T cell biology, however these external inputs can become uncoupled from transcriptional regulation in Primary Immune Regulatory Disorders (PIRDs). Gain-of-function (GOF) variants in STAT3 amplify cytokine signaling and cause a severe PIRD characterized by early onset autoimmunity, lymphoproliferation, recurrent infections, and immune dysregulation. In both primary human and mouse models of STAT3 GOF, CD8+ T cells have been implicated as pathogenic drivers of autoimmunity.

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Objectives: To study the healing response of rat Achilles tendon when lacerated or treated with intense therapeutic ultrasound (ITU) via utilization of multiphoton microscopy (MPM) imaging and histology.

Materials And Methods: The right Achilles tendon of each Sprague Dawley rat within a cohort was partially lacerated. 1 to 2 days post-surgery, each rat received ITU treatment of the Achilles tendon on either the right or left leg.

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Dye-contaminated wastewater poses serious environmental risks to ecosystems and human health. Diatoms, algae with nanoporous frustules (cell walls), offer promising potential for wastewater remediation due to their high surface area and adsorption properties. While dead diatom biomass is well-studied for biosorption, research on living diatoms' bioaccumulation and biotransformation potential is limited, with gaps in kinetic and equilibrium modeling of dye adsorption.

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