MULTIPURPOSE ARTHRITIS & MUSCULOSKELETAL DISEASES CENTER

多功能型关节炎和肌肉骨骼疾病中心 北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校，由北卡罗来纳大学 作为瑟斯顿关节炎研究中心的医学中心，由 生物医学研究部分，教育、流行病学和健康 服务研究(E/E/HSR)组成部分，一个生物分子核心，一个数字 科学核心和一个行政单位。正在进行的调查 生物医学研究部分包含许多与以下内容相关的问题 自身免疫、关节炎和肌肉骨骼疾病：遗传学， 正常与异常中识别元件的调节和作用 免疫反应；肽/MHC结构功能关系；诱导 调节细胞因子和炎症反应基因； T细胞受体和B细胞免疫球蛋白基因谱系及其在人类免疫缺陷中的作用 自身免疫；干细胞发育；异常T细胞激活和 系统性红斑狼疮的信号传导；自身抗体形成的分子遗传学； 自身抗体在疾病发病机制中的作用； 免疫抑制；自身免疫中的激动剂(细菌细胞壁， 热休克蛋白、氯化汞)；实验性炎症 关节炎及其治疗；骨关节炎的生物化学；实验性 骨科研究；肌肉代谢；临床研究。 生物分子核心将提供数据库支持、DNA测序、流程 细胞学，以及为正在进行的实验室研究提供的小鼠群体支持。 提出了三个开发可行性项目：1)D&F项目 #1涉及对磷脂自身抗体的基础研究，这些抗体是 与血栓形成风险增加，反复流产， 和血小板减少；D&F项目#2提议克隆和表征 与肌肉新陈代谢缺陷有关的基因；D&F项目#3 探讨IkappaB的作用，这是 在SLE T细胞中诱导炎症基因。特殊领域 重点放在E/E/HSR部分，该部分为北卡罗来纳州和 周边州，包括：社会和行为研究， 骨关节炎、工作残疾、健康促进/疾病的流行病学 预防、卫生服务研究、老年人关节炎和低 背部疼痛。提出了四个E/E/HSR项目：项目#1需要一个 行为科学新概念的系统考察与综合 作为制定有效、高效干预策略的一种手段 对于患者教育；项目2检查了流行性感冒的流行病学 少数民族骨性关节炎及其对劳动参与度的影响 和经济困难公民；项目3和4， 将分别记录与关节炎相关的自我护理行为 老年人和检查妇女接近更年期的程度 认识到他们患骨质疏松症的风险增加，并适当地进行练习 预防行为。向E/E/HSR组件提供的支持 数字科学核心包括：数据录入、数据管理、 规划和咨询，涉及研究设计、方法、 和数据分析。

The Multipurpose Arthritis & Musculoskeletal Diseases Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, chartered by the School of Medicine as the Thurston Arthritis Research Center, consists of a Biomedical Research Component, an Education, Epidemiology, & Health Services Research (E/E/HSR) Component, a Biomolecular Core, a Numerical Sciences Core, and an Administrative Unit. Ongoing Investigation in the Biomedical Research Component encompasses many of the issues relevant to autoimmunity, arthritis, and musculoskeletal disease: genetics, regulation, and function of recognition elements in normal and abnormal immune responses; peptide/MHC structure function relationships; induction and regulation of cytokine and inflammatory response genes; the repertoire of T cell receptor and B cell Ig genes and their role in autoimmunity; stem cell development; abnormal T cell activation and signal transduction in SLE; molecular genetics of autoantibody formation; contribution of autoantibodies to disease pathogenesis; immunosuppression; inciting agents in autoimmunity (bacterial cell walls, heat-shock proteins, mercury chloride); inflammation in experimental arthritis, and its therapy; biochemistry of osteoarthritis; experimental orthopaedics research; muscle metabolism; and clinical investigation. The Biomolecular Core will provide database support, DNA sequencing, flow cytometry, and mouse colony support for ongoing laboratory research. Three Developmental & Feasibility projects are proposed: 1) D&F project #1 involves basic studies on autoantibodies to phospholipids, which are associated with an increased risk of thrombosis, recurrent fetal loss, and thrombocytopenia; D&F project #2 proposes to clone and characterize a gene associated with a defect in muscle metabolism; D&F project #3 explores the role of IkappaB, an important regulatory element for induction of inflammatory genes, in SLE T cells. Areas of special emphasis in the E/E/HSR Component, which serves North Carolina and surrounding states, include: social and behavioral research, epidemiology of osteoarthritis, work disability, health promotion/disease prevention, health services research, arthritis in the elderly, and low back pain. Four E/E/HSR projects are proposed: project #1 entails a systematic examination and synthesis of novel behavioral science concepts as a means of developing an effective, efficient intervention strategy for patient education; project #2 examines the epidemiology of osteoarthritis and its influence on work force participation in minority and economically disadvantaged citizens; projects #3 and #4, respectively, will document the arthritis-related self-care behaviors of the elderly and examine the extent to which women approaching menopause recognize their increasing risk of osteoporosis and practice appropriate preventive behaviors. Support provided to the E/E/HSR Component by the Numerical Sciences Core includes: data entry, data management, programming, and consultation concerning research design, methodology, and data analysis.