About the Project
"Spondyloarthropathy (SpA) is a family of diseases, which include ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis and
arthritis associated with inflammatory bowel disease, especially Crohn’s disease. These conditions are characterised by chronic inflammation
of the joints, eyes, skin and intestine, representing a major burden for patients.
Clinical observations and recent studies suggest that SpA progression might be driven by inflammatory immune responses to bacterial
infections. As well, SpA progression has been associated with the presence of cells failing to fold specific proteins properly, which tend
to accumulate within cells. Unless proper mechanisms for clearing these proteins are activated, the cell will continue to accumulate poor
quality proteins and undergo cellular stress.
Interestingly, it appears that bacteria can exploit these “stressed” cells to promote their own intracellular replication, which leads to
enhanced inflammatory responses activated by bacterial infection. However, the mechanistic link between intracellular bacteria, protein
misfolding and inflammation is not yet understood. This research will investigate the relationship between the cellular stress response and
bacterial infection in inflammatory bowel disease and reactive arthritis using a unique mouse model of SpA displaying this type of cellular
stress."
Dr Xiao (Tommy) Liu, January 2020
