Basic Research

Chlamydia trachomatis infection in urogenital tract, if untreated, can cause severe complications. Due to lack of obvious symptoms, many C. trachomatis-infected individuals are undiagnosed and untreated. Thus, there is an urgent need for an effective anti-C. trachomatis vaccine. Currently, no licensed C. trachomatis vaccine is available, mainly due to lack of knowledge on protective antigens in C. trachomatis. The failure of human trachoma vaccine trials using formalin-fixed whole C.

Basic Research

JKB-121 is a long-acting small molecule that is efficacious as a weak antagonist at the TLR-4 receptor. It is a non-selective opioid antagonist which has been shown to prevent the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced inflammatory liver injury in a methionine/choline deficient diet fed rat model of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. In vitro, JKB-121 neutralized or reduced the LPS-induced release of inflammatory cytokines, deactivated hepatic stellate cells, inhibited hepatic stellate cell proliferation, and collagen expression.

This proposal aims to understand mechanisms underlying B cell activation and dysregulation. It will explore the role of Rab7, a small GTPase that localizes on endosomes, in mediating NF-?B activation in normal B cells upon receptor engagement and in malignant B cells. It will also analyze the effect of Rab7 inhibition, through genetic ablation or small molecule inhibitors, in the prevention of B lymphomagenesis.

Basic Research

The primary aim of this pilot study is to generate data needed to design a definitive trial to compare the safety and efficacy of standard care with artificial tears vs. Betadine 5% (5% povidone-iodine) for the treatment of pink eye due to adenovirus.

The Overall Study Sponsor has developed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of GR-MD-02 for the treatment of liver fibrosis and resultant portal hypertension in patients with NASH cirrhosis.

Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) is an emerging sexually transmitted pathogen that causes non-gonococcal urethritis in men and has been significantly associated with a range of reproductive tract diseases in women. Clinically, MG eradication remains a difficult task, and high rates of treatment failure indicate MG can cause persistent infection. It is unclear how MG persists in the host genital tract. Although antigenic variation has long been believed to contribute to MG persistence, this mechanism fails to explain MG persistent infection following standard antibiotic treatment.

Basic Research