Role of peripheral interleukin-1 in cerebrovascular disease
When blood vessels feeding the brain become blocked because of furred up arteries (atherosclerosis) or a blood clot, a stroke occurs. The stroke is made worse by inflammation, when immune system cells invade the injured area and cause further damage. A quarter of people who suffer stroke die within the first month, and half of those who survive are left with serious brain damage. Professor Stuart Allan and colleagues have been awarded a three-year grant to find out exactly how a molecule produced by the body during inflammation, called interleukin-1 (IL-1), contributes to the inflammation and damage caused by stroke. IL-1 is produced in the brain and by circulating blood cells. It is linked with the death of brain cells after a stroke. The team will pinpoint in mice how IL-1, produced by cells in the blood affects the brain, in particular whether IL-1 damages cells lining the blood vessels supplying the brain. This research will bring them a step closer to designing treatments to prevent the lethal damage to brain cells that follows stroke.
Project details
| Grant amount | £294,232 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Project Grants |
| Application type | Project Grant |
| Start Date | 01 October 2013 |
| Duration | 3 years |
| Reference | PG/13/8/29989 |
| Status | Complete |
