Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Shibata, Yoshimi

Abstract

Chitin Microparticles (CMPs, 1-10um), a special form of the ubiquitous and nontoxic polysaccharide Chitin (GlcNAc), is capable of inducing a switch in macrophages from the wound-healing M2 phenotype to the classically activated pro-inflammatory M1 phenotype; which has therapeutic implications in allergy and cancer. We hypothesized that TLR2 forms a complex with CMPs and Chitin-Binding Proteins (CBPs) at the surface of peritoneal macrophages and remains with that complex after internalization to initiate downstream signaling events, leading to the production of the M1 cytokine, TNFalpha. Our results from experiments performed in RAW 264.7 cells show that TLR2 and TLR1, but not TLR6, are associated with the CMP binding fraction, and that both TLR1 and TLR2 might be important for M1 activation as a result of CMP phagocytosis. This project sheds light on CMP as a potential therapeutic agent and provides more evidence for a phagocytosis-dependent TLR2 signaling pathway.

Extent

57 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00004762

Format

pdf

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