Summer Institute in
Infectious Diseases 2005
IMPACTS OF
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
ON LOCAL + GLOBAL COMMUNITIES
Monday, May 30 – Friday, June 3, 2005
Biography:
Dr. Michael O. Eze is a Chemistry Professor at The University of Winnipeg.
Research Interests:
Nitric oxide and reactive oxygen in health disease and industry.Humanity is (to varying extents) under chronic exposure to nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), as well as related substances. These come from exogenous pollutants (cigarette smoke, factory and automobile exhaust gases, etc), and from endogenous sources (neuronal and cardiovascular NO synthases form low levels of NO for regulatory events; at sites of inflammation and infection, and around cancerous cells, phagocytes and other immune/inflammatory cells form copious amounts of NO and ROS in response to the same chemical and particulate stimuli; our normal aerobic metabolic activities, including oxidative electron transport chronically produce ROS; etc).
Cellular antioxidants, including thiols [glutathione (GSH), and cysteine (CySH)], b-carotene, enzymes [superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase], and vitamins A, C, and E (tocopherols), detoxify the free radicals and restore homeostasis. If the antioxidants are inadequate, inflammatory, degenerative and other diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease, arthritis, cataracts, Alzheimer’s disease, etc) as well as cancer may result.
We are interested in the consequences of the interactions of antibiotic, anti-neoplastic and other chemotherapeutic agents with NO, ROS, thiyl and/or other free radicals that may be formed by the myriad of combinations of potential chemical events at specific cellular microenvironments, especially during pathogenesis. How are these interactions related to:
- the outcome of a therapeutic intervention, for instance (efficacy, drug resistance, etc.)?
- the choice of therapeutic agents for specific individuals in specific pathological conditions?
Michael Eze can be reached at m.eze@uwinnipeg.ca