WHAT WE DO
We make things smart.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common neurological disease of young adults in Canada, and second only to trauma as the most debilitating. Affecting more than 75,000 Canadians, symptoms include altered sensation, loss of balance, disturbances of vision or speech, extreme fatigue, muscle weakness or paralysis as well as depression and cognitive dysfunction. MS is a central nervous system (CNS) chronic inflammatory and demyelinating neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by microvascular alterations, inflammatory infiltrates, demyelination, glial scarring, oligodendrocyte loss, and ultimately disability secondary to axonal damage and loss. Current disease modifying therapies for MS target inflammatory processes and fall into two groups: those well tolerated with only partial efficacy, or those with greater efficacy but increased risk profiles.
Therapies with immunomodulatory as well as neuroprotective capabilities have the greatest promise in treating and preventing the disability attributed to inflammatory demyelination and neurodegeneration. Current projects apply molecular and cellular techniques in cell based and disease models to study the relative contributions of inflammatory cells and mediators to disease development, with particular emphasis on the following:
- Oxidative damage within the CNS
- Novel therapeutics to limit cerebrovascular activation and alterations of the blood-brain barrier
- Identification of cyto- and neuroprotective pathways relevant to MS and other inflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders
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WHO WE ARE
We are Makers.
We are Makers. The UBC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine is an academic department of the UBC Faculty of Medicine, and has major responsibilities and leadership in activities related to education, research and academic practice.
The Department is characterized by its breadth and depth of its activities in all spheres of inquiry and education concerning the causes and mechanisms of disease, advancing the practice of the various disciplines of Laboratory Medicine.
Departmental faculty, staff, trainees and other personnel work at multiple sites across the UBC system, in partnership with Regional Health Authorities, Hospitals and Agencies, Research Centres and Institutes, Educational Institutions, Government and other stakeholders toward fulfillment of the academic mandate.
And that’s our secret sauce.
Lab Head
Hélène Côté
Research Interest
- HIV infection, antiretroviral therapy and aging
- Drug mitochondrial toxicity
- Markers of biological aging
- Blood Research
- Infectious Diseases
My research concentrates on the mitochondrial and telomere toxicity of drugs, primarily antiretroviral drugs used in HIV therapy. The use of combination antiretroviral therapy has significantly decreased mortality in the HIV infected population, However, HIV therapy is not a cure and treatment is life-long. As HIV infected individuals survive longer, the effects of chronic HIV infection and the toxicity of antiretroviral drugs can be associated with significant co-morbidities. In addition, HIV antiretroviral therapy in pregnancy prevents mother-to-child HIV transmission but the long-term effects of in utero exposure to HIV and antiretroviral agents remain incompletely understood.
HIV infection can cause chronic immune activation and inflammation that can affect cellular aging, while antiretroviral drugs can lead to oxidative stress, affect mitochondrial and telomeric DNA through a variety of potential mechanisms. As mitochondrial dysfunction and telomere shortening are markers of cellular aging, our research aims to better understand how viral infections and antiretroviral medications may affect aging processes in HIV-infected and affected populations, particularly women and children.
My translational research includes both basic and clinical studies, among them a large cohort study of HIV-infected and uninfected adults (and pregnant women) and children, including HIV-exposed uninfected children: the CARMA cohort.