On Wednesday 23 April at 14:00, Frederik Gillesberg defend his PhD dissertation entitled "Biomarkers of Extracellular Matrix Remodeling in Chronic Inflammatory Diseases: Response to Therapy in vitro and in vivo". 

Inflammatory conditions such as axial spondyloarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, and hidradenitis suppurativa share many common features. These diseases result from dysregulated immune responses causing chronic inflammation in various body tissues, including joints, skin, and gut. Often, patients experience more than one of these conditions simultaneously.

This PhD project investigated how chronic inflammation affects the connective tissues in the body, known as the extracellular matrix (ECM), crucial for tissue structure and healing. When tissue damage and repair occur due to these diseases, small protein fragments are released into the blood, measurable as biomarkers. These biomarkers can monitor disease activity, tissue changes, and treatment effectiveness.

The study showed that tofacitinib, a medication used in rheumatoid arthritis, reduces connective tissue formation and tissue damage. In patients with axial spondyloarthritis, biomarkers better reflected disease activity than conventional blood tests (e.g., CRP). Furthermore, the biomarkers indicated common processes across these autoimmune diseases rather than being disease-specific.

These findings enhance understanding of the mechanisms underlying these diseases and may eventually assist physicians in better monitoring and treating patients with inflammatory conditions.

The summary is written by the PhD student.

The defence is public and takes place in building 1150, room 115, Aarhus University. Please see the press release for more information. 

Contact

PhD student Frederik Gillesberg
Mail: frg@nordicbio.com 

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