Featured Scholar: Mythily Srinivasan, PhD, MDS, BDS
Associate Professor, Oral Pathology, Medicine and RadiologyTargeting Neuroinflammation Using Novel Glucorticoid-Induced Leucine Zipper Analogs
Unresolved inflammation and altered immune signals contribute to the pathology of many chronic diseases. Dr. Srinivasan's research includes the design and development of immunotherapeutic peptides using motif-mediated protein-protein interactions as drug targets.
Recently, she investigated approaches to suppress neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia that is projected to affect over seven million individuals in the United States by 2025. These studies resulted from earlier observations that the blockade of T cell co-receptor CD28 by CD80 competitive antagonist peptides unregulated glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper (GILZ)-an anti-inflammatory molecule that directly inhibits the pro-inflammatory transcription factor, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB).
Adopting data from the GILZ and NF-kB interaction complex, Dr. Srinivasan developed modified analogs of the p65 binding motif of GIlZ. Efficacy studies, in collaboration with Dr. Debomoy Lahiri, Professor of Neuroscience, and Dr. Deborah Hickman of the IU School of Medicine, suggested that the novel therapeutics exhibited suppressive potential in cellular and animal models of Alzheimer's disease.
Together with the Indiana University Research and Technology Corporation, Dr. Srinivasan initiated a startup venture, Provaidya LLC, to develop the patented GILZ analogs as investigational new drugs and received phase I funding from the National Institutes of Aging.
Dr. Srinivasan's work to develop peptide therapeutics to suppress neuroinflammation is another example of how IU Indianapolis faculty are TRANSLATING RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE.
Selected Publications in IU Indianapolis ScholarWorks
With several research works contributed to IU Indianapolis's free, open access repository, Dr. Srinivasan has made translational research knowledge available to professionals, researchers, students, and communities around the world.
Srinivasan, M., Meadows, M. L., & Maxwell, L. (2018). Assessment of Salivary Adipokines Resistin, Visfatin, and Ghrelin as Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Biomarkers. Biochemistry Research International, 2018. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/16528
Srinivasan, M., & Lahiri, D. K. (2016). Glucocorticoid-Induced Leucine Zipper in Central Nervous System Health and Disease. Molecular neurobiology, 1-8. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/14061
Jimson, S., Murali, S., Zunt, S. L., Goldblatt, L. I., & Srinivasan, M. (2016). Epithelial expression of keratinocytes growth factor in oral precancer lesions. Dental Research Journal, 13(3), 199. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/12231
Srinivasan, M., Blackburn, C., Mohamed, M., Sivagami, A. V., Blum, J. (2015). Literature-Based Discovery of Salivary Biomarkers for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Biomarker Insights, 2015:10, 39-45. 10.4137/BMI.S22177. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/6439
Zhao, A., Blackburn, C., Chin, J., & Srinivasan, M. (2014). Soluble toll like receptor 2 (TLR-2) is increased in saliva of children with dental caries. BMC oral health, 14(1), 108. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/5397
Chang, H., Tung, C., Lewis, D., Han, L., Srinivasan, M., Robertson, M.J., Yeh, W. (2014, April 11). Modulating NK-mediated Immunity by Lunakine. Poster session presented at IU Indianapolis Research Day 2014, Indianapolis, Indiana. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/5364
Srinivasan, M., Blackburn, C., Lahiri, D.K. (2014, April 11). Preclinical characterization of drug like glucocorticoid induced leucine zipper peptide analogs. Poster session presented at IU Indianapolis Research Day 2014, Indianapolis, Indiana. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/5246
Negrini, T. C., Arthur, R. A., Waeiss, R. A., Carlosa, I. Z., & Srinivasan, M. (2014). Salivary Epithelial Cells as Model to Study Immune Response Against Cutaneous Pathogens. Clinical and Translational Science, 7(1), 48–51. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/15468
Chang, Hua-Chen, Ling Han, David Lewis, Chun-Yu Tung, Mythily Srinivasan, Michael J. Robertson, and Wu-Kuang Yeh. (2013, April 5). Enhancement of Cancer Immunotherapy Using Immune Modulating Peptides. Poster session presented at IU Indianapolis Research Day 2013, Indianapolis, Indiana. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/7181
Srinivasan, M., K. A. Dunker, D. K. Lahiri, and Karen E. Pollok. (2013, April 5). GILZ-mimics as novel therapeutic agents for progressive multiple sclerosis. Poster session presented at IU Indianapolis Research Day 2013, Indianapolis, Indiana. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/6932
S. PRAKASAM, and M. SRINIVASAN. (2012, April 13). Distinct Salivary Biomarker Profile in Chronic Periodontitis. Poster session presented at IU Indianapolis Research Day 2012, Indianapolis, Indiana. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/7895