MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Periodontal disease initiation and progression occurs as a consequence of the host immune inflammatory response to oral pathogens. The purpose of this award is to 1)determine the role of over-expressed MKP-1 on IL-6 and TNFalpha mRNA in vitro, 2)determine the contribution of MKP-1 in ontogeny of inflammatory cytokine production and LPS-induced osteoclastogenesis in primary bone marrow macrophages and 3)determine the impact of MKP-1 in inflammatory bone destruction in vivo using MKP-/- mice. These studies will establish the role of LPS-induced cytokine expression and negative regulation in inflammatory bone loss through selective attenuation of p38 MAPK-induced signaling in periodontal bone destruction.