The gastrointestinal tract has two opposing functions; to effectively absorb nutrients and to act as a safety barrier against hazardous substances in the environment. After birth these functions develops gradually. The present thesis focuses on how the intestinal permeability and pancreatic secretion changes during ontogenic development of the pig, with some methodological aspects on manipulations

Ferrochelatase catalyses the terminal step in heme biosynthesis by inserting a ferrous ion into protoporphyrin IX. The reaction mechanism has in this thesis been studied by mainly crystallographic methods. The structure of ferrochelatase from Bacillus subtilis co-crystallized with N-methyl mesoporphyrin allowed for the first time a characterization of the active site of the enzyme. The structure

Malaria is a serious disease that causes around 800 000 deaths per year. Current malaria control efforts are hampered by the widespread resistance to common antimalarial drugs, such as the 4-aminoquinoline derivative called chloroquine. Previous research has shown that specific modifications of chloroquine, including inclusion of organometallic fragments into the organic framework, can result in c

Transplantation antigens encoded in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) bind peptides and present them to T cells. We showed that mouse T cells expressing transgenic human CD8 can recognise human MHC class I. Expression on mature T cells is sufficient for activation in a mixed lymphocyte culture but expression both on thymocytes and mature T cells is necessary for peptide specific MHC restr

This thesis is based on work trying to understand the normal and pathological interactions taking place between the immune system and cartilage, specifically involving the cartilage-specific protein typ II collagen (CII). The work has been carried out in an experimental model of rheumatoid arthritis namely collagen type II induced arthritis (CIA) in mice. CIA can be triggered in mice of certain MH

Proteoglycans (PGs) is a class of highly anionic macromolecules that consist of one or more linear polysaccharide chains (glycosaminoglycans, GAGs) covalently attached to a core protein. The biological functions of PGs are mainly due to the interactions of GAG chains with various protein ligands and regulatory factors, such as cytokines and growth factors. PGs and GAGs are critical for a diverse s

Mucosal infections trigger an inflammatory response that includes the secretion of cytokines and the recruitment of neutrophils to the infected site. This thesis describes studies examining the molecular mechanisms of neutrophil migration to sites of mucosal bacterial infection. Escherichia coli (E. coli) infection of epithelial cell layers stimulates chemokine secretion and chemokine receptor ex

The aim of this thesis work was to study phase diagrams, microstructure and phase separation in alkylglucoside systems. Both alkyl glucoside/water systems and microemulsions with alkyl glucosides have been studied. The phase diagram of the ternary n -nonyl-beta-glucoside (C9G1)/ n -decyl-beta-glucoside (C10G1)/water system has been determined and is discussed in relation to the binary C9G1/water

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an aggressive form of B-cell lymphoma (BCL) with poor clinical outcome. In this thesis, which is based upon five original papers, different approaches have been used to pinpoint and investigate molecular events that promote MCL tumor growth, progression or resistance to treatment. The aim has been to identify novel targets with the potential to eradicate malignant cel

In this thesis we have used P fimbriated E. coli as a model to investigate the mechanisms of bacterial recognition and cell activation by the urinary tract (UT) epithelium. We show that Toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) is crucial for the recognition and host response to P fimbriated E. coli. This response was independent of LPS and did not require CD14. TLR4 was abundant on epithelial cells throughout

In a long-term prospective follow-up in patients randomized to an ileal or colonic conduit, with implantation of one ureter using antireflux technique and the other without, the fall in the mean total GFR exceeded the expected age-related decline. The fall in the mean separate GFR did not differ between refluxing and antirefluxing anastomosis. Patients with a continent caecal reservoir (antireflux

Artikeln undersöker de svenska kommunernas konstitutionella roll i förhållande till EU-rätten. Ramen för undersökningen är spänningen mellan den monolitiska synen på Sverige som en enhetlig medlemsstat och kommunernas grundlagsfästa självstyrelse. Undersökningen uppmärksammar de rättsliga strukturerna och hur dessa förhåller sig till teorier om flernivåstyrning (multi-level governance). Artikeln u

It is of at most importance that society reduces its impact on the environment. In the chemical industry the use of renewable resources will play a fundamental role in the transition to more sustainable chemical products. Also industrial biotechnology, i.e. the use of enzymes to convert raw material into valuable chemicals at low temperatures, leads to more sustainable processes. The research pres

A great deal of research is being carried out on the biological production of hydrogen and methane. However, little effort has been devoted to studying the technical and economic feasibility of these processes. The main objective of the work presented in this thesis was to perform techno-economic analyses to improve our understanding of the processes by identifying the bottlenecks, and to provide

The anaesthetics we use today dose-dependently decrease the mean arterial pressure partly due to direct or indirect effects on the blood vessels. In the present thesis human omental arteries and veins and rat femoral arteries were investigated in vitro concerning the effects of the intravenous anaesthetic propofol and the volatile anaesthetic sevoflurane on the function of the perivascular sympath

Proliferation, differentiation, and survival of hematopoietic stem cells and multipotent progenitor cells are regulated by cytokines and cell-cell interactions. Kit ligand (KL) and Flt3 ligand (FL) have pleiotropic effects, promotes survival, but are nonredundant. Using myeloid progenitor cell lines and mouse bone marrow-derived Lin- progenitors, we demonstrate that inhibition of phophatidylinosit

The studies in this doctoral thesis investigated the concept of touch avoidance. Touch avoidance indicates a person’s negative affect toward physical contact/touch. In study 1 the aim was to develop a questionnaire that measures the level of touch avoidance. The results showed that touch avoidance can be measured along five different dimensions. The results are discussed in relation to attachment