A University of Queensland project is investigating the dental diseases responsible for the loss of teeth experienced by an estimated one million Australians each year.
School of Dentistry Head Professor Greg Seymour said periodontal disease destroyed the bone and ligament around teeth causing them to be lost and was a problem costing the community millions of dollars.
Professor Seymour's research is one of two UQ projects which narrowly missed out on National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funding for 2000 but have instead attracted Government Employees Medical Research Fund (GEMRF) sponsorship.
The GEMRF has provided $45,000 for a project by Dr George Muscat of the Centre for Molecular and Cellular Biology and $51,000 for Professor Seymour's work.
Since its inception in 1986, the GEMRF has channelled more than $6 million into medical research. When allocating funds, the group works hand-in-hand with the NHMRC to support projects which have passed through the referral process and come highly recommended in particular fields of research.
Funds are raised from the generous donations of 10,232 group members and the GEMRF is the only health fund in Australia to offer such an innovative scheme.
Professor Seymour said the funds for his project would support senior research officer Dr Erica Gemmell for another year's work.
"We are particularly interested in the proteins expressed by plaque bacteria and how these are presented to the body's immune system. Our theory is that in people susceptible to periodontal disease, these antigens are presented by different cells to those involved with presentation in non-susceptible people," Professor Seymour said.
Dr Muscat said GEMRF sponsorship had allowed him to employ a postdoctoral research fellow to work on his project examining the functional role of regulatory proteins called cofactors in muscle development.
Cofactors are proteins that control chromatin structure (the mixture of DNA with proteins).
Chromatin is a structure which allows for efficient storage and transmission of the genetic information
"Cofactors when misregulated result in the onset of disease. This underscores the need for understanding their molecular function in muscle. Our project will be a first step toward elucidating the misregulation of these proteins in the autoimmune disease inflammatory myopathy which causes a weakening and inflammation of muscles," he said.
For more information, contact Professor Greg Seymour (telephone 07 3365 8071) or Dr George Muscat (telephone 07 3365 4492).
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