The Discipline of Human Physiology is an emerging, vibrant research and teaching environment with a large postgraduate and undergraduate population. Our postgraduate students have been recognised both nationally and internationally, with some of them serving as Faculty in Africa and the Southern African region and therefore playing a critical role in addressing the skills shortage in the Continent. Our research thrust is multidisciplinary spanning the spectrum from molecular to systems level.
We were the first Physiology Discipline in Africa to introduce and implement a fully networked Powerlab system. We are constantly seeking to improve and tailor-make our undergraduate offering through implementation of the latest teaching methodology.
The Discipline is constantly evolving and we are able to attract talented staff from various regions of the country. Our academic staff serves as reviewers for the National Research Foundation (NRF) and Medical Research Council (MRC) grant and scholarship applications. They also act as external examiners. Academics in the discipline also play an active role in the Physiology Society of Southern Africa (PSSA) and the Southern African Neuroscience Society (SANS). Staff in the discipline are also actively involved in NRF committees for the International Union of Physiological Societies (IUPS) as well as the International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO). The Discipline also attends when possible, the annual Endocrinological Society meeting in the United Kingdom as well as the Society for Neuroscience meetings in the USA. We receive funding from the NRF, MRC, National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other private and business institutes.
Our core goal to is to strive for excellence while bearing in mind past inequities. Our future goals include expanding our current infrastructure to meet the challenges of teaching within the context of a learner centred approach while expanding research offering to address the role the environment plays in disease and health.
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Faculty of Health Sciences
School of Medical Sciences
Descipline of Physiology
Westville Campus
Private Bag X54001
Durban 4000
South Africa
The following programmes are offered by the Discipline of Physiology:
In addition to servicing the Physiology requirements of the first three years of the 2001 MBCHB curriculum at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine, we teach Physiology courses in 1st and 2nd years of the nursing curriculum (B Nursing); Neurophysiology requirements of the M Med (Psychiatry) Part 1 course, and offer assistance to registrars writing Part 1 courses of the College of Medicine.
Furthermore, service courses in Physiology are presented to students completing Health Science programmes in the Schools of Dentistry, Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Physiotherapy, Sport Science & Optometry and Audiology, Occupational Therapy & Speech-language Pathology and BSc students in the B.Sc. (Biomedical Science) programme of the Faculty of Science.
Research foci of staff in the Division include:
Researcher: Ms Rivona Harricharan
Designation: Masters student
Summary: Introduction: South Africa has a staggering prevalence of 6.4 million people infected with HIV, dominating the statistics with the highest incidence in the world. HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) has emerged as a major conundrum, challenging scientists to devise new strategies to combat its destructive effects. Recent HIV research findings have revealed that pyroptosis (a programmed cell death mechanism which is pro-inflammatory in nature), occurs in HIV-infected lymphoid tissue.
Aim: This study aims to provide insight into whether pyroptosis could be a contributing factor leading to cell death and the development of HIV-related neuropathology.
Methods: Using stereotaxic techniques, Tat protein Clade B (10 µg/10 µl) was injected bilaterally into the hippocampus of male Wistar rats. The animals were subjected to restraint stress daily. Following decapitation, the dorsal and ventral hippocampi were harvested. Biochemical analysis was conducted using the Caspase-1 colorimetric and Interleukin-18 Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent (ELISA) assays. A p-value of 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: Caspase-1 activity in the dorsal hippocampi was not significant while significance was observed in the ventral hippocampi of the Tat + Stress group. Significant levels of IL-18 were observed in the dorsal and ventral aspects of the hippocampus.
Conclusion: Pyroptosis did not occur in the dorsal aspect of the hippocampus, prompting us to believe that apoptosis or autophagy predominate there. In the ventral hippocampus of the Tat + Stress group, significant caspase-1 activity corroborated with increased IL-18 levels, indicative of pyroptosis. These novel findings may encourage future researchers to consider alternate cell death mechanisms as possible causative agents of HIV-related neuropathogenesis.
Researcher: Ms Rivona Harricharan
Designation: Masters student
Summary: HIV-1 is a global catastrophe, and is exceedingly prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa. HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder is characterized by symptoms such as motor impairments, a decline in cognition, and behavioural irregularities. The aim of this study was to provide insight into the fundamental behavioural and histopathological mechanisms underlying the development and progression of HIV-1 neuropathology.
Using stereotaxic techniques, Tat protein Clade B (1 µg/µl, 10 µl) was injected bilaterally into the dorsal hippocampus of male Sprague-Dawley rats. The Morris water maze (MWM) and novel object recognition test (NORT) were used to assess spatial learning and recognition memory, respectively. Haematoxylin and eosin staining was used to identify the histopathological changes.
A highly significant increase in latency to reach the hidden platform in the MWM implied that noteworthy hippocampal damage had occurred. Severe behavioural deficits were also observed in the NORT where the Tat-injected group showed a greater preference for a familiar object over a novel one. This damage was confirmed by the histopathological changes (increased astrogliosis, cells becoming eosinophilic and a significant reduction in the pyramidal cell layer) observed in the hippocampus. Additionally, increases in the hippocampal mass and protein were observed, consistent with the structural alterations.
This study highlights the relationship between hippocampal-associated behavioural changes and histologic alterations following stereotaxic intra-hippocampal administration of Tat protein in rats. The implications of this study may positively impact the fields of immunology and neuroscience by encouraging future researchers to consider novel strategies to understand the complexities of the pathogenesis of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder.
| Name | Position | Contact Details | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ms Tembi Khuboni | Administrator |
Tel: +27 31 260 4267 Fax: +27 31 260 7132 | khubonit@ukzn.ac.za |
