Sonemany “Soom” Salinthone, Ph.D.

  • Associate Professor of Neurology, School of Medicine

Biography

Phone number: 503-220-8262 ext.54394

Sonemany “Soom” Salinthone, Ph.D., is an associate professor of neurology, School of Medicine, OHSU. Dr. Salinthone received her graduate degree at the University of Nevada School of Medicine in 2006. She completed her post-doctoral training at OHSU and the VA Portland Health Care System. In 2010, she was appointed assistant professor of neurology, School of Medicine, OHSU.

Dr. Salinthone’s research is focused on the pathogenesis and treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), specifically the use of an antioxidant called lipoic acid (LA) as an alternative and/or complementary therapy for successful treatment of MS. LA is approved in Germany as a drug for the treatment of polyneuropathies and liver disease. A small LA trial recently demonstrated therapeutic efficacy in progressive MS (PMS) patients; LA reduces brain atrophy in secondary progressive MS subjects by an annualized rate of 68%. LA is thought to have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, but the mechanisms of action (MOA) of LA are not well understood, limiting the ability to predict its efficacy or safety as a primary or co-therapy in MS. Dr. Salinthone’s current project is to expand on the discoveries she has made to better understand the MOA of LA. The study has three goals:

1) Determine the effects and associated MOA(s) of LA on human monocyte/macrophages, microglia, neurons and oligodendrocytes, cells that are implicated in the pathogenesis of MS.

2) Determine if LA treatment enhances blood brain barrier (BBB) integrity and the mechanisms that mediate these responses.

3) Determine the in vivo effects of LA in a specialized EAE model that develops cortical lesions.

Education and training

  • Degrees

    • Ph.D., 2006, University of Nevada School of Medicine

Areas of interest

  • neuro-inflammation
  • neurodegeneration
  • inflammation
  • multiple sclerosis

Publications

Selected publications

  • Salinthone, S., Ba, M, Hanson, LJ, Martin, J, Halayko, A and Gerthoffer, WT. (2007) Overexpression of Human Hsp27 Inhibits Serum Induced Proliferation in Airway Smooth Muscle Myocytes and Confers Resistance to Hydrogen Peroxide Cytotoxicity. Am. J. Physiol. Heart and Lung Cell and Molec. Physiol. 293(5):L1194-207.
  • Salinthone, S., Schillace, RV, Marracci, GH, Bourdette, DN, and Carr, DW (2008) Lipoic acid stimulates cAMP production via the EP2 and EP4 prostanoid receptors and inhibits IFN gamma synthesis and cellular cytotoxicity in NK cells. J Neuroimmunol. 199:46-55.
  • Salinthone, S, Yadav, V, Schillace, RV, Bourdette, DN and Carr, DW. (2010) Lipoic Acid Attenuates Inflammation via cAMP and Protein Kinase A Signaling. PlosOne. Sep 28;5(9).
  • Salinthone, S, Schillace, RV, Tsang, C, Regan, JW, Bourdette, DN and Carr, DW. (2011) Lipoic acid stimulates cAMP production via G protein coupled receptor dependent and independent mechanisms. J of Nutritional Biochemistry. Jul:22(7):681-90.
  • Salinthone, S, Kerns, AR, Tsang, V, and Carr, DW.  (2012) α-Tocopherol (vitamin E) stimulates cyclic AMP production in human peripheral mononuclear cells and alters immune function. Mol Immunol. Mar;53(3):173-8.
  • Fiedler, SE, Kerns, AR, Tsang, CJ, Tsang, V, Bourdette, DN, and Salinthone, S. (2016) Dimethyl fumarate activates the prostaglandin EP2 receptor and stimulates cAMP cell signaling in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. Jun 17;475(1):19-24.
  • Fiedler, SE, George, JD, Love, HN, Kim, E, Spain, R, Bourdette, D, and Salinthone S. (2017) Analysis of IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α production in monocytes isolated from multiple sclerosis patients treated with disease modifying drugs. J Syst Integr Neurosci. 2017 May;3(3).
  • Fiedler, SE, Kerns, A, Tsang, C, Love, H, and Salinthone, S. (2017) Donor variability may mask dimethyl fumarate's effects on nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.  BMC Research Notes. 2017 Nov 2;10(1):553.
  • Fiedler, SE, Yadav, V, Kerns, A, Tsang, C, Markwardt, S, Kim, E, Spain, R, Bourdette, D, and Salinthone, S. (2017) Lipoic acid stimulates cAMP production in healthy control and secondary progressive MS subjects. Molecular Neurobiology. 2017 Nov 15.
  • George, JD, Kim, E, Spain, R, Bourdette, S and Salinthone, S. Effects of lipoic acid on migration of human B cells and monocyte-enriched peripheral blood mononuclear cells in relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. J of Neuroimmunology. 2018 Feb 15;315:24-27.

Publications