Mississippi State University (MSU) and Shackouls Honors College’s Olivia Cresswell has had her honors thesis published in the International Immunopharmacology Journal.

Olivia Cresswell is currently a first-year vet student at MSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, having graduated in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology, and in Animal and Dairy Sciences.

The paper titled "Development of an in Vitro Peptide-Stimulated T Cell Assay to Evaluate Immune Effects by Cannabinoid Compounds," consisted of creating an in vitro MOG peptide model to look at the effects of cannabinoids like CBD and THC on the immune system.

The research found that cannabinoids suppress cytokine production particularly in CD4 and CD8 T cells, likely through an intracellular calcium mechanism.

“Our model made results like this possible, as well as reduced animal use and could be utilized for future experiments investigating autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis,” Olivia Cresswell said.

She authored the paper together with Dr. Barbara Kaplan (Associate Professor in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences) and Karis Blankenship, 2nd year vet student, both Mississippi State University.

Check out the publication here:

Development of an in vitro peptide-stimulated T cell assay to evaluate immune effects by cannabinoid compounds Development of an in vitro peptide-stimulated T cell assay to evaluate immune effects by cannabinoid compounds