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Identification Of B-Cell Epitopes On Domain 4 Of Anthrax Protective Antigen, Cassandra D. Kelly-Cirino
Identification Of B-Cell Epitopes On Domain 4 Of Anthrax Protective Antigen, Cassandra D. Kelly-Cirino
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Protective Antigen (PA) is the receptor binding subunit common to both Lethal (LT) and Edema (ET) toxins, which contribute to the mortality associated with Bacillus anthracis infection. While recombinant PA (rPA) is likely to be an important constituent of second generation anthrax vaccines, evaluating the effectiveness of candidate vaccines is currently difficult, because the specific B cell epitopes involved in toxin neutralization have not been completely defined. The only well characterized antibody, 14B7, has been shown to disrupt the association of PA with the anthrax toxin receptors (ATR) by binding to domain 4 of PA. I hypothesized that other domain …
Generation And Maintenance Of Protective Igm Responses During Intracellular Bacterial Infection, Rachael Denise Racine
Generation And Maintenance Of Protective Igm Responses During Intracellular Bacterial Infection, Rachael Denise Racine
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
It is widely accepted that IgM provides the first line of defense against during microbial infection prior to the generation of high-affinity, isotype-switched antibodies, which is the hallmark of long-lived lived immunity and immunological memory. The overall objective of these studies was to address the role of IgM in the generation and maintenance of protective immunity during intracellular bacterial infection. We have identified a population of CD11clo plasmablasts that were responsible for nearly all of the antigen-specific IgM production in the spleen. Moreover, selective depletion of the CD11c-expressing B cells during acute infection resulted in a complete loss in the …