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The Surreptitious Survival Of The Emerging Pathogen Staphylococcus Lugdunensis In Macrophages Enhances S. Aureus Infection, David Watson
The Surreptitious Survival Of The Emerging Pathogen Staphylococcus Lugdunensis In Macrophages Enhances S. Aureus Infection, David Watson
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Staphylococcus lugdunensis is an opportunistic pathogen that can cause invasive infections suggesting an ability to circumvent host immunity. S. lugdunensis was shown to resist killing and persist within macrophages and acetylation of its peptidoglycan is important for this survival. This was consistent in vivo, as S. lugdunensis resides inside Kupffer cells for at least 16 hours post-infection in mice. Despite its capability for survival, S. lugdunensis is unable to replicate within phagolysosomes. Inhibiting phagolysosomal effectors allows S. lugdunensis to initiate replication, after which the bacteria escape phagosomal containment. Moreover, intracellular S. lugdunensis augments the growth S. aureus during co-infection. Eight …
Elucidation Of The Signaling Pathway Of Mertk, Kyle Taruc
Elucidation Of The Signaling Pathway Of Mertk, Kyle Taruc
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Mer tyrosine kinase (MERTK) is a receptor tyrosine kinase which mediates efferocytosis-the recognition and uptake of apoptotic cells. MERTK serves as the predominant efferocytic receptor in several tissues, including in the heart, with single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with up to a 75% increased risk of atherosclerosis in humans. MERTK facilitates the internalization of apoptotic cells via a MERTK/integrin pathway that involves, in part, PI-3-kinase signaling and signaling via Src-family kinases. While these elements of the MERTK signaling pathway have been identified, much of MERTK’s signaling mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Pharmacological inhibitors were used to block signaling through canonical phagocytic …
Iron And Copper Homeostasis In Staphylococcus Aureus, Holly A. Laakso
Iron And Copper Homeostasis In Staphylococcus Aureus, Holly A. Laakso
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
All microorganisms require transition metals for key metabolic processes, thus during infection microbial access to essential metals is tightly regulated by the host in a process termed nutritional immunity. Iron acquisition is critical to the pathogenesis of the formidable human pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus, which utilizes heme-uptake systems and two high-affinity iron-scavenging siderophores, staphyloferrin A (SA) and staphyloferrin B (SB) for iron acquisition. In this study, I identify sbnI as encoding a transcription factor required for expression of genes in the sbn operon, the biosynthetic operon for SB synthesis. I also show that SbnI is a novel hemoprotein, where binding …