Life Sciences Commons^™

Evaluation Of The Humoral/Fc-Mediated Immune Responses To An Adenovirus-26 Viral Vector/Gp140 Subunit Combined Vaccine Regimen As A Prophylactic Hiv-1, Nathan E. Adam

Channels: Where Disciplines Meet

Background and Introduction: HIV is one of the most problematic pandemics to date, currently infecting upwards of 38 million people worldwide (“The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic,” 2020). Although infection and mortality rates have generally decreased, current prophylactic (preventive) measures against HIV-1 acquisition have shown major weaknesses that could be remedied with a vaccine (Pitisuttuthum & Marovich, 2020). Manufacturing an effective, prophylactic HIV-1 vaccine, however, is not without challenges - namely design/selection of vaccine-delivered immunogens (antigens) and elicitation of proper immune responses to HIV-1 antigens (Ng’uni et al., 2020). Fortunately, despite past, unsuccessful research, studies within the past 10-15 years have begun …

The Youngest Victims Of The Opioid Epidemic, Katelyn E. Miller, Abby Reed

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

When babies are born to opioid-addicted mothers, they often develop Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). NAS is characterized by symptoms associated with abrupt opioid withdrawal (“Neonatal Abstinence”, 2015). By preventing NAS in babies before they are born and properly caring for a baby with NAS after birth, we will aim to decrease the incidence of this condition and as its harmful effects in the lives of babies. In Ohio, there are many neonates suffering from NAS. The rates for babies born with NAS have quadrupled since 2011 when 2.2 out of every 1000 babies had NAS to 2015, where 12.3 out …

Migration Frustrations Of Mir-146a Regulation, Emma Baccus, Victoria Gahman, Hannah Phillips, Shannon Rappaport, Alyssa Reiter, Kaleb M. Pauley

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

The autoimmune disease, Sjögren’s Syndrome (SS), causes the degradation of salivary and lacrimal glands due to an influx of immune cells. In previous studies, a significant increase in miR-146a was observed in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of SS patients. Since immune cell infiltration is critical in SS pathogenesis, the following research examines the effect of miR-146a on cell migration. We hypothesize that transfecting THP-1 human monocytes with synthetic miR-146a will downregulate migration of the monocytes based on other studies stating that miR-146a downregulates migration in vivo. In order to execute our experiment, we transfected THP-1 cells with synthetic miR-146a …

E,E-Farnesol Inhibits Swarming Motility In Burkholderia Cepacia Through Rhamnolipid Production, Stephanie E. Nicholls, Alayna N. Sanderson, Andrea P. Schwartz, Lauren E. Ward, Jessica N. Weisensee, Molly Yandrofski, Tracy L. Collins

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Burkholderia cepacia and Candida albicans both exhibit cell-to-cell communication through the use of quorum-sensing molecules (QSM) known as autoinducers. E,E-farnesol is a QSM produced by C. albicans which regulates its conversion from yeast to mycelium. Because there is a positive correlation between the presence of B. cepacia and C. albicans in the lungs of individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF), we examined whether E,E-farnesol had an effect on swarming motility in B. cepacia. Swarming motility was inhibited when B. cepacia was exposed to 250 µM of E,E-farnesol. In addition, there was a 26.8% decrease in rhamnolipid production when cells were grown …

Effect Of Metformin On Mir-146a Expression, S. Jackson Grout, Bryce C. Macturk, Amanda D. Sims, Kaleb M. Pauley

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Sjögren’s Syndrome (SjS) is an autoimmune disorder that affects secretory glands in the human body, restricting their function and causing extreme dryness in areas like the mouth and eyes. miR-146a is an anti-inflammatory microRNA that targets the NFκB activation pathway. Previous studies have shown that SjS patients have increased miR-146a expression, despite having high levels of inflammation. The objective of this study was to investigate whether metformin, a diabetes drug with a wide variety of effects and potential functions, reduces levels of miR-146a expression. Metformin is known to reduce inflammation by inhibiting the activation of NFκB. THP-1 human monocytes were …

Mir-146a Upregulation Of Phagocytosis In Human Macrophages, Ryan Marquardt, Daniel J. Stank, Kaleb M. Pauley

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Sjögrens Syndrome (SjS) is an autoimmune disease that attacks exocrine glands such as salivary and lacrimal glands resulting in severe dryness of the mouth and eyes. Previous studies have linked increased microRNA-146a (miR-146a) expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in SjS patients compared to healthy controls. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNA molecules that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression, are known to play key regulatory roles in immune responses and have been implicated in a growing number of autoimmune disorders. Further investigation into the role of increased miR-146a expression in SjS revealed links to several immune functions including phagocytosis.Our goal was to …

Optimization Of Fluorescent Phagocytic Assay Using Apoptotic Cells, Jacob L. Brown, Jason R. Leigh, Ryan Marquardt, Cambria R. Puffenberger, Daniel J. Stank, Kaleb M. Pauley

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Sjögren’s Syndrome is a systemic autoimmune disease that primarily affects the exocrine glands and is characterized by severe dry eyes and mouth. Previous studies have shown that there are elevated levels of the microRNA miR-146a in Sjögren’s patients. Mir-146a is a microRNA that has been found to be involved in down regulating inflammation. Yet, in patients with Sjögren’s Syndrome, there is a large upregulation of miR-146a that exists alongside chronic inflammation. This led us to investigate the role of miR-146a in Sjögren’s Syndrome. We found that miR-146a upregulates phagocytosis of E. coli by human macrophages. Therefore, we hypothesized that this …

Rnai Therapeutics In Autoimmune Disease, Kaleb M. Pauley, Seunghee Cha

Science and Mathematics Faculty Publications

Since the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi), excitement has grown over its potential therapeutic uses. Targeting RNAi pathways provides a powerful tool to change biological processes post-transcriptionally in various health conditions such as cancer or autoimmune diseases. Optimum design of shRNA, siRNA, and miRNA enhances stability and specificity of RNAi-based approaches whereas it has to reduce or prevent undesirable immune responses or off-target effects. Recent advances in understanding pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases have allowed application of these tools in vitro as well as in vivo with some degree of success. Further research on the design and delivery of effectors of …

Autoantibodies Against Muscarinic Type 3 Receptor In Sjögren's Syndrome Inhibit Aquaporin 5 Trafficking, B. Lee, A. E. Gauna, G. Perez, Y. Park, Kaleb M. Pauley, Toshihisa Kawai, Seunghee Cha

Science and Mathematics Faculty Publications

Sjo¨gren’s syndrome (SjS) is a chronic autoimmune disease that mainly targets the salivary and lacrimal glands. It has been controversial whether anti-muscarinic type 3 receptor (a-M3R) autoantibodies in patients with SjS inhibit intracellular trafficking of aquaporin-5 (AQP5), water transport protein, leading to secretory dysfunction. To address this issue, GFPtagged human AQP5 was overexpressed in human salivary gland cells (HSG-hAQP5) and monitored AQP5 trafficking to the plasma membrane following carbachol (CCh, M3R agonist) stimulation. AQP5 trafficking was indeed mediated by M3R stimulation, shown in partial blockage of trafficking by M3R-antagonist 4-DAMP. HSG-hAQP5 pre-incubated with SjS plasma for 24 hours significantly reduced …

Microrna In Autoimmunity And Autoimmune Diseases, Kaleb M. Pauley, S. Cha, E. K. Chan

Science and Mathematics Faculty Publications

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small conserved non-coding RNA molecules that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression by targeting the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of specific messenger RNAs (mRNAs) for degradation or translational repression. miRNA-mediated gene regulation is critical for normal cellular functions such as the cell cycle, differentiation, and apoptosis, and as much as one-third of human mRNAs may be miRNA targets. Emerging evidence has demonstrated that miRNAs play a vital role in the regulation of immunological functions and the prevention of autoimmunity. Here we review the many newly discovered roles of miRNA regulation in immune functions and in the development of autoimmunity …

Upregulated Mir-146a Expression In Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells From Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients, Kaleb M. Pauley, M. Satoh, A. L. Chan, M. R. Bubb, W. H. Reeves, E. K. Chan

Science and Mathematics Faculty Publications

Introduction

MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNA molecules that negatively regulate gene expression via degradation or translational repression of their targeted mRNAs. It is known that aberrant microRNA expression can play important roles in cancer, but the role of microRNAs in autoimmune diseases is only beginning to emerge. In this study, the expression of selected microRNAs is examined in rheumatoid arthritis.

Methods

Total RNA was isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and healthy and disease control individuals, and the expression of miR-146a, miR-155, miR-132, miR-16, and microRNA let-7a was analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR.

Results …