Life Sciences Commons^™

Cytokine Data For Cytokine Profile Assessment From Peruvian Pinniped (Arctocephalus Australis And Otaria Byronia) Plasma, Mykenzee Munaco, Milton Levin, Michael Adkesson, Susana Cárdenas-Alayzad, Dimitrios G. Giarikos, Amy C. Hirons

SECLER Data

Large colonies of two vulnerable, sympatric pinniped species, Peruvian fur seals (Arctocephalus australis Peruvian subpopulation; PFS) and South American sea lions (Otaria byronia; SASL), reside and reproduce in Punta San Juan, Peru (PSJ) where they are exposed to stressors such as contaminants and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. The use of cytokines as immune biomarkers can be indicative of an animal’s health and function by allowing for the assessment of an individual's cytokine balance as type I helper T cells (Th1) or type II helper T cells (Th2) dominant. Utilizing archived pinniped plasma samples from 2009-2019 …

Parasites Versus Predation: The Role Of Chronic And Acute Parasite Exposure In Infection Risk And Anti-Predator Behavior, Delaney Farrell

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Parasites with complex, multi-host lifecycles often engage in host behavior manipulation to increase transmission between successive hosts. In intermediate fish hosts, previous research has measured increased frequency of conspicuous behaviors, decreased swimming performance, and reduced antipredator behavior, which would collectively increase the fish’s risk of predation. In ecosystems where this type of parasite increased trophic transmission (PITT) occurs, parasites can play a substantial role in food webs. In this study, I investigate how chronic versus acute exposure to the trematode Euhaplorchis sp. A. affects the antipredator behavior of the Gulf killifish Fundulus grandis. Using a fully crossed design, I …

Cytokine Profiles In Peruvian Pinnipeds And Their Relationships With Environmental Stressors, Mykenzee L. Munaco

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Large colonies of two vulnerable, sympatric pinniped species, Peruvian fur seals (Arctocephalus australis Peruvian subpopulation; PFS) and South American sea lions (Otaria byronia; SASL), reside and reproduce in Punta San Juan, Peru (PSJ) where they are exposed to stressors such as environmental contaminants and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. Cytokine concentrations can be indicative of an animal’s health and immune function by allowing for immunoresponse characterization as Th1 or Th2 dominant. Utilizing an archived pinniped plasma collection of samples from 2009-2019 (n=148), 13 cytokines were analyzed in PFS and SASL: GM-CSF, IFN-γ, KC-like, MCP-1, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-6, …

Obesity As A Risk Factor For Covid-19, Gabriela Hermes, Mir Saleem

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

The coronavirus pandemic has presented a wide range of challenges for healthcare systems in the world. COVID-19 has infected millions of people, with approximately 90% of the population showing mild or no symptoms. The disease has some risk factors that increase its severity, such as obesity, age, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, suppressed immune system, and pulmonary disorders. Obese individuals have higher chances of having symptomatic COVID-19 infection with excessive rates of hospitalization and ICU admission. Understanding the mechanisms defining the link between COVID-19 and obesity is necessary to develop preventive measures and therapeutic interventions for people with obesity. Patients with obesity …

Phage Hunters: The Discovery Of Two Novel Bacteriophages That Infect Gordonia Rubripertincta, Sarah Ballarin, Neel Balusa, Melissa Bell, Samia Caballero, Joshua Chan, Maria Farez, Ashley J. Guillen-Tapia, Nashrah Pierre-Louis, Victoria Polishuk, Bhavya Soni, Julie Torruellas Garcia, Katie E. Crump

Sea-Phages

Antibiotic resistance is a global healthcare concern because it poses a threat to effectively treating bacterial infections and the need for alternative therapeutics are urgently required. Phage therapy, which uses viruses to treat bacterial infections, is a promising alternative to conventional antibiotics. Phages have also been widely used in the food industry to prevent microbial growth on certain foods and are currently being explored as a method for bioremediation of oil spills and wastewater treatment. Although phages are ubiquitous in nature, many have yet to be discovered. Through the SEA-PHAGES (Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science) program …

Tunel Apoptotic Cell Detection In Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (Sctld): Evaluation Of Potential And Improvements, E. Murphy Mcdonald

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is a highly lethal coral disease that has caused a dramatic loss of coral tissue along the Florida Reef Tract and throughout the Wider Caribbean. This study seeks to understand whether programmed cell death (apoptosis) is involved in the pathology of the highly virulent SCTLD tissue loss lesion. Tissues from diseased colonies of Pseudodiploria strigosa collected in 2018 and 2020 were stained using the terminal deoxyribonucleotidyltransferase (TdT) mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay to visualize areas of programmed cell death. The archived tissue samples collected in 2018 exhibited a significantly higher degree of …

Epidemiology And Pathophysiology Of Common Skin Diseases In West Africa: An Immunodermatological Framework, Osazomon Imarenezor

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

This capstone reviews the common skin diseases on a global scale. With these dermatoses being further funneled into Africa and then magnified into common West African dermatoses, the meta-analyses of literature available paints a clear picture of the epidemiological & pathological factors and their contribution to the skin disease. Each article analysed in this analysis was taken from a 20-year span of January 2000 to December 2019. The selection of articles was fine-tuned by identifying the distribution of skin disease, revealing the populations affected (age, gender, ethnicity, etc), the main causes, country of origin, the prognosis of disease, and the …

A Brain-Infecting Parasite Impacts Host Metabolism Both During Exposure And After Infection Is Established, Lauren E. Nadler, Erik Bengston, Erika J. Eliason, Cameron Hassibi, Siri H. Helland-Riise, Ida B. Johansen, Garfield T. Kwan, Martin Tresguerres, Andrew V. Turner, Kelly L. Weinersmith, Øyvind Øverli, Ryan F. Hechinger

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Datasets

1. Metabolic costs associated with parasites should not be limited to established infections. Even during initial exposure to questing and attacking parasites, hosts can enact behavioural and physiological responses that could also incur metabolic costs. However, few studies have measured these costs directly. Hence, little is known about metabolic costs arising from parasite exposure.
2. Further, no one has yet measured whether and how previous infection history modulates metabolic responses to parasite exposure.
3. Here, using the California killifish (Fundulus parvipinnis) and its brain-infecting parasite (Euhaplorchis californiensis), we quantified how killifish metabolism, behaviour, and osmoregulatory phenotype changed upon acute …

Impact Of An Exercise Program On Stress, Fatigue, And Quality Of Life For Individuals Living With Primary Immunodeficiency Disease, Kerri Sowers

Department of Physical Therapy Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Background: There are over 300 Primary Immunodeficiency diseases (PID) that are a result of a genetic or idiopathic dysfunction of any aspect of the immune system. These conditions result in a higher frequency of infections, autoimmune conditions, or malignancies. Moderate intensity exercise is thought to help the immune system, while high intensity exercise may have a negative impact on immune function. The impact of exercise on individuals with an impaired immune system due to PID is not yet understood. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a low to moderate intensity exercise program would have an effect …

Genome-Wide And Differential Proteomic Analysis Of Hepatitis B Virus And Aflatoxin B1 Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma In Guangxi, China, Lu-Nan Qi, Le-Qun Qi, Yuan-Yuan Chen, Zhao-Hong Chen, Tao Bai, Bang-De Xiang, Xiao Qin, Kai-Yin Xiao, Min-Hao Peng, Zhi-Ming Liu, Tang-Wei Liu, Xue Qin, Shan Li, Ze-Guang Han, Zeng-Nan Mo, Regina M. Santella, Cheryl Winkler, Stephen J. O'Brien, Tao Peng

Biology Faculty Articles

Both hepatitis B virus (HBV) and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) exposure can cause liver damage as well as increase the probability of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To investigate the underlying genetic changes that may influence development of HCC associated with HBV infection and AFB1 exposure, HCC patients were subdivided into 4 groups depending upon HBV and AFB1 exposure status: (HBV(+)/AFB1(+), HBV(+)/AFB1(-), HBV(-)/AFB1(+), HBV(-)/AFB1(-)). Genetic abnormalities and protein expression profiles were analyzed by array-based comparative genomic hybridization and isobaric tagging for quantitation. A total of 573 chromosomal aberrations (CNAs) including 184 increased and 389 decreased were detected in our study population. Twenty-five recurrently …

A Genome-To-Genome Analysis Of Associations Between Human Genetic Variation, Hiv-1 Sequence Diversity, And Viral Control, Istvan Bartha, Jonathan M. Carlson, Chanson J. Brumme, Paul J. Mclaren, Zabrina L. Brumme, Mina John, David W. Haas, Javier Martinez-Picado, Judith Dalmau, Cecilio Lopez-Galindez, Concepcion Casado, Andri Rauch, Huldrych F. Gunthard, Enos Bernasconi, Pietro Vernazza, Thomas Klimkait, Sabine Yerly, Stephen J. O'Brien, Jennifer Listgarten, Nico Pfeifer, Christoph Lippert, Nicolo Fusi, Zoltan Kutalik, Todd M. Allen, Viktor Muller, P. Richard Harrigan, David Heckerman, Amalio Telenti, Jacques Fellay

Biology Faculty Articles

HIV-1 sequence diversity is affected by selection pressures arising from host genomic factors. Using paired human and viral data from 1071 individuals, we ran >3000 genome-wide scans, testing for associations between host DNA polymorphisms, HIV-1 sequence variation and plasma viral load (VL), while considering human and viral population structure. We observed significant human SNP associations to a total of 48 HIV-1 amino acid variants (p<2.4 × 10⁻¹²). All associated SNPs mapped to the HLA class I region. Clinical relevance of host and pathogen variation was assessed using VL results. We identified two critical advantages to the use of viral variation …

Association Study Of Common Genetic Variants And Hiv- 1 Acquisition In 6,300 Infected Cases And 7,200 Controls, Paul J. Mclaren, Cedric Coulonges, Stephan Ripke, Leonard H. Van Den Berg, Susan Buchbinder, Mary Carrington, Andrea Cossarizza, Judith Dalmau, Steven G. Deeks, Olivier Delaneau, Andrea De Luca, James J. Goedert, David W. Haas, Joshua T. Herbeck, Sekar Kathiresan, Gregory D. Kirk, Olivier Lambotte, Ma Luo, Simon Mallal, Danielle Van Manen, Javier Martinez-Picado, Florencia Pereyra, Francis A. Plummer, Guido Poli, Ying Qi, Pierre Rucart, Manj S. Sandhu, Patrick R. Shea, Hanneke Schuitemaker, Ioannis Theodorou, Fredrik Vannberg, Jan Veldink, Bruce D. Walker, Amy C. Weintrob, Cheryl Winkler, Steven M. Wolinsky, Amalio Telenti, David B. Goldstein, Paul I. W. De Bakker, Jean-Francois Zagury, Jacques Fellay

Biology Faculty Articles

Multiple genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been performed in HIV-1 infected individuals, identifying common genetic influences on viral control and disease course. Similarly, common genetic correlates of acquisition of HIV-1 after exposure have been interrogated using GWAS, although in generally small samples. Under the auspices of the International Collaboration for the Genomics of HIV, we have combined the genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data collected by 25 cohorts, studies, or institutions on HIV-1 infected individuals and compared them to carefully matched population-level data sets (a list of all collaborators appears in Note S1 in Text S1). After imputation using the …

Host Genomic Influences On Hiv/Aids, Stephen J. O'Brien, Sher L. Hendrickson

Biology Faculty Articles

The AIDS era has seen multiple advances in the power of genetics research; scores of host genetic protective factors have been nominated and several have translated to the bedside. We discuss how genomics may inform HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and eradication.

Role Of Exonic Variation In Chemokine Receptor Genes On Aids: Ccrl2 F167y Association With Pneumocystis Pneumonia, Ping An, Rongling Li, Ji Ming Wang, Teizo Yoshimura, Munehisa Takahashi, Ram Samudralal, Stephen J. O'Brien, John Phair, James J. Goedert, Gregory D. Kirk, Jennifer L. Troyer, Efe Sezgin, Susan Buchbinder, Sharyne Donfield, George W. Nelson, Cheryl Winkler

Biology Faculty Articles

Chromosome 3p21–22 harbors two clusters of chemokine receptor genes, several of which serve as major or minor coreceptors of HIV-1. Although the genetic association of CCR5 andCCR2 variants with HIV-1 pathogenesis is well known, the role of variation in other nearby chemokine receptor genes remain unresolved. We genotyped exonic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in chemokine receptor genes: CCR3, CCRL2, and CXCR6 (at 3p21) and CCR8 and CX3CR1 (at 3p22), the majority of which were non-synonymous. The individual SNPs were tested for their effects on disease progression and outcomes in five treatment-naïve HIV-1/AIDS natural history cohorts. In …

Genetic Variants In Nuclear-Encoded Mitochondrial Genes Influence Aids Progression, Sher L. Hendrickson, J. A. Lautenberger, Leslie Wei Chinn, Michael Malasky, Lawrence Kingsley, James J. Goedert, Gregory D. Kirk, Edward Gomperts, Susan Buchbinder, Jennifer L. Troyer, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

Background: The human mitochondrial genome includes only 13 coding genes while nuclear-encoded genes account for 99% of proteins responsible for mitochondrial morphology, redox regulation, and energetics. Mitochondrial pathogenesis occurs in HIV patients and genetically, mitochondrial DNA haplogroups with presumed functional differences have been associated with differential AIDS progression.

Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we explore whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within 904 of the estimated 1,500 genes that specify nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins (NEMPs) influence AIDS progression among HIV-1 infected patients. We examined NEMPs for association with the rate of AIDS progression using genotypes generated by an Affymetrix 6.0 genotyping array of 1,455 …

Common Genetic Variation And The Control Of Hiv-1 In Humans, Jacques Fellay, Dongliang Ge, Kevin V. Shianna, Sara Colombo, Bruno Ledergerber, Elizabeth T. Cirulli, Thomas J. Urban, Kunlin Zhang, Curtis Gumbs, Jason P. Smith, Antonella Castagna, Alessandro Cozzi-Lepri, Andrea De Luca, Philippa Easterbrook, Huldrych F. Gunthard, Simon Mallal, Cristina Mussini, Judith Dalmau, Javier Martinez-Picado, Jose M. Miro, Niels Obel, Steven M. Wolinsky, Jeremy J. Martinson, Roger Detels, Joseph Margolick, Lisa Jacobson, Patrick Descombes, Stylianos E. Antonarakis, Jacques S. Beckmann, Stephen J. O'Brien, Norman L. Letvin, Andrew J. Mcmichael, Barton F. Haynes, Mary Carrington, Sheng Feng, Amalio Telenti, David B. Goldstein, Niaid Center For Hiv/Aids Vaccine Immunology (Chavi)

Biology Faculty Articles

To extend the understanding of host genetic determinants of HIV-1 control, we performed a genome-wide association study in a cohort of 2,554 infected Caucasian subjects. The study was powered to detect common genetic variants explaining down to 1.3% of the variability in viral load at set point. We provide overwhelming confirmation of three associations previously reported in a genome-wide study and show further independent effects of both common and rare variants in the Major Histocompatibility Complex region (MHC). We also examined the polymorphisms reported in previous candidate gene studies and fail to support a role for any variant outside of …

Ccl3l1 And Hiv/Aids Susceptibility, Thomas J. Urban, Amy C. Weintrob, Jacques Fellay, Sara Colombo, Kevin V. Shianna, Curtis Gumbs, Margalida Rotger, Kimberly Pelak, Kristen K. Dang, Roger Detels, Jeremy J. Martinson, Stephen J. O'Brien, Norman L. Letvin, Andrew J. Mcmichael, Barton F. Haynes, Mary Carrington, Amalio Telenti, Nelson L. Michael, David B. Goldstein

Biology Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Genetics And Pathogenesis Of Feline Infectious Peritonitis Virus, Meredith Brown, Jennifer L. Troyer, Jill Pecon-Slattery, M. Roelke-Parker, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

Feline coronavirus (FCoV) is endemic in feral cat populations and cat colonies, frequently preceding outbreaks of fatal feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). FCoV exhibits 2 biotypes: the pathogenic disease and a benign infection with feline enteric coronavirus (FECV). Uncertainty remains regarding whether genetically distinctive avirulent and virulent forms coexist or whether an avirulent form mutates in vivo, causing FIP. To resolve these alternative hypotheses, we isolated viral sequences from FCoV-infected clinically healthy and sick cats (8 FIP cases and 48 FECV-asymptomatic animals); 735 sequences from 4 gene segments were generated and subjected to phylogenetic analyses. Viral sequences from healthy cats were …

Genetic Characterization Of Feline Leukemia Virus From Florida Panthers, Meredith Brown, Mark W. Cunningham, Alfred L. Roca, Jennifer L. Troyer, Warren E. Johnson, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

From 2002 through 2005, an outbreak of feline leukemia virus (FeLV) occurred in Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi). Clinical signs included lymphadenopathy, anemia, septicemia, and weight loss; 5 panthers died. Not associated with FeLV outcome were the genetic heritage of the panthers (pure Florida vs. Texas/Florida crosses) and co-infection with feline immunodeficiency virus. Genetic analysis of panther FeLV, designated FeLV-Pco, determined that the outbreak likely came from 1 cross-species transmission from a domestic cat. The FeLV-Pco virus was closely related to the domestic cat exogenous FeLV-A subgroup in lacking recombinant segments derived from endogenous FeLV. FeLV-Pco sequences were …

Genomic Organization, Sequence Divergence, And Recombination Of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus From Lions In The Wild, Jill Pecon-Slattery, Carrie L. Mccracken, Jennifer L. Troyer, Sue Vandewoude, Melody E. Roelke, Kerry Sondgeroth, Christiaan Winterbach, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

Background

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) naturally infects multiple species of cat and is related to human immunodeficiency virus in humans. FIV infection causes AIDS-like disease and mortality in the domestic cat (Felis catus) and serves as a natural model for HIV infection in humans. In African lions (Panthera leo) and other exotic felid species, disease etiology introduced by FIV infection are less clear, but recent studies indicate that FIV causes moderate to severe CD4 depletion.

Results

In this study, comparative genomic methods are used to evaluate the full proviral genome of two geographically distinct FIV subtypes …

Regulatory Polymorphisms In The Cyclophilin A Gene, Ppia, Accelerate Progression To Aids, Ping An, Li Hua Wang, Holli Hutcheson-Dilks, George Nelson, Sharyne Donfield, James J. Goedert, Charles Rinaldo, Susan Buchbinder, Gregory D. Kirk, Stephen J. O'Brien, Cheryl Winkler

Biology Faculty Articles

Human cyclophilin A, or CypA, encoded by the gene peptidyl prolyl isomerase A (PPIA), is incorporated into the HIV type 1 (HIV-1) virion and promotes HIV-1 infectivity by facilitating virus uncoating. We examined the effect of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes within the PPIA gene on HIV-1 infection and disease progression in five HIV-1 longitudinal history cohorts. Kaplan-Meier survival statistics and Cox proportional hazards model were used to assess time to AIDS outcomes. Among eight SNPs tested, two promoter SNPs (SNP3 and SNP4) in perfect linkage disequilibrium were associated with more rapid CD4⁺ T-cell loss (relative hazard = …

Polymorphisms Of Cul5 Are Associated With Cd4+ T Cell Loss In Hiv-1 Infected Individuals, Ping An, Priya Duggal, Li Hua Wang, Stephen J. O'Brien, Sharyne Donfield, James J. Goedert, John Phair, Susan Buchbinder, Gregory D. Kirk, Cheryl Winkler

Biology Faculty Articles

Human apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide-like 3 (Apobec3) antiretroviral factors cause hypermutation of proviral DNA leading to degradation or replication-incompetent HIV-1. However, HIV-1 viral infectivity factor (Vif) suppresses Apobec3 activity through the Cullin 5-Elongin B-Elongin C E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. We examined the effect of genetic polymorphisms in the CUL5 gene (encoding Cullin 5 protein) on AIDS disease progression in five HIV-1 longitudinal cohorts. A total of 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) spanning 93 kb in the CUL5 locus were genotyped and their haplotypes inferred. A phylogenetic network analysis revealed that CUL5 haplotypes were grouped into two clusters …

Kir/Hla Pleiotropism: Protection Against Both Hiv And Opportunistic Infections, Ying Qi, Maureen P. Martin, Xiaojiang Gao, Lisa Jacobson, James J. Goedert, Susan Buchbinder, Gregory D. Kirk, Stephen J. O'Brien, John Trowsdale, Mary Carrington

Biology Faculty Articles

The compound genotype KIR3DS1/HLA-B Bw4-80I, which presumably favors natural killer cell activation, has been implicated in protection against HIV disease. We show that this genotype confers dual protection over the course of HIV disease; early direct containment of HIV viral load, and late specific defense against opportunistic infections, but not AIDS-related malignancies. The double protection of KIR3DS1/Bw4-80I in an etiologically complex disease such as AIDS, along with the disease specificity of its effects is conceptually novel and underscores the intricacy of host immunogenetics against HIV/AIDS.

The Case For Selection At Ccr5-Δ32, Pardis Sabeti, Emily C. Walsh, Stephen F. Schaffner, Patrick Varilly, Ben Fry, Holli Hutcheson, Mike Cullen, Tarjei S. Mikkelsen, Jessica Roy, Nick Patterson, Richard Cooper, David Reich, David Altshuler, Stephen J. O'Brien, Eric S. Lander

Biology Faculty Articles

The C-C chemokine receptor 5, 32 base-pair deletion (CCR5-Δ32) allele confers strong resistance to infection by the AIDS virus HIV. Previous studies have suggested that CCR5-Δ32 arose within the past 1,000 y and rose to its present high frequency (5%–14%) in Europe as a result of strong positive selection, perhaps by such selective agents as the bubonic plague or smallpox during the Middle Ages. This hypothesis was based on several lines of evidence, including the absence of the allele outside of Europe and long-range linkage disequilibrium at the locus. We reevaluated this evidence with the benefit …

Genomically Intact Endogenous Feline Leukemia Viruses Of Recent Origin, Alfred L. Roca, Jill Pecon-Slattery, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

We isolated and sequenced two complete endogenous feline leukemia viruses (enFeLVs), designated enFeLV-AGTT and enFeLV-GGAG. In enFeLV-AGTT, the open reading frames are reminiscent of a functioning FeLV genome, and the 5′ and 3′ long terminal repeat sequences are identical. Neither endogenous provirus is genetically fixed in cats but polymorphic, with 8.9 and 15.2% prevalence for enFeLV-AGTT and enFeLV-GGAG, respectively, among a survey of domestic cats. Neither provirus was found in the genomes of related species of the Felis genus, previously shown to harbor enFeLVs. The absence of mutational divergence, polymorphic incidence in cats, and absence in related species suggest that …

Effect Of A Single Amino Acid Change In Mhc Class I Molecules On The Rate Of Progression To Aids, Xiaojiang Gao, George W. Nelson, Peter Karacki, Maureen P. Martin, John Phair, Richard A. Kaslow, James J. Goedert, Susan Buchbinder, Keith Hoots, David Vlahov, Stephen J. O'Brien, Mary Carrington

Biology Faculty Articles

Background From studies of genetic polymorphisms and the rate of progression from human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), it appears that the strongest susceptibility is conferred by the major-histocompatibility-complex (MHC) class I type HLA-B*35,Cw*04 allele. However, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses have been observed against HIV-1 epitopes presented by HLA-B*3501, the most common HLA-B*35 subtype. We examined subtypes of HLA-B*35 in five cohorts and analyzed the relation of structural differences between HLA-B*35 subtypes to the risk of progression to AIDS. Methods Genotyping of HLA class I loci was performed for 850 patients who seroconverted and …

Effects Of Plasma Hiv Rna, Cd4+ T Lymphocytes, And The Chemokine Receptors Ccr5 And Ccr2b On Hiv Disease Progression In Hemophiliacs, Eric S. Daar, Sharyne Donfield, Edward Gomperts, Margaret Hilgartner, Keith Hoots, David Chernoff, Cheryl Winkler, Stephen J. O'Brien, Hemophilia Growth And Development Study

Biology Faculty Articles

We have investigated the effects of plasma HIV RNA, CD4⁺ T lymphocytes and chemokine receptors CCR5 and CCR2b on HIV disease progression in hemophiliacs. We prospectively observed during follow-up 207 HIV-infected hemophiliacs in the Hemophilia Growth and Development Study. Plasma HIV RNA was measured on cryopreserved plasma from enrollment using the Chiron Corporation bDNA (version 2.0) assay. Genotype variants CCR2b-641 and CCR5-Δ32 were detected using standard molecular techniques. Those with the mutant allele for CCR2b, and to a lesser extent CCR5, had lower plasma HIV RNA, and higher CD4⁺ T lymphocytes than did those without these …

Evidence Of Natural Bluetongue Virus Infection Among African Carnivores, Kathleen A. Alexander, N. James Maclachlan, Pieter W. Kat, Carol House, Stephen J. O'Brien, Nicholas W. Lerche, Mary Sawyer, Laurence G. Frank, Kay Holekamp, Laura Smale, J. Weldon Mcnutt, M. Karen Laurenson, M. G. L. Mills, Bennie I. Osburn

Biology Faculty Articles

Bluetongue is an International Office of Epizootics List A disease described as the century's most economically devastating affliction of sheep. Bluetongue (BLU) viruses were thought to infect only ruminants, shrews, and some rodents, but recently, inadvertent administration of BLU virus-contaminated vaccine resulted in mortality and abortion among domestic dogs. We present evidence of natural BLU virus infection among African carnivores that dramatically widens the spectrum of susceptible hosts. We hypothesize that such infection occurred after ingestion of meat and organs from BLU virus infected prey species. The effect of BLU virus on endangered carnivores such as the cheetah and African …