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Immunology and Infectious Disease

Master's Theses

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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

The Characterization Of Rna Content And Biogenesis Pathways Of Extracellular Vesicles That Have Been Implicated In The Pathogenesis Of Hiv-1 Associated Neurocognitive Disorders, Virginia Elizabeth Zwikelmaier Jan 2018

The Characterization Of Rna Content And Biogenesis Pathways Of Extracellular Vesicles That Have Been Implicated In The Pathogenesis Of Hiv-1 Associated Neurocognitive Disorders, Virginia Elizabeth Zwikelmaier

Master's Theses

Patients infected with HIV-1 adhering to Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) still suffer from a variety of neurocognitive, behavioral, and motor dysfunctions, collectively referred to has HIV-1 Associated Neurocognitive Disorders (HAND). Current research suggests the manifestations of HAND might in part be due to the dissemination of toxic HIV-1 components throughout the brain via extracellular vesicles (EVs). Our goal is to characterize these pathogenic EVs to begin to gain a better understanding of this EV-mediated pathology.

We took the first steps in developing a technique to assess the microRNA content of individual EVs but it needs to be heavily optimized to eliminate …


The Novel Characterization Of Extracellular Vesicles Containing Proteins Which Have Been Implicated In The Pathogenesis Of Hiv Associated Neurocognitive Disorders, Grace Ispas Jan 2017

The Novel Characterization Of Extracellular Vesicles Containing Proteins Which Have Been Implicated In The Pathogenesis Of Hiv Associated Neurocognitive Disorders, Grace Ispas

Master's Theses

Although Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) is practiced, HIV-1 positive individuals still experience HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders (HAND), collectively described as the presentation of neurocognitive, behavioral and motor dysfunctions that decrease the quality of life, while increasing the mortality in ART suppressed HIV-1 positive patients.

Current literature suggests that extracellular vesicles are involved in the pathogenesis of HAND as they are believed to be transferring HIV-1 proteins to nearby neuronal cells. Although most studies assume homogeneity among populations, characterizing cellular proteins or RNA levels in bulk, we hypothesize that distinct populations of extracellular vesicles are released and that environmental conditions, including viral infections, …