Life Sciences Commons^™

Characterization Of P39, A Borrelia Burgdorferi Specific Protein, Jill M. Troyer

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, expresses a species specific, 39 kiloDalton protein of unknown function called P39. This protein is highly immunogenic and the presence of anti-P39 antibodies in patient sera is used as an indicator of B. burgdorferi infection. P39 is also a candidate for vaccine developement due to conserved expression of P39 among B. burgdorferi isolates. Since little is presently known about this important molecule, the present study was designed to characterize P39 and was carried out in six separate investigations. First, infectious and noninfectious isolates of B. burgdorferi were established in vitro, and …

Neuronal Toxicity Of Humoral Factors From Patients With Diabetic Neuropathy And Mechanism Of Neuronal Death On Cultured Adrenergic Neurons: Studies Of Autoimmune Pathogenesis In Diabetic Neuropathy, Dong Liu

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Diabetic neuropathy is an extremely common medical problem because of the high frequency of diabetes and its complications. Diabetic neuropathy consists of not one, but many patterns of nerve injury, each potentially with its own discrete pathogenic mechanisms. Evidence is accumulating that indicates autoimmunity plays a role in diabetic peripheral neuropathy. However, the significance of immunopathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy is as yet unclear.

Using the N1E-115 mouse neuroblastoma cell line (NB) as a model of the adrenergic autonomic neuron, we found that sera of IDDM patients with neuropathy inhibit growth and differentiation of adrenergic neurons in culture (Pittenger et al, …

The Effect Of The Mammalian Hormone Estrogen On The Yeast C̲A̲N̲D̲I̲D̲A̲ A̲L̲B̲I̲C̲A̲N̲S̲, Marcia Clifton Finucane

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Changes in the balance between commensal microbes and mammalian hosts can cause disease if the scales tip in favor of the microbe. Although usually caused by a defective host immune response, overgrowth of or changes in the microbe may also be responsible for opportunistic infections. Clinical and laboratory investigations have indicated that mammalian hormones, including estrogen, can influence the production of symptomatic disease and the virulence attributes of Candida albicans.

This study demonstrated enhanced growth of some strains of C. albicans when 17β-estradiol was added to the growth medium. Measurement of extracellular protein under the influence of estradiol did …

Role Of Immunodominant T Cell Responses To Minor Histocompatibility Antigens In A Mouse Model Of Graft-Versus-Host Disease, Marc Adam Berger, B.S. Thomas Jefferson University

Full-Text Theses & Dissertations

Graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) is a major complication of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) matched bone marrow transplantation. GVHD is the result of an immune-mediated attack, by T lymphocytes derived from donor bone marrow, against recipient tissues expressing minor histocompatibility antigen (miHA) differences. There is a lack of knowledge concerning the nature of in vivo immune responses to miHA during GVHD. C57BL/6By (B6/By) and BALB.B mouse strains both express the H-2B MHC haplotype but differ at more than 40 miHA loci. Both the in vitro and in vivo T cell responses to miHA expressed by BALB.B and CXB recombinant inbred (RI) strains of …

Guided Imagery As A Psychoneuroimmunological Intervention For Hiv-Positive Individuals, Christopher Dale Keene

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.