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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Characterization And Functional Regulation Of Bioactive Peptides In Avian Macrophages And Heterophils, Lakshmi Kannan Dec 2009

Characterization And Functional Regulation Of Bioactive Peptides In Avian Macrophages And Heterophils, Lakshmi Kannan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Oligopeptides and low molecular weight polypeptides play central roles as effectors and signal transducers acting as hormones, neurotransmitters, growth factors, toxins, and antimicrobial factors that are important for the survival of the organism. Owing to the ubiquitous involvement of peptides in many key regulatory processes, we have been interested to identify native peptides in different cells and tissues and understand their functions. To conduct our studies, we used avian macrophages and heterophils as models of specialized cells which constitute central components of innate immunity. These studies involved (a) qualitative identification and characterization of the peptides associated with high intensity mass …


The Leishmania Donovani Lipophosphoglycan Excludes The Vesicular Proton-Atpase From Phagosomes By Impairing The Recruitment Of Synaptotagmin V, Adrien F. Vinet, Mitsunori Fukuda, Salvatore J. Turco, Albert Descoteaux Oct 2009

The Leishmania Donovani Lipophosphoglycan Excludes The Vesicular Proton-Atpase From Phagosomes By Impairing The Recruitment Of Synaptotagmin V, Adrien F. Vinet, Mitsunori Fukuda, Salvatore J. Turco, Albert Descoteaux

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

We recently showed that the exocytosis regulator Synaptotagmin (Syt) V is recruited to the nascent phagosome and remains associated throughout the maturation process. In this study, we investigated the possibility that Syt V plays a role in regulating interactions between the phagosome and the endocytic organelles. Silencing of Syt V by RNA interference revealed that Syt V contributes to phagolysosome biogenesis by regulating the acquisition of cathepsin D and the vesicular proton-ATPase. In contrast, recruitment of cathepsin B, the early endosomal marker EEA1 and the lysosomal marker LAMP1 to phagosomes was normal in the absence of Syt V. As Leishmania …


The Regulation Of Platelet Activating Factor Acetylhydrolase By Oxidized Phospholipids, Rachael Griffiths Jul 2009

The Regulation Of Platelet Activating Factor Acetylhydrolase By Oxidized Phospholipids, Rachael Griffiths

Theses and Dissertations

Platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase (PAFAH) is elevated in atherosclerosis and may play a role in pathogenesis of this disease. Molecular mechanisms regulating the expression of this lipoprotein-associated PLA2 are indistinct. Mildy oxidized low density lipoprotein (oxLDL) and monocytes (the primary source of PAFAH) are co-localized in early atheromas. Monocytes are activated by oxidized phospholipids (oxPL) in the oxLDL particle. We hypothesized that oxPL-activated monocytes are the source of increased levels of PAFAH in atherosclerosis. We found that PAFAH expression is significantly induced by OxPAPC and in particular long-chain fractions of oxPAPC in monocytes and cytokine-differentiated DC, but not cytokine-differentiated MO. Furthermore, …


Modulation Of Macrophage Responses To Borrelia Burgdorferi In Acute Murine Lyme Carditis, Chris Martin Olson May 2009

Modulation Of Macrophage Responses To Borrelia Burgdorferi In Acute Murine Lyme Carditis, Chris Martin Olson

Open Access Dissertations

The Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi is the only known human pathogen that directly activates invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells. The number and activation kinetics of iNKT cells vary greatly among different strains of mice. Here, we report the role of the iNKT cell response in the pathogenesis of Lyme disease using C57BL/6 (B6) mice, a strain with optimal iNKT cell activation that is resistant to the development of spirochetal-induced inflammation. During experimental infection of B6 mice with B. burgdorferi , iNKT cells localize to the inflamed heart where they are activated by CD1d-expressing macrophages. Activation of iNKT cells …


Interdependent Regulation Of Cytomegalovirus Proteins In Complex, Lisa L. Bolin Apr 2009

Interdependent Regulation Of Cytomegalovirus Proteins In Complex, Lisa L. Bolin

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a ubiquitous herpesvirus that causes significant morbidity and mortality in the immune compromised. Using the mutine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) model, we identified two genes, M140 and M141, which are determinants of macrophage tropism. Monocytes/macrophages are a critical cell type for cytomegalovirus (CMV) pathogenesis as sites of viral latency and by supporting viral replication and disseminating virus throughout the body. We previously found that the localization of the M140/M141 gene products (pM140/pM141) is different when the proteins are co-expressed as compared to their individual expression. When the proteins are individually expressed pM141 localizes diffusely throughout the cytoplasm and, …


Protection Of Macrophages J774a.1 By Purine Nucleoside Analogues From Bacillus Anthracis Mediated Necrosis, Zadkiel R. Alvarez Jan 2009

Protection Of Macrophages J774a.1 By Purine Nucleoside Analogues From Bacillus Anthracis Mediated Necrosis, Zadkiel R. Alvarez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Eight years after the lamentable anthrax attacks, major scientific effort continues to be done, in order to stop imminent acts of bioterrorism. Innovative ways of therapy against the anthrax disease are being investigated. B. anthracis, the etiological agent of the infection, has a dormant stage in its life cycle known as the endospore. When conditions become favorable spores germinate, transforming into vegetative bacteria. In inhalational anthrax, the most fatal manifestation of the disease, spores enter the organism through the respiratory track, and are phagocytosized by alveolar macrophages of the lungs. Spores are able to sense nutrient availability, activating their germination …


Adrenergic Receptor Expression On Raw264.7 Macrophages, Lindsay Ward Jan 2009

Adrenergic Receptor Expression On Raw264.7 Macrophages, Lindsay Ward

Honors Theses

In this study, AR surface expression patterns and regulation via AR-catecholamine interactions were characterized. Macrophage function was shown to be regulated by catecholamines through both Alpha- and Beta-ARs, as evidenced by corresponding alterations in cytokine production. Treatment of activated macrophages with NE, a general catecholamine, or fomoterol, a P-AR agonist, produced significant decreases in TNF and IL-6 secretion. The effecis of clonidine, an Alpha-AR agonist, produced less consistent results, but clonidine-mediated enhancement of cytokine secretion appears to be mediated by Alpha-AR signaling. LPS was shown to noticeably change the surface expression ofboth types of ARs in RAW264.7 macrophages. However, NE …