Life Sciences Commons^™

Dynamic Host-Pathogen Interactions Result In Fungal Epitope Unmasking, Alex Hopke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Molecular camouflage is used by a diverse set of pathogens to disguise their identity and avoid recognition by protective host receptors. The opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans is a good example, as it masks the inflammatory component β-glucan in its cell wall to evade detection by the immune receptor Dectin-1. Interestingly, it has been seen that β-glucan becomes unmasked during infection in vivo, though the underlying mechanisms remained unclear. Exposure levels of this epitope may be important, as Dectin-1 mediates protection from some strains of C. albicans and alterations in the organization and composition of the Candida cell wall …

A Biochemical Approach To Define The Interactome For Calpain2 In Endothelial Cells, Dorothy E. Croall Phd, Jordan R. Hoffman Ms, Calvin Ph Vary Phd, Sharon L. Ashworth Phd, Billy R. Chase, Jay Beaudoin Ii

Molecular & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Scholarship

Current repositories for protein-protein interactions and high throughput screening methods focus on individual gene products and do not consider the significance of calcium induced conformational changes. These limitations suggest the need for alternative strategies to better define the calpain2 interactome. Affinity capture coupled with LC-MS/MS and proteomic analysis of the recovered proteins provides a powerful approach to identify protein-protein interactions for the heterodimeric calpain2. CAPN2 (rat) was modified to be catalytically incompetent (C105A) and fused with a C-terminal 15 residue peptide optimized for biotinylation by the biotin protein ligase, BirA. The resulting CAPN2*, heterodimerized with truncated CAPNS1, was purified from …

Functional Characterization Of Recombinant Interleukin (Il)-17a/F1 In The Japanese Pufferfish (Takifugu Rubripes), Jun-Ichi Hikima Dr., Koshin Mihara, Shun Maekawa, Han-Ching Wang, Takashi Aoki, Tomoya Kono, Masahiro Sakai

2nd International Conference of Fish & Shellfish Immunology

No abstract provided.

Leveraging The Plant Biotechnology Toolbox For Aquaculture: Production Of Protein Therapeutants For Promoting Fish Immune Health, Lana L. Elkins

2nd International Conference of Fish & Shellfish Immunology

No abstract provided.

How Does 2,4-Dinitrophenol Compare To Triclosan As A Mitochondrial Uncoupler?, Erik Gerson

Honors College

2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) is a well-documented mitochondrial uncoupler that was widely used as a dieting drug in the 1930’s. It was later banned in 1938 due its negative side effects which included extreme weight loss, the formation of cataracts, skin rashes, and death. Triclosan (TCS) is a common antimicrobial agent that is a component in soaps, toothpastes, and other household products. In addition to its antimicrobial role, TCS has been found to alleviate skin inflammation and dermatitis. However, TCS has also been linked to several health issues including increased cases of asthma and allergy, developmental problems, and decreased fertility. Previous studies …

Towards A Molecular Method For The Detection Of Leaf Rust In Lowbush Blueberry, Steven Valentino

Honors College

Thekopsora minima, or leaf rust, is a fungal pathogen that infects Vaccinium angustifolium (lowbush blueberry), an economically important crop to the state of Maine. T. minima undergoes a complicated life cycle that contains five unique spore stages. It causes abscissions in the leaves of plants that may consequently lower yields in the next growing cycle if leaf drop is severe. Currently, growers are instructed to apply fungicides in late July to prevent further infection. However, this is often not effective due to poor timing. Data on spore release patterns would be beneficial to elucidate the infection period. However, microscopic identification …

Regulation Of Microrna-199 Upon Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Infection In Zebrafish, Eliot Rivers Gagné

Honors College

The innate immune response is vital in an organism’s ability to fight infection. Aspects of the innate immune response including inflammation, phagocyte populations, and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) must be closely regulated in order to effectively eliminate pathogenic entities. Dysregulation of the innate immune response can cause various pathologies, including chronic infection, autoimmunity, and cancer. Recent studies have shown that microRNAs (miRs) play a regulatory and “fine-tuning” role in the innate immune system of the Zebrafish.⁹⁹ We have found that the expression of miR-199 is significantly upregulated upon stimulation of the Zebrafish innate immune system with …

Characterization Of Transcriptional Control Elements In Cluster E Mycobacteriophage Ukulele, Campbell Belisle Haley

Honors College

Mycobacteriophage (phage) are a diverse group of viruses that infect Mycobacterium. Their study allows further understanding of viral evolution and genetics. Phage tightly control gene expression and transcribe their genes using host RNA polymerases. This project identifies potential transcriptional control elements in the genome of mycobacteriophage Ukulele. Promoters are sequences of the genome that allow binding of RNA polymerase and initiation of transcription. 21 putative promoters were identified in the Ukulele genome. To confirm transcriptional activity from putative promoters, a GFP reporter system was developed in mycobacterial cells. Intrinsic terminators are mRNA sequences that form secondary structure during transcription …

Preliminary Analysis Of Β-Methylamino-L-Alanine Interactions With Cu/Zn Superoxide Dismutase In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Zebrafish Models, Elizabeth Pflugradt

Honors College

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a terminal neurodegenerative disease

with symptoms including limb-onset muscle wasting, difficulties swallowing and breathing, leading to death. Sporadic ALS occurs in 90% of patients, while 10% of cases are familial (FALS). Twenty percent of FALS cases are a result of mutation in the copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1) gene, leading to the activation of the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. Meanwhile, a prominent cause of sporadic ALS is exposure to neurotoxins, such as β-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA). BMAA has been suggested to induce selective motor neuron death, which is observed in ALS patients. While research has been done to how …

Characterization Of The Mycobacteriophage Ukulele Integration System; Identification Of Integration Site Attp And The Role Of The Integrase In Lysogeny Regulation, Emily E. Whitaker

Honors College

Mycobacteriophage (phage) are a group of viruses that infect bacteria in the genus Mycobacterium. Two phage lifestyles are lytic and temperate. Lytic phage only carry out the lytic life cycle, resulting in host cell lysis. Temperate phage are capable of completing both lytic and lysogenic life cycles. During the lysogenic life cycle, a phage-encoded integrase facilitates integration at sites attP in the phage genome and attB in the host to form a lysogen. The cluster E mycobacteriophage integration system is poorly understood. Ukulele, a lysogenic cluster E phage, is being used to identify the Cluster E attP and characterize lysogeny …