Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health Commons^™

Dependence On Humidity And Aerosol Composition Of The Gas-Particle Partitioning Of Weakly And Moderately Polar Vocs, Jeonghyeon Ahn, Guiying Rao, Eric P. Vejerano

Faculty Publications

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) dominate the class of pollutants that accumulate in the atmosphere and indoors. Assessing the gas-particle partitioning of VOCs is important to determine their fate, transport, and adverse health impacts. This work is a companion to our earlier study on the temperature dependence of VOC partitioning. Here, we report our measurement of the gas-particle partition coefficient (Kp) for weakly polar (trichloroethylene, TCE) and moderately polar (n-butanol, n-BuOH) VOCs under varying relative humidity (RH) levels onto organic and inorganic aerosols. Kp of TCE was four to five orders of magnitude lower than those …

Sars-Cov-2 Impairs Dendritic Cells And Regulates Dc-Sign Gene Expression In Tissues, Guoshuai Cai, Mulong Du, Yohan Bossé, Helmut Albrecht, Fei Qin, Xizhi Luo, Xiao Michelle Androulakis, Chao Cheng, Mitzi Nagarkatti, Prakash Nagarkatti, David C. Christiani, Michael L. Whitfield, Christopher I. Amos, Feifei Xiao

Faculty Publications

The current spreading coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is highly infectious and pathogenic. In this study, we screened the gene expression of three host receptors (ACE2, DC-SIGN and L-SIGN) of SARS coronaviruses and dendritic cells (DCs) status in bulk and single cell transcriptomic datasets of upper airway, lung or blood of COVID-19 patients and healthy controls. In COVID-19 patients, DC-SIGN gene expression was interestingly decreased in lung DCs but increased in blood DCs. Within DCs, conventional DCs (cDCs) were depleted while plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) were augmented in the lungs of mild COVID-19. In severe cases, we identified augmented types of immature DCs (CD22+ …

Andrographolide Attenuates Gut-Brain-Axis Associated Pathology In Gulf War Illness By Modulating Bacteriome-Virome Associated Inflammation And Microglia-Neuron Proinflammatory Crosstalk, Punnag Saha, Peter T. Skidmore, Larinda A. Holland, Ayan Mondal, Dipro Bose, Ratanesh K. Seth, Kimberly Sullivan, Patricia A. Janulewicz, Ronnie Horner, Nancy Klimas, Mitzi Nagarkatti, Prakash Nagarkatti, Efrem S. Lim, Saurabh Chatterjee

Faculty Publications

Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a chronic multi-symptomatic illness that is associated with fatigue, pain, cognitive deficits, and gastrointestinal disturbances and presents a significant challenge to treat in clinics. Our previous studies show a role of an altered Gut-Brain axis pathology in disease development and symptom persistence in GWI. The present study utilizes a mouse model of GWI to study the role of a labdane diterpenoid andrographolide (AG) to attenuate the Gut-Brain axis-linked pathology. Results showed that AG treatment in mice (100 mg/kg) via oral gavage restored bacteriome alterations, significantly increased probiotic bacteria , , and , the genera that …

Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals As Sources Of Pops, Eric P. Vejerano, Jeonghyeon Ahn, Junaid Latif, Mustafa Mamun

Faculty Publications

Environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) are a new class organic pollutant sharing some of the attributes of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). This opinion/short review aims to describe the properties of EPFRs that merit their recognition as an additional and potentially significant source of POPs. EPFRs are ubiquitous in diverse environments because of multiple factors: (1) organic precursors from anthropogenic, biogenic, and other natural emission sources are abundant; multiple mechanisms in PM and soils form (2) EPFRs; and (3) EPFRs are stable and persist for a long time, thereby, accumulate in the environment and potentially transported long range. The hazards of …

Nanoantibiotics: Functions And Properties At The Nanoscale To Combat Antibiotic Resistance, M. Mustafa Mamun, Adeola Julian Sorinolu, Mariya Munir, Eric P. Vejerano

Faculty Publications

One primary mechanism for bacteria developing resistance is frequent exposure to antibiotics. Nanoantibiotics (nAbts) is one of the strategies being explored to counteract the surge of antibiotic resistant bacteria. nAbts are antibiotic molecules encapsulated with engineered nanoparticles (NPs) or artificially synthesized pure antibiotics with a size range of ≤100 nm in at least one dimension. NPs may restore drug efficacy because of their nanoscale functionalities. As carriers and delivery agents, nAbts can reach target sites inside a bacterium by crossing the cell membrane, interfering with cellular components, and damaging metabolic machinery. Nanoscale systems deliver antibiotics at enormous particle number concentrations. …

Transport Of N-Cd And Pre-Sorbed Pb In Saturated Porous Media, Salahaddin Kamrani, Vahab Amiri, Mosleh Kamrani, Mohammed Baalousha

Faculty Publications

Carbon dots (CDs) are a new type of nanomaterials of the carbon family with unique characteristics, such as their small size (e.g., <10 nm), high water solubility, low toxicity, and high metal affinity. Modification of CDs by Nitrogen functional groups (N-CDs) enhances their metal adsorption capacity. This study investigated the influences of pH (4, 6, and 9), ionic strength (1, 50, and 100 mM), and cation valency (Na⁺ and Ca²⁺) on the competitive adsorption of Pb to quartz and N-CD surfaces, the transport and retention of N-CDs in saturated porous media, and the capacity of N-CDs to mobilize pre-adsorbed Pb in quartz columns. Pb adsorption was higher on N-CDs than on quartz surfaces and decreased with increases in ionic strength (IS) and divalent cations (Ca²⁺) concentration. N-CD mobility in quartz columns was highest at pH of 9- and 1-mM monovalent cations …

Obesity Worsens Gulf War Illness Symptom Persistence Pathology By Linking Altered Gut Microbiome Species To Long-Term Gastrointestinal, Hepatic, And Neuronal Inflammation In A Mouse Model, Dipro Bose, Punnag Saha, Ayan Mondal, Brian Fanelli, Ratanesh K. Seth, Patricia Janulewicz, Kimberly Sullivan, Stephen Lasley, Ronnie Horner, Rita R. Colwell, Ashok K. Shetty, Nancy Klimas, Saurabh Chatterjee

Faculty Publications

Persistence of Gulf War illness (GWI) pathology among deployed veterans is a clinical challenge even after almost three decades. Recent studies show a higher prevalence of obesity and metabolic disturbances among Gulf War veterans primarily due to the existence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic fatigue, sedentary lifestyle, and consumption of a high-carbohydrate/high-fat diet. We test the hypothesis that obesity from a Western-style diet alters host gut microbial species and worsens gastrointestinal and neuroinflammatory symptom persistence. We used a 5 month Western diet feeding in mice that received prior Gulf War (GW) chemical exposure to mimic the home phase obese …

A Method To Measure The Partitioning Coefficient Of Volatile Organic Compounds In Nanoparticles, Guiying Rao, Jeonghyeon Ahn, Abigail Evans, Michelle Casey, Eric P. Vejerano

Faculty Publications

The partitioning behavior of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into nanoparticles is less studied compared to those of semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) because of the lower concentration of the VOCs that is expected to partition into particles. One challenge in measuring the accurate partition coefficient of VOCs is quantifying their low mass fraction that sorbed on nanoparticles and differentiating them from the high VOC concentrations present in the gas-phase. Systematically characterizing the partitioning coefficient at a specific environmental condition is also difficult when sampling in the field. During field sampling, thermal and non-thermal issues such as sampling artifacts and non-equilibrium conditions …

Tlr Antagonism By Sparstolonin B Alters Microbial Signature And Modulates Gastrointestinal And Neuronal Inflammation In Gulf War Illness Preclinical Model, Dipro Bose, Ayan Mondal, Punnag Saha, Diana Kimono, Sutapa Sarkar, Ratanesh K. Seth, Patricia Janulewicz, Kimberly Sullivan, Ronnie Horner, Nancy Klimas, Mitzi Nagarkatti, Prakash Nagarkatti, Saurabh Chatterjee

Faculty Publications

The 1991 Persian Gulf War veterans presented a myriad of symptoms that ranged from chronic pain, fatigue, gastrointestinal disturbances, and cognitive deficits. Currently, no therapeutic regimen exists to treat the plethora of chronic symptoms though newer pharmacological targets such as microbiome have been identified recently. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) antagonism in systemic inflammatory diseases have been tried before with limited success, but strategies with broad-spectrum TLR4 antagonists and their ability to modulate the host-microbiome have been elusive. Using a mouse model of Gulf War Illness, we show that a nutraceutical, derived from a Chinese herb Sparstolonin B (SsnB) presented a …

Lipocalin 2 Induces Neuroinflammation And Blood-Brain Barrier Dysfunction Through Liver-Brain Axis In Murine Model Of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis, Ayan Mondal, Dipro Bose, Punnag Saha, Sutapa Sarkar, Ratanesh K. Seth, Diana Kimono, Muayad Albadrani, Mitzi Nagarkatti, Prakash Nagarkatti, Saurabh Chatterjee

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND:

Recent clinical and basic research implicated a strong correlation between NAFLD/NASH phenotypes with ectopic manifestations including neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, but the mediators and critical pathways involved are not well understood. Lipocalin 2 (Lcn2) is one of the important mediators exclusively produced in the liver and circulation during NASH pathology.

METHODS:

Using murine model of NASH, we studied the role of Lcn2 as a potent mediator of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in NASH pathology via the liver-brain axis. RESULTS: Results showed that high circulatory Lcn2 activated 24p3R (Lipocalin2 receptor) in the brain and induced the release of high mobility group box …

A Letter To Reconsider The Conditions For Testing Decontaminated N95 Respirators For Emergency Reuse To Address Shortage, Eric P. Vejerano, Jeonghyeon Ahn

Faculty Publications

The battle with COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the shortage of personal protective equipment, particularly, N95 respirators. Healthcare workers who reused N95 respirators may resort to unproven methods of cleaning/sterilization that can severely compromise the respirators’ filtration efficiency. A recently issued guideline will test decontaminated N95 respirators against particles with a median diameter of 0.075 ± 0.020 µm at a flow rate of 85 L min–1. For emergency reuse, these conditions may be too stringent. N95 respirators tested at this flow rate had predicted efficiencies of < 69%, assuming complete degradation of their electrostatic coating. Experimental efficiencies were ~15% lower. For emergency reuse, we recommend to either adjust the flow rate closer to normal breathing, or the size of the test particle should reflect that of virus-laden respiratory aerosols (~> 0.5 µm). By reconsidering the test conditions, a substantial fraction of used/decontaminated respirators can …

Host Abundance Correlates With Gulf War Illness Symptom Persistence Via Nlrp3-Mediated Neuroinflammation And Decreased Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Diana Kimono, Dipro Bose, Ratanesh K. Seth, Ayan Mondal, Punnag Saha, Patricia Janulewicz, Kimberly Sullivan, Stephen Lasley, Ronnie Horner, Nancy Klimas, Saurabh Chatterjee

Faculty Publications

Neurological disorders are commonly reported among veterans who returned from the Gulf war. Veterans who suffer from Gulf War illness (GWI) complain of continued symptom persistence that includes neurological disorders, muscle weakness, headaches, and memory loss, that developed during or shortly after the war. Our recent research showed that chemical exposure associated microbial dysbiosis accompanied by a leaky gut connected the pathologies in the intestine, liver, and brain. However, the mechanisms that caused the symptoms to persist even 30 years after the war remained elusive to investigators. In this study, we used a rodent model of GWI to investigate the …

Gut Dna Virome Diversity And Its Association With Host Bacteria Regulate Inflammatory Phenotype And Neuronal Immunotoxicity In Experimental Gulf War Illness, Ratanesh K. Seth, Rabia Maqsood, Ayan Mondal, Dipro Bose, Diana Kimono, Larinda A. Holland, Patricia Janulewicz Lloyd, Nancy Klimas, Ronnie Horner, Kimberly Sullivan, Efrem S. Lim, Saurabh Chatterjee

Faculty Publications

Gulf War illness (GWI) is characterized by the persistence of inflammatory bowel disease, chronic fatigue, neuroinflammation, headache, cognitive impairment, and other medically unexplained conditions. Results using a murine model show that enteric viral populations especially bacteriophages were altered in GWI. The increased viral richness and alpha diversity correlated positively with gut bacterial dysbiosis and proinflammatory cytokines. Altered virome signature in GWI mice also had a concomitant weakening of intestinal epithelial tight junctions with a significant increase in Claudin-2 protein expression and decrease in ZO1 and Occludin mRNA expression. The altered virome signature in GWI, decreased tight junction protein level was …

Dysbiosis-Associated Enteric Glial Cell Immune-Activation And Redox Imbalance Modulate Tight Junction Protein Expression In Gulf War Illness Pathology, Diana Kimono, Sutapa Sarkar, Muayad Albadrani, Ratanesh K. Seth, Dipro Bose, Ayan Mondal, Yuxi Li, Amar N. Kar, Mitzi Nagarkatti, Prakash Nagarkatti, Kimberly Sullivan, Patricia Janulewicz, Stephen Lasley, Ronnie Horner, Nancy Klimas, Saurabh Chatterjee

Faculty Publications

About 14% of veterans who suffer from Gulf war illness (GWI) complain of some form of gastrointestinal disorder but with no significant markers of clinical pathology. Our previous studies have shown that exposure to GW chemicals resulted in altered microbiome which was associated with damage associated molecular pattern (DAMP) release followed by neuro and gastrointestinal inflammation with loss of gut barrier integrity. Enteric glial cells (EGC) are emerging as important regulators of the gastrointestinal tract and have been observed to change to a reactive phenotype in several functional gastrointestinal disorders such as IBS and IBD. This study is aimed at …

The Gut-Microbiome In Gulf War Veterans: A Preliminary Report, Patricia A. Janulewicz, Ratanesh K. Seth, Jeffrey M. Carlson, Joy Ajama, Emily Quinn, Timothy Heeren, Nancy Klimas, Steven M. Lasley, Ronnie Horner, Kimberly Sullivan, Saurabh Chatterjee

Faculty Publications

Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a chronic multi-symptom disorder affecting the central nervous system (CNS), immune and gastrointestinal (GI) systems of Gulf War veterans (GWV). We assessed the relationships between GWI, GI symptoms, gut microbiome and inflammatory markers in GWV from the Boston Gulf War Illness Consortium (GWIC). Three groups of GWIC veterans were recruited in this pilot study; GWV without GWI and no gastrointestinal symptoms (controls), GWV with GWI and no gastrointestinal symptoms (GWI-GI), GWV with GWI who reported gastrointestinal symptoms (GW+GI). Here we report on a subset of the first thirteen stool samples analyzed. Results showed significantly different …

Environmental Microcystin Targets The Microbiome And Increases The Risk Of Intestinal Inflammatory Pathology Via Nox2 In Underlying Murine Model Of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Sutapa Sarkar, Diana Kimono, Muayad Albadrani, Ratanesh K. Seth, Philip Busbee, Hasan Alghetaa, Dwayne E. Porter, Geoff I. Scott, Bryan Brooks, Mitzi Nagarkatti, Prakash Nagarkatti, Saurabh Chatterjee

Faculty Publications

With increased climate change pressures likely to influence harmful algal blooms, exposure to microcystin, a known hepatotoxin and a byproduct of cyanobacterial blooms can be a risk factor for NAFLD associated comorbidities. Using both in vivo and in vitro experiments we show that microcystin exposure in NAFLD mice cause rapid alteration of gut microbiome, rise in bacterial genus known for mediating gut inflammation and lactate production. Changes in the microbiome were strongly associated with inflammatory pathology in the intestine, gut leaching, tight junction protein alterations and increased oxidative tyrosyl radicals. Increased lactate producing bacteria from the altered microbiome was associated …

Resveratrol Attenuates Allergic Asthma And Associated Inflammation In The Lungs Through Regulation Of Mirna-34a That Targets Foxp3 In Mice, Esraah Alharris, Hasan Alghetaa, Ratanesh K. Seth, Saurabh Chatterjee, Narendra P. Singh, Mitzi Nagarkatti, Prakash Nagarkatti

Faculty Publications

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of airways mediated by T-helper 2 (Th2) cells involving complex signaling pathways. Although resveratrol has previously been shown to attenuate allergic asthma, the role of miRNA in this process has not been studied. We investigated the effect of resveratrol on ovalbumin-induced experimental allergic asthma in mice. To that end, BALB/c mice were immunized with ovalbumin (OVA) intraperitoneally followed by oral gavage of vehicle (OVA-veh) or resveratrol (100 mg/kg body) (OVA-res). On day 7, the experimental groups received intranasal challenge of OVA followed by 7 days of additional oral gavage of vehicle or resveratrol. At …

Macromolecular-Clustered Facial Amphiphilic Antimicrobials, Md Anisur Rahman, Marpe Bam, Edgar Luat, Moumita Sharmin Jui, Mitra S. Ganewatta, Tinom Shokfai, Mitzi Nagarkatti, Alan W. Decho

Faculty Publications

Bacterial infections and antibiotic resistance, particularly by Gram-negative pathogens, have become a global healthcare crisis. We report the design of a class of cationic antimicrobial polymers that cluster local facial amphiphilicity from repeating units to enhance interactions with bacterial membranes without requiring a globally conformational arrangement associated with highly unfavorable entropic loss. This concept of macromolecular architectures is demonstrated with a series of multicyclic natural product-based cationic polymers. We have shown that cholic acid derivatives with three charged head groups are more potent and selective than lithocholic and deoxycholic counterparts, particularly against Gram-negative bacteria. This is ascribed to the formation …

Influenza Virus Infectivity Is Retained In Aerosols And Droplets Independent Of Relative Humidity, Karen A. Kormuth, Kaisen Lin, Aaron J. Prussin, Eric P. Vejerano, Andrea J. Tiwari, Steve S. Cox, Micheal M. Myerburg, Seema S. Lakdawala, Linsey C. Marr

Faculty Publications

Pandemic and seasonal influenza viruses can be transmitted through aerosols and droplets, in which viruses must remain stable and infectious across a wide range of environmental conditions. Using humidity-controlled chambers, we studied the impact of relative humidity on the stability of 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) virus in suspended aerosols and stationary droplets. Contrary to the prevailing paradigm that humidity modulates the stability of respiratory viruses in aerosols, we found that viruses supplemented with material from the apical surface of differentiated primary human airway epithelial cells remained equally infectious for 1 hour at all relative humidities tested. This sustained infectivity was …

Aerosol Microdroplets Exhibit A Stable Ph Gradient, Haoran Wei, Eric P. Vejerano, Weinan Leng, Qishen Haung, Marjorie R. Willner, Linsey C. Marr, Peter J. Vikesland

Faculty Publications

Suspended aqueous aerosol droplets (<50 μm) are microreactors for many important atmospheric reactions. In droplets and other aquatic environments, pH is arguably the key parameter dictating chemical and biological processes. The nature of the droplet air/ water interface has the potential to significantly alter droplet pH relative to bulk water. Historically, it has been challenging to measure the pH of individual droplets because of their inaccessibility to conventional pH probes. In this study, we scanned droplets containing 4-mercaptobenzoic acid–functionalized gold nanoparticle pH nanoprobes by 2D and 3D laser confocal Raman microscopy. Using surface-enhanced Raman scattering, we acquired the pH distribution inside approximately 20-μm-diameter phosphate-buffered aerosol droplets and found that the pH in the core of a droplet is higher than that of bulk solution by up to 3.6 pH units. This finding suggests the accumulation of protons at the air/water interface and is consistent with recent thermodynamic model results. The existence of this pH shift was corroborated by the observation that a catalytic reaction that occurs only under basic conditions (i.e., dimerization of 4-aminothiophenol to produce dimercaptoazobenzene) occurs within the high pH core of a droplet, but not in bulk solution. Our nanoparticle probe enables pH quantification through the cross-section of an aerosol droplet, revealing a spatial gradient that has implications for acid-base–catalyzed atmospheric chemistry.

High Circulatory Leptin Mediated Nox-2-Peroxynitrite-Mir21 Axis Activate Mesangial Cells And Promotes Renal Inflammatory Pathology In Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Firas Alhasson, Ratanesh K. Seth, Sutapa Sarkar, Diana A. Kimono, Muayad S. Albadrani, Diptadip Dattaroy, Varun Chandrashekaran, Geoffry Scott, Samir Raychoudhury, Mitzi Nagarkatti, Prakash Nagarkatti, Anna Mae Diehl, Saurabh Chatterjee

Faculty Publications

High circulatory insulin and leptin followed by underlying inflammation are often ascribed to the ectopic manifestations in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) but the exact molecular pathways remain unclear. We have shown previously that CYP2E1-mediated oxidative stress and circulating leptin in NAFLD is associated with renal disease severity. Extending the studies, we hypothesized that high circulatory leptin in NAFLD causes renal mesangial cell activation and tubular inflammation via a NOX2 dependent pathway that upregulates proinflammatory miR21. High-fat diet (60% kcal) was used to induce fatty liver phenotype with parallel insulin and leptin resistance. The kidneys were probed for mesangial cell …

Physico-Chemical Characteristics Of Evaporating Respiratory Fluid Droplets, Eric P. Vejerano, Linsey C. Marr

Faculty Publications

The detailed physico-chemical characteristics of respiratory droplets in ambient air, where they are subject to evaporation, are poorly understood. Changes in the concentration and phase of major components in a droplet—salt (NaCl), protein (mucin) and surfactant (dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine)—may affect the viability of any pathogens contained within it and thus may affect the efficiency of transmission of infectious disease by droplets and aerosols. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of relative humidity (RH) on the physico-chemical characteristics of evaporating droplets of model respiratory fluids. We labelled these components in model respiratory fluids and observed evaporating droplets suspended on …

Exopolysaccharides Regulate Calcium Flow In Cariogenic Biofilms, Monika Astasov-Frauenhoffer, Muth M. Varenganayil, Alan W. Decho, Tuomas Waltimo, Olivier Braissant

Faculty Publications

Caries-associated biofilms induce loss of calcium from tooth surfaces in the presence of dietary carbohydrates. Exopolysaccharides (EPS) provide a matrix scaffold and an abundance of primary binding sites within biofilms. The role of EPS in binding calcium in cariogenic biofilms is only partially understood. Thus, the aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between the calcium dissolution rates and calcium tolerance of caries-associated bacteria and yeast as well as to examine the properties of EPS to quantify its binding affinity for dissolved calcium. Calcium dissolution was measured by dissolution zones on Pikovskaya’s agar. Calcium tolerance was assessed …

Hmgb1-Rage Pathway Drives Peroxynitrite Signaling-Induced Ibd-Like Inflammation In Murine Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Varun Chandrashekaran, Ratanesh K. Seth, Diptadip Dattaroy, Firas Alhasson, Jacek Ziolenka, James Carson, Franklin G. Berger, Balaraman Kalyanaraman, Anna Mae Diehl, Saurabh Chatterjee

Faculty Publications

Recent clinical studies found a strong association of colonic inflammation and Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-like phenotype with NonAlcoholic Fatty liver Disease (NAFLD) yet the mechanisms remain unknown. The present study identifies high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) as a key mediator of intestinal inflammation in NAFLD and outlines a detailed redox signaling mechanism for such a pathway. NAFLD mice showed liver damage and release of elevated HMGB1 in systemic circulation and increased intestinal tyrosine nitration that was dependent on NADPH oxidase. Intestines from NAFLD mice showed higher Toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) activation and proinflammatory cytokine release, an outcome strongly …

Complete Genome Sequence Of Vibrio Gazogenes Atcc 43942, Phani M. Gummadidala, Michael E. Holder, Jacqueline L. O’Brien, Nadim J. Ajami, Joseph F. Petrosino, Chandrani Mitra, Yung Pin Chen, Alan W. Decho, Anindya Chandaa

Faculty Publications

Vibrio gazogenes ATCC 43942 has the potential to synthesize a plethora of metabolites which are of clinical and agricultural significance in response to environmental triggers. The complete genomic sequence of Vibrio gazogenes ATCC 43942 is reported herein, contributing to the knowledge base of strains in the Vibrio genus.

Microbial Extracellular Polymeric Substances (Epss) In Ocean Systems, Alan W. Decho, Tony Gutierrez

Faculty Publications

Microbial cells (i.e., bacteria, archaea, microeukaryotes) in oceans secrete a diverse array of large molecules, collectively called extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) or simply exopolymers. These secretions facilitate attachment to surfaces that lead to the formation of structured ‘biofilm’ communities. In open-water environments, they also lead to formation of organic colloids, and larger aggregations of cells, called ‘marine snow.’ Secretion of EPS is now recognized as a fundamental microbial adaptation, occurring under many environmental conditions, and one that influences many ocean processes. This relatively recent realization has revolutionized our understanding of microbial impacts on ocean systems. EPS occur in a range …

Tgf-Beta Triggers Rapid Fibrillogenesis Via A Novel T Beta Rii-Dependent Fibronectin-Trafficking Mechanism, Archana Varadaraj, Laura M. Jenkins, Priyanka Singh, Anindya Chanda, John Snider, N.Y. Lee, Ayelet R. Amsalem-Zafran, Marcelo Ehrlich, Yoav I. Henis, Karthikeyan Mythreye

Faculty Publications

Fibronectin (FN) is a critical regulator of extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling through its availability and stepwise polymerization for fibrillogenesis. Availability of FN is regulated by its synthesis and turnover, and fibrillogenesis is a multistep, integrin-dependent process essential for cell migration, proliferation, and tissue function. Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) is an established regulator of ECM remodeling via transcriptional control of ECM proteins. Here we show that TGF-β, through increased FN trafficking in a transcription- and SMAD-independent manner, is a direct and rapid inducer of the fibrillogenesis required for TGF-β–induced cell migration. Whereas TGF-β signaling is dispensable for rapid fibrillogenesis, stable …

Altered Gut Microbiome In A Mouse Model Of Gulf War Illness Causes Neuroinflammation And Intestinal Injury Via Leaky Gut And Tlr4 Activation, Firas Alhasson, Suvarthi Das, Ratanesh K. Seth, Diptadip Dattaroy, Varun Chandrashekaran, Caitlin N. Ryan, Luisa S. Chan, Traci Testerman, James Burch, Lorne J. Hofseth, Ronnie Horner, Mitzi Nagarkatti, Prakash Nagarkatti, Stephen M. Lasley, Saurabh Chatterjee

Faculty Publications

Many of the symptoms of Gulf War Illness (GWI) that include neurological abnormalities, neuroinflammation, chronic fatigue and gastrointestinal disturbances have been traced to Gulf War chemical exposure. Though the association and subsequent evidences are strong, the mechanisms that connect exposure to intestinal and neurological abnormalities remain unclear. Using an established rodent model of Gulf War Illness, we show that chemical exposure caused significant dysbiosis in the gut that included increased abundance of phylum Firmicutes and Tenericutes, and decreased abundance of Bacteroidetes. Several gram negative bacterial genera were enriched in the GWI-model that included Allobaculum sp. Altered microbiome caused significant decrease …

Aflatoxin-Exposure Of Vibrio Gazogenes As A Novel System For The Generation Of Aflatoxin Synthesis Inhibitors, Phani M. Gummadidala, Yung Pin Chen, Kevin R. Beauchesne, Kristen P. Miller, Chandrani Mitra, Michelle Velez-Martinez, Peter D. R. Moeller, John L. Ferry, Alan W. Decho, Anindya Chanda

Faculty Publications

Aflatoxin is a mycotoxin and a secondary metabolite, and the most potent known liver carcinogen that contaminates several important crops, and represents a significant threat to public health and the economy. Available approaches reported thus far have been insufficient to eliminate this threat, and therefore provide the rational to explore novel methods for preventing aflatoxin accumulation in the environment. Many terrestrial plants and microbes that share ecological niches and encounter the aflatoxin producers have the ability to synthesize compounds that inhibit aflatoxin synthesis. However, reports of natural aflatoxin inhibitors from marine ecosystem components that do not share ecological niches with …

Nanotechnology In The Real World: Redeveloping The Nanomaterial Consumer Products Inventory, Marina E. Vance, Todd Kuiken, Eric P. Vejerano, Sean P. Mcginnis, Michael F. Hochella Jr., David Rejeski, Matthew S. Hull

Faculty Publications

To document the marketing and distribution of nano-enabled products into the commercial marketplace, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies created the Nanotechnology Consumer Products Inventory (CPI) in 2005. The objective of this present work is to redevelop the CPI by leading a research effort to increase the usefulness and reliability of this inventory. We created eight new descriptors for consumer products, including information pertaining to the nanomaterials contained in each product. The project was motivated by the recognition that a diverse group of stakeholders from academia, industry, and state/federal government had become highly …