Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Persistent Infections And Immunity In Cystic Fibrosis, Hongwei Yu, Nathan Head

Hongwei Yu

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common autosomal recessive lethal disease in the Caucasian population. Chronic respiratory infections with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, neutrophil-dominated airway inflammation and progressive lung damage are the major causes of morbidity and mortality in CF. Two persistent infection phenotypes expressed by this bacterium are biofilm and mucoidy. Biofilm, also called the microcolony mode of growth is the surface-associated adherent bacterial community, while mucoidy refers to a phenotype conducive to copious amounts of mucoid exopolysaccharide (MEP)/alginate that provides a matrix for mature biofilms conferring resistance to host defenses and antibiotics. Recent completion of the whole genomic sequence of …

Gastrointestinal Cell Mediated Immunity And The Microsporidia, Magali M. Moretto, Imtiaz A. Khan, Louis M. Weiss

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Differential Effects Of Interleukin-17 Receptor Signaling On Innate And Adaptive Immunity During Central Nervous System Bacterial Infection., Debbie Vidlak, Tammy Kielian

Journal Articles: Pathology and Microbiology

Although IL-17A (commonly referred to as IL-17) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of central nervous system (CNS) autoimmune disease, its role during CNS bacterial infections remains unclear. To evaluate the broader impact of IL-17 family members in the context of CNS infection, we utilized IL-17 receptor (IL-17R) knockout (KO) mice that lack the ability to respond to IL-17, IL-17F and IL-17E (IL-25). In this article, we demonstrate that IL-17R signaling regulates bacterial clearance as well as natural killer T (NKT) cell and gamma-delta (γδ) T cell infiltrates during Staphylococcus aureus-induced brain abscess formation. Specifically, when compared with wild-type (WT) …

Selective Impact Of Hiv Disease Progression On The Innate Immune System In The Human Female Reproductive Tract, Timothy Lahey, Mimi Ghosh, John V. Fahey, Zheng Shen, Lucy R. Mukura, Yan Song, Susan Cu-Uvin, Kenneth H. Mayer, Peter F. Wright, John C. Kappes, Christina Ochsenbauer, Charles R. Wira

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: We have previously demonstrated intrinsic anti-HIV activity in cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) from HIV-infected women with high CD4 counts and not on antiretroviral therapy. However, the impact of HIV disease progression on CVL innate immune responses has not been delineated.

Methods: CVL from 57 HIV-infected women not on antiretroviral therapy were collected by washing the cervicovaginal area with 10 ml of sterile normal saline. We characterized subject HIV disease progression by CD4 count strata: >500 cells/µl, 200-500 cells/µl, or <200 cells/µl of blood. To assess CVL anti-HIV activity, we incubated TZM-bl cells with HIV plus or minus CVL. Antimicrobials, cytokines, chemokines and anti-gp160 HIV IgG antibodies were measured by ELISA and Luminex.

An Inside Job: Hacking Into Janus Kinase/Signal Transducer And Activator Of Transcription Signaling Cascades By The Intracellular Protozoan Toxoplasma Gondii, Eric Y. Denkers, David J. Bzik, Barbara A. Fox, Barbara A. Butcher

Dartmouth Scholarship

The intracellular protozoan Toxoplasma gondii is well known for its skill at invading and living within host cells. New discoveries are now also revealing the astounding ability of the parasite to inject effector proteins into the cytoplasm to seize control of the host cell. This review summarizes recent advances in our understanding of one such secretory protein called ROP16. This molecule is released from rhoptries into the host cell during invasion. The ROP16 molecule acts as a kinase, directly activating both signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and STAT6 signaling pathways. In macrophages, an important and preferential target …

Crosstalk Between Gastrointestinal Epithelial Cells And Resident Microbiota Promotes Immune Homeostasis, Eric William Rogier

Theses and Dissertations--Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics

The gastrointestinal tract houses one of the most dense and diverse communities of bacteria on the planet. The mutualistic relationship between the host and commensal microbe permits the microbe an ideal environment to grow and provides the host with increased caloric intake, maturation of the adaptive immune system, and resistance against invading pathogens. To maintain a system in which both parties benefit, the epithelium has evolved numerous strategies to ensure epithelial cells respond to microbes appropriately and that potentially hazardous commensals remain distanced from the soma proper. Breakdown of these propitiating mechanisms elicits unchecked inflammation and can lead to pathology …

Effects Of Apoptotic Cell Accumulation Caused By Mer Deficiency On Germinal Center B Cells And Helper T Cells, Tahsin N. Khan, Eric B. Wong, Ziaur S.M. Rahman

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

Mer (MerTK), a member of the Tyro-3/Axl/Mer subfamily receptor tyrosine kinases, expression on phagocytes facilitates their clearance of apoptotic cells (ACs). Mer expression in germinal centers (GCs) occurs predominantly on tingible body macrophages. B and T cells do not express Mer. Mer deficiency (Mer-/-) results in the accumulation of ACs in GCs and augmented antibody-forming cell (AFC), GC and IgG2 Ab responses against T-dependent (TD) Ag. Here, we show that AC accumulation in GCs and elevated AFC, GC and IgG2 Ab responses in Mer-/- mice lasted for at least 80 days after immunization with NP-OVA. Enhanced responses and AC accumulation …

Temporal Changes In Innate Immune Signals In A Rat Model Of Alcohol Withdrawal In Emotional And Cardiorespiratory Homeostatic Nuclei., Kate Freeman, Anthony Brureau, Rajanikanth Vadigepalli, Mary M Staehle, Melanie M Brureau, Gregory E Gonye, Jan B Hoek, D Craig Hooper, James S Schwaber

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Chronic alcohol use changes the brain's inflammatory state. However, there is little work examining the progression of the cytokine response during alcohol withdrawal, a period of profound autonomic and emotional upset. This study examines the inflammatory response in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and dorsal vagal complex (DVC), brain regions neuroanatomically associated with affective and cardiorespiratory regulation in an in vivo rat model of withdrawal following a single chronic exposure.

METHODS: For qRT-PCR studies, we measured the expression of TNF-α, NOS-2, Ccl2 (MCP-1), MHC II invariant chain CD74, and the TNF receptor Tnfrsf1a in CeA and DVC …