Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Effect Of Bacterial Superantigens On The Magnitude And Breadth Of Influenza-Specific Cd8+ T Cell Responses, Courtney Meilleur

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Severe cases of influenza A virus (IAV) infection are often complicated by concomitant bacterial pneumonia or sepsis. Many bacterial species are capable of producing potent immunomodulators called superantigens (SAgs), which have the potential to interfere with cell-based antiviral immune mechanisms. I asked what effects bacterial SAgs have on both the magnitude and the breadth of antiviral CD8⁺ T cell (TCD8⁺) responses. Surprisingly, administration of SAgs to mice shortly before or after vaccination with IAV increased the number of primary TCD8⁺ responding to select IAV-derived epitopes. T cell receptor staining of these SAg-augmented populations revealed expression of …

Heme Peroxidase Hpx-2 Protects Caenorhabditis Elegans From Pathogens, Yi Liu

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Heme-containing peroxidases are important components of innate immunity. Many of them functionally associate with NADPH oxidase (NOX)/dual oxidase (DUOX) enzymes by using the hydrogen peroxide they generate in downstream reactions. In Caenorhabditis elegans, a ShkT-containing peroxidase, SKPO-1, and the dual oxidase, BLI-3, contribute to resistance against the human pathogen Enterococcus faecalis, likely functioning in conjunction with each other. However, the exact mechanism(s) by which peroxidases and NOX/DUOXs contribute to pathogen resistance remain unclear. Here, we demonstrated that another peroxidase, HPX-2 (Heme-PeroXidase 2), is required for resistance against some, but not all pathogens. Tissue specific …

Molecular Epidemiology, Ecology, And Evolution Of Group A Streptococci, Debra E. Bessen, Pierre R. Smeesters, Bernard W. Beall

NYMC Faculty Publications

The clinico-epidemiological features of diseases caused by group A streptococci (GAS) is presented through the lens of the ecology, population genetics, and evolution of the organism. The serological targets of three typing schemes (M, T, SOF) are themselves GAS cell surface proteins that have a myriad of virulence functions and a diverse array of structural forms. Horizontal gene transfer expands the GAS antigenic cell surface repertoire by generating numerous combinations of M, T, and SOF antigens. However, horizontal gene transfer of the serotype determinant genes is not unconstrained, and therein lies a genetic organization that may signify adaptations to a …

Infections Not Fought: Antibiotic Resistance In Underserved Communities, Derek Lillestolen

Senior Honors Theses

In 1928, the profound effects of penicillin were discovered and antibiotic treatments became extremely popular. Broad-spectrum antibiotics, like tetracyclines, have been since branded as cure-all prescriptions and used profusely in the Western World and abroad. Due to ignorance of specific biochemical mechanisms and the misuse of antibiotics these drugs inadvertently allowed the rise in prevalence of antibiotic resistant strains of certain bacteria as the century progressed. Now, the specific genetic causes and mechanisms of antibiotic resistance are being understood, but the fight against antimicrobial resistance is far from over. In the United States, thousands of fatalities are caused annually by …

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

Mary Staehle

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 …

Editorial: Neuro-Immune Interactions In Inflammation And Autoimmunity, N. Terrando, V. A. Pavlov

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Molecular And Functional Neuroscience In Immunity, V. A. Pavlov, S. S. Chavan, K. J. Tracey

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

In Silico Cd4+, Cd8+ & Humoral Immunity Associated Antigenic Epitope Prediction And Hla Distribution Analysis Of Htlv-I, Tasneem Bano, Essam Mohammed Janahi, Anupam Dhasmana, Mohtashim Lohani, Shafiul Haque, Raju K. Mandel, Sajad A. Dar, Arshad Jawed, Mohd Wahid, Naseem Akhter, Mohammaed Y. Areeshi

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Purpose: The linkage of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) to fatal diseases is a well known fact for many years. However, there has been no significant progress in the field of the treatment that can lead to the development of a successful vaccine. Furthermore, there are no means of assessing the risk of disease and its prognosis in the infected people.

Methods:The current study has taken the cognizance of the importance of host’s immune response in reducing the risk of infectious diseases to carry out immunoinformatics driven epitope screening strategy of vaccine candidates against HTLV-1. In this …

The Role Of Adam10 And Adam17 In Humoral And Type 2 Immunity, Joseph C. Lownik

Theses and Dissertations

The proper regulation of inducible costimulator (ICOS) and its ligand (ICOSL) have been shown to be essential for maintaining immune homeostasis. Loss of either protein results in defective humoral immunity, and overexpression of ICOS results in aberrant antibody production resembling lupus. How ICOSL is regulated in response to ICOS interaction is still unclear. We demonstrate that ADAM10 is the primary physiological sheddase of ICOSL in both mouse and human. Using an in vivo system in which ADAM10 is deleted only on B cells (ADAM10^B-/-), elevated levels of ICOSL were seen. This increase is also seen when ADAM10 is …

Comparison Of Igg And Semiquantitative Tests For Evaluation Of Passive Transfer Immunity In Calves, Onur Topal, Hasan Batmaz, Zafer Meci̇toğlu, Ender Uzabaci

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Serum immunoglobulin (IgG) and semiquantitative tests are used for the evaluation of passive transfer immunity (PTI) in calves. We aimed to evaluate PTI in calves by using a Brix refractometer, total protein (TP), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and glutaraldehyde coagulation test (GCT) on days 1, 3, and 7 after birth; to compare the results with serum IgG; and to evaluate which day these tests are given on will give the best results. The blood samples were collected from 60 Holstein dairy calves on day 0, just after birth, and on the 1st, 3rd, and 7th days after birth. The serum IgG …

Nanopulse Stimulation (Nps) Induces Tumor Ablation And Immunity In Orthotopic 4t1 Mouse Breast Cancer: A Review, Stephen J. Beebe, Brittany P. Lassiter, Siqi Guo

Bioelectrics Publications

Nanopulse Stimulation (NPS) eliminates mouse and rat tumor types in several different animal models. NPS induces protective, vaccine-like effects after ablation of orthotopic rat N1-S1 hepatocellular carcinoma. Here we review some general concepts of NPS in the context of studies with mouse metastatic 4T1 mammary cancer showing that the postablation, vaccine-like effect is initiated by dynamic, multilayered immune mechanisms. NPS eliminates primary 4T1 tumors by inducing immunogenic, caspase-independent programmed cell death (PCD). With lower electric fields, like those peripheral to the primary treatment zone, NPS can activate dendritic cells (DCs). The activation of DCs by dead/dying cells leads to increases …