Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Life After Adhesion: L-Selectin Throughout The T Cell Lifespan, Abner Garcia Fernandez

Theses and Dissertations

Lymphocytes require antigenic encounter to activate and proliferate, eventually clearing the source of antigenic challenge. The peripheral lymph nodes (PLN) are the primary sites of antigenic encounter and thus the ability of lymphocytes to migrate to this tissue is a requirement for mounting effective immune responses. The process of lymphocyte migration to the PLN is known as the "adhesion cascade". Specifically, lymphocytes are captured from the blood through the adhesion molecule, L-selectin, followed by CC chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7)-mediated integrin activation, which ultimately results in cell transmigration into the PLN. Because the PLN is the site where antigenic encounter is …

Modulation Of Interleukin-17 By Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha During The Immune Response To Borrelia Burgdorferi, Velinka Medic

Theses and Dissertations

Arthritis is one of the main complications of late-stage Lyme borreliosis. Cytokines play an important role in the persistent inflammation that is elicited by the causative agent of disease, Borrelia burgdorferi. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that is induced by B. burgdorferi and that has been implicated in development of arthritis. However, in a mouse model of Lyme arthritis, treatment with anti-TNF-alpha; antibodies increased the severity of disease. By contrast, injection of recombinant TNF-alpha; ameliorated arthritis in this model. These findings suggested that other factors might be involved during the development of Lyme arthritis. One possible …

Adhesion Molecule Regulation Of Regulatory T Cell Migration, Jessica Jean Loppnow

Theses and Dissertations

Regulatory T (Treg) cells mediate tumor immune evasion by suppressing anti-tumor effector T cell responses in peripheral lymphoid tissues and within the tumor. While elevated Treg cell numbers have been shown to correlate with increased tumor growth, mechanisms that regulate their distribution within secondary lymphoid tissue and tumor tissue are not well understood. L-selectin, an adhesion molecule constitutively expressed on all classes of leukocytes, functions early in the adhesion cascade and regulates the migration of lymphocytes to lymph nodes through high endothelial venules. In addition, L-selectin can mediate migration of lymphocytes to sites of inflammation by binding to ligands present …

Utilization Of Focus Groups To Design Curricula To Teach 3d/4d Technology, Dustin Reinholtz

Theses and Dissertations

Diagnostic medical sonography is a tool utilized daily in the medical field. Currently there is a trend of moving from 2D technologies to newer, advanced 3D/4D technologies. The issue involved with adding 3D/4D technology to the echocardiography exam is how to best teach the sonographers how to become comfortable with using the newer technology. The aim of this study was to use focus groups and grounded theory as tools for curriculum development to teach cardiac sonographers 3D/4D technology to calculate left ventricular volume. The setting for this study was an academic medical center in which eight cardiac sonographers were recruited …

Statistical Investigation Of The Immune Response In Non-Human Primate Models, Annika Laser

Theses and Dissertations

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was first detected more than 30 years ago. Since then, intensive research has been done to develop a broadly protective vaccine, though without success. Our goal is to unveil some features of the protective immunity in non-human primate lentiviral infections in order to emulate HIV-infection. Two primate species have been studied, rhesus macaques (Rh) (Macaca mulatta) and African

green monkeys (Ag) (Chlorocebus spp.). Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection is non-pathogenic to Ag while Rh develop an AIDS-like illness. In this study, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 8 Ag and 27 Rh were stimulated with …

Identification Of Immunomodulatory Cells Induced By 670 Nm Light Therapy In An Animal Model Of Multiple Sclerosis, Erin Christine Koester

Theses and Dissertations

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune, demyelinating disease characterized by neurodegeneration and inflammation of the central nervous system. It affects approximately 250,000 people in the United States alone, with women being affected two times more than men. Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE) is the primary animal model of MS, sharing clinical signs and histopathology with MS. The current paradigm supports MS/EAE induction by myelin reactive CD4+ T cells that cross the blood brain barrier to induce an inflammatory response that leads to the destruction of the myelin sheath and eventual loss of axons. Recent data suggest that axonal loss and disease progression …

The Ticking Of The “Biological Clock”: Worry About Future Fertility In Nulliparous Women, Karen E. Kersting

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Title: The Ticking of the “Biological Clock”: Worry about Future Fertility in Nulliparous Women

By: Karen Kersting, M.A., M.S.

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2013.

Major Director: Kathleen M. Ingram, J.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Psychology

Department of Psychology

Modern women are waiting until later in their lives to have children than women of previous generations, a trend influenced by a number of factors including financial stability, dating norms, and career goals and responsibilities. As women age, their fertility may decline …