Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

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 …

Dengue Virus Infection And Virus-Specific Hla-A2 Restricted Immune Responses In Humanized Nod-Scid Il2rgammanull Mice, Smita Jaiswal, Todd Pearson, Heather Friberg, Leonard D. Shultz, Dale L. Greiner, Alan L. Rothman, Anuja Mathew

Alan Rothman

BACKGROUND: The lack of a suitable animal model to study viral and immunological mechanisms of human dengue disease has been a deterrent to dengue research.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We sought to establish an animal model for dengue virus (DENV) infection and immunity using non-obese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency interleukin-2 receptor gamma-chain knockout (NOD-scid IL2rgamma(null)) mice engrafted with human hematopoietic stem cells. Human CD45(+) cells in the bone marrow of engrafted mice were susceptible to in vitro infection using low passage clinical and established strains of DENV. Engrafted mice were infected with DENV type 2 by different routes and at multiple time points …

Lineage-Specific T-Cell Responses To Cancer Mucosa Antigen Oppose Systemic Metastases Without Mucosal Inflammatory Disease., Adam Snook, Peng Li, Benjamin J Stafford, Elizabeth J Faul, Lan Huang, Ruth C Birbe, Alessandro Bombonati, Stephanie Schulz, Matthias Schnell, Laurence Eisenlohr, Scott Waldman

Adam E Snook

Cancer mucosa antigens are emerging as a new category of self-antigens expressed normally in immunologically privileged mucosal compartments and universally by their derivative tumors. These antigens leverage the established immunologic partitioning of systemic and mucosal compartments, limiting tolerance opposing systemic antitumor efficacy. An unresolved issue surrounding self-antigens as immunotherapeutic targets is autoimmunity following systemic immunization. In the context of cancer mucosa antigens, immune effectors to self-antigens risk amplifying mucosal inflammatory disease promoting carcinogenesis. Here, we examined the relationship between immunotherapy for systemic colon cancer metastases targeting the intestinal cancer mucosa antigen guanylyl cyclase C (GCC) and its effect on inflammatory …

Protective Immunization In Mice Against Group B Streptococci Using Encapsulated C5a Peptidase, Donna Santillan, M. E. Andracki, S. K. Hunter

Donna A. Santillan

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to test whether C5a peptidase encapsulated within a biodegradable polymer can act as a vaccine and elicit an immune response to prevent group B streptococci (GBS) infection in mice and provide protection to pups. STUDY DESIGN: C5a peptidase was encapsulated in semipermeable microspheres of poly(lactide-co-glycolide). Female ICR mice were immunized with encapsulated C5a peptidase, free C5a peptidase, or empty microparticles. Booster doses were given at days 21 and 42. Antibody responses were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Challenge with GBS type III was performed 4 days after the final booster in the vaginal …

The Effects Of Ru 486 On Immune Function And Steroid-Induced Immunosuppression In Vitro, Bradley Van Voorhis, D. Anderson, J. Hill

Bradley J Van Voorhis

The effect of RU 486 [17 beta-hydroxy-11 beta-(4-dimethylamino-phenol)17 alpha-(prop-1-ynyl)estra- 4,9diene-3-one] on [3H]thymidine incorporation into Concanavalin-A-stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and its influence on the suppressive effects of cortisol and progesterone were investigated. Cortisol suppressed lymphocyte thymidine incorporation at 10(-5), 10(-6), and 10(-7) M (17.6%, 20%, and 38% of control, respectively; P less than 0.01). Cortisol-induced suppression was reversed when low concentrations of RU 486 (10(-7) and 10(-6) M) were added. RU 486 at 10(-5) M further suppressed lymphocyte thymidine incorporation when added to cultures with cortisol. Progesterone significantly inhibited lymphocyte thymidine incorporation at 10(-5) M (8.2% of control; P …

Does Rubella Immunity Predict Measles Immunity? A Serosurvey Of Pregnant Women, Colleen Kennedy, B. Burns, K. Ault

Colleen Kennedy Stockdale

BACKGROUND: This study was undertaken to determine whether rubella immunity infers measles immunity in pregnant women. METHODS: Stored serum samples were obtained from the Iowa State Hygienic Laboratory for evaluation of rubella and measles immunities with IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Nine hundred serum samples were obtained for testing. The average age of the women at the time of antepartum serum collection was 28 (range, 14 to 44) years. Measles and rubella immunity were 88% and 98%, respectively; there was no effect of immunity status by age identified. Eighty eight percent of those with rubella immunity were also measles immune. …

Protective Immunization In Mice Against Group B Streptococci Using Encapsulated C5a Peptidase, Donna Santillan, M. Andracki, Stephen Hunter

Stephen K. Hunter

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to test whether C5a peptidase encapsulated within a biodegradable polymer can act as a vaccine and elicit an immune response to prevent group B streptococci (GBS) infection in mice and provide protection to pups. STUDY DESIGN: C5a peptidase was encapsulated in semipermeable microspheres of poly(lactide-co-glycolide). Female ICR mice were immunized with encapsulated C5a peptidase, free C5a peptidase, or empty microparticles. Booster doses were given at days 21 and 42. Antibody responses were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Challenge with GBS type III was performed 4 days after the final booster in the vaginal …

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 …

Modulation Of Immunity And Viral-Host Interactions By Alcohol, Geoffrey Thiele, Gyongyi Szabo, Elizabeth Kovacs, Abraham Bautista, Laura Sosa, Thomas Jerrells

Gyongyi Szabo

This manuscript represents the proceedings of a symposium at the 2001 RSA Meeting in Montreal, Canada. The organizers/chairs were Gyongyi Szabo and Geoffrey M. Thiele. The presentations were (1) Introduction, by Gyongyi Szabo; (2) Chemokine dysregulation after acute ethanol exposure, by Elizabeth J. Kovacs; (3) Chemokine production and innate immunity in the livers of simian immunodeficiency virus-infected Macaca mulatta following chronic alcohol administration, by Abraham P. Bautista; (4) Influence of ethanol consumption on the severity and progression of hepatitis associated with cytomegalovirus infection, by Laura Sosa and Thomas R. Jerrells; (5) Scavenger receptor involvement in the immune response to the …

Inflammatory And Immune System Correlates Of Rape, M.W. Groer, Sandra Thomas, G.W. Evans, S. Helton

Sandra Thomas

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of measuring stress hormones and immunity following rape. The long-term goal is to evaluate the predictive value of stress-immune-inflammatory responses to later health outcomes. Fifteen women reporting rape were compared with 16 control participants. Serum stress hormones, proinflammatory cytokines, acute phase proteins, functional assays, and lymphocyte subsets were measured in blood samples. Women reporting rape had higher cytotoxic cells, lower B lymphocyte counts, higher proinflammatory biomarkers, and decreased lymphocyte proliferation compared to the control group. This finding suggests that rape produces activation of the innate immunity and suppression of some …