Immune System Diseases Commons^™

Utilizing Fiv (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) To Develop A Novel Animal Model To Study Hiv (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), Ankita Suryakant Kambli

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This project sought to perform the in vitro work needed to accomplish the long-term vision of harnessing the similarities between HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) to develop an animal model whereby cats can be used to study HIV pathogenesis and therapeutics. We transfected CRFK (Crandell Rees Feline Kidney) fibroblasts with plasmids that could express human or feline CD4, CCR5, or both, and determined receptor surface expression through flow cytometry. We discovered that HIV envelope expressed on 293T can fuse with huCD4/huCCR5 on CRFK. These cat cell lines were also capable of supporting HIV infection. Additionally, we …

Determining The Relative Transmission Fitness Of Hiv-1 Subtypes A, B, C, And D, Spencer Yeung

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There is in vivo evidence that suggests the genetic diversity of HIV-1 subtypes influence heterosexual transmission efficiency. To recapitulate sexual transmission in vitro, blocks of genital tissue were exposed to mixtures of genetically different subtype viruses. Migrating immune cells were collected and co-cultured with a CD4+ T-cell line permissive to HIV infection (PM1) to measure dendritic cell virus transfer; HIV-exposed tissues were cultured separately. Next generation sequencing (NGS) of HIV-1 DNA was used to quantify relative infection rates of the various challenge viruses, and to assess fitness differences in infection of the tissue vs. migratory/T cell co-cultures. Our results …

Hiv-1 Group M Subtype Fitness, Disease Progression, And Entry Efficiency, Colin M. Venner

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) emerged in the human population shortly after the turn of the 19th century. Distribution of HIV-1 across the globe over the past 30–35 years can be traced to founder events with primordial HIV strains from sub-Saharan Africa. Even considering the burden of HIV in Africa, our knowledge of HIV-1 disease is still largely limited to subtype B HIV-1, a strain responsible for 3 million infections in North America and Europe as compared to the 33 million that are infected with HIV-1 subtypes A, C, D, and circulating and unique recombinant forms.

This dissertation analyzes …

Pulmonary Surfactant Fortified With Cath-2 As A Novel Therapy For Bacterial Pneumonia, Brandon J. Baer

Western Research Forum

Background: Bacterial pneumonia is a leading cause of death worldwide, with high mortality rates persisting even after antibiotic treatment. Current treatments for pneumonia involve administration of antibiotics, however after the bacteria are killed they release toxic substances that induce inflammation and lung dysfunction. Host defense peptides represent a potential solution to this problem through their ability to down regulate inflammation. However, effective delivery to the lung is difficult because of the complex branching structure of the airways. My study addresses this delivery problem by using exogenous surfactant, a pulmonary delivery vehicle capable of improving spreading of these peptides throughout the …

Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor: Its Role In Gut-Homing Macrophage Generation And Colitis, And Production By Probiotics, Shahab Meshkibaf

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The pleiotropic cytokine granulocyte-colony stimulatory factor (G-CSF) is mainly required for the generation of neutrophils, but its role in macrophage generation has also been reported. In addition, G-CSF is effective for the down-regulation of inflammatory cytokines and ameliorating gut disorders, such as colitis. However, the G-CSF function in macrophage generation and gut immunity remains unclear. The first focus of this thesis was to assess the role of G-CSF in macrophage generation and its contribution to gut immunity. G-CSF was found to promote the generation of Gr-1high/F4/80+ macrophages in macrophage (M)-CSF-treated bone marrow cells, most likely through suppressing cell death. Gr-1high …

Restriction Of Hiv-1 Replication By Unique Trim22 Isoforms., Clayton Hattlmann

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Understanding how the immune system reacts to HIV infection and why normal antiviral defenses are insufficient to fight infection is a key step towards creating better therapies. Several interferon-induced proteins, such as the tripartite motif protein TRIM22, are capable of restricting HIV-1 replication; however single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can dramatically impact the actions of these proteins. While the trim22 gene contains numerous SNPs, no study has addressed how these may affect TRIM22 functions. Here we provide the first direct comparison of two TRIM22 unique isoforms. Through confocal microscopy we observed these isoforms exhibit different patterns of localization. In vitro studies …