Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons^™

Diseases At The Livestock–Wildlife Interface: Status, Challenges, And Opportunities In The United States, Ryan S. Miller, Mathew L. Farnsworth, Jennifer L. Malmberg

Other Publications in Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease

In the last half century, significant attention has been given to animal diseases; however, our understanding of disease processes and how to manage them at the livestock–wildlife interface remains limited. In this study, we conduct a systematic review of the scientific literature to evaluate the status of diseases at the livestock–wildlife interface in the United States. Specifically, the goals of the literature review were three fold: first to evaluate domestic animal diseases currently found in the United States where wildlife may play a role; second to identify critical issues faced in managing these diseases at the livestock–wildlife ...

Mycobacterium Bovis (Bovine Tuberculosis) Infection In North American Wildlife: Current Status And Opportunities For Mitigation Of Risks Of Further Infection In Wildlife Populations, Ryan S. Miller, Steven J. Sweeney

Other Publications in Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease

Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis), the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis, has been identified in nine geographically distinct wildlife populations in North America and Hawaii and is endemic in at least three populations, including members of the Bovidae, Cervidae, and Suidae families. The emergence of M. bovis in North American wildlife poses a serious and growing risk for livestock and human health and for the recreational hunting industry. Experience in many countries, including the USA and Canada, has shown that while M. bovis can be controlled when restricted to livestock species, it is almost impossible to eradicate once it has spread ...

American Society Of Parasitologists Newsletter, V. 35, No. 1, Spring 2013, Scott Lyell Gardner

Newsletter of the American Society of Parasitologists

American Society of Parasitologists Newsletter, volume 35, number 1, Spring 2013

Ectoparasites Of The Virginia Opossum (Didelphis Virginiana), Raccoon (Procyon Lotor), And Striped Skunk (Mephitis Mephitis) From Keith County, Nebraska, Lance A. Durden, Dennis J. Richardson

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Six Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana), nine raccoons (Procyon lotor) and one striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) collected from Keith County Nebraska were examined for ectoparasites. All three host species were parasitized by adults of the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis. Opossums were also parasitized by the flea Pulex simulans and the tiny fur mite Didelphilichus serri­fer; the latter species represents a new state record for Nebraska. Raccoons were also parasitized by P. simulans and by the lago­morph-associated flea Euhoplopsyllus glacialis affinis, whereas the skunk was also parasitized by the chewing louse Neotrichodectes mephiditis.

Estudios Científicos En El Estado De Hidalgo Y Zonas Aledañas, Volumen Ii, Griselda Pulido-Flores, Scott Monks

Zea E-Books

Los 16 capítulos que conforman este libro son una contribución al conocimiento de la biodiversidad y conservación de los recursos naturales en el estado de Hidalgo, México.

Se aborda el derecho de propiedad intelectual en la biodiversidad, citando algunos ejemplos de México. Así mismo, se presenta un estudio de la biodiversidad y distribución de la herpetofauna en cuatro tipos de vegetación. Desde el punto de vista de la helmintología se presentan dos estudios de los helmintos parásitos de vertebrados silvestres; con nuevos registros de hospederos y localidades de algunas especies de helmintos para Hidalgo. También, se aborda el uso de ...

Evolutionary And Molecular Analysis Of Conserved Vertebrate Immunity To Fungi, Erin Carter

Honors College

The innate immune system is highly conserved amongst all multicellular organisms. Yet a constant battle exists between host cells and pathogens due to the rapid evolution of immune system components. Functional genomics and in silico methods can be employed to elucidate the evolutionary patterns of vertebrate immunity to pathogenic fungi such as Candida albicans, an opportunistic fungal pathogen that can cause lethal candidiasis in the immunocompromised. Mammals such as humans and mice possess conserved C-type lectin receptors that recognize the C. albicans cell wall. However, these receptors have not been identified in fish. Here I describe how we identified potential ...

Intracellular Bacillary Burden Reflects A Burst Size For Mycobacterium Tuberculosis In Vivo, Teresa Repasy, Jinhee Lee, Simeone Marino, Nuria Martinez, Denise E. Kirschner, Gregory M. Hendricks, Stephen P. Baker Mscph, Andrew A. Wilson, Darrell N. Kotton, Hardy Kornfeld

GSBS Student Publications

We previously reported that Mycobacterium tuberculosis triggers macrophage necrosis in vitro at a threshold intracellular load of ~25 bacilli. This suggests a model for tuberculosis where bacilli invading lung macrophages at low multiplicity of infection proliferate to burst size and spread to naïve phagocytes for repeated cycles of replication and cytolysis. The current study evaluated that model in vivo, an environment significantly more complex than in vitro culture. In the lungs of mice infected with M. tuberculosis by aerosol we observed three distinct mononuclear leukocyte populations (CD11b(-) CD11c(+/hi), CD11b(+/lo) CD11c(lo/-), CD11b(+/hi) CD11c(+/hi)) and neutrophils hosting ...

Analysis Of The Chondroitinase Operon Of Flavobacterium Columnare, Erin L. Sorlien

Senior Honors Projects

Analysis of the chondroitinase operon of Flavobacterium columnare

Erin Sorlien

Major

Cell and Molecular Biology, Chemistry

Advisor

Dr. David R. Nelson

Date

May 2, 2013

Keywords

Flavobacterium columnare, columnaris disease, chondroitin AC lyase, complementation, csl operon

Abstract
Flavobacterium columnare, an opportunistic bacterial pathogen of fish, is the causative agent of columnaris disease (CD). The bacterium is a Gram-negative rod that exhibits gliding motility and avidly forms biofilms. CD affects both wild and cultured freshwater fish, and continues to cause large economic losses to the fish farming industry. According to an investigation conducted by the National Animal Health Monitoring System, CD ...

Innate Sensing Of Chitin And Chitosan, Chelsea L. Bueter, Charles A. Specht, Stuart M. Levitz

Open Access Articles

Chitin is the second most common polysaccharide found in nature. It is present in crustacean shells, insect exoskeletons, parasitic nematode eggs and gut linings, and in the cell wall of fungi. The deacetylated derivative of chitin, chitosan, is less common but is particularly evident in certain species of fungi, such as Cryptococcus, and the cyst wall of Entamoeba. How mammals sense and respond to these polymers is not well understood, and conflicting reports on their immunological activity have led to some controversy. Despite this, promising translational applications that exploit the unique properties of chitin and chitosan are being developed.

Viral Infection: An Evolving Insight Into The Signal Transduction Pathways Responsible For The Innate Immune Response, Girish J. Kotwal, Steven Hatch, William L. Marshall

Open Access Articles

The innate immune response is initiated by the interaction of stereotypical pathogen components with genetically conserved receptors for extracytosolic pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) or intracytosolic nucleic acids. In multicellular organisms, this interaction typically clusters signal transduction molecules and leads to their activations, thereby initiating signals that activate innate immune effector mechanisms to protect the host. In some cases programmed cell death-a fundamental form of innate immunity-is initiated in response to genotoxic or biochemical stress that is associated with viral infection. In this paper we will summarize innate immune mechanisms that are relevant to viral pathogenesis and outline the continuing evolution ...

Defective Pro-Il-1beta Responses In Macrophages From Aged Mice, Alejandor Ramirez, Vijay A. K. Rathinam, Katherine A. Fitzgerald, Douglas T. Golenbock, Anuja Mathew

Open Access Articles

BACKGROUND: Cytokines regulated by the inflammasome pathway have been extensively implicated in various age-related immune pathologies. We set out to elucidate the contribution of the nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome pathway to the previously described deficiencies in IL-1beta production by macrophages from aged mice. We examined the production of pro-IL-1beta and its conversion into IL-1beta as two separate steps and compared these cytokine responses in bone marrow derived macrophages from young (6-8 weeks) and aged (18-24 months) C57BL/6 mice.

FINDINGS: Relative to macrophages from young mice, macrophages from aged mice produced less pro-IL-1beta after TLR4 stimulation with LPS ...

Isolation And Characterization Of Active Elderberry Fractions That Inhibit Melanoma Growth In Vitro And In Vivo, Alexandra M. Okihiro

Master's Theses

The incidence rates of melanoma continue to rise annually despite recent progression in cancer treatments. Cancer is the most prevalent amongst elderly individuals, where immunosenescence has compromised some immune function, and therefore decreased certain tumor detection abilities. Current tumor removal strategies include radiation, chemotherapy and surgical excision: treatments that aim to lower cancer cells, but may also affect normal cells in the process. In the case of chemotherapy, which targets and kills rapidly dividing cells, many immune cells are lowered as a side effect, leaving many patients immune-suppressed and more susceptible to infection. There is a need for naturopathic treatments ...

Characterization Of Differentiation And Prognostic Biomarkers On Cd8+ Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes In Metastatic Melanoma, Richard C. Wu

UT GSBS Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

CD8⁺ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) frequently infiltrate tumors, yet most melanoma patients fail to undergo tumor regression. We studied the differentiation of the CD8⁺ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) from 44 metastatic melanoma patients using known T-cell differentiation markers. We also compared CD8⁺ TIL against the T cells from matched melanoma patients’ peripheral blood. We discovered a novel subset of CD8⁺ TIL co-expressing early-differentiation markers, CD27, CD28, and a late/senescent CTL differentiation marker, CD57. This CD8⁺CD57⁺ TIL expressed a cytolytic enzyme, granzyme B (GB), yet did not express another cytolytic pore-forming molecule, perforin (Perf). In contrast, the CD8⁺CD57⁺ T ...

Novel Imaging-Based Techniques Reveal A Role For Pd-1/Pd-L1 In Tumor Immune Surveillance In The Lung, Todd Bartkowiak

UT GSBS Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The binding of immune inhibitory receptor Programmed Death 1 (PD-1) on T cells to its ligand PD-L1 has been implicated as a major contributor to tumor induced immune suppression. Clinical trials of PD-L1 blockade have proven effective in unleashing therapeutic anti-tumor immune responses in a subset of patients with advanced melanoma, yet current response rates are low for reasons that remain unclear. Hypothesizing that the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway regulates T cell surveillance within the tumor microenvironment, we employed intravital microscopy to investigate the in vivo impact of PD-L1 blocking antibody upon tumor-associated immune cell migration. However, current analytical methods of ...

Interaction Of Bacillus Anthracis Exosporium Protein Bcla With Complement Factor H And Spore Persistence In The Lung, Sarah A. Jenkins

UT GSBS Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Anthrax outbreaks in the United States and Europe and its potential use as a bioweapon have made Bacillus anthracis an interest of study. Anthrax infections are caused by the entry of B. anthracis spores into the host via the respiratory system, the gastrointestinal tract, cuts or wounds in the skin, and injection. Among these four forms, inhalational anthrax has the highest lethality rate and persistence of spores in the lungs of animals following pulmonary exposure has been noted for decades. However, details or mechanisms of spore persistence were not known. In this study, we investigated spore persistence in a mouse ...

Cellular Adaptation Of Macrophages To Anthrax Lethal Toxin-Induced Pyroptosis Via Epigenetic Mechanisms, Chae Young Han

University of Western Ontario - Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Cellular adaptation to microbial stresses has been demonstrated in several cell types. Macrophages (MФ) are sentinel immune cells fending off invading microbes. Anthrax lethal toxin (LeTx) is a key virulence factor released by Bacillus anthracis that causes rapid cell death, pyroptosis. A small number of RAW246.7 macrophages (~4%) exposed to a non-lethal dose of LeTx become resistant to LeTx-induced pyroptosis for ~ 4 weeks, termed “toxin-induced resistance (TIR)”. Here, I showed that high levels of DNA methyl transferase1 (DNMT1) expression were maintained although global genomic methylation levels were not high in TIR. TIR cells treated with the DNMT inhibitor 5-azacitidine ...

Novel Neutralizing Antibody Assays For Recombinant Human Hookworm Na-Gst-1 Vaccine, Xi Chen, Brian Keegan, Peter J. Hotez, Jeffrey M. Bethony, Amar R. Jariwala

GW Research Days 2013

BACKGROUND

Necator Americanus, a human hookworm causes approximately 85% of the global hookworm infections. Hookworm ingest hemoglobin containing erythrocytes. Hemoglobin is further digested to Heme and Globin by hookworm's gut enzymes. Iron-containing Heme is a potent enzyme inhibitor and generates toxic reactive oxygen species which is toxic to hookworms. Hookworm's gut enzyme Na-GST-1 (Necator Americanus Glutathione S-Transferase-1) has been hypothesized to detoxify Heme. Na-GST-1 adjuvanted with Alhydrogel® is a new vaccine which is currently under clinical development. Na-GST-1 has two active sites, the ligand binding or Heme detoxification site (H-site) and the catalytic active glutathione ...

Vaccination Of Balb/C Mice With The Na-Apr-1 M74 Hookworm Vaccine Generates Neutralizing Antibodies And A Potent Immune Response, Amar R. Jariwala, Xi Chen, Mark S. Pearson, Brian Keegan, Jill B. Brelsford, Jordan L. Plieskatt, Bin Zhan, Alex Loukas, Peter Hotez, Jeffrey M. Bethony

GW Research Days 2013

BACKGROUND

Human Hookworm Infection, a neglected tropical disease infects more than 600 million people around the world. Hookworms ingest hemoglobin containing erythrocytes and Necator americanus Aspartic Protease-1 wild type (Na-APR-1wt) a hemoglobinase cleaves hemoglobin to form Heme and Globin. Globin is further digested by other gut enzymes and the nutritional products are absorbed by the hookworm’s gut wall. Also, Heme which is toxic to hookworm is detoxified by the Necator americanus Glutathione Transferase-1 (Na-GST-1); a detoxification enzyme secreted by the gut of the hookworm. Necator americanus Aspartic Protease-1 M74 (Na-APR-1 M74) is a new vaccine which ...

Is Your Immunity Compromised By Being Nice To Your Bacteria? Insights From A Social Amoeba, William E. Callison

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Eukaryotes are dependent on beneficial microbes, but can be killed by harmful ones. How have they evolved responses that protect themselves from harmful bacteria while coddling the beneficial ones? An ideal system for investigating this relationship is the eukaryote social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum because some clones carry commensal bacteria through the social state to use as future seed corn, while others do not. Most of its life, D. discoideum amoeba consume bacteria and divide by binary fission. Under starvation, amoebae aggregate into a multicellular body which crawls to light, then forms a fruiting body of 20% dead stalk cells and ...

Flash4 Dark Reference Images, George Mcnamara

George McNamara

Hamamatsu FLASH4.0 dark reference images, acquired with 10 second exposure times, no light to camera. Camera offset (set by Hamamatsu( is ~100 (the average intensity of the first image is always ~1 intensity level higher - an odd feature, but trivial in practice for a 16-bit camera).

George McNamara, Ph.D.

Single Cells Analyst at L.J.N. Cooper Lab

University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center