Allergy and Immunology Commons^™

Effect Of Regulatory T Cells On The Humoral Immune Response To Borrelia Burgdorferi, Tanya Kozlik

Theses and Dissertations

Lyme borreliosis, caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, is the most common tick-borne disease in the United States. Difficulties and delays in diagnosing can leave patients with long-term illness affecting multiple body systems. Therefore, understanding the immunomodulatory mechanisms affecting disease pathology will aid in the development of therapeutics and/or a safe, effective vaccine. In this thesis, we aimed to test the hypothesis that depletion of regulatory T cells amplifies the humoral response to Borrelia burgdorferi but leads to worsened clinical manifestations. To test this hypothesis, “depletion of regulatory T cell” (“DEREG”) BALB/c mice were depleted of Treg cells prior to …

Gender Differences In Urothelial Bladder Cancer: Effects Of Natural Killer Lymphocyte Immunity, Charles T. Lutz, Lydia Livas, Steven R. Presnell, Morgan Sexton, Peng Wang

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Faculty Publications

Men are more likely to develop cancer than women. In fact, male predominance is one of the most consistent cancer epidemiology findings. Additionally, men have a poorer prognosis and an increased risk of secondary malignancies compared to women. These differences have been investigated in order to better understand cancer and to better treat both men and women. In this review, we discuss factors that may cause this gender difference, focusing on urothelial bladder cancer (UBC) pathogenesis. We consider physiological factors that may cause higher male cancer rates, including differences in X chromosome gene expression. We discuss how androgens may promote …

Evaluation Of The Outcomes Of Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Oral Challenges In The Pediatric Population, Hannah N. Neuhaus, Salman Aljubran

Posters

Introduction: Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole allergy can complicate treatment for various infections. While trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole hypersensitivity, desensitization/oral challenges are frequently reported in adults, data is limited on the outcomes/safety of oral challenges to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in Pediatrics. The goal of this study was to characterize the outcomes and safety of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole oral challenges in Pediatrics.

Methods: An IRB-exempt retrospective chart review was performed of pediatric patients who underwent oral challenge to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in Allergy Clinic over the last 12 years. We assessed characteristics including age, sex, reaction (IgE-mediated/non-IgE-mediated/indeterminate), skin testing, challenge outcome and complications to draw a conclusion regarding the overall safety of the procedure …

Delayed-Onset Anaphylactic Reaction With High Fever After Amoxicillin Oral Challenge And Negative Penicillin Skin Testing, Jordan Pitt, Paul J. Dowling, Christopher Miller, Aarti Pandya

Posters

Introduction:  Immunologic adverse drug reactions can be categorized based on Gell and Coombs’s classification system. Anaphylaxis is generally considered a type I, immediate, IgE-mediated reaction and typically occurs independent of other immunologic reactions. However, the child presented here reacted after amoxicillin challenge with features of type I and type III or IV hypersensitivity reactions. Case Description:  A 12-year-old female presented for amoxicillin allergy evaluation after treatment for scarlet fever with amoxicillin. After the second dose she developed rash with varied features, fatigue, edema, and joint swelling. Labs included a persistently low C4 level, eosinophilia, normal inflammatory markers, and normal tryptase …

A Case Of An Elevated Tryptase, Sonya Parashar, Nikita Raje

Posters

Hereditary Alpha Tryptasemia (HαT) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by an elevated baseline tryptase that occurs up to 3% of the population and clinically resembles mast cell activation syndrome.

Acute Or Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria Patients Report Increased Rates Of Medication Allergies., Brandon Clark, Judy Bornais, Scott Miller, Joel Liem

Nursing Publications

Background

The pathophysiology of acute urticaria and chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is not completely known. Antibiotic allergies are on the rise, and the typical history is associated with urticarial reactions which can persist. Given this overlap, we sought to determine whether self-reported antibiotic allergies are increased in patients with a history of acute urticaria or CSU.

Methods

Retrospective chart review of 950 patients was completed using the electronic medical record of the Windsor Allergy & Asthma Clinic. Cases were identified to have a history of acute urticaria or CSU, whereas controls have an established diagnosis of food allergies, asthma, allergic …

Alpha-Gal Allergy: A New Threat To Appalachia, Adam M. Franks Md, Makala Murphy Bs, Madison Griffis Md, Rebekah Franks Ba, Cwr, Colin M. Franks, Gary Petty Md

Marshall Journal of Medicine

Abstract

Alpha-gal allergy, or mammalian meat allergy, is described as the development of IgE antibodies to the oligosaccharide galactose-a-1,3-galactose following a bite from the tick species Amblyomma americanum (Lone Star tick) or Dermacentor variabillis (Wood tick). Dermatologic or gastrointestinal symptoms are usually delayed by four to six hours after exposure, making the diagnosis difficult. Due to the use of mammalian proteins in many common medications, surgical equipment and prosthesis, unexpected reactions can occur. In the United States, this pathology is predominately seen in the southeast, but has been associated with other tick species on every continent except Antarctica. As the …

Racial And Ethnic Data Reported For Peanut Allergy Epidemiology Do Little To Advance Its Cause, Treatment, Or Prevention, Nigel Mark Thomas

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

The Role Of The Nkr-P1b:Clr-B Inhibitory Axis In Nk Cell-Mediated Tumour Immunosurveillance, Abd El Aziz Hendy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Natural killer (NK) cells are lymphocytes of the innate immune system which do not require prior priming to target infected or altered-self cells, such as tumour cells. The basic functions of NK cells include cytotoxicity and cytokine production. These cells possess numerous activating and inhibitory receptors which regulate their function based on a signalling balance. In mice, NK cells possess NKR-P1B inhibitory receptors which recognize the C-type lectin-related protein-b (Clr-b) ligand. This ligand is present on healthy self cells and may be used by cancer cells to evade NK cell effector functions. The disruption of the NKR-P1B:Clr-b axis has been …

Exploring The Role Of Nkr-P1b:Clr-B Interaction In Mouse Mammary Tumour Immunosurveillance, Raghd Al Olabi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Natural killer (NK) cells are large, granular, and cytotoxic innate lymphocytes which do not require prior antigenic exposure to target cancerous and virally infected cells. NK cells possess activating and inhibitory receptors which may activate or inhibit NK cell activity, respectively. In mice, the inhibitory NKR-P1B receptor on NK cells recognizes the C-type lectin-related protein-b (Clr-b) ligand expressed on most autologous cells but downregulated on many tumour cell lines. In B cell lymphoma models, the disruption of NKR-P1B:Clr-b interaction results in delayed tumour development and progression, suggesting that blockage of inhibitory signals from NKR-P1B augments NK cell activity against lymphoma …

Investigation Of Ifnγ-Induced Control Of Intracellular Pathogens, Michael Mcallaster

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Genes required for the lysosomal degradation pathway of autophagy play key roles in topologically distinct cellular processes with significant physiologic importance. One of the first-described of these ATG gene-dependent processes is the requirement for a subset of ATG genes in interferon-γ (IFNγ)-induced inhibition of norovirus and Toxoplasma gondii replication. In this dissertation we identified novel components that are required for or that negatively regulate this immune mechanism. Enzymes involved in the conjugation of UFM1 to target proteins including UFC1 and UBA5, negatively regulated IFNγ-induced inhibition of norovirus replication via effects of Ern1. We identified and confirmed that IFNγ-induced inhibition of …

Peripheral Nerve Macrophages And Their Implications In Neuroimmunity, Peter Leon Wang

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Macrophages are innate immune cells that protect against pathogens and maintain tissue integrity. In vertebrates, macrophages reside in every tissue where they perform specific functions from early development through adulthood. While macrophages provide important functions across all tissues, a major focus in recent years has been the role of resident brain macrophages, known as microglia, in neurodegeneration. As microglia have been shown to affect brain development, homeostasis, and disease, they demonstrate how immune cells critically mediate neurological health and point to the broader significance of neuroimmune interactions, or the coordinated actions of the nervous and immune systems for maintaining tissue …

Metabolic Control And Immune Barriers Of Hematopoietic Stem Cells, Hannah Pizzato

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) have the unique ability to self-renew for life, to differentiate into mature blood lineages, and to readily engraft upon intravenous transplantation. As such, they are the only types of stem cells in routine clinical use. Understanding HSCs and hematopoietic development can provide many lessons for other types of stem cells as they near clinical utility. Through bone marrow transplantation, it was discovered that cells exist with regenerative potential. This led to the search to purify these cells and to determine the function of other hematopoietic cells. By isolating and transplanting cells expressing different combinations of surface …

Investigating The Role Of Bladder Epithelial Stem Cells In Bladder Mucosal Remodeling And Defense Against Infection, Seongmi Kim Russell

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) can be highly recurrent, and the mechanism(s) governing recurrence susceptibility are mostly unknown. Here I demonstrate bladder epithelial (urothelial)-intrinsic trained immunity as part of a differential mucosal remodeling response to an initial UTI. I established urothelial stem cell (USC) lines from isogenic mice with different UTI histories (naïve, chronic, or self-resolving) and discovered 2880 differential genome-accessible regions, indicating differential epigenetic reprogramming dependent on infection history. Differentiation of USC lines in vitro resulted in polarized urothelial cultures that recapitulated distinct remodeling morphologies seen in vivo and exhibited altered gene expression, including genes involved in cell death pathways. …

The Immunoregulation Of Autoimmune Diabetes, Hao Hu

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

How autoimmune diseases are regulated is a long-term research topic in the autoimmunity field. We use autoimmune diabetes as a model to study this. Autoimmune diabetes is a T cell-dependent autoimmune syndrome. The functions of T cells are regulated during their development and activation. Developmentally, T cells will undergo a stringent thymic selection: a process that self-reactive T cells are tolerized to become thymic derived Tregs or can be deleted by apoptosis based on binding affinity and avidity between the TCRs and self-peptide:MHC complexes. After T cells mature, they can also be tolerized in the periphery in many other ways, …

Regulation Of Host-Microbe Interactions In Autoimmunity And Antiviral Immunity By Cytosolic Nucleic Acid Sensing And Interferon Signaling, Derek Jerome Platt

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cytosolic nucleic acid sensing and interferon (IFN) signaling are central to the host immune response to microbial pathogens. However, dysregulation of immunological pathways such as these can result in devastating autoimmune disease. In order to provide a robust immune response to pathogen without causing harm to self, the host immune system must engage in a delicate balancing act, interacting with microbes and determining whether they are commensal or pathogenic. The cGAS-STING pathway is a key regulator of host-microbe interactions by cytosolic nucleic sensing and IFN signaling. Loss of function in the cGAS-STING pathway leads to increased susceptibility to pathogenic threats, …

Uncovering A Myc-Driven Tumor-Suppressive Program In Proliferating Lymphocytes, Elena Tonc

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rapid cell proliferation is a hallmark feature of adaptive immune cells lymphocytes. It is essential for the establishment of diverse antigen receptor repertoires and amplification of antigen-specific immune responses. While such proliferation is beneficial for host protection from infections and cancers, it inevitably elevates the risk of oncogenic transformation. In developing and germinal center B lymphocytes, the risk is further increased by endogenous, genomic insults due to antigen receptor rearrangements and somatic mutations, with which expression of the proto-oncogene c-MYC is closely associated. Nonetheless, frequencies of cancers originated from B lymphocytes are relatively low, suggesting that they are protected from …

Increasing Staff Awareness And Screening Practices For Adverse Childhood Experiences At A Primary Care Clinic, Kayla Wright

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are present in approximately 60% of the adult population in the United States. There is a correlation between adverse childhood experiences and chronic health conditions as adults. Despite the evidence showing this correlation, there is a lack of screening for ACEs in the primary care setting. Many primary care providers and staff are unaware of ACEs or the correlation with chronic health conditions and substance abuse and, therefore, do not understand how to or recognize the benefits of screening in primary care. With education for providers and staff, primary care is the ideal setting to perform …

An Investigation Of Healthcare Supports For Those With Food Allergy In Ireland, Joseph Bolger, Nicola Blake, Sneha Vinod

International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences

Introduction: In Ireland, around 5% of children and 3% adults have food allergy (134,000 people). This current paper describes a survey that was carried out on a subset of service-users with the aim of identifying whether there is a need for increased specialist medical services and/or for a funded charity such as Anaphylaxis Ireland, defunct since 2015.

Materials & Methods: These needs were assessed via an online survey using Google Forms. The survey was conducted from 17-27th February 2020. There were 31 questions in total, relating to topics such as symptoms, clinical wait times, satisfaction with care provided and demand …

Full Issue: The International Undergraduate Journal Of Health Sciences, Volume 1, Issue 1, June 2021

International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences

The full June 2021 issue (Volume 1, Issue 1) of the International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences