Digital Commons Network^™

Rhodotorula Minuta Fungemia In A Ewe Lamb, C G. Chitko-Mckown, K A. Leymaster, M. P. Heaton, D D. Griffin, J K. Veatch, S A. Jones, M. L. Clawson

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

An 8-month-old crossbred ewe, normal upon physical examination, was humanely euthanized for tissue collection. After approximately 3 weeks in tissue culture, fungi began budding out of cells obtained from the choroid plexus. After an additional 3 weeks, budding was observed in kidney cell cultures and eventually in monocyte cultures as well. Serum from the lamb was submitted to the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Colorado State University for fungal diagnosis and was found negative for Aspergillus, Blastomyces, Coccidioidomycosis and Histoplasmosis. DNA was isolated from fungi collected from tissue culture supernatants and used in a set of pan-fungal PCR assays with DNA …

Posttranslational Modification Of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Glycoprotein, But Not Jnk Inhibition, Is The Antiviral Mechanism Of Sp600125, Sabrina Marozin, Jennifer Altomonte, Sibylle Apfel, Phat X. Dinh, Enrico De Toni, Antonia Rizzani, Andreas Nüssler, Nobuyuki Kato, Roland M. Schmid, Asit K. Pattnaik, Oliver Eberta

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), a negative-sense single-stranded-RNA rhabdovirus, is an extremely promising oncolytic agent for cancer treatment. Since oncolytic virotherapy is moving closer to clinical application, potentially synergistic combinations of oncolytic viruses and molecularly targeted antitumor agents are becoming a meaningful strategy for cancer treatment. Mitogenactivated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitors have been shown to impair liver cell proliferation and tumor development, suggesting their potential use as therapeutic agents for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this work, we show that the impairment of MAPK in vitro did not interfere with the oncolytic properties of VSV in HCC cell lines. Moreover, the administration …

Identification Of Amino Acid Residues Important For Anti-Ifn Activity Of Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome Virus Non-Structural Protein 1, Lalit Beura, Sakthivel Subramaniam, Hiep Vu, Byungjoon Kwon, Asit K. Pattnaik, Fernando A. Osorio

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

The non-structural protein 1 (nsp1) of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus is partly responsible for inhibition of type I interferon (IFN) response by the infected host. By performing alanine-scanning mutagenesis, we have identified amino acid residues in nsp1α and nsp1β~ (the proteolytic products of nsp1) that when substituted with alanine(s) exhibited significant relief of IFNsuppression. A mutant virus (16-SA, in which residues 16-20 of nsp1β were substituted with alanines) encoding mutant nsp1β recovered from infectious cDNA clone was shown to be attenuated for growth in vitro and induced significantly higher amount of type I IFN transcripts in infected macrophages. …

Glycosyl-Phosphatidylinositol (Gpi)-Anchored Membrane Association Of The Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome Virus Gp4 Glycoprotein And Its Co-Localization With Cd163 In Lipid Rafts, Yijun Du, Asit K. Pattnaik, Cheng Song, Dongwan Yoo, Gang Li

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

The porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) glycoprotein 4 (GP4) resembles a typical type I membrane protein in its structure but lacks a hydrophilic tail at the C-terminus, suggesting that GP4 may be a lipid-anchored membrane protein. Using the human decay-accelerating factor (DAF; CD55), a known glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI) lipid-anchored protein, chimeric constructs were made to substitute the GPI-anchor domain of DAF with the putative lipid-anchor domain of GP4, and their membrane association and lipase cleavage were determined in cells. The DAF-GP4 fusion protein was transported to the plasma membrane and was cleaved by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC), indicating that …

A Single Amino Acid Change Resulting In Loss Of Fluorescence Of Egfp In A Viral Fusion Protein Confers Fitness And Growth Advantage To The Recombinant Vesicular Stomatitis Virus, Phat X. Dinh, Debasis Panda, Phani B. Das, Subash C. Das, Anshuman Das, Asit K. Pattnaik

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Using a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus encoding eGFP fused in-frame with an essential viral replication protein, the phosphoprotein P, we show that during passage in culture, the virus mutates the nucleotide C289 within eGFP of the fusion protein PeGFP to A or T, resulting in R97S/C amino acid substitution and loss of fluorescence. The resultant non-fluorescent virus exhibits increased fitness and growth advantage over its fluorescent counterpart. The growth advantage of the non-fluorescent virus appears to be due to increased transcription and replication activities of the PeGFP protein carrying the R97S/C substitution. Further, our results show that the R97S/C mutation …

Amino Acid Residues In The Non-Structural Protein 1 Of Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome Virus Involved In Down-Regulation Of Tnf-Cx Expression In Vitro And Attenuation In Vivo, Sakthivel Subramaniam, Lalit Beura, Byungjoon Kwon, Asit K. Pattnaik, Fernando A. Osorio

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) suppresses tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) production at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels by its non-structural proteins 1α and 1β (Nsp1α and Nsp1β). To identifY the amino acid residues responsible for this activity, we generated several alanine substitution mutants of Nsp1α and Nsp1β. Examination of the mutant proteins revealed that Nsp1α residues Gly90, Asn91 , Arg97, Argl 00 and Arg124 were necessary for TNF-α promoter suppression, whereas several amino acids spanning the entire Nsp1β ~ were found to be required for this activity. Two mutant viruses, with mutations at Nsp1α Gly90 or Nsp1β residues …

Fusion Of A Fluorescent Protein To The Pul25 Minor Capsid Protein Of Pseudorabies Virus Allows Live-Cell Capsid Imaging With Negligible Impact On Infection, Kevin P. Bohannon, Patricia J. Sollars, Gary E. Pickard, Gregory A. Smith

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

In order to resolve the location and activity of submicroscopic viruses in living cells, viral proteins are often fused to fluorescent proteins (FPs) and visualized by microscopy. In this study, we describe the fusion of FPs to three proteins of pseudorabies virus (PRV) that allowed imaging of capsids in living cells. Included in this study are the first recombinant PRV strains expressing FP–pUL25 fusions based on a design applied to herpes simplex virus type 1 by Homa and colleagues. The properties of each reporter virus were compared in both in vitro and in vivo infection models. PRV strains expressing FP–pUL25 …

Staphylococcal Response To Oxidative Stress, Rosmarie Gaupp, Nagender Ledala, Greg A. Somerville

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Staphylococci are a versatile genus of bacteria that are capable of causing acute and chronic infections in diverse host species. The success of staphylococci as pathogens is due in part to their ability to mitigate endogenous and exogenous oxidative and nitrosative stress. Endogenous oxidative stress is a consequence of life in an aerobic environment; whereas, exogenous osidative and nitrosative stress are often due to the bacteria's interaction with host immune systems. To overcome the deleterious effects of oxidative and nitrosative stress, staphylococci have evolved protection, detoxification, and repair mechanisms that are controlled by a network of regulators. In this review, …

Signals Delivered By Interleukin-7 Regulate The Activities Of Bim And Jund In T Lymphocytes, Shannon Moore Ruppert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is an essential cytokine for lymphocyte growth that has the potential for promoting proliferation and survival. While the survival and proliferative functions of IL-7 are well established, the identities of IL-7 signaling components in pathways other than JAK/STAT, that accomplish these tasks remain poorly defined. To this end, we used IL-7 dependent T-cells to examine those components necessary for cell growth and survival. Our studies revealed two novel signal transducers of the IL-7 growth signal: BimL and JunD. IL-7 promoted the activity of JNK (Jun N-terminal Kinase), and that JNK, in turn, drove the expression of JunD, a …

Manipulation Of Host Signal Transduction Pathways And Cytoskeleton Functions By Invasive Bacterium Listeria Monocytogenes And Chlamydia Trachomatis, Shahanawaz Jiwani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Infectious disease remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Many bacteria that cause disease have the capacity to enter into eukaryotic cells such as epithelial cells and tissue macrophages. Gaining access into the intracellular environment is one of the most critical steps in their survival and/or in pathogenesis. The entry mechanisms employed by these organisms vary considerably, but most mechanisms involve sabotaging and manipulating host cell functions. Invasion of epithelial cells involves triggering host signal transduction mechanisms to induce cytoskeleton rearrangement, thereby facilitating bacterial uptake. My work focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms employed by bacterial …

Cloning Of The Gene, Purification As Recombinant Protein And Functional Characterization Of Leishmania Mexicana Cytochrome B5 Reductase, Ala Azhari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Leishmania are protozoan parasites that are transmitted by a sand fly vector. These parasites affect not only humans but also wild animals including domestic dogs and rodents, which form an additional challenge and public health problem to control the disease. Leishmaniasis is an important disease with worldwide distribution, including Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, and other tropical and subtropical areas around the world. Due to the expansion of irrigation and agricultural activities, more exposure to sand fly occurs, which leads to the expansion of leishmaniasis infections as newly emerging disease.

Emerging drug resistance in leishmaniasis is an additional problem, contributed …

Bacterial Host Interactions In Cystic Fibrosis, Máire Callaghan, Siobhan Mcclean

Articles

Chronic infection is a hallmark of cystic fibrosis (CF) and the main contributor to morbidity. Microbial infection in CF is complex, due to the number of different species that colonise the CF lung. Their colonisation is facilitated by a host response that is impaired or compromised by highly viscous mucous, zones of hypoxia and the lack of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR). Successful dominant CF pathogens combine an effective arsenal to establish infection and counter-attack the host response, together with an ability to adapt readily to an unfavourable environment. Hypermutability is common among CF pathogens facilitating adaptation and as …

Synthesis Of Resveratrol Esters And Aliphatic Acids., Stanley Mofor Jing

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Resveratrol (RV) is a naturally occurring phytoalexin of the stilbenoid family produced by some plant species, and present in grape skin, peanuts, and red wine. It has been found to exhibit anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-aging, cardio protective, and anti-oxidant properties. Bioavailability is a huge setback that limits the potentials of RV. As a result, efforts have been made to design and synthesize RV esters and aliphatic acids in an attempt to increase its bioavailability, solubility in water, and possibly improving its biological activities. Resveratrol esters, 3,5,4'-triacetyloxystilbene (2) and Methyl 1,1',1''- (3,4',5-stilbenyl)-1,6-hexanedioate (3) have been synthesized. Compound 3 is a new …

Discrimination And Aggregative Patterns Among And Between Populations Of Entamoeba Spp., Katelyn M. Higgins

Honors Senior Capstones and Theses

Kin recognition facilitates the evolution of cooperation in animals, but its relevance in microorganisms and their behavior toward relatives remains unclear. The Entamoeba lineage constitutes an ideal model to determine the behavioral and signaling cues needed for aggregative preference. Chemical cues have been reported for E. histolytica but not E. dispar, suggesting cell-communication between con-specifics and behavioral differences with relevance for disease. Entamoeba varieties have been reported as ‘morphologically undistinguishable’. Two strains of E. invadens have been isolated from different hosts (VK-1: NS - Varanus komodoensis and IP1- serpentes) but were classified within the same ‘species’. Trophozoites …

Cellular Poly(C) Binding Proteins 1 And 2 Interact With Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome Virus Nonstructural Protein 1Β And Support Viral Replication, Lalit Beura, Phat X. Dinh, Fernando A. Osorio, Asit K. Pattnaik

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection of swine results in substantial economic losses to the swine industry worldwide. Identification of cellular factors involved in PRRSV life cycle not only will enable a better understanding of virus biology but also has the potential for the development of antiviral therapeutics. The PRRSV nonstructural protein 1 (nsp1) has been shown to be involved in at least two important functions in the infected hosts: (i) mediation of viral subgenomic (sg) mRNA transcription and (ii) suppression of the host’s innate immune response mechanisms. To further our understanding of the role of the viral …

A Polymerase Chain Reaction Method For The Detection Of Selenomonas Noxia, Arthuro Mehretu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In recent studies, periodontal health has been linked to being overweight and/or obese. Among common oral bacteria, Selenomonas noxia has been implicated in converting periodontal health to disease. Selenomonas spp. have also been found in gastric ulcers, and were misdiagnosed as Helicobacter -like organisms, but no further studies were conducted. The increasing clinical and epidemiological importance of S. noxia necessitates the development of a rapid detection method. In this study, a TaqMan 16S rRNA based real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method was developed, optimized and evaluated for the rapid and specific detection of S. noxia . The 16S PCR assay …

Activation Of Mmp-9 By Human Lung Epithelial Cells In Response To The Cystic Fibrosis-Associated Pathogen Burkholderia Cenocepacia Reduced Wound Healing In Vitro, Ciara Wright ], Ruth Pilkington, Máire Callaghan, Siobhan Mcclean

Articles

Burkholderia cepacia complex is a group of bacterial pathogens that cause opportunistic infections in cystic fibrosis (CF). The most virulent of these is Burkholderia cenocepacia. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are upregulated in CF patients. The aim of this work was to examine the role of MMPs in the pathogenesis of B. cepacia complex, which has not been explored to date. Real-time PCR analysis showed that B. cenocepacia infection upregulated MMP-2 and MMP-9 genes in the CF lung cell line CFBE41o- within 1 h, whereas MMP-2, -7, and -9 genes were upregulated in the non-CF lung cell line 16HBE14o-. Conditioned media from …

Antagonistic Effects Of Cellular Poly(C) Binding Proteins On Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Gene Expression, Phat X. Dinh, Lalit Beura, Debasis Panda, Anshuman Das, Asit K. Pattnaik

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Immunoprecipitation and subsequent mass spectrometry analysis of the cellular proteins from cells expressing the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) P protein identified the poly(C) binding protein 2 (PCBP2) as one of the P protein-interacting proteins. To investigate the role of PCBP2 in the viral life cycle, we examined the effects of depletion or overexpression of this protein on VSV growth. Small interfering RNA-mediated silencing of PCBP2 promoted VSV replication. Conversely, overexpression of PCBP2 in transfected cells suppressed VSV growth. Further studies revealed that PCBP2 negatively regulates overall viral mRNA accumulation and subsequent genome replication. Coimmunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence microscopic studies showed that …

Acute Fatty Liver Of Pregnancy: An Update On Mechanisms, Sathish Kumar Natarajan, Kavitha R. Thangaraj, Ashish Goel, C. E. Eapen, K. A. Balasubramanian, Anup Ramachandran

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP), characterized by hepatic microvesicular steatosis, is a sudden catastrophic illness occurring almost exclusively in the third trimester of pregnancy. Defective fatty acid oxidation in the fetus has been shown to be associated with this disease. Since the placenta has the same genetic makeup as the fetus and as AFLP patients generally recover following delivery, we hypothesized that the placenta might be involved in pathogenesis of this disease. In an animal model of hepatic microvesicular steatosis (using sodium valproate), we found that microvesicular steatosis results in mitochondrial structural alterations and oxidative stress in subcellular organelles …

The Characterization Of Avian Polyomavirus, Satellite Tobacco Mosaic Virus, And Bacteriophage Cw02 By Means Of Cryogenic Electron Microscopy, Peter S. Shen

Theses and Dissertations

Viruses are the most abundant biological entity in the biosphere and are known to infect hosts from all domains of life. The aim of my work is to identify conserved and non-conserved features among the capsid structures of related and divergent icosahedral viruses via cryogenic electron microscopy, sequence analysis, molecular modeling, and other techniques. Bird polyomaviruses often cause severe disease in their hosts whereas mammalian polyomaviruses generally do not. Avian polyomavirus is a type of bird polyomavirus with an unusually broad host range compared to the restricted tropism of other polyomaviruses. Although most polyomaviruses have a conserved, rigid capsid protein …

Synthesis Of A Chemical Probe For Identification Of Ger Receptor Proteins Of Bacillus Anthracis, Hyelee Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Bacillus anthracis,a gram positive, endospore-forming, rod-shaped, aerobic bacterium, is the causative agent of anthrax. A key step in the pathogenic cycle is the spore germination, where the dormant spore transforms into a metabolically active cell. This allows B. anthracis to proliferate and secrete toxins. It is believed that spore germination is triggered when small molecules, known as germinants, are recognized by germination (Ger) receptor proteins located in the inner membrane of spores. Most Ger proteins are encoded by tricistronic operons, resulting in three distinct products, the A-, B-, C-subunits. Genomic sequencing showed that B. anthracis has seven ger receptor …

Extracellular Atp Acts On P2y2 Purinergic Receptors To Facilitate Hiv-1 Infection, Claire Séror, Marie-Therese Melki, Frederic Subra, Syed Qasim Raza, Marlene Bras, Hela Saïdi, Roberta Nardacci, Laurent Voisin, Audrey Paoletti, Frederic Law, Isabelle Martins, Alessandra Amendola, Ali A. Abdul-Sater, Fabiola Ciccosanti, Olivier Delelis, Florence Niedergang, Sylvain Thierry, Najwane Said-Sadier, Christophe Lamaze, Didier Métivier, Jerome Estaquier, Gian Maria Fimia, Laura Falasca, Rita Casetti, Nazanine Modjtahedi, Jean M. Kanellopoulos, Jean-Francois Mouscadet, David M. Ojcius, Mauro Piacentini, Marie-Lise Gougeon, Guido Kroemer, Jean-Luc Perfetini

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Extracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) can activate purinergic receptors of the plasma membrane and modulate multiple cellular functions. We report that ATP is released from HIV-1 target cells through pannexin-1 channels upon interaction between the HIV-1 envelope protein and specific target cell receptors. Extracellular ATP then acts on purinergic receptors, including P2Y2, to activate proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2) kinase and transient plasma membrane depolarization, which in turn stimulate fusion between Env-expressing membranes and membranes containing CD4 plus appropriate chemokine co-receptors. Inhibition of any of the constituents of this cascade (pannexin-1, ATP, P2Y2, and Pyk2) impairs the replication of HIV-1 mutant …

Glutaredoxin 2 Prevents H2o2-Induced Cell Apoptosis By Protecting Complex I Activity In The Mitochondria, Hongli Wu, Kuiyi Xing, Marjorie F. Lou

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Glutaredoxin 2 (Grx2) belongs to the oxidoreductase family and is an isozyme of glutaredoxin 1 (Grx1) present in the mitochondria, however its function is not well understood. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential anti-apoptotic function of Grx2 by examining its ability to protect complex I in the mitochondrial electron transport system using human lens epithelial cells as a model. We found that cells treated with 200 μM hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for 24 h exhibited decreased viability and became apoptotic with corresponding Bax up-regulation, Bcl-2 down-regulation, caspase 3 activation and mitochondrial cytochrome c leakage. Grx2 over-expression (OE) …

Combating Bioterrorism: Purification And Structural Analysis Of The E3 Proteins Of The Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus And The Chikungunya Virus, Tyshia Gwin

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

Outbreaks of the Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus (VEEV) and the Chikungunya Virus (CHIKV) continue to emerge in Central and South America, Africa, and Asia, but there are currently no vaccines or anti-virals for these viruses. Given their ease of transmission, debilitating symptoms, and genetic alterability, VEEV and CHIKV have great potential for development into biological weapons. Therefore, there is an urgent need to determine possible methods of treatment or prevention. One possibility of prevention lies in determining the structure and biological function of the E3 protein that plays a key role in the infectivity of the viruses. In this research, …

Regulation Of Cytosolic Phospholipase A2 (Cpla2) And Its Association With Cell Proliferation In Human Lens Epithelial Cells, Yin Wang, Kui-Yi Xing, Marjorie F. Lou

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

PURPOSE. To investigate the molecular mechanism for cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) regulation and its association to platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-induced cell proliferation.

METHODS. cPLA2 was examined using human lens epithelial (HLE) B3 cells. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation induced by PDGF was analyzed by luminescence assay. Cell proliferation was measured by cell counting and by BrdU assay. Human cPLA2 gene was cloned via RT-PCR followed by sitedirected mutagenesis to construct HLE B3 cells expressing either inactive cPLA2 enzyme with S228A mutation (S228A), or cPLA2 truncated at the calcium-binding C2 domain (C2D). Activity of cPLA2 was measured by arachidonic acid (AA) …

Emerging Dynamics Of Human Campylobacteriosis In Southern Ireland, Susan Bullman, Daniel Corcoran, James O'Leary, Derry O'Hare, Brigid Lucey, Roy D. Sleator

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Infections with Campylobacter spp. pose a significant health burden worldwide. The significance of Campylobacter jejuni/Campylobacter coli infection is well appreciated but the contribution of non-C. jejuni/C. coli spp. to human gastroenteritis is largely unknown. In this study, we employed a two-tiered molecular study on 7194 patient faecal samples received by the Microbiology Department in Cork University Hospital during 2009. The first step, using EntericBio® (Serosep), a multiplex PCR system, detected Campylobacter to the genus level. The second step, utilizing Campylobacter species-specific PCR identified to the species level. A total of 340 samples were confirmed as Campylobacter genus positive, 329 of …

Structures Of Poliovirus And Antibody Complexes Reveal Movements Of The Capsid Protein Vp1 During Cell Entry, Jun Lin

Theses and Dissertations

In the infection process, native poliovirus (160S) first converts to a cell-entry intermediate (135S) particle, which causes the externalization of capsid proteins VP4 and the N-terminus of VP1 (residues 1-53). The externalization of these entities is followed by release of the RNA genome, leaving an empty (80S) particle. Three antibodies were utilized to track the location of VP1 residues in different states of poliovirus by cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM). "P1" antibody binds to N-terminal residues 24-40 of VP1. Three-dimensional reconstruction of 135S-P1 showed that P1 binds to a prominent capsid peak known as the "propeller tip". In contrast, our initial …

Caspase-1 Dependent Il-1Β Secretion Is Critical For Host Defense In A Mouse Model Of Chlamydia Pneumoniae Lung Infection, Kenichi Shimada, Timothy R. Crother, Justin Karlin, Shuang Chen, Norika Chiba, V. Krishnan Ramanujan, Laurent Vergnes, David M. Ojcius, Moshe Arditi

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Chlamydia pneumoniae (CP) is an important human pathogen that causes atypical pneumonia and is associated with various chronic inflammatory disorders. Caspase-1 is a key component of the ‘inflammasome’, and is required to cleave pro-IL-1β to bioactive IL-1β. Here we demonstrate for the first time a critical requirement for IL-1β in response to CP infection. Caspase-1^−/− mice exhibit delayed cytokine production, defective clearance of pulmonary bacteria and higher mortality in response to CP infection. Alveolar macrophages harbored increased bacterial numbers due to reduced iNOS levels in Caspase-1^−/− mice. Pharmacological blockade of the IL-1 receptor in CP infected wild-type mice …

Immune Evasion Of Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome Virus Through Glycan Shielding Involves Both Glycoprotein 5 As Well As Glycoprotein 3, Hiep Vu, Byungjoon Kwon, Kyoung-Jin Yoon, William W. Laegreid, Asit K. Pattnaik, Fernando A. Osorio

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Passive administration of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) can effectively protect pigs against PRRSV infection. However, after PRRSV infection, pigs typically develop a weak and deferred NAb response. One major reason for such a meager NAb response is the phenomenon of glycan shielding involving GP5, a major glycoprotein carrying one major neutralizing epitope. We describe here a type II PRRSV field isolate (PRRSV-01) that is highly susceptible to neutralization and induces an atypically rapid, robust NAb response in vivo. Sequence analysis shows that PRRSV-01 lacks two N-glycosylation sites, normally present in wild-type (wt) PRRSV strains, …

Oxidation Kinetics Of Silver Thin Films For Antimicrobial Applications In The Health Care Industry, Sean D. Morham

Materials Engineering

To determine if varying city water qualities from around the United States can support a developing “oxidation corrosion of silver thin films” method of creating aqueous ionic silver solutions for the anti-microbial treatment of healthcare linens, a test was devised holding all variables constant with the exception of water quality parameters. This corrosion style test was done in order to assess a pass/fail criteria of 25 ppb ionic silver concentration in the aqueous solutions which resulted from the corrosion of silver thin film coated substrates. Above 25 ppb being a pass, below 25 ppb being a fail. While varying the …