Digital Commons Network^™

Free-Living Allen’S Hummingbirds (Selasphorus Sasin) Rarely Use Torpor While Nesting, Erich R. Eberts, Glenn J. Tattersall, Peter J. Auger, Maria Curley, Melissa I. Morado, Eric G. Strauss, Don Powers, Noemi C. Soveral, Bret W. Tobalske, Anusha Shankar

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

For reproducing animals, maintaining energy balance despite thermoregulatory challenges is important for surviving and successfully raising offspring. This is especially apparent in small endotherms that exhibit high mass-specific metabolic rates and live in unpredictable environments. Many of these animals use torpor, substantially reducing their metabolic rate and often body temperature to cope with high energetic demands during non-foraging periods. In birds, when the incubating parent uses torpor, the lowered temperatures that thermally sensitive offspring experience could delay development or increase mortality risk. We used thermal imaging to noninvasively explore how nesting female hummingbirds sustain their own energy balance while effectively …

Anaerobic Digestion Reduces Seed Germination And Viability Of Six Plant Species From The Upper Nile Valley, Egypt, Ahmed M. Abbas, Mohamed Abdelazeem, Stephen J. Novak

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Anaerobic digestion (AD) involves the breakdown of a substrate by mixed microbial communities in the absence of free oxygen. This process has many benefits leading to the production of bioenergy (biogas) and fertilizers (bio-fertilizers). Unfortunately, the bio-fertilizer made using AD may be contaminated with weed seeds and may have the potential of infesting the fields to which it is applied. Thus, the goal of this study is to determine the effects of AD on seed germination and viability of two undesirable crop plants (Triticum aestivum and Sorghum bicolor) and four weed species of reclaimed agricultural land near Qena, …

Lake Salinization Drives Consistent Losses Of Zooplankton Abundance And Diversity Across Coordinated Mesocosm Experiments, Matthew Schuler

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Human-induced salinization increasingly threatens inland waters; yet we know little about the multifaceted response of lake communities to salt contamination. By conducting a coordinated mesocosm experiment of lake salinization across 16 sites in North America and Europe, we quantified the response of zooplankton abundance and (taxonomic and functional) community structure to a broad gradient of environmentally relevant chloride concentrations, ranging from 4 to ca. 1400 mg Cl⁻ L⁻¹. We found that crustaceans were distinctly more sensitive to elevated chloride than rotifers; yet, rotifers did not show compensatory abundance increases in response to crustacean declines. For crustaceans, our …

Long-Term Exposure To An Invasive Fungal Pathogen Decreases Eptesicus Fuscus Body Mass With Increasing Latitude, Molly C. Simonis, Lynn K. Hartzler, Gregory G. Turner, Michael R. Scafini, Joseph S. Johnson, Megan A. Rúa

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Abstract Invasive pathogens threaten wildlife health and biodiversity. Physiological responses of species highly susceptible to pathogen infections following invasion are well described. However, the responses of less susceptible species (relative to highly susceptible species) are not well known. Latitudinal gradients, which can influence body condition via Bergmann's rule and/or reflect the time it takes for an introduced pathogen to spread geographically, add an additional layer for how mammalian species respond to pathogen exposure. Our goal was to understand how hosts less susceptible to pathogen infections respond to long‐term pathogen exposure across a broad latitudinal gradient. We examined changes in body …

Tgf-B Signaling Mechanisms In Caenorhabditis Elegans Response To Bacterial Pathogens, Emma J. Ciccarelli

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

When exposed to infection, the nematode C. elegans mounts an innate immune response through secretion of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Different signaling pathways in the worm regulate release of these AMPs. One highly conserved pathway is the C. elegans BMP like pathway – regulated by the ligand DBL-1. The DBL-1 pathway is noted for its significant role in development but has also been shown to regulate many post-developmental processes within the worm, including the immune response. We are interested in determining how DBL-1 signaling can mediate a response specific to immunity, separate from its other functions in the worm. Through survival …

Widespread Variation In Salt Tolerance Within Freshwater Zooplankton Species Reduces The Predictability Of Community-Level Salt Tolerance, Matthew Schuler

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The salinization of freshwaters is a global threat to aquatic biodiversity. We quantified variation in chloride (Cl⁻) tolerance of 19 freshwater zooplankton species in four countries to answer three questions: (1) How much variation in Cl⁻ tolerance is present among populations? (2) What factors predict intraspecific variation in Cl⁻ tolerance? (3) Must we account for intraspecific variation to accurately predict community Cl⁻ tolerance? We conducted field mesocosm experiments at 16 sites and compiled acute LC50s from published laboratory studies. We found high variation in LC50s for Cl⁻ tolerance in multiple species, which, in the …

The Role Of Salinity In Recovery Of White Sturgeon (Acipenser Transmontanus) From Stimulated Angling Stress, Ryan B. Shartau, Jacelyn Shu, Daniel W. Baker

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) in the Lower Fraser River are the focus of a catch-and-release angling fishery in British Columbia, Canada. However, the lower region of the catch area includes areas where tidal waters invade, and the consequence of salinity levels on recovery from an angling challenge are not characterized in sturgeon, despite theoretical implications of its import. We acclimated white sturgeon to various salinities (0, 10 and 20 (parts per thousand)) to investigate the effects of acclimation on recovery from stimulated angling stress that was induced through manual chasing. This challenge elicited the traditional physiological responses such as ion …

Population Structure And Hybridisation In A Population Of Hawaiian Feral Chickens, Maria Luisa Martin Cerezo, Saioa Lopez, Lucy Van Dorp, Garrett Hellenthal, Martin Johnsson, Eben Gering, Rie Henriksen, Dominic Wright

Biology Faculty Articles

Chickens are believed to have inhabited the Hawaiian island of Kauai since the first human migrations around 1200AD, but numbers have peaked since the tropical storms Iniki and Iwa in the 1980s and 1990s that destroyed almost all the chicken coops on the island and released large numbers of domestic chickens into the wild. Previous studies have shown these now feral chickens are an admixed population between Red Junglefowl (RJF) and domestic chickens. Here, using genetic haplotypic data, we estimate the time of the admixture event between the feral population on the island and the RJF to 1981 (1976–1995), coinciding …

Genetic Determinants Involved In Acquisition Of Iron In The Opportunistic Pathogen Mycobacterium Abscessus, Manal F. Farhat

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The opportunistic pathogen Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. abscessus (Mab) has become an emerging public health threat due to the increasing number of Mab-associated chronic pulmonary disease cases. Infection cure rates are only 50% due to the complex resistance of Mab to most antimicrobial drugs and chemotherapy.

Deeper knowledge of Mab biology is needed to illuminate potential candidates for development of improved therapeutics against Mab infections. The ESX-3 type VII protein secretion system of Mab plays an important role in host inflammatory and pathological responses during infection.

In this study, we demonstrate a functional link between the ESX-3 secretion …

Disentangling Effects Of Mating, Nuptial Gifts And Accessory Gland Proteins On Reproduction In Female Crickets, Ian G. Rines, Audrey E. Harrod, John Hunt, Ben M. Sadd, Scott K. Sakaluk

Faculty Publications – Biological Sciences

Accessory gland proteins contained within male ejaculates influence female reproduction and survival in insects. Nuptial food gifts offered by male crickets and katydids, the consumption of which may also alter female behaviour and physiology after mating, also contain accessory gland proteins. However, because nuptial feeding promotes the transfer of sperm and ejaculatory substances, it is unclear whether it is accessory gland proteins in the ejaculate, nuptial gifts or both that mediate these effects. Here we evaluate the effects of mating, nuptial gifts and accessory gland proteins on female reproduction in a gift-giving cricket (Gryllodes sigillatus) using a …

Effective Farm Management Promotes Native Amf And Benefit Organic Farming Systems, Pushpa Soti, Rupesh R. Kariyat, Alexis Racelis

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Highlights

• Agricultural practices have significant influence on the AMF community dynamics.

• Soil nutrients regulate AMF spore abundance and diversity.

• Using grass cover crops can promote native AMF in farms.

Abstract

Using soil inoculants containing naturally occurring beneficial microorganisms has become a popular practice in sustainable agriculture. However, an understanding of the environmental variables that affect plant-microbe interactions and the benefit of using commercial inoculum is relatively sparse. To address this, we examined the efficiency of three different methods to inoculate AMF (Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi) in organic vegetable farms in south Texas: cover cropping, application of farm-produced (indigenous) AMF inoculum, …

Concerted Phenotypic Flexibility Of Avian Erythrocyte Size And Number In Response To Dietary Anthocyanin Supplementation, Maciej Dzialo, Amadeusz Bryla, Kristen J. Demoranville, Katherine M. Carbeck, Olivia Fatica, Lisa Trost, Barbara J. Pierce, Edyta T. Sadowska, Scott R. Mcwilliams, Ulf Bauchinger

Biology Faculty Publications

Background: Endurance flight impose substantial oxidative costs on the avian oxygen delivery system. In particular, the accumulation of irreversible damage in red blood cells can reduce the capacity of blood to transport oxygen and limit aerobic performance. Many songbirds consume large amounts of anthocyanin-rich fruit, which is hypothesized to reduce oxidative costs, enhance post-flight regeneration, and enable greater aerobic capacity. While their antioxidant benefits appear most straightforward, the effects of anthocyanins on blood composition remain so far unknown. We fed thirty hand-raised European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) two semisynthetic diets (with or without anthocyanin supplement) and manipulated the extent of flight …

Updated Virophage Taxonomy And Distinction From Polinton-Like Viruses, Simon Roux, Matthias G. Fischer, Thomas Hackl, Laura A. Katz, Frederik Schulz, Natalya Yutin

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Virophages are small dsDNA viruses that hijack the machinery of giant viruses during the co-infection of a protist (i.e., microeukaryotic) host and represent an exceptional case of “hyperparasitism” in the viral world. While only a handful of virophages have been isolated, a vast diversity of virophage-like sequences have been uncovered from diverse metagenomes. Their wide ecological distribution, idiosyncratic infection and replication strategy, ability to integrate into protist and giant virus genomes and potential role in antiviral defense have made virophages a topic of broad interest. However, one limitation for further studies is the lack of clarity regarding the nomenclature and …

Magel2 Truncation Alters Select Behavioral And Physiological Outcomes In A Rat Model Of Schaaf-Yang Syndrome, Derek L Reznik, Mingxiao V Yang, Pedro Albelda De La Haza, Antrix Jain, Melanie Spanjaard, Susanne Theiss, Christian P Schaaf, Anna Malovannaya, Theresa V Strong, Surabi Veeraragavan, Rodney C Samaco

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Previous studies in mice have utilized Magel2 gene deletion models to examine the consequences of its absence. We report the generation, molecular validation and phenotypic characterization of a novel rat model with a truncating Magel2 mutation modeling variants associated with Schaaf-Yang syndrome-causing mutations. Within the hypothalamus, a brain region in which human MAGEL2 is paternally expressed, we demonstrated, at the level of transcript and peptide detection, that rat Magel2 exhibits a paternal, parent-of-origin effect. In evaluations of behavioral features across several domains, juvenile Magel2 mutant rats displayed alterations in anxiety-like behavior and sociability measures. Moreover, the analysis of peripheral organ …

Synthetic Assembly Dna Cloning To Build Plasmids For Multiplexed Transgenic Selection, Counterselection Or Any Other Genetic Strategies Using Drosophila Melanogaster, Koen J T Venken, Nick Matinyan, Yezabel Gonzalez, Alejandro Sarrion-Perdigones, Herman A Dierick

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

We recently described a drug-based selectable and counterselectable genetic platform for the animal model system Drosophila melanogaster, consisting of four resistance and two sensitivity markers that allow direct selection for, or counterselection against, a desired genotype. This platform eliminates the need to identify modified progeny by traditional laborious screening using dominant eye and body color markers, white⁺ and yellow⁺, respectively. The four resistance markers permit selection of animals using G418 sulfate, Puromycin HCl, Blasticidin S, or Hygromycin B, while the two sensitivity markers allow counterselection of animals against Ganciclovir or Acyclovir, and 5-Fluorocytosine. The six markers …

Serial Recombineering Cloning To Build Selectable And Tagged Genomic P[Acman] Bac Clones For Selection Transgenesis And Functional Gene Analysis Using Drosophila Melanogaste, Koen J T Venken, Nick Matinyan, Yezabel Gonzalez, Herman A Dierick

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Transgenes with genomic DNA fragments that encompass genes of interest are the gold standard for complementing null alleles in rescue experiments in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Of particular interest are genomic DNA clones available as bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) or fosmids from publicly available genomic DNA libraries. Genes contained within BAC and fosmid clones can be easily modified by recombineering cloning to insert peptide or protein tags to localize, visualize, or manipulate gene products, and to create point mutations or deletions for structure-function analysis of the inserted genes. However, since transgenesis efficiency is inversely correlated with transgene size, obtaining …

The Roles Of Cyp1a2 And Cyp2d In Pharmacokinetic Profiles Of Serotonin And Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor Duloxetine And Its Metabolites In Mice, Xuan Qin, Cen Xie, John M Hakenjos, Kevin R Mackenzie, Shelton R Boyd, Mercedes Barzi, Karl-Dimiter Bissig, Damian W Young, Feng Li

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Duloxetine (DLX) is widely used to treat major depressive disorder. Little is known about the mechanistic basis for DLX-related adverse effects (e.g., liver injury). Human CYP1A2 and CYP2D6 mainly contributes to DLX metabolism, which was proposed to be involved in its adverse effects. Here, we investigated the roles of Cyp1a2 and Cyp2d on DLX pharmacokinetic profile and tissue distribution using a Cyp1a2 knockout (Cyp1a2-KO) mouse model together with a Cyp2d inhibitor (propranolol). Cyp1a2-KO has the few effects on the systematic exposure (area under the plasma concentration-time curve, AUC) and tissue disposition of DLX and its primary metabolites. Propranolol dramatically increased …

Dynamics Of Gametes And Embryos In The Oviduct: What Can In Vivo Imaging Reveal?, Shang Wang, Irina V Larina

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

IN BRIEF: In vivo imaging of gametes and embryos in the oviduct enables new studies of the native processes that lead to fertilization and pregnancy. This review article discusses recent advancements in the in vivo imaging methods and insights which contribute to understanding the oviductal function.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the physiological dynamics of gametes and embryos in the fallopian tube (oviduct) has significant implications for managing reproductive disorders and improving assisted reproductive technologies. Recent advancements in imaging of the mouse oviduct in vivo uncovered fascinating dynamics of gametes and embryos in their native states. These new imaging approaches and observations are …

A Brief Overview Of Triple A Syndrome, Jamaal Khan

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

Triple A Syndrome, also known as AAA Syndrome, is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by any mutation in the AAAS gene on chromosome 12q13, whose main function is to code for the WD-repeat family regulatory protein, ALADIN. It typically occurs as a group of diseases that are characterized by alacrima, Addison's disease, and achalasia. Alacrima can be defined by a decrease in the amount of tears produced while achalasia is nerve damage in the esophagus that can cause difficulty swallowing. Lastly, Addison's disease is the insufficient production of cortisol and aldosterone produced by the adrenal cortex. There is no …

Evidence Of An Established Population Of Cherax Quadricarinatus (Von Martens, 1868) In South Texas, Usa, Adam Sanjar, Drew R. Davis, Richard J. Kline

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Cherax quadricarinatus (von Martens, 1868) is a large parastacid crayfish (Decapoda: Parastacidae) native to Australia and Papua New Guinea. Due to various factors, C. quadricarinatus is an emerging invasive species in an increasing number of regions across the world. Deleterious ecological effects of C. quadricarinatus introduction have been documented in many of these regions, and its spread has been monitored and restricted where possible. Previously, only a small, isolated population of C. quadricarinatus in southern California had been reported within the continental United States. Here, we report the collection of three adult C. quadricarinatus from Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas, the …

The Known And Unknowns Of Aphid Biotypes, And Their Role In Mediating Host Plant Defenses, Neetu Khanal, Christopher Vitek, Rupesh R. Kariyat

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Insect species are subjected to disparate selection pressure due to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Management practices including the heavy use of chemical insecticides and introduction of insect-resistant plant cultivars have been found to accelerate these processes. Clearly, natural selection coupled with human intervention have led to insect adaptations that alter phenotypes and genetic structure over time, producing distinct individuals with specialized traits, within the populations, commonly defined as biotypes. Biotypes are commonly found to have better fitness in the new environment and, in the case of aphids, the most commonly studied system for biotypes, have the ability to successfully …

Hunting Behavior Of A Solitary Sailfish Istiophorus Platypterus And Estimated Energy Gain After Prey Capture, Ryan K. Logan, Sarah M. Luongo, Jeremy Vaudo, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Mahmood Shivji

Biology Faculty Articles

Foraging behavior and interaction with prey is an integral component of the ecological niche of predators but is inherently difficult to observe for highly mobile animals in the marine environment. Billfishes have been described as energy speculators, expending a large amount of energy foraging, expecting to offset high costs with periodic high energetic gain. Surface-based group feeding of sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus, is commonly observed, yet sailfish are believed to be largely solitary roaming predators with high metabolic requirements, suggesting that individual foraging also represents a major component of predator–prey interactions. Here, we use biologging data and video to examine daily …

Accomplishments And Challenges Of The Research On Antillean Manatee: A Bibliometric Analysis, Delma Nataly Castelblanco-Martínez, Daniel Gonzalez-Socoloske, Leslie Cabrias, Natalia Garcés-Cuartas, Gloria Katerin Arévalo-González, João Carlos Gomes Borges, Miriam Marmontel

Faculty Publications

The Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) is an endangered subspecies of the West Indian manatee inhabiting countries of South America, Meso America and the Caribbean. Basic and applied research is necessary to inform management plans for the effective recovery of this subspecies. The purpose of this study was to systematically review literature regarding Antillean manatees, without restriction of the research topic. Article selection and screening process are described. Our final database consisted of 456 publications, of which peer-reviewed literature (articles, reviews, and notes in research journals) represent the most important type (63.4%), followed by BSc, MSc, and PhD theses (28.1%). …

Seeing In The Dark: A Review Of The Use Of Side-Scan Sonar To Detect And Study Manatees, With An Emphasis On Latin America, Daniel Gonzalez-Socoloske, León David Olivera-Gómez

Faculty Publications

Manatees are aquatic mammals that live in a variety of environments. Many of those shallow water environments have murky water, making detection using traditional visual surveys very challenging. Side-scan sonar was first proposed as a tool to detect and study manatees in these complicated habitats in 2005. Here, we summarize the use of this tool from 2005 to 2022 by searching the available literature. Our literature search revealed that this tool is being widely used in more than 20 locations and over 15 countries. All three manatee species are being studied with side-scan sonar. It is most useful in murky …

Diel Activity Patterns Of Vector Mosquito Species In The Urban Environment: Implications For Vector Control Strategies, André Barretto B. Wilke, Adequate Mhlanga, Allisandra G. Kummer, Chalmers Vasquez, Maday Moreno, William D. Petrie, Art Rodriguez, Christopher Vitek, Gabriel L. Hamer, John-Paul Mutebi, Marco Ajelli

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Mathematical models have been widely used to study the population dynamics of mosquitoes as well as to test and validate the effectiveness of arbovirus outbreak responses and mosquito control strategies. The objective of this study is to assess the diel activity of mosquitoes in Miami-Dade, Florida, and Brownsville, Texas, the most affected areas during the Zika outbreak in 2016–2017, and to evaluate the effectiveness of simulated adulticide treatments on local mosquito populations. To assess variations in the diel activity patterns, mosquitoes were collected hourly for 96 hours once a month from May through November 2019 in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and …

Beyond The Usual Suspects: Emerging Uropathogens In The Microbiome Age, Robert B. Moreland, Brian I. Choi, Wilson Geaman, Caroline Gonzalez, Baylie R. Hochstedler-Kramer, Jerrin John, Jacob Kaindl, Nikita Kesav, Jyoti Lamichhane, Luke Lucio, Malika Saxena, Aditi Sharma, Lana Tinawi, Michael E. Vanek, Catherine Putonti, Linda Brubaker, Alan J. Wolfe

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The advent of sensitive enhanced culture (metaculturomic) and culture-independent DNA-based (metagenomic) methods has revealed a rich collection of microbial species that inhabit the human urinary tract. Known as the urinary microbiome, this community of microbes consists of hundreds of distinct species that range across the entire phylogenetic spectrum. This new knowledge clashes with standard clinical microbiology laboratory methods, established more than 60 years ago, that focus attention on a relatively small subset of universally acknowledged uropathogens. Increasing reports support the hypothesis that this focus is too narrow. Single uropathogen reports are common in women with recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI), …

Plant Production Of A Virus-Like Particle-Based Vaccine Candidate Against Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome, Jordan T. Vanderburgt, Ondre Harper, Christopher P. Garnham, Susanne E. Kohalmi, Rima Menassa

Biology Publications

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is a disease leading to spontaneous abortions and stillbirths in sows and lowered life quality and expectancy in growing pigs. PRRS is prevalent worldwide and has significant economic impacts to swine industries around the globe. Co-expression of the two most abundant proteins in the viral envelope, the matrix protein (M) and glycosylated protein 5 (GP5), can produce a neutralizing immune response for the virus providing a potentially effective subunit vaccine against the disease, but these proteins are difficult to express. The goal of this research was to display antigenic portions of the M and …

Methanocaldococcus Lauensis Sp. Nov., A Novel Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Hyperthermophilic Methanogen, Stéphane L'Haridon, Steven Goulaouic, Emily St John, Stephanie Fouteau, Anna-Louise Reysenbach

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Three hyperthermohphilic methanogens, designated strain SG7T, strain SG1 and strain SLH, were isolated from the ABE and Tu’i Malila deep-sea hydrothermal vent fields along the Eastern Lau Spreading Center. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that strains SG7T, SG1 and SLH were affiliated with the genus Methanocaldococcus within the family Methanocaldococcaceae, order Methanococcales. They shared 95.5–99.48 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to other Methanocaldococcus species and were most closely related to Methanocaldococcus bathoardescens. Cells of strains SG7T, SG1 and SLH were cocci, with a diameter of 1.0–2.2 µm. The three strains grew between …

The Impacts Of Immune Challenges On Fish Behavior And Physiology, Teisha King

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

For species living in dominance hierarchies, social rank dictates access to resources and often contributes to reproductive success. To ensure survival, individuals constantly evaluate trade- offs between crucial biological systems, like the reproductive and immune systems, depending on their social rank and physiological state. Little is known about how social species balance interactions between immune system function, fluctuations in social status and reproductive fitness, and the performance of behaviors necessary for maintaining social status when sick, particularly in fishes, the largest and most diverse group of vertebrates. My dissertation research uses a whole animal approach to examine how physiological profiles …

Depletion Of Hiv Reservoir By Activation Of Isr Signaling In Resting Cd4+T Cells, Dajiang Li, Lilly M. Wong, Yuyang Tang, Brigitte Allard, Katherine S. James, George R. Thompson, Satya Dandekar, Edward P. Browne, Qingsheng Li, Jeremy M. Simon, Nancie M. Archin, David M. Margolis, Guochun Jiang

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

HIV reservoirs are extremely stable and pose a tremendous challenge to clear HIV infection. Here, we demonstrate that activation of ISR/ATF4 signaling reverses HIV latency, which also selectively eliminates HIV+ cells in primary CD4⁺T cell model of latency without effect on HIV-negative CD⁴⁺T cells. The reduction of HIV+ cells is associated with apoptosis enhancement, but surprisingly is largely seen in HIV-infected cells in which gag-pol RNA transcripts are detected in HIV RNA-induced ATF4/IFIT signaling. In resting CD4⁺ (rCD4⁺) T cells isolated from people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy, induction of ISR/ATF4 signaling …