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Medicine and Health Sciences

Washington University in St. Louis

Theses/Dissertations

Microbiome

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

The Roles Of Capsular Polysaccharides And Diet In The Immune Response To A Bacteroides Thetaiotaomicron Antigen, Samantha Hsieh May 2021

The Roles Of Capsular Polysaccharides And Diet In The Immune Response To A Bacteroides Thetaiotaomicron Antigen, Samantha Hsieh

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The environment is well recognized to modulate immune responses within the intestinal mucosa in a general fashion. However, the connection between the effects of the environment on the immune response directed towards specific intestinal microbes is unclear. Progress in this area has been hampered by the lack of a model system in which the immune responses to a specific antigen in a gut symbiont can be examined. To this end, we developed a novel CD4+ T cell model, termed BθOM, that is specific for a dominant antigen in the gut symbiont Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (B. theta). In this work, we use …


Gut Reactions: Quantitative Predictions Of The Responses Of Human Gut Microbiota To Medical Interventions, Amy Elizabeth Langdon May 2021

Gut Reactions: Quantitative Predictions Of The Responses Of Human Gut Microbiota To Medical Interventions, Amy Elizabeth Langdon

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The collection of microbes known as the human microbiome perform vital functions for their host, and when this community becomes unhealthy, its dysbiosis is implicated in a myriad of diseases. The gut microbiota in particular are known to suppress colonization of opportunistic pathogens, regulate the immune system, aid in nutrient breakdown, produce vitamins, and a growing number of other functions. In order to intervene in a dysbiotic microbial ecology, we can try to remove unwanted microbes or try to recolonize the gut with microbes expected to be beneficial. This dissertation provides an overview of the state of medical interventions for …


Secretory Iga Enhances Gut B Cells Priming And Systemic Igg Responses Towards Commensals, You Zhou Aug 2019

Secretory Iga Enhances Gut B Cells Priming And Systemic Igg Responses Towards Commensals, You Zhou

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

IgA is the primary antibody response at mucosal surfaces and is reported to inhibit adaptive immune responses against gut bacteria. Here, we utilize an in vitro system to expand and screen IgA memory B cells for their ability to recognize gut bacteria in the context of secretory IgA (sIgA) deficiency in polymeric Ig receptor (Pigr–/–) mice. Contrary to the prevailing hypothesis that IgA provides an immune exclusionary function, we found that mice lacking sIgA showed decreased anti-bacterial IgA specificities as assessed using flow cytometry. IgA B cell responses against certain taxa such as those of order Bacteriodales showed greater dependence …