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The University of Maine

Zebrafish

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Infection And Diet-Induced Gut Dysbiosis: Impact On Sleep Quality In Danio Rerio, Benjamin Williams May 2021

Infection And Diet-Induced Gut Dysbiosis: Impact On Sleep Quality In Danio Rerio, Benjamin Williams

Honors College

A known bidirectional relationship between intestinal microflora and the central nervous system, coined the gut-brain-axis, has stimulated work on the association between gut dysbiosis and inflammation, and sleep quality. Previous studies in the Hayes Lab have reported that a high fat (HF) diet was correlated with immobile phases, a marker of low motility during sleep found in some neurological disease and sleep duration[1]. Long sleep duration (>1 S.D. above norms for age) is associated with poor sleep quality or sleep fragmentation in participants who are overweight or obese according to body mass index values[2]. The current work utilizes a …


Host Mediated Mechanisms Of Fungal Cell Spread In A Transparent Zebrafish Infection Model, Allison Scherer Dec 2018

Host Mediated Mechanisms Of Fungal Cell Spread In A Transparent Zebrafish Infection Model, Allison Scherer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Innate immunity has developed elegant processes for the detection and clearance of invasive fungal pathogens. Disseminated candidiasis is of significant concern for those with suppressed immune systems or indwelling medical equipment, and mortality in these groups approaches 70%. Poor patient outcomes have spurred the need to understand how this non-motile pathogen spreads in the host. Technical limitations have previously hindered our ability to visualize the role of innate immunity and host tissue barriers in the spread of C. albicans in vivo. Using the zebrafish model to overcome these limitations, we have examined three potential host-mediated mechanisms of dissemination: movement …


Expression Profiling Of Non-Coding Rna By Environmental Interactions In Innate Immunity, Jacob R. Longfellow Aug 2017

Expression Profiling Of Non-Coding Rna By Environmental Interactions In Innate Immunity, Jacob R. Longfellow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder that affects 30,000 people in the United States and currently has no cure. Although CF affects all of the body’s systems, it is largely characterized as a lung disease. CF is caused by a mutation in both copies of the gene for cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). A mutation in the CFTR gene leads to improper movement of chloride ions and water into the airways, which dysregulates the airway surface liquid volume and composition. Individuals with CF are prone to lung infections due to inefficient bacterial clearance and by the age of …


Candida And Pseudomonas Interact To Enhance Mucosal Infection In Transparent Zebrafish, Audrey C. Bergeron Jul 2017

Candida And Pseudomonas Interact To Enhance Mucosal Infection In Transparent Zebrafish, Audrey C. Bergeron

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Polymicrobial communities exist throughout the human body and include both fungi and bacteria. During disease, cross-kingdom interactions among bacteria, fungi, and/or the immune system can alter virulence and lead to complex polymicrobial infections. The fungus C. albicans is among the most commonly isolated fungi in the context of fungal-bacterial co-infections and is often accompanied by the bacterium P. aeruginosa at a variety of sites throughout the body including mucosal tissues such as the lung. In vitro, C. albicans and P. aeruginosa have a cyclic, bi-directional, and largely antagonistic relationship, but these interactions do not account for the role of the …


Innate Immune Recognition Of Candida Albicans In Zebrafish, Monique Elaine Theriault May 2016

Innate Immune Recognition Of Candida Albicans In Zebrafish, Monique Elaine Theriault

Honors College

Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that has the capability to switch from commensal to pathogen in immunocompromised individuals. Recognition of pathogens, like C. albicans, during infection is poorly characterized primarily due to the difficulties in visualizing the host/pathogen interaction without killing the host. Transparent animal hosts, such as Danio rerio (zebrafish), enable imaging of pathogen recognition while maintaining host viability. For pathogen recognition, zebrafish likely use immune receptors similar to mammalian receptors including C-type lectin receptors. Human C-type lectin receptors have already been shown to be crucial in recognition of fungal pathogens like C. albicans, and our goal …


Evolutionary And Molecular Analysis Of Conserved Vertebrate Immunity To Fungi, Erin Carter May 2013

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 …


The Role Of Caveolin In The Toll-Like Receptor (Tlr) Signaling Pathway, Richard H. Luc May 2012

The Role Of Caveolin In The Toll-Like Receptor (Tlr) Signaling Pathway, Richard H. Luc

Honors College

Upon viral infection, the host’s immune system can induce the antiviral state to protect from further infection. In this antiviral state, RNA synthesis and protein synthesis are downregulated, and viral replication is inhibited (Kawai and Akira, 2006). Two of the key pathways critical to establishing the antiviral state include the Toll-like receptor (TLR) and the interferon (IFN) receptor (IFNR) pathways (Kawai and Akira, 2006). The TLR pathway is critical to recognizing viral components, while the IFNR pathway is vital to activating genes necessary for inducing the antiviral state. As the host evolves to combat viral infections, viruses have also evolved …