Life Sciences Commons^™

Genomic Organization And Phylogenetic Utility Of Deer Mouse (Peromyscus Maniculatus) Lymphotoxin-Alpha And Lymphotoxin-Beta, Tiffany Richens, Aparna D.N. Palmer, Joseph Prescott, Tony Schountz

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) are among the most common mammals in North America and are important reservoirs of several human pathogens, including Sin Nombre hantavirus (SNV). SNV can establish a life-long apathogenic infection in deer mice, which can shed virus in excrement for transmission to humans. Patients that die from hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) have been found to express several proinflammatory cytokines, including lymphotoxin (LT), in the lungs. It is thought that these cytokines contribute to the pathogenesis of HCPS. LT is not expressed by virus-specific CD4+ T cells from infected deer mice, suggesting a limited role for this …

Rapid Field Immunoassay For Detecting Antibody To Sin Nombre Virus In Deer Mice, Tony Schountz, Charles H. Calisher, Tiffany R. Richens, Audrey A. Rich, Jeffrey B. Doty, Mark T. Hughes, Barry J. Beaty

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We developed a 1-hour field enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for detecting antibody to Sin Nombre virus in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). The assay specificity and sensitivity were comparable to those of a standard EIA. This test will permit identification of rodents with antibody to this and perhaps other hantaviruses.

Profiling Helper T Cell Subset Gene Expression In Deer Mice, Lauren Oko, Bethany Aduddell-Swope, Derall Willis, Robyn Hamor, Teresa A. Coons, Brian Hjelle

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) are the most common mammals in North America and are reservoirs for several zoonotic agents, including Sin Nombre virus (SNV), the principal etiologic agent of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) in North America. Unlike human HCPS patients, SNV-infected deer mice show no overt pathological symptoms, despite the presence of virus in the lungs. A neutralizing IgG antibody response occurs, but the virus establishes a persistent infection. Limitations of detailed analysis of deer mouse immune responses to SNV are the lack of reagents and methods for evaluating such responses.

RESULTS: We developed real-time PCR-based detection assays for …