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Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons™
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Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in Immunology and Infectious Disease
Insights To Protein Pathogenicity From The Lens Of Protein Evolution, Janelle Nunez-Castilla
Insights To Protein Pathogenicity From The Lens Of Protein Evolution, Janelle Nunez-Castilla
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
As protein sequences evolve, differences in selective constraints may lead to outcomes ranging from sequence conservation to structural and functional divergence. Evolutionary protein family analysis can illuminate which protein regions are likely to diverge or remain conserved in sequence, structure, and function. Moreover, nonsynonymous mutations in pathogens may result in the emergence of protein regions that affect the behavior of pathogenic proteins within a host and host response. I aimed to gain insight on pathogenic proteins from cancer and viruses using an evolutionary perspective. First, I examined p53, a conformationally flexible, multifunctional protein mutated in ~50% of human cancers. Multifunctional …
Understanding Exosomal Extracellular Vesicles And Morphine In The Neuropathology Of Human Immunodeficiency Virus And Differential Zika Virus Strain-Associated Pathology, Allen Caobi
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Exosomal Extracellular Vesicles (xEVs), integral to intercellular communication and regulation of immune responses, have functional effects based on their contents, which they transport to neighboring cells. However, in the context of infection, EV cargo can be modulated, by either infected or uninfected cells. We hypothesize that CNS-associated neuropathology, is partially, due to the cargo transported by the exosomes. We theorize that the cargo released from infected cell-derived xEVs may either facilitate or inhibit viral neuropathogenicity. Here we investigated xEVs in the case of two neurotropic viruses, Zika virus (ZIKV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The hallmark characteristic of ZIKV-infection is …
Phenomenological And Molecular Basis Of The Cnidarian Immune System, Tanya Brown
Phenomenological And Molecular Basis Of The Cnidarian Immune System, Tanya Brown
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Coral reefs are one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet due partially to the habitat structure provided by corals. Corals are long lived organisms that can live for hundreds of years and as a result growth of many species is very slow. As a result of this, recovery of corals from disease outbreaks is very slow and difficult and therefore the ecosystem is deteriorating rapidly. Due to this increase in disease and its detrimental effect on coral reefs, it has become imperative to study how corals respond to disease outbreaks. The response of the coral to pathogens is …
Auto-Antigenic Properties Of The Spliceosome As A Molecular Tool For Diagnosing Systemic Lupus Erythematosus And Mixed Connective Tissue Disease Patients, Annia Mesa
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and Mixed Connective Tissue Disease (MCTD) are chronic, autoimmune disorders that target overlapping autoantigens and exhibit similar clinical manifestations. Despite 40 years of research, a reliable biomarker capable of diagnosing these syndromes has yet to be identified. Previous studies have confirmed that components of the U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein complex (U1 snRNP) such as U1A are 1000 fold more autoantigenic than any other nuclear component in SLE patients. Based on these findings, I hypothesize that models derived from the U1 snRNP autoantigenic properties could distinguish SLE from MCTD patients. To test this hypothesis, 30 peptides corresponding …