Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons^™

What Makes Bats Special So That They Are Reservoirs For So Many Different Pathogens?, Deion Anderson, Eleanor Gorkovchenko, Nicole Hamada, Carolina Martinez, Lupe Martinez

2020 Symposium Posters

Bats, order Chiroptera, comprise more than 20 percent of all living mammal species with more than 1100 species. Bats are organisms that have high body temperatures and metabolic rates. Therefore, viral adaptation to febrile conditions in the bat host might explain the high reservoir competence that distinguishes these organisms from other mammalian hosts. The purpose of this study is to present a comparative meta-review of the available evidence in order to investigate and identify the reasons or characteristics as to what makes bats special reservoirs for so many different pathogens. Our investigation will not focus on a particular bat species, …

Comments On The Preliminary Framework For Equitable Allocation Of Covid-19 Vaccine, Ana Santos Rutschman, Julia Barnes-Weise, Robert Gatter, Timothy L. Wiemken

All Faculty Scholarship

On September 1, 2020 the National Academies released a draft framework for Equitable Allocation of a COVID-19 Vaccine. In this response, we analyze the proposed framework and highlight several areas.

Among the proposed changes, we highlight the need for the following interventions. The final framework for distribution of COVID-19 vaccines should give a higher priority to populations made most vulnerable by the social determinants of health. It should incorporate more geography-based approaches in at least some of the four proposed phases of vaccine distribution. It should address the possibility of a vaccine being made available through an emergency use authorization …

The Case For Face Shields: Improving The Covid-19 Public Health Policy Toolkit, Timothy L. Wiemken, Ana Santos Rutschman, Robert Gatter

All Faculty Scholarship

As the United States battles the later stages of the first wave of COVID-19 and faces the prospect of future waves, it is time to consider the practical utility of face shields as an alternative or complement to face masks in the policy guidance. Without face shields specifically noted in national guidance, many areas may be reluctant to allow their use as an alternative to cloth face masks, even with sufficient modification.

In this piece, we discuss the benefits of face shields as a substitute to face masks in the context of public health policy. We further discuss the implications …

Why The Government Shouldn't Pay People To Get Vaccinated Against Covid-19, Ana Santos Rutschman

All Faculty Scholarship

As several pharmaceutical companies approach the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking authorization to bring COVID-19 vaccines to market, concerns about vaccine mistrust cloud the prospects of imminent vaccination efforts across the globe. These concerns have prompted some commentators to suggest that governments may nudge vaccine uptake by paying people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. This post argues that, even if potentially viable, this idea is undesirable against the backdrop of a pandemic marked by the intertwined phenomena of health misinformation and mistrust in public health authorities. Even beyond the context of COVID-19, paying for vaccination is likely to remain …

First Comparison Of French And Australian Oshv-1 Μvars By Bath Exposure, Ca Burge, Kimberly S. Reece, Ak Dhar, P Kirkland, B Morga, L Dégremont, N Faury, B Whipple, A Macintyre, C Friedman

VIMS Articles

Economically devastating mortality events of farmed and wild shellfish due to infectious disease have been reported globally. Currently, one of the most significant disease threats to Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas culture is the ostreid herpesvirus 1 (OsHV-1), in particular the emerging OsHV-1 microvariant genotypes. OsHV-1 microvariants (OsHV-1 μvars) are spreading globally, and concern is high among growers in areas unaffected by OsHV-1. No study to date has compared the relative virulence among variants. We provide the first challenge study comparing survival of naïve juvenile Pacific oysters exposed to OsHV-1 μvars from Australia (AUS μvar) and France (FRA μvar). Oysters challenged …

Distribution Of Dengue And Zika Virus Igg Immunoglobulin, Madison Smith, Awadalkareem Adam, Anuja Mathew

Senior Honors Projects

Introduction. Dengue Virus (DENV) and Zika Virus (ZIKV) are viruses that belong to the Flavivirus family. They are transmitted by the Aedes aegypti species of mosquitoes. Infection with DENV can result in no symptoms, mild symptoms which include fever, rash, and headache (dengue fever) or more severe symptoms which include hemorrhage, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and shock, dengue shock syndrome (DSS). ZIKV, until recently caused mild disease but an outbreak in Brazil was associated with fetal complications such as microcephaly or Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults. Due to the similarity between ZIKV and DENV, antibodies (Abs) generated in humans to these …

Congenital Zika Virus Infection In Immunocompetent Mice Causes Postnatal Growth Impediment And Neurobehavioral Deficits, Amber M. Paul, Dhiraj Acharya, Biswas Neupane, E. Ashley Thompson, Gabriel Gonzalez-Fernandez, Katherine M. Copeland

Publications

A small percentage of babies born to Zika virus (ZIKV)-infected mothers' manifest severe defects at birth, including microcephaly. Among those who appeared healthy at birth, there are increasing reports of postnatal growth or developmental defects. However, the impact of congenital ZIKV infection in postnatal development is poorly understood. Here, we report that a mild congenital ZIKV-infection in pups born to immunocompetent pregnant mice did not display apparent defects at birth, but manifested postnatal growth impediments and neurobehavioral deficits, which include reduced locomotor and cognitive deficits that persisted into adulthood. We found that the brains of these pups were smaller, had …

Honey Bee And Bumble Bee Antiviral Defense, Alexander J. Mcmenamin, Daughenbaugh F. Katie, Fenali Parek, Marie C. Pizzorno, Michelle L. Flenniken

Faculty Journal Articles

Bees are important plant pollinators in both natural and agricultural ecosystems. Managed and wild bees have experienced high average annual colony losses, population declines, and local extinctions in many geographic regions. Multiple factors, including virus infections, impact bee health and longevity. The majority of bee-infecting viruses are positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses. Bee-infecting viruses often cause asymptomatic infections but may also cause paralysis, deformity or death. The severity of infection is governed by bee host immune responses and influenced by additional biotic and abiotic factors. Herein, we highlight studies that have contributed to the current understanding of antiviral defense in bees, …

Genotype-Specific Insertion Of Cytotoxic Genetic Elements Into Cancer Cells, Ryan Englander

University Scholar Projects

The new gene editing system CRISPR/Cas9, composed of a complex composed of a guide RNA and the Cas9 endonuclease, promises to revolutionize biological research and potentially allow clinicians to directly modify patient DNA in vivo. While its applications in the treatment of genetic diseases and in modifying immune cells for immunotherapy are currently being explored, CRISPR/Cas9’s potential utility as a modular system for targeting tumor-specific mutated sequences has not as of yet been explored. While CRISPR/Cas9 is specific enough to target small insertions and deletions or gross chromosomal rearrangements, it is not specific enough to reliably restrict editing to …

Frequency And Factors Associated With Adult Immunization In Patients Visiting Family Medicine Clinics At A Tertiary Care Hospital, Karachi, Samar Zaki, Asma Usman, Swaleha Tariq, Sameena Shah, Iqbal Azam Syed, Waris Qidwai, Kashmira Nanji

Department of Family Medicine

Objective: The goal of this study was to determine the frequency and factors associated with adult immunization in patients visiting family medicine clinics at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2014 to March 2015 in a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Participants more than 18 years were invited to participate in the study. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect information. Data were entered and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 19.0 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp).
Results: A total of 340 patients were surveyed. The majority of patients …

Gender Differences In Virologic Response After Antiretroviral Therapy In Treatment-Naïve Hiv-Infected Individuals: Results From The 550 Clinic Hiv Cohort Study., Andrea Reyes-Vega, Alejandra Loban, Kavitha Srinivasan, Stephen P. Furmanek, Conner English, Mary Bishop, Cathy Spencer, Daniel Truelove, Julio A. Ramirez, Anupama Raghuram, Paula Peyrani

Faculty Scholarship

Background

Controversy still exists regarding gender differences in virologic response between treatment-na•ve HIV-infected individuals. The objective of this study was to evaluate gender difference in virologic and immunologic response to antiretroviral therapy in treatment-na•ve HIV-infected individuals. Methods

This was a retrospective, observational study of treatment-na•ve HIV-infected individuals managed at the 550 clinic who started antiretroviral therapy (ART) between January 1st, 2010 and December 31, 2015. Patients with available viral load and CD4 counts before and one year after initiating ART were included in this study. Virologic suppression was defined as < 48 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL, and mmunologic recovery was defined as a CD4 count increase of at least 150 cells/mm3. Dichotomous variables were reported in number and percentages and analyzed using Chi-squared tests and Fisher’s exact (whichever was appropriate). Continuous variables were reported as median and interquartile range (IQR) and analyzed using Wilcox rank-sum tests. Multivariate analyses performed were logistic regressions with adjustment for other covariates. P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. R version 3.3.2 was used for the statistical analysis. Results

A total of 70 women and 90 men were included …

Extended-Spectrum Antiprotozoal Bumped Kinase Inhibitors: A Review, Wesley C. Van Voorhis, J. Stone Doggett, Marilyn Parsons, Matthew A. Hulverson, Ryan Choi, Samuel L. M. Arnold, Michael W. Riggs, Andrew Hemphill, Daniel K. Howe, Robert H. Mealey, Audrey O. T. Lau, Ethan A. Merritt, Dustin J. Maly, Erkang Fan, Kayode K. Ojo

Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Many life-cycle processes in parasites are regulated by protein phosphorylation. Hence, disruption of essential protein kinase function has been explored for therapy of parasitic diseases. However, the difficulty of inhibiting parasite protein kinases to the exclusion of host orthologues poses a practical challenge. A possible path around this difficulty is the use of bumped kinase inhibitors for targeting calcium dependent protein kinases that contain atypically small gatekeeper residues and are crucial for pathogenic apicomplexan parasites’ survival and proliferation. In this review, we review efficacy against the kinase target, the parasite growth in vitro, and in animal infection models, as well …

Osteopontin Facilitates West Nile Virus Neuroinvasion Via Neutrophil “Trojan Horse” Transport, Amber M. Paul, Dhiraj Acharya, Laurel Duty, E. Ashley Thompson, Linda Le, Dobrivoje S. Stokic, A. Arturo Leis, Fengwei Bai

Publications

West Nile virus (WNV) can cause severe human neurological diseases including encephalitis and meningitis. The mechanisms by which WNV enters the central nervous system (CNS) and host factors that are involved in WNV neuroinvasion are not completely understood. The proinflammatory chemokine osteopontin (OPN) is induced in multiple neuroinflammatory diseases and is responsible for leukocyte recruitment to sites of its expression. In this study, we found that WNV infection induced OPN expression in both human and mouse cells. Interestingly, WNV-infected OPN deficient (Opn−/−) mice exhibited a higher survival rate (70%) than wild type (WT) control mice (30%), suggesting OPN plays a …

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 …

Lymphoid Hematopoiesis And The Role Of B-Cells In Transgenic Mouse Model Of Sickle Cell Disease, Christina Cotte

University Scholar Projects

Sickle cell disease (SCD) has been shown to be associated with decreased baseline immunity and thus increased susceptibility to infection. I sought to discern possible causes of this by looking into the correlations between SCD and hematopoiesis, the immune system and the neuroendocrine system, and ultimately by conducting experiments surrounding the impaired immune system of SCD. These experiments focused on the potential causes and effects of the diminution of B-1a cells in the SCD spleen. Adoptive transfers, infections with Streptococcus pneumoniae, and histologic imaging were conducted to establish if the diminution of the B-1a cells in the SCD spleen …

Creation Of An Immunodeficient Hla-Transgenic Mouse (Humamice) And Functional Validation Of Human Immunity After Transfer Of Hla-Matched Human Cells, Yang Zeng, Bingrun Liu, Marie-Therese Rubio, Xinyue Wang, David M. Ojcius, Ruoping Tang, Antoine Durrbach, Zhitao Ru, Yusen Zhou, Yu-Chun Lone

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Research on human immunology has been hindered by the lack of optimal small animal models, given that the protective immune responses of human and non-human species show significant differences. However, due to ethical constraints[1] and the high cost of clinical trials, it is urgent to improve the current animal models that can mimic faithfully human physiology, particularly the human immune system (HIS). HIS mice had been generated recently by engrafting human hematopoietic stem cells (hHSCs) or human peripheral mononuclear cells (hPBMCs) into highly immuno-deficient mice such as NSG, NOG or NRG mice. However, a major experimental drawback for studies using …

Immune Responses In Hibernating Little Brown Myotis (Myotis Lucifugus) With White-Nose Syndrome, Thomas M. Lilley, Jenni M. Prokkola, Elisabeth Jeanine Rogers, Sarah Gronsky, Allen Kurta, Deeann Reeder, Kenneth A. Field

Faculty Journal Articles

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease responsible for decimating many bat populations in North America. Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), the psychrophilic fungus responsible for WNS, prospers in the winter habitat of many hibernating bat species. The immune response that Pd elicits in bats is not yet fully understood; antibodies are produced in response to infection by Pd, but they may not be protective and indeed may be harmful. To understand how bats respond to infection during hibernation, we studied the effect of Pd inoculation on the survival and gene expression of captive hibernating Myotis lucifugus with varying …

Isolation, Culture And Characterization Of Hirsutella Sinensis Mycelium From Caterpillar Fungus Fruiting Body, Yun-Fei Komi, Jian-Ching Liau, Chien-Sheng Lee, Chen-Yaw Chiu, Jan Martel, Chuan-Sheng Lin, Shan-Fu Tseng, David M. Ojcius, Chia-Chen Lu, Hsin-Chih Lai, John Ding-E. Young

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

The caterpillar fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis (previously called Cordyceps sinensis) has been used for centuries in Asia as a tonic to improve health and longevity. Recent studies show that O. sinensis produces a wide range of biological effects on cells, laboratory animals and humans, including anti-fatigue, anti-infection, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-tumor activities. In view of the rarity of O. sinensis fruiting bodies in nature, cultivation of its anamorph mycelium represents a useful alternative for large-scale production. However, O. sinensis fruiting bodies harvested in nature harbor several fungal contaminants, a phenomenon that led to the isolation and characterization of a large number …

A Critical Appraisal Of Extracorporeal Photopheresis As A Treatment Modality For Acute And Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease, Hind Rafei, Mohamed Kharfan-Dabaja, Taiga Nishihori

Medicine Faculty Publications

Although significant advances have been made in the biologic understanding of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and its treatment options, GVHD remains the single most challenging obstacle to the success of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) due to high risk of disabling morbidity and mortality. Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) has promising effects in controlling steroid-refractory GVHD, both acute and chronic, and it has been studied extensively. Its putative immunomodulatory mechanisms, while not immunosuppressive, position ECP as an attractive treatment strategy for GVHD patients who are already receiving global immunosuppression. However, ECP is relatively underutilized due in part to limited access and time commitment. …

Micrornas Modulate Pathogenesis Resulting From Chlamydial Infection In Mice, Laxmi Yeruva, S. Pouncey, Michael R. Eledge, Sudeepa Bhattacharya, Chunqiao Luo, Erin W. Weatherford, David M. Ojcius, Roger G. Rank

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Not all women infected with chlamydiae develop upper genital tract disease, but the reason(s) for this remains undefined. Host genetics and hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle are possible explanations for variable infection outcomes. It is also possible that disease severity depends on the virulence of the chlamydial inoculum. It is likely that the inoculum contains multiple genetic variants, differing in virulence. If the virulent variants dominate, then the individual is more likely to develop severe disease. Based on our previous studies, we hypothesized that the relative degree of virulence of a chlamydial population dictates the microRNA (miRNA) expression …

Expansion Of Comprehensive Screening Of Male Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinic Attendees With Mycoplasma Genitalium And Trichomonas Vaginalis Molecular Assessment: A Retrospective Analysis, Erik Munson, David Wenten, Sheila Jhansale, Mary Kay Schuknecht, Nicki Pantuso, Joshua Gerritts, Aaron Steward, Kimber L. Munson, Maureen Napierala, Deb Hamer

Clinical Lab Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Of 1,493 encounters of males at a sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic in a community with a high prevalence of STI, Chlamydia trachomatis was detected in 8.7% and Neisseria gonorrhoeae was detected in 6.6%. Additional Trichomonas vaginalis and Mycoplasma genitalium screening found 17.4% and 23.9% of the encounters, respectively, to be positive for STI. STI agents were detected in 13.7% of urine specimens; addition of pharyngeal and rectal collections to the analysis resulted in detection of STI agents in 19.0% and 23.9% of encounters, respectively. A total of 101 (23.8%) encounters of identified STI involved sole detection of M. genitalium. …

Transmission Routes Maintaining A Viral Pathogen Of Steelhead Trout Within A Complex Multi-Host Assemblage, Rachel Breyta, Ilana Brito, Paige Ferguson, Gael Kurath, Kerry Naish, Maureen Purcell, Ar Wargo, Shannon Ladeau

VIMS Articles

This is the first comprehensive region wide, spatially explicit epidemiologic analysis of surveillance data of the aquatic viral pathogen infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) infecting native salmonid fish. The pathogen has been documented in the freshwater ecosystem of the Pacific Northwest of North America since the 1950s, and the current report describes the disease ecology of IHNV during 2000-2012. Prevalence of IHNV infection in monitored salmonid host cohorts ranged from 8% to 30%, with the highest levels observed in juvenile steelhead trout. The spatial distribution of all IHNV-infected cohorts was concentrated in two sub-regions of the study area, where historic …

Nucleoside-Diphosphate-Kinase Of P. Gingivalis Is Secreted From Epithelial Cells In The Absence Of A Leader Sequence Through A Pannexin-1 Interactome, Kalina Atanasova, Jungnam Lee, Joann Roberts, Kyulim Lee, David M. Ojcius, Özlem Yilmaz

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Nucleoside-diphosphate-kinases (NDKs) are leaderless, multifunctional enzymes. The mode(s) of NDK secretion is currently undefined, while extracellular translocation of bacterial NDKs is critical for avoidance of host pathogen clearance by opportunistic pathogens such as Porphyromonas gingivalis. P. gingivalis-NDK during infection inhibits extracellular-ATP (eATP)/P2X7-receptor mediated cell death in gingival epithelial cells (GECs) via eATP hydrolysis. Furthermore, depletion of pannexin-1-hemichannel (PNX1) coupled with P2X7-receptor blocks the infection-induced eATP release in GECs, and P. gingivalis-NDK impacts this pathway. Ultrastructural and confocal microscopy of P. gingivalis-co-cultured GECs or green-fluorescent-protein (GFP)-P. gingivalis-NDK transfected GECs revealed a perinuclear/cytoplasmic localization of NDK. eATP stimulation induced NDK recruitment to …

An Iron Detection System Determines Bacterial Swarming Initiation And Biofilm Formation, Chuan-Sheng Lin, Yu-Huan Tsai, Chih-Jung Chang, Shun-Fu Tseng, Tseng-Ru Wu, Chia-Chen Lu, Ting-Shu Wu, Jang-Jih Lu, Jim-Tong Horng, Jan Martel, David M. Ojcius, Hsin-Chih Lai, John Ding-E. Young

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Iron availability affects swarming and biofilm formation in various bacterial species. However, how bacteria sense iron and coordinate swarming and biofilm formation remains unclear. Using Serratia marcescens as a model organism, we identify here a stage-specific iron-regulatory machinery comprising a two-component system (TCS) and the TCS-regulated iron chelator 2-isocyano-6,7-dihydroxycoumarin (ICDH-Coumarin) that directly senses and modulates environmental ferric iron (Fe3+) availability to determine swarming initiation and biofilm formation. We demonstrate that the two-component system RssA-RssB (RssAB) directly senses environmental ferric iron (Fe³⁺) and transcriptionally modulates biosynthesis of flagella and the iron chelator ICDH-Coumarin whose production requires the pvc cluster. …

Novel Mutation Of Interferon-Γ Receptor 1 Gene Presenting As Early Life Mycobacterial Bronchial Disease, Maria J. Gutierrez, Neelu Kaira, Alexandra Horwitz, Gustavo Nino

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial diseases (MSMD) are a spectrum of inherited disorders characterized by localized or disseminated infections caused by atypical mycobacteria. Interferon-γ receptor 1 (IFNGR1) deficiency was the first identified genetic disorder recognized as MSMD. Mutations in the genes encoding IFNGR1 can be recessive or dominant and cause complete or partial receptor deficiency. We present the case of a 2½-year-old boy with a history of recurrent wheezing, diagnosed with endobronchial mycobacterial infection. Immunological workup revealed a homozygous nonsense mutation in the IFNGR1 gene, a novel mutation predicted in silico to cause complete IFNGR1 deficiency. This case demonstrates that ( …

Pyk2 Activates The Nlrp3 Inflammasome By Directly Phosphorylating Asc And Contributes To Inflammasome-Dependent Peritonitis, I-Che Chung, Chun-Nan Ouyang, Sheng-Ning Yuan, Hsin-Pai P. Li, Jeng-Ting Chen, Hui-Ru Shieh, Yu-Jen Chen, David M. Ojcius, Ching-Liang Chu, Jau-Song Yu, Yu-Sun Chang, Lih-Chyang Chen

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

The inflammasome adaptor protein, ASC, contributes to both innate immune responses and inflammatory diseases via self-oligomerization, which leads to the activation of the protease, caspase-1. Here, we report that the cytosolic tyrosine kinases, FAK and Pyk2, are differentially involved in NLRP3 and AIM2 inflammasome activation. The inhibition of FAK and Pyk2 with RNA interference or chemical inhibitors dramatically abolished ASC oligomerization, caspase-1 activation, and IL-1β secretion in response to NLRP3 or AIM2 stimulation. Pyk2 is phosphorylated by the kinase Syk and relocalizes to the ASC specks upon NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Pyk2, but not FAK, could directly phosphorylate ASC at Tyr146, …

Hepatitis C Virus Frameshift/Alternate Reading Frame Protein Suppresses Interferon Responses Mediated By Pattern Recognition Receptor Retinoic-Acid-Inducible Gene-I, Seung Bum Park, Scott Seronello, Wasima Mayer, David M. Ojcius

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) actively evades host interferon (IFN) responses but the mechanisms of how it does so are not completely understood. In this study, we present evidence for an HCV factor that contributes to the suppression of retinoic-acid-inducible gene-I (RIG-I)-mediated IFN induction. Expression of frameshift/alternate reading frame protein (F/ARFP) from HCV -2/+1 frame in Huh7 hepatoma cells suppressed type I IFN responses stimulated by HCV RNA pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) and poly(IC). The suppression occurred independently of other HCV factors; and activation of interferon stimulated genes, TNFα, IFN-λ1, and IFN-λ2/3 was likewise suppressed by HCV F/ARFP. Point mutations in …

Characterization Of Nuclear Factor-Kappab Binding Sites In The Freshwater Snail, Biomphalaria Glabrata, Laura E. Deneckere

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Biomphalaria glabrata is an intermediate snail host for the digenean trematode, Schistosoma mansoni, which causes the human disease schistosomiasis. A lot of research has focused on the snail-schistosome interaction, especially in regards to the immune response of the snail. The nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) pathway, which is involved in regulating the immune response, can be triggered by the Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathway. However, not much is known about the specific molecular mechanisms regulating these responses. Both NF-κB and TLR homologues have recently been reported in B. glabrata so it is of great interest to determine if BgNF-κB can regulate …

Hiv Vaccines: Progress, Limitations And A Crispr/Cas9 Vaccine, Omar A. Garcia Martinez

Biology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

ABSTRACT: The HIV-1 pandemic continues to thrive due to ineffective HIV-1 vaccines. Historically, the world’s most infectious diseases, such as polio and smallpox, have been eradicated or have come close to eradication due to the advent of effective vaccines. Highly active antiretroviral therapy is able to delay the onset of AIDS but can neither rid the body of HIV-1 proviral DNA nor prevent further transmission. A prophylactic vaccine that prevents the various mechanisms HIV-1 has to evade and attack our immune system is needed to end the HIV-1 pandemic. Recent advances in engineered nuclease systems, like the CRISPR/Cas9 system, have …

Norovirus Infection And Acquired Immunity In 8 Countries: Results From The Mal-Ed Study, Furqan Kabir, Adil Kalam, Pascal Bessong Pascal Bessong, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta, Anita K. M. Zaidi, (Mal-Ed) Network Investigators, Imran Ahmed, Didar Alam, Syed Asad Ali, Shahida Qureshi, Muneera Rasheed, Sajid Bashir Soofi, Ali Turab, Aisha Khizar Yousafzai

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: Norovirus is an important cause of childhood diarrhea. We present data from a longitudinal, multicountry study describing norovirus epidemiology during the first 2 years of life.
Methods: A birth cohort of 1457 children across 8 countries contributed 7077 diarrheal stools for norovirus testing. A subset of 199 children contributed additional asymptomatic samples (2307) and diarrheal stools (770), which were used to derive incidence rates and evaluate evidence for acquired immunity.
Results: Across sites, 89% of children experienced at least 1 norovirus infection before 24 months, and 22.7% of all diarrheal stools were norovirus positive. Severity of norovirus-positive diarrhea was …