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Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons™

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2015

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Immunology and Infectious Disease

Colonization Of Lutzomyia Verrucarum And Lutzomyia Longipalpis Sand Flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) By Bartonella Bacilliformis, The Etiologic Agent Of Carrion's Disease, James M. Battisti, Phillip G. Lawyer, Michael F. Minnick Oct 2015

Colonization Of Lutzomyia Verrucarum And Lutzomyia Longipalpis Sand Flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) By Bartonella Bacilliformis, The Etiologic Agent Of Carrion's Disease, James M. Battisti, Phillip G. Lawyer, Michael F. Minnick

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Bartonella bacilliformis is a pathogenic bacterium transmitted to humans presumably by bites of phlebotomine sand flies, infection with which results in a bi-phasic syndrome termed Carrion's disease. After constructing a low-passage GFP-labeled strain of B. bacilliformis, we artificially infected Lutzomyia verrucarum and L. longipalpis populations, and subsequently monitored colonization of sand flies by fluorescence microscopy. Initially, colonization of the two fly species was indistinguishable, with bacteria exhibiting a high degree of motility, yet still confined to the abdominal midgut. After 48h, B. bacilliformis transitioned from bacillus-shape to a non-motile, small coccoid form and appeared to be digested along with …

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Proteins Of Bartonella Bacilliformis:Candidates For Vaccine Development, Cesar Henriquez-Camocho, Palmira Ventosilla, Michael F. Minnick, Joaquim Ruiz, Ciro Maguina Aug 2015

Proteins Of Bartonella Bacilliformis:Candidates For Vaccine Development, Cesar Henriquez-Camocho, Palmira Ventosilla, Michael F. Minnick, Joaquim Ruiz, Ciro Maguina

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Bartonella bacilliformis is the etiologic agent of Carrion's disease suggest complex adaptations by the bacterium to the human host, with the overall objectives of persistence, maintenance of a reservoir state for vectorial transmission, and immune evasion. These events include a multitude of biochemical and genetic mechanisms involving both bacterial and host proteins. This review focuses on proteins involved in interactions between B. bacilliformis and human host. Some of them (e.g., flagellin, Brps, IalB, FtsZ, Hbp/Pap31, and other outer membrane proteins) are potential protein antigen candidates for a synthetic vaccine.

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Behavioral Immunity Suppresses An Epizootic In Caribbean Spiny Lobsters, Mark J. Butler Iv, Donald C. Behringer Jr., Thomas W. Dolan Iii, Jessica Moss, Jeffrey D. Shields Jun 2015

Behavioral Immunity Suppresses An Epizootic In Caribbean Spiny Lobsters, Mark J. Butler Iv, Donald C. Behringer Jr., Thomas W. Dolan Iii, Jessica Moss, Jeffrey D. Shields

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Sociality has evolved in a wide range of animal taxa but infectious diseases spread rapidly in populations of aggregated individuals, potentially negating the advantages of their social interactions. To disengage from the coevolutionary struggle with pathogens, some hosts have evolved various forms of "behavioral immunity"; yet, the effectiveness of such behaviors in controlling epizootics in the wild is untested. Here we show how one form of behavioral immunity (i.e., the aversion of diseased conspecifics) practiced by Caribbean spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus) when subject to the socially transmitted PaV1 virus, appears to have prevented an epizootic over a large seascape. We …

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Transmission-Blocking Vaccines: Focus On Anti-Vector Vaccines Against Tick-Borne Diseases, Girish Neelakanta, Hameeda Sultana Jan 2015

Transmission-Blocking Vaccines: Focus On Anti-Vector Vaccines Against Tick-Borne Diseases, Girish Neelakanta, Hameeda Sultana

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Tick-borne diseases are a potential threat that account for significant morbidity and mortality in human population worldwide. Vaccines are not available to treat several of the tick-borne diseases. With the emergence and resurgence of several tick-borne diseases, emphasis on the development of transmission-blocking vaccines remains increasing. In this review, we provide a snap shot on some of the potential candidates for the development of anti-vector vaccines (a form of transmission-blocking vaccines) against wide range of hard and soft ticks that include Ixodes, Haemaphysalis, Dermacentor, Amblyomma, Rhipicephalus and Ornithodoros species.

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Mutations In The Plasmodium Falciparum Chloroquine Resistance Transporter, Pfcrt, Enlarge The Parasite's Food Vacuole And Alter Drug Sensitivities, Serena Pulcini, Henry M. Staines, Andrew H. Lee, Sarah H. Shafik, Guillaume Bouyer, Catherine M. Moore, Daniel A. Daley, Matthew J. Hoke, Lindsey M. Altenhofen, Heather J. Painter, Jainbing Mu, David J.P. Ferguson, Manuel Llinás, Rowena E. Martin, David A. Fidock, Roland A. Cooper, Sanjeev Krishna Jan 2015

Mutations In The Plasmodium Falciparum Chloroquine Resistance Transporter, Pfcrt, Enlarge The Parasite's Food Vacuole And Alter Drug Sensitivities, Serena Pulcini, Henry M. Staines, Andrew H. Lee, Sarah H. Shafik, Guillaume Bouyer, Catherine M. Moore, Daniel A. Daley, Matthew J. Hoke, Lindsey M. Altenhofen, Heather J. Painter, Jainbing Mu, David J.P. Ferguson, Manuel Llinás, Rowena E. Martin, David A. Fidock, Roland A. Cooper, Sanjeev Krishna

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Mutations in the Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter, PfCRT, are the major determinant of chloroquine resistance in this lethal human malaria parasite. Here, we describe P. falciparum lines subjected to selection by amantadine or blasticidin that carry PfCRT mutations (C101F or L272F), causing the development of enlarged food vacuoles. These parasites also have increased sensitivity to chloroquine and some other quinoline antimalarials, but exhibit no or minimal change in sensitivity to artemisinins, when compared with parental strains. A transgenic parasite line expressing the L272F variant of PfCRT confirmed this increased chloroquine sensitivity and enlarged food vacuole phenotype. Furthermore, the introduction …

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Altered Connexin 43 Expression Underlies Age-Dependent Decrease Of Regulatory T Cell Suppressor Function In Nonobese Diabetic Mice, Michel Kuczma, Cong-Yi Wang, Leszek Ignatowicz, Robert Gourdi, Piotr Kraj Jan 2015

Altered Connexin 43 Expression Underlies Age-Dependent Decrease Of Regulatory T Cell Suppressor Function In Nonobese Diabetic Mice, Michel Kuczma, Cong-Yi Wang, Leszek Ignatowicz, Robert Gourdi, Piotr Kraj

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Type 1 diabetes is one of the most extensively studied autoimmune diseases, but the cellular and molecular mechanisms leading to T cell–mediated destruction of insulin-producing β cells are still not well understood. In this study, we show that regulatory T cells (Tregs) in NOD mice undergo age-dependent loss of suppressor functions exacerbated by the decreased ability of activated effector T cells to upregulate Foxp3 and generate Tregs in the peripheral organs. This age-dependent loss is associated with reduced intercellular communication mediated by gap junctions, which is caused by impaired upregulation and decreased expression of connexin 43. Regulatory …

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Comparative Population Genetics Of Two Invading Ticks: Evidence Of The Ecological Mechanisms Underlying Tick Range Expansions, Robyn Nadolny, Holly Gaff, Jens Carlsson, David Gauthier Jan 2015

Comparative Population Genetics Of Two Invading Ticks: Evidence Of The Ecological Mechanisms Underlying Tick Range Expansions, Robyn Nadolny, Holly Gaff, Jens Carlsson, David Gauthier

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Two species of ixodid tick, Ixodes affinis Neumann and Amblyomma maculatum Koch, are simultaneously expanding their ranges throughout the mid-Atlantic region of the US. Although we have some understanding of the ecology and life history of these species, the ecological mechanisms governing where and how new populations establish and persist are unclear. To assess population connectivity and ancestry, we sequenced a fragment of the 16S mitochondrial rRNA gene from a representative sample of individuals of both species from populations throughout the eastern US. We found that despite overlapping host preferences throughout ontogeny, each species exhibited very different genetic and geographic …

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