Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2015

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Immunology and Infectious Disease

Evidence For Using Immunosuppressive Treatments When Treating Idiopathic Non-Infectious Uveitis: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Hargurinder Singh Dec 2015

Evidence For Using Immunosuppressive Treatments When Treating Idiopathic Non-Infectious Uveitis: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Hargurinder Singh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Idiopathic non-infectious uveitis is the spontaneous inflammation of the eye, which can lead to blindness if not treated correctly. Due to long-term side effects of corticosteroids, 4 classes of off-label immunosuppressive treatments are sometimes used (alkylating agents, inhibitors of T-lymphocyte signalling, antimetabolites and biological modifiers). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of different treatment classes on uveitis patients with similar characteristics. Results of the systematic review concurred with the conclusions from the meta-analysis, which found that all immunosuppressive treatments improved patient vision, with a statistically significant change in logMAR of -0.11 (95% CI of -0.152 …

Go to article

Characterization Of The Atsr/Atst Global Regulatory Pathway In Burkholderia Ceocepacia, Maryam Khodai-Kalaki Aug 2015

Characterization Of The Atsr/Atst Global Regulatory Pathway In Burkholderia Ceocepacia, Maryam Khodai-Kalaki

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Phosphorylation cascades governed by two-component signal transduction systems provide key signalling mechanisms in bacteria, simple eukaryotes and higher plants, allowing them to translate signals into adaptive responses. These regulatory pathways consist of a transmembrane sensor protein that responds to an environmental cue leading to autophosphorylation, followed by the transfer of the phosphate to a cytoplasmic response regulator. Here, I study AtsR, a membrane-bound hybrid sensor kinase of Burkholderia cenocepacia, that negatively regulates quorum sensing related virulence factors such as biofilm, type 6-secretion and protease secretion. B. cenocepacia is a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen which causes severe, chronic respiratory infections in …

Go to article

Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor: Its Role In Gut-Homing Macrophage Generation And Colitis, And Production By Probiotics, Shahab Meshkibaf May 2015

Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor: Its Role In Gut-Homing Macrophage Generation And Colitis, And Production By Probiotics, Shahab Meshkibaf

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The pleiotropic cytokine granulocyte-colony stimulatory factor (G-CSF) is mainly required for the generation of neutrophils, but its role in macrophage generation has also been reported. In addition, G-CSF is effective for the down-regulation of inflammatory cytokines and ameliorating gut disorders, such as colitis. However, the G-CSF function in macrophage generation and gut immunity remains unclear. The first focus of this thesis was to assess the role of G-CSF in macrophage generation and its contribution to gut immunity. G-CSF was found to promote the generation of Gr-1high/F4/80+ macrophages in macrophage (M)-CSF-treated bone marrow cells, most likely through suppressing cell death. Gr-1high …

Go to article

The E26 Transformation-Specific Transcription Factors Pu.1, Spi-B, And Spi-C Regulate Transcriptional Activation And Repression Of Nfkb1 To Control B Cell Development And Function, Stephen Ka Ho Li Apr 2015

The E26 Transformation-Specific Transcription Factors Pu.1, Spi-B, And Spi-C Regulate Transcriptional Activation And Repression Of Nfkb1 To Control B Cell Development And Function, Stephen Ka Ho Li

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

PU.1, Spi-B, and Spi-C are highly related E26 transformation-specific family transcription factors that can bind nearly identical DNA sequences. PU.1 and Spi-B (encoded by Spi1 and Spib respectively) are important for B cell development and function, but the function of Spi-C (encoded by Spic) in B cells is not clear. The objective of this study was to determine PU.1, Spi-B, and Spi-C’s function during B cell development, and during TLR-mediated responses. It was hypothesized that PU.1 and Spi-B were required for positively regulating components of TLR responses, and Spi-C inhibited PU.1 and Spi-B targets. Spi1+/-Spib-/- ( …

Go to article

Ecological And Evolutionary Interactions Between Song Sparrows (Melospiza Melodia) And Their Bloodborne Parasites, Yanina Sarquis-Adamson Feb 2015

Ecological And Evolutionary Interactions Between Song Sparrows (Melospiza Melodia) And Their Bloodborne Parasites, Yanina Sarquis-Adamson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Local adaptation is the result of natural selection operating at a local scale, such that trade-offs in fitness across different environments result in individuals having higher fitness in their place of origin than when transported into a foreign environment. Populations may become locally adapted to features of their abiotic environment, or in the case of coevolutionary arms races between hosts and parasites, to other species comprising their biotic environment. If host populations are adapted to their local (sympatric) parasites, or conversely if parasites are adapted to their local hosts, then interactions with local parasite strains may influence the fitness consequences …

Go to article