Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons^™

Endogenous, Controlled Expression Of Anti-Hiv-1 Broadly Neutralizing Antibody, Darshit Patel

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Recently, researchers have identified a number of anti-HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs), such as VRC01 and N6, capable of targeting a broad range of HIV-1 strains. Passive immunization using these patient-derived bNAbs could provide temporary protection but are limited by the short antibody half-life. While current gene transfer technology allows sustained bNAb expression, it lacks the ability to control bNAb production in vivo resulting in possible autoimmunity. To address this issue of achieving controlled bNAb expression in vivo, we hypothesize that bNAb expression from transduced Flu-specific B cells can be activated and modulated by subsequent Flu immunizations in the …

Brain-Specific And Systemic Inflammatory Response Following Repetitive Concussive Impact In A Mouse Model, So Young Eo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Concussion is the most common form of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). TBI resolution is modulated by neuroinflammation, which is augmented by the infiltration of innate immune cells from the circulation. Peripheral, myeloid immune cells not only invade neural tissues but other organs as well causing local inflammation and tissue damage, known as systemic inflammatory response syndrome. Here, I assessed the temporal and anatomical nature of the neural and systemic cellular inflammatory response to repetitive, mTBI in a 3-hit mouse model of concussion. The results showed significant microglial activity, accumulation of peripheral myeloid cells and prominent axonal damage post-injury. The …

Mucosa-Associated Invariant T Cell Roles And Local Responses In Cell-Mediated Immunity To Influenza A Virus, Christine Marie Wardell

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Mucosa-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are innate-like T cells that are activated by microbial vitamin B metabolites and/or cytokine stimulation to produce pro-inflammatory cytokines and cytotoxic granules. Influenza A viruses (IAVs) activate MAIT cells in a by-stander manner, and their abundance negatively correlates with infection-induced morbidity and mortality. However, how MAIT cells directly contribute to anti-viral immunity is ill-defined. I hypothesized that MAIT cells’ presence in mice enhances antigen-specific CD8⁺ T cell responses. I observed a trend that MAIT cell-deficient mice generally developed smaller populations of antigen-specific CD8⁺ T cells following IAV exposure than mice abundant in MAIT …

Hiv-1 Group M Subtype Fitness, Disease Progression, And Entry Efficiency, Colin M. Venner

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) emerged in the human population shortly after the turn of the 19th century. Distribution of HIV-1 across the globe over the past 30–35 years can be traced to founder events with primordial HIV strains from sub-Saharan Africa. Even considering the burden of HIV in Africa, our knowledge of HIV-1 disease is still largely limited to subtype B HIV-1, a strain responsible for 3 million infections in North America and Europe as compared to the 33 million that are infected with HIV-1 subtypes A, C, D, and circulating and unique recombinant forms.

This dissertation analyzes …