Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons^™

October 27, 2020: Covid-19 Campus Update, Kettering University

Communication Updates

The COVID-19 Response Team continues to work with the Genesee County Public Health Department and with the Of ice of the President to adapt to the situation as it evolves and provide our community with the most current information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The University is fully committed to the health and safety of its entire community, and will continue to closely monitor this situation and any others that impact our campus. In addition to providing updates on a regular basis, the team meets regularly to review, evaluate and address immediate and future issues related to the pandemic. Members of …

October 25, 2020: Covid-19 Campus Update, Kettering University

Communication Updates

The COVID-19 Response Team continues to work with the Genesee County Public Health Department and with the Of ice of the President to adapt to the situation as it evolves and provide our community with the most current information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The University is fully committed to the health and safety of its entire community, and will continue to closely monitor this situation and any others that impact our campus. In addition to providing updates on a regular basis, the team meets regularly to review, evaluate and address immediate and future issues related to the pandemic. Members of …

Chain-Selective Isotopic Labeling Of The Heterodimeric Type Iii Secretion Chaperone, Scc4:Scc1, Reveals The Total Structural Rearrangement Of The Chlamydia Trachomatis Bi-Functional Protein, Scc4, Thilini O. Ukwaththage, Samantha M. Keane, Li Shen, Megan A. Macnaughtan

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Scc4 is an unusual bi-functional protein from Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) that functions as a type III secretion system (T3SS) chaperone and an RNA polymerase (RNAP)-binding protein. Both functions require interactions with protein partners during specific stages of the CT developmental cycle. As a T3SS chaperone, Scc4 binds Scc1 during the late stage of development to form a heterodimer complex, which chaperones the essential virulence effector, CopN. During the early-middle stage of development, Scc4 regulates T3SS gene expression by binding the σ66-containing RNAP holoenzyme. In order to study the structure and association mechanism of the Scc4:Scc1 T3SS chaperone complex using nuclear …

Underground Diversity: Uropodina Mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) From European Badger (Meles Meles) Nests, Przemysław Kurek, Krzysztof Nowakowski, Tomasz Rutkowski, Agnieszka Ważna, Jan Cichocki, Michał Zacharyasiewicz, Jerzy Błoszyk

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Badgers can gather huge quantities of organic material to build their nests for winter time and to rear their cubs. Moreover, badger burrows (setts) are characterized by specific microclimate with quite stable temperature and humidity. Their fauna is poorly studied, especially in respect of saprobiontic Uropodina mites. In 2018–2019, we monitored 94 badger setts to search for nest material that had been thrown away during cleaning of the chambers after mating and winter sleep. In the collected material from 32 badger nests, we found 413 Uropodina mites of 16 species, in various stages of development (adults, protonymphs, and deutonymphs). The …

October 23, 2020: Covid-19 Campus Update, Kettering University

Communication Updates

The COVID-19 Response Team continues to work with the Genesee County Public Health Department and with the Of ice of the President to adapt to the situation as it evolves and provide our community with the most current information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The University is fully committed to the health and safety of its entire community, and will continue to closely monitor this situation and any others that impact our campus. In addition to providing updates on a regular basis, the team meets regularly to review, evaluate and address immediate and future issues related to the pandemic. Members of …

The Endangered California Condor (Gymnogyps Californianus) Population Is Exposed To Local Haemosporidian Parasites, M. Andreína Pacheco, Chris N. Parish, Timothy J. Hauck, Roberto F. Aguilar, Ananias A. Escalante

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

The endangered California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is the largest New World Vulture in North America. Despite recovery program success in saving the species from extinction, condors remain compromised by lead poisoning and limited genetic diversity. The latter makes this species especially vulnerable to infectious diseases. Thus, taking advantage of the program of blood lead testing in Arizona, condor blood samples from 2008 to 2018 were screened for haemosporidian parasites using a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol that targets the parasite mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Plasmodium homopolare (Family Plasmodiidae, Order Haemosporida, Phylum Apicomplexa), was detected in condors captured …

October 16, 2020: Covid-19 Campus Update, Kettering University

Communication Updates

The COVID-19 Response Team continues to work with the Genesee County Public Health Department and with the Of ice of the President to adapt to the situation as it evolves and to provide our community with the most current information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The University is fully committed to the health and safety of its entire community, and will continue to closely monitor this situation and any others that impact our campus.

Covid-19 And The Unseen Benefits Of Dexamethasone, Muhammad Arif Khan, Ikram Ullah, Dawood Ahmed

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

According to current World Health Organization (WHO) updates, the COVID-19 pandemic has spread all over the globe, affecting 216 countries, and has caused 8,860,331 confirmed cases and 465,740 deaths as of June 24, 2020. Many countries cannot afford nucleic acid tests to confirm COVID-19 infection; as a result, people cannot know the COVID-19 status of the people living around them. The use of dexamethasone in COVID-19 hospitalized patients for up to 10 days lowered 28-day mortality compared to patients receiving standard of care plus mechanical ventilation at randomization (by 12.3 age-adjusted percentage points, approximately one-third of proportional reduction) and patients …

Field Evaluation Of Recombinant Antigen Elisa In Detecting Zoonotic Schistosome Infection Among Water Buffaloes In Endemic Municipalities In The Philippines, Jose Ma. M. Angeles, Yasuyuki Goto, Masahi Kirinoki, Elena A. Villacorte, Kharleezelle J. Moendeg, Pilarita T. Rivera, Yuichi Chigusa, Shin-Ichiro Kawazu

Biology Faculty Publications

In this study, we investigated the use of recombinant antigens thioredoxin peroxidase-1 (rSjTPx-1) and tandem repeat rSj1TR in evaluating the antibody positivity rates of Schistosoma japonicum infection among water buffaloes from four endemic areas in the Philippines, two municipalities with high endemicity (Calatrava, Negros Occidental and Catarman, Northern Samar) and two municipalities nearing elimination with no cases of human schistosomiasis (Talibon and Trinidad, Bohol). These recombinant antigen ELISA assays were compared with other diagnostic tests including SEA-ELISA, FECT, and fecal-based PCR. Results showed that rSj1TR-ELISA has the highest agreement with PCR in all study areas. Furthermore, significant positivity rates among …

A Brain-Infecting Parasite Impacts Host Metabolism Both During Exposure And After Infection Is Established, Lauren E. Nadler, Erik Bengston, Erika J. Eliason, Cameron Hassibi, Siri H. Helland-Riise, Ida B. Johansen, Garfield T. Kwan, Martin Tresguerres, Andrew V. Turner, Kelly L. Weinersmith, Øyvind Øverli, Ryan F. Hechinger

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Datasets

1. Metabolic costs associated with parasites should not be limited to established infections. Even during initial exposure to questing and attacking parasites, hosts can enact behavioural and physiological responses that could also incur metabolic costs. However, few studies have measured these costs directly. Hence, little is known about metabolic costs arising from parasite exposure.
2. Further, no one has yet measured whether and how previous infection history modulates metabolic responses to parasite exposure.
3. Here, using the California killifish (Fundulus parvipinnis) and its brain-infecting parasite (Euhaplorchis californiensis), we quantified how killifish metabolism, behaviour, and osmoregulatory phenotype changed upon acute …

October 9, 2020: Covid-19 Campus Update, Kettering University

Communication Updates

The COVID-19 Response Team continues to work with the Genesee County Public Health Department and with the Of ice of the President to adapt to the situation as it evolves and to provide our community with the most current information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The University is fully committed to the health and safety of its entire community, and will continue to closely monitor this situation and any others that impact our campus.

October 7, 2020: Covid-19 Campus Update, Kettering University

Communication Updates

The COVID-19 Response Team continues to work with the Genesee County Public Health Department and with the Of ice of the President to adapt to the situation as it evolves and to provide our community with the most current information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The University is fully committed to the health and safety of its entire community, and will continue to closely monitor this situation and any others that impact our campus.

Steganoderma Stafford, 1904 (Digenea: Zoogonidae: Lepidophyllinae) From Two Species Of Rockfishes From Deep Waters Off Oregon Including A New Species And An Updated Key To Species Of This Genus, Charles K. Blend, Gábor R. Rácz

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

Steganoderma eamiqtrema n. sp. and a single unidentified specimen of Steganoderma Stafford, 1904 (Zoogonidae: Lepidophyllinae) obtained from the intestine of the greenstriped rockfish, Sebastes elongatus Ayres, 1859, and the flag rockfish, Sebastes rubrivinctus (Jordan and Gilbert, 1880) (Scorpaeniformes: Sebastidae), collected from 190–200 m depths off Oregon, USA, are described. The new species is distinguished from its seven other congeners by a diagnostic combination of morphological features including an elongate oval to spindle-shaped body, a clavate to comma-shaped cirrus pouch located in the forebody and hindbody, a bipartite seminal vesicle, a bifurcal or just post-bifurcal genital pore, a larger ventral than …

October 2, 2020: Covid-19 Campus Update, Kettering University

Communication Updates

It is that time. We are excited and ready to welcome everyone to campus for Fall Term 2020 on October 5 (Monday). But with that comes an important reminder that all students, faculty and staf are expected to demonstrate personal responsibility and compliance to outlined guidelines to keep our campus community safe. Our success is dependent on all of our actions.

This means we wear masks, observe social guidelines and distancing, self-monitor for symptoms, and behave on and of campus in ways that limit the exposure and spread of the coronavirus.

The COVID-19 Response Team and University leadership will continue …

Aci-35 And Aadvac1 Active Immunotherapy As Preventative Treatment Options For Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, Emily C. Boehlein

Selected Honors Theses

One of the most common, as well as one of the most dangerous injuries amongst athletes today is mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), commonly known as concussion. Aside from physical symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, and headaches; concussions have can have longterm effects on brain physiology. A common neurological disease that can result from multiple concussions is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), characterized by symptoms such as severe depression, anxiety, confusion, and aggression; amongst others.1 On the cellular level, CTE is classified by a unique pathway that leads to the hyperphosphorylation of tau protein and subsequent clumping of tau-containing neurofibrillary tangles …

Can Viruses Cause Lupus?, Stephen I. Reeder

Selected Honors Theses

Like so many autoimmune diseases, the exact cause of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) remains unknown. Evidence points to both genetics and environment playing roles in the onset of the disease, but neither acts independent of the other. Genetics are the easier of the two to study with recent advances in the field making it easier to isolate genes shared by individuals with the disease. However, genetic studies reveal that there is almost certainly an environmental component to the development of SLE. The underlying pathology and existing research on environmental contributors to the development of SLE suggest that viruses could potentially …

Society For Immunotherapy Of Cancer Clinical And Biomarkers Data Sharing Resource Document: Volume I-Conceptual Challenges., Sergio Rutella, Michael A Cannarile, Sacha Gnjatic, Bruno Gomes, Justin Guinney, Vaios Karanikas, Mohan Karkada, John M Kirkwood, Beatrix Kotlan, Giuseppe V Masucci, Els Meeusen, Anne Monette, Aung Naing, Vésteinn Thorsson, Nicholas Tschernia, Ena Wang, Daniel K Wells, Timothy L Wyant, Alessandra Cesano

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

The sharing of clinical trial data and biomarker data sets among the scientific community, whether the data originates from pharmaceutical companies or academic institutions, is of critical importance to enable the development of new and improved cancer immunotherapy modalities. Through data sharing, a better understanding of current therapies in terms of their efficacy, safety and biomarker data profiles can be achieved. However, the sharing of these data sets involves a number of stakeholder groups including patients, researchers, private industry, scientific journals and professional societies. Each of these stakeholder groups has differing interests in the use and sharing of clinical trial …

Endothelial Cell Contributions To Covid-19, Alexandra E. Oxford, Fabio Halla, Evan B. Robertson, Brad E. Morrison

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Understanding of the clinical, histological and molecular features of the novel coronavirus 2019 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)) has remained elusive. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by this virus has unusual clinical presentation with regard to other related coronaviruses. Recent reports suggest that SARS-CoV-2, unlike other related viruses, infects and replicates within endothelial cells, which may explain a significant portion of the observed clinical pathology. Likewise, mounting evidence associates vascular and endothelial cell dysfunction with increased mortality. This review focuses on understanding how endothelial cell pathology is caused by SARS-CoV-2 at the molecular and cellular levels and how …

Horizontal Genetic Exchange Of Chromosomally Encoded Markers Between Campylobacter Jejuni Cells, Deepti Pranay Samarth, Young Min Kwon

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Many epidemiological studies provide us with the evidence of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) contributing to the bacterial genomic diversity that benefits the bacterial populations with increased ability to adapt to the dynamic environments. Campylobacter jejuni, a major cause of acute enteritis in the U.S., often linked with severe post-infection neuropathies, has been reported to exhibit a non-clonal population structure and comparatively higher strain-level genetic variation. In this study, we provide evidence of the HGT of chromosomally encoded genetic markers between C. jejuni cells in the biphasic MH medium. We used two C. jejuni NCTC-11168 mutants harbouring distinct …

Microbiota Analysis Of Chickens Raised Under Stressed Conditions, Rabindra Kumar Mandal, Tieshan Jiang, Robert Wideman Jr, Troy Lohrmann, Young Min Kwon

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

A substantial progress has been made toward understanding stress-associated gut and extraintestinal microbiota. However, a comprehensive understanding of the extraintestinal microbiota of chickens raised under stressed conditions is lacking. In this study, chickens were raised on a wire-floor model to induce stress, and the microbiota in the gut (ceca) and extraintestinal sites (blood, femur, and tibia) were characterized at different ages (1, 17, and 56 days) using 16S rRNA gene microbiota profiling. Open reference OTU picking showed extraintestinal sites had a significantly higher number of unassigned OTUs compared to ceca across all ages of chickens. Extraintestinal sites of all ages, …

‘Coronated’ Consumption In The Viral Market, Soonkwan Hong

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

The universal exposure to the virus has disrupted institutions, redefined values, and reshaped systems, including the market. Idling, uncertainty, and liquidity encapsulate the ever-precarious individual lives and the reflexive socio-politico-cultural changes. These conditions and consequences nonetheless create paradoxical opportunities in the viral market. The new meaning of connectivity that promotes high-viscosity relationships and high-visibility identities will transform the market to better acknowledge and support humans and the new sociality.

Genomic Modeling As An Approach To Identify Surrogates For Use In Experimental Validation Of Sars-Cov-2 And Hunov Inactivation By Uv-C Treatment, Brahmaiah Pendyala, Ankit Patras, Bharat Pokharel, Doris D’Souza

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to pose significant public health concerns. While research to deliver vaccines and antivirals are being pursued, various effective technologies to control its environmental spread are also being targeted. Ultraviolet light (UV-C) technologies are effective against a broad spectrum of microorganisms when used even on large surface areas. In this study, we developed a pyrimidine dinucleotide frequency based genomic model to predict the sensitivity of select enveloped and non-enveloped viruses to UV-C treatments in order to identify potential SARS-CoV-2 and human norovirus surrogates. The results revealed that …

September 25, 2020: Covid-19 Campus Update 7, Kettering University

Communication Updates

The COVID-19 Response Team and University leadership continue to closely monitor the local, state and national situation in consultation with health experts and in accordance with government guidelines. If conditions change, the University will alter plans to ensure the safety of the campus community. Fall Term 2020 classes begin on October 5. As the University’s COVID-19 Response Team continues to finalize details for the fall, please carefully review these updates.

September 18, 2020: Campus Update 6, Kettering University

Communication Updates

The COVID-19 Response Team and University leadership continue to closely monitor the local, state and national situation in consultation with health experts and in accordance with government guidelines. If conditions change, the University will alter plans to ensure the safety of the campus community. Fall Term 2020 classes begin on October 5. As the University’s COVID-19 Response Team continues to finalize details for the fall, please carefully review these updates.

September 17, 2020: Campus Update, Kettering University

Communication Updates

No abstract provided.

September 11, 2020: Safe Return To Campus Fall 2020, Update 5, Kettering University

Communication Updates

The COVID-19 Response Team and University leadership continue to closely monitor the local, state and national situation in consultation with health experts and in accordance with government guidelines. If conditions change, the University will alter plans to ensure the safety of the campus community. Fall Term 2020 classes begin on October 5. As the University’s COVID-19 Response Team continues to finalize details for the fall, please carefully review these updates.

September 4, 2020: Safe Return To Campus Fall 2020 Update 4, Kettering University

Communication Updates

The COVID-19 Response Team and University leadership continue to closely monitor the local, state and national situation in consultation with health experts and in accordance with government guidelines. If conditions change, the University will alter plans to ensure the safety of the campus community. Fall Term 2020 classes begin on October 5. As the University’s COVID-19 Response Team continues to finalize details for the fall, please carefully review these updates

Analyses Of The Expression, Immunohistochemical Properties And Serodiagnostic Potential Of Schistosoma Japonicum Peroxiredoxin-4, Minh-Anh Dang-Trinh, Jose Ma. M. Angeles, Kharleezelle J. Moendeg, Adrian Miki C. Macalanda, Thu-Thuy Nguyen, Luna Higuchi, Shotaro Nakagun, Masahi Kirinoki, Yuichi Chigusa, Yasuyuki Goto, Shin-Ichiro Kawazu

Biology Faculty Publications

Background

Schistosoma japonicum, which inhabits the mesenteric vein of the mammalian hosts for about 20 to 30 years, is subjected to the oxidative stresses from the host defense mechanism during their intra-mammalian stages. To counteract this host immune attack, the parasite utilizes their antioxidant system for survival inside the host. Peroxiredoxins (Prxs), thiol-specific antioxidant proteins, play an essential role for protecting the parasite against oxidative stress by reducing hydrogen peroxide to water. Only three types of 2-Cys Prxs have been previously characterized in S. japonicum whereas a fourth Prx has been identified for Schistosoma mansoni as Prx-4. A sequence …

Efficacy And Safety Of First-Line Avelumab In Patients With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Results From A Phase Ib Cohort Of The Javelin Solid Tumor Study., Claire F Verschraegen, Guy Jerusalem, Edward F Mcclay, Nicholas Iannotti, Charles H Redfern, Jaafar Bennouna, Franklin L Chen, Karen Kelly, Janice Mehnert, John C Morris, Matthew H Taylor, David Spigel, Ding Wang, Hans Juergen Grote, Dongli Zhou, Neru Munshi, Marcis Bajars, James L Gulley

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

INTRODUCTION: Avelumab, an antiprogrammed death ligand-1 antibody, is approved as a monotherapy for treatment of metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma and advanced urothelial carcinoma, and in combination with axitinib for advanced renal cell carcinoma. We report the efficacy and safety of first-line avelumab in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

METHODS: In a phase I expansion cohort of the JAVELIN Solid Tumor trial, patients with treatment-naive, metastatic, or recurrent NSCLC received 10 mg/kg avelumab intravenously every 2 weeks. Endpoints included best overall response, duration of response (DOR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety.

RESULTS: Overall, 156 patients were enrolled …

Neoantigen-Specific Cd4(+) T-Cell Response Is Critical For The Therapeutic Efficacy Of Cryo-Thermal Therapy, Peng Peng, Hong-Ming Hu, Ping Liu, Lisa X Xu

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Background: Traditional tumor thermal ablations, such as radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and cryoablation, can result in good local control of tumor, but traditional tumor thermal ablations are limited by poor long-term survival due to the failure of control of distal metastasis. Our previous studies developed a novel cryo-thermal therapy to treat the B16F10 melanoma mouse model. Long-term survival and T-cell-mediated durable antitumor immunity were achieved after cryo-thermal therapy, but whether tumor antigen-specific T-cells were augmented by cryo-thermal therapy was not determined.

Methods: The long-term antitumor therapeutic efficacy of cryo-thermal therapy was performed in B16F10 murine melanoma models. Splenocytes derived from mice …