Microbiology Commons^™

Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin Participates In The Host Response To Intra-Amniotic Inflammation Leading To Preterm Labor And Birth, Tomi Kanninen, Li Tao, Roberto Romero, Yi Xu, Marcia Arenas-Hernandez, Jose Galaz, Zhenjie Liu, Derek Miller, Dustyn Levenson, Jonathan M. Greenberg, Jonathan Panzer, Justin Padron, Kevin Theis, Nardhy Gomez-Lopez Phd

Medical Student Research Symposium

Objective: To determine if bacteria (Ureaplasma parvum and Sneathia spp.) associated with intra-amniotic infection can trigger the induction of cytokine Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) in human amnion epithelial cells (hAECs) in vitro.

Material or subjects: Amniotic fluid and chorioamniotic membrane (CAM) were collected from women with sPTL who delivered at term (n=30) or preterm without intra-amniotic inflammation (n=34), with sterile intra-amniotic inflammation (SIAI, n=27), or with intra-amniotic infection (IAI, n=17). Amnion epithelial cells (AECs), Ureaplasma parvum, and Sneathia spp. were also utilized.

Methods: The expression of TSLP, TSLPR, and IL-7Rα was evaluated in amniotic fluid or CAM by …

Biological And Computational Studies Of The Structure And Function Of Pul103, A Human Cytomegalovirus Tegument Protein, Ashley N. Anderson

Wayne State University Dissertations

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is an enveloped, single segment, double-stranded DNA virus. HCMV infection causes disease in immunocompromised (HIV patients, transplant recipients) and immunodeficient (fetuses, neonates) populations. Current treatments are effective but are either limited in use or can lead to organ damage and/or antiviral resistance, and no vaccines are available. Additional antiviral targets are needed. HCMV pUL103 is a potential antiviral target. pUL103 is a conserved herpesvirus protein present in the tegument, layer of proteins and RNA between the envelope and capsid of HCMV virions. pUL103 helps reorganize cellular secretory machinery (Golgi, endosomes) to form the cytoplasmic virion assembly compartment …

Navigating Human Cytomegalovirus (Hcmv) Envelopment And Egress, William Longeway Close

Wayne State University Dissertations

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a ubiquitous viral pathogen. In individuals with fully functioning and mature immune systems, HCMV is associated with mild symptoms prior to establishing latency. In individuals with naïve or compromised immune systems, HCMV is capable of causing severe organ damage. HCMV is the leading infectious cause of congenital birth defects and a major non-genetic cause of hearing loss. Unfortunately, antiviral treatment options lack diversity due to limited knowledge of virion replication. If HCMV replication were better understood, new antiviral treatments could be developed.

In this work, we describe the development and implementation of new tools to study …

Role Of The Pkna And Pknb Kinases In Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Tripti Anandan

Wayne State University Dissertations

To respond to environmental changes, M. tuberculosis possesses eleven "eukaryotic-type" Ser/Thr protein kinases. The aim of the study described in this dissertation was to identify role of two of these kinases; PknA and PknB that are essential in M. tuberculosis. Two approaches are described to screen for potential in vivo substrates of PknA/PknB. First approach is based on proteomic search by over-expressing PknA/PknB in M. tuberculosis. Proteomic search led to identification of proteasome to be a substrate of PknA and PknB in M. tuberculosis. Furthermore, I demonstrate that the phosphorylation of PrcA and PrcB by PknA regulates processing of Pre-PrcB. …