Microbiology Commons^™

Kaposi’S Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Seropositivity Is Associated With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Case–Control Study In Xinjiang, China, Meng Cui, Qiwen Fang, Jun Zheng, Zhanjun Shu, Yin Chen, Yage Fan, Juan Zhao, Charles Wood, Tiejun Zhang, Yan Zeng

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Objective: To assess the potential relationship between Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) infection and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM-2) in Xinjiang, China.

Methods: A case–control study of consecutively included DM-2 patients and normal controls was conducted among the Uygur and Han populations in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. Blood samples were collected and KSHV seroprevalence, antibody titers, and viral load were investigated. Logistic regression analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were applied to explore determinants of the main outcome measures.

Results: A total of 324 patients with DM-2 and 376 normal controls were included. The seroprevalence of KSHV was 49.1% (95% …

Corneal Replication Is An Interferon Response-Independent Bottleneck For Virulence Of Herpes Simplex Virus 1 In The Absence Of Virion Host Shutoff, Tracy J. Pasieka, Vineet D. Menachery, Pamela C. Rosato, David A. Leib

Dartmouth Scholarship

Herpes simplex viruses lacking the virion host shutoff function (Δvhs) are avirulent and hypersensitive to type I and type II interferon (IFN). In this study, we demonstrate that even in the absence of IFN responses in AG129 (IFN-αβγR^−/−) mice, Δvhs remains highly attenuated via corneal infection but is fully virulent via intracranial infection. The data demonstrate that the interferon-independent inherent replication defect of Δvhs has a significant impact upon peripheral replication and neuroinvasion.

Functional Genomics Reveals An Essential And Specific Role For Stat1 In Protection Of The Central Nervous System Following Herpes Simplex Virus Corneal Infection, Tracy J. Pasieka, Cristian Cilloniz, Victoria S. Carter, Pamela Rosato, Michael G. Katze, David A. Leib

Dartmouth Scholarship

Innate immune deficiencies result in a spectrum of severe clinical outcomes following infection. In particular, there is a strong association between loss of the signal transducer and activator of transcription (Stat) pathway, breach of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and virus-induced neuropathology. The gene signatures that characterize resistance, disease, and mortality in the virus-infected nervous system have not been defined. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is commonly associated with encephalitis in humans, and humans and mice lacking Stat1 display increased susceptibility to HSV central nervous system (CNS) infections. In this study, two HSV-1 strains were used, KOS (wild type [WT]), …

Protection And Attachment Of Vibrio Cholerae Mediated By The Toxin-Coregulated Pilus In The Infant Mouse Model, Shelly J. Krebs, Ronald K. Taylor

Dartmouth Scholarship

Colonization of the human small intestine by Vibrio cholerae is an essential step in pathogenesis that requires the type IV toxin-coregulated pilus (TCP). To date, three functions of TCP have been characterized: it serves as the CTXΦ receptor, secretes the colonization factor TcpF, and functions in microcolony formation by mediating bacterium-bacterium interactions. Although type IV pili in other pathogenic bacteria have been characterized as playing a major role in attachment to epithelial cells, there are very few studies to suggest that TCP acts as an attachment factor. Taking this into consideration, we investigated the function of TCP in attachment to …

Primary Human Mammary Epithelial Cells Endocytose Hiv-1 And Facilitate Viral Infection Of Cd4+ T Lymphocytes, Stephanie M. Dorosko, Ruth I. Connor

Dartmouth Scholarship

The contribution of mammary epithelial cells (MEC) to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in breast milk remains largely unknown. While breast milk contains CD4(+) cells throughout the breast-feeding period, it is not known whether MEC directly support HIV-1 infection or facilitate infection of CD4(+) cells in the breast compartment. This study evaluated primary human MEC for direct infection with HIV-1 and for indirect transfer of infection to CD4(+) target cells. Primary human MEC were isolated and assessed for expression of HIV-1 receptors. MEC were exposed to CCR5-, CXCR4- and dual-tropic strains of HIV-1 and evaluated for viral reverse transcription …

Human Uterine Natural Killer Cells But Not Blood Natural Killer Cells Inhibit Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection By Secretion Of Cxcl12, Teddy F. Mselle, Aexandra L. Howell, Mimi Ghosh, Charles R. Wira, Charles L. Sentman

Dartmouth Scholarship

Natural killer (NK) cells derived from the human female reproductive tract (FRT) are phenotypically and functionally distinct from those obtained from peripheral blood. Because the FRT is a primary site of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in women, we determined whether soluble factors secreted by uterine-derived NK (uNK) cells inhibit HIV-1 infection. Clonal populations of uNK cells were activated with interleukin-12 (IL-12) and IL-15, and conditioned media (CM) from these cultures evaluated for their ability to inhibit infection of cells by HIV-1_IIIB, HIV-1_NL4.3, and HIV-1_HC4 (X4-tropic) or HIV-1_BaL (R5-tropic) viruses. We found …