Microbiology Commons^™

Enterococcus Faecalis-Derived Adenine Enhances Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia Coli Type 3 Secretion System-Dependent Virulence, Fernando H Martins, Thibaut Rosay, Anubama Rajan, Hannah E Carter, Tayah Turocy, Andres Mejia, Jason M Crawford, Anthony W Maresso, Vanessa Sperandio

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Interactions between microbiota and enteric pathogens can promote colonization resistance or enhance pathogenesis. The pathobiont Enterococcus faecalis increases enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) virulence by upregulating Type 3 Secretion System (T3SS) expression, effector translocation, and attaching and effacing (AE) lesion formation on enterocytes, but the mechanisms underlying this remain unknown. Using co-infection of organoids, metabolomics, supplementation experiments and bacterial genetics, here we show that co-culture of EHEC with E. faecalis increases the xanthine-hypoxanthine pathway activity and adenine biosynthesis. Adenine or E. faecalis promoted T3SS gene expression, while transcriptomics showed upregulation of adeP expression, which encodes an adenine importer. Mechanistically, adenine relieved …

Altered Extracellular Matrix-Related Pathways Accelerate The Transition From Normal To Prefibroid Myometrium In Black Women, Maria Victoria Bariani, Sandra L Grimm, Cristian Coarfa, Digna R Velez Edwards, Qiwei Yang, Cheryl L Walker, Mohamed Ali, Ayman Al-Hendy

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Black women experience a disproportionate impact of uterine fibroids compared to White women, including earlier diagnosis, higher frequency, and more severe symptoms. The etiology underlying this racial disparity remains elusive.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the molecular differences in normal myometrium (fibroid-free uteri) and at-risk myometrium (fibroid-containing uteri) tissues in Black and White women.

Study design: We conducted whole-genome RNA-seq on normal and at-risk myometrium tissues obtained from both self-identified Black and White women (not Hispanic or Latino) to determine global gene expression profiles and to conduct enriched pathway analyses (n=3 per group). We initially …

Avicennia Marina Mangrove Plant Mediated Selenium Nanoparticles And Their Therapeutic Activity Against Oral Pathogens And Other Biological Properties, Kannan Kamala, Pitchiah Sivaperumal, Dhanraj Ganapathy

Journal of Dentistry Indonesia

In the last few decades nanoparticles are widely used in the control of many pathogenic bacteria, fungi, viruses, and cancer growth both in-vitro and in-vivo. A marine plant of Avicennia marina is widely used in traditional medicine for diabetes, inflammation and skin diseases. Objective: In general Avicennia marina has been used as a traditional medicine to treat various diseases and it has shown significant inhibition against various pathogen and the formation of free radicals. Also, the plant A.marina mediated selenium nanoparticles has therapeutic activity has promising to develop biocompatible new cost effective treatment for various oral diseases. Methods: …

Multidrug-Resistant Esbl-Producing Escherichia Coli Coexisting With Colistin-Resistance Genes In Pig Farms, Central Thailand, Wipawee Songsaeng, Nutthee Am-In, Nuvee Prapasarakul, Wandee Sirichokchatchawan

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

The presence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase and colistin resistance E. coli in food-producing animals is a public health concern. This study was conducted using a rigorous methodology to survey the prevalence of ESBL-producing and colistin-resistant E. coli from pig farms in the central part of Thailand. A total of 519 samples were collected from fecal, feed, and waste in 53 farms located in central Thailand. All samples were inoculated onto selective agar, and species identification was performed using biochemical assays and MAlDI-TOF MS. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by broth microdilution, and ESBL production was confirmed by the combination disc diffusion method. …

The Experience Of Homelessness And Its Effects On Gut Eubiosis, Kamerin Villagomez

University Honors Theses

Microorganisms which populate the human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) have a profound effect on overall human health. The relationship between host health and eubiosis, or balance, of the GIT microbiome is symbiotic and can have reciprocal relationships with quality of sleep, quality of diet, stress and mental health, and the experience of pain. These specific aspects of health are unique in populations experiencing homelessness due to the multi-dimensional and complex nature of their lived experience. Very few studies explore populations experiencing homelessness, with even fewer investigating the intersection between this population and the human GIT microbiome. It is important to do …

Inactivated Rabies-Based Lassa Fever Virus Vaccine Candidate Lassarab Protects Nonhuman Primates From Lethal Disease, Gabrielle Scher, Catherine Yankowski, Drishya Kurup, Nicole Josleyn, Eric Wilkinson, Jay Wells, Jesse Steffens, Ginger Lynn, Sean Vantongeren, Xiankun Zeng, Nancy Twenhafel, Kathleen Cashman, Matthias Schnell

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

Lassa fever virus (LASV), a member of the Arenavirus family, is the etiological agent of Lassa fever, a severe hemorrhagic disease that causes considerable morbidity and mortality in the endemic areas of West Africa. LASV is a rodent-borne CDC Tier One biological threat agent and is on the World Health Organization's (WHO) Priority Pathogen list. Currently, no FDA-licensed vaccines or specific therapeutics are available. Here, we describe the efficacy of a deactivated rabies virus (RABV)-based vaccine encoding the glycoprotein precursor (GPC) of LASV (LASSARAB). Nonhuman primates (NHPs) were administered a two-dose regimen of LASSARAB or an irrelevant RABV-based vaccine to …

Identification And Characterization Of A Skin Microbiome On Caenorhabditis Elegans Suggests Environmental Microbes Confer Cuticle Protection, Nadia B Haghani, Robert H Lampe, Buck S Samuel, Sreekanth H Chalasani, Molly A Matty

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

In the wild, C. elegans are emersed in environments teeming with a veritable menagerie of microorganisms. The C. elegans cuticular surface serves as a barrier and first point of contact with their microbial environments. In this study, we identify microbes from C. elegans natural habitats that associate with its cuticle, constituting a simple “skin microbiome.” We rear our animals on a modified CeMbio, mCeMbio, a consortium of ecologically relevant microbes. We first combine standard microbiological methods with an adapted micro skin-swabbing tool to describe the skin-resident bacteria on the C. elegans surface. Furthermore, we conduct 16S rRNA gene sequencing studies …

Pilz Domain-Containing Proteins Regulate Motility In Acinetobacter Baumannii, Gabriel Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Acinetobacter baumannii is an increasingly multidrug-resistant pathogen contributing to hospital-acquired infections, necessitating a greater understanding of how it interacts with its surroundings. Many bacteria utilize different methods of bacterial motility to move about and interact with these surroundings. A bacterial second messenger, cyclic diguanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP), can regulate various motility factors that are potentially advantageous for survival in and adaptation to their environment. Concentrations of c-di-GMP are regulated by specific synthesizing and degrading enzymes. Controlled levels of c-di-GMP allow interaction between the c-di-GMP and its binding effectors that induce changes in bacterial phenotypes such as biofilm formation and motility. A …

Candida Albicans Farnesol Synthesis And Secretion, Daniel J. Gutzmann

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Candida albicans is a polymorphic fungus and opportunistic commensal found primarily in the gastrointestinal and skin of healthy individuals. Several barriers prevent C. albicans from causing disease including a healthy immune system and microbiome. When these barriers become comprised, C. albicans can transition to a pathogen and disseminate through the intestinal mucosa leading to life-threatening bloodstream and invasive infections with mortality rates of up to 64%. Morphogenic plasticity is key to this transition and impacts virulence, adaptation to different host environments, and evasion of host immune responses. One regulator of morphogenesis is farnesol. Farnesol is a secondary metabolite of …

Mechanisms Of Neurodevelopmental Toxicity Of Topiramate, John W Steele, Vaishnav Krishnan, Richard H Finnell

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Prescriptions for antiseizure medications (ASMs) have been rapidly growing over the last several decades due, in part, to an expanding list of clinical indications for which they are now prescribed. This trend has raised concern for potential adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in ASM-exposed pregnancies. Recent large scale population studies have suggested that the use of topiramate (TOPAMAX, Janssen-Cilag), when prescribed for seizure control, migraines, and/or weight management, is associated with an increased risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in exposed offspring. Here, we critically review epidemiologic evidence demonstrating the neurobehavioral teratogenicity of topiramate and speculate …

The Interaction Of Endorepellin And Neurexin Triggers Neuroepithelial Autophagy And Maintains Neural Tube Development, Lei Lu, Meizhu Bai, Yufang Zheng, Xiukun Wang, Zhongzhong Chen, Rui Peng, Richard H Finnell, Tongjin Zhao, Chengtao Li, Bo Wu, Yunping Lei, Jinsong Li, Hongyan Wang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Heparan sulfate proteoglycan 2 (HSPG2) gene encodes the matrix protein Perlecan, and genetic inactivation of this gene creates mice that are embryonic lethal with severe neural tube defects (NTDs). We discovered rare genetic variants of HSPG2 in 10% cases compared to only 4% in controls among a cohort of 369 NTDs. Endorepellin, a peptide cleaved from the domain V of Perlecan, is known to promote angiogenesis and autophagy in endothelial cells. The roles of enderepellin in neurodevelopment remain unclear so far. Our study revealed that endorepellin can migrate to the neuroepithelial cells and then be recognized and bind with the …

Gestational Diabetes As A Risk Factor For Gbs Maternal Rectovaginal Colonization: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Vicki Mercado-Evans, Jacob J Zulk, Zainab A Hameed, Kathryn A Patras

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Maternal rectovaginal colonization by group B Streptococcus (GBS) increases the risk of perinatal GBS disease that can lead to death or long-term neurological impairment. Factors that increase the risk of rectovaginal GBS carriage are incompletely understood resulting in missed opportunities for detecting GBS in risk-based clinical approaches. There is a lacking consensus on whether gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a risk factor for rectovaginal GBS. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to address current conflicting findings and determine whether GDM should be clinically considered as a risk factor for maternal GBS colonization.

METHODS: Peer-reviewed studies that provided GDM prevalence …

Full-Length Αiibβ3 Cryo-Em Structure Reveals Intact Integrin Initiate-Activation Intrinsic Architecture, Tong Huo, Hongjiang Wu, Zeinab Moussa, Mehmet Sen, Valerie Dalton, Zhao Wang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Integrin αIIbβ3 is the key receptor regulating platelet retraction and accumulation and a proven drug-target for antithrombotic therapies. Here we resolve the cryoEM structures of the full-length αIIbβ3, which covers three distinct states along the activation pathway. Firstly, we obtain the αIIbβ3 structure at 3Å resolution in the inactive state, revealing the overall topology of the heterodimer with the transmembrane (TM) helices and the ligand-binding domain tucked in a specific angle proximity to the TM region. After the addition of a Mn2+ agonist, we resolve two coexisting structures representing two new states between inactive and active state. Our structures show …

Msl2 Variants Lead To A Neurodevelopmental Syndrome With Lack Of Coordination, Epilepsy, Specific Dysmorphisms, And A Distinct Episignature, Remzi Karayol, Maria Carla Borroto, Sadegheh Haghshenas, Anoja Namasivayam, Jack Reilly, Michael A Levy, Raissa Relator, Jennifer Kerkhof, Haley Mcconkey, Maria Shvedunova, Andrea K Petersen, Kari Magnussen, Christiane Zweier, Georgia Vasileiou, André Reis, Juliann M Savatt, Meghan R Mulligan, Louise S Bicknell, Gemma Poke, Aya Abu-El-Haija, Jessica Duis, Vickie Hannig, Siddharth Srivastava, Elizabeth Barkoudah, Natalie S Hauser, Myrthe Van Den Born, Uri Hamiel, Noa Henig, Hagit Baris Feldman, Shane Mckee, Ingrid P C Krapels, Yunping Lei, Albena Todorova, Ralitsa Yordanova, Slavena Atemin, Mihael Rogac, Vivienne Mcconnell, Anna Chassevent, Kristin W Barañano, Vandana Shashi, Jennifer A Sullivan, Angela Peron, Maria Iascone, Maria P Canevini, Jennifer Friedman, Iris A Reyes, Janell Kierstein, Joseph J Shen, Faria N Ahmed, Xiao Mao, Berta Almoguera, Fiona Blanco-Kelly, Konrad Platzer, Ariana-Berenike Treu, Juliette Quilichini, Alexia Bourgois, Nicolas Chatron, Louis Januel, Christelle Rougeot, Deanna Alexis Carere, Kristin G Monaghan, Justine Rousseau, Kenneth A Myers, Bekim Sadikovic, Asifa Akhtar, Philippe M Campeau

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Epigenetic dysregulation has emerged as an important etiological mechanism of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Pathogenic variation in epigenetic regulators can impair deposition of histone post-translational modifications leading to aberrant spatiotemporal gene expression during neurodevelopment. The male-specific lethal (MSL) complex is a prominent multi-subunit epigenetic regulator of gene expression and is responsible for histone 4 lysine 16 acetylation (H4K16ac). Using exome sequencing, here we identify a cohort of 25 individuals with heterozygous de novo variants in MSL complex member MSL2. MSL2 variants were associated with NDD phenotypes including global developmental delay, intellectual disability, hypotonia, and motor issues such as coordination problems, feeding …

Exome Sequencing Identifies Novel Genes Underlying Primary Congenital Glaucoma In The National Birth Defects Prevention Study, Elizabeth E Blue, Kristin J Moore, Kari E North, Tania A Desrosiers, Suzan L Carmichael, Janson J White, Jessica X Chong, Michael J Bamshad, Mary M Jenkins, Lynn M Almli, Lawrence C Brody, Sharon F Freedman, Jennita Reefhuis, Paul A Romitti, Gary M Shaw, Martha Werler, Denise M Kay, Marilyn L Browne, Marcia L Feldkamp, Richard H Finnell, Wendy N Nembhard, Faith Pangilinan, Andrew F Olshan, National Institutes Of Health Intramural Sequencing Center, University Of Washington Center For Mendelian Genomics, National Birth Defects Prevention Study

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) affects approximately 1 in 10,000 live born infants in the United States (U.S.). PCG has a autosomal recessive inheritance pattern, and variable expressivity and reduced penetrance have been reported. Likely causal variants in the most commonly mutated gene, CYP1B1, are less prevalent in the U.S., suggesting that alternative genes may contribute to the condition. This study utilized exome sequencing to investigate the genetic architecture of PCG in the U.S. and to identify novel genes and variants.

Methods: We studied 37 family trios where infants had PCG and were part of the National Birth Defects Prevention …

Author Reply To Letter By Topkan Et Al Regarding Delays In Starting Postoperative Radiotherapy, Kelsey A Duckett, Byung Joo Lee, Bhisham S Chera, Sidharth V Puram, Vlad C Sandulache, Russel Kahmke, Shaun A Nguyen, Brian Nussenbaum, Anthony J Alberg, Chanita Hughes Halbert, Katherine R Sterba, Evan M Graboyes

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Uses Of Herbal Extracts In Endodontology: A Literature Review, Reem Chamseddine, Roula S. Abiad

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

The use of natural herbal extracts in the field of dentistry, and specifically in endodontology had gained a high popularity in the past few years. The main objective of endodontic treatment is to prevent and eliminate the infection from the root canal, seize the invasion of microorganisms to periradicular tissues and preserve the natural dentition. Studies had shown that some herbs are better alternatives to traditional chemical irrigants or medicaments used in root canal treatment, based on their potential antimicrobial effect, smear layer removal capabilities, tissue dissolution effect, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and regenerative properties. Aim: The purpose of this literature review …

Analyzing Efficiency Of A Lentiviral Shrna Knockdown System In Human Enteroids Using Western Blot And Flow Cytometry, Adam P Wilson, Karni S Moshal, Addison P Franca, Sasirekha Ramani, Randle Gallucci, Hala Chaaban, Kathryn Y Burge

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Enteroids are in vitro models to study gastrointestinal pathologies and test personalized therapeutics; however, the inherent complexity of enteroids often renders standard gene editing approaches ineffective. Here, we introduce a refined lentiviral transfection protocol, ensuring sufficient lentiviral engagement with enteroids while considering spatiotemporal growth variability throughout the extracellular matrix. Additionally, we highlight a selection process for transduced cells, introduce a protocol to accurately measure transduction efficiency, and explore methodologies to gauge effects of gene knockdown on biological processes.

Protein Nanoparticles As Vaccine Platforms For Human And Zoonotic Viruses, Kush Kumar Pandey, Bikash R. Sahoo, Asit K. Pattnaik

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Vaccines are one of the most effective medical interventions, playing a pivotal role in treating infectious diseases. Although traditional vaccines comprise killed, inactivated, or liveattenuated pathogens that have resulted in protective immune responses, the negative consequences of their administration have been well appreciated. Modern vaccines have evolved to contain purified antigenic subunits, epitopes, or antigen-encoding mRNAs, rendering them relatively safe. However, reduced humoral and cellular responses pose major challenges to these subunit vaccines. Protein nanoparticle (PNP)-based vaccines have garnered substantial interest in recent years for their ability to present a repetitive array of antigens for improving immunogenicity and enhancing protective …

Metabolic Regulator Errγ Governs Gastric Stem Cell Differentiation Into Acid-Secreting Parietal Cells, Mahliyah Adkins-Threats, Sumimasa Arimura, Yang-Zhe Huang, Margarita Divenko, Sarah To, Heather Mao, Yongji Zeng, Jenie Y Hwang, Joseph R Burclaff, Shilpa Jain, Jason C Mills

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Parietal cells (PCs) produce gastric acid to kill pathogens and aid digestion. Dysregulated PC census is common in disease, yet how PCs differentiate is unclear. Here, we identify the PC progenitors arising from isthmal stem cells, using mouse models and human gastric cells, and show they preferentially express cell-metabolism regulator and orphan nuclear receptor Estrogen-related receptor gamma (Esrrg, encoding ERRγ). Esrrg expression facilitated the tracking of stepwise molecular, cellular, and ultrastructural stages of PC differentiation. Esrrg^P2ACreERT2 lineage tracing revealed Esrrg expression commits progenitors to differentiate into mature PCs. scRNA-seq indicated the earliest Esrrg+ PC progenitors preferentially …

Dietary Probiotic Supplement Attenuates Methamphetamine-Induced Conditioned Place Preference In Female Sprague-Dawley Rats, Kristen Powell

Masters Theses

Substance use disorders (SUD) represent a global public health crisis with limited effective treatment options. Recent findings implicate the gut microbiome and gut/brain axis in the pathophysiology of SUDs. Several preclinical studies have established that psychostimulants alter gut microbiome composition, but no published studies have assessed behavioral effects of dietary probiotic supplements on drug-induced behavioral changes. This study utilized rodent conditioned place preference (CPP) as a behavioral index of conditioned drug reward to determine if a dietary probiotic supplement alters the behavioral effects of (+)-methamphetamine (METH). Fifty-four adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to receive either a standard rodent …

Anoctamin 4 Defines Glucose-Inhibited Neurons In The Ventromedial Hypothalamus, Longlong Tu, Yanlin He, Yong Xu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Neighborhood-Level Disadvantage And Delayed Adjuvant Therapy In Head And Neck Cancer, Evan M Graboyes, Joshua Lee Cagle, Salma Ramadan, Kavita Prasad, Flora Yan, John Pearce, Angela L Mazul, Jean-Sebastien Anoma, Elizabeth G Hill, Bhisham S Chera, Sidharth V Puram, Ryan Jackson, Vlad C Sandulache, Samantha Tam, Michael C Topf, Russel Kahmke, Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters, Brian Nussenbaum, Anthony J Alberg, Katherine R Sterba, Chanita Hughes Halbert

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Importance: For patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), initiation of postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) within 6 weeks of surgery is recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines and the Commission on Cancer. Although individual-level measures of socioeconomic status are associated with receipt of timely, guideline-adherent PORT, the role of neighborhood-level disadvantage has not been examined.

Objective: To characterize the association of neighborhood-level disadvantage with delays in receiving PORT.

Design, setting, and participants: This retrospective cohort study included 681 adult patients with HNSCC undergoing curative-intent surgery and PORT from 2018 to 2020 at 4 US academic medical …

Serum Extracellular Vesicle Protein Profiling For Prediction Of Corneal Transplant Rejection, Hyun Ju Lee, Eun-Hye Bae, Jong Min Choi, Hyemee Kim, Hyeon Ji Kim, Heather Barreda, Sung Yun Jung, Joo Youn Oh, Ryang Hwa Lee

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Corneal transplantation is the most common transplant procedure worldwide. Despite immune and angiogenic privilege of the cornea, 50% to 70% of corneal transplants fail in high-risk recipients, primarily because of immune rejection. Therefore, it is crucial to identify predictive biomarkers of rejection to improve transplant survival.

Methods: In search for predictive biomarkers, we performed proteomics analysis of serum extracellular vesicles (EVs) in a fully major histocompatibility complex-mismatched (C57BL/6-to-BALB/c) murine corneal transplantation model, wherein 50% of transplants undergo rejection by day 28 following transplantation.

Results: Our time course study revealed a decrease in the number of serum EVs on day …

Multifactoral Immune Modulation Potentiates Durable Remission In Multiple Models Of Aggressive Malignancy, Matthew M Halpert, Briana A Burns, Spencer R Rosario, Henry G Withers, Akshar J Trivedi, Colby J Hofferek, Benjamin D Gephart, Haotong Wang, Jonathan Vazquez-Perez, Sharon B Amanya, Sean T Hyslop, Jianhua Yang, Jan O Kemnade, Vlad C Sandulache, Vanaja Konduri, William K Decker

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Tumors typically lack canonical danger signals required to activate adaptive immunity and also frequently employ substantial immunomodulatory mechanisms that downregulate adaptive responses and contribute to escape from immune surveillance. Given the variety of mechanisms involved in shielding tumors from immune recognition, it is not surprising that single-agent immunomodulatory approaches have been largely unsuccessful in generating durable antitumor responses. Here we report a unique combination of immunomodulatory and cytostatic agents that recondition the tumor microenvironment and eliminate complex and/or poor-prognosis tumor types including the non-immunogenic 4T-1 model of TNBC, the aggressive MOC-2 model of HNSCC, and the high-risk MYCN-amplified model of …

Generation Of Oviductal Glycoprotein 1 Cre Mouse Model For The Study Of Secretory Epithelial Cells Of The Oviduct, Emily A Mcglade, Jiude Mao, Kalli K Stephens, Andrew M Kelleher, Lisette A Maddison, Miranda L Bernhardt, Francesco J Demayo, John P Lydon, Wipawee Winuthayanon

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The epithelial cell lining of the oviduct plays an important role in oocyte pickup, sperm migration, preimplantation embryo development, and embryo transport. The oviduct epithelial cell layer comprises ciliated and nonciliated secretory cells. The ciliary function has been shown to support gamete and embryo movement in the oviduct, yet secretory cell function has not been well characterized. Therefore, our goal was to generate a secretory cell-specific Cre recombinase mouse model to study the role of the oviductal secretory cells. A knock-in mouse model, Ovgp1Cre:eGFP, was created by expressing Cre from the endogenous Ovgp1 (oviductal glycoprotein 1) locus, with enhanced green …

The Interplay Of Gut Microbiota And Their Metabolites As Potential Regulators Of Resilience Or Susceptibility To Traumatic Stress In Male And Female Rats, Arax Tanelian

NYMC Student Theses and Dissertations

Exposure to traumatic stress is a major risk factor for the development of mood disorders in a subpopulation of individuals, while others remain resilient. Notably, women are twice as likely as men to develop affective disorders in the aftermath of trauma. The mechanisms and contributing factors that influence sex-related disparities in mood disorders and variations in resilience remain unclear. We hypothesized that sex-specific inter-individual differences in microbial composition, functionality, and metabolites would contribute to host resilience or susceptibility to stress-induced psychopathologies. In this study, we used single prolonged stress (SPS), an animal model of Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), to …

A Potential Of Watercress Nasturtium Officinale Bioactive Compounds In Inhibiting Infectious Myonecrosis Virus (Imnv) By Targeting Rna-Dependent Rna Polymerase (Rdrp) Virus From Several Countries: In Silico Approach, Qurrota A’Yunin, Fatchiyah Fatchiyah, Maftuch Maftuch, Feri Eko Hermanto, Muhammad Hermawan Widyananda, Narendra Santika Hartana, Muhaimin Rifa’I, Yoga Dwi Jatmiko

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV) disease causes mass mortality and decreased shrimp production. The RdRp region projects to the interior, where it may function in transcription. The focus of this study was to determine the effect of amino acid polymorphisms from several countries on the structure of RdRp and identify the potential of watercress in inhibiting IMNV by targeting the RdRp protein of IMNV through an in silico approach. The results showed that the structure of the IMNV RdRp protein from Indonesia was similar to Mexico, and the protein structure from India_QDN was identical to India_QIL. Ligand binding affinity values showed …

Antibiotic-Induced Changes In Efflux Transporter Expression: A Key Factor In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Biofilm Resistance, Zara Imtiaz, Avinash Chatoo, Will Wang, Weiqi Li, Paramita Basu

Touro College of Pharmacy (New York) Publications and Research

Listed by WHO as an antibiotic-resistant priority pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa(P.A.) is a serious threat in nosocomial infections. Its high antibiotic resistance is attributed to major mechanisms that can be categorized into intrinsic, acquired, and adaptive resistance. This study tests the ability of three commonly used antibiotics to inhibit new biofilm formation and eradicate mature biofilm growth, as well as investigate changes in the expression levels of selected genes coding for multidrug efflux pumps in P.A. planktonic cells and biofilms before and after treatment with antibiotics to provide a conceptual estimate of the activity of the efflux transporters that work to …

Delivering Crispr To The Hiv-1 Reservoirs, Theodore Gurrola, Samuel Effah, Ilker Sariyer, Will Dampier, Michael Nonnemacher, Brian Wigdahl

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection is well known as one of the most complex and difficult viral infections to cure. The difficulty in developing curative strategies arises in large part from the development of latent viral reservoirs (LVRs) within anatomical and cellular compartments of a host. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/ CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) system shows remarkable potential for the inactivation and/or elimination of integrated proviral DNA within host cells, however, delivery of the CRISPR/Cas9 system to infected cells is still a challenge. In this review, the main factors impacting delivery, the challenges for delivery …