Microbiology Commons^™

Hiv-1-Induced Cell-Cell Fusion: Host Regulation And Consequences For Viral Spread, Menelaos Symeonides

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is a human retrovirus of the lentivirus subgroup which primarily infects T cells and macrophages, and causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Since its emergence in the early 1980s, HIV-1 has caused a global pandemic which is still responsible for over one million deaths per year, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa.

HIV-1 has been the subject of intense study for over three decades, which has resulted not only in major advances in cell biology, but also in numerous drug treatments that effectively control the infection. However, cessation of treatment always results in reemergence of the …

Influence Of The Anti-Hiv Drug Elvitegravir On Chlamydial Development And The Characterization Of Chlamydial Polymorphic Membrane Protein Expression In Herpes Simplex Virus (Hsv)/C. Trachomatis Co-Infected Cells, Hena Yakoob

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common bacterial agent of sexually transmitted infections worldwide and a common co-infection in AIDS patients. Chlamydial genital tract infections are often asymptomatic; therefore many infections go untreated and result in complications like chronic inflammation, ectopic pregnancy, and pelvic inflammatory disease. Chlamydia share a unique developmental cycle and under stress, can enter a state known as persistence, in which the bacteria are noninfectious but still viable. Removal of the stressor allows the chlamydiae to re-enter and complete the developmental cycle. Exposure to low-dose quinolones can cause the chlamydiae to enter persistence and halt the developmental cycle. …

Interview With Celia Schiffer, Celia Schiffer

Celia A. Schiffer

Celia Schiffer, a Professor in Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology; a former Director of UMass Center for AIDS Research; and a Founder and Co-Director for the Institute for Drug Resistance (University of Massachusetts Medical School, MA, USA). Schiffer has an undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Chicago, with a PhD in biophysics from University of California, San Francisco (CA, USA). She was a postdoctoral associate first at the ETH in Zurich and then at Genentech in San Francisco. Schiffer has published more than 100 peer reviewed journal articles. Her laboratory primarily uses structural biology, biophysical and chemistry techniques to …

Hiv Prevalence In Blood Donors And Recipients In Pakistan: A Meta-Analysis And Analysis Of Blood-Bank Data, Bushra Moiz, Barkat Ali, Muhammad Hasnain Chatha, Ahmed Raheem, Hasan Abbas Zaheer

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background:
The first instances of HIV-antibody detection in donated blood in Pakistan were reported in 1988. Since then, documentation of HIV in blood donors and of rates of transmission via transfusion has been limited. Previously assumed to have a low prevalence, HIV is an increasing health concern in Pakistan. Since there is no national, centralized blood-banking system, there are no reliable data on which to base estimated risks of transfusion-associated HIV infection. This study was therefore conducted to estimate the prevalence of HIV in blood donors and recipients in Pakistan between 1988 and 2012.
Methods:
Meta-analyses were undertaken of reported …

Evolution Of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Clade C Envelope V1-V5 Region During Disease Progression In Non-Human Primate Model, For Yue Tso

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

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) clade C strain is the fastest spreading HIV-1 strain globally, especially in Africa. It has been decades since the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) pandemic first started. However, an effective anti-HIV-1 vaccine is not yet available, which is partly due to the highly variable nature of HIV-1 envelope gene and the absence of a suitable animal model. Strengthening of the understanding of envelope evolution during disease progression will contribute significantly towards future anti-HIV-1 treatment and preventions.
Non-human primates have been an essential animal model for many biomedical research areas. Using simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) …

Identifying And Characterizing The Degradative Pathway Of The Retroviral Restriction Factor Rhtrim5Α, Rachel Nelson

Master's Theses

Human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) is a lentivirus that progresses to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The protein TRIM5alpha from rhesus macaques (rhTRIM5alpha) restricts HIV-1 by blocking infection after entry of the virion into cells. Treatment of rhTRIM5alpha expressing cells with inhibitors to a cellular degradation pathway, the proteasome, partially relieves restriction but does not inhibit rhTRIM5alpha protein turnover. The role of a second degradation pathway, the autophagy-lysosomal pathway, in TRIM5alpha mediated restriction has not been explored.

In the present study, we demonstrate that rhTRIM5alpha is degraded by chaperone mediated autophagy (CMA). Inhibition of CMA alters rhTRIM5alpha localization and turnover, while …

Role Of Post-Translational Modifications In The Hiv Cofactor Activity Of Ledgf/P75, Denisse Adriana Gutierrez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

see document.

Developing A Quantitative Pcr Assay For Detecting Viral Vector Shedding From Animals, Swathee Chinnasamy

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Replication deficient viruses have been used widely for replacing, repairing, and deleting target genes. These recombinant viruses are tested on research animals or patients in clinical trials. Although viral vectors distribute in the body, they are also disseminated into the environment through secretion and excretion processes. By studying the extent of shedding, a proper risk assessment can be performed and appropriate biocontainment can be achieved. Adenoviral and lentiviral vectors were produced from commercially available kits. The transgene present in both vector systems was the lacZ reporter gene encoding for β-galactosidase. Primers and probes were designed for the encapsidation region of …

The Role Of Sumoylation Of Ledgf/P75 In Hiv-1 Infection, Murilo Tadeu Domingues Bueno

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF) proteins p75 and p52 are transcriptional co-activators that protect cells from stresses through modulation of stress and heat shock-related genes. Besides regulating such genes, LEDGF/p75 is also important in the process of HOX gene expression and leukemia transformation driven by the MLL histone methyl transferase complex. By exploiting a similar mechanism of interaction between LEDGF/p75 and MLL, the HIV-1 viral protein Integrase (IN) associates with LEDGF/p75 in order to execute efficient viral DNA integration. This present work has identified that LEDGF proteins are posttranslationally modified by SUMO-1 and -3. SUMOylation was found to target …

Genetic Variation In Mother-Child Acute Seroconverter Pairs From Zambia, Federico G. Hoffmann, Xiang He, John T. West, Philippe Lemey, Chipepo Kankasa, Charles Wood

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Objective: To characterize the envelope (env) glycoprotein of HIV-1 in mother-infant pairs (MIP) that underwent near simultaneous or acute-phase seroconversion, we examined the env sequence of the transmitted viruses and compare viral evolution within the pair.

Design: Three MIP from a Zambian cohort that seroconverted at the same sampling time were identified and followed longitudinally.

Methods: The V1-V5 region of the HIV-1 env gene was sequenced for each sample collected. Phylogenetic and population genetics analyses were carried out to subtype the viruses, estimate relationships among viral genotypes, and compare molecular evolution between the viral populations. …

Do Hospitalists Or Physicians With Greater Inpatient Hiv Experience Improve Hiv Care In The Era Of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy? Results From A Multicenter Trial Of Academic Hospitalists, John A. Schneider, Qi Zhang, Andrew Auerbach, David Gonzales, Peter Kaboli, Jeffrey Schnipper, Tosha B. Wetterneck, David L. Pitrak, David O. Meltzer

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background. Little is known about the effect of provider type and experience on outcomes, resource use, and processes of care of hospitalized patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Hospitalists are caring for this population with increasing frequency.

Methods. Data from a natural experiment in which patients were assigned to physicians on the basis of call cycle was used to study the effects of provider type—that is, hospitalist versus non hospitalist—and HIV-specific inpatient experience on resource use, outcomes, and selected measures of processes of care at 6 academic institutions. Administrative data, inpatient interviews, 30-day follow-up interviews, and the National Death …

The Potential Role Of Probiotics In Reducing Poverty-Associated Infections In Developing Countries, Kingsley C. Anukam

Kingsley C Anukam

Probiotics are defined by the Food and Agricultural Organization/ World Health Organization as “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host” [1]. The potential benefits of their use have not been adequately investigated, especially in the developing world. Japan introduced Yakult, a probiotic fermented food drink in 1935, and in the Northern hemisphere, research and use of probiotics has gained an unprecedented momentum in the last decade [2]. Use of probiotics is not uncommon in Europe [3], but in many developing countries use of probiotics in its present definition is a foreign concept. …

Aids-Associated Viral Oncogenesis: Overview, Charles Wood

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

It has been 25 years since the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was first described and over 23 years since the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) associated with the disease was first discovered. In spite of the tremendous progress that was made in understanding both the disease and the virus, there are still millions of people infected, died, or living with the disease. As for the year 2005 alone, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (http://www.UNAIDS.org) estimates that there are about 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS globally, and approximately 3 million people died from AIDS in the year. Globally, it …

Retrocyclin Rc-101 Overcomes Cationic Mutations On The Heptad Repeat 2 Of Hiv-1 Gp41, Christopher Fuhrman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Retrocyclin RC-101, a θ-defensin with lectin-like properties, potently inhibits infection by many HIV-1 subtypes by binding to the heptad repeat (HR)-2 region of gp41 and preventing six-helix bundle formation. In the present study, we used in silico computational exploration to identify residues of HR2 that interacted with RC-101 and then analyzed the HIV-1 Sequence Database at LANL for residue variations in the HR1 and HR2 segments that could plausibly impart in vivo resistance. Docking RC-101 to gp41 peptides in silico confirmed its strong preference for HR2 over HR1, and implicated residues crucial for its ability to bind HR2. We mutagenized …

Guidelines For The Management Of Hiv Infection In Pregnant Women And The Prevention Of Mother-To-Child Transmission Of Hiv, David Hawkins, M. Blott, P. Clayden, A, De Ruiter, G. Foster, C. Gilling-Smith, B. Gosrani, H. Lyall, D. Mercey, M.-L. Newell, S. O'Shea, R. Smith, J. Sunderland, Charles Wood, G. Taylor

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

The prevalence of HIV infection amongst women giving birth in England and Wales has increased every year since 1990. Results from the Unlinked Anonymous Surveys of infection in pregnancy, show that in 2003, the prevalence reached one in 180 (0.56%) in inner London, one in 271 in outer London (0.37%) and one in 1,282 (0.08%) in the rest of England [1]. The majority of these women are from sub-Saharan Africa. The Department of Health policy of recommending an HIV test to every pregnant woman [2] has resulted in an increase in the proportion of these women who are aware of …

Human Herpesvirus 8 Can Be Transmitted Through Blood In Drug Addicts, Carlos Sosa, Jorge Benetucci, Colleen Hanna, Laura Sieczkowski, Gabriel Deluchi, Ana Maria Canizal, Hamakwa Mantina, Winslow Klaskala, Marianna Baum, Charles Wood

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Human Herpes virus type-8 (HHV-8) seroprevalence was studied in a population of HIV positive intravenous drug users (IVDUs) from Argentina. Analysis of this population also indirectly made it possible to study HHV-8 blood transmission, because these individuals frequently engage in needle sharing behavior and are capable of acquiring a broad array of blood borne pathogens, including Hepatitis B/C virus. The seroprevalence of HHV-8 in IVDUs was compared to a group of non-IVDUs and HIV negative individuals. Of the 223 individuals tested, 13.45% were HHV-8 positive, 16.99% in the IVDUs group, and 5.71% in the non-IVDUs. Among HIV positive IVDUs, 25/144 …