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Full-Text Articles in Pathogenic Microbiology
Candida And Pseudomonas Interact To Enhance Mucosal Infection In Transparent Zebrafish, Audrey C. Bergeron
Candida And Pseudomonas Interact To Enhance Mucosal Infection In Transparent Zebrafish, Audrey C. Bergeron
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Polymicrobial communities exist throughout the human body and include both fungi and bacteria. During disease, cross-kingdom interactions among bacteria, fungi, and/or the immune system can alter virulence and lead to complex polymicrobial infections. The fungus C. albicans is among the most commonly isolated fungi in the context of fungal-bacterial co-infections and is often accompanied by the bacterium P. aeruginosa at a variety of sites throughout the body including mucosal tissues such as the lung. In vitro, C. albicans and P. aeruginosa have a cyclic, bi-directional, and largely antagonistic relationship, but these interactions do not account for the role of the …
The Role Of Superantigens During Staphylococcus Aureus Nasal Colonization And Infection, Stacey Xu
The Role Of Superantigens During Staphylococcus Aureus Nasal Colonization And Infection, Stacey Xu
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Superantigens (SAgs) are potent toxins produced by bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus that function to overactivate T cells resulting in massive cytokine production and immune activation. Despite decades of research on the structure and function of these proteins, as well as their role in severe diseases such as toxic shock syndrome, the question as to why strains of S. aureus produce SAgs and the role that they play in the life cycle of these bacteria remains unanswered. The contribution of SAgs towards pathogenicity and bacterial survival in vivo were assessed using isogenic SAg deletion knockouts in conjunction with SAg-sensitive humanized …