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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Regulatory Mechanisms In Borrelia Burgdorferi-Induced Arthritis, Emily Siebers Hansen
Regulatory Mechanisms In Borrelia Burgdorferi-Induced Arthritis, Emily Siebers Hansen
Theses and Dissertations
Lyme arthritis is a common symptom of Lyme borreliosis that involves inflammation of the synovial joints. Elucidating the immune events involved in Lyme arthritis is complicated by the fact that not all individuals infected with B. burgdorferi develop arthritis. Additionally, Lyme arthritis manifests in different severities between affected individuals. It is known that an inflammatory response is initiated by B. burgdorferi infection and that inflammatory T cells contribute to the development of arthritis. However, the anti-inflammatory mechanisms that regulate the pathogenic T cells’ response are not entirely understood. Here, the hypothesis that a dysregulated immune response results in an excessive …
Age-Associated B Cell And T Helper Cell Dysfunction In Rhesus Macaques, Evan Knox Stalvig
Age-Associated B Cell And T Helper Cell Dysfunction In Rhesus Macaques, Evan Knox Stalvig
Theses and Dissertations
The immune system undergoes drastic changes as we age, known as immunosenescence. An example of this is the dysfunction and subpopulation distribution changes of immune cells. Due to immunosenescence, the elderly have a higher risk of complications and rapid progression of new challenges to the immune system, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In an effort to determine the mechanism of dysfunction of humoral immunity due to age, I compared B cell and T cell responses to non-specific, mitogenic stimuli between aged and young adult rhesus macaque peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Analysis by flow cytometry revealed several differences in B …
Effects Of Drift, Selection And Gene Flow On Immune Genes In Prairie Grouse, Zachary Bateson
Effects Of Drift, Selection And Gene Flow On Immune Genes In Prairie Grouse, Zachary Bateson
Theses and Dissertations
Fragmentation of natural habitats is related to population decline in many species. The resulting small and isolated populations are expected to lose genetic variation at a rapid rate, which reduces the ability to adapt to environmental change. One concern is that small populations are more susceptible to emerging pathogens due to the loss of variation at immune genes. My dissertation examined the relative effects of gene flow, genetic drift and selection on immune genes in prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido), a species that has undergone drastic population declines across their range. In the first chapter, I examined how artificial gene flow through …