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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Ticks Elicit Variable Fibrinogenolytic Activities Upon Feeding On Hosts With Different Immune Backgrounds, Ashish Vora, Vikas Taank, John F. Anderson, Durland Fish, Daniel E. Sonenshine, John D. Catravas, Hameeda Sultana, Girish Neelakanta Mar 2017

Ticks Elicit Variable Fibrinogenolytic Activities Upon Feeding On Hosts With Different Immune Backgrounds, Ashish Vora, Vikas Taank, John F. Anderson, Durland Fish, Daniel E. Sonenshine, John D. Catravas, Hameeda Sultana, Girish Neelakanta

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Ticks secrete several anti-hemostatic factors in their saliva to suppress the host innate and acquired immune defenses against infestations. Using Ixodes scapularis ticks and age-matched mice purchased from two independent commercial vendors with two different immune backgrounds as a model, we show that ticks fed on immunodeficient animals demonstrate decreased fibrinogenolytic activity in comparison to ticks fed on immunocompetent animals. Reduced levels of D-dimer (fibrin degradation product) were evident in ticks fed on immunodeficient animals in comparison to ticks fed on immunocompetent animals. Increased engorgement weights were noted for ticks fed on immunodeficient animals in comparison to ticks fed on …


Role Of Peripheral Immune Response In Microglia Activation And Regulation Of Brain Chemokine And Proinflammatory Cytokine Responses Induced During Vsv Encephalitis, Christina D. Steel, Kimberly Breving, Susan Tavakoli, Woong-Ki Kim, Larry D. Sanford, Richard P. Ciavarra Feb 2014

Role Of Peripheral Immune Response In Microglia Activation And Regulation Of Brain Chemokine And Proinflammatory Cytokine Responses Induced During Vsv Encephalitis, Christina D. Steel, Kimberly Breving, Susan Tavakoli, Woong-Ki Kim, Larry D. Sanford, Richard P. Ciavarra

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We report herein that neuroinvasion by vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) activates microglia and induces a peripheral dendritic cell (DC)-dependent inflammatory response in the central nervous system (CNS). VSV neuroinvasion rapidly induces multiple brain chemokine and proinflammatory cytokine mRNAs that display bimodal kinetics. Peripheral DC ablation or T cell depletion suppresses the second wave of this response demonstrating that infiltrating T cells are primarily responsible for the bimodal characteristics of this response. The robust infiltrate associated with VSV encephalitis likely depends on sustained production of brain CCL19 and CCR7 expression on infiltrating inflammatory cells. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


An Epidemiological Model Of Rift Valley Fever With Spatial Dynamics, Tianchan Niu, Holly D. Gaff, Yiannis E. Papelis, David M. Hartley Jan 2012

An Epidemiological Model Of Rift Valley Fever With Spatial Dynamics, Tianchan Niu, Holly D. Gaff, Yiannis E. Papelis, David M. Hartley

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

As a category A agent in the Center for Disease Control bioterrorism list, Rift Valley fever (RVF) is considered a major threat to the United States (USA). Should the pathogen be intentionally or unintentionally introduced to the continental USA, there is tremendous potential for economic damages due to loss of livestock, trade restrictions, and subsequent food supply chain disruptions. We have incorporated the effects of space into a mathematical model of RVF in order to study the dynamics of the pathogen spread as affected by the movement of humans, livestock, and mosquitoes. The model accounts for the horizontal transmission of …


Distinct Macrophage Subpopulations Regulate Viral Encephalitis But Not Viral Clearance In The Cns, Christina D. Steel, Woong-Ki Kim, Larry Sanford, Laurie Wellman, Sandra Burnett, Nico Van Rooijen, Rochard P. Ciavarra Sep 2010

Distinct Macrophage Subpopulations Regulate Viral Encephalitis But Not Viral Clearance In The Cns, Christina D. Steel, Woong-Ki Kim, Larry Sanford, Laurie Wellman, Sandra Burnett, Nico Van Rooijen, Rochard P. Ciavarra

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Intranasal application of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) induces acute encephalitis characterized by a pronounced myeloid and T cell infiltrate. The role of distinct phagocytic populations on VSV encephalitis was therefore examined in this study. Ablation of peripheral macrophages did not impair VSV encephalitis or viral clearance from the brain, whereas, depletion of splenic marginal dendritic cells impaired this response and enhanced morbidity/mortality. Selective depletion of brain perivascular macrophages also suppressed this response without altering viral clearance. Thus, two anatomically distinct phagocytic populations regulate VSV encephalitis in a non-redundant fashion although neither population is essential for viral clearance in the CNS. …