Medicine and Health Sciences | Open Access Articles

Diffusion Pathways Through The Outer Membrane Of Mycobacteria, Olga Danilchanka

All ETDs from UAB

The extraordinary capacity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) to adapt to environmental changes during infection contributes to its success as a pathogen. While the unique outer membrane (OM) of mycobacteria functions as a permeability barrier for toxic molecules, uptake of nutrients is required to sustain viability of Mtb. Whereas hydrophobic molecules can diffuse through membranes, uptake of small hydrophilic compounds is mediated by water-filled channels, porins. For example, Msp-like porins of M. smegmatis (Ms) were shown to be required for uptake of hydrophilic beta-lactam antibiotics, which are also known to diffuse through porins in gram-negative bacteria. Because the structure of the …

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Modification Of Adenovirus Capsid Proteins For Gene Therapy Applications, Yizhe Tang

All ETDs from UAB

Adenovirus (Ad) is the most commonly used viral vector in gene therapy applications to date for a broad range of diseases. Although Ad-based viral vectors have many advantages in a variety of gene therapy designs, the commonly used adenoviral vectors have several key shortcomings. Those shortcomings include (1) inefficient transduction in cell types devoid of Ad’s native receptors and the incapability of gene delivery to targets behind physical barriers; (2) restricted accessibility to the central nerve system due to the existence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB); (3) lack of a useful strategy and platform to generate multi-functionality displaying Ad vectors …

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Polysaccharide Specific B Cells: A Study Of Their Development And Function, Jeremy B. Foote

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Polysaccharides are important structural components of bacterial capsule and cell walls. Polysaccharide-specific antibodies are an important component of serologic memory capable of protecting against infection by pathogenic microorganisms. An understanding of the biology and function of polysaccharide specific B cells is necessary for formulation of vaccines designed to induce polysaccharide specific memory and long-lived antibody production. The goal of this dissertation was to examine the development of naïve DEX-specific B cells and examine their capacity to generate memory and long-lived plasma cells in response to polysaccharide α 1→3-dextran (DEX), which is expressed by the opportunistic pathogens Enterobacter cloacae, Histoplasma capsulatum …

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Characterizing The Role Of Primary Cilia In The Hair Follicle And Skin, Jonathan Merle Lehman

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Primary cilia have been established as a nearly ubiquitous microtubule based signaling organelle, yet their function in many organs, including the hair and skin, is unknown. We hypothesized that the primary cilium would play vital roles in the hair follicle and skin based on the cilium's well characterized interactions with the Shh and Wnt developmental signaling pathways. This dissertation describes our efforts to determine the localization of the primary cilia in the murine hair follicle and assess the function of this organelle in the hair and skin. We used confocal immunofluorescence microscopy to virtually section the entire hair follicle and …

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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Diffusion Pathways Through The Outer Membrane Of Mycobacteria, Olga Danilchanka

All ETDs from UAB

Modification Of Adenovirus Capsid Proteins For Gene Therapy Applications, Yizhe Tang

All ETDs from UAB

Polysaccharide Specific B Cells: A Study Of Their Development And Function, Jeremy B. Foote

All ETDs from UAB

Characterizing The Role Of Primary Cilia In The Hair Follicle And Skin, Jonathan Merle Lehman

All ETDs from UAB