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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Host Mediated Mechanisms Of Fungal Cell Spread In A Transparent Zebrafish Infection Model, Allison Scherer
Host Mediated Mechanisms Of Fungal Cell Spread In A Transparent Zebrafish Infection Model, Allison Scherer
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Innate immunity has developed elegant processes for the detection and clearance of invasive fungal pathogens. Disseminated candidiasis is of significant concern for those with suppressed immune systems or indwelling medical equipment, and mortality in these groups approaches 70%. Poor patient outcomes have spurred the need to understand how this non-motile pathogen spreads in the host. Technical limitations have previously hindered our ability to visualize the role of innate immunity and host tissue barriers in the spread of C. albicans in vivo. Using the zebrafish model to overcome these limitations, we have examined three potential host-mediated mechanisms of dissemination: movement …
Characterizing The Role Of Fungal Shape In A Zebrafish Model Of Invasive Candidiasis, Brittany Seman
Characterizing The Role Of Fungal Shape In A Zebrafish Model Of Invasive Candidiasis, Brittany Seman
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Candida albicans is a common hospital-acquired fungal infection, and disseminated disease claims up to one-half of those afflicted. C. albicans has a unique ability to differentiate its shape during infection, and this differentiation is thought to be a major virulence factor during invasive infections. Each shape is proposed to have a specialized role: filaments drive tissue invasion and yeast mediate dissemination to the bloodstream. However, it has been difficult to test these hypotheses for two reasons. First, rigorous testing of shape-specific roles requires diverse strategies of shape modulation that restrict the possibility of manipulation-specific artifacts. Second, although connecting shape to …