Bacterial Infections and Mycoses Commons^™

Enhanced Production Of Pro-Il-1Βeta Contributes To Immunopathology During The Coinfection Of Influenza A Virus And Streptococcus Pneumoniae, Angeline E. Rodriguez

MSU Graduate Theses

Viral bacterial coinfections are known to cause severe pneumonia, especially in the elderly and in pediatric patients. Antibiotics like β-Lactams kill the bacteria but fail to improve symptoms suggesting a faulty immune system may play an important role in the disease. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is an important immune signaling cytokine responsible for inflammation. It exists as an inactive precursor that can be activated by caspase-1 containing inflammasomes (multi-protein complex). Influenza A virus (IAV) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) activate the inflammasome through the NOD-like receptor protein NLRP3 and/or AIM2. Previous reports in mice indicate that IL-1β levels are dramatically …

Microbial Co-Infection Alters Macrophage Polarization, Phagosomal Escape, And Microbial Killing, Nikita H. Trivedi, Jieh-Juen Yu, Chiung-Yu Hung, Richard P. Doelger, Christopher S. Navara, Lisa Y. Armitige, Janakiram Seshu, Anthony P. Sinai, James P. Chambers, M. Neal Guentzel, Bernard P. Arulanandam

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Macrophages are important innate immune cells that respond to microbial insults. In response to multi-bacterial infection, the macrophage activation state may change upon exposure to nascent mediators, which results in different bacterial killing mechanism(s). In this study, we utilized two respiratory bacterial pathogens, Mycobacterium bovis (Bacillus Calmette Guẻrin, BCG) and Francisella tularensis live vaccine strain (LVS) with different phagocyte evasion mechanisms, as model microbes to assess the influence of initial bacterial infection on the macrophage response to secondary infection. Non-activated (M0) macrophages or activated M2-polarized cells (J774 cells transfected with the mouse IL-4 gene) were first infected with BCG for …

Usefulness Of The Captia Syphilis Igg Eia Test Method And Reverse Algorithm For Detection Of Syphilis Infection In A Public Health Setting, Patricia Armour

Theses and Dissertations

Syphilis, a systemic sexually transmitted disease, is on the rise in the US, with infection rates the highest recorded since 1994 according to the CDC. Useful laboratory testing is an important diagnostic tool for determining individual syphilis infection and preventing community-wide disease spread.

The purpose of this study was to determine the usefulness of a specific automated treponemal test method, the Captia^TM Syphilis IgG EIA, and the syphilis reverse algorithm interpretation for detecting syphilis infection among patients seeking care in a public health clinic. The study employed a retrospective, nonexperimental descriptive correlational design with data collected between 2012-2013 from …