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2016

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Articles 1291 - 1320 of 1350

Full-Text Articles in Medical Sciences

Structure-Function Relationships In The Sec7 Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor Gbf1, Jay Manoj Bhatt Jan 2016

Structure-Function Relationships In The Sec7 Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor Gbf1, Jay Manoj Bhatt

All ETDs from UAB

All eukaryotic cells contain a secretory pathway composed of membrane-bound compartments connected by vesicles that transport cargo from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) through the Golgi apparatus to various destination within and outside the cell. The Golgi Brefeldin A-resistant Factor 1 (GBF1) is required for protein traffic between ER and Golgi and within the Golgi. GBF1 belongs to a family of Guanine nucleotide Exchange Factors (GEFs) that stimulate the nucleotide exchange of GDP for GTP on small GTPases called ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs). Once GTP-bound, ARFs become active and initiate a cascade of events that lead to vesicle formation. Thus, GBF1 is …

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Regulation Of The Mitochondrial Thiol Network With Targeted Electrohpiles, Matthew Ryan Smith Jan 2016

Regulation Of The Mitochondrial Thiol Network With Targeted Electrohpiles, Matthew Ryan Smith

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Cells possess a remarkable plasticity to alter their metabolism and change their function based on stimuli within their resident microenvironment. The mitochondria within these cells utilize a variety of sources such as pyruvate, glutamine, or fatty acids in order to generate metabolites, amino acids, and reducing equivalents needed for cellular proliferation.Many mitochondrial enzymes possess contain a cysteine which possesses a thiol group, a unique redox-signaling moiety that can be activated under specific circumstances by bio-reactive compounds forming a network of mitochondrial proteins which are responsible for mitochondrial respiration. However, it is unknown whether targeting these reactive thiol groups present a …

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The Function Of Prmt1 In Normal And Abnormal Megakaryopoiesis, Hairui Su Jan 2016

The Function Of Prmt1 In Normal And Abnormal Megakaryopoiesis, Hairui Su

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Protein arginine methylation is a common type of post-translational modifications. Protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) is the predominant PRMT that is involved in diverse physiological and pathological processes in mammalian cells. Dysregulation of PRMT1 is often positively correlated with cancer development, yet many aspects of PRMT1’s role in cancer, especially in acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (AMKL) remain unclear. We identified two PRMT1-methylated substrates and how they impact normal and abnormal megakaryopoiesis. In this dissertation, we demonstrate that dual-specificity protein phosphatase 4 (DUSP4) and RNA binding motif protein 15 (RBM15), two crucial factors for megakaryocytic (MK) differentiation, are methylated by PRMT1 and …

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Microglia Orchestrate The Inflammatory Response To Alpha-Synuclein In Parkinson Disease Models, Aaron Thome Jan 2016

Microglia Orchestrate The Inflammatory Response To Alpha-Synuclein In Parkinson Disease Models, Aaron Thome

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Parkinson disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder characterized by a progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and widespread aggregates of the protein alpha-synuclein (α-syn). Increasing evidence points to inflammation as a chief mediator of PD with many of the inflammatory manifestations of human PD cases recapitulated in animal models of PD. We began by examining the inflammatory potential of α-syn fibrils, a newly characterized α-syn conformation that is neurotoxic and prion-like in its endogenous α-syn recruitment and cellular transmission. Our studies provide evidence that the α-syn fibrils evoke a pro-inflammatory response …

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The Roles Of Il-21 And Il-10 In Cellular And Humoral Immune Responses, Yuan Tian Jan 2016

The Roles Of Il-21 And Il-10 In Cellular And Humoral Immune Responses, Yuan Tian

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values, it may be more appropriate to use CH

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Human Cytosolic Sulfotransferase (Sult) 1b1 Half-Site Reactivity And The Identification And Characterization Of A Novel Variant Sult1b1 Isoform (L145v), Zachary Evan Tibbs Jan 2016

Human Cytosolic Sulfotransferase (Sult) 1b1 Half-Site Reactivity And The Identification And Characterization Of A Novel Variant Sult1b1 Isoform (L145v), Zachary Evan Tibbs

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The human cytosolic sulfotransferases (hSULTs) are a fourteen-member family of phase II drug-metabolizing enzymes that catalyze the transfer of a sulfonate moiety from 3’-phosphoadenosine 5’-phosphosulfate (PAPS) to a recipient substrate. SULT-mediated sulfation serves to deactivate physiological hormones and detoxify xenobiotics. SULT1B1 is primarily resident to the gastrointestinal tract, liver, and possibly peripheral white blood cells (WBCs), whereby it performs its supposed physiological role. The iso-form has the capacity to sulfate thyroid hormones, small phenols, and polyaromatic hy-drocarbons resulting in their inactivation, detoxification, and bioactivation/detoxification, respectively. Immunohistochemistry was used to show hSULT1B1 protein is present in periph-eral lymphocytes and neutrophils. Further, …

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Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 And Heterochromatin Protein 1 Beta Regulate Neural And Neural Crest Development, Chih-Liang Tien Jan 2016

Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 And Heterochromatin Protein 1 Beta Regulate Neural And Neural Crest Development, Chih-Liang Tien

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Epigenetic factors control gene expression via modulating chromatin conformation. Current studies on epigenetics mainly focus on biochemical mechanisms or functions of epigenetic factors in cancer or neurobiology. The underlying mechanism for epigenetic regulation in early embryonic development, particularly neural and neural crest development, is not well understood. In this thesis, the model organism, Xenopus laevis, is used to study epigenetic factors – polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) and heterochromatin protein 1 beta (HP1β) in neural and neural crest development. In chapter one, the processes of neural and neural crest development are described, and the concepts of epigenetic mechanisms, such as …

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Germline Restriction Of B Cell Receptor Repertoire Influences Antigenic Epitope Recognition And Primary Antibody Deficiency Pathogenesis, Yuge Wang Jan 2016

Germline Restriction Of B Cell Receptor Repertoire Influences Antigenic Epitope Recognition And Primary Antibody Deficiency Pathogenesis, Yuge Wang

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Part I. Mouse Studies Complementarity determining region 3 of the immunoglobulin (Ig) H chain (CDR-H3) lies at the center of the antigen binding site where it often plays a decisive role in antigen recognition and binding. Amino acids encoded by the diversity (DH) gene segment are the main component of CDR-H3. Each DH has the potential to rearrange into one of six DH reading frames (RFs), each of which exhibits a characteristic amino acid hydrophobicity signature that has been conserved among jawed vertebrates by natural selection. A preference for use of RF1 promotes the incorporation of tyrosine into CDR-H3 while …

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Cell Signaling Pathways As Targets For Precision Medicine In Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Alice Weaver Jan 2016

Cell Signaling Pathways As Targets For Precision Medicine In Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Alice Weaver

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Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a heterogeneous disease with high rates of recurrence and mortality. Unlike other cancer types, genome sequencing studies have failed to produce clinically actionable targets to improve HNSCC management. Therefore, alternative methods are needed to study the molecular mechanisms responsible for disease progression and response to therapy. The focus of this research was to determine how dysregulation of cell signaling pathways affects outcomes in HNSCC. In HPV-positive HNSCCs, we hypothesized that HPV induces dysregulation of the DNA damage response which mediates differences in therapeutic sensitivity and survival. We identified a defect in DNA …

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Motor Unit Remodeling During Neuromuscular Degeneration In Aging And Parkinson's Disease, Neil Anthony Kelly Jan 2016

Motor Unit Remodeling During Neuromuscular Degeneration In Aging And Parkinson's Disease, Neil Anthony Kelly

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The human neuromuscular system deteriorates progressively with age and disease. This results in denervation events and ultimately motor unit remodeling, which is revealed by abnormal “groups” of myofibers expressing the same myosin protein isoform – a phenomenon described as myofiber type grouping. Despite the acceptance of myofiber type grouping as a hallmark indicator of motor unit remodeling, traditional techniques of detecting it lack quantitative parameters and therefore comparative data in aging and disease are scarce. The purpose of this dissertation is to establish a statistically-driven, quantitative method for detecting myofiber type grouping and to use it to characterize the effects …

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The Matricellular Protein Ccn1 Potentiates Fibrogenic Responses To Lung Injury, Ashish Kurundkar Jan 2016

The Matricellular Protein Ccn1 Potentiates Fibrogenic Responses To Lung Injury, Ashish Kurundkar

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Normal wound healing is a well-coordinated reparative response to injury aimed at restoring the normal tissue function. The dynamic interactions between cells and ex-tracellular matrix (ECM) regulate and dictate the fate of tissue repair process. Fibrosis is a dysregulated wound healing with excessive deposition of ECM and loss of tissue func-tion. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic progressive fibrotic disease of lung with no cure. Matricellular proteins are non-structural matrix proteins which regulates the cellular functions by directly binding to cell surface integrins and/or indirectly modulating growth factor signaling. Matricellular proteins are emerging as critical mediators of tissue injury …

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Regulation Of Breast Cancer Metastasis By Sin3 Chromatin Remodeling Complexes, Monica Jeanene Lewis Jan 2016

Regulation Of Breast Cancer Metastasis By Sin3 Chromatin Remodeling Complexes, Monica Jeanene Lewis

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Metastasis continues to be the most difficult clinical challenge for breast cancer. Survival rates for patients with metastatic breast cancer have not significantly changed in the past 20 years. Therefore, we need a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate breast cancer metastasis to develop effective therapies. SIN3 chromatin remodeling complexes have been implicated in breast cancer progression. Mammalian cells have two paralogs of SIN3 (SIN3A and SIN3B) that are encoded by distinct genes and have unique functions during development. However, specific roles for SIN3A and SIN3B in breast cancer progression have not been characterized. To better understand how …

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Analysis Of The Ciliary Genes Gas8 And Mks6 Reveal Conserved Roles In Cilia Motility And Transition Zone Function, Wesley Robert Lewis Jan 2016

Analysis Of The Ciliary Genes Gas8 And Mks6 Reveal Conserved Roles In Cilia Motility And Transition Zone Function, Wesley Robert Lewis

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Cilia are microtubule based cellular appendages that are present throughout the hierarchy of the animal kingdom. These appendages are utilized for a wide array of functions such as motility in single celled organisms to coordinating complex cellular signaling pathways in more complex organisms. Though these appendages are well conserved, the exact function of cilia in many cell types remains unknown. Recently, cilia are tied to a myriad of developmental diseases and diseases of adult homeostasis collectively referred to as ciliopathies. Dysfunction in cilia results in a wide array of phenotypes ranging from retinal degeneration to polydactyly, cystic kidney disease, and …

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Development Of A Split Luciferase Complementation Assay To Investigate Growth Hormone Receptor/ Prolactin Receptor Homo-/ Hetero-Association, Ying Liu Jan 2016

Development Of A Split Luciferase Complementation Assay To Investigate Growth Hormone Receptor/ Prolactin Receptor Homo-/ Hetero-Association, Ying Liu

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Growth hormone receptor (GHR) and prolactin receptor (PRLR) are transmembrane glycoproteins cytokine receptors that are structurally homologous. Each can pre-homodimerize and ligand binding of each activates JAK2-STAT signaling pathways by inducing conformational change within the receptor homodimer. Human GHR can be activated by growth hormone (GH) while human PRLR can be activated by both GH and prolactin (PRL). We devised a split luciferase complementation assay, in which one receptor is fused to the N-terminal fragment of luciferase and the other receptor is fused to the C-terminal fragment of luciferase. When the two receptors approximate, luciferase activity (complementation) results. Using this …

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Atp6v1c1 Enhances Breast Cancer Growth By Activating V-Atpase Mediated Mtorc1 Signaling And Metastasis By Increasing V-Atpase Activity In Cancer Cells, Matthew J. Mcconnell Jan 2016

Atp6v1c1 Enhances Breast Cancer Growth By Activating V-Atpase Mediated Mtorc1 Signaling And Metastasis By Increasing V-Atpase Activity In Cancer Cells, Matthew J. Mcconnell

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It is known that the vacuolar ATPase has a number of functions related to tumor growth and progression such as involvement in drug resistance, pH regulation, autophagy, and lysosomal acid protease activation, as well as invasion and metastasis. Here we specifically describe the role of ATP6v1c1 in murine and human models of breast cancer. ATP6v1c1 is the dominant isoform of the coordinating subunit (ATP6v1c) involved in the assembly of the vacuolar ATPase complex which plays a key role in cancer growth and progression. We also describe how ATP6v1c1 knockdown impairs tumor nutrient signaling through mTORC1 and tumor cell proliferation, by …

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Neurodevelopmental Alterations In A Rodent Model Of Temperamental Differences, Chelsea Mccoy Mccoy Jan 2016

Neurodevelopmental Alterations In A Rodent Model Of Temperamental Differences, Chelsea Mccoy Mccoy

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Understanding biological mechanisms that shape brain development and susceptibility to emotional dysfunction is crucial for generating improved treatments for depression and anxiety disorders. To study neurodevelopmental factors that influence emotionality, we use model rats that were bred for distinct behavioral responses to novelty. Rats bred for low novelty response (LRs) exhibit a high anxiety-/depressive-like phenotype compared to high novelty responder rats (HRs), which vigorously explore novelty and exhibit high impulsivity, aggression, and risk-taking. Transcriptome profiling revealed multiple gene expression differences in the early postnatal hippocampus and amygdala and in the adult amygdala of HR/LR rats. Through gene ontology analysis, we …

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Cell-Specific Pgc-1Α-Dependent Transcription: Implications For Cognitive And Motor Dysfunction, Laura Mcmeekin Jan 2016

Cell-Specific Pgc-1Α-Dependent Transcription: Implications For Cognitive And Motor Dysfunction, Laura Mcmeekin

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health beliefs in young women. The Prevention of Osteoporosis in Women (POW)

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Transcriptional Regulation Of Interleukin 10 In Cd4+ T Cells, Carson Edward Moseley Jan 2016

Transcriptional Regulation Of Interleukin 10 In Cd4+ T Cells, Carson Edward Moseley

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Autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases are a collection of disorders that are mediated by reaction of the adaptive immune system against self or commensal antigens. Altered transcription of genes involved in T cell activation and function is a key mediator of predisposition to numerous autoimmune disorders, including Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS). However, we have an inadequate understanding of how the transcriptional circuits controlling these genes are dysregulated in disease. Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is cytokine with potent anti-inflammatory activity that is critical for restraining immune-mediated pathology to self-tissues. Notably, patients with nullifying mutations in IL10 develop a severe IBD …

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Ribosomal Protein L12 (Rpl12) As A Novel Target In Cystic Fibrosis, Kathryn E. Oliver Jan 2016

Ribosomal Protein L12 (Rpl12) As A Novel Target In Cystic Fibrosis, Kathryn E. Oliver

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Approximately 1,000 new cases of cystic fibrosis (CF) are diagnosed in the United States every year. The disease is caused by over 1,700 naturally occurring variants in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Defects in the CFTR coding sequence contribute to variable disease severity in the patient population. The majority of individuals born with CF harbor at least one specific mutation in CFTR termed F508del. Clinical manifestations of CF include severe damage of multiple exocrine tissues, including the lungs, intestine, pancreas, reproductive and other organ systems. An overarching goal of our work is to identify cellular targets that contribute to …

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Targeting The Tumor-Promoting Microenvironment With Inhibitors Of Pro-Hgf Activation, Benjamin Yaw Owusu Jan 2016

Targeting The Tumor-Promoting Microenvironment With Inhibitors Of Pro-Hgf Activation, Benjamin Yaw Owusu

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The tumor microenvironment plays a key role in tumor progression and therapeutic resistance. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), commonly expressed by cancer-associated fibroblasts, mediates signaling via its receptor, MET, and promotes survival, proliferation, migration and invasion of cancer cells. In addition, HGF dependence has emerged as a hallmark of therapeutic resistance. HGF is secreted as an inactive precursor, pro-HGF, which requires proteolytic cleavage and processing to form the mature, active HGF. This is the rate-limiting step in the HGF/MET signaling pathway and it is achieved by one of the serine proteases, matriptase, hepsin and HGF activator (HGFA). At Southern Research, we …

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Neonatal Microbial Exposure And Its Effects On The B Cell Repertoire And Development Of Respiratory Allergies, Preeyam Patel Jan 2016

Neonatal Microbial Exposure And Its Effects On The B Cell Repertoire And Development Of Respiratory Allergies, Preeyam Patel

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The incidence of asthma has increased dramatically among children living in developed countries, and the hygiene hypothesis suggests that this is the result of decreased neonatal exposure to microbes. Microbes and allergens can bear similar antibody-reactive epitopes, and exposure to microbes bearing these epitopes during early life can permanently alter the frequency and clonality of the antigen-specific B cell repertoire. The objective of this dissertation was to determine if B cells stimulated by microbes during early life could suppress the development of respiratory allergies during adult life. Both Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) and house dust mite (HDM) express antibody-reactive phosphorylcholine (PC) …

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Early-Life Programming Of Emotional Behaviors And Cardiovascular Function, Samir Rana Jan 2016

Early-Life Programming Of Emotional Behaviors And Cardiovascular Function, Samir Rana

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Extensive evidence implicates bi-directional relationship between mood disorders and cardiovascular disorders. Early-life experience can have strong effects both on emotional development and cardiovascular function throughout life. Studies in humans are limited to correlational analyses, which are necessarily limited in terms of revealing mechanistic underpinnings of these associations. Thus, various pre-clinical models are utilized to investigate the effects of early-life experience in various domains, such as behavior and cardiovascular function, which are likely mediated by epigenetic mechanisms. Previous studies have used maternal separation and neonatal handling in developing rodents as a way to model differences in early-life experience. The effect of …

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Reorganization Of The Golgi Apparatus During Human Cytomegalovirus Infection, George Michael Rebmann Jan 2016

Reorganization Of The Golgi Apparatus During Human Cytomegalovirus Infection, George Michael Rebmann

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Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the largest and most structurally complex of all the herpesviruses. HCMV is an important human pathogen that results in significant morbidity and disease in immunocompromised individuals. The assembly of herpesviruses is complex and involves a nuclear and cytoplasmic phase. The nuclear events of capsid assembly and genome incorporation as well as nuclear egress are believed to be similar in all herpesviruses and as such, are more clearly defined then the cytoplasmic phase; including the process of tegument and envelope acquisition. Human Cytomegalovirus induces the reorganization of the cellular secretory pathway including the Golgi apparatus and membranes …

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Cd4 Regulatory T Cells Augment Hiv-1 Expression Of Polarized M1 And M2 Monocyte Derived Macrophages, Tanya Robinson Jan 2016

Cd4 Regulatory T Cells Augment Hiv-1 Expression Of Polarized M1 And M2 Monocyte Derived Macrophages, Tanya Robinson

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Polarization of macrophages is critical for an effective host immune response against invading pathogens. However, the HIV-1 virus can alter the cytokine/chemokine profile of polarized macrophages which may ultimately lead to their increased susceptibility to viral infection. M1 monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) have been shown to suppress CCR5-tropic HIV-1 replication, while M2 MDM promote it. We generated M1 (GM-CSF + IFN-γ + LPS) and M2 (M-CSF + IL-4) MDM with predicted phenotypes and exposed them to a CCR5 (R5) “highly macrophage-tropic” viral strain, HIV-1BaL. M2 MDM had notably higher levels of HIV-1 infection than M1 MDM. We also investigated R5 HIV-1 …

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Interplay Between Her2, Parp1, And Nf-Κb In Breast Cancer: Potential Therapeutic Implications, Monicka Ewa Wielgos Jan 2016

Interplay Between Her2, Parp1, And Nf-Κb In Breast Cancer: Potential Therapeutic Implications, Monicka Ewa Wielgos

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We previously reported that HER2+ breast cancers are susceptible to Poly (ADP-Ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) alone, agents that are efficacious against homologous recombination (HR) deficient tumors. However, this phenomenon was determined to be independent of a HR repair deficiency but rather due to suppression of NF-κB activity and signaling by PARP inhibition. Further, HER2 overexpression itself was necessary and sufficient to confer this susceptibility. Interestingly, PARP1 and phosphorylated RelA/p65 (NF-κB) levels were found to be elevated in human HER2+ breast cancers compared to luminal breast cancers. These data suggest a possible interplay between HER2, PARP1, and NF-κB, and how this …

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The Impact Of Rrna And Trna Synthesis On Chromatin Structure And Cell Fate, Jessica Makofske Woolnough Jan 2016

The Impact Of Rrna And Trna Synthesis On Chromatin Structure And Cell Fate, Jessica Makofske Woolnough

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The Central Dogma of molecular biology describes the process by which genetic material is faithfully converted into functional molecules across all domains of life. Originally, RNA was solely understood as an intermediate in this process. However, mounting evidence over the past 50 years has made clear that RNA have diverse functional roles as a class of molecule termed non-coding RNA. Two of the first described non-coding RNA have essential roles within the Central Dogma, itself: ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and transfer RNA (tRNA). These two non-coding RNA are highly abundant, collectively accounting for up to 90% of the total transcript in …

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Glycosyltransferases Involved In The Glycosylation Of Serine-Rich Glycoproteins From Streptococci, Fan Zhu Jan 2016

Glycosyltransferases Involved In The Glycosylation Of Serine-Rich Glycoproteins From Streptococci, Fan Zhu

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Serine - rich repeat glycoproteins (SRRPs) play important roles in mediating bac-terial attachment to a variety of host and microbial surfaces. They have been im-plicated in the development of tissue infections such as pneumonia, infective en-docarditis, meningitis and oral infectious diseases. Streptococcus parasanguinis, one of the commensal streptococci present in the oral cavity, utilizes its fimbriae to mediate the initial attachment to the tooth pellicle. Fap1 (Fimbriae-associated-protein 1), the first identified SRRP, is the subunit of the fimbriae which utilizes proteins encoded by an 11-gene cluster (gly-gtf3-dGT1-galT2 and secY2-gap1-gap2-gap3-secA2-gtf1-gtf2) to mediate its glycosylation and secretion. The key enzymes responsible for …

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Leukemia Stem Cell Markers And Inv(16) In Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Jason Legrand Jan 2016

Leukemia Stem Cell Markers And Inv(16) In Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Jason Legrand

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Although greater than 85% of inv(16) acute myeloid leukemia patients are able to achieve first complete remission after anthracycline- and cytarabine-based therapy, only about 60% of patients survive the disease long-term due to relapsed disease or treatment-related mortality. Multiple studies have shown that acute myeloid leukemia is composed of heterogeneous populations of leukemic clones that can exhibit a wide degree of genetic, epigenetic, and functional diversity, accounting for different outcomes in response to therapy. Genomic analysis of leukemic clones in paired diagnostic and relapse samples of acute myeloid leukemia has shown that all relapses stem from surviving leukemic or ancestral …

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Genome-Wide Transcription And Dna Methylation Profiling In An App Mouse Model Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Mikael C. Guzman Karlsson Jan 2016

Genome-Wide Transcription And Dna Methylation Profiling In An App Mouse Model Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Mikael C. Guzman Karlsson

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The ability to encode information for long-term behavioral adaptation relies on experience-dependent alterations in neuronal plasticity. Neuronal plasticity encompasses the cellular and molecular changes that modulate synaptic communication between neurons as well as intrinsic electrophysiological properties within neurons. Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA cytosine methylation and histone post-translational modifications, are powerful regulators of neuronal gene expression, allowing for dynamic, bidirectional regulation of transcriptional signatures necessary for neuronal plasticity. Emerging evidence using candidate-gene and microarray-based approaches suggest that the deficits in neuronal plasticity and cognitive impairment observed in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is attributable, in part, to aberrant cytosine methylation and transcription of …

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The Role Of Hydrogen Peroxide In The Modulation Of Capsule Biosynthesis In Streptococcus Pneumoniae Serotype 2, Jocelyn Renee Hauser Jan 2016

The Role Of Hydrogen Peroxide In The Modulation Of Capsule Biosynthesis In Streptococcus Pneumoniae Serotype 2, Jocelyn Renee Hauser

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Streptococcus pneumoniae is a gram-positive bacterial pathogen that causes diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis, bacteremia and middle ear infections. The major virulence factor of S. pneumoniae is its polysaccharide capsule. The capsule enables the organism to evade host defenses by providing protection against complement-mediated opsonophagocytosis in systemic sites and by allowing the organism to successfully colonize the nasopharynx. The nasopharynx is the natural reservoir of S. pneumoniae. In the nasopharynx, S. pneumoniae is in a high oxygen (O2) environment, however when it has the opportunity to bypass host defenses and invade systemic sites, it reaches environments with low O2. Capsule …

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