Medical Immunology Commons^™

Genital Tract Infections, The Vaginal Microbiome And Gestational Age At Birth Among Pregnant Women In South Africa: A Cohort Study Protocol, Ranjana M.S. Gigi, Mandisa M. Mdingi, Hyunsul Jung, Shantelle Claassen-Weitz, Lukas Bütikofer, Jeffrey D. Klausner, Christina A. Muzny, Christopher M. Taylor, Janneke H.H.M. Van De Wijgert, Remco P.H. Peters, Nicola Low

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Introduction Preterm birth complications are the most common cause of death in children under 5 years. The presence of multiple microorganisms and genital tract inflammation could be the common mechanism driving early onset of labour. South Africa has high levels of preterm birth, genital tract infections and HIV infection among pregnant women. We plan to investigate associations between the presence of multiple lower genital tract microorganisms in pregnancy and gestational age at birth. Methods and analysis This cohort study enrols around 600 pregnant women at one public healthcare facility in East London, South Africa. Eligible women are ≥18 years and …

Association Of Chlamydia Trachomatis Burden With The Vaginal Microbiota, Bacterial Vaginosis, And Metronidazole Treatment, Caleb M. Ardizzone, Christopher M. Taylor, Evelyn Toh, Rebecca A. Lillis, Jacob H. Elnaggar, John W. Lammons, Patricia Dehon Mott, Emily L. Duffy, Li Shen, Alison J. Quayle

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

Bacterial vaginosis (BV), a dysbiosis of the vaginal microbiota, is a common coinfection with Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct), and BV-associated bacteria (BVAB) and their products have been implicated in aiding Ct evade natural immunity. Here, we determined if a non-optimal vaginal microbiota was associated with a higher genital Ct burden and if metronidazole, a standard treatment for BV, would reduce Ct burden or aid in natural clearance of Ct infection. Cervicovaginal samples were collected from women at enrollment and, if testing positive for Ct infection, at a follow-up visit approximately one week later. Cervical Ct burden was assessed by inclusion forming …

Formate Supplementation Enhances Antitumor Cd8+ T-Cell Fitness And Efficacy Of Pd-1 Blockade, Jared H Rowe, Ilaria Elia, Osmaan Shahid, Emily F Gaudiano, Natalia E Sifnugel, Sheila Johnson, Amy G Reynolds, Megan E Fung, Shakchhi Joshi, Martin W Lafleur, Joon Seok Park, Kristen E Pauken, Joshua D Rabinowitz, Gordon J Freeman, Marcia C Haigis, Arlene H Sharpe

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

UNLABELLED: The tumor microenvironment (TME) restricts antitumor CD8+ T-cell function and immunotherapy responses. Cancer cells compromise the metabolic fitness of CD8+ T cells within the TME, but the mechanisms are largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that one-carbon (1C) metabolism is enhanced in T cells in an antigen-specific manner. Therapeutic supplementation of 1C metabolism using formate enhances CD8+ T-cell fitness and antitumor efficacy of PD-1 blockade in B16-OVA tumors. Formate supplementation drives transcriptional alterations in CD8+ T-cell metabolism and increases gene signatures for cellular proliferation and activation. Combined formate and anti-PD-1 therapy increases tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells, which are essential for …

Evaluation Of The Efficacy Of Synthetic Glycovaccines Against Both Murine Acute Chagas Disease And Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, Colin D. Knight

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Chagas disease (CD) and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) are neglected tropical diseases caused by the protozoan trypanosomatids, Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp., respectively. There are approximately 6-8 million people infected with T. cruzi worldwide and ~300,000 people in the US. Between 700,000 and 1.2 million new cases of CL occur worldwide yearly. The approved chemotherapies for both diseases are partially effective and may cause serious adverse events, resulting in premature treatment interruption. Moreover, no effective vaccine for either disease is available. Therefore, developing a vaccine that would provide effective cross-protection against both diseases would provide a cost-effective alternative to the existing …

Neural Damage Following Francisella Tularensis Infection, Anahis Tena

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the impact of Francisella tularensis infection on the brain, focusing on its anatomical localization, effects on synaptic health, and behavioral and cognitive consequences in mice. Employing a combination of fluorescent tagging, confocal and light sheet microscopy, the study first maps bacterial foci within the brain, anticipating a concentration in the limbic system, particularly the hippocampus. Subsequently, it examines synaptic function post-infection using calcium imaging in various neuronal cultures, expecting a decrease in calcium signaling indicative of synaptic impairment. Finally, behavioral assays like the forced swim test, object recognition test, and Morris Water Maze assess the cognitive and …

Enhanced Cd19 Activity In B Cells Contributes To Immunodeficiency In Mice Deficient In The Icf Syndrome Gene Zbtb24, Zhengzhou Ying, Swanand Hardikar, Joshua B Plummer, Tewfik Hamidi, Bin Liu, Yueping Chen, Jianjun Shen, Yunxiang Mu, Kevin M Mcbride, Taiping Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Immunodeficiency, centromeric instability, and facial anomalies (ICF) syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by DNA hypomethylation and antibody deficiency. It is caused by mutations in DNMT3B, ZBTB24, CDCA7, or HELLS. While progress has been made in elucidating the roles of these genes in regulating DNA methylation, little is known about the pathogenesis of the life-threatening hypogammaglobulinemia phenotype. Here, we show that mice deficient in Zbtb24 in the hematopoietic lineage recapitulate the major clinical features of patients with ICF syndrome. Specifically, Vav-Cre-mediated ablation of Zbtb24 does not affect lymphocyte development but results in reduced plasma cells and low levels …

Lactic Acid Bacterial Surface Display Of Scytovirin Inhibitors For Anti-Ebolavirus Infection, Joshua Wiggins, Ngan Nguyen, Wenzhong Wei, Leah Liu Wang, Haley Hollingsead Olson, Shi-Hua Xiang

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Scytovirin (SVN) is a lectin from cyanobacteria which has a strong inhibitory activity against Ebola virus infection. We engineered scytovirin as the inhibitor for surface display of lactic acid bacteria to block Ebola virus infection. Two different bacterial strains (Lactobacillus casei and Lactococcus lactis) were successfully engineered for scytovirin expression on the bacterial surface. These bacteria were found to be effective at neutralizing pseudotyped Ebolavirus in a cell-based assay. This approach can be utilized for prophylactic prevention, as well as for treatment. Since lactic acid bacteria can colonize the human body, a long-term efficacy could be achieved. Furthermore, …

Comparative Analysis Of Swine Antibody Responses Following Vaccination With Live-Attenuated And Killed African Swine Fever Virus Vaccines, Hung Q. Luong, Huong T. L. Lai, Lam Q. Truong, The N. Nguyen, Hanh D. Vu, Hoa T. Nguyen, Lan T. Nguyen, Trang H. Pham, David Scott Mcvey, Hiep Vu

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is circulating in many swine-producing countries, causing significant economic losses. It is observed that pigs experimentally vaccinated with a live-attenuated virus (LAV) but not a killed virus (KV) vaccine develop solid homologous protective immunity. The objective of this study was to comparatively analyze antibody profiles between pigs vaccinated with an LAV vaccine and those vaccinated with a KV vaccine to identify potential markers of vaccineinduced protection. Thirty ASFV seronegative pigs were divided into three groups: Group 1 received a single dose of an experimental LAV, Group 2 received two doses of an experimental KV vaccine, …

Invasive Community-Onset Gram-Positive Infections From July 2018 Through December 2022 At 2 Children's Hospitals, Eric E Engstrom, Alexander S Plattner, J Chase Mcneil, Kristina G Hulten, Patrick J Reich, Mary G Boyle, James J Dunn, Stephanie A Fritz, Sheldon L Kaplan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Invasive infections caused by Streptococcus pyogenes (invasive group A streptococcus [iGAS]) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (invasive pneumococcal disease [IPD]) decreased substantially at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study sought to evaluate the extent of this decrease and the trends of these infections since reversion of societal adjustments incident to the pandemic. We also wanted to compare the frequency of these infections with invasive community-onset Staphylococcus aureus (I-CO-SA) infections and common respiratory viral infections in this period.

METHODS: Cases of iGAS, IPD, and I-CO-SA infections were identified prospectively and retrospectively at 2 large US children's hospitals by positive cultures …

Highly Invasive Biliary Cancer Presenting As Multiple Extrabiliary Lesions Masquerading As Abscesses, Alexander Lu, Alireza Mojtahedi, Lukman Cheraghvandi, David Wynne, Neda Zarrin-Khameh, Mohammad Ghasemi Rad

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Carcinosarcomas of the biliary tract are an extremely rare type of malignancy and may be low on a differential when presenting as multiple metastatic masses. In this case report, we report a case of a female who presented with an aggressive late-stage disease whose initial workup did not indicate a malignant process. Further complicating her care, biopsy samples taken from extra-hepatic masses were culture-positive for Lactobacillus rhamnosu. Given the late stage of the patient’s disease, hospice care was initiated. The patient passed away four months after the initial presentation.

Simian Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Rhesus Macaques With Aids Co-Develop Cardiovascular Pathology And Encephalitis, Kevin S. White, Joshua A. Walker, John Wang, Patrick Autissier, Andrew D. Miller, Nadia N. Abuelezan, Rachel Burrack, Qingsheng Li, Woong-Ki Kim, Kenneth C. Williams

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Despite effective antiretroviral therapy, HIV co-morbidities remain where central nervous system (CNS) neurocognitive disorders and cardiovascular disease (CVD)-pathology that are linked with myeloid activation are most prevalent. Comorbidities such as neurocogntive dysfunction and cardiovascular disease (CVD) remain prevalent among people living with HIV. We sought to investigate if cardiac pathology (inflammation, fibrosis, cardiomyocyte damage) and CNS pathology (encephalitis) develop together during simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection and if their co-development is linked with monocyte/ macrophage activation. We used a cohort of SIV-infected rhesus macaques with rapid AIDS and demonstrated that SIV encephalitis (SIVE) and CVD pathology occur together more frequently …

Co-Infection And Co-Localization Of Kaposi Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus And Epstein-Barr Virus In Hiv-Associated Kaposi Sarcoma: A Case Report, Peter Julius, Guobin Guobin, Stepfanie Siyumbwa, Jane Musumali, For Yue Tso, Owen Ngalamika, Trevor Kaile, Fred Maate, Phyllis Moonga, John T. West, Peter Angeletti, Charles Wood

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Kaposi sarcoma (KS), a multifocal vascular neoplasm frequently observed in HIVpositive individuals, primarily affects the skin, mucous membranes, visceral organs, and lymph nodes. KS is associated primarily with Kaposi sarcomaassociated herpesvirus (KSHV) infection. In this case report, we present a rare occurrence of co-infection and co-localization of KSHV and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in KS arising from the conjunctiva, which, to our knowledge, has not been reported previously. Immunohistochemistry (IHC), DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and EBV-encoded RNA in situ hybridization (EBER-ISH) were utilized to demonstrate the presence of KSHV and EBV infection in the ocular KS lesion. Nearly all KSHV-positive …

A Single-Dose Intramuscular Immunization Of Pigs With Lipid Nanoparticle Dna Vaccines Based On The Hemagglutinin Antigen Confers Complete Protection Against Challenge Infection With The Homologous Influenza Virus Strain, The N. Nguyen, Sushmita Kumari, Sarah Vitosh-Sillman, Jayeshbhai Chaudhari, Danh C. Lai, Hiep Vu

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

The Influenza A virus of swine (IAV-S) is highly prevalent and causes significant economic losses to swine producers. Due to the highly variable and rapidly evolving nature of the virus, it is critical to develop a safe and versatile vaccine platform that allows for frequent updates of the vaccine immunogens to cope with the emergence of new viral strains. The main objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of using lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) as nanocarriers for delivering DNA plasmid encoding the viral hemagglutinin (HA) gene in pigs. The intramuscular administration of a single dose of the LNP-DNA vaccines …

The Gut Microbiome As A Biomarker And Therapeutic Target In Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Betul Gok Yavuz, Saumil Datar, Shadi Chamseddine, Yehia I Mohamed, Michael Lapelusa, Sunyoung S Lee, Zishuo Ian Hu, Eugene J Koay, Hop S Tran Cao, Prasun Kumar Jalal, Carrie Daniel-Macdougall, Manal Hassan, Dan G Duda, Hesham M Amin, Ahmed O Kaseb

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The microbiome is pivotal in maintaining health and influencing disease by modulating essential inflammatory and immune responses. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), ranking as the third most common cause of cancer-related fatalities globally, is influenced by the gut microbiome through bidirectional interactions between the gut and liver, as evidenced in both mouse models and human studies. Consequently, biomarkers based on gut microbiota represent promising non-invasive tools for the early detection of HCC. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that the composition of the gut microbiota may play a role in the efficacy of immunotherapy in different types of cancer; thus, …

Best Practices For Effective Management Of Point Of Care Testing, Anil K Chokkalla, Brandy D Recio, Sridevi Devaraj

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, point-of-care testing has gained tremendous attention, particularly in acute care settings. The point-of-care testing landscape is rapidly expanding and being contemplated for any crucial test with a central laboratory turnaround time >25% of the clinical decision time. A typical point-of-care testing program within a large hospital system encompasses a multitude of operators utilizing a wide range of devices across multiple testing sites. Thus, managing a large point-of-care testing network remains a daunting task with challenges related to staffing, standardization, quality management, training and competency assessment, and data management. This review will focus on understanding the …

Current Perspectives On Mass Spectrometry-Based Immunopeptidomics: The Computational Angle To Tumor Antigen Discovery, Bing Zhang, Michal Bassani-Sternberg

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Identification of tumor antigens presented by the human leucocyte antigen (HLA) molecules is essential for the design of effective and safe cancer immunotherapies that rely on T cell recognition and killing of tumor cells. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based immunopeptidomics enables high-throughput, direct identification of HLA-bound peptides from a variety of cell lines, tumor tissues, and healthy tissues. It involves immunoaffinity purification of HLA complexes followed by MS profiling of the extracted peptides using data-dependent acquisition, data-independent acquisition, or targeted approaches. By incorporating DNA, RNA, and ribosome sequencing data into immunopeptidomics data analysis, the proteogenomic approach provides a powerful means for identifying …

Existing Evidence For Influenza B Virus Adaptations To Drive Replication In Humans As The Primary Host, Matthew J. Pekarek, Eric A. Weaver

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Influenza B virus (IBV) is one of the two major types of influenza viruses that circulate each year. Unlike influenza A viruses, IBV does not harbor pandemic potential due to its lack of historical circulation in non-human hosts. Many studies and reviews have highlighted important factors for host determination of influenza A viruses. However, much less is known about the factors driving IBV replication in humans. We hypothesize that similar factors influence the host restriction of IBV. Here, we compile and review the current understanding of host factors crucial for the various stages of the IBV viral replication cycle. While …

Methionine Biosynthesis Enzyme Momet2 Is Required For Rice Blast Fungus Pathogenicity By Promoting Virulence Gene Expression Via Reducing 5mc Modification, Huimin Li, Pengcheng Mo, Jun Zhang, Zhuoer Xie, Xinyu Liu, Han Chen, Leiyun Yang, Muxing Liu, Haifeng Zhang, Ping Wang, Zhengguang Zhang

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

The emergence of fungicide resistance severely threatens crop production by limiting the availability and application of established fungicides. Therefore, it is urgent to identify new fungicidal targets for controlling plant diseases. Here, we characterized the function of a conserved homoserine O-acetyltransferase (HOA) from the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae that could serve as the candidate antifungal target. Deletion of the MoMET2 and MoCYS2 genes encoding HOAs perturbed the biosynthesis of methionine and S-adenyl methionine, a methyl group donor for epigenetic modifications, and severely attenuated the development and virulence of M. oryzae. The ΔMomet2 mutant is significantly increased in 5-methylcytosine (5mC) …

Mir-146a Inhibits Ovarian Tumor Growth In Vivo Via Targeting Immunosuppressive Neutrophils And Enhancing Cd8+ T Cell Infiltration, Rui Chen, Elaina Coleborn, Chintan Bhavsar, Yue Wang, Louisa Alim, Andrew N Wilkinson, Michelle A Tran, Gowri Irgam, Sharat Atluri, Kiefer Wong, Jae-Jun Shim, Siddharth Adityan, Ju-Seog Lee, Willem W Overwijk, Raymond Steptoe, Da Yang, Sherry Y Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Immunotherapies have emerged as promising strategies for cancer treatment. However, existing immunotherapies have poor activity in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) due to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and the associated low tumoral CD8+ T cell (CTL) infiltration. Through multiple lines of evidence, including integrative analyses of human HGSC tumors, we have identified miR-146a as a master regulator of CTL infiltration in HGSC. Tumoral miR-146a expression is positively correlated with anti-cancer immune signatures in human HGSC tumors, and delivery of miR-146a to tumors resulted in significant reduction in tumor growth in both ID8-p53−/− and IG10 murine HGSC models. Increasing miR-146a expression …

Polygenic Genetic Variation Affecting Antibody Formation Underlies Hypertensive Renal Injury In The Stroke-Prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat, Isha S Dhande, Yaming Zhu, Aniket S Joshi, M John Hicks, Michael C Braun, Peter A Doris

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

During development of the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR), several distinct but closely related lines were generated. Most lines are resistant to hypertensive renal disease. However, the SHR-A3 line (stroke-prone SHR) experiences end-organ injury (EOI) and provides a model of injury susceptibility that can be used to uncover genetic causation. In the present study, we generated a congenic line in which three distinct disease loci in SHR-A3 are concurrently replaced with homologous loci from an injury-resistant SHR line (SHR-B2). Verification that all three loci were homozygously replaced in this triple congenic line [SHR-A3(Trip B2)] while the genetic background of SHR-A3 was …

Unexpected Drug-Induced Liver Injury Associated With Menofit: A Synbiotic Menopause Supplement, Apaar Dadlani, Azubuogu Anudu, E Celia Marginean

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

MenoFit is a widely available over-the-counter synbiotic supplement, which is marketed for use in relieving menopausal symptoms. So far, there is no published data on liver injury because of its use. We present the first reported case of MenoFit-induced liver injury in a patient who presented with 1 week of jaundice and abnormal liver biochemical tests in the absence of other risk factors and negative comprehensive workup for known etiologies of liver disease.

Oral Delivery Of Rnai For Cancer Therapy, Humayra Afrin, Renu Geetha Bai, Raj Kumar, Sheikh Shafin Ahmad, Sandeep K Agarwal, Md Nurunnabi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Cancer is a major health concern worldwide and is still in a continuous surge of seeking for effective treatments. Since the discovery of RNAi and their mechanism of action, it has shown promises in targeted therapy for various diseases including cancer. The ability of RNAi to selectively silence the carcinogenic gene makes them ideal as cancer therapeutics. Oral delivery is the ideal route of administration of drug administration because of its patients' compliance and convenience. However, orally administered RNAi, for instance, siRNA, must cross various extracellular and intracellular biological barriers before it reaches the site of action. It is very …

Time For Bugs: The Immune Microenvironment And Microbes In Precancer, Mikayla Borthwick Bowen, Beth A Helmink, Jennifer A Wargo, Melinda S Yates

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Major advances in our understanding of the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) in established cancer have been made, including the influence of host-intrinsic (host genomics) and -extrinsic factors (such as diet and the microbiome) on treatment response. Nonetheless, the immune and microbiome milieu across the spectrum of precancerous tissue and early neoplasia is a growing area of interest. There are emerging data describing the contribution of the immune microenvironment and microbiota on benign and premalignant tissues, with opportunities to target these factors in cancer prevention and interception. Throughout this review, we provide rationale for not only the critical need to further …

Stratification Of Pediatric Covid-19 Cases Using Inflammatory Biomarker Profiling And Machine Learning., Devika Subramanian, Aadith Vittala, Xinpu Chen, Christopher Julien, Sebastian Acosta, Craig Rusin, Carl Allen, Nicholas Rider, Zbigniew Starosolski, Ananth Annapragada, Sridevi Devaraj

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

While pediatric COVID-19 is rarely severe, a small fraction of children infected with SARS-CoV-2 go on to develop multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), with substantial morbidity. An objective method with high specificity and high sensitivity to identify current or imminent MIS-C in children infected with SARS-CoV-2 is highly desirable. The aim was to learn about an interpretable novel cytokine/chemokine assay panel providing such an objective classification. This retrospective study was conducted on four groups of pediatric patients seen at multiple sites of Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX who consented to provide blood samples to our COVID-19 Biorepository. Standard laboratory markers of …

Bacteroides Uniformis-Induced Perturbations In Colonic Microbiota And Bile Acid Levels Inhibit Th17 Differentiation And Ameliorate Colitis Developments, Yiting Yan, Yu Lei, Ying Qu, Zhen Fan, Ting Zhang, Yangbin Xu, Qian Du, Daniel Brugger, Yulin Chen, Ke Zhang, Enping Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with gut dysbiosis and can lead to colitis-associated malignancies. Bacteroides uniformis (Bu) regulates animal intestinal homeostasis; however, the mechanism by which it alleviates colitis in mice remains unknown. We investigated the effects of B. uniformis JCM5828 and its metabolites on female C57BL/6J mice with dextran sulfate sodium salt (DSS) induced colitis. Treatment with Bu considerably alleviated colitis progression and restored the mechanical and immune barrier protein expression. Additionally, Bu increased the abundance of the symbiotic bacteria Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus vaginalis while decreasing that of pathogenic Escherichia-Shigella, and modulated intestinal bile acid metabolism. Bu largely …

The Hylefm Gene In Phylefm Of Enterococcus Faecium Is Not Required In Pathogenesis Of Murine Peritonitis, Victoria H Wu, Bryan S Yung, Farhoud Faraji, Robert Saddawi-Konefka, Zhiyong Wang, Alexander T Wenzel, Miranda J Song, Meghana S Pagadala, Lauren M Clubb, Joshua Chiou, Sanju Sinha, Marin Matic, Francesco Raimondi, Thomas S Hoang, Rebecca Berdeaux, Dario A A Vignali, Ramiro Iglesias-Bartolome, Hannah Carter, Eytan Ruppin, Jill P Mesirov, J Silvio Gutkind

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) targeting PD-1 and CTLA-4 has revolutionized cancer treatment. However, many cancers do not respond to ICB, prompting the search for additional strategies to achieve durable responses. G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the most intensively studied drug targets but are underexplored in immuno-oncology. Here, we cross-integrated large singe-cell RNA-sequencing datasets from CD8+ T cells covering 19 distinct cancer types and identified an enrichment of Gαs-coupled GPCRs on exhausted CD8+ T cells. These include EP2, EP4, A2AR, β1AR and β2AR, all of which promote T cell dysfunction. We also developed transgenic mice expressing a chemogenetic CD8-restricted Gαs–DREADD to activate …

Avocado Consumption And Markers Of Inflammation: Results From The Multi-Ethnic Study Of Atherosclerosis (Mesa), Feon W Cheng, Nikki A Ford, Alexis C Wood, Russell Tracy

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Purpose

Since avocado consumption has been linked to a possible reduction in inflammation, we investigated associations between avocado consumption and markers of inflammation in a population-based multi-ethnic cohort [Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)].

Methods

We used a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) at MESA exam 1 to capture avocado/guacamole consumption. To calculate daily servings of avocado/guacamole, we used both frequency and serving size data from the FFQ. We classified participants into three consumer groups: rare or never (daily serving ≤ 0.03), medium (0.03 < daily serving < 0.1), and heavy (0.1 ≤ daily serving). Inflammation was estimated by natural log-transformed inflammatory biomarkers (CRP, IL-2, IL-6, homocysteine, fibrinogen, TNF-a soluble receptors). We used multivariate general linear regression models to assess associations accounting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, educational level, income, energy intake, smoking status, physical activity, diet quality, body mass index, and diabetes type.

Results

Among 5794 MESA participants, the average age and BMI were 62.25 y ± 10.26 and 28.28 ± …

Comparison Of Random Urine Protein/Creatinine Ratio With 24-Hour Urine Protein In Suspected Pre-Eclampsia, Lily Olayinka, Emily Garnett, Brian Burnett, Sridevi Devaraj

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: Proteinuria is one of the classical criteria for the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia. The gold standard remains the measurement of 24-h urine protein which is time consuming and prone to preanalytical errors. Random urine protein creatinine ratio (UPCR) is endorsed by clinical practice guidelines as a faster alternative. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between the 24-h urine protein excretion and UPCR in the identification of proteinuria in suspected preeclamptic patients.

METHOD: A total of 51 women with suspected pre-eclampsia from the maternal fetal clinic of our institution were retrospectively studied. The correlation between the UPCR …

The Role Of Fas Receptor Methylation In Osteosarcoma Metastasis, Jiayi M Sun, Wing-Yuk Chow, Gufeng Xu, M John Hicks, Manjula Nakka, Jianhe Shen, Patrick Kwok Shing Ng, Aaron M Taylor, Alexander Yu, Jason E Farrar, Donald A Barkauskas, Richard Gorlick, Jaime M Guidry Auvil, Daniela Gerhard, Paul Meltzer, Rudy Guerra, Tsz-Kwong Man, Ching C Lau, On Behalf Of The Target Osteosarcoma Consortium

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Osteosarcoma is the most frequent primary malignant bone tumor with an annual incidence of about 400 cases in the United States. Osteosarcoma primarily metastasizes to the lungs, where FAS ligand (FASL) is constitutively expressed. The interaction of FASL and its cell surface receptor, FAS, triggers apoptosis in normal cells; however, this function is altered in cancer cells. DNA methylation has previously been explored as a mechanism for altering FAS expression, but no variability was identified in the CpG island (CGI) overlapping the promoter. Analysis of an expanded region, including CGI shores and shelves, revealed high variability in the methylation of …

Investigating The Physiological Mechanisms Between Resistance Training And Pain Relief In The Cancer Population: A Literature Review, Yvonne Jiang, Peter C. Angeletti, Amy J. Hoffman

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

This literature review examines the mechanisms of how exercise, specifically in the form of resistance training, may lead to pain relief in the cancer population. Primary data from three different cancer populations: breast, prostate, and lung, will be examined. A number of experimental studies have been conducted to confirm the effectiveness of resistance training on pain relief as well as the biochemical pathways that relate to this process. In this review, we will examine 5 randomized controlled trials. For the purposes of this review, pain is defined as physical suffering or discomfort associated with illness. Pain is the body’s natural …