Medical Immunology Commons^™

Carcinogenic Liver Fluke Secretes Extracellular Vesicles That Promote Cholangiocytes To Adopt A Tumorigenic Phenotype, Sujittra Chaidayet, Javier Sotillo, Michael Smout, Cinzia Cantacessi, Malcolm Jones, Paul J. Brindley, Jeffrey M. Bethony, +9 Additional Authors

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Background. Throughout Asia there is an unprecedented link between cholangiocarcinoma and infection with the liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini. Multiple processes including chronic inflammation and secretion of parasite proteins into the biliary epithelium drive infection towards cancer. Until now, the mechanism and effects of parasite protein entry into cholangiocytes was unknown.

Methods. Various microscopy techniques were used to identify O. viverrini extracellular vesicles (EVs) and their internalization by human cholangiocytes. Using mass spectrometry we characterised the EV proteome and associated changes in cholangiocytes after EV uptake, and detected EV proteins in bile of infected hamsters and humans. Cholangiocyte proliferation and …

Tuberculosis And Cardiovascular Disease: Linking The Epidemics, Moises A. Huaman, David Henson, Eduardo Ticona, Timothy R. Sterling, Beth A. Garvy

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

The burden of tuberculosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is enormous worldwide. CVD rates are rapidly increasing in low- and middle-income countries. Public health programs have been challenged with the overlapping tuberculosis and CVD epidemics. Monocyte/macrophages, lymphocytes and cytokines involved in cellular mediated immune responses against Mycobacterium tuberculosis are also main drivers of atherogenesis, suggesting a potential pathogenic role of tuberculosis in CVD via mechanisms that have been described for other pathogens that establish chronic infection and latency. Studies have shown a pro-atherogenic effect of antibody-mediated responses against mycobacterial heat shock protein-65 through cross reaction with self-antigens in human vessels. Furthermore, …

Detection And Characterization Of Mineralo-Organic Nanoparticles In Human Kidneys, Tsui-Yin Wong, Cheng-Yeu Wu, Jan Martel, Cheng-Wei Lin, Fu-Yung Hsu, David M. Ojcius, Paul Y. Lin, John Ding-E. Young

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Ectopic calcification is associated with various human diseases, including atherosclerosis, cancer, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes mellitus. Although mineral nanoparticles have been detected in calcified blood vessels, the nature and role of these particles in the human body remain unclear. Here we show for the first time that human kidney tissues obtained from end-stage chronic kidney disease or renal cancer patients contain round, multilamellar mineral particles of 50 to 1,500 nm, whereas no particles are observed in healthy controls. The mineral particles are found mainly in the extracellular matrix surrounding the convoluted tubules, collecting ducts and loops of Henle as …

Hirsutella Sinensis Mycelium Attenuates Bleomycin-Induced Pulmonary Inflammation And Fibrosis In Vivo, Tsung-Teng Huang, Hsin-Chih Lai, Yun-Fei Ko, David M. Ojcius, Ying-Wei Lan, Jan Martel, John Ding-E. Young, Kowit-Yu Chong

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Hirsutella sinensis mycelium (HSM), the anamorph of Cordyceps sinensis, is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been shown to possess various pharmacological properties. We previously reported that this fungus suppresses interleukin-1β and IL-18 secretion by inhibiting both canonical and non-canonical inflammasomes in human macrophages. However, whether HSM may be used to prevent lung fibrosis and the mechanism underlying this activity remain unclear. Our results show that pretreatment with HSM inhibits TGF-β1–induced expression of fibronectin and α-SMA in lung fibroblasts. HSM also restores superoxide dismutase expression in TGF-β1–treated lung fibroblasts and inhibits reactive oxygen species production in lung epithelial cells. Furthermore, …

Loss Of Glycosaminoglycan Receptor Binding After Mosquito Cell Passage Reduces Chikungunya Virus Infectivity, Amber M. Paul, Dhiraj Acharya, John F. Anderson, Faqing Huang, Fengwei Bai

Publications

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus that can cause fever and chronic arthritis in humans. CHIKV that is generated in mosquito or mammalian cells differs in glycosylation patterns of viral proteins, which may affect its replication and virulence. Herein, we compare replication, pathogenicity, and receptor binding of CHIKV generated in Vero cells (mammal) or C6/36 cells (mosquito) through a single passage. We demonstrate that mosquito cell derived CHIKV (CHIKVmos) has slower replication than mammalian cell derived CHIKV (CHIKVvero), when tested in both human and murine cell lines. Consistent with this, CHIKVmos infection in both cell lines produce less cytopathic …

Advances In The Diagnosis Of Human Opisthorchiasis: Development Of Opisthorchis Viverrini Antigen Detection In Urine, Chanika Worasith, Christine Kamamia, Anna Yakovleva, Kunyarat Duenngai, Chompunoot Wangboon, Jeffrey M. Bethony, +8 Additional Authors

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Background

Many strategies to control opisthorchiasis have been employed in Thailand, but not in the other neighbouring countries. Specific control methods include mass drug administration (MDA) and health education to reduce raw fish consumption. These control efforts have greatly shifted the epidemiology of Opisthorchis viverrini (OV) infection over the last decade from presenting as densely concentrated "heavy" infections in single villages to widespread "light" OV infections distributed over wide geographical areas. Currently, the "gold standard" detection method for OV infection is formalin ethyl-acetate concentration technique (FECT), which has limited diagnostic sensitivity and diagnostic specificity for light OV infections, with OV …

Carcinogenic Parasite Secretes Growth Factor That Accelerates Wound Healing And Potentially Promotes Neoplasia., Michael J. Smout, Javier Sotillo, Thewarach Laha, Atiroch Papatpremsiri, Gabriel Rinaldi, Rafael N. Pimenta, Paul J. Brindley, +11 More

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Infection with the human liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini induces cancer of the bile ducts, cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Injury from feeding activities of this parasite within the human biliary tree causes extensive lesions, wounds that undergo protracted cycles of healing, and re-injury over years of chronic infection. We show that O. viverrini secreted proteins accelerated wound resolution in human cholangiocytes, an outcome that was compromised following silencing of expression of the fluke-derived gene encoding the granulin-like growth factor, Ov-GRN-1. Recombinant Ov-GRN-1 induced angiogenesis and accelerated mouse wound healing. Ov-GRN-1 was internalized by human cholangiocytes and induced gene and protein expression changes associated …

The Conserved G-Protein Coupled Receptor Fshr-1 Regulates Protective Host Responses To Infection And Oxidative Stress, Elizabeth V. Miller, Leah N. Grandi, Jennifer A. Giannini, Joseph D. Robinson, Jennifer R. Powell

Biology Faculty Publications

The innate immune system’s ability to sense an infection is critical so that it can rapidly respond if pathogenic microorganisms threaten the host, but otherwise maintain a quiescent baseline state to avoid causing damage to the host or to commensal microorganisms. One important mechanism for discriminating between pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria is the recognition of cellular damage caused by a pathogen during the course of infection. InCaenorhabditis elegans, the conserved G-protein coupled receptor FSHR-1 is an important constituent of the innate immune response. FSHR-1 activates the expression of antimicrobial infection response genes in infected worms and delays accumulation …

Borrelia Burgdorferi Reva Significantly Affects Pathogenicity And Host Response In The Mouse Model Of Lyme Disease, Rebecca Byram, Robert A. Gaultney, Angela M. Floden, Christopher Hellekson, Brandee L. Stone, Amy Bowman, Brian Stevenson, Barbara J. B. Johnson, Catherine A. Brissette

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

The Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, expresses RevA and numerous outer surface lipoproteins during mammalian infection. As an adhesin that promotes bacterial interaction with fibronectin, RevA is poised to interact with the extracellular matrix of the host. To further define the role(s) of RevA during mammalian infection, we created a mutant that is unable to produce RevA. The mutant was still infectious to mice, although it was significantly less well able to infect cardiac tissues. Complementation of the mutant with a wild-type revA gene restored heart infectivity to wild-type levels. Additionally, revA mutants led to increased evidence of arthritis, …

Role Of The Dna Sensor Sting In Protection From Lethal Infection Following Corneal And Intracerebral Challenge With Herpes Simplex Virus 1, Zachary M. Parker, Aisling A. Murphy, David. A. Leib

Dartmouth Scholarship

STING is a protein in the cytosolic DNA and cyclic dinucleotide sensor pathway that is critical for the initiation of innate responses to infection by various pathogens. Consistent with this, herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) causes invariable and rapid lethality in STING-deficient (STING(-/-)) mice following intravenous (i.v.) infection. In this study, using real-time bioluminescence imaging and virological assays, as expected, we demonstrated that STING(-/-) mice support greater replication and spread in ocular tissues and the nervous system. In contrast, they did not succumb to challenge via the corneal route even with high titers of a virus that was routinely lethal …

Application Of Β-Lactamase Reporter Fusions As An Indicator Of Effector Protein Secretion During Infections With The Obligate Intracellular Pathogen Chlamydia Trachomatis , Konrad E. Mueller, Kenneth A. Fields

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Chlamydia spp. utilize multiple secretion systems, including the type III secretion system (T3SS), to deploy host-interactive effector proteins into infected host cells. Elucidation of secreted proteins has traditionally required ectopic expression in a surrogate T3SS followed by immunolocalization of endogenous candidate effectors to confirm secretion by chlamydiae. The ability to transform Chlamydia and achieve stable expression of recombinant gene products has enabled a more direct assessment of secretion. We adapted TEM-1 β-lactamase as a reporter system for assessment of chlamydial protein secretion. We provide evidence that this system facilitates visualization of secretion in the context of infection. Specifically, our findings …

The Right Tool For The Job: Detection Of Soil-Transmitted Helminths In Areas Co-Endemic For Other Helminths, Maria V. Periago, Renata C. Diniz, Simone A. Pinto, Anna Yakovleva, Rodrigo Correa-Oliveira, David J. Diemert, Jeffrey M. Bethony

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Due to the recent increased use of the McMaster (MM) fecal egg counting method for assessing benzimidazole drug efficacy for treating soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections, the aim of the current study was to determine the operational value of including the MM method alongside the Kato-Katz (KK) fecal thick smear to increase the diagnostic sensitivity when STHs are co-endemic with trematode helminths (e.g., Schistosoma mansoni).

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in school-aged children aged 4-18 years in the northeastern region of the State of Minas Gerais (Brazil), where Necator americanus, Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and S …

Intracellular Listeria Monocytogenes Comprises A Minimal But Vital Fraction Of The Intestinal Burden Following Foodborne Infection, Grant S. Jones, Kate M. Bussell, Tanya Myers-Morales, Abigail M. Fieldhouse, Elsa N. Bou Ghanem, Sarah E. F. D'Orazio

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Listeria monocytogenes is a highly adaptive bacterium that replicates as a free-living saprophyte in the environment as well as a facultative intracellular pathogen that causes invasive foodborne infections. The intracellular life cycle of L. monocytogenes is considered to be its primary virulence determinant during mammalian infection; however, the proportion of L. monocytogenes that is intracellular in vivo has not been studied extensively. In this report, we demonstrate that the majority of wild-type (strain EGDe) and mouse-adapted (InlA^m-expressing) L. monocytogenes recovered from the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) was extracellular within the first few days after foodborne infection. In addition, …

Zbtb20 Is A Sequence-Specific Transcriptional Repressor Of Alpha-Fetoprotein Gene, Hai Zhang, Dongmei Cao, Luting Zhou, Ye Zhang, Xiaoqin Guo, Hui Li, Yuxia Chen, Brett T. Spear, Jia-Wei Wu, Zhifang Xie, Weiping J Zhang

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) represents a classical model system to study developmental gene regulation in mammalian cells. We previously reported that liver ZBTB20 is developmentally regulated and plays a central role in AFP postnatal repression. Here we show that ZBTB20 is a sequence-specific transcriptional repressor of AFP. By ELISA-based DNA-protein binding assay and conventional gel shift assay, we successfully identified a ZBTB20-binding site at -104/-86 of mouse AFP gene, flanked by two HNF1 sites and two C/EBP sites in the proximal promoter. Importantly, mutation of the core sequence in this site fully abolished its binding to ZBTB20 in vitro, as well …

Selective Involvement Of The Checkpoint Regulator Vista In Suppression Of B-Cell, But Not T-Cell, Responsiveness By Monocytic Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells From Mice Infected With An Immunodeficiency-Causing Retrovirus, Kathy A. Green, Li Wang, Randolph J. Noelle, William R. Green

Dartmouth Scholarship

Inhibition of T-cell responses in tumor microenvironments by myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) is widely accepted. We demonstrated augmentation of monocytic MDSCs whose suppression of not only T-cell, but also B-cell, responsiveness paralleled the immunodeficiency during LP-BM5 retrovirus infection. MDSCs inhibited T cells by inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)/nitric oxide (NO), but uniquely, inhibition of B cells was ~50% dependent each on iNOS/NO and the MDSC-expressed negative-checkpoint regulator VISTA. Blockade with a combination of iNOS/NO and VISTA caused additive or synergistic abrogation of MDSC-mediated suppression of B-cell responsiveness.

Bacterially-Based Immune Challenges And Trauma Elicit Terminal Investment In Male Aedes Aegypti, Molly K. Schumacher

Theses and Dissertations

Investment in life history traits such as immune function and reproduction is constrained by finite available resources. A cost-of-immunity trade-off may occur in response to infection when resources are diverted away from reproductive effort and into an immune response. Alternatively, an infected individual may enhance reproductive effort to maximize terminal reproductive success in response to the survival threat inherent to infection (terminal investment). We measured male Aedes aegypti reproductive behavior following inoculations with: living bacteria; killed bacteria as an immune elicitor; and a sham control. Mating competitiveness relative to naïve males was also determined through a binary mate choice experiment …

Levels Of 8-Oxodg Predict Hepatobiliary Pathology In Opisthorchis Viverrini Endemic Settings In Thailand., Prasert Saichua, Anna Yakovleva, Christine Kamamia, Amar R. Jariwala, Paul J. Brindley, Jeffrey M. Bethony, + 8 More

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Opisthorchis viverrini is distinct among helminth infections as it drives a chronic inflammatory response in the intrahepatic bile duct that progresses from advanced periductal fibrosis (APF) to cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Extensive research shows that oxidative stress (OS) plays a critical role in the transition from chronic O. viverrini infection to CCA. OS also results in the excision of a modified DNA lesion (8-oxodG) into urine, the levels of which can be detected by immunoassay. Herein, we measured concentrations of urine 8-oxodG by immunoassay from the following four groups in the Khon Kaen Cancer Cohort study: (1) O. viverrini negative individuals, (2) …

Ganoderma Lucidum Reduces Obesity In Mice By Modulating The Composition Of The Gut Microbiota, Chih-Jung Chang, Chuan-Sheng Lin, Chia-Chen Lu, Jan Martel, Yun-Fei Ko, David M. Ojcius, Shun-Fu Tseng, Tsung-Ru Wu, Yi-Yuan Margaret Chen, John Ding-E. Young, Hsin-Chih Lai

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Obesity is associated with low-grade chronic inflammation and intestinal dysbiosis. Ganoderma lucidum is a medicinal mushroom used in traditional Chinese medicine with putative anti-diabetic effects. Here, we show that a water extract of Ganoderma lucidum mycelium (WEGL) reduces body weight, inflammation and insulin resistance in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Our data indicate that WEGL not only reverses HFD-induced gut dysbiosis—as indicated by the decreased Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratios and endotoxin-bearing Proteobacteria levels—but also maintains intestinal barrier integrity and reduces metabolic endotoxemia. The anti-obesity and microbiota-modulating effects are transmissible via horizontal faeces transfer from WEGL-treated mice to HFD-fed mice. We further …

Killer Cell Activation By A Novel Multifunctional Protein: An Immuno/Gene Therapy For Cancer, Ashlee Tietje

All Dissertations

One of the characteristics of advanced tumors is the evasion of the immune system. There are multiple methods that tumor cells employ to achieve this including reducing the expression of activating ligands on the cell surface and a shift in the tumor microenvironment toward pro-tumor cytokines. The purpose of this research is to develop a novel bifunctional fusion protein that will target these two deficiencies in the tumor microenvironment and activate killer cells that are already present. The proposed protein combines the extracellular domain of a ligand for the killer cell activating receptor NKG2D and Interleukin-12 (IL-12). It is hypothesized …

A Microrna Profile Associated With Opisthorchis Viverrini-Induced Cholangiocarcinoma In Tissue And Plasma., Jordan Plieskatt, Gabriel Rinaldi, Yanjun Feng, Jin Peng, Samantha Easley, Xinying Jia, Jeremy Potriquet, Chawalit Pairojkul, Vajarabhongsa Bhudhisawasdi, Banchob Sripa, Paul J Brindley, Jeffrey Bethony, Jason Mulvenna

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Background

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a highly aggressive tumor of the bile duct, and a significant public health problem in East Asia, where it is associated with infection by the parasiteOpisthorchis viverrini. ICC is often detected at an advanced stage and with a poor prognosis, making a biomarker for early detection a priority.

Methods

We have comprehensively profiled miRNA expression levels in ICC tumor tissue using small RNA-Seq and validated these profiles using quantitative PCR on matched plasma samples.

Results

Distinct miRNA profiles were associated with increasing histological differentiation of ICC tumor tissue. We also observed that histologically …

Opisthorchiasis: An Overlooked Danger, Ludmila M. Ogorodova, Olga S. Fedorova, Banchob Sripa, Viatcheslav A. Mordvinov, Aleksei V. Katokhin, Paul J. Brindley, The Topic Consortium

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Opisthorchiasis: An Overlooked Danger., Ludmila M Ogorodova, Olga S Fedorova, Banchob Sripa, Viatcheslav A Mordvinov, Aleksei V Katokhin, Jennifer Keiser, Peter Odermatt, Paul J. Brindley, Oleg A Mayboroda, Thirumalaisamy P Velavan, Maxim B Freidin, Alexey E Sazonov, Irina V Saltykova, Mariya Y Pakharukova, Yulia V Kovshirina, Kostas Kaloulis, Olga Y Krylova, Maria Yazdanbakhsh

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Apparent Role For Borrelia Burgdorferi Luxs During Mammalian Infection, William K. Arnold, Christina R. Savage, Alyssa D. Antonicello, Brian Stevenson

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

The Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, controls protein expression patterns during its tick-mammal infection cycle. Earlier studies demonstrated that B. burgdorferi synthesizes 4,5-dihydroxy-2,3-pentanedione (autoinducer-2 [AI-2]) and responds to AI-2 by measurably changing production of several infection-associated proteins. luxS mutants, which are unable to produce AI-2, exhibit altered production of several proteins. B. burgdorferi cannot utilize the other product of LuxS, homocysteine, indicating that phenotypes of luxS mutants are not due to the absence of that molecule. Although a previous study found that a luxS mutant was capable of infecting mice, a critical caveat to those results is that bacterial …

Aggregatibacter Actinomycetemcomitans Cytolethal Distending Toxin Activates The Nlrp3 Inflammasome In Human Macrophages Leading To The Release Of Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines, Bruce J. Shenker, David M. Ojcius, Lisa P. Walker, Ali Zekavat, Monika Damek Scuron, Kathleen Boesze-Battaglia

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

The cytolethal distending toxin (Cdt) is produced from a number of bacteria capable of causing infection and inflammatory disease. Our previous studies with Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans Cdt demonstrate not only that the active toxin subunit functions as a phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-triphosphate (PIP3) phosphatase but also that macrophages exposed to the toxin were stimulated to produce proinflammatory cytokines. We now demonstrate that the Cdt-induced proinflammatory response involves the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Specific inhibitors and short hairpin RNA (shRNA) were employed to demonstrate requirements for NLRP3 and ASC as well as caspase-1. Furthermore, Cdt-mediated inflammasome activation is dependent upon upstream signals, including reactive …

Tcr Alpha Lcr And Non-Lcr Cis-Elements Contributing To Tissue Specific Expression Of The Tcr Alpha Gene In Thymic And Peripheral T Cells, Martina Kucerova-Levisohn

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Orchestrated expression of multiple genes residing in the complex TCRα/δ/Dad1 locus requires tight control from multiple cis-acting elements. The TCRα locus control region (LCR), is positioned between TCRα and Dad1 gene, and has been implicated in the differential expression of both genes. In this study, we focus our work on the hypersensitive site (HS)1 prime (HS1'), located 3' of the classical Eα enhancer, within the TCRα LCR. We investigated its non- redundant role in TCRα expression in thymic and peripheral T cells as assayed by in vivo and in vitro studies. Furthermore, formation of HS1' in both lymphoid and …

Zhx2 Enhances The Cytotoxicity Of Chemotherapeutic Drugs In Liver Tumor Cells By Repressing Mdr1 Via Interfering With Nf-Ya, Hongxin Ma, Xuetian Yue, Lifen Gao, Xiaohong Liang, Wenjiang Yan, Zhenyu Zhang, Haixia Shan, Hualin Zhang, Brett T. Spear, Chunhong Ma

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

We previously reported the tumor suppressor function of Zinc-fingers and homeoboxes 2 (ZHX2) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Other studies indicate the association of increased ZHX2 expression with improved response to high dose chemotherapy in multiple myeloma. Here, we aim to test whether increased ZHX2 levels in HCC cells repress multidrug resistance 1(MDR1) expression resulting in increased sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs. We showed evidence that increased ZHX2 levels correlated with reduced MDR1 expression and enhanced the cytotoxicity of CDDP and ADM in different HCC cell lines. Consistently, elevated ZHX2 significantly reduced ADM efflux in HepG2 cells and greatly increased the CDDP-mediated …

Two Potential Hookworm Daf-16 Target Genes, Snr-3 And Lpp-1: Gene Structure, Expression Profile, And Implications Of A Cis-Regulatory Element In The Regulation Of Gene Expression, Xin Gao, Kevin Goggin, Camille Dowling, Jason Qian, John Hawdon

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Background

Hookworms infect nearly 700 million people, causing anemia and developmental stunting in heavy infections. Little is known about the genomic structure or gene regulation in hookworms, although recent publication of draft genome assemblies has allowed the first investigations of these topics to be undertaken. The transcription factor DAF-16 mediates multiple developmental pathways in the free living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, and is involved in the recovery from the developmentally arrested L3 in hookworms. Identification of downstream targets of DAF-16 will provide a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of hookworm infection.

Methods

Genomic Fragment 2.23 containing a DAF-16 binding …

An Improved Method For Generating Axenic Entomopathogenic Nematodes., Shruti Yadav, Upasana Shokal, Steven Forst, Ioannis Eleftherianos

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Steinernema carpocapsae are parasitic nematodes that invade and kill insects. The nematodes are mutualistically associated with the bacteria Xenorhabdus nematophila and together form an excellent model to study pathogen infection processes and host anti-nematode/antibacterial immune responses. To determine the contribution of S. carpocapsae and their associated X. nematophila to the successful infection of insects as well as to investigate the interaction of each mutualistic partner with the insect immune system, it is important to develop and establish robust methods for generating nematodes devoid of their bacteria.

FINDINGS: To produce S. carpocapsae nematodes without their associated X. nematophila bacteria, we …

Of Monkeys And Men: Immunomic Profiling Of Sera From Humans And Non-Human Primates Resistant To Schistosomiasis Reveals Novel Potential Vaccine Candidates., Mark S Pearson, Luke Becker, Patrick Driguez, Neil D Young, Soraya Gaze, Jeffrey M. Bethony, +12 Additional Authors

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Schistosoma haematobium affects more than 100 million people throughout Africa and is the causative agent of urogenital schistosomiasis. The parasite is strongly associated with urothelial cancer in infected individuals and as such is designated a group I carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Using a protein microarray containing schistosome proteins, we sought to identify antigens that were the targets of protective IgG1 immune responses in S. haematobium-exposed individuals that acquire drug-induced resistance (DIR) to schistosomiasis after praziquantel treatment. Numerous antigens with known vaccine potential were identified, including calpain (Smp80), tetraspanins, glutathione-S-transferases, and glucose transporters (SGTP1), as well …

The Carcinogenic Liver Fluke Opisthorchis Viverrini Is A Reservoir For Species Of Helicobacter., Raksawan Deenonpoe, Chariya Chomvarin, Chawalit Pairojkul, Yaowalux Chamgramol, Alex Loukas, Paul J. Brindley, Banchob Sripa

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

There has been a strong, positive correlation between opisthorchiasis-associated cholangiocarcinoma and infection with Helicobacter. Here a rodent model of human infection with Opisthorchis viverrini was utilized to further investigate relationships of apparent co-infections with O. viverrini and H. pylori. A total of 150 hamsters were assigned to five groups: i) Control hamsters not infected with O. viverrini; ii) O. viverrini-infected hamsters; iii) non-O. viverrini infected hamsters treated with antibiotics (ABx); iv) O. viverrini-infected hamsters treated with ABx; and v) O. viverrini-infected hamsters treated both with ABx and praziquantel (PZQ). Stomach, gallbladder, liver, colonic tissue, colorectal feces and O. viverrini worms …