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Full-Text Articles in Medical Molecular Biology

Trypanosoma Cruzi Modulates Piwi-Interacting Rna Expression In Primary Human Cardiac Myocytes During The Early Phase Of Infection, Kayla J. Rayford, Ayorinde Cooley, Ashutosh Arun, Girish Rachakonda, Yulia Kleschenko, Fernando Villalta, Siddharth Pratap, Maria F. Lima, Pius N. Nde Dec 2020

Trypanosoma Cruzi Modulates Piwi-Interacting Rna Expression In Primary Human Cardiac Myocytes During The Early Phase Of Infection, Kayla J. Rayford, Ayorinde Cooley, Ashutosh Arun, Girish Rachakonda, Yulia Kleschenko, Fernando Villalta, Siddharth Pratap, Maria F. Lima, Pius N. Nde

Publications and Research

Trypanosoma cruzi dysregulates the gene expression profile of primary human cardiomyocytes (PHCM) during the early phase of infection through a mechanism which remains to be elucidated. The role that small non-coding RNAs (sncRNA) including PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) play in regulating gene expression during the early phase of infection is unknown. To understand how T. cruzi dysregulate gene expression in the heart, we challenged PHCM with T. cruzi trypomastigotes and analyzed sncRNA, especially piRNA, by RNA-sequencing. The parasite induced significant differential expression of host piRNAs, which can target and regulate the genes which are important during the early infection phase. An …


Thrombospondin-1 Plays An Essential Role In Yes-Associated Protein Nuclear Translocation During The Early Phase Of Trypanosoma Cruzi Infection In Heart Endothelial Cells, Ashutosh Arun, Kayla J. Rayford, Ayorinde Cooley, Girish Rachakonda, Fernando Villalta, Siddharth Pratap, Maria F. Lima, Nader Sheibani, Pius N. Nde Jul 2020

Thrombospondin-1 Plays An Essential Role In Yes-Associated Protein Nuclear Translocation During The Early Phase Of Trypanosoma Cruzi Infection In Heart Endothelial Cells, Ashutosh Arun, Kayla J. Rayford, Ayorinde Cooley, Girish Rachakonda, Fernando Villalta, Siddharth Pratap, Maria F. Lima, Nader Sheibani, Pius N. Nde

Publications and Research

The protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of Chagas disease. This neglected tropical disease causes severe morbidity and mortality in endemic regions. About 30% of T. cruzi infected individuals will present with cardiac complications. Invasive trypomastigotes released from infected cells can be carried in the vascular endothelial system to infect neighboring and distant cells. During the process of cellular infection, the parasite induces host cells, to increase the levels of host thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), to facilitate the process of infection. TSP-1 plays important roles in the functioning of vascular cells, including vascular endothelial cells with important implications in cardiovascular …


The Autoimmune System: The Effect Of Physiological Stressors On Autoantibody Glycosylation And Fidelity Of Autoantibody Profiles, Rahil Kheirkhah May 2020

The Autoimmune System: The Effect Of Physiological Stressors On Autoantibody Glycosylation And Fidelity Of Autoantibody Profiles, Rahil Kheirkhah

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

The presence of thousands of autoantibodies (aABs) in the human sera is typical, and therefore it is possible to identify an aAB profile for each individual. In the first part of this thesis, we will show the cerebrospinal fluid also exhibits an extraordinarily complex immunoglobulin G aAB profile that is composed of thousands of aABs. We show that the pattern of expression of individual aABs in CSF closely mimics that in the blood, indicative of a blood-based origin for CSF aABs. In addition, using longitudinal serum samples obtained over a span of nine years, we show remarkable stability in aAB …


Generation Of In-Frame Gene Deletion Mutants In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa And Testing For Virulence Attenuation In A Simple Mouse Model Of Infection, Meagan E. Valentine, Brandon D. Kirby, Hongwei D. Yu Jan 2020

Generation Of In-Frame Gene Deletion Mutants In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa And Testing For Virulence Attenuation In A Simple Mouse Model Of Infection, Meagan E. Valentine, Brandon D. Kirby, Hongwei D. Yu

Biomedical Sciences

Microorganisms are genetically versatile and diverse and have become a major source of many commercial products and biopharmaceuticals. Though some of these products are naturally produced by the organisms, other products require genetic engineering of the organism to increase the yields of production. Avirulent strains of Escherichia coli have traditionally been the preferred bacterial species for producing biopharmaceuticals; however, some products are difficult for E. coli to produce. Thus, avirulent strains of other bacterial species could provide useful alternatives for production of some commercial products. Pseudomonas eruginosa is a common and well-studied Gram-negative bacterium that could provide a suitable alternative …


First-Time Characterization Of Viable But Non-Culturable Proteus Mirabilis: Induction And Resuscitation, Reham Wasfi, G. R. Abdellatif, H. M. Elshishtawy, Hossam M. Ashour Jan 2020

First-Time Characterization Of Viable But Non-Culturable Proteus Mirabilis: Induction And Resuscitation, Reham Wasfi, G. R. Abdellatif, H. M. Elshishtawy, Hossam M. Ashour

USF St. Petersburg campus Faculty Publications

Pathogenic bacteria can enter into a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state under unfavourable conditions. Proteus mirabilis is responsible for dire clinical consequences including septicaemia, urinary tract infections and pneumonia, but is not a species previously known to enter VBNC state. We suggested that stress-induced P. mirabilis can enter a VBNC state in which it retains virulence. P. mirabilis isolates were incubated in extreme osmotic pressure, starvation, low temperature and low pH to induce a VBNC state. Resuscitation was induced by temperature upshift and inoculation in tryptone soy broth with Tween 20 and brain heart infusion broth. Cellular ultrastructure and gene …