Organisms Commons^™

Multi-Antigen Intranasal Vaccine Protects Against Challenge With Sarbecoviruses And Prevents Transmission In Hamsters, Ankita Leekha, Arash Saeedi, K M Samiur Rahman Sefat, Monish Kumar, Melisa Martinez-Paniagua, Adrian Damian, Rohan Kulkarni, Kate Reichel, Ali Rezvan, Shalaleh Masoumi, Xinli Liu, Laurence J N Cooper, Manu Sebastian, Courtney M Sands, Vallabh E Das, Nimesh B Patel, Brett Hurst, Navin Varadarajan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Immunization programs against SARS-CoV-2 with commercial intramuscular vaccines prevent disease but are less efficient in preventing infections. Mucosal vaccines can provide improved protection against transmission, ideally for different variants of concern (VOCs) and related sarbecoviruses. Here, we report a multi-antigen, intranasal vaccine, NanoSTING-SN (NanoSTING-Spike-Nucleocapsid), eliminates virus replication in both the lungs and the nostrils upon challenge with the pathogenic SARS-CoV-2 Delta VOC. We further demonstrate that NanoSTING-SN prevents transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron VOC (BA.5) to vaccine-naïve hamsters. To evaluate protection against other sarbecoviruses, we immunized mice with NanoSTING-SN. We showed that immunization affords protection against SARS-CoV, leading to protection …

Microplastic Accumulation In The Marsh Periwinkle (Littoraria Irrorata), Sarah Keaton, Hannah Lukhard, Eli Windy, Manar Hasan

DePaul Discoveries

Contamination of oceans by microplastics (mm) currently poses a major threat to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. Recent attention towards this issue has raised questions about the extent to which microplastics have accumulated in the environment, and has led to an increase in studies on the effects of microplastics in various organisms. However, levels of contamination in protected natural areas are still largely unexplored, yet can offer an important empirical perspective on the issue. In addition, little is known about the potential effects of microplastics on behavior in the field. This research was conducted within the protected ACE Basin National …

The Pam-1 Aminopeptidase Protects Against Neurodegeneration In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Caleb Coil

Honors College Theses

The deteriorating effects of neurodegenerative conditions seem inescapable for many as they age. The experimental exploration of the molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for neurodegeneration is aided using animal models. For instance, genetic screens have identified the puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase (PSA) as a novel effector of neurodegeneration, as mutations in PSA in fruit flies result in perturbations of neuron anatomy and an accelerated onset of neuron death. We have tested the hypothesis that PAM-1, the Caenorhabditis elegans ortholog of PSA, plays a similar role in governing neurodegeneration in nematodes. Genetic strains were created that express the green fluorescent protein (GFP) in …

Screening For Potential Swine-Origin Probiotics With Antimicrobial Activities, Christina Lim

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

The prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria is a leading issue worldwide. Recently, there was a new law banning the use of antibiotics within the swine industry. For decades swine producers have mixed subtherapeutic amounts of antibiotics in swine feed to prevent potential infections and to increase growth rate. However, due to the constant exposure of antibiotics to these ever-evolving pathogens, the population of antibiotic resistant bacteria has increased exponentially. Currently, the swine industry is scrambling to find a suitable alternative to antibiotics that possesses antimicrobial activity and potentially promotes growth. The objective of this study was to investigate the ability …

Perinatal Buprenorphine Effects On Offspring Growth, Opioid Withdrawal, And Brain Morphology In Rats, Parker Barnes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Opioid use disorder (OUD) impacts 5.6 million people in the US. Buprenorphine (BUP) is a commonly prescribed opioid medication used to treat OUD, including in pregnant women. However, opioid use during pregnancy is associated with poorer infant outcomes including reduced fetal growth, neurodevelopmental deficits, and neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS). Recent clinical data suggests that providing mothers with a lower dose of BUP may result in fewer negative outcomes in infants. Here, a preclinical rodent model of low-dose perinatal BUP exposure was used to study offspring health outcomes in the neonate, juvenile, and adolescent offspring. Dams were given clinically relevant …

Effect Of Source Of Trace Minerals On Nutrient Digestibility And Rumen Fermentation Of Dairy Cows, Cesar Velasquez Rios

All Theses

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Evaluating The Importance Of Biosecurity In Swine Operations, Lindsey Lemley, Lilly Rogers, Austin Calhoun

ATU Scholars Symposium

Swine health is critical to maintaining a profitable and productive swine operation. Biosecurity and sanitation are important practices that help maintain herd health. This study aimed to discover how biosecurity protocols and management practices differ between swine operations of different sizes. With diseases such as Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV), Brucellosis, and Porcine Circovirus type 2 (PCV2) being common in the swine industry, a strong biosecurity protocol protects swine farmers from financial losses associated with disease outbreaks. In 2004 alone, the estimated financial loss to PRRSV was over $761 million. Data concerning biosecurity and sanitation was collected from …

Single-Cell Analysis Of Age-Related Changes In Leukocytes Of Diabetic Mouse Hindpaws, James M Nichols, Hoang Vu Pham, Eric F Lee, Rajasekaran Mahalingam, Andrew J Shepherd

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Complications associated with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, such as diabetic peripheral neuropathy and diabetic foot ulcers, are a growing health-care concern. In addition, this concern increases as diabetic patients age due to their increased susceptibility to complications. To address this growing problem, it is important to understand fluctuations in physiology which lead to pathological changes associated with the metabolic disturbances of diabetes. Our study explores dysregulation of immune cell populations in the hindpaws of healthy and diabetic mice at 12 and 21 weeks of age using single-cell RNA sequencing to provide insight into immune disruptions occurring in the …

Spatial Analysis Of Socioeconomic Factors At Found Locations Of Orphaned Mammals In Champaign County, Illinois, Usa, Colleen Elzinga, Stephanie Heniff, William Sander, William Marshall Brown, Csaba Varga, Samantha Sander

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Young mammals make up a significant portion of animals brought into wildlife rehabilitation centers. Unfortunately, some of these presumed orphaned individuals are inappropriately removed from their native habitat. As such, there is a need for educational community outreach centered on the proper identification of orphaned wildlife that benefit from human intervention, while maximizing limited resources of rehabilitation facilities. This study evaluated found locations of common mammalian orphans presenting from Champaign County to the University of Illinois Wildlife Medical Clinic, Illinois, USA, between 2015 and 2020. The found locations of the orphans (99 Virginia opossums [Didelphis virginiana], 80 common …

Estradiol Signaling Improves Extinction Memory Recall To Combat Cue-Induced Heroin Relapse In Rats, Jordan S. Carter

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

We are in the midst of an opioid use disorder (OUD) epidemic. While several treatments mitigate a range of factors contributing to return to use, or relapse, the power of drug-conditioned environmental cues to precipitate relapse have not been adequately addressed. One treatment modality targeting cue reactivity, cue exposure therapy (CET), exacerbated relapse in individuals with OUD, perhaps due to a deficit in extinction memory recall (EMR). Here, EMR is the ability to override the drug-cue association and prevent relapse. Interest remains in combatting cue-induced relapse, potentially by introducing a pharmacologic adjunct with CET to enhance EMR. In the following …

The Effect Of Mating Pheromone 2,6-Dichlorophenol On Gene Expression In Male Lone Star Ticks (Amblyomma Americanum), Mitchell E. Dyen

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum) are tick species known for their generalist feeding habits, pursuing blood meals with little preference for specific host species. They are found in the southern and midwestern United States but have been rapidly expanding northward due to climate change and white-tailed deer population expansion. Since they are a zoonotic disease vector, their increased abundance has caused the concurrent increased prevalence of a variety of tick-borne illnesses such as tularemia, heartland virus disease, alpha-gal syndrome, ehrlichiosis, and southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI), which effect both humans and animals alike. This increased prevalence of tick-borne …

Advancing Small Molecule Therapies For Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1, Sawyer M. Hicks

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a multisystemic disorder caused by the expression of expanded CUG (CUG^exp) repeat RNA from the myotonic dystrophy protein kinase (DMPK) gene. This CUG^exp repeat RNA’s gain-of-function mechanism leads to the sequestration of muscleblind-like (MBNL) proteins, resulting in widespread alternative splicing dysregulation across tissues. Despite significant research, there are currently no approved therapeutics targeting the underlying causes of DM1. This dissertation explores the development and optimization of a novel class of small molecules, Modified Polycyclic Compounds (MPCs), designed to address splicing dysregulation in DM1. MPCs were designed from previously published …

Invasion Of Superbugs: Cockroach-Driven Outbreak Of Multidrug-Resistant Enterobacter In An Icu, Jennifer Hanrahan, Nicholas Schouten, Steven H. Fyffe, Annette Jencson, Stephanie Stroever

Department of Medicine Faculty Publications

Objective: To describe factors in an outbreak of multidrug-resistant Enterobacter cloacae (MRE) in an intensive care unit (ICU) over a 20-month period including the likely contribution of cockroaches to the outbreak.

Design: This is a retrospective descriptive study.

Setting: ICU in an urban hospital.

Patients: All patients admitted to the ICU during the 20-month outbreak period were included in the study.

Interventions: Infection prevention interventions included contact isolation, hand hygiene, dedicated patient equipment, environmental cultures, and pest control.

Results: 25 patients were identified as being colonized or infected with MRE. Relatedness of the outbreak strain and strains found in cockroaches …

Intra-Decadal Increase In Globally-Spread Magallana Gigas In Southern California Estuaries, Marah L Wolfe, Chelsea M Bowers-Doerning, Anabell Espinosa, Ty Frantz, William J Hoese, Joann G Lam, Kailee R Lamp, Rachael A Lyons, Justin K Nguyen, Bryce D Keyes, Jada Smith, Holly L Suther, Meaghan Swintek, Juliann C Vannordstrand, Danielle C Zacherl

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction and establishment of non-indigenous species (NIS) has been accelerated on a global scale by climate change. NIS Magallana gigas' (formerly Crassostrea gigas') global spread over the past several decades has been linked to warming waters, specifically during summer months, raising the specter of more spread due to predicted warming. We tracked changes in density and size distribution of M. gigas in two southern California, USA bays over the decade spanning 2010-2020 using randomly placed quadrats across multiple intertidal habitats (e.g., cobble, seawalls, riprap) and documented density increases by 2.2 to 32.8 times at 7 of the 8 sites surveyed …

Prevalence, Faunal Composition, And Vertical Distribution Of Bioluminescence In The Pelagic Gulf Of Mexico: Fishes, Crustaceans, Cephalopods And Gelatinous Megaplankton, Devynne M. Brown

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Bioluminescence is the phenomenon of light emission by living organisms. It occurs through a chemical reaction within an organism and serves various purposes. The diversity of bioluminescent capabilities and occurrence in unrelated taxa suggest that bioluminescence has evolved independently numerous times amongst taxa thriving in certain environments. One such environment is the deep ocean, where little to no sunlight penetrates the water column, specifically in the mesopelagic (200-1000 m depth) and bathypelagic (> 1000 m) zones. The mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones have been extensively sampled and well documented in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), one of the few places globally …

1-Methyl-4-Phenyl-1,2,3,6-Tetrahydropyridine (Mptp)-Treated Adult Zebrafish As A Model For Parkinson’S Disease, Emmeline Bagwell

All Theses

The use of adult zebrafish, Danio rerio, as a model for human neurodegenerative diseases has proven valuable in pharmaceutical development and genetic disease research due to their high genetic homology to humans, cost-effective husbandry, and quick life cycle breeding times. Despite their promise, most zebrafish research has focused on embryonic stage organisms, primarily due to the ease of direct handling protocols and rapid progression through developmental stages. Recognizing the limitations of early-stage organisms in modeling adult diseases, recent efforts have shifted the applicability of zebrafish models, particularly for Parkinson's Disease, due to the nature of the disease impacting patients 55 …

Identification Of Chronic Wasting Disease Prions In Decaying Tongue Tissues From Exhumed White-Tailed Deer, Paulina Soto, Francisca Bravo-Risi, Rebeca Benavente, Stuart Lichtenberg, Mitch Lockwood, J Hunter Reed, Rodrigo Morales

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) prions cause fatal neuropathies in farmed and free-ranging cervids. The deposition of prions in natural and humanmade environmental components has been implicated as a major mechanism mediating CWD spread in wild and captive populations. Prions can be deposited in the environment through excreta, tissues, and carcasses from pre-clinical and clinical animals. Furthermore, burial of CWD-positive animals may reduce but not completely mitigate prion spread from carcasses into the surrounding environment. Here, we analyzed exhumed, decaying deer carcasses for the presence of CWD prions. By analyzing tongue tissues through the protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) technique, we …

Influence Of Sex On Meat And Fat Quality From Heavy Alentejano Pigs Finished Outdoors On Commercial And High Fiber Diets, José Manuel Martins, Rui Charneca, Nicolás Garrido, André Albuquerque, Eliana Jerónimo, Olinda Guerreiro, Patrícia Lage, Carla Marmelo, Filipa Costa, Amélia Ramos, Luísa Martin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This work aimed to examine the effects of sex on meat and fat quality traits from thirty Portuguese Alentejano (AL) pigs reared in outdoor conditions. These pigs were divided into three groups and fed ad libitum. From ~40 to 130 kg LW, castrated (C group) and intact animals (I and IExp) consumed commercial diets. Until slaughter (~160 kg), C and I pigs remained on commercial diets, and IExp changed to a more sustainable experimental diet with locally produced pulses and byproducts. Samples were collected from the Longissimus lumborum (LL), Psoas major (PM), and dorsal subcutaneous fat (DSF). At ~160 …

Whole Genome Sequence Data Implicate Rbfox1 In Epilepsy Risk In Baboons, Mark Z. Kos, Melanie A. Carless, Lucy Blondell, Mary M. Leland, Koyle D. Knape, Harald H. H. Goring, Charles A. Szabo

Research Symposium

Background: Baboons exhibit a genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE) that resembles juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and may represent a suitable genetic model for human epilepsy. The genetic underpinnings of epilepsy were investigated in a baboon colony at the Southwest National Primate Research Center (San Antonio, TX) through the analysis of whole-genome sequence (WGS) data.

Methods: Baboon WGS data were obtained for 38 cases and 19 healthy controls from the NCBI Sequence Read Archive and, after standard QC filtering, two subsets of variants were examined: (1) 20,881 SNPs from baboon homologs of 19 candidate GGE genes; and (2) 36,169 protein-altering SNPs. Association tests …

Characterization Of Epithelial Growth Factor Transcripts Identified In Crotalus Atrox Venom, Ivan Lopez, Ying Jia

Research Symposium

Epithelial Growth Factor (EGF) is the primary source in regeneration and stimulation of essential fibroblasts cells commonly found in epithelium. Studies have shown that snake venom components are becoming a growing factor in treating illnesses such as cancer, muscular dystrophy, chronic pain, blood pressure, blood clotting, etc. EGF in human cells contains a promising quaternary structure that can bind to snake venom metalloproteinases, proposing a means of activating biochemical responses through protein-protein interactions to regulate unwanted cellular functions. This supports promising research in achieving a greater understanding of regulation along cellular pathways through ligands, increasing the likelihood of targeting unwanted …

Two Structurally Defined Aβ Polymorphs Promote Different Pathological Changes In Susceptible Mice, Ruben Gomez-Gutierrez, Ujjayini Ghosh, Wai-Ming Yau, Nazaret Gamez, Katherine Do, Carlos Kramm, Hamid Shirani, Laura Vegas-Gomez, Jonathan Schulz, Ines Moreno-Gonzalez, Antonia Gutierrez, K Peter R Nilsson, Robert Tycko, Claudio Soto, Rodrigo Morales

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Misfolded Aβ is involved in the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the role of its polymorphic variants or conformational strains in AD pathogenesis is not fully understood. Here, we study the seeding properties of two structurally defined synthetic misfolded Aβ strains (termed 2F and 3F) using in vitro and in vivo assays. We show that 2F and 3F strains differ in their biochemical properties, including resistance to proteolysis, binding to strain-specific dyes, and in vitro seeding. Injection of these strains into a transgenic mouse model produces different pathological features, namely different rates of aggregation, formation of different plaque types, …

Vitamin B2 Enables Regulation Of Fasting Glucose Availability, Peter M Masschelin, Pradip Saha, Scott A Ochsner, Aaron R Cox, Kang Ho Kim, Jessica B Felix, Robert Sharp, Xin Li, Lin Tan, Jun Hyoung Park, Liping Wang, Vasanta Putluri, Philip L Lorenzi, Alli M Nuotio-Antar, Zheng Sun, Benny Abraham Kaipparettu, Nagireddy Putluri, David D Moore, Scott A Summers, Neil J Mckenna, Sean M Hartig

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) interacts with flavoproteins to mediate oxidation-reduction reactions required for cellular energy demands. Not surprisingly, mutations that alter FAD binding to flavoproteins cause rare inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs) that disrupt liver function and render fasting intolerance, hepatic steatosis, and lipodystrophy. In our study, depleting FAD pools in mice with a vitamin B2-deficient diet (B2D) caused phenotypes associated with organic acidemias and other IEMs, including reduced body weight, hypoglycemia, and fatty liver disease. Integrated discovery approaches revealed B2D tempered fasting activation of target genes for the nuclear receptor PPARα, including those required for gluconeogenesis. We also found …

Testis-Specific Serine Kinase 3 Is Required For Sperm Morphogenesis And Male Fertility, Kaori Nozawa, Thomas X Garcia, Katarzyna Kent, Mei Leng, Antrix Jain, Anna Malovannaya, Fei Yuan, Zhifeng Yu, Masahito Ikawa, Martin M Matzuk

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The importance of phosphorylation in sperm during spermatogenesis has not been pursued extensively. Testis-specific serine kinase 3 (Tssk3) is a conserved gene, but TSSK3 kinase functions and phosphorylation substrates of TSSK3 are not known.

OBJECTIVE: The goals of our studies were to understand the mechanism of action of TSSK3.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the localization of TSSK3 in sperm, used CRISPR/Cas9 to generate Tssk3 knockout (KO) mice in which nearly all of the Tssk3 open reading frame was deleted (ensuring it is a null mutation), analyzed the fertility of Tssk3 KO mice by breeding mice for 4 months, …

Evidence-Based Guide To Using Artificial Introns For Tissue-Specific Knockout In Mice, Elena Mcbeath, Keigi Fujiwara, Marie-Claude Hofmann

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Up until recently, methods for generating floxed mice either conventionally or by CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)-Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9) editing have been technically challenging, expensive and error-prone, or time-consuming. To circumvent these issues, several labs have started successfully using a small artificial intron to conditionally knockout (KO) a gene of interest in mice. However, many other labs are having difficulty getting the technique to work. The key problem appears to be either a failure in achieving correct splicing after the introduction of the artificial intron into the gene or, just as crucial, insufficient functional KO of the …

Morphology Of The Ventral Process Of The Sixth Cervical Vertebra In Extinct And Extant Equus: Functional Implications, Sharon May-Davis, Robert Hunter, Richard White

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In this study, we examined the ventral process of C6 in extinct and extant Equus (sister taxa to Equus ferus caballus only) with the purpose of describing normal morphology and identifying anomalous variations relevant to recent studies describing a congenital malformation in E. ferus caballus. Overall, 83 specimens from 9 museums and 3 research/educational facilities were examined, totalling 71 extinct specimens from 12 species and 12 extant specimens from 5 species. The lateral view revealed that a large convexity exists in the ventral process between the cranial ventral tubercle (CrVT) and the caudal ventral tubercle (CVT) in the earliest …

Influences Of Post-Fledging Protein Supplementation On Growth And Reactive Stress Response In Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia Castanotis), Gabrielle Morris, Mary Lindley Tharp

Honors Theses

Protein needs of non-poultry birds, like Zebra Finches (ZF) are understudied. ZFs consume proteinaceous half-ripe seeds during breeding and chicken eggs are recommended supplements for captive ZFs; but developmental needs are unclear. Eggs contain essential amino acids that impact the “stress” hormone, corticosterone (CORT). Diet and corticosterone influence avian growth and stress management. Juvenile egg-fed ZFs outgrow seed-fed birds. Juvenile egg-supplementation boosts adult male attractiveness due to cheek patch augmentation compared to seed-only birds. Across studies, timing of diet (nestling Vs. fledgling) varies, both sexes have not been included, and simultaneous measures of growth and corticosterone are lacking. We are …

Insights Into The Formation And Diversification Of A Novel Chiropteran Wing Membrane From Embryonic Development, Neal Anthwal, Daniel J Urban, Alexa Sadier, Risa Takenaka, Simon Spiro, Nancy Simmons, Richard R Behringer, Chris J Cretekos, John J Rasweiler, Karen E Sears

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Through the evolution of novel wing structures, bats (Order Chiroptera) became the only mammalian group to achieve powered flight. This achievement preceded the massive adaptive radiation of bats into diverse ecological niches. We investigate some of the developmental processes that underlie the origin and subsequent diversification of one of the novel membranes of the bat wing: the plagiopatagium, which connects the fore- and hind limb in all bat species.

RESULTS: Our results suggest that the plagiopatagium initially arises through novel outgrowths from the body flank that subsequently merge with the limbs to generate the wing airfoil. Our findings further …

Sexual Dimorphism Of Glomerular Capillary Morphology In Rats, Zackarias Coker

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) progresses faster in males than females; however, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Sex differences in glomerular capillary morphology has been hypothesized to contribute, in part, to the increased susceptibility to hypertension-induced renal injury and CKD progression in males, but this has not been investigated. The goal of the present study was to assess glomerular capillary morphology in male vs. female rats with intact kidneys and after uninephrectomy (UNX). We hypothesized that glomerular capillary radii (R_CAP) and length (L_CAP) would be greater in male rats.

Male (n=4) and female (n=4) with intact …

Effects Of Sow Vocalization And Scent On Complete Blood Cell Count During Early Weaning Period, Mason Paladino

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Piglets are deprived of their sows’ touch, sound, and smell after weaning which results in biological stress. The present study investigated continuing exposure of sow vocalization and scent during the early weaning period on complete blood cell count. A total of 12 litters, 8 piglets (4 male and 4 female) per litter were selected at weaning and assigned to 1 of 4 experimental treatments: control, O (olfactory group with scent and no vocal stimulation), V (non-olfactory with vocal stimulation), VO (vocal stimulation and olfactory stimulation) as a 2x2 factorial arrangement. Vocal stimulation was emulated by an audio recording of the …

Effect Of Temperature On The Microbiome Of A Laboratory-Reared Colony Of Haemaphysalis Longicornis Ticks, Brianna L. Mitchell

Honors Theses

Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks are invasive to the United States with potential to transmit several tick-borne pathogens that are native to the United States. Based on existing locations of H. longicornis in its native regions in Asia, as well as its invasive populations that are established in the United States, several geographic range prediction models have been produced to help understand future range expansion and distribution of this invasive tick in North America. Unfortunately, these models do not all agree and there is uncertainty associated with the potential geographic range expansion of H. longicornis ticks in North America. Climate can affect …