Organisms Commons^™

Investigation Of The Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Matrix Protein: Uncoating And Assembly, Chad E. Mire

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) is a simple, enveloped, nonsegmented negative-strand RNA virus and is the prototype rhabdovirus to study viral entry, transcription, replication, and assembly. The matrix protein (M) of VSV is a central component of the viral replication cycle. While being the smallest of the viral proteins it is multifunctional and is involved in uncoating, cytopathic effects (CPE), and assembly of the virus. M protein interactions involved in the uncoating and assembly of VSV have been examined in this dissertation.

Uncoating of VSV involves dissociation of M from the ribonucleoprotein core (RNPs) of the virus. Current models of VSV …

Manipulation Of The Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus Envelope Protein In An Effort To Develop Directly And Indirectly Targeted Retroviral Vectors For Use In Human Gene Therapy, Geneva M. Vasser

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Highly effective, targeted therapies against cancer would revolutionize the way people recover from this devastating illness. Gone would be the lingering side effects of the current non-specific treatments and in their place would be faster recovery times, better quality of life both during and after treatment, and less ambiguity about whether or not treatment was effective. This concept will elude modern medicine until treatments can be tailored to the patient's individual and unique disease. This concept of a transient, targeted, and tailored vehicle aimed at cancer cells lends itself to the use of replication deficient retroviral gene therapy vectors with …

Studies Of Entry, Reverse Transcription, And Regulation Of Splicing In Retroviruses, Timothy A. Sullivan

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The study of retroviruses and their lifecycle has contributed immensely to our knowledge of the world of biology and medicine. The central dogma of the basic flow of genetic information was shattered when the discovery that retroviruses copy their RNA genome into DNA was made. The same enzyme that performs this step, reverse transcriptase (RT), also revolutionized molecular biology when it was used as a tool to generate full length cDNA clones of expressed genes. The impact of retroviruses on the medical field has been extremely exciting as the ideas of using retroviral vectors to deliver genes providing long term …

Transcriptional Regulation Of Azole Antifungal Resistance In Candida Albicans, Teresa T. Liu

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Candida albicans is a pathogenic fungi found in the mucosa, gastrointestinal, and urogenital tracts of humans. Oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC), an opportunistic mucosal infection caused by C. albicans, occurs most frequently in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). OPC is usually treated with azole antifungals, a class of antifungals that target ergosterol biosynthesis, at low doses over long periods of time. This course of treatment allows for the development of azole resistance.

Two major mechanisms of azole resistance exist in C. albicans, the up-regulation of genes encoding efflux pumps and the up-regulation of ERG11, a gene encoding the azole drug …

Biochemical And Immunological Mechanisms Underlying Differential Interaction Of Superantigens With Host Immunogenetic Factors In Streptococcal Sepsis, Mohammed Nooh

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Group A streptococci (GAS) are serious human pathogens that can cause a wide array of diseases ranging from pharyngitis to streptococcal toxic shock (STSS), which is caused by excessive cytokines responses triggered by streptococcal superantigens (Strep SAgs). SAgs interact simultaneously with HLA class II molecules on antigen presenting cells (APC) and with the T cell receptor beta chain variable elements (TCR V) and cause excessive stimulation of both cell types and massive release of inflammatory mediators.

The Strep SAgs include the streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxins (Spes), which play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of severe invasive streptococcal diseases, including Strep …