Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons^™

Manipulation Of Cellular Processing Bodies And Their Constituents By Viruses, Asit K. Pattnaik, Phat X. Dinh

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

The processing bodies (PBs) are a form of cytoplasmic aggregates that house the cellular RNA decay machinery as well as many RNA-binding proteins and mRNAs. The PBs are constitutively present in eukaryotic cells and are involved in maintaining cellular homeostasis by regulating RNA metabolism, cell signaling, and survival. Virus infections result in modification of the PBs and their constituents. Many viruses induce compositionally altered PBs, while many others use specific components of the PBs for their replication. PB constituents are also known to restrict virus replication by a variety of mechanisms. Further, continuing studies in this rapidly emerging field of …

Deep Sequencing And Genome-Wide Analysis Reveals The Expansion Of Microrna Genes In The Gall Midge Mayetiola Destructor, Chitvan Khajuria, Christie E. Williams, Mustapha El Bouhssini, R. Jeff Whitworth, Stephen Richards, Jeffrey J. Stuart, Ming-Shun Chen

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that play critical roles in regulating post transcriptional gene expression. Gall midges encompass a large group of insects that are of economic importance and also possess fascinating biological traits. The gall midge Mayetiola destructor, commonly known as the Hessian fly, is a destructive pest of wheat and model organism for studying gall midge biology and insect – host plant interactions.

Results: In this study, we systematically analyzed miRNAs from the Hessian fly. Deep-sequencing a Hessian fly larval transcriptome led to the identification of 89 miRNA species that are either identical or very …

A Description Of Neoechinorhynchus (Neoechinorhynchus) Veropesoi N. Sp. (Acanthocephala: Neoechinorhynchidae) From The Intestine Of The Silver Croaker Fish Plagioscion Squamosissimus (Heckel, 1840) (Osteichthyes: Sciaenidae) Off The East Coast Of Brazil, Francisco Tiago De Vasconcelos Melo, P. A.F.B. Costa, E. G. Giese, Scott Lyell Gardner, J. N. Santos

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Plagioscion squamosissimus (Heckel, 1840) (Osteichthyes: Sciaenidae) is considered piscivorous and is a generalist species endemic to the Amazon region. This fish is an important part of the natural ecosystems in which it occurs and provides basic functional components in the food web. The genus Neoechinorhynchus Stiles & Hassall, 1905 is distributed worldwide and parasitizes fish and turtles, but there are few reports of parasites of this genus in South America, due to the high diversity of fish that can be found in this region. A new species of thorny-headed worm (Acanthocephala: Neoechinorhynchidae) is described from P. squamosissimus from Guajará Bay, …

Paleoparasitology: The Origin Of Human Parasites; Paleoparasitologia: A Origem Dos Parasitas Humanos, Adauto Araújo, Karl Reinhard, Luis Fernando Ferreira, Elisa Pucu, Pedro Paulo Chieffi

Karl Reinhard Publications

Parasitism is composed by three subsystems: the parasite, the host, and the environment. There are no organisms that cannot be parasitized. The relationship between a parasite and its host species most of the time do not result in damage or disease to the host. However, in a parasitic disease the presence of a given parasite is always necessary, at least in a given moment of the infection. Some parasite species that infect humans were inherited from pre-hominids, and were shared with other phylogenetically close host species, but other parasite species were acquired from the environment as humans evolved. Human migration …

The Role Of P38 Mapk In The Aetiopathogenesis Of Psoriasis And Psoriatic Arthritis, Athanasios Mavropoulos, Eirini I. Rigopoulou, Christos Liaskos, Dimitrios P. Bogdanos, Lazaros I. Sakkas

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The pathogenetic mechanisms responsible for the induction of immune-mediated disorders, such as psoriasis, remain not well characterized. Molecular signaling pathways are not well described in psoriasis, as well as psoriatic arthritis, which is seen in up to 40% of patients with psoriasis. Signaling pathway defects have long been hypothesized to participate in the pathology of psoriasis, yet their implication in the altered psoriatic gene expression still remains unclear. Emerging data suggest a potential pathogenic role for mitogen activated protein kinases p38 (p38 MAPK) extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in the development of psoriasis. The data …

Correlates Of Consistent Condom Use Among Female Entertainment Workers In Shanghai, China: A Repeated Measures Analysis, Xiushi Yang, Guomei Xia

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Female entertainment workers (FEWs) in China are at increased risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, but correlates of their risky sexual behaviour remain poorly understood. Using data from a series of four surveys, this paper employs repeated measures analysis to identify individual and social correlates of consistent condom use among FEWs in Shanghai. Results reveal that both individual cognitive and social influence factors are statistically significant in their bivariate relationships to consistent condom use with a stable or non-stable partner; only prevention motivation and perceived self-efficacy in condom use remain significant in the multiple regressions. When individual and …

The Effect Of Exogenous Leptin On Dendritic Cell Migration And Interactions With T Cells, Amanda L. Gonzales

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Obesity is a complex, chronic disease that has reached epidemic proportions in the United States and shows no indication of receding. It is a state of chronic low-grade inflammation that is initiated by morphological changes in large accumulations of adipose tissue. Leptin is a pleiotropic hormone secreted by adipose tissue, presenting a possible link between obesity and inflammation. In this study, we assessed the effect of leptin on bone marrow-derived (BM) dendritic cells (DC) (BM-DC) function, antigen presenting cells vital for the activation of naí¯ve T cells. Previous data produced in our laboratory established that the addition of leptin to …

Giardia Lamblia: Regulation Of Cyst Production By Glycosphingolipids, Tavis Lyle Mendez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The diplomonad protist, Giardia lamblia, colonizes and replicates in the small intestine of mammals. In humans, Giardia infection (known as giardiasis) can be symptomatic or asymptomatic with the former being associated with fatty stool, abdominal pain, malnutrition, and weight loss. Both cell-mediated and humoral immune responses against Giardia infection are possible, and adaptive responses have been reported to be important for controlling the infection. Non-immune components such as secretory immunoglobulin, intestinal lipids, and bile acids also play significant roles in determining the severity of the infection by Giardia.

Giardia exists in two morphologic forms--trophozoites and cysts--and maintains a simple life …

Identification Of Chemotherapeutic Agents Against Leishmaniasis And Chagas' Disease, Miguel Abran Vasquez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Patients with clinical manifestations of leishmaniasis and Chagas' disease rely on few drugs that have limited efficacy and considerable side effects. Expanding the diversity of available chemotherapeutic drugs for these diseases is of extreme medical importance. Enones or á,í¢-unsaturated ketones, initially developed as anti-cancer agents, are a worthy of class of compounds to test for activity against Leishmania major and Trypanosoma cruzi as these eukaryotic parasites share many of the characteristics exhibited by cancer cells. The anti-parasitic activity of a library of á,í¢-unsaturated ketones (136 derivatives) was screened against L. major as well as in mammalian cells. Three compounds (NC901, …

Psychosocial Distress Mediates Immune Dysregulation Through Alterations In Global Epigenetic Patterns And Chromatin Remodeling Proteins, Karen Krukowski

Dissertations

Psychosocial distress, characterized by increased perceived stress, anxiety and mood disturbance, is a common response of women to a diagnosis of breast cancer (Northouse, 1992; Pettingale et al., 1988; Stark and House, 2000; Witek-Janusek et al., 2007). This psychosocial distress leads to activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis and increased circulating glucocorticoids (GCs) (Chrousos, 2000; Chrousos and Gold, 1992; Schoneveld and Cidlowski, 2007). Increased psychosocial distress and increased HPA activation can lead to immune dysregulation consisting of reduced natural killer (NK) cell activity (NKCA) (Biondi, 2001; Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 1987; Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2002; Witek-Janusek et al., 2008; Witek-Janusek et …

Characterization Of Chronic Glucocorticoid Exposure On Natural Killer Cell Function: A Model For Stress Induced Alterations On The Epigenetic Landscape, Justin Lee Eddy

Dissertations

Psychological stress can impact immune function through altered glucocorticoid production. Natural killer (NK) cells and their effector functions are particularly susceptible to both psychological stress as well as exogenous glucocorticoids. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of chronic glucocorticoid (GC) exposure on NK cells to investigate the immune dysregulation associated with periods of psychological stress.

Chronic in vitro treatment of the NK92 cell line produced a dichotomous NK phenotype with enhanced proinflammatory cytokine production yet reduced NK cell lytic activity (NKCA). This dichotomy was at the individual cell level where mRNA and protein levels for proinflammatory …

Ex Vivo Induction Of Human Regulatory T Cells, Kathleen Elizabeth Jaeger

Dissertations

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are indispensable in the human immune system in the maintenance of self-tolerance and immune homeostasis. The dysregulation of Treg number and/or function plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of cancer, allergy and human autoimmune pathologies such as multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. The primary aim of this research was to determine the molecular mechanisms and cellular interactions which promote human Treg induction. From umbilical cord blood (UCB) samples, we found that antigen receptor stimulation of UCB T cells via a CD14+ monocyte population leads to a predominant induction of Tregs.

Further studies identified …

Defining A Role For Inducible Heat Shock Protein 70 (Hsp70i) In Mediating Autoimmune Vitiligo, Jeffrey Alan Mosenson

Dissertations

Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease characterized by destruction of melanocytes, leaving 0.5% of the population with progressive depigmentation. Current treatments offer limited efficacy. Observations that heat shock proteins (HSPs) can serve as adjuvants in antitumor vaccines first suggested to us a link between HSPs and stress-induced vitiligo. Such proteins are marvelously well conserved throughout evolution, which has placed them in the spotlight for helping to understand the intriguing relationship between infection and immunity. Intracellularly, inducible heat shock protein 70 (HSP70i) is upregulated by stress and helps protect cells from undergoing apoptosis. In times of stress, melanocytes will secrete antigen bound …

Evidence For Renewal And Reconstitution Of Marginal Zone Macrophages In Young And Aged Mice, Erika Bahamon

Master's Theses

Aging in humans and mice correlates with decline in immune health, affecting both innate and adaptive immunity. Response against blood-borne bacterial pathogens is compromised because of the deterioration of the marginal zones of the spleen and decrease in frequency of marginal zone macrophages (MZM). This thesis asked if low cell turnover is the cause for the decrease of MZM, using cell proliferation to indicate cell turnover in spleens of mice. First, evidence showed MZM proliferation occurred in spleens of young mice and was decreased in the MZM from aged mice. Second, transfer of young bone marrow into old mice replenished …

Characterization Of Inducible Regulatory T Cells: An Umbilical Cord Blood Model, Rebecca Anne Krier

Master's Theses

The immune system is a group of structures and processes that protect us from disease. To function properly it must recognize a wide variety of pathogens such as viruses and bacteria. T cells play a crucial role in an immune response; however, an overactive immune response can lead to autoimmune diseases, therefore it is important that the immune system has the ability to negatively regulate an immune response. In the periphery, regulatory T cells (CD4⁺CD25⁺Foxp3⁺) are involved in the maintenance of self-tolerance and immune homeostasis. Mechanisms involved in the induction of iTregs from naïve …

Selective Expansion Of B Cells By Intestinal Microbiota, Karina Ochoa

Master's Theses

In rabbits, antibody diversity and B cell expansion are generated in gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT), in an antigen- and T cell-independent mechanism, and require interaction with intestinal microbiota. I investigated, in vitro, the mechanism by which commensals drive GALT reactions. Bacteria were isolated from the GALT of rabbits and identified by 16sRNA sequencing. I found that the commensals can bind to Ig, independently of their specificity. In addition, a ~20kDa bacterial molecule was immunoprecipitated with recombinant Ig molecules. Stimulation of B cells with selected bacterial molecules induced the activation of B cells. Stimulation of B cells through TLR2 induced the …

The Inflammatory Response Initiated By The Spleen To Ischemic Stroke, Hilary Seifert

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The peripheral immune system plays a role in delayed neural injury after stroke. This response originates from the spleen as splenectomy prior to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in rats significantly reduces infarct volume in the brain. This research is based on the hypothesis that inhibiting the splenic response will reduce neurodegeneration after stroke. Studies in animals have implicated lymphocytes as the immune cell type that is detrimental following MCAO. Interferon gamma (IFNγ) has been identified as a pro-inflammatory cytokine that is also detrimental following stroke. IFNγ is important because it activates microglia and macrophages in a pro-inflammatory nature that …

Prenatal Stress, Depression, And Herpes Viral Titers, Pao-Chu Hsu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent studies suggest that some cases of prenatal depression may be associated with reactivation of latent infections of the herpesvirus family. The possible relationships among stress, prenatal depression, and herpes viral reactivation in pregnancy are understudied and the molecular pathways such as the neuroimmune biogenic amine pathway are unidentified. Chronic stress shifts the T helper-1 cell (Th1) cytokine profile to a Th2 profile, which favors virus induced pathogenesis and survival. Pregnancy is also associated with a similar Th2 dominance. In non-pregnant individuals, exposure to psychological or physical stress may be associated with latent herpes viral reactivation and could result in …

Phenotypic And Genotypic Analysis Of In Vitro Selected Miltefosine Resistant Leishmania Donovani, Brian A. Vesely

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Visceral leishmaniasis is a devastating neglected parasitic disease caused by infection with Leishmania donovani. It life cycle has two stages with promastigote (insect stage) and amastigote (animal stage) morphologies. Miltefosine is currently the only commercially available oral drug available to treat leishmaniasis and recent evidence suggests clinical resistance has emerged. Due to the importance of this drug and the scarcity of new drugs in the pipeline, work has been done on understanding the mechanism(s) of miltefosine, yet the mechanism of action for resistance is still not known.

In previous studies investigators generated miltefosine resistance on the insect vector stage …

Epigenetic Modifiers To Augment The Immunogenicity Of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Jason A. Dubovsky

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cancer cells employ a litany of immunosuppressive and immunevasive strategies to avoid detection and elimination by the various arms of the innate and adaptive immune system. Many hematologic and solid tumors progressively develop a specialized microenvironment which promotes tissue restructuring inflammation while masking the immune signature of the tumor cells themselves. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a malignancy of mature B lymphocytes must constantly balance on the precipice of immune recognition. A mature antigen presenting cell themselves, CLL clonal growth is dependent on the very interactions which, if effective, could potentially lead to their demise. To circumvent this, CLL clones set up …