Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons^™

Critical Comment: What We Don’T Recognize Can Hurt Us: A Plea For Awareness About Cryptic Species, Gerardo Pérez-Ponce De León, Steven A. Nadler

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

We conducted an extensive literature review on studies that have used DNA sequences to detect cryptic species of parasites during the last decade. Each literature citation that included the term ‘‘cryptic’’ or ‘‘sibling’’ species was analyzed to determine the approach used by the author(s). Reports were carefully filtered to retain only those that recognized the existence of cryptic species centered on the use of DNA sequences. Based on analysis of these papers, we comment on the different ways that parasite cryptic species are discovered in studies focusing on different aspects of the host–parasite relationship, or disciplines, within parasitology. We found …

Robustness Of The Healthcare Utilization Results From The Rotavirus Efficacy And Safety Trial (Rest) Evaluating The Human-Bovine (Wc3) Reassortant Pentavalent Rotavirus Vaccine (Rv5), Robbin Itzler, Gary Koch, David O. Matson, Leif Gothefors, Pierre Van Damme, Mark J. Dinubile, Penny M. Heaton

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background: The Rotavirus Efficacy and Safety Trial was a placebo-controlled Phase III study that evaluated the safety and efficacy of a three-dose pentavalent rotavirus vaccine (RV5) including its effect on healthcare utilization for rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE). The per-protocol (PP) analyses, which counted events occurring 14 days after dose 3 among infants without protocol violations, have already been published. This paper evaluates the consistency of the healthcare utilization results based on the modified intention to treat (MITT) analyses with the PP analyses. The MITT analyses include all infants receiving at least one dose of vaccine or placebo and follow-up begins after …

Chloroquine Susceptibility And Reversibility In A Plasmodium Falciparum Genetic Cross, Jigar J. Patel, Drew Thacker, John C. Tan, Perri Pleeter, Lisa Checkley, Joseph M. Gonzales, Bingbing Deng, Paul D. Roepe, Roland A. Cooper, Michael T. Ferdig

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Mutations in the Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine (CQ) resistance transporter (PfCRT) are major determinants of verapamil (VP)-reversible CQ resistance (CQR). In the presence of mutant PfCRT, additional genes contribute to the wide range of CQ susceptibilities observed. It is not known if these genes influence mechanisms of chemosensitization by CQR reversal agents. Using quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping of progeny clones from the HB3 x Dd2 cross, we show that the P. falciparum multidrug resistance gene 1 (pfmdr1) interacts with the South-East Asia-derived mutant pfcrt haplotype to modulate CQR levels. A novel chromosome 7 locus is predicted to contribute …

Purification And Analysis Of Bacterial-And Plant-Derived Scfv Antibodies For The Detection Of Cucumber Mosaic Virus, Wong C.F.Y.

Student Works (2010-2019)

abstract N/A

Perubahan Tahap Kerintangan Dalam Nyamuk Culex Quinquefasciatus, Aedes Aegypti Dan Aedes Albopictus Terhadap Insektisid Malathion, Permethrin Dan Temephos., Hidayati Hamdan

Student Works (2010-2019)

In this study, selective pressure bioassay test against malathion, permethrin and temephos had been carried out at the larval stage of Cx. quinquefasciatus, Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. Meanwhile, only selection pressure against malathion and permethrin was taken for the adults. The rate of resistance had reduce 52.68 and 13,130 fold in the malathion and permethrin strains of Cx. quinquefasciatus larvae while for the adults, a reduction of 6.14 and 10.37 fold had been observed. A reduction of 4.97, 64.16 dan 51.0 fold had been observed for the Ae. aegypti larvae while 2.74 and 4.48 fold in their adults. Treatment …

Aging Effects On Acute Lung Inflammation After Burn Injury, Vanessa Nomellini

Dissertations

The risk of complications and death after a moderate sized burn injury is significantly higher in persons over the age of 65, while almost non-existant in young, healthy individuals. The studies outlined below use a murine model to determine the mechanisms behind the development of pulmonary complications that frequently occur in aged individuals following burn injury. We hypothesized that, since aged mice maintain an elevated proinflammatory state prior to injury, they are at an even greater risk of pulmonary inflammation than young mice given a comparable sized wound. We found that neutrophils continue to accumulate in the lungs of aged …

Post-Transcriptional Regulation Of Vibrio Cholerae Virulence Activator Toxt, Basel Hanna Abuaita

Wayne State University Dissertations

Vibrio cholera, the causative agent of the severe diarreal illness cholera, uses a complex array of gene regulation to induce its virulence determinants. During the early stage of infection, and upon response to unknown signals, virulence genes are turned on. ToxT protein is the primary virulence gene transcription activator. Once ToxT is produced, it amplifies its own expression through an auto-regulatory loop and directly binds and activates expression of various virulence factors including the toxin-coregulated pilus (TCP) and cholera toxin (CT). During the late stage of infection, virulence genes are turned off and the bacteria escape the host to resume …

Immunomodulatory Effect Of Host And Fungal Eicosanoids During Host-Pathogen Interactions With Candida Albicans, Gitanjali Kundu

Wayne State University Dissertations

Candida albicans, an opportunistic fungal pathogen, poses a significant clinical threat to immunocompromised patients. Diseases associated with this fungus ranges from superficial mucosal infection to life-threatening systemic candidiasis. The mechanisms by which Candida persists at mucosal surfaces in the face of an adaptive response are unclear. Candida produces immunomodulatory oxylipins that cross-react functionally with host eicosanoids, which are considered to play important role in regulating innate and adaptive immune responses. Our objective was to characterize the role of prostaglandins produced by the host and this fungus during host pathogen interactions, both in vitro with dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages, and …

The Im-9 Cell Line: A Model For Evaluating Tcdd-Induced Modulation Of The Polymorphic Human Hs1,2 Enhancer Within The 3' Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain Regulatory Region, Ruth C. Chambers-Turner

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), a disrupter, of B-cell differentiation, induces binding of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) nuclear complex to dioxin responsive elements (DRE) within the mouse immunoglobulin heavy chain regulatory region (3'IgHRR), and produces a marked inhibition of 3'IgHRR activation, IgH expression, and antibody secretion in a well-characterized mouse B-cell line (CH12.LX). The mouse 3'IgHRR consists of at least four enhancers (hs3a; hs1,2; hs3b; hs4), and is highly homologous with the three enhancers (hs3; hs1,2; hs4) of the human 3'IgHRR. A polymorphism of the human hs1,2 enhancer (resulting in varying numbers of tandem repeats containing a DRE and κB site) has …

Rev Interacts With Tubulin Heterodimers To Cause Cell Cycle Defects, Poornima Kotha Lakshmi Narayan

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Rev is a regulatory protein that plays an important role in the replication of HIV virus by post-transcriptionally promoting expression of viral proteins late in infection. Rev expression also slows cell growth, leads to an accumulation of cells in G2/M specifically before the spindle checkpoint, and can produce changes in ploidy. Because Rev is capable of depolymerizing microtubules (MTs) in vitro, possibly by a mechanism shared with Kinesin-13 proteins, themselves potent cellular MT depolymerases, I tested the hypothesis that these cellular defects were due to an interaction between Rev and tubulin.

To this end, Rev and select Rev mutants defective …

Phylogenetic Position Of The Acariform Mites: Sensitivity To Homology Assessment Under Total Evidence, Almir R. Pepato, Carlos E. F. Da Rocha, Jason A. Dunlop

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Background: Mites (Acari) have traditionally been treated as monophyletic, albeit composed of two major lineages: Acariformes and Parasitiformes. Yet recent studies based on morphology, molecular data, or combinations thereof, have increasingly drawn their monophyly into question. Furthermore, the usually basal (molecular) position of one or both mite lineages among the chelicerates is in conflict to their morphology, and to the widely accepted view that mites are close relatives of Ricinulei.

Results: The phylogenetic position of the acariform mites is examined through employing SSU, partial LSU sequences, and morphology from 91 chelicerate extant terminals (forty Acariformes). In a static homology framework, …

Genbank, Dennis A. Benson, Ilene Karasch-Mizrachi, David J. Lipman, James Ostell, Eric W. Sayers

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

GenBank(R) is a comprehensive database that contains publicly available nucleotide sequences for more than 380,000 organisms named at the genus level or lower, obtained primarily through submissions from individual laboratories and batch submissions from large-scale sequencing projects, including whole genome shotgun (WGS) and environmental sampling projects. Most submissions are made using the web-based BankIt or standalone Sequin programs, and accession numbers are assigned by GenBank staff upon receipt. Daily data exchange with the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) and the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ) ensures worldwide coverage. GenBank is accessible through the NCBI Entrez retrieval system that integrates data …

Evolutionary History Of Mammalian Sucking Lice (Phthiraptera: Anoplura), Jessica E. Light, Vincent S. Smith, Julie M. Allen, Lance A. Durden, David L. Reed

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Background

Sucking lice (Phthiraptera: Anoplura) are obligate, permanent ectoparasites of eutherian mammals, parasitizing members of 12 of the 29 recognized mammalian orders and approximately 20% of all mammalian species. These host specific, blood-sucking insects are morphologically adapted for life on mammals: they are wingless, dorso-ventrally flattened, possess tibio-tarsal claws for clinging to host hair, and have piercing mouthparts for feeding. Although there are more than 540 described species of Anoplura and despite the potential economical and medical implications of sucking louse infestations, this study represents the first attempt to examine higher-level anopluran relationships using molecular data. In this study, we …

Method For Identification Of Virulence Determinants, Raul G. Barletta, Beth Harris

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Disclosed are methods for the determination of virulence determinants in bacteria and in particular bacteria of the genus Mycobacterium. Also disclosed are compositions and methods for stimulating an immune response in an animal using bacteria and virulence determinants identified by the methods of the present invention.

Epsvr And Epmeta: Prediction Of Antigenic Epitopes Using Support Vector Regression And Multiple Server Results, Shide Liang, Dandan Zheng, Daron M. Standley, Bo Yao, Martin Zacharias, Chi Zhang

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Accurate prediction of antigenic epitopes is important for immunologic research and medical applications, but it is still an open problem in bioinformatics. The case for discontinuous epitopes is even worse - currently there are only a few discontinuous epitope prediction servers available, though discontinuous peptides constitute the majority of all B-cell antigenic epitopes. The small number of structures for antigen-antibody complexes limits the development of reliable discontinuous epitope prediction methods and an unbiased benchmark to evaluate developed methods.

Results: In this work, we present two novel server applications for discontinuous epitope prediction: EPSVR and EPMeta, where EPMeta …

Examination Of Homalometron Elongatum Manter, 1947 And Description Of A New Congener From Eucinostomus Currani Zahuranec, 1980 In The Pacific Ocean Off Costa Rica, Jessica H. Parker, Stephen S. Curran, Robin M. Overstreet, Vasyl V. Tkach

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Homalometron elongatum is reexamined using heat-killed material that was not subjected to pressure during fixation from Gerres cinereus collected from San Juan Harbor, Puerto Rico, U.S.A. The new material is compared with some paratype specimens and differs by having a much less variable forebody length, and a median rather than submedian genital pore. Tegumental spines reportedly cover the anterior end of the body but we observed tegumental spines covering the entire body surface in both the paratype and new material. Homalometron lesliorum n. sp. is described from Eucinostomus currani from the Pacific coasts of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The new …

Discovery Of New Ohbayashinema Spp. (Nematoda: Heligmosomoidea) In Ochotona Princeps And Ochotona Cansus (Lagomorpha: Ochotonidae) From Western North America And Central Asia, With Considerations Of Historical Biogeography, M.-C. Durrette-Desset, Kurt E. Galbreath, Eric P. Hoberg

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Three new species of Ohbayashinema (Nematoda, Heligmosomoidea) are described from localities in western North America and central Asia. Two of these species, Ohbayashinema nearctica n. sp. and Ohbayashinema aspeira n. sp., are parasitic in American pika, Ochotona princeps. Ohbayashinema nearctica is differentiated from the 5 known species of the genus parasitic in Ochotonidae from the Old World by very long spicules and an oblique axis of orientation for the ridges composing the synlophe. Ohbayashinema aspeira, described only from females, is similar to Oh. nearctica based on the number of cuticular ridges at the midbody. It is mainly differentiated …

Identification Of A Novel Cytokine Inducible Stat5 Phosphoserine Site (Ps193) That Positively Regulates Its Transcriptional Activity And Is Found Constitutively Activated In Certain Hematopoietic Cancers, Abhisek Mitra

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Hematological malignancies such as leukemia and lymphoma, can develop from aberrant changes in the cell signaling molecules to drive their uncontrolled cellular proliferation and differentiation. Activation, maturation, expansion and differentiation of T cells are critically regulated by the dynamics of various transcription factors activated by a variety of cytokines. Additionally, multiple effector molecules that mediate these T cells dependent signals include the JAK (Janus Kinase)-STAT (Signal transducer and activator of transcription) cascade. These signaling proteins are activated in response to a broad array of cytokines. Constitutively activated JAKs and STATs have been described in several T cell malignancies. A growing …

Phospholipase D Signaling In T Cells, Uma Chandrasekaran

Dissertations

Antigen stimulation of T lymphocytes induces the activation of phospholipase D (PLD) signaling. Phospholipase D (PLD) is a phosphodiesterase that catalyzes the conversion of phosphatidyl choline (PC) to phosphatidic acid (PA). PA is an important lipid second messenger and is known to mediate a variety of cellular functions. However, the specific role of PA in T lymphocytes has not been established. Previous studies indicated differential requirement for TCR induced PLD signaling in regulatory and non-regulatory T cells. Inhibition of TCR induced PLD signal preferentially suppressed the growth of non-regulatory T cells while allowing the proliferation of regulatory T cells in …

B Lymphocyte Development In Galt, Venkata Arunachalam Yeramilli

Dissertations

In rabbits, the primary antibody repertoire is generated in the gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT), where bone marrow (BM)-derived B cells undergo a proliferative expansion and somatically diversify the immunoglobulin genes. Unlike in other species, B lymphopoiesis in rabbit arrests a few months after birth, and it is unclear how the peripheral B cell compartment is maintained when there is no influx of newly-made B cells from the BM.

For my dissertation, I investigated how B cells develop in the GALT of rabbits, and how they are maintained in adults after the arrest of lymphopoiesis. To identify cellular signals that promote …