Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons^™

Distribution Of Serotypes And Antibiotic Resistance Of Invasive Pseudomonas Aeruginosa In A Multi-Country Collection, Shamima Nasrin, Nicolas Hegerle, Shaichi Sen, Joseph Nkeze, Sunil Sen, Jasnehta Permala-Booth, Myeongjin Choi, James Sinclair, Milagritos D. Tapia, Sadia Shakoor

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that causes a wide range of acute and chronic infections and is frequently associated with healthcare-associated infections. Because of its ability to rapidly acquire resistance to antibiotics, P. aeruginosa infections are difficult to treat. Alternative strategies, such as a vaccine, are needed to prevent infections. We collected a total of 413 P. aeruginosa isolates from the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of patients from 10 countries located on 4 continents during 2005-2017 and characterized these isolates to inform vaccine development efforts. We determined the diversity and distribution of O antigen and flagellin types and …

Comparison Of Percutaneous Vs Oral Infection Of Hamsters With The Hookworm Ancylostoma Ceylanicum: Parasite Development, Pathology And Primary Immune Response, Richard D. Bungiro, Lisa M. Harrison, Blaise Dondji, Michael Cappello

Biology Faculty Scholarship

Background

Hundreds of millions of people in poor countries continue to suffer from disease caused by bloodfeeding hookworms. While mice and rats are not reliably permissive hosts for any human hookworm species, adult Golden Syrian hamsters are fully permissive for the human and animal pathogen Ancylostoma ceylanicum. Similar to humans, hamsters may be infected with A. ceylanicum third-stage larvae orally or percutaneously. Oral infection typically leads to consistent worm yields in hamsters but may not accurately reflect the clinical and immunological manifestations of human infection resulting from skin penetration.

Methodology/Principal findings

In this study we compared host responses …

Thrombospondin-1 Expression And Modulation Of Wnt And Hippo Signaling Pathways During The Early Phase Of Trypanosoma Cruzi Infection Of Heart Endothelial Cells, Ashutosh Arun, Kayla J. Rayford, Ayorinde Cooley, Tanu Rana, Girish Rachakonda, Fernando Villalta, Siddharth Pratap, Maria F. Lima, Nader Sheibani, Pius N. Nde

Publications and Research

The protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, causes severe morbidity and mortality in afflicted individuals. Approximately 30% of T. cruzi infected individuals present with cardiac pathology. The invasive forms of the parasite are carried in the vascular system to infect other cells of the body. During transportation, the molecular mechanisms by which the parasite signals and interact with host endothelial cells (EC) especially heart endothelium is currently unknown. The parasite increases host thrombospondin-1 (TSP1) expression and activates the Wnt/β-catenin and hippo signaling pathways during the early phase of infection. The links between TSP1 and activation of the signaling pathways and …

Role Of Three Bird Species In The Life Cycle Of Two Sarcocystis Spp. (Apicomplexa, Sarcocystidae) In The Czech Republic, Ondřej Máca, David González-Solís

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Birds are one of the groups involved in the development of Sarcocystis Lankester (1882), serving either as intermediate or definitive hosts. The white-tailed sea eagle Haliaeetus albicilla (Linnaeus, 1758), red kite Milvus milvus (Linnaeus, 1758) (both Accipitriformes) and common starlings Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 (Passeriformes) were examined to elucidate their participation in the development of Sarcocystis, as well as to determine the specific identity of the parasites based on morphological and especially molecular analyses. In 2020–2021, one white-tailed eagle, one red kite and five common starlings were parasitologically examined for the presence of Sarcocystis using flotation centrifugation coprological method …

Phage Hunters: The Discovery Of Two Novel Bacteriophages That Infect Gordonia Rubripertincta, Sarah Ballarin, Neel Balusa, Melissa Bell, Samia Caballero, Joshua Chan, Maria Farez, Ashley J. Guillen-Tapia, Nashrah Pierre-Louis, Victoria Polishuk, Bhavya Soni, Julie Torruellas Garcia, Katie E. Crump

Sea-Phages

Antibiotic resistance is a global healthcare concern because it poses a threat to effectively treating bacterial infections and the need for alternative therapeutics are urgently required. Phage therapy, which uses viruses to treat bacterial infections, is a promising alternative to conventional antibiotics. Phages have also been widely used in the food industry to prevent microbial growth on certain foods and are currently being explored as a method for bioremediation of oil spills and wastewater treatment. Although phages are ubiquitous in nature, many have yet to be discovered. Through the SEA-PHAGES (Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science) program …

Comparison Of Effects Of Sleep Fragmentation On Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Il-1Β Of Male And Female Adult Mice, Manzar Rzayeva

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Sleep plays an essential role throughout the body by affecting the physiological function and regulation of many systems. One of these systems that receives effects as a result of the adequacy of sleep is the immune system. Previous studies have demonstrated effects of sleep fragmentation upon the immune system; however, sexual differences of these effects have not been studied in depth. To analyze these variances amongst the genders, male and female adult mice were subjected to acute sleep fragmentation (SF) for 24 hours in an automated SF cage that includes a bar sweeping across the cage every two minutes. Meanwhile, …

Emerging Biomedical Applications Of The Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Glycoprotein, Sheeba Rehman, Suman Bishnoi, Rajarshi Roy, Anshu Kumari, Harikrishnan Jayakumar, Sharad Gupta, Parimal Kar, Asit K. Pattnaik, Bebasis Nayak

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Nanoparticles (NPs) made of metals, polymers, micelles, and liposomes are increasingly being used in various biomedical applications. However, most of these NPs are hazardous for long- and short-term use and hence have restricted biomedical applications. Therefore, naturally derived, biocompatible, and biodegradable nanoconstructs are being explored for such applications. Inspired by the biology of viruses, researchers are exploring the viral proteins that hold considerable promise in biomedical applications. The viral proteins are highly stable and further amenable to suit specific biological applications. Among various viral proteins, vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSV-G) has emerged as one of the most versatile platforms for …

Phip-Seq Reveals Autoantibodies For Ubiquitously Expressed Antigens In Viral Myocarditis, Mahima T. Rasquinha, Ninaad Lasrado, Erika M. Petro-Turnquist, Eric A. Weaver, Thiagarajan Venkataraman, Daniel R. Anderson, H. Benjamin Larman, Jay Reddy

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Simple Summary: Myocarditis is the inflammation of the heart muscle, and viral infections are a common cause of this disease. Myocarditis in some patients can progress to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The mouse model of coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is commonly used to understand this disease progression in DCM patients. In this paper, we have attempted to analyze antibodies for heart antigens that could be produced as a result of heart damage in animals infected with CVB3 using a technique called Phage ImmunoPrecipitation Sequencing (PhIP-Seq). The analyses led us to identify antibodies for several proteins that were not previously reported that may …

A Comparative Analysis Of Covid-19 Vaccine Distribution Efforts In India And Mongolia Through Data Visualization, Paridhi Latawa, Sadhana Kumar, Udeshna Srimal, Rachana Tanksali, Edward Ning '23, Ajay Macherla, Haily Nguyen, Kristina Lian, Joy Jiang, Julia Ding, Daniel Stewart

External Student Research Opportunities

COVID-19 vaccine allocation efforts have posed challenges and offered opportunities to alleviate the ongoing pandemic. Nations have employed varying approaches for COVID-19 vaccine distribution; in particular, Mongolia and India have differed in approaches to vaccine allocation efforts. As of June 2021, Mongolia has vaccinated more than 60% of its population, whereas India has only vaccinated about 7.5%. This disparity highlights the need for the present study, which utilizes a mixed-method approach to examine the two countries' vaccine distribution strategies and COVID-19 containment policies from January to July 2021. The study has three major components: 1) policy analysis to highlight core …

Introduction Of Plasmid Dna Into Sneathia Vaginalis; The First Step To Genetic Manipulation, Rea Mansukhani, Cathyrn O'Brien, Zion Mccoy, Kimberly K. Jefferson

UROP Posters

Many bacterial pathogens are capable of secreting one or more toxins, all of which can be categorized based on their function, target, or mechanism of action. Pore-forming toxins, for instance, are characterized based on their ability to perforate the host membrane. This may result in the delivery of bacterial substances into the host cell, release of compounds from the host cell, and/or death of the host cell. Research from our lab has demonstrated that Sneathia vaginalis, a gram-negative anaerobic bacterial species that is associated with bacterial vaginosis and preterm birth, produces a pore-forming toxin referred to as cytopathogenic toxin …

Evaluation Of Oasl And Herc5’S Role In The Non-Lytic Clearance Of Influenza A Virus From Club Cells, Steve Crisafulli

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Influenza A virus (IAV) is a highly infectious pathogen responsible for causing severe respiratory illness and death in humans and animals worldwide. Due to highly effective strategies to negate host antiviral defenses, IAV leads to the death of nearly all infected cells. Furthermore, IAV induces high levels of genome-damaging oxidative stress within infected cells and suppresses the cellular mismatch repair (MMR) mechanism, thereby inhibiting expression of key antiviral genes, which further contributes to cell death. However, recent studies have demonstrated that a subset of respiratory epithelial cells, called club cells, are able to non-lytically clear IAV and continue to survive …

Final Report Floating Upwelling System Harvest Road Oceans, Robert Michael, Scott Bennett

Fisheries Occasional Publications

A Floating Upwelling System or FLUPSY is a mechanical system for the culture of seed stock during the nursery stage of commercial bivalve production.

Understanding The Impact Of Human Germline Single-Nucleotide Variants, Samuel Adjei

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

All genetic variations in the human genome are due to mutations, and therefore determining the impact of the different categories of mutations, particularly nonsynonymous single nucleotide variants (SNVs) which are the most abundant in the population is essential for understanding the genetics of human diseases. Generations of mutation studies have focused on a relatively small number, partly due to technological limitations. However, advances in next-generation sequencing have allowed for empirical assessments of genome-wide mutations. genome sequence of any individual contains extensive protein-altering genetic variation (missense mutations) and of which only a few are unambiguously deleterious. Characterizing the phenotypes of these …

Mechanisms By Which Protective Human Outer Surface Protein A Antibodies Block Transmission Of Borrelia Burgdorferi, Amber M. Frye

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Borrelia burgdorferi (B. burgdorferi) is the causative agent of Lyme disease in the United States and Europe, which remains a major threat to public health. While currently no human Lyme disease vaccine is available, a previously licensed OspA-based vaccine was shown to effectively prevent transmission of B. burgdorferi from ticks to mammalian hosts. Concerning the vaccines mechanism of action, OspA antibodies enter the bloodmeal of a feeding tick and engage with B. burgdorferi producing OspA on their outer surface in a manner that impairs migration of the spirochete to the host; however exact antibody-spirochete interaction is unknown, despite the importance …

Dissecting The Cellular Landscape And Transcriptome Network In Viral Myocarditis By Single-Cell Rna Sequencing, Ninaad Lasrado, Nicholas Borcherding, Rajkumar Arumugam, Timothy K. Starr, Jay Reddy

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3)-induced myocarditis is commonly employed to study viral pathogenesis in mice.Chronically affected micemaydevelop dilated cardiomyopathy, which may involve the mediation of immune and nonimmune cells. To dissect this complexity, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing on heart cells from healthy and myocarditic mice, leading us to note significant proportions of myeloid cells, T cells, and fibroblasts. Although the transcriptomes of myeloid cells were mainly of M2 phenotype, the Th17 cells, CTLs, and Treg cells had signatures critical for cytotoxic functions. Fibroblasts were heterogeneous expressing genes important in fibrosis and regulation of inflammation and immune responses. The intercellular communication networks …

Response And Molecular Control Of Cd8 T Cells During Infection And Cancer, Nicholas K. Preiss Dr.

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

CD8 T cells are potent immune effector cells capable of vast clonal expansion and clearance of infected or cancerous cells. After control of the pathogenic insult, CD8 T cells develop into quiescent, long-lived memory populations that are poised to mediate rapid protection upon reencounter with cognate antigen. These properties make control of CD8 T cell responses a highly desirable outcome of vaccine strategies and immunotherapy. Therefore, understanding how the effector function and memory differentiation of CD8 T cells are controlled at a molecular level is of great importance. In the context of infection with gammaherpesviruses (γHV), which form a latent …

Time Course Investigation Of The Dermal Leukocyte Response To Lipoteichoic Acid In Chickens, Ian M. Gilbert, Jossie M. Santamaria, Gisela F. Erf

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) is a cell-wall polymer in Gram-positive bacteria that stimulates inflammation. Few studies have investigated in vivo immune response to LTA, and none of the in vivo studies have been performed in birds. For this project, the pulp (a skin derivative) of growing feathers (GF) of chickens was used to investigate the in vivo effects of intradermally injected LTA. In Study 1, GF of chickens were injected with 10 μL of differing concentrations of LTA (0.1, 1.0, 10, 100 or 250 μg LTA/mL; 3 chickens/dose). Growing feathers were plucked before injection (0 h) and at 6, 24, 48, …

Investigating How Bat Ectoparasites Influence The Skin Microbiome Diversity And Composition In Washington State Bats, Dana E. Colley

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), caused by the psychrophilic pathogenic fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), has killed millions of bats in the eastern United States since its initial introduction in 2006 and recent expansion into the western U.S. Understanding factors that contribute to the spread of Pd and risk of infection is crucial for management of WNS. Bat ectoparasites, including bat mites and bat flies, are omnipresent in bat populations, yet the relationship between these ectoparasites and bat health is still unknown. We examined the relationship between bat ectoparasites and the skin microbiome in relation to WNS infection risk in Washington State bats. …

Identification Of A Novel Protein Interaction That Elucidates The Mechanism Of Idiopathic Recurrent Miscarriages In Women With Nlrp2 Mutations, Nayeon Son

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The protein NOD-Like receptor pyrin domain containing 2 (NLRP2) is one member of a larger family of protein receptors that plays an important role in our innate immune system. In humans, the NLR family consists of 22 proteins. However, only about a half of NLRs’ functions are known, but many are pro-inflammatory, causing inflammation. NLRP2 has been identified to be a maternal effect gene regulating early embryo development in idiopathic recurrent miscarriages. In previous studies, mutations in the NLRP2 gene resulted in genetic maternal imprinting disorders due to NLRP2 regulating DNA methylation. However, the exact mechanisms involved in recurrent miscarriages …

Effects Of Natural Products On Inflammation, Riley Ann Nadler

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Chronic inflammation is characterized by infiltration of inflammatory cells such as macrophages and lymphocytes into the tissue where they produce inflammatory cytokines that contribute to tissue damage. Worldwide, 3 out of 5 people die due to chronic inflammatory diseases like cardiovascular diseases, obesity, diabetes, and cancer. Since it is well-documented that diet and metabolism are key mediators of inflammation, I investigated the effects of dietary lectins on inflammatory cytokine production and the ability of sodium pyruvate, a metabolite, to decrease inflammation. In chapter 1, I examined the effect that lectins from either Triticum vulgaris (common wheat) or Phaseolus vulgaris (common …