Scholarly Works, Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology

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https://hdl.handle.net/10919/24342
Research articles, presentations, and other scholarship

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Browsing Scholarly Works, Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology by Content Type "Article"

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    Cold sensor, hot topic: TRPM8 plays a role in monocyte function and differentiation
    Trusiano, Brie; Tupik, Juselyn D.; Allen, Irving C. (Wiley, 2022-05)
    Understanding the innate immune system and how aberrant activation or impaired inhibition leads to the development of hyperinflammatory conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease, is crucial for patient management and treatment. An emerging area of interest surrounding dysregulated inflammation focuses on membrane bound transient receptor potential (TRP) ion channels. These channels are permeable to calcium and other cations involved in the balance of leukocyte membrane potential and function, as well as afferent neuron signaling within the myenteric plexus of the GI tract, bladder, and skin. A particular channel, TRPM8, is an important cell surface marker for prostate cancer and participates in the function of cold sensing neurons. Specifically, this ion-gated receptor is shown to be activated by agonists such as menthol and eucalyptus, which aid in the soothing, cooling effects of these agents. Furthermore, the TRPM8 channel is also identified on the surface of resident tissue M phi s and is also linked to the protective role and release of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) by sensory neurons.
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    Complete Genome Sequence of Providencia stuartii CMC-4104, Isolated from a Human Splenic Abscess, Containing Multiple Copies of NDM-1 and PER-1 Carbapenem Resistance Genes
    Rao, Jayasimha; Stornelli, Nicholas K.; Everson, Nathan A.; McDaniel, Lauren F.; Gomez De La Espriella, Mariana; Faulhaber, Jason R.; Todd, S. Michelle; Lahmers, Kevin K.; Jensen, Roderick V. (American Society for Microbiology, 2022-08-04)
    We report the complete genome sequence of a clinical isolate of Providencia stuartii strain CMC-4104, isolated from a splenic abscess. Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) and Illumina sequencing reads were assembled using Geneious to generate a 4,504,925-bp circular chromosome containing multiple copies of the NDM-1 and PER-1 genes in a genomic resistance island.
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    Editorial: RNA Localization and Localized Translation in Neurons
    Farris, Shannon; Hacisuleyman, Ezgi; Donlin-Asp, Paul; Cioni, Jean-Michel (Frontiers, 2022-01-12)
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    Effects of Chronic Social Stress and Maternal Intranasal Oxytocin and Vasopressin on Offspring Interferon-gamma and Behavior
    Murgatroyd, Christopher A.; Hicks-Nelson, Alexandria; Fink, Alexandria; Beamer, Gillian; Gurel, Kursat; Elnady, Fawzy; Pittet, Florent; Nephew, Benjamin C. (Frontiers, 2016-12-14)
    Recent studies support the hypothesis that the adverse effects of early-life adversity and transgenerational stress on neural plasticity and behavior are mediated by inflammation. The objective of the present study was to investigate the immune and behavioral programing effects of intranasal (IN) vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OXT) treatment of chronic social stress (CSS)-exposed F1 dams on F2 juvenile female offspring. It was hypothesized that maternal AVP and OXT treatment would have preventative effects on social stress-induced deficits in offspring anxiety and social behavior and that these effects would be associated with changes in interferon-γ (IFNγ). Control and CSS-exposed F1 dams were administered IN saline, AVP, or OXT during lactation and the F2 juvenile female offspring were assessed for basal plasma IFNγ and perseverative, anxiety, and social behavior. CSS F2 female juvenile offspring had elevated IFNγ levels and exhibited increased repetitive/perseverative and anxiety behaviors and deficits in social behavior. These effects were modulated by AVP and OXT in a context- and behavior-dependent manner, with OXT exhibiting preventative effects on repetitive and anxiety behaviors and AVP possessing preventative effects on social behavior deficits and anxiety. Basal IFNγ levels were elevated in the F2 offspring of OXT-treated F1 dams, but IFNγ was not correlated with the behavioral effects. These results support the hypothesis that maternal AVP and OXT treatment have context- and behavior-specific effects on peripheral IFNγ levels and perseverative, anxiety, and social behaviors in the female offspring of early-life social stress-exposed dams. Both maternal AVP and OXT are effective at preventing social stress-induced increases in self-directed measures of anxiety, and AVP is particularly effective at preventing impairments in overall social contact. OXT is specifically effective at preventing repetitive/perseverative behaviors, yet is ineffective at preventing deficits in overall social behavior.
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    Human norovirus animal model essential for vaccine development
    Yuan, Lijuan; Parreño, Viviana; Ramesh, Ashwin (Research Features, 2021-12-29)
    Human noroviruses are the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis and represent an incredibly high burden on the healthcare sector. Currently no vaccines or drugs exist to prevent or treat the disease. This is in part due to a lack of animal models. Here, Dr Lijuan Yuan and the team at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University developed and validated gnotobiotic pigs as an animal model for the human norovirus GII.4/2003 Cin-2. Determining dose-response relationships as well as the median infectious dose, by using different statistical approaches for this virus, means we are one step closer on the path to vaccine development.
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    mSphere of Influence: MmuPV1-a dual tropic papillomavirus, red herring, or novel insight into HPV pathogenesis
    Romero-Masters, James (American Society for Microbiology, 2024-06-26)
    James Romero-Masters works in the field of tumor virology, focusing on the role of the human papillomavirus oncogenes in pathogenesis. In this mSphere of Influence article, they reflect on how the article "Mouse papillomavirus infection persists in mucosal tissues of an immunocompetent mouse strain and progresses to cancer" impacted them, informing their research strategies, and what it means for the mouse papillomavirus model.
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    Multistate Infestation with the Exotic Disease-Vector Tick Haemaphysalis longicornis - United States, August 2017-September 2018
    Ben Beard, C.; Occi, James; Bonilla, Denise L.; Egizi, Andrea M.; Fonseca, Dina M.; Mertins, James W.; Backenson, Bryon P.; Bajwa, Waheed I.; Barbarin, Alexis M.; Bertone, Matthew A.; Brown, Justin; Connally, Neeta P.; Connell, Nancy D.; Eisen, Rebecca J.; Falco, Richard C.; James, Angela M.; Krell, Rayda K.; Lahmers, Kevin K.; Lewis, Nicole; Little, Susan E.; Neault, Michael; de Leon, Adalberto A. Perez; Randall, Adam R.; Ruder, Mark G.; Saleh, Meriam N.; Schappach, Brittany L.; Schroeder, Betsy A.; Seraphin, Leslie L.; Wehtje, Morgan; Wormser, Gary P.; Yabsley, Michael J.; Halperin, William (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018-11-30)
    Haemaphysalis longicornis is a tick indigenous to eastern Asia and an important vector of human and animal disease agents, resulting in such outcomes as human hemorrhagic fever and reduction of production in dairy cattle by 25%. H. longicornis was discovered on a sheep in New Jersey in August 2017 (1). This was the first detection in the United States outside of quarantine. In the spring of 2018, the tick was again detected at the index site, and later, in other counties in New Jersey, in seven other states in the eastern United States, and in Arkansas. The hosts included six species of domestic animals, six species of wildlife, and humans. To forestall adverse consequences in humans, pets, livestock, and wildlife, several critical actions are indicated, including expanded surveillance to determine the evolving distribution of H. longicornis, detection of pathogens that H. longicornis currently harbors, determination of the capacity of H. longicornis to serve as a vector for a range of potential pathogens, and evaluation of effective agents and methods for the control of H. longicornis.
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    A selective sweep in the Spike gene has driven SARS-CoV-2 human adaptation
    Kang, Lin; He, Guijuan; Sharp, Amanda K.; Wang, Xiaofeng; Brown, Anne M.; Michalak, Pawel; Weger-Lucarelli, James (Virginia Tech, 2021-03-05)
    While SARS-CoV-2 likely has animal origins, the viral genetic changes necessary to adapt this animal-derived ancestral virus to humans are largely unknown, mostly due to low levels of sequence polymorphism and the notorious difficulties in experimental manipulations of coronavirus genomes. We scanned more than 182,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomes for selective sweep signatures and found that a distinct footprint of positive selection is located around a non-synonymous change (A1114G; T372A) within the Receptor-Binding Domain of the Spike protein, which likely played a critical role in overcoming species barriers and accomplishing interspecies transmission from animals to humans. Structural analysis indicated that the substitution of threonine with an alanine in SARS-CoV-2 concomitantly removes a predicted glycosylation site at N370, resulting in more favorable binding predictions to human ACE2, the cellular receptor. Using a novel bacteria-free cloning system for manipulating RNA virus genomes, we experimentally validated that this SARS-CoV-2-unique substitution significantly increases replication in human cells relative to its putative ancestral variant. Notably, this mutation’s impact on virus replication in human cells was much greater than that of the Spike D614G mutant, which has been widely reported to have been selected for during human-to-human transmission.
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    What is your diagnosis? Abdominal mass in a rat
    Serpa, Priscila B. S.; Corriveau, Lorraine A.; Santos, Andrea P. (Wiley, 2022-01-01)
    A pet rat (Rattus novergicus) was diagnosed with sarcoma after cytologic and histologic evaluation of a subcutaneous, ventrally-located abdominal mass. Immunohistochemistry revealed neoplastic cells positive for Iba-1 and CD204, indicating a final diagnosis of histiocytic sarcoma. The tumor was aggressive and spread in a few weeks, leading to humane euthanasia.