Browsing Faculty of Arts and Sciences by Keyword "Health Sciences, Immunology"
Now showing items 1-20 of 31
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CD4 T Cells Regulate Adenovirus Vector-Elicited Cellular and Humoral Immune Responses
(2016-01-08)The processes that regulate viral vector vaccine-elicited cellular and humoral immune responses remain poorly defined. Thus, in this thesis, the role of CD4+ T cells – master regulators of adaptive immunity – in modulating ... -
Childhood Resistance to Influenza Mortality: Analysis in a Mouse Model
(2016-08-29)During the 1918 influenza pandemic, children experienced significantly lower mortality compared to adults, with the onset of puberty marking a transition to greater disease susceptibility. To explore the mechanisms that ... -
Comprehensive Approaches to Identifying the Targets of Natural and Synthetic Antibodies Using Microarray DNA Synthesis and High-Throughput Sequencing
(2015-09-24)The incredible flexibility and specificity of the humoral immune response is dependent on the highly diverse repertoire of naïve and affinity-matured antibodies. Utilizing and understanding the power of this response ... -
The Contribution of Cervicovaginal Microbiota and Hormonal Contraceptives to Genital Inflammation and HIV Acquisition Risk
(2015-05-17)The HIV epidemic persists in many parts of the world, with the majority of new infections occurring through the female genital tract (FGT). The permissiveness of the genital mucosa to HIV is modulated by the integrity of ... -
Discovery and characterization of the ligands of NK-cell receptors implicated in human diseases
(2016-08-31)Natural killer (NK) cells are cytotoxic lymphocytes of the innate immune system that act as first-line defenders against intracellular pathogens. Their functions are dictated by germline-encoded activating and inhibitory ... -
Drosophila immunity and homeostasis during viral infection
(2017-08-24)Insects are vectors for human disease and also play a critical role in agriculture. Like humans, insects encounter pathogens such as viruses. Despite having a profound impact on our lives, much has yet to be discovered ... -
Elucidating Influences of Substrate DNA Sequences on AID Targeting and Outcome During Antibody Maturation
(2017-04-20)During antibody maturation, Activation Induced Cytidine Deaminase (AID) initiates antibody variable (V) exon somatic hypermutation (SHM) for affinity maturation in germinal centers (GCs) and IgH switch (S) region DNA breaks ... -
Enterococcus infection of Caenorhabditis elegans as a model of innate immunity
(2015-05-14)The vast majority of metazoan species are invertebrates, which lack an adaptive immune system for defense against microbes. Instead, their innate immune system is sufficient for defense against pathogenic organisms, which ... -
Epigenetic Regulation of Cell Fate
(2017-01-26)A fundamental question in biology is to decipher how the same genomic information in an organism can give rise to diverse cellular states that are phenotypically and functionally distinct. Epigenetic mechanisms utilize ... -
Growing Up Shuar: Life History Tradeoffs and Energy Allocation in the Context of Physical Growth Among an Indigenous Amazonian Population
(2016-05-16)Life history theory assumes that organisms allocate energetic resources (i.e., calories) to primary life functions such as maintenance, growth, reproduction, and physical activity in a manner that maximizes fitness. Under ... -
IAP Inhibitors as Novel Immune Adjuvants for Scaffold Based Cancer Vaccines
(2015-05-14)Inhibitors of apoptosis (IAP) antagonists are nearing approval as promising new candidates for cancer therapy, particularly for solid tumors. Previous work had uncovered the ability of the monomer version of this drug to ... -
Immune Surveillance by Effector and Memory CD8+ T Cells
(2016-01-11)During priming, CD8+ T cells integrate a plethora of signals that affect their differentiation into subsets of CD8+ T cells with distinct migratory properties and functions. Given that CD8+ T cells exert their protective ... -
Immunoregulatory Roles of CD48 in Autoimmunity and Tolerance
(2015-05-04)CD48 is an adhesion and costimulatory molecule expressed constitutively on nearly all hematopoietic cells. Via interactions with its ligand CD2, it contributes to synapse organization between T cells and APCs, and can ... -
In Vivo Genetic Screening to Identify Mechanisms of Resistance to Cancer Immunotherapy
(2017-10-10)Despite the dramatic clinical success of cancer immunotherapy with PD-1 checkpoint blockade, most patients do not experience sustained clinical benefit from treatment, suggesting that additional therapeutic strategies are ... -
Individual Microbes Shape Various Parts of the Immune System
(2015-09-22)The gastrointestinal tract, home to a vast number of bacteria, requires finely-tuned regulatory and effector immune mechanisms to maintain homeostasis and tolerance. In a large-scale screen, we studied the impacts of single ... -
Interplay of Dengue Virus and the Human Immune Response
(2015-05-07)RIG-I is a key cytosolic sensor of many RNA viruses, including dengue virus (DV), the most significant arboviral pathogen. Upon viral RNA binding, RIG-I signals via the adaptor protein MAVS, located at mitochondria, to ... -
Markov-Based Model of Cervicovaginal Bacterial Dynamics Predicts Community Equilibrium States in Young South African Women
(2018-06-29)Commensal cervicovaginal bacteria modulate female genital tract (FGT) inflammation and HIV acquisition risk. High diversity communities with low Lactobacillus abundance are associated with more activated cervical HIV target ... -
Mechanisms of Endogenous Alpha-Glycosylceramide Generation for Development and Activation of NKT Cells
(2017-05-12)Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells recognize lipid antigens loaded on CD1d molecules and modulate downstream immune responses by rapidly releasing multiple cytokines. Their most potent antigen is the lipid ... -
Mechanisms of regulatory T cell lineage homeostasis and stability
(2015-05-12)Defined by the transcription factor Foxp3, regulatory T cells (Tregs) are a lineage of CD4+ T lymphocytes critical for the maintenance of immune homeostasis and tolerance. A lack of functional Tregs in both mice and humans ... -
Molecular Mechanisms of CD8+ T Cell Differentiation
(2016-04-25)CD8+ T cells are a crucial component of the adaptive immune system and are required for optimal protection from most pathogens and cancer. They function by secreting pro-inflammatory cytokines and by directly eliminating ...