Browsing by Author "Fichorova, Raina"
Now showing items 1-15 of 15
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Are Preterm Newborns Who Have Relative Hyperthyrotropinemia at Increased Risk of Brain Damage?
Korzeniewski, Steven J.; Soto-Rivera, Carmen L.; Fichorova, Raina; Allred, Elizabeth N.; Kuban, Karl C. K.; O’Shea, T. Michael; Paneth, Nigel; Agus, Michael; Dammann, Olaf; Leviton, Alan (Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2014-11)Background We sought to disentangle the contributions of hyperthyrotropinemia (an indicator of thyroid dysfunction) (HTT) and intermittent or sustained systemic inflammation (ISSI) to structural and functional indicators ... -
The Contribution of Cervicovaginal Infections to the Immunomodulatory Effects of Hormonal Contraception
Fichorova, Raina N.; Chen, Pai-Lien; Morrison, Charles S.; Doncel, Gustavo F.; Mendonca, Kevin; Kwok, Cynthia; Chipato, Tsungai; Salata, Robert; Mauck, Christine (American Society of Microbiology, 2015)ABSTRACT Particular types of hormonal contraceptives (HCs) and genital tract infections have been independently associated with risk of HIV-1 acquisition. We examined whether immunity in women using injectable depot ... -
Effects of Female Sex Hormones on Susceptibility to HSV-2 in Vaginal Cells Grown in Air-Liquid Interface
Lee, Yung; Dizzell, Sara E.; Leung, Vivian; Nazli, Aisha; Zahoor, Muhammad A.; Fichorova, Raina N.; Kaushic, Charu (MDPI, 2016)The lower female reproductive tract (FRT) is comprised of the cervix and vagina, surfaces that are continuously exposed to a variety of commensal and pathogenic organisms. Sexually transmitted viruses, such as herpes simplex ... -
Elevated Endogenous Erythropoietin Concentrations Are Associated with Increased Risk of Brain Damage in Extremely Preterm Neonates
Korzeniewski, Steven J.; Allred, Elizabeth; Logan, J. Wells; Fichorova, Raina N.; Engelke, Stephen; Kuban, Karl C. K.; O’Shea, T. Michael; Paneth, Nigel; Holm, Mari; Dammann, Olaf; Leviton, Alan (Public Library of Science, 2015)Background: We sought to determine, in very preterm infants, whether elevated perinatal erythropoietin (EPO) concentrations are associated with increased risks of indicators of brain damage, and whether this risk differs ... -
Endobiont Viruses Sensed by the Human Host – Beyond Conventional Antiparasitic Therapy
Fichorova, Raina N.; Lee, Yujin; Yamamoto, Hidemi; Takagi, Yuko; Hayes, Gary R.; Goodman, Russell P.; Chepa-Lotrea, Xenia; Buck, Olivia R.; Murray, Ryan; Kula, Tomasz; Beach, David H.; Singh, Bibhuti N.; Nibert, Max L. (Public Library of Science, 2012)Wide-spread protozoan parasites carry endosymbiotic dsRNA viruses with uncharted implications to the human host. Among them, Trichomonas vaginalis, a parasite adapted to the human genitourinary tract, infects globally ∼250 ... -
Gene Expression Profiling of Human Vaginal Cells In Vitro Discriminates Compounds with Pro-Inflammatory and Mucosa-Altering Properties: Novel Biomarkers for Preclinical Testing of HIV Microbicide Candidates
Zalenskaya, Irina A.; Joseph, Theresa; Bavarva, Jasmin; Yousefieh, Nazita; Jackson, Suzanne S.; Fashemi, Titilayo; Yamamoto, Hidemi S.; Settlage, Robert; Fichorova, Raina N.; Doncel, Gustavo F. (Public Library of Science, 2015)Background: Inflammation and immune activation of the cervicovaginal mucosa are considered factors that increase susceptibility to HIV infection. Therefore, it is essential to screen candidate anti-HIV microbicides for ... -
Homeostatic Properties of Lactobacillus jensenii Engineered as a Live Vaginal Anti-HIV Microbicide
Yamamoto, Hidemi; Xu, Qiang; Fichorova, Raina Nakova (BioMed Central, 2013)Background: Vaginal probiotics are investigated as a binary strategy for prevention of bacterial vaginosis and HIV. We applied an innovative experimental model using primary and immortalized human cervical and vaginal ... -
Impact of Microbiota on Resistance to Ocular Pseudomonas aeruginosa-Induced Keratitis
Kugadas, Abirami; Christiansen, Stig Hill; Sankaranarayanan, Saiprasad; Surana, Neeraj K.; Gauguet, Stefanie; Kunz, Ryan; Fichorova, Raina; Vorup-Jensen, Thomas; Gadjeva, Mihaela (Public Library of Science, 2016)The existence of the ocular microbiota has been reported but functional analyses to evaluate its significance in regulating ocular immunity are currently lacking. We compared the relative contribution of eye and gut ... -
Mumps and ovarian cancer: modern interpretation of an historic association
Cramer, Daniel William; Vitonis, Allison F.; Pinheiro, Simone P.; McKolanis, John R.; Fichorova, Raina Nakova; Brown, Kevin E.; Hatchette, Todd F.; Finn, Olivera J. (Springer Science + Business Media, 2010)Background Epidemiologic studies found childhood mumps might protect against ovarian cancer. To explain this association, we investigated whether mumps might engender immunity to ovarian cancer through antibodies against ... -
Puerperal mastitis: a reproductive event of importance affecting anti-mucin antibody levels and ovarian cancer risk
Cramer, Daniel William; Williams, Kristina; Vitonis, Allison F.; Yamamoto, Hidemi S.; Stuebe, Alison; Welch, William Robert; Titus, Linda; Fichorova, Raina Nakova (Springer Nature, 2013)Purpose: Test the hypothesis that puerperal mastitis may alter immunity related to the mucin (MUC) family of glycoproteins and lower risk of ovarian cancer. Methods: In two case–control studies conducted in New England ... -
Safety, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary assessment of efficacy of mecasermin (recombinant human IGF-1) for the treatment of Rett syndrome
Khwaja, O. S.; Ho, E.; Barnes, K. V.; O, H. M.; Pereira, Luis Marcelo; Finkelstein, Y.; Nelson, Charles A.; Vogel-Farley, V.; DeGregorio, G.; Holm, Ingrid Adele; Khatwa, Umakanth A.; Kapur, Kush; Alexander, Mark Edward; Finnegan, D. M.; Cantwell, N. G.; Walco, A. C.; Rappaport, Leonard Allan; Gregas, M.; Fichorova, Raina Nakova; Shannon, M. W.; Sur, M.; Kaufmann, Walter E (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014)Rett syndrome (RTT) is a severe X-linked neurodevelopmental disorder mainly affecting females and is associated with mutations in MECP2, the gene encoding methyl CpG-binding protein 2. Mouse models suggest that recombinant ... -
Searching for Lower Female Genital Tract Soluble and Cellular Biomarkers: Defining Levels and Predictors in a Cohort of Healthy Caucasian Women
Kyongo, Jordan K.; Jespers, Vicky; Goovaerts, Odin; Michiels, Johan; Menten, Joris; Fichorova, Raina Nakova; Crucitti, Tania; Vanham, Guido; Ariën, Kevin K. (Public Library of Science, 2012)Background: High concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines have been previously observed in the genital fluids of women enrolled in microbicide trials and may explain observed increased HIV transmission in some of these ... -
Structure of a Protozoan Virus from the Human Genitourinary Parasite Trichomonas vaginalis
Parent, Kristin N.; Takagi, Yuko; Cardone, Giovanni; Olson, Norman H.; Ericsson, Maria; Yang, May; Lee, Yujin; Asara, John M; Fichorova, Raina Nakova; Baker, Timothy S.; Nibert, Max Lee (American Society of Microbiology, 2013)The flagellated protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis is an obligate human genitourinary parasite and the most frequent cause of sexually transmitted disease worldwide. Most clinical isolates of T. vaginalis are persistently ... -
Two-hit model of brain damage in the very preterm newborn: small for gestational age and postnatal systemic inflammation
Leviton, Alan; Fichorova, Raina N.; O’Shea, T. Michael; Kuban, Karl; Paneth, Nigel; Dammann, Olaf; Allred, Elizabeth N. (2013)Background: We sought to disentangle the contributions of perinatal systemic inflammation and small for gestational age (SGA) to the occurrence of low Bayley Mental Development Indices (MDIs) at age 2 years. Method We ... -
The Villain Team-Up or how Trichomonas vaginalis and bacterial vaginosis alter innate immunity in concert
Fichorova, Raina N; Buck, Olivia R; Yamamoto, Hidemi S; Fashemi, Titilayo; Dawood, Hassan Y; Fashemi, Bisiayo; Hayes, Gary R; Beach, David H; Takagi, Yuko; Delaney, Mary L; Nibert, Max L; Singh, Bibhuti N; Onderdonk, Andrew B (BMJ Publishing Group, 2013)Objectives: Complex interactions of vaginal microorganisms with the genital tract epithelium shape mucosal innate immunity, which holds the key to sexual and reproductive health. Bacterial vaginosis (BV), a microbiome-disturbance ...