Periodontitis; Iron--Health aspects; Iron in the body
The dental pathogen A. actinomycetemcomitans, a Gram- negative organism, has been associated with aggressive forms of periodontitis. A. actinomycetemcomitans requires iron to grow. In the host, iron-binding proteins such as transferrin,...
Quorum sensing (Microbiology); Cellular signal transduction; Bacterial genetics
Quorum sensing in the oral pathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is dependent upon the soluble signaling molecule AI-2, but it is not known how the initial detection of AI-2 is coupled to the downstream regulation of gene expression that...
Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes the often-fatal infectious disease Tuberculosis, and infects approximately one third of the world's population. Gaining a better understanding of how these bacteria regulate gene expression for intracellular...
Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular pathogen that utilizes a type III secretion system to enter mammalian cells and establish an intracellular niche. TARP, the translocated actin recruitment protein, is a chlamydial invasion protein...
The objective of my dissertation research was to determine the role of chemical signals in conveying information regarding an individual's health status and suitability as a mate in humans and to examine the role that commensal microflora play in...
Background: Helicobacter pylori (Hp) establishes life-long gastric infection in billions of humans, and is often responsible for diseases such as peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. Cumulative actions of genetic drift and natural selection over...
Cancer accounts for nearly one-quarter of deaths in the United States, exceeded only by heart diseases. Despite the development of various strategies to treat cancer, it remains one of the most deadly diseases worldwide due to the limited effects...
Monophosphoryl Lipid A (MPLA), a derivative of LPS endotoxin, is a TLR4 agonist that displays as little as 0.1-1% as much toxicity as its parent molecule while retaining immunostimulatory properties. We discovered that MPLA activates a TRIF-biased...
Tobacco smoke is a strong and independent risk factor for several chronic systemic diseases and also increases susceptibility to a multitude of bacterial infections, including periodontal infections. Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease...
Periodontitis--Age factors; Natural immunity; Age factors in disease
Periodontal disease arises from excessive host inflammatory responses to the tooth-associated microbial biofilm, known as dental plaque. Severity ranges from superficial inflammation of the gingivae (gingivitis) to extensive destruction of...
The immune system is of profound importance for host survival due to its ability to clear many acquired diseases. In case of infections and cancer, disease arises due to under-performance of immune system. Whereas in autoimmunity and...
Tick-borne diseases; Health behavior; Health attitudes; Health education--Social aspects
Human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), a tick-borne disease that has recently surfaced in
the United States, exists in regions where the tick vector population is established. This
study utilizes methods that look beyond identifying high-risk regions,...
Depression is one of the most frequent causes of disability worldwide. It can
affect the psychological, social, and physical wellbeing of those that suffer from it, the
majority of which are women. Depression has been linked to immune activation as...
Chronic periodontitis is strongly associated with composition of the oral biofilm
occupying the gingival crevicular aspect of the tooth and its associated root. Some gram-negative,
"red complex" bacteria instigate periodontal bone loss in...
The vaccinia virus complement control protein (VCP) is involved in the modulation of the host inflammatory response during vaccinia virus infection. It possesses the ability to inhibit both classical and alternative pathways of complement...
Females have a higher incidence of autoimmune diseases than males for reasons that are currently unknown. CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells play an important role in the maintenance of immunological homeostasis and self-tolerance by suppressing...
Drug resistance in microorganisms--Mathematical models; Intensive care units
Antibiotic resistance is a problem causing growing concern in the medical community, leading some to speculate that a return to the preantibiotic era is imminent. The problem of antibiotic resistance is particularly significant in the intensive...
School yearbooks; Schools; Students; University of Louisville--Students; Alumni & alumnae; University of Louisville--Alumni and alumnae; Student organizations; Universities & colleges; Medical students; Law students; Dental students; Music...
A student publication of the University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, 1959.
T cells; Disease susceptibility; Lupus; Sex factors in disease
Females are more susceptible to autoimmune disease than males. In several mouse models of disease, castration of males exacerbates disease while androgen treatment ameliorates disease. These data suggest hormones can have an influence on disease...
CDCIWHO only "recommends" that rings be removed under gloves because of cross-contamination between health care workers and patients. Microbiological samples of oral streptococci beneath rings and between fingers under non-sterile exam...
