Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-199). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (doctoral)--Rijksuniversiteit te Utrecht.

Thesis (doctoral)--Uppsala University, 1983. / Bibliography: p. 44-50.

Thesis (doctoral)--Rijksuniversiteit te Utrecht.

Thesis--Catholic Univ. of America.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1955. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographies: leaves 30-31, 83-85.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:33:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2007-07-10Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:24:58Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 gomes_ra_dr_jabo.pdf: 423622 bytes, checksum: 4197737c8e3e3fefdbe077c8f459f240 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar a resposta imune humoral, pelo monitoramento dos anticorpos anti-Babesia bovis, anti-Babesia bigemina e anti-Anaplasma marginale, em búfalos (Bubalus bubalis) naturalmente infectados. Para esta pesquisa, utilizaram-se amostras de soro e de colostro/leite de búfalas adultas do periparto aos 11 meses após, e de soros dos seus bezerros, durante o primeiro ano de vida nos anos de 1999/2000 e 2005. Para determinar o perfil da resposta imune humoral destes animais, utilizou-se o método ELISA indireto e os dados foram apresentados e analisados como a média de um grupo de animais, em diferentes faixas etárias e, individualmente. Após a leitura e interpretação dos dados, os resultados dos animais analisados em grupos apresentaram baixa concentração de anticorpos, ou seja, abaixo do ponto de corte (D.O. = 0,265 e NE=3) de anticorpos anti-A. marginale nos soros, durante os primeiros 90 e 105 dias após o parto e nascimento, respectivamente, para búfalas e seus bezerros. Em seguida, a concentração de anticorpos anti-A. marginale no soro dos bezerros búfalos aumentou ligeiramente acima do ponto de corte e manteve-se assim até atingirem aproximadamente um ano de idade, indicando uma imunidade adquirida, após o contato com a bactéria. Nas búfalas ocorreu soroconversão (NE acima de 3) para Babesia de ambas as espécies, por quase todo o período analisado, com uma elevação acentuada (NE=4 a NE=6) entre os dias 91 e 335 dias após o parto, fato não verificado para os bezerros, no mesmo período. No colostro/leite, os anticorpos anti-B. bovis e anti-B. bigemina foram detectados nos primeiros sete dias pós-parto, mas não foram observados no teste anti-A. marginale. Quando os animais foram analisados individualmente (duas búfalas e seus bezerros), observou-se em um dos bezerros, uma forte imunidade humoral... / The aim of the present study was to analyze the humoral-immune response of water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) naturally infected with Babesia bovis, B. bigemina and Anaplasma marginale. For this work, colostrums/milk and blood samples were weekly, fortnightly and monthly harvested prior and after partum (buffalo cows) and from birth to 365 days after birth (buffalo calves). The antibodies in the colostrums/milk and serum samples from these animals were determined using an ELISA indirect method and the data were analyzed as a mean of a group of animals with matched ages during the period of 1999/2000 or individually during the year of 2005. The data from animals analyzed in group showed that the antibodies against A. marginale were in low concentration (below the cut off point, D.O. = 0.265 and ELISA levels, EL = 3), in the sera of buffalo, during the first 90 and 105 days, respectively for cows and calves. Then, the concentration of anti-A. marginale in the serum samples of buffalo calves, slightly raised to above the cut off point and kept in higher levels up to approximately 365 days after birth, indicating acquired immunity. Serum conversion for Babesia occurred in high levels and above the cut off point only for buffalo cows for all period of experimentation. The antibody levels against Babesia for both species and Anaplasma increased in the sera of buffalo cows between the days 91 and 335 after partum. In the colostrums, anti-B. bovis and anti-B. bigemina antibodies were detected in high levels during the first seven days after partum, but then abruptly declined to zero. Anti-A. marginale, on the other hand were not detected in the colostrums of these animals. When four animals (two buffalo cows and their calves) were individually analyzed it was observed an individual variation in the immune response: in one buffalo calf there was a strong passive... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Biology / Stephen Chapes / Antibodies are an essential part of the immune system. Each B cell, a type of white blood cell, produces a unique antibody. This antibody molecule is comprised of two identical light chains and two identical heavy chains. Each chain has a variable region, which is responsible for antigen binding, and a constant region, which is responsible for effector function in the host. The variable region in the heavy chain is composed of three gene segments, the variable (V), diversity (D), and joining (J) gene segments. The light chain is composed of only V- and J-gene segments. Each immunoglobulin locus contains multiple versions of each gene segment, ranging from over 130 possible V gene segments in the heavy chain to four possible J-gene segments in both the heavy and kappa light chain. The recombination of gene segments occurs in the germline DNA and results in the formation of the unique antibody. The diversity and binding abilities of the antibodies are important for a proper and robust immunological response. Of importance to binding and specificity is the complementary determining region three (CDR3) which plays a major role in determining specificity and antibody-antigen binding. Due to its uniqueness, is used as a measure of diversity in the repertoire. In this work, I used Illumina MiSeq 2x300nt high-throughput sequencing to assess the mouse splenic transcriptome. The work I present here shows the splenic immunoglobulin gene repertoire from unchallenged, unvaccinated conventionally housed mice, mice flown aboard the International Space Station (ISS), and mice challenged with tetanus toxoid (TT) and/or adjuvant (CpG) and subjected to skeletal unloading by antiorthostatic suspension (AOS). AOS is used to induce some of the physiological changes that parallel those that occur during space flight. The characterization of the repertoire includes analysis of V-, D-, and J-gene segment usage, constant region usage, V- and J-gene segment pairing, and CDR3 length and usage. The work included validation of the methodology needed for tissue preparation and storage aboard the ISS, showing that the data obtained was similar to those used in standard ground-based methodologies (Chapter 2). I further validated our nonamplified sequencing methodology with comparisons to methods that use amplification as part of the process (Chapter 3). My work characterized the antibody repertoire of the conventionally housed C57BL/6J mouse (Chapter 4), an important mouse strain in the field of immunology, and demonstrated the homogeneity of gene segment usage in unchallenged animals. We also demonstrated that short duration (~21 days) space flight does not significantly alter the antibody repertoire (Chapter 5). The work culminates in an AOS study to assess changes to the B-cell immunoglobulin repertoire after vaccination with TT and/or CpG. The results show that changes to V-, D-, and J-gene segment usage occur after antigen challenge with AOS causing decreased class switching and frequency of plasma cells. Tetanus toxoid challenge decreased multiple gene segment usage and CpG administration increased isotype switching to the IgA constant region (Chapter 6).

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