Thesis (M.S.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Shridhar K. Sathe, Florida State University, College of Human Sciences, Dept. of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 15, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--York University, 2008. Graduate Programme in Biology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-121). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR51616

Thematic Paper (M.C.T.M. (Clinical Tropical Medicine))--Mahidol University, 2007. / LICL has E-Thesis 0024 ; please contact computer services. LIRV has E-Thesis 0024 ; please contact circulation services.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. / Description based on contents viewed Oct. 3, 2008; title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-67).

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a major opportunistic fungal infection in patients with haematological malignancies. Morbidity and mortality rates are high despite anti-fungal treatment, as the compromised status of immune system prevents the host from responding optimally to conventional therapy. This raises the consideration for immunotherapy as an adjunctive treatment. In this study, we evaluated the utility of expanded human NK cells as treatment against Aspergillus fumigatus infection in vitro and in vivo. The NK cells were expanded and activated by K562 cells genetically modified to express 4-1BB ligand and membrane-bound interleukin-15 (K562-41BBL-mbIL-15) as feeders. The efficacy of these cells was investigated in A. fumigatus killing assays in vitro and as adoptive cellular therapy in vivo. The expanded NK cells possessed potent killing activity at low effector-to-target ratio of 2:1. Fungicidal activity was morphotypal-dependent and most efficacious against A. fumigatus conidia. Fungicidal activity was mediated by dectin-1 receptors on the expanded NK cells leading to augmented release of perforin, resulting in enhanced direct cytolysis. In an immunocompromised mice pulmonary aspergillosis model, we showed that NK cell treatment significantly reduced fungal burden, hence demonstrating the translational potential of expanded NK cells as adjunctive therapy against IA in immunocompromised patients.

Le projet a permis d’identifier des répertoires de protéines interagissant avec différentes espèces d’acides nucléiques caractéristiques des virus chez cinq espèces animales (Homme, souris, poulet, drosophile, nématode). Ces protéines représentent des candidats pour remplir des fonctions de récepteurs de l’immunité innée ou de molécules antivirales. Certaines d’entre elles ont été conservées au cours de l’évolution, ce qui m’a permis de tester leur fonction dans la drosophile. J’ai réalisé un crible impliquant des infections avec cinq virus différents sur 100 protéines conservées. Ce crible m’a permis d’identifier huit protéines dont l’inhibition impacte la réplication virale. Deux d’entres elles, CG5641 et Zn72D, sont nécessaires pour la réplication des virus de type picornavirus (CrPV). Le candidat le plus intéressant identifié est cependant la protéine Tao, dont l’inhibition entraîne une augmentation de la réplication de virus appartenant à plusieurs familles, chez la drosophile et dans les cellules de mammifères. / Antiviral response largely relies on the recognition of viral nucleic acids. The aim of the project was to characterize the range of nucleic acid binding proteins in the context of viral infection in flies. We identified a wide repertoire of proteins, which recognize viral nucleic acids in five species (human, mouse, chicken, fruit fly and roundworm). Among these proteins, there are ones, which are conserved in insects and humans, and therefore their function can be easily studied in the fruit fly model. Afterwards, we have performed a large screen in flies to study more precisely the function of 100 proteins in infection with 5 different viruses. We have found eight promising candidates as a result of this screen. We identified two Drosophila proteins CG5641 and Zn72D, which are also present in humans, as proviral factors. We also identified a protein Tao, which is conserved in humans, and is antiviral against several types of viruses.

The fetus and its placenta, collectively called the conceptus, are semi-allogeneic to the mother, as they express transplantation antigens of paternal origin. Foreign tissues generally experience immunological rejection by the host immune system; however in a normal healthy pregnancy the conceptus does not undergo immune attack. Emerging evidence indicates the conceptus avoids rejection through a number of mechanisms including the induction of active maternal immune tolerance specific for paternal antigens. However, the mechanisms responsible for establishing this tolerance remain undefined, including the timing of the first encounter with paternal antigen and the cellular processes by which paternal antigen is presented to the maternal immune system. Exposure to paternal transplantation antigens occurs in two waves: initially in the context of male seminal fluid at conception, and secondly after placental trophoblast invasion of maternal tissues in mid-gestation pregnancy. Therefore the aim of this research was to evaluate the female immune response to paternal antigens in seminal fluid and those associated with the conceptus. The mechanisms of antigen presentation, the impact of the cytokine environment and the consequences of T cell activation on pregnancy were also investigated. A transgenic system using ovalbumin (OVA) as the model paternal antigen was established. The transgenic Act-mOVA mouse expresses OVA constitutively and ubiquitously under a B-actin promoter and OVA was shown to be present in seminal fluid and in the fetal and placental tissue of sired progeny. The OVA-reactive CD8+ OT-I and CD4+ OT-II T cells were employed to gauge the relative amount of OVA antigen presented, with the strength of the maternal immune response quantified based upon the extent of T cell proliferation, as assessed by CFSE dye-dilution. Utilising bone marrow chimeric mice, it was demonstrated that upon insemination by an Act-mOVA male, seminal fluid-derived OVA was processed and indirectly presented by maternal bone marrow-derived antigen presenting cells to induce activation and proliferation of the CD8+ OT-I T cells within the uterinedraining para-aortic lymph nodes of the female. Likewise, OT-II T cells were responsive to MHC class II-restricted presentation of seminal fluid OVA. Post-implantation conceptus-derived OVA was detected within peripheral lymph nodes and the spleen where it was presented via the MHC class I and class II-restricted pathways to induce systemic proliferation of both OT-I and OT-II T cells. Furthermore, as gestation advanced the extent of OVA presentation and hence T cell proliferation intensified. Conceptus-derived OVA was still presented systemically until 20 days pp. The impact of the uterine cytokine environment was assessed to determine its influence on seminal OVA antigen processing and presentation. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is a key factor in regulating the leukocyte population of the female reproductive tract. GM-CSF-deficient female mice were unable to process and present seminal fluid OVA as effectively or efficiently as their wildtype counterparts, as assessed by their reduced capacity to drive OT-I and OT-II T cell proliferation following insemination by an Act-mOVA male. Finally, with highly-reactive OVA-specific T cells activated in response to seminal and conceptus OVA antigen, it was of interest to determine the effect of OT-I T cell activation on fetal survival and pregnancy success. It was found that OT-I T cells activated in vivo to paternal OVA antigen in the context of seminal fluid and pregnancy were not deleterious to pregnancy outcomes. However the transfer of cytotoxic OT-I T cells generated in vitro in the presence of an IL-2 into female mice carrying OVA-expressing conceptuses was detrimental to fetal survival. Collectively these experiments demonstrated that the initial exposure to paternal antigen, and hence the first opportunity to develop paternal antigen-specific tolerance, occurs at insemination. Paternal antigen is presented to the maternal T cell repertoire throughout gestation and may play a role in maintaining immune tolerance during pregnancy. The processing and presentation of paternal-derived antigen is chiefly performed by female bone marrow-derived antigen presenting cells. The cytokine environment of the mated female reproductive tract is critical in allowing optimal antigen processing and presentation, to generate an immune response consistent with maternal immune tolerance of the conceptus. / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Adelaide, School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health, 2008