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Characterizing Immune Cells of Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins
Title
Characterizing Immune Cells of Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins.
Creator
Bible, Brittany, Zeng, Menghua, Graduate College, Tamjidi, Saba, Bossart, Gregory D., Nouri-Shirazi, Mahyar
Abstract/Description
Background: Marine mammals are ideal sentinel species for human health due to exposure to the same oceans and consumption of the same foods. There have been many studies which demonstrate that wild Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins are exposed to high levels of contaminants which lead to a suppressed immune system and are therefore more susceptible to opportunistic infections, many of which are zoonotic diseases. However, nearly no research has been done on determining defects in the immune cell...
Show moreBackground: Marine mammals are ideal sentinel species for human health due to exposure to the same oceans and consumption of the same foods. There have been many studies which demonstrate that wild Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins are exposed to high levels of contaminants which lead to a suppressed immune system and are therefore more susceptible to opportunistic infections, many of which are zoonotic diseases. However, nearly no research has been done on determining defects in the immune cell population of dolphins, especially Dendritic Cells DCs that are essential for initiating an immune response. Hypothesis: We hypothesize phenotypic and functional differences in the Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells PBMC, including DC precursors, of wild dolphins as compared to managed dolphins. Methods: Specifically in this study, we have used terrestrial-specific antibodies and growth factors to characterize immune cells in PBMC and to generate monocyte-derived DCs. Results: We have identified cross-reactive terrestrial antibodies that could detect immune cell subsets within PBMC, including B cells, T cells, NK cells, monocytes and APCs. Interestingly, using these antibodies we found significant changes in immune cell subsets within PBMC of wild and managed dolphins. Finally among the terrestrial DC growth factors tested we found rat GM-CSF and IL-4 generated DCs expressing higher levels of CD11c, CD14, CD40, CD80, CD86, MHC I and MHC II. Conclusion: Our findings allow us to further study defects in the immune cells, especially DCs, in response to environmental contaminants.
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Date Issued
2014
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00005137
Format
Document (PDF)
TLR agonists differentially induce maturation of nicotine-exposed dendritic cell
Title
TLR agonists differentially induce maturation of nicotine-exposed dendritic cell.
Creator
Tamjidi, Saba, Nourishirazi, Erika, Graduate College, Bible, Brittany, Zeng, Menghua, Nouri-Shirazi, Mahyar
Abstract/Description
Background: Vaccines aid in saving lives from infections and biological warfare attacks. They should be effective in all target populations otherwise the likelihood that an unprotected person will transmit disease to a vulnerable individual is greatly increased. There is compelling evidence that smokers are less responsive to vaccination. We have reported that both therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines fail to protect and cure animals from disease due to negative effects of nicotine in...
Show moreBackground: Vaccines aid in saving lives from infections and biological warfare attacks. They should be effective in all target populations otherwise the likelihood that an unprotected person will transmit disease to a vulnerable individual is greatly increased. There is compelling evidence that smokers are less responsive to vaccination. We have reported that both therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines fail to protect and cure animals from disease due to negative effects of nicotine in biological activities of DCs. Using in vitro mouse culture system we have identified an appropriate TLR agonist capable of correcting the defects in DCs exposed to nicotine. Hypothesis: In order to translate these studies to human, we tested the hypothesis that appropriate TLR agonists will also correct the degrading effects of nicotine on human DCs and consequently DC-NK cross talk and T cell polarization. Methods: Monocyte-derived DCs were generated in culture media containing growth factors GM-CSF and IL-4 with or without nicotine treatment. DCs were activated with indicated TLR agonists and their phenotypes and cytokine profiles were analyzed by flow cytometry and ELISA, respectively. Results: Among the TLR agonists tested, we found that nicotine has less effect on human DC maturation in response to TLR4 plus TLR7/8 agonists as evidenced by expression levels of their costimulatory CD80/83/86/40 and antigen-presenting HLA-DR molecules as well as inflammatory cytokines IL-12, IL-10,TNF-α and IL-1β production. Conclusion: We are currently investigating whether these TLR agonists also augment human DC-NK bidirectional signals essential for T cell differentiation in a nicotinic environment.
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Date Issued
2014
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00005169
Format
Document (PDF)
Selected TLR Agonists Act in Synergy to Reprogram DC-NK Cross-talk and Generate Effector T cells in Nicotinic Environment
Title
Selected TLR Agonists Act in Synergy to Reprogram DC-NK Cross-talk and Generate Effector T cells in Nicotinic Environment.
Creator
Abu-Nuwar, Emily, Tamjidi, Saba, Nouri-Shirazi, Mahyar, Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry
Abstract/Description
The magnitude of immune responses to vaccination is a critical factor in determining protection from diseases. We reported that nicotine disrupts the properties of DCs that are pivotal in the initiation of immune response to vaccines. Here we investigated whether TLR agonist(s) could overcome the effects of nicotine on human DC and DC-NK cross-talk essential for effector T cell generation. nicDC, nicDC-NK, and nicDC-NK-T cultures exposed to TLR agonists were evaluated for expression of...
Show moreThe magnitude of immune responses to vaccination is a critical factor in determining protection from diseases. We reported that nicotine disrupts the properties of DCs that are pivotal in the initiation of immune response to vaccines. Here we investigated whether TLR agonist(s) could overcome the effects of nicotine on human DC and DC-NK cross-talk essential for effector T cell generation. nicDC, nicDC-NK, and nicDC-NK-T cultures exposed to TLR agonists were evaluated for expression of costimulatory molecules, cytokines, and intracellular cytokine IFN-g using ELISA and flow cytometry. Our data shows that among the TLR agonists, TLR3 and TLR8/7 synergistically optimized nicDC maturation co-cultured NK cell activation. Importantly, similar to DC-NK, nicDC-NK treated with TLR3 and TLR8/7 and co-cultured with naïve T cells promoted a comparable number of effector T cells. Our data suggest that the addition of appropriate TLR agonist(s) to vaccine formulation could potentially improve the smokers’ immune response to vaccination.
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Date Issued
2016
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00005554
Subject Headings
College students --Research --United States.
Format
Document (PDF)
The impact of TLR agonists on nicotine exposed human immune cells
Title
The impact of TLR agonists on nicotine exposed human immune cells.
Creator
Nourishirazi, Erika, Guinet, Elisabeth, Nouri-Shirazi, Mahyar
Date Issued
2013-04-05
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3361159
Subject Headings
Toll-Like Receptors, Immune system, Nicotine, Vaccines
Format
Document (PDF)
The effects of Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists on human nicDC-NK mediated memory/effector T-cell development
Title
The effects of Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists on human nicDC-NK mediated memory/effector T-cell development.
Creator
Tamjidi, Saba, Nouri-Shirazi, Mahyar, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Department of Biomedical Science
Abstract/Description
There is compelling evidence that smokers are less responsive to vaccination. We reported that both therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines fail to protect and cure animals from disease due to negative effects of nicotine on DCs’ ability to generate effector T cells. We have been investigating whether vaccine formulated with TLR agonist(s) could potentially overcome the immunosuppressive effects of nicotine on human DC-NK cross-talk essential for effector T cell generation. Monocyte-derived DCs...
Show moreThere is compelling evidence that smokers are less responsive to vaccination. We reported that both therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines fail to protect and cure animals from disease due to negative effects of nicotine on DCs’ ability to generate effector T cells. We have been investigating whether vaccine formulated with TLR agonist(s) could potentially overcome the immunosuppressive effects of nicotine on human DC-NK cross-talk essential for effector T cell generation. Monocyte-derived DCs and nicDCs were stimulated with individual and combined TLR agonists prior to co-culture with purified T cells. The phenotypes and cytokine profiles of T cell were assessed using Flow Cytometry and ELISA, respectively. We found nicDCs cultured with TLR-8/7 alone or in combination with TLR-3 produce quantitatively and qualitatively similar IFN-γ producing effector T cells when compared to control DCs. Our data suggest that the addition of appropriate TLR agonist to vaccine formulation could potentially overcome the immunosuppression seen in smokers, thereby containing the spread of infectious disease to vulnerable population
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Date Issued
2015
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004469, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004469
Subject Headings
Cell membranes, Cell receptors, Evidence based medicine, Immune system, Molecular biology, T cells -- Receptors, Tobacco -- Physiological effects
Format
Document (PDF)
Identifying and characterizing the immune cell populations of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
Title
Identifying and characterizing the immune cell populations of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).
Creator
Bible, Brittany, Nouri-Shirazi, Mahyar, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Department of Biomedical Science
Abstract/Description
Recently, there has been an increase in marine mammal mortalities, most commonly Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, which is an alarming indication of the health status of the marine ecosystem. Studies have demonstrated that some free-ranging dolphins exhibit a suppressed immune system possibly because of exposure to contaminants or infectious microorganisms. However, this research has been limited due to a lack of commercially available marine-specific antibodies. Therefore,...
Show moreRecently, there has been an increase in marine mammal mortalities, most commonly Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, which is an alarming indication of the health status of the marine ecosystem. Studies have demonstrated that some free-ranging dolphins exhibit a suppressed immune system possibly because of exposure to contaminants or infectious microorganisms. However, this research has been limited due to a lack of commercially available marine-specific antibodies. Therefore, the first chapter of this thesis aims to identify cross-reactive terrestrial-specific antibodies that could be used to phenotype and compare the immune cell populations of dolphins under human care and free-ranging dolphins. The second chapter aims to utilize terrestrial-specific growth factors and dendritic cell (DC) surface markers to generate, characterize, and compare ex vivo DCs from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of dolphins under human care and free-ranging dolphins. In summary, I have identified differences within the PBMCs and ex vivo generated DCs of dolphins under human care and free-ranging dolphins that could potentially shed light on the impact of environmental contaminants and infectious microorganisms on immune cells which could lead to increased morbidity and mortality.
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Date Issued
2015
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004347, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004347
Subject Headings
Bottlenose dolphin -- Physiology, Dolphins -- Physiology, Marine animals -- North Atlantic Ocean -- Identification., Marine mammals -- Atlantic Coast (U.S.), Marine mammals -- Effect of water pollution on, Marine mammals -- North Atlantic Ocean -- Identification
Format
Document (PDF)
PREEXISTING IMMUNE MEMORY TO CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATIONS
Title
PREEXISTING IMMUNE MEMORY TO CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATIONS.
Creator
Lee, Czdari, Nouri-Shirazi, Mahyar, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Integrated Medical Science, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine
Abstract/Description
Studies suggest that smokers have less than optimal immune responses to natural infections and booster vaccines, which may adversely influence the herd effects of vaccines. We hypothesize that smoking attenuates preexisting memory cells and antibodies specific to childhood immunizations. To test this, we first evaluated several in vitro culture conditions that mimic in vivo immune cell responses within human blood samples. This study concluded that among tested conditions, R848/IL-2 and GMCSF...
Show moreStudies suggest that smokers have less than optimal immune responses to natural infections and booster vaccines, which may adversely influence the herd effects of vaccines. We hypothesize that smoking attenuates preexisting memory cells and antibodies specific to childhood immunizations. To test this, we first evaluated several in vitro culture conditions that mimic in vivo immune cell responses within human blood samples. This study concluded that among tested conditions, R848/IL-2 and GMCSF/CD40L/IL-2 optimally supported the differentiation of existing antigen-specific memory B cells into immunoglobulin-secreting plasma cells. Additionally, GM-CSF optimally supported the differentiation of antigen-specific memory T cells into IFN-γ- producing effector cells. Overall, we have established culture conditions that will allow us for the first time to assess the impact of external factors (i.e., smoking, immunosuppressive drugs, etc.) on preexisting, development, and longevity of immune memory specific to childhood, booster, and new vaccines among various populations.
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Date Issued
2022
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00014025
Subject Headings
Immunologic Memory, Vaccines, Immunity
Format
Document (PDF)