Project description:Streptococcus equi subspecies equi, strain 1691 grown on COBA streptococcal selective agar shows classical mucoid colony morphology in addition to a reduced capsule phenotype. This project aimed to identify changes in the transcriptional profile between the two morphologies.
Project description:To understand the immune response of cows to the apicomplexan parasite Theileria annulata, we used ex vivo isolate cells derived from two infected calve : Holstein 12886 (Bos taurus), which is known to be susceptible to the disease, and Sahiwal 82H (Bos indicus), which is known to be resistant. The infected bovine macrophages of the two species with Theileria were collected and performed multiome 10X Chromium genomics scRNA-Seq.
Project description:Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (S. equi) is a major pathogen which cause strangles, a highly contagious respiratory infection, in horses and other equines. In this study, we purified the extracellular vesicles (EVs) of S. equi ATCC 39506 and evaluated them as vaccine candidates against S. equi infections in mice. Through immunization in an animal model and immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry, we evaluated EV as vaccine candidates against S. equi infections and identified novel immunogenic proteins.
Project description:The EAGLE (Environmental and Genetic Lung Cancer Etiology) gene expression study is case-control study of lung cancer conducted in Milan, Italy, designed to identify molecular alteration, particularly gene expression variation induced by smoking in lung carcinoma in this data set. The study is initiated by the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG).
Project description:Intracellular pathogens develop elaborate mechanisms to survive within the hostile environments of host cells. Theileria parasites infect bovine leukocytes and cause devastating diseases in cattle in developing countries. Theileria spp. have evolved sophisticated strategies to hijack host leukocytes, inducing proliferative and invasive phenotypes characteristic of cell transformation. Intracellular Theileria parasites secrete proteins into the host cell and recruit host proteins to induce oncogenic signaling for parasite survival. It is unknown how Theileria parasites evade host cell defense mechanisms, such as autophagy, to survive within host cells. Here, we show that Theileria annulata parasites sequester the host eIF5A protein to their surface to escape elimination by autophagic processes. We identified a small-molecule compound that reduces parasite load by inducing autophagic flux in host leukocytes, thereby uncoupling Theileria parasite survival from host cell survival. We took a chemical genetics approach to show that this compound induced host autophagy mechanisms and the formation of autophagic structures via AMPK activation and the release of the host protein eIF5A which is sequestered at the parasite surface. The sequestration of host eIF5A to the parasite surface offers a strategy to escape elimination by autophagic mechanisms. These results show how intracellular pathogens can avoid host defense mechanisms and identify a new anti-Theileria drug that induces autophagy to target parasite removal.
Project description:Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (S. equi) is a major pathogen which cause strangles, a highly contagious respiratory infection, in horses and other equines.In this study, we discovered potential vaccine candidates using comprehensive proteomics and reverse vaccinology. As the initial step, we divided proteome of S. equi ATCC 39506 into whole cell lysate, secretory proteome, membrane proteome and extracellular vesicle and then, comparative proteomic analysis was performed to characterize the functional features of the proteome. Especially, extracellular vesicle of S. equi was evaluated at the first time. Total 114 potential vaccine candidates (PVCs) were selected using reverse vaccinology and knowledge based annotations. Comprehensive proteomic analysis confirmed that 60 PVCs were identified in S. equi ATCC 39506. Particularly, 32 PVCs were enriched in the EV proteome, suggesting that this cellular fraction may serve as vaccine.
