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Dr. Knight's
laboratory has developed an expertise in host inflammatory/immune
responses to various noxious stimuli, most notably, gastric
aspiration. Elucidating the cytokine cascade that "drives"
the responses (i.e., proinflammatory cytokines, TNF and IL-1a,
and chemokines, MIP-2 and MCP-1) is the mainstay of this research.
The roles that leukocytes (specifically neutrophils and monocytes/macrophages)
and their mediators (reactive oxygen and nitrogen species
and proteinases) play in the resultant injury, as well as
the mechanisms involved in their recruitment and activation,
is also focused upon.
Drs. Knight and Russo have developed
a collaboration focused on host/microbe interactions. Dr. Russo's laboratory utilizes
genetic manipulation techniques to produce isogenic mutant
isolates of a pathogenic strain of extraintestinal E.
coli. Defining the pathogenicity of the various isolates
that are missing specific components of the bacteria's cell
wall (thereby altering its presentation to the host) is a
major focus of investigation. Dr. Melendy's lab is studying how, during human papillomavirus infection, the viral proteins interact with and recruit human cellular proteins to replicate the papillomavirus genome.
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