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Tag: Don Harn

Use of the Slow-Delivery Platform, VacSIM, Shapes the Host Immune Response to Increase Protection Against Influenza Infection

Influenza virus is a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality due to acute lower respiratory infection, even with the widespread use of multiple licensed influenza vaccines. However, antigenic drift during influenza replication can cause vaccine-induced antibodies to poorly neutralize influenza virus, thereby reducing vaccine effectiveness. To help overcome this problem, we leveraged a hydrogel …

The Human Milk Oligosaccharide Lacto-N-Fucopentaose III Conjugated to Dextran Inhibits HIV Replication in Primary Human Macrophages

Background/Objectives: Individuals with HIV on combined antiretroviral therapy (ART) with virologic suppression exhibit chronic immune activation and immune dysfunction. Numerous studies have shown that human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) controls the postnatal transmission of HIV-1, but its effect on adult HIV-1 infection is not known. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-HIV activity …

First bovine vaccine to prevent human schistosomiasis – a cluster randomised Phase 3 clinical trial

Objective Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical parasitic disease caused by blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma. Schistosoma japonicum is zoonotic in China, the Philippines, and Indonesia, with bovines acting as major reservoirs of human infection. The primary objective of the trial was to examine the impact of a combination of human mass chemotherapy, snail control through mollusciciding, …

Evaluation of delayed LNFPIII treatment initiation protocol on improving long-term behavioral and neuroinflammatory pathology in a mouse model of Gulf War Illness

Chemical overexposures and war-related stress during the 1990-1991 Gulf War (GW) are implicated in the persisting pathological symptoms that many GW veterans continue to endure. These symptoms culminate into a disease known as Gulf War Illness (GWI) and affect about a third of the GW veteran population. Currently, comprehensive effective GWI treatment options are unavailable. …

Streamlining sporozoite isolation from mosquitoes by leveraging the dynamics of migration to the salivary glands

Background: Sporozoites isolated from the salivary glands of Plasmodium-infected mosquitoes are a prerequisite for several basic and pre-clinical applications. Although salivary glands are pooled to maximize sporozoite recovery, insufficient yields pose logistical and analytical hurdles; thus, predicting yields prior to isolation would be valuable. Preceding oocyst densities in the midgut is an obvious candidate. However, it …

Delayed treatment with the immunotherapeutic LNFPIII ameliorates multiple neurological deficits in a pesticide-nerve agent prophylactic mouse model of Gulf War Illness

Residual effects of the 1990-1991 Gulf War (GW) still plague veterans 30 years later as Gulf War Illness (GWI). Thought to stem mostly from deployment-related chemical overexposures, GWI is a disease with multiple neurological symptoms with likely immunological underpinnings. Currently, GWI remains untreatable, and the long-term neurological disease manifestation is not characterized fully. The present …

Lacto-N-fucopentaose-III ameliorates acute and persisting hippocampal synaptic plasticity and transmission deficits in a Gulf War Illness mouse model

Aims: The present study investigated if treatment with the immunotherapeutic, lacto-N-fucopentaose-III (LNFPIII), resulted in amelioration of acute and persisting deficits in synaptic plasticity and transmission as well as trophic factor expression along the hippocampal dorsoventral axis in a mouse model of Gulf War Illness (GWI). Main methods: Mice received either coadministered or delayed LNFPIII treatment throughout or …

A Comparison of Two Structurally Related Human Milk Oligosaccharide Conjugates in a Model of Diet-Induced Obesity

Obesity is the largest risk factor for the development of chronic diseases in industrialized countries. Excessive fat accumulation triggers a state of chronic low-grade inflammation to the detriment of numerous organs. To address this problem, our lab has been examining the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of two human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), lacto-N-fucopentaose III (LNFPIII) and lacto-N-neotetraose (LNnT). …

Lacto-N-fucopentaose-III (LNFPIII) ameliorates acute aberrations in hippocampal synaptic transmission in a Gulf War Illness animal model

Approximately one-third of Persian Gulf War veterans are afflicted by Gulf War Illness (GWI), a chronic multisymptom condition that fundamentally presents with cognitive deficits (i.e., learning and memory impairments) and neuroimmune dysfunction (i.e., inflammation). Factors associated with GWI include overexposures to neurotoxic pesticides and nerve agent prophylactics such as permethrin (PM) and pyridostigmine bromide (PB), …

Assessing the Beneficial Effects of the Immunomodulatory Glycan LNFPIII on Gut Microbiota and Health in a Mouse Model of Gulf War Illness

The microbiota's influence on host (patho) physiology has gained interest in the context of Gulf War Illness (GWI), a chronic disorder featuring dysregulation of the gut-brain-immune axis. This study examined short- and long-term effects of GWI-related chemicals on gut health and fecal microbiota and the potential benefits of Lacto-N-fucopentaose-III (LNFPIII) treatment in a GWI model. …