Publications by authors named "Dominick Papandrea"

One of the main challenges in the fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) stems from the ongoing evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) into multiple variants. To address this hurdle, research groups around the world have independently developed protocols to isolate these variants from clinical samples. These isolates are then used in translational and basic research-for example, in vaccine development, drug screening or characterizing SARS-CoV-2 biology and pathogenesis.

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Epilepsy has many causes and comorbidities affecting as many as 4% of people in their lifetime. Both idiopathic and symptomatic epilepsies are highly heritable, but genetic factors are difficult to characterize among humans due to complex disease etiologies. Rodent genetic studies have been critical to the discovery of seizure susceptibility loci, including mutations identified in both mouse and human cohorts.

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Unlabelled: The occurrence of recurrent, unprovoked seizures is the hallmark of human epilepsy. Currently, only two-thirds of this patient population has adequate seizure control. New epilepsy models provide the potential for not only understanding the development of spontaneous seizures, but also for testing new strategies to treat this disorder.

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Significant differences in seizure characteristics between inbred mouse strains highlight the importance of genetic predisposition to epilepsy. Here, we examined the genetic differences between the seizure-resistant C57BL/6J (B6) mouse strain and the seizure-susceptible DBA/2J (D2) strain in the phospho-Erk and Fos pathways to examine seizure-induced neuronal activity to uncover potential mechanistic correlates to these disparate seizure responsivities. Expression of neural activity markers was examined following 1, 5, or 8 seizures, or after 8 seizures, a 28 day rest period, and a final flurothyl rechallenge.

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Identifying the genetic basis of epilepsy in humans is difficult due to its complexity, thereby underlying the need for preclinical models with specific aspects of seizure susceptibility that are tractable to genetic analyses. In the repeated-flurothyl model, mice are given 8 flurothyl-induced seizures, once per day (the induction phase), followed by a 28-day rest period (incubation phase) and final flurothyl challenge. This paradigm allows for the tracking of multiple phenotypes including: initial generalized seizure threshold, decreases in generalized seizure threshold with repeated flurothyl exposures, and changes in the complexity of seizures over time.

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Myoclonus is often observed in epilepsy. It is characterized by sudden involuntary shock-like movements of the body (myoclonic jerks, MJs). This study examined whether epileptic myoclonus was under genetic control.

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Previous seizure models have demonstrated genetic differences in generalized seizure threshold (GST) in inbred mice, but the genetic control of epileptogenesis is relatively unexplored. The present study examined, through analysis of inbred strains of mice, whether the seizure characteristics observed in the flurothyl kindling model are under genetic control. Eight consecutive, daily generalized seizures were induced by flurothyl in mice from five inbred strains.

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Previous research has shown that developmentally related memory impairments in immature rodents are malleable and may be attenuated using a variety of pharmacological and behavioral treatments. This experiment examined the effects of glucose (10, 100, 250 or 500 mg/kg) or saline on blood glucose level, locomotor activity, and spontaneous alternation (SA) in the T-maze. Studies were conducted with 20-, 22-, and 24-day-old preweanling Sprague-Dawley rats.

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