Publications by authors named "Erin Papke"
Coral reefs are invaluable ecosystems that are under threat from various anthropogenic stressors. There has been a recent increase in the diagnostic tools utilized to understand how these threats impact coral reef health. Unfortunately, the application of diagnostic tools like transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is not as standardized or developed in coral research as in other research fields.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- - The study focused on KPC-Kp bloodstream infections, which are deadly, and aimed to understand how these bacteria resist a key defense mechanism in our blood, called complement.
- - Researchers tested various KPC-Kp isolates from patients, discovering that 27% of them resisted killing by human serum; a specific gene mutation (wcaJ) linked to capsule production contributed to this resistance.
- - This mutation resulted in less capsule presence, paradoxically increasing the bacteria's ability to bind complement proteins while also improving their survival against immune responses, potentially allowing them to thrive in the bloodstream without being overly virulent in tissues.
Article Synopsis
- *Researchers found that 27% of KPC-Kp isolates showed increased resistance to human serum, linked to a mutation that reduces capsule content and helps the bacteria evade immune responses.
- *The mutation allows KPC-Kp to survive better in the bloodstream while being less virulent in tissues, highlighting a complex interaction that aids the bacteria's persistence in the host.
Characterizing the thermal niche of harmful algae is crucial for understanding and projecting the effects of future climate change on harmful algal blooms. The effects of 6 different temperatures (18-32 °C) on the growth, photophysiology, and toxicity were examined in the dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum, and the raphidophytes, Heterosigma akashiwo and Chattonella subsalsa from the Delaware Inland Bays (DIB). K.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComplement is crucial for host defense but may also drive dysregulated inflammation. There is limited understanding of alternative complement function, which can amplify all complement activity, during critical illness. We examined the function and key components of the alternative complement pathway in a series of critically ill patients and in a mouse pneumonia model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF