Publications by authors named "G Messick"
Article Synopsis
- CD4 T helper 1 (Th1) cells and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) are crucial for fighting visceral leishmaniasis (VL), and microRNA 155 (miR155) enhances this immune response by targeting specific suppressor proteins.
- In experiments with miR155 knockout mice, the absence of miR155 led to higher parasite levels and poorer immune responses, particularly lower Th1-associated IFN-γ production, although parasites eventually declined, indicating some alternate defensive mechanism.
- The study found that miR155 not only helps control VL but is not necessary for the body to eventually resolve the infection, as other immune pathways can compensate for its absence.
There is a need for more information on the relationship between diseases and fluctuations of wild populations of marine animals. In the case of Callinectes sapidus reovirus 1 (CsRV1, also known as RLV), there is a lack of baseline information on range, prevalence and outbreaks, from which to develop an understanding of population-level impacts. An RT-qPCR assay was developed that is capable of detecting 10 copies of the CsRV1 genome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hematodinium perezi, a parasitic dinoflagellate, infects and kills blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. The parasite proliferates within host hemolymph and tissues, and also produces free-swimming biflagellated dinospores that emerge from infected crabs. Infections in C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA reovirus (tentatively designated as Callinectes sapidus reovirus, CsRV) was found in the blue crabs C. sapidus collected in Chesapeake Bay in 2005. Histological examination of hepatopancreas and gill from infected crabs revealed eosinophilic to basophilic, cytoplasmic, inclusions in hemocytes and in cells of connective tissue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMortality among blue crab Callinectes sapidus in soft shell production facilities is typically 25% or greater. The harvest, handling, and husbandry practices of soft shell crab production have the potential to spread or exacerbate infectious crab diseases. To investigate the possible role of viruses in soft shell crab mortalities, we took advantage of the physicochemical properties of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) to isolate a putative virus genome.
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