Publications by authors named "Jaime Tomko"

Analysis of multi-modal datasets can identify multi-scale interactions underlying biological systems, but can be beset by spurious connections due to indirect impacts propagating through an unmapped biological network. For example, studies in macaques have shown that BCG vaccination by an intravenous route protects against tuberculosis, correlating with changes across various immune data modes. To eliminate spurious correlations and identify critical immune interactions in a public multi-modal dataset (systems serology, cytokines, cytometry) of vaccinated macaques, we applied Markov Fields (MF), a data-driven approach that explains vaccine efficacy and immune correlations via multivariate network paths, without requiring large numbers of samples (i.

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Analysis of multi-modal datasets can identify multi-scale interactions underlying biological systems but can be beset by spurious connections due to indirect impacts propagating through an unmapped biological network. For example, studies in macaques have shown that Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination by an intravenous route protects against tuberculosis, correlating with changes across various immune data modes. To eliminate spurious correlations and identify critical immune interactions in a public multi-modal dataset (systems serology, cytokines, and cytometry) of vaccinated macaques, we applied Markov fields (MFs), a data-driven approach that explains vaccine efficacy and immune correlations via multivariate network paths, without requiring large numbers of samples (i.

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Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is one of the leading causes of death due to an infectious agent. Coinfection with HIV exacerbates M. tuberculosis infection outcomes in people living with HIV.

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Immunological priming-in the context of either prior infection or vaccination-elicits protective responses against subsequent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection. However, the changes that occur in the lung cellular milieu post-primary Mtb infection and their contributions to protection upon reinfection remain poorly understood. Using clinical and microbiological endpoints in a non-human primate reinfection model, we demonstrated that prior Mtb infection elicited a long-lasting protective response against subsequent Mtb exposure and was CD4 T cell dependent.

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Tuberculosis (TB), caused by (Mtb), is one of the leading causes of death due to an infectious agent. Coinfection with HIV exacerbates Mtb infection outcomes in people living with HIV (PLWH). Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), the only approved TB vaccine, is effective in infants, but its efficacy in adolescents and adults is limited.

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Non-human primates remain the most useful and reliable pre-clinical model for many human diseases. Primate breath profiles have previously distinguished healthy animals from diseased, including non-human primates. Breath collection is relatively non-invasive, so this motivated us to define a healthy baseline breath profile that could be used in studies evaluating disease, therapies, and vaccines in non-human primates.

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Tuberculosis remains a large global disease burden for which treatment regimens are protracted and monitoring of disease activity difficult. Existing detection methods rely almost exclusively on bacterial culture from sputum which limits sampling to organisms on the pulmonary surface. Advances in monitoring tuberculous lesions have utilized the common glucoside [F]FDG, yet lack specificity to the causative pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and so do not directly correlate with pathogen viability.

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Article Synopsis
  • Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant global health issue despite BCG vaccination efforts, warranting research into improved vaccine strategies.
  • A study found that administering BCG via intravenous (IV) route instead of intradermal (ID) enhanced protection against TB in a non-human primate model.
  • Depletion of specific lymphocyte types, particularly CD4 T cells and innate CD8α+ lymphocytes, compromised this protection, indicating their crucial role in developing more effective TB vaccines.
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Article Synopsis
  • SARS-CoV-2, which emerged in late 2019, has caused a global pandemic, with 34 vaccines approved and about 67% of the world vaccinated, yet new infections and variants still pose challenges.
  • Researchers evaluated a new measles virus-vectored vaccine (V591) designed to target the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in an African green monkey model, demonstrating strong immune responses pre-challenge.
  • V591-vaccinated monkeys showed reduced viral loads and earlier cessation of virus shedding after exposure to SARS-CoV-2, leading to a lower disease burden in their lungs compared to those given a control vaccine.
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Article Synopsis
  • Immunological priming from prior infections or vaccinations provides long-lasting protection against reinfection, but the specific changes in lung cell environments are not fully understood.
  • In a study using non-human primates, it was found that depleting CD4 T cells before reinfection significantly weakens this protective response, highlighting their critical role.
  • The research indicates that retaining CD4 T cells during reinfection leads to a milder lung inflammation and improved immune responses, suggesting new strategies for vaccines and treatments that enhance both T cell activity and innate immune responses to reduce disease severity.
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The functional role of CD8+ lymphocytes in tuberculosis remains poorly understood. We depleted innate and/or adaptive CD8+ lymphocytes in macaques and showed that loss of all CD8α+ cells (using anti-CD8α antibody) significantly impaired early control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, leading to increased granulomas, lung inflammation, and bacterial burden. Analysis of barcoded Mtb from infected macaques demonstrated that depletion of all CD8+ lymphocytes allowed increased establishment of Mtb in lungs and dissemination within lungs and to lymph nodes, while depletion of only adaptive CD8+ T cells (with anti-CD8β antibody) worsened bacterial control in lymph nodes.

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Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), is the most common cause of death in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Intra-dermal Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) delivery is the only licensed vaccine against tuberculosis; however, it offers little protection from pulmonary tuberculosis in adults and is contraindicated in people living with HIV. Intravenous BCG confers protection against Mtb infection in rhesus macaques; we hypothesized that it might prevent tuberculosis in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected macaques, a model for HIV infection.

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Tuberculosis remains a large global disease burden for which treatment regimens are protracted and monitoring of disease activity difficult. Existing detection methods rely almost exclusively on bacterial culture from sputum which limits sampling to organisms on the pulmonary surface. Advances in monitoring tuberculous lesions have utilized the common glucoside [F]FDG, yet lack specificity to the causative pathogen () and so do not directly correlate with pathogen viability.

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Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the world, causing ~1.5 million deaths every year. The World Health Organization initiated an End TB Strategy that aims to reduce TB-related deaths in 2035 by 95%.

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Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG), the only approved Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) vaccine, provides limited durable protection when administered intradermally. However, recent work revealed that intravenous (i.v.

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Tuberculosis (TB) is the most common cause of death in people living with HIV. BCG delivered intradermally (ID) is the only licensed vaccine to prevent TB. However, it offers little protection from pulmonary TB in adults.

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Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection outcomes have been described as active tuberculosis or latent infection but a spectrum of outcomes is now recognized. We used a nonhuman primate model, which recapitulates human infection, to characterize the clinical, microbiologic, and radiographic patterns associated with developing latent M. tuberculosis infection.

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Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), is a global health concern, yearly resulting in 10 million new cases of active TB. Immunologic investigation of lung granulomas is essential for understanding host control of bacterial replication. Here, we identify and compare the pathological, cellular, and functional differences in granulomas at 4, 12, and 20 weeks post-infection in Chinese cynomolgus macaques.

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Mycobacterium tuberculosis lung infection results in a complex multicellular structure: the granuloma. In some granulomas, immune activity promotes bacterial clearance, but in others, bacteria persist and grow. We identified correlates of bacterial control in cynomolgus macaque lung granulomas by co-registering longitudinal positron emission tomography and computed tomography imaging, single-cell RNA sequencing, and measures of bacterial clearance.

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Neutrophilic inflammation correlates with severe tuberculosis (TB), a disease caused by (). Granulomas are lesions that form in TB, and a PET probe for following neutrophil recruitment to granulomas could predict disease progression. We tested the formyl peptide receptor 1 (FPR1)-targeting peptide FLFLF in -infected macaques.

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Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading infectious cause of death among people living with HIV. People living with HIV are more susceptible to contracting and often have worsened TB disease. Understanding the immunologic defects caused by HIV and the consequences it has on coinfection is critical in combating this global health epidemic.

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Vaccines are urgently needed to combat the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and testing of candidate vaccines in an appropriate non-human primate (NHP) model is a critical step in the process. Infection of African green monkeys (AGM) with a low passage human isolate of SARS-CoV-2 by aerosol or mucosal exposure resulted in mild clinical infection with a transient decrease in lung tidal volume. Imaging with human clinical-grade 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) co-registered with computed tomography (CT) revealed pulmonary lesions at 4 days post-infection (dpi) that resolved over time.

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Tuberculosis (TB), caused by , continues to be a major global health problem. Lung granulomas are organized structures of host immune cells that function to contain the bacteria. Cytokine expression is a critical component of the protective immune response, but inappropriate cytokine expression can exacerbate TB.

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Study Objectives: Supplemental oxygen has been shown to decrease the frequency of obstructive respiratory events during sleep, but may result in alveolar hypoventilation. Limited information exists on the effect of supplemental oxygen on sleep and respiratory events in infants with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of infants with OSA who had sleep studies performed from 2007-2012.

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