Development of a therapeutic delivery platform with reduced colonization potential.

Bacterial biotherapeutic delivery vehicles have the potential to treat a variety of diseases. This approach obviates the need to purify the recombinant effector molecule, allows delivery of therapeutics via oral or intranasal administration, and protects the effector molecule during gastrointestinal transit. Lactic acid bacteria have been broadly developed as therapeutic delivery vehicles though risks associated with the colonization of a genetically modified microorganism have so-far not been addressed.

Mitigation of Fetal Radiation Injury from Mid-Gestation Total-body Irradiation by Maternal Administration of Mitochondrial-Targeted GS-Nitroxide JP4-039.

Victims of a radiation terrorist event will include pregnant women and unborn fetuses. Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are key pathogenic factors of fetal radiation injury. The goal of this preclinical study is to investigate the efficacy of mitigating fetal radiation injury by maternal administration of the mitochondrial-targeted gramicidin S (GS)-nitroxide radiation mitigator JP4-039.

Enhancing survival after ionizing radiation exposure through mitigation of pyroptosis.

• Pyroptosis, an inflammatory cell death, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of total body irradiation (TBI) so we investigated time course and cell type involvement of key mediators in a murine model. • Pyroptotic mediators were most highly expressed at day 3 post TBI with immune cells from ileum being preferentially activated. • We also investigated the effectiveness of MCC950, a potent pyroptosis inhibitor, in our murine model showing a survival benefit at 50 mg/kg regardless of sex.

SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Induces Oxidative Stress and Senescence in Mouse and Human Lung.

Background/aim: There is concern that people who had COVID-19 will develop pulmonary fibrosis. Using mouse models, we compared pulmonary inflammation following injection of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) to radiation-induced inflammation to demonstrate similarities between the two models. SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) induces inflammatory cytokines and stress responses, which are also common to ionizing irradiation-induced acute pulmonary damage.