Publications by authors named "Melanie Cushion"

pneumonia (PjP) poses a serious risk to individuals with compromised immune systems, such as individuals with HIV/AIDS or undergoing immunosuppressive therapies for cancer or solid organ transplants. Severe PjP triggers excessive lung inflammation, resulting in lung function decline and consequential alveolar damage, potentially culminating in acute respiratory distress syndrome. Non-HIV patients face a 30%-60% mortality rate, emphasizing the need for a deeper understanding of inflammatory responses in PjP.

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Introduction: species are pathogenic fungi known to cause pneumonia in immunocompromised mammals. They are obligate to their host, replicate extracellularly in lung alveoli and thrive in the copper-enriched environment of mammalian lungs. In this study, we investigated the proteome of , a model organism that infects mice, in the context of its copper sensing and tolerance.

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pneumonia (PjP) poses a serious risk to individuals with compromised immune systems, such as individuals with HIV/AIDS or undergoing immunosuppressive therapies for cancer or solid organ transplants. Severe PjP triggers excessive lung inflammation, resulting in lung function decline and consequential alveolar damage, potentially culminating in acute respiratory distress syndrome. Non-HIV patients face a 30-60%mortality rate, emphasizing the need for a deeper understanding of inflammatory responses in PjP.

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Centromeres are constricted chromosomal regions that are essential for cell division. In eukaryotes, centromeres display a remarkable architectural and genetic diversity. The basis of centromere-accelerated evolution remains elusive.

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spp. are host obligate fungal pathogens that can cause severe pneumonia in mammals and rely heavily on their host for essential nutrients. The lack of a sustainable culture system poses challenges in understanding their metabolism, and the acquisition of essential nutrients from host lungs remains unexplored.

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Surface antigenic variation is crucial for major pathogens that infect humans. To escape the immune system, they exploit various mechanisms. Understanding these mechanisms is important to better prevent and fight the deadly diseases caused.

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spp. are host obligate fungal pathogens that can cause severe pneumonia in mammals and rely heavily on their host for essential nutrients. The lack of a sustainable culture system poses challenges in understanding their metabolism and the acquisition of essential nutrients from host lungs remains unexplored.

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Centromeres are genomic regions that coordinate accurate chromosomal segregation during mitosis and meiosis. Yet, despite their essential function, centromeres evolve rapidly across eukaryotes. Centromeres are often the sites of chromosomal breaks which contribute to genome shuffling and promote speciation by inhibiting gene flow.

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Unlabelled: Many preclinical studies of infectious diseases have neglected experimental designs that evaluate potential differences related to sex with a concomitant over-reliance on male model systems. Hence, the NIH implemented a monitoring system for sex inclusion in preclinical studies.

Methods: Per this mandate, we examined the lung burdens of infection in three mouse strains in both male and female animals at early, mid, and late time points.

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The proposed life cycle of fungi in the genus Pneumocystis has typically included both an asexual cycle via binary fission and a sexual cycle. Until recently, the strategy used for sexual replication was largely unknown, but genomic and functional assays now support a mode known as primary homothallism (self-fertilization). The question of whether an asexual cycle contributes to the growth of these fungi remains.

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A3IS (Mycosinate) is a synthetic product which only contains ingredients found naturally within honey. A3IS is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial product which produces a sustained release of hydrogen peroxide at low but therapeutic levels. The product elicits this release through an enzymatic reaction between glucose oxidase and the substrate glucose once the product is hydrated.

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Rezafungin is a novel echinocandin in Phase 3 development for prevention of invasive fungal disease caused by spp., spp. and in blood and marrow transplantation patients.

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species (spp.) are host-obligate fungal parasites that colonize and propagate almost exclusively in the alveolar lumen within the lungs of mammals where they can cause a lethal pneumonia. The emergence of this pneumonia in non-HIV infected persons caused by (PjP), illustrates the continued importance of and the need to understand its associated pathologies and to develop new therapies and preventative strategies.

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The pathogenic fungi in the genus, Pneumocystis, have eluded attempts to continuously grow them in an cultivation system. New data from transcriptomic and genomic sequencing studies have identified a myriad of absent metabolic pathways, helping to define their host obligate nature. These nutrients, factors, and co-factors are acquired from their mammalian host and provide clues to further supplementation of existing media formulations.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pneumocystis jirovecii is a fungal agent that causes pneumonia in humans and is closely related to Pneumocystis found in macaques; however, little is understood about its counterparts in other mammals that don’t infect humans.
  • Researchers have sequenced the genomes of various Pneumocystis species from animals like macaques, rabbits, dogs, and rats to better understand their evolutionary adaptations and compare them to those infecting humans.
  • This genomic analysis helps reveal important genetic traits related to host adaptation and provides insight into the evolutionary history of P. jirovecii, the only Pneumocystis species that can infect humans.
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Antifungal prophylaxis is recommended to prevent invasive fungal disease caused by spp., spp., and in patients at risk for opportunistic infections, such as allogeneic blood or marrow transplant recipients, patients with hematological disease undergoing chemotherapy, or patients on immunosuppressive therapies.

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Although atovaquone is effective in treating and preventing Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP), its use is limited by nonlinear absorption and adverse events. The current study was undertaken to examine the activity of encochleated atovaquone (eATQ), a novel lipid-crystal nanoparticle formulation, in a mouse model of PCP. eATQ 100-200 mg was superior to commercially available atovaquone at 14 days in decreasing total Pneumocystis nuclei and asci.

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, a major opportunistic pathogen in patients with a broad range of immunodeficiencies, contains abundant surface proteins encoded by a multicopy gene family, termed the major surface glycoprotein (Msg) gene superfamily. This superfamily has been identified in all species characterized to date, highlighting its important role in biology. In this report, through a comprehensive and in-depth characterization of 459 genes from 7 species, we demonstrate, for the first time, the phylogeny and evolution of conserved domains in Msg proteins and provide a detailed description of the classification, unique characteristics, and phylogenetic relatedness of five Msg families.

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It was highlighted that the original article [1] contained errors in the figures and their legends and by extension the in-text figure citations. This Corrections article shows the correct figures and correct figure legends.

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The impact of pneumonia (PcP) on morbidity and mortality remains substantial for immunocompromised individuals, including those afflicted by HIV infection, organ transplantation, cancer, autoimmune diseases, or subject to chemotherapy or corticosteroid-based therapies. Previous work from our group has shown that repurposing antimalarial compounds for PcP holds promise for treatment of this opportunistic infection. Following our previous discovery of chloroquine analogues with dual-stage antimalarial action both and , we now report the potent action of these compounds on Identification of chloroquine analogues as anti-PcP leads is an unprecedented finding.

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Background: The yeast-like fungi Pneumocystis, resides in lung alveoli and can cause a lethal infection known as Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in hosts with impaired immune systems. Current therapies for PCP, such as trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), suffer from significant treatment failures and a multitude of serious side effects. Novel therapeutic approaches (i.

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