Publications by authors named "Seona Thompson"

In endemic regions concurrent infection with multiple gastrointestinal (GI) helminth species is more common than single species infection. However, the majority of model helminth infections focus on single species infections leading to a lack of understanding of how co-infection influences anti-parasite immune responses. Here, we use a model co-infection of Trichuris muris (Tm) and Heligmosomoides bakeri (Hb) to investigate the effect of Hb on anti-Tm immune responses.

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Host immunity to parasitic nematodes requires the generation of a robust type 2 cytokine response, characterized by the production of interleukin 13 (IL-13), which drives expulsion. Here, we show that infection with helminths in the intestine also induces an ILC2-driven, IL-13-dependent goblet cell hyperplasia and increased production of mucins (Muc5b and Muc5ac) at distal sites, including the lungs and other mucosal barrier sites. Critically, we show that type 2 priming of lung tissue through increased mucin production inhibits the progression of a subsequent lung migratory helminth infection and limits its transit through the airways.

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Infection by soil transmitted parasitic helminths, such as Trichuris spp, are ubiquitous in humans and animals but the mechanisms determining persistence of chronic infections are poorly understood. Here we show that p43, the single most abundant protein in T. muris excretions/secretions, is non-immunogenic during infection and has an unusual sequence and structure containing subdomain homology to thrombospondin type 1 and interleukin (IL)-13 receptor (R) α2.

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Incidences of infection-related cancers are on the rise in developing countries where the prevalence of intestinal nematode worm infections are also high. Trichuris muris (T. muris) is a murine gut-dwelling nematode that is the direct model for human T.

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The photoreceptor and PAS/LOV protein VIVID (VVD) modulates blue-light signaling and influences light and temperature responses of the circadian clock in Neurospora crassa. One of the main actions of VVD on the circadian clock is to influence circadian clock phase by regulating levels of the transcripts encoded by the central clock gene frequency (frq). How this regulation is achieved is unknown.

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Appropriate responses of organisms to heat stress are essential for their survival. In eukaryotes, adaptation to high temperatures is mediated by heat shock transcription factors (HSFs). HSFs regulate the expression of heat shock proteins, which function as molecular chaperones assisting in protein folding and stability.

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