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Gudenschwager-Basso EK, Frydman G, Weerakoon S, Andargachew H, Piltaver CM, Huckle WR. Morphological evaluation of the feline placenta correlates with gene expression of vascular growth factors and receptors†. Biol Reprod 2024; 110:569-582. [PMID: 38092011 DOI: 10.1093/biolre/ioad167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Revised: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Placental angiogenesis is critical for normal development. Angiogenic factors and their receptors are key regulators of this process. Dysregulated placental vascular development is associated with pregnancy complications. Despite their importance, vascular growth factor expression has not been thoroughly correlated with placental morphologic development across gestation in cats. We postulate that changes in placental vessel morphology can be appreciated as consequences of dynamic expression of angiogenic signaling agents. Here, we characterized changes in placental morphology alongside expression analysis of angiogenic factor splice variants and receptors throughout pregnancy in domestic shorthair cats. We observed increased vascular and lamellar density in the lamellar zone during mid-pregnancy. Immunohistochemical analysis localized the vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) receptor KDR to endothelial cells of the maternal and fetal microvasculatures. PlGF and its principal receptor Flt-1 were localized to the trophoblasts and fetal vasculature. VEGF-A was found in trophoblast cells and associated with endothelial cells. We detected expression of two Plgf splice variants and four Vegf-a variants. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis showed upregulation of mRNAs encoding pan Vegf-a and all Vegf-a splice forms at gestational days 30-35. Vegf-A showed a marked relative increase in expression during mid-pregnancy, consistent with the pro-angiogenic changes seen in the lamellar zone at days 30-35. Flt-1 was upregulated during late pregnancy. Plgf variants showed stable expression during the first two-thirds of pregnancy, followed by a marked increase toward term. These findings revealed specific spatiotemporal expression patterns of VEGF-A family members consistent with pivotal roles during normal placental development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erwin K Gudenschwager-Basso
- Department of Biomedical Sciences & Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Galit Frydman
- Department of Biomedical Sciences & Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Shaneke Weerakoon
- Department of Biomedical Sciences & Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA, USA
- Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Hariyat Andargachew
- Department of Biomedical Sciences & Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Cassandra M Piltaver
- Department of Biomedical Sciences & Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - William R Huckle
- Department of Biomedical Sciences & Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA, USA
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Ledford BT, Chen M, Van Dyke M, Barron C, Zhang X, Cartaya A, Zheng Y, Ceylan A, Goldstein A, He JQ. Keratose Hydrogel Drives Differentiation of Cardiac Vascular Smooth Muscle Progenitor Cells: Implications in Ischemic Treatment. Stem Cell Rev Rep 2023; 19:2341-2360. [PMID: 37392292 DOI: 10.1007/s12015-023-10574-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/03/2023]
Abstract
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a common vascular disorder in the extremity of limbs with limited clinical treatments. Stem cells hold great promise for the treatment of PAD, but their therapeutic efficiency is limited due to multiple factors, such as poor engraftment and non-optimal selection of cell type. To date, stem cells from a variety of tissue sources have been tested, but little information is available regarding vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) for PAD therapy. The present study examines the effects of keratose (KOS) hydrogels on c-kit+/CD31- cardiac vascular smooth muscle progenitor cell (cVSMPC) differentiation and the therapeutic potential of the resultant VSMCs in a mouse hindlimb ischemic model of PAD. The results demonstrated that KOS but not collagen hydrogel was able to drive the majority of cVSMPCs into functional VSMCs in a defined Knockout serum replacement (SR) medium in the absence of differentiation inducers. This effect could be inhibited by TGF-β1 antagonists. Further, KOS hydrogel increased expression of TGF-β1-associated proteins and modulated the level of free TGF-β1 during differentiation. Finally, transplantation of KOS-driven VSMCs significantly increased blood flow and vascular densities of ischemic hindlimbs. These findings indicate that TGF-β1 signaling is involved in KOS hydrogel-preferred VSMC differentiation and that enhanced blood flow are likely resulted from angiogenesis and/or arteriogenesis induced by transplanted VSMCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin T Ledford
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Miao Chen
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Mark Van Dyke
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | - Catherine Barron
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Xiaonan Zhang
- Beijing Yulong Shengshi Biotechnology, Haidian District, Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Aurora Cartaya
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Youjing Zheng
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Ahmet Ceylan
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Aaron Goldstein
- Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Jia-Qiang He
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA.
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Paranjape VV, Henao-Guerrero N, Menciotti G, Saksena S, Agostinho M. Agreement between Electrical Cardiometry and Pulmonary Artery Thermodilution for Measuring Cardiac Output in Isoflurane-Anesthetized Dogs. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13081420. [PMID: 37106987 PMCID: PMC10135226 DOI: 10.3390/ani13081420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In animals, invasive pulmonary artery thermodilution (PATD) is a gold standard for cardiac output (CO) monitoring, but it is impractical in clinical settings. This study evaluates the agreement between PATD and noninvasive electrical cardiometry (EC) for measuring CO and analyzes the other EC-derived hemodynamic variables in six healthy anesthetized dogs subjected to four different hemodynamic events in a sequential order: (1) euvolemia (baseline); (2) hemorrhage (33% blood volume loss); (3) autologous blood transfusion; and (4) 20 mL/kg colloid bolus. The CO measurements obtained using PATD and EC are compared using Bland-Altman analysis, Lin's concordance correlation (LCC), and polar plot analysis. Values of p < 0.05 are considered significant. The EC measurements consistently underpredict the CO values as compared with PATD, and the LCC is 0.65. The EC's performance is better during hemorrhage, thus indicating its capability in detecting absolute hypovolemia in clinical settings. Even though the percentage error exhibited by EC is 49.4%, which is higher than the standard (<30%), EC displays a good trending ability. Additionally, the EC-derived variables display a significant correlation with the CO measured using PATD. Noninvasive EC may have a potential in monitoring trends in hemodynamics in clinical settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vaidehi V Paranjape
- Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, 205 Duck Pond Dr, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Natalia Henao-Guerrero
- Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, 205 Duck Pond Dr, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Giulio Menciotti
- Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, 205 Duck Pond Dr, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Siddharth Saksena
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 750 Drillfield Dr, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Manuela Agostinho
- Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, 205 Duck Pond Dr, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
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Cereghino C, Roesch F, Carrau L, Hardy A, Ribeiro-Filho HV, Henrion-Lacritick A, Koh C, Marano JM, Bates TA, Rai P, Chuong C, Akter S, Vallet T, Blanc H, Elliott TJ, Brown AM, Michalak P, LeRoith T, Bloom JD, Marques RE, Saleh MC, Vignuzzi M, Weger-Lucarelli J. The E2 glycoprotein holds key residues for Mayaro virus adaptation to the urban Aedes aegypti mosquito. PLoS Pathog 2023; 19:e1010491. [PMID: 37018377 PMCID: PMC10109513 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Revised: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Adaptation to mosquito vectors suited for transmission in urban settings is a major driver in the emergence of arboviruses. To better anticipate future emergence events, it is crucial to assess their potential to adapt to new vector hosts. In this work, we used two different experimental evolution approaches to study the adaptation process of an emerging alphavirus, Mayaro virus (MAYV), to Ae. aegypti, an urban mosquito vector of many other arboviruses. We identified E2-T179N as a key mutation increasing MAYV replication in insect cells and enhancing transmission after escaping the midgut of live Ae. aegypti. In contrast, this mutation decreased viral replication and binding in human fibroblasts, a primary cellular target of MAYV in humans. We also showed that MAYV E2-T179N generates reduced viremia and displays less severe tissue pathology in vivo in a mouse model. We found evidence in mouse fibroblasts that MAYV E2-T179N is less dependent on the Mxra8 receptor for replication than WT MAYV. Similarly, exogenous expression of human apolipoprotein receptor 2 and Mxra8 enhanced WT MAYV replication compared to MAYV E2-T179N. When this mutation was introduced in the closely related chikungunya virus, which has caused major outbreaks globally in the past two decades, we observed increased replication in both human and insect cells, suggesting E2 position 179 is an important determinant of alphavirus host-adaptation, although in a virus-specific manner. Collectively, these results indicate that adaptation at the T179 residue in MAYV E2 may result in increased vector competence-but coming at the cost of optimal replication in humans-and may represent a first step towards a future emergence event.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chelsea Cereghino
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
- Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Ferdinand Roesch
- Institut Pasteur, Viral Populations and Pathogenesis Unit, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 3569, Paris, France
- UMR 1282 ISP, INRAE Centre Val de Loire, Nouzilly, France
| | - Lucía Carrau
- Institut Pasteur, Viral Populations and Pathogenesis Unit, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 3569, Paris, France
- Department of Microbiology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Alexandra Hardy
- Institut Pasteur, Viral Populations and Pathogenesis Unit, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 3569, Paris, France
| | - Helder V. Ribeiro-Filho
- Brazilian Biosciences National Laboratory, Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Annabelle Henrion-Lacritick
- Institut Pasteur, Viruses and RNA Interference Unit, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 3569, Paris, France
| | - Cassandra Koh
- Institut Pasteur, Viruses and RNA Interference Unit, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 3569, Paris, France
| | - Jeffrey M. Marano
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
- Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program, Virginia Tech, Roanoke, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Tyler A. Bates
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Pallavi Rai
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Christina Chuong
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Shamima Akter
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
- Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Thomas Vallet
- Institut Pasteur, Viral Populations and Pathogenesis Unit, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 3569, Paris, France
| | - Hervé Blanc
- Institut Pasteur, Viruses and RNA Interference Unit, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 3569, Paris, France
| | - Truitt J. Elliott
- Program in Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology (GBCB), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
- Research and Informatics, University Libraries, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Anne M. Brown
- Program in Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology (GBCB), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Pawel Michalak
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
- Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Monroe, Louisiana, United States of America
- Center for One Health Research, VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, Virginia, Untied States of Ameria
- Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Tanya LeRoith
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Jesse D. Bloom
- Basic Sciences Division and Computational Biology Program, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Rafael Elias Marques
- Brazilian Biosciences National Laboratory, Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Maria-Carla Saleh
- Institut Pasteur, Viruses and RNA Interference Unit, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 3569, Paris, France
| | - Marco Vignuzzi
- Institut Pasteur, Viral Populations and Pathogenesis Unit, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 3569, Paris, France
| | - James Weger-Lucarelli
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
- Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
- Institut Pasteur, Viral Populations and Pathogenesis Unit, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 3569, Paris, France
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Freudenberger Catanzaro KC, Lahmers KK, Allen IC, Inzana TJ. Alginate microencapsulation of an attenuated O-antigen mutant of Francisella tularensis LVS as a model for a vaccine delivery vehicle. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0259807. [PMID: 35275912 PMCID: PMC8916679 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Francisella tularensis is the etiologic agent of tularemia and a Tier I Select Agent. Subspecies tularensis (Type A) is the most virulent of the four subspecies and inhalation of as few as 10 cells can cause severe disease in humans. Due to its niche as a facultative intracellular pathogen, a successful tularemia vaccine must induce a robust cellular immune response, which is best achieved by a live, attenuated strain. F. tularensis strains lacking lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O-antigen are highly attenuated, but do not persist in the host long enough to induce protective immunity. Increasing the persistence of an O-antigen mutant may help stimulate protective immunity. Alginate encapsulation is frequently used with probiotics to increase persistence of bacteria within the gastrointestinal system, and was used to encapsulate the highly attenuated LVS O-antigen mutant WbtIG191V. Encapsulation with alginate followed by a poly-L-lysine/alginate coating increased survival of WbtIG191V in complement-active serum. In addition, BALB/c mice immunized intraperitoneally with encapsulated WbtIG191V combined with purified LPS survived longer than mock-immunized mice following intranasal challenge. Alginate encapsulation of the bacteria also increased antibody titers compared to non-encapsulated bacteria. These data suggest that alginate encapsulation provides a slow-release vehicle for bacterial deposits, as evidenced by the increased antibody titer and increased persistence in serum compared to freely suspended cells. Survival of mice against high-dose intranasal challenge with the LVS wildtype was similar between mice immunized within alginate capsules or with LVS, possibly due to the low number of animals used, but bacterial loads in the liver and spleen were the lowest in mice immunized with WbtIG191V and LPS in beads. However, an analysis of the immune response of surviving mice indicated that those vaccinated with the alginate vehicle upregulated cell-mediated immune pathways to a lesser extent than LVS-vaccinated mice. In summary, this vehicle, as formulated, may be more effective for pathogens that require predominately antibody-mediated immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly C. Freudenberger Catanzaro
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Kevin K. Lahmers
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Irving C. Allen
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Thomas J. Inzana
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Long Island University, Brookville, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Powell-Doherty RD, Abbott ARN, Nelson LA, Bertke AS. Amyloid-β and p-Tau Anti-Threat Response to Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Infection in Primary Adult Murine Hippocampal Neurons. J Virol 2020; 94:e01874-19. [PMID: 32075924 PMCID: PMC7163132 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01874-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Accepted: 02/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Recent studies have established a potential link between herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infection and the development of AD. HSV-1 DNA has been detected in AD amyloid plaques in human brains, and treatment with the antiviral acyclovir (ACV) was reported to block the accumulation of the AD-associated proteins beta-amyloid (Aβ) and hyper-phosphorylated tau (p-tau) in Vero and glioblastoma cells. Our goal was to determine whether the accumulation of AD-related proteins is attributable to acute and/or latent HSV-1 infection in mature hippocampal neurons, a region of the brain severely impacted by AD. Primary adult murine hippocampal neuronal cultures infected with HSV-1, with or without antivirals, were assessed for Aβ and p-tau expression over 7 days postinfection. P-tau expression was transiently elevated in HSV-1-infected neurons, as well as in the presence of antivirals alone. Infected neurons, as well as uninfected neurons treated with antivirals, had a greater accumulation of Aβ42 than uninfected untreated neurons. Furthermore, Aβ42 colocalized with HSV-1 latency-associated transcript (LAT) expression. These studies suggest that p-tau potentially acts as an acute response to any perceived danger-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) in primary adult hippocampal neurons, while Aβ aggregation is a long-term response to persistent threats, including HSV-1 infection.IMPORTANCE Growing evidence supports a link between HSV-1 infection and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although AD is clearly a complex multifactorial disorder, an infectious disease etiology provides alternative therapy opportunities for this devastating disease. Understanding the impact that HSV-1 has on mature neurons and the proteins most strongly associated with AD pathology may identify specific mechanisms that could be manipulated to prevent progression of neurodegeneration and dementia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca D Powell-Doherty
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | - Amber R N Abbott
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | - Laura A Nelson
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | - Andrea S Bertke
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
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Hover SS, Bertke AS. Herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 educational assessment of young adults in rural southwest Virginia. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0179969. [PMID: 28654651 PMCID: PMC5487059 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0179969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2017] [Accepted: 06/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) causes genital herpes, one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the U.S. HSV-1, commonly associated with cold sores, is increasing as a cause of genital herpes. Abstinence-only sexual health classes, commonly taught in Virginia, generate young adults who are under-educated in sexual health, increasing STI risks. College students in southwest Virginia were surveyed to assess comprehensiveness of high school health education regarding HSV-1 and HSV-2 and to identify students’ preferred methods for STI education. Methods To obtain data on knowledge of HSV, comprehensiveness of sexual health education in high school, and preferred learning methods, 237 college students participated in an online questionnaire and 28 students were interviewed using structured interviews. Results Questionnaire and interview data indicated that Family Life Education classes need to include more comprehensive information on prevention, viral transmission, and differences between HSV-1 and HSV-2. The majority of total respondents (both the questionnaire and interview) (65%) reported non-comprehensive high school sexual health education. The majority of interview (79%) and questionnaire (55%) respondents wished they had learned more about herpes and other STIs in high school. Education preferences of both interviewed and surveyed respondents included interactive internet programs or games, more realistic lectures, and learning about STIs later in high school when students reported greater sexual activity. Conclusion Our results indicate that more comprehensive sexual health education is needed and wanted by students in southwest Virginia. More relevant educational programs should be implemented for VA high school students utilizing technology and interactive methods to improve student engagement in sexual health education. Implications and contribution These studies provide information on knowledge of herpes simplex viruses among college students, comprehensiveness of sexual health education received in high schools, and preferred methods to learn about HSV and other STIs. These studies inform the facilitation of improved health education practices and programs for high school and college students.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shantal S. Hover
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, United States of America
| | - Andrea S. Bertke
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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