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Biomedical subjects

Douglas A Drevets

Publications and source records attributed to Douglas A Drevets.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Levels of L-selectin (CD62L) on human leukocytes in disseminated cryptococcosis with and without associated HIV-1 infection.

Patients with disseminated cryptococcosis typically have measurable levels of cryptococcal polysaccharide in serum samples but minimal leukocyte infiltration into infected tissues. In vitro data have shown that cryptococcal polysaccharide induces L-selectin (CD62L) shedding from leukocytes. To assess shedding in vivo, we compared leukocyte L-selectin levels in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1-negative and -positive subjects with and without circulating cryptococcal polysaccharide. Results showed that subjects with cryptococcal polysaccharide in serum samples have significantly lower percentages of neutrophils, monocytes, and CD3+ T cells with L-selectin on their surfaces than do healthy subjects, regardless of HIV status. There was significantly more soluble L-selectin in serum samples from subjects with cryptococcosis than in those from uninfected subjects. Reduced L-selectin levels on leukocytes in subjects with circulating cryptococcal polysaccharide and increased serum levels of soluble L-selectin indicates that surface L-selectin shedding is a mechanism that likely explains reduced leukocyte extravasation into infected tissues of patients with disseminated cryptococcosis.

Adult↗

Subpopulations of mouse blood monocytes differ in maturation stage and inflammatory response.

Blood monocytes are well-characterized precursors for macrophages and dendritic cells. Subsets of human monocytes with differential representation in various disease states are well known. In contrast, mouse monocyte subsets have been characterized minimally. In this study we identify three subpopulations of mouse monocytes that can be distinguished by differential expression of Ly-6C, CD43, CD11c, MBR, and CD62L. The subsets share the characteristics of extensive phagocytosis, similar expression of M-CSF receptor (CD115), and development into macrophages upon M-CSF stimulation. By eliminating blood monocytes with dichloromethylene-bisphosphonate-loaded liposomes and monitoring their repopulation, we showed a developmental relationship between the subsets. Monocytes were maximally depleted 18 h after liposome application and subsequently reappeared in the circulation. These cells were exclusively of the Ly-6C(high) subset, resembling bone marrow monocytes. Serial flow cytometric analyses of newly released Ly-6C(high) monocytes showed that Ly-6C expression on these cells was down-regulated while in circulation. Under inflammatory conditions elicited either by acute infection with Listeria monocytogenes or chronic infection with Leishmania major, there was a significant increase in immature Ly-6C(high) monocytes, resembling the inflammatory left shift of granulocytes. In addition, acute peritoneal inflammation recruited preferentially Ly-6C(med-high) monocytes. Taken together, these data identify distinct subpopulations of mouse blood monocytes that differ in maturation stage and capacity to become recruited to inflammatory sites.

Animals↗

The Ly-6Chigh monocyte subpopulation transports Listeria monocytogenes into the brain during systemic infection of mice.

Mononuclear phagocytes can be used by intracellular pathogens to disseminate throughout the host. In the bloodstream these cells are generically referred to as monocytes. However, blood monocytes are a heterogeneous population, and the exact identity of the leukocyte(s) relevant for microbial spreading is not known. Experiments reported in this study used Listeria monocytogenes-infected mice to establish the phenotype of parasitized blood leukocytes and to test their role in systemic dissemination of intracellular bacteria. More than 90% of the blood leukocytes that were associated with bacteria were CD11b(+) mononuclear cells. Analysis of newly described monocyte subsets showed that most infected cells belonged to the Ly-6C(high) monocyte subset and that Ly-6C(high) and Ly-6C(neg-low) monocytes harbored similar numbers of bacteria per cell. Interestingly, systemic infection with wild-type or DeltaactA mutants of L. monocytogenes, both of which escape from phagosomes and replicate intracellularly, caused expansion of the Ly-6C(high) subset. In contrast, this was not evident after infection with Deltahly mutants, which neither escape phagosomes nor replicate intracellularly. Importantly, when CD11b(+) leukocytes were isolated from the brains of lethally infected mice, 88% of these cells were identified as Ly-6C(high) monocytes. Kinetic analysis showed a significant influx of Ly-6C(high) monocytes into the brain 2 days after systemic infection. This coincided with both bacterial invasion and up-regulation of brain macrophage chemoattractant protein-1 gene expression. These data indicate that the Ly-6C(high) monocyte subset transports L. monocytogenes into the brain and establish their role as Trojan horses in vivo.

Animals↗

Invasion of the central nervous system by intracellular bacteria.

Infection of the central nervous system (CNS) is a severe and frequently fatal event during the course of many diseases caused by microbes with predominantly intracellular life cycles. Examples of these include the facultative intracellular bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Brucella and Salmonella spp. and obligate intracellular microbes of the Rickettsiaceae family and Tropheryma whipplei. Unfortunately, the mechanisms used by intracellular bacterial pathogens to enter the CNS are less well known than those used by bacterial pathogens with an extracellular life cycle. The goal of this review is to elaborate on the means by which intracellular bacterial pathogens establish infection within the CNS. This review encompasses the clinical and pathological findings that pertain to the CNS infection in humans and includes experimental data from animal models that illuminate how these microbes enter the CNS. Recent experimental data showing that L. monocytogenes can invade the CNS by more than one mechanism make it a useful model for discussing the various routes for neuroinvasion used by intracellular bacterial pathogens.

Bacteria↗

Bacterial pathogens as biological weapons and agents of bioterrorism.

Bacterial pathogens have been identified as agents that have been, or could be, used as weapons of biological warfare and/or biological terrorism. These agents are relatively easily obtained, prepared, and dispersed, either as weapons of mass destruction or for more limited terrorist attacks. Although phylogenetically diverse, these agents all have the potential for aerosol dissemination. Physicians in the United States and most of the developed world have never encountered most of these agents and the diseases they produce. Public health programs must be prepared, and individual primary care providers must be able to recognize, diagnose, treat, and prevent infection with these agents.

Anthrax↗

Anthrax.

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Animals↗

Plague.

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Bioterrorism↗