Date on Senior Honors Thesis
5-2014
Document Type
Senior Honors Thesis
Department
Biology
Degree Program
College of Arts and Sciences
Author's Keywords
Flagella; Burkholderia dolosa, Toll-like receptor 5; TLRS; Human immune response
Abstract
Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is the most commonly inherited lethal disorder in Caucasian populations. Chronic bacterial infection both decreases lung function and lowers the quality of the CF patient’s life. In one of the most recent CF epidemics, Burkholderia dolosa, an organism previously uncharacterized as an epidemic strain, infected over forty patients and led to the death of over seven patients at Children’s Hospital Boston. Preliminary research revealed that this strain of B. dolosa possesses genes for two distinct types of flagella, which is uncommon in bacterial pathogens. In this study we examine the interaction of human cells and B. dolosa, focusing on the human inflammatory response to these two types of B. dolosa flagella. The findings of this study could provide insight into B. dolosa pathogenesis, so that effective therapeutics may be designed to combat this organism in the future.
Recommended Citation
McDonald, Molly, "The human immune response to the flagellins of Burkholderia dolosa." (2014). College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses. Paper 82.
http://doi.org/10.18297/honors/82
