Browsing by Author "Sikkema, William K. A."

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    Inducible lung epithelial resistance requires multisource reactive oxygen species generation to protect against bacterial infections
    (Public Library of Science, 2019) Ware, Hayden H.; Kulkarni, Vikram V.; Wang, Yongxing; García, Jezreel Pantaleón; Juarez, Miguel Leiva; Kirkpatrick, Carson T.; Wali, Shradha; Syed, Sarah; Kontoyiannis, Alexander D.; Sikkema, William K. A.; Tour, James M.; Evans, Scott E.; Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology
    Pneumonia remains a global health threat, in part due to expanding categories of susceptible individuals and increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistant pathogens. However, therapeutic stimulation of the lungs’ mucosal defenses by inhaled exposure to a synergistic combination of Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists known as Pam2-ODN promotes mouse survival of pneumonia caused by a wide array of pathogens. This inducible resistance to pneumonia relies on intact lung epithelial TLR signaling, and inducible protection against viral pathogens has recently been shown to require increased production of epithelial reactive oxygen species (ROS) from multiple epithelial ROS generators. To determine whether similar mechanisms contribute to inducible antibacterial responses, the current work investigates the role of ROS in therapeutically-stimulated protection against Pseudomonas aerugnosa challenges. Inhaled Pam2-ODN treatment one day before infection prevented hemorrhagic lung cytotoxicity and mouse death in a manner that correlated with reduction in bacterial burden. The bacterial killing effect of Pam2-ODN was recapitulated in isolated mouse and human lung epithelial cells, and the protection correlated with inducible epithelial generation of ROS. Scavenging or targeted blockade of ROS production from either dual oxidase or mitochondrial sources resulted in near complete loss of Pam2-ODN-induced bacterial killing, whereas deficiency of induced antimicrobial peptides had little effect. These findings support a central role for multisource epithelial ROS in inducible resistance against a bacterial pathogen and provide mechanistic insights into means to protect vulnerable patients against lethal infections.
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    Spinal cord fusion with PEG-GNRs (TexasPEG): Neurophysiological recovery in 24 hours in rats
    (Surgical Neurology International, 2016) Kim, C-Yoon; Sikkema, William K. A.; Hwang, In-Kyu; Oh, Hanseul; Kim, Un Jeng; Lee, Bae Hwan; Tour, James M.; The NanoCarbon Center
    Background: The GEMINI spinal cord fusion protocol has been developed to achieve a successful cephalosomatic anastomosis. Here, for the first time, we report the effects of locally applied water-soluble, conductive PEG(polyethylene glycol)ylated graphene nanoribbons (PEG-GNRs) on neurophysiologic conduction after sharp cervical cord transection in rats. PEG-GNRs were produced by the polymerization of ethylene oxide from anion-edged graphene nanoribbons. These combine the fusogenic potential of PEG with the electrical conducting properties of the graphene nanoribbons. Methods: Laminectomy and transection of cervical spinal cord (C5) was performed on Female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. After applying PEG-GNR on the severed part, electrophysiological recovery of the reconstructed cervical spinal cord was confirmed by somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) at 24 h after surgery. Results: While no SSEPs were detected in the control group, PEG-GNR treated group showed fast recovery of SSEPs at 24 h after the surgery. Conclusion: In this preliminary dataset, for the first time, we report the effect of a novel form of PEG with the goal of rapid reconstruction of a sharply severed spinal cord.