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May 23rd -- NIAID/NIH visits VBI for the Annual Site Visit of the Center for Modeling Immunity to Enteric Pathogens - May 3-7, 2013, MIEP team is to present at Annual Meeting of American Association of Immunologists , Honolulu, Hawaii. - March 5, 2013, the second Galaxy RNA-seq training workshop is held at 2:30pm in room 343 of VBI. - Feb 26th, 2013, Galaxy RNA-seq training workshop is held at 2:30pm in room 343 of VBI. - Jan 9th, 2013, NIMML Director gives an invited talk at the Gordon Research Conference. - Dec 3rd 2012, MIEP team attended the 2nd annual meeting of MIB. - Nov 30th, VT News featured NIMML research discovery on Clostridium difficile infection - Nov 19th 2012, the NIMML Director visited the Children's National Medical Center. - Oct 25th, 2012, Dr. Bassaganya-Riera gave an invited talk at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. - Oct 10th, 2012, three VBI Scientific Advisory Board members visited NIMML. - Oct 17th, 2012, Dr. William F. Brinkman, Director of the Office of Science at DOE visited NIMML.

Role of PPAR gamma in controlling T helper cell function

Computational modeling uncovers new molecular mechanisms controlling T helper cell function

CD4

BLACKSBURG, Va., April 04 2013 – Researchers at the Center for Modeling Immunity to Enteric Pathogens (MIEP) at Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) believe they have identified the mechanism that turns pro-inflammatory Th17 cells into anti-inflammatory T regulatory cells in the gut. This marks the first time that a comprehensive computational and mathematical model of the mechanisms governing Th cell differentiation has been created and key model-derived predictions have been validated experimentally. The results are published in PLOS Computational Biology. The study focuses on PPAR γ, a protein that aids in metabolic regulation. In previous work, researchers at VBI’s Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory (NIMML) demonstrated that PPAR γ plays a crucial role in suppressing inflammation and immune responses. The new model developed by the MIEP team predicted a novel role of PPAR γ in controlling how gut-associated Th cells change from pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory types. [More ...]

 

Role of PPAR gamma in Immune Responses to EAEC Infection

Researchers identify a potential new therapeutic target for E. coli infections

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BLACKSBURG, Va., March 06, 2013 – A new study by researchers at the Center for Modeling Immunity to Enteric Pathogens (MIEP) at Virginia Bioinformatics Institute provides novel insight into how enteroaggregative Escherichia coli, also known as EAEC, interacts with its host. This new knowledge could be used by scientists to devise new therapeutic strategies against E.coli. The study was published in PLOS One. EAEC infection is the most common cause of persistent diarrhea worldwide and is most frequently seen in malnourished children living in developing countries. A 2011 outbreak in northern Germany received international attention when it sickened more than 3,000 people, causing 53 deaths. “In many parts of the world, the relationship between infection and malnutrition is a vicious cycle. For example, malnourished EAEC-infected individuals experience a chronic burden linked to growth retardation. Our study in mice suggests that promoting inflammation may help clear the bacterial infection soon after infection,” said Josep Bassaganya-Riera, a professor of immunology, director of the Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory and the principal investigator of MIEP. [More ...]

 

Role of gut bacteria in obesity

‘Villain’ gut bacteria may help control diabetes

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BLACKSBURG, Va., Feb. 8, 2013 – A stomach bacterium believed to cause health problems such as gastritis, ulcers, and gastric cancer may play a dual role by balancing the stomach’s ecosystem and controlling body weight and glucose tolerance, according to immunologists at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute of Virginia Tech. Usually the villain in studies of gastric cancer and peptic ulcers, Helicobacter pylori infect about half of the world’s population although most infected individuals don’t get sick. The bacterium’s dwindling numbers coincide with the epidemic of obesity and diabetes in developed countries. “H. pylori is the dominant member of the gastric microbiota and infects about half of the world population. While H. pylori infection can be associated with severe disease, it helps control chronic inflammatory, allergic, or autoimmune diseases,” said Josep Bassaganya-Riera, director of the Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory (NIMML, www.nimml.org) and the Center for Modeling Immunity to Enteric Pathogens (MIEP, www.modelingimmunity.org) at Virginia Tech. “We demonstrated for the first time that gastric colonization with H. pylori exerts beneficial effects in mouse models of obesity and diabetes.” [More ...]

 

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