Monthly Archives:
August 2019

Platt, Maryann P.
Columbia Academic Commons-2019 Theses Doctoral

Taken together, these data demonstrate the pivotal role of Th17 lymphocytes in brain pathology and olfactory processing deficits after recurrent GAS infections in our mouse model. Our intranasal inoculation model supports the conclusion that post-infectious BGE is autoimmune in nature, despite the absence of behavioral symptoms in this model. Using multiple mouse models of post-infectious BGE may allow us to study distinct facets of disease pathogenesis. Finally, this work underscores the ability of T cells to incite neuroinflammation, provides a useful clinical diagnostic test in olfactory functional assessments, and lends support to T cell immunotherapy strategies in patients with post-infectious BGEs.

Madeleine W. Cunningham
Microbiology Spectrum-August 2019
Author manuscript – In advance of print

The studies suggest 1) that the antibodies against streptococci and brain in Sydenham chorea and related diseases produce CNS dysfunction through a neuronal signal transduction and subsequent excess dopamine release mechanism and 2) that the molecular targets of the chorea antibodies include lysoganglioside and the dopamine receptors in neuronal cell membranes. The anti-neuronal autoantibodies also target the group A streptococcal carbohydrate epitope N-acetyl beta-D-glucosamine present on the rhamnose backbone of the carbohydrate and present in the cell membrane and wall of the group A streptococci as well as the intracellular brain protein tubulin. The diagram in Figure 15 illustrates proposed events of how antineuronal autoantibodies against lysoganglioside and the dopamine receptors D1 and D2 may function in Sydenham chorea and PANDAS (3).

Mona Gerentes, Antoine Pelissolo, Krishnamoorthy Rajagopal, Ryad Tamouza, Nora Hamdani,
Anxiety Disorders-August 2019

This review highlights that OCD is associated with low-grade inflammation, neural antibodies, and neuro-inflammatory and auto-immune disorders. In some subset of OCD patients, autoimmunity is likely triggered by specific bacterial, viral, or parasitic agents with overlapping surface epitopes in CNS. Hence, subset-profiling in OCD is warranted to benefit from distinct immune-targeted treatment modalities.