Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2017, Microbiology and Immunology

In these experiments, SIM-A9 microglia were exposed to Staphylococcus aureus cell wall components lipoteichoic acid (LTA) and peptidoglycan (PGN) at a concentration of 5 ug/mL for six, twelve, eighteen, and twenty-four hours and the cytokine expression, cytoskeleton organization, and cell viability of the cells were observed. Following LTA and PGN exposure, TNF-a; secretion increased at each time interval and was highest observed at 24 hours. No significant IL-10 secretion was detected. Over the 24 hour period, cell viability and cytotoxicity of LTA and PGN treatment groups were not significantly different from the control, indicating the observed inflammatory cytokine response was not due to cell death. These data suggest that LTA and PGN play a predominantly inflammatory role in the first twenty-four hours of S. aureus CNS infection.

Committee: Nancy Bigley Ph.D. (Advisor); Barbara Hull Ph.D. (Committee Member); Dawn Wooley Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Immunology; Microbiology