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The influenza virus is the main cause of thousands of deaths each year in the United States, and far more hospitalizations. Immunization has helped in protecting people from this virus and there are a number of therapeutics which have proven effective in aiding people infected with the virus. However, these

The influenza virus is the main cause of thousands of deaths each year in the United States, and far more hospitalizations. Immunization has helped in protecting people from this virus and there are a number of therapeutics which have proven effective in aiding people infected with the virus. However, these therapeutics are subject to various limitations including increased resistance, limited supply, and significant side effects. A new therapeutic is needed which addresses these problems and protects people from the influenza virus. Synbodies, synthetic antibodies, may provide a means to achieve this goal. Our group has produced a synbody, the 5-5 synbody, which has been shown to bind to and inhibit the influenza virus. The direct pull down and western blot techniques were utilized to investigate how the synbody bound to the influenza virus. Our research showed that the 5-5 synbody bound to the influenza nucleoprotein (NP) with a KD of 102.9 ± 74.48 nM. It also showed that the synbody bound strongly to influenza viral extract from two different strains of the virus, the Puerto Rico (H1N1) and Sydney (H3N2) strains. This research demonstrated that the 5-5 synbody binds with high affinity to NP, which is important because influenza NP is highly conserved between various strains of the virus and plays an important role in the replication of the viral genome. It also demonstrated that this binding is conserved between various strains of the virus, indicating that the 5-5 synbody potentially could bind many different influenza strains. This synbody may have potential as a therapeutic in the future if it is able to demonstrate similar binding in vivo.
ContributorsKombe, Albert E. (Author) / Diehnelt, Chris (Thesis director) / Woodbury, Neal (Committee member) / Legutki, Bart (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a prevalent genetic disease in Africa, and specifically in Kenya. The lack of available relevant disease education and screening mean that most don't understand the importance of getting testing and many children die before they can get prophylactic care. This project was designed to address

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a prevalent genetic disease in Africa, and specifically in Kenya. The lack of available relevant disease education and screening mean that most don't understand the importance of getting testing and many children die before they can get prophylactic care. This project was designed to address the lack of knowledge with supplemental educational materials to be partnered with an engineering capstone project that provides a low cost diagnostic test.
ContributorsShawver, Jamie Christine (Author) / Caplan, Michael (Thesis director) / Snyder, Jan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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The influenza virus, also known as "the flu", is an infectious disease that has constantly affected the health of humanity. There is currently no known cure for Influenza. The Center for Innovations in Medicine at the Biodesign Institute located on campus at Arizona State University has been developing synbodies as

The influenza virus, also known as "the flu", is an infectious disease that has constantly affected the health of humanity. There is currently no known cure for Influenza. The Center for Innovations in Medicine at the Biodesign Institute located on campus at Arizona State University has been developing synbodies as a possible Influenza therapeutic. Specifically, at CIM, we have attempted to design these initial synbodies to target the entire Influenza virus and preliminary data leads us to believe that these synbodies target Nucleoprotein (NP). Given that the synbody targets NP, the penetration of cells via synbody should also occur. Then by Western Blot analysis we evaluated for the diminution of NP level in treated cells versus untreated cells. The focus of my honors thesis is to explore how synthetic antibodies can potentially inhibit replication of the Influenza (H1N1) A/Puerto Rico/8/34 strain so that a therapeutic can be developed. A high affinity synbody for Influenza can be utilized to test for inhibition of Influenza as shown by preliminary data. The 5-5-3819 synthetic antibody's internalization in live cells was visualized with Madin-Darby Kidney Cells under a Confocal Microscope. Then by Western Blot analysis we evaluated for the diminution of NP level in treated cells versus untreated cells. Expression of NP over 8 hours time was analyzed via Western Blot Analysis, which showed NP accumulation was retarded in synbody treated cells. The data obtained from my honors thesis and preliminary data provided suggest that the synthetic antibody penetrates live cells and targets NP. The results of my thesis presents valuable information that can be utilized by other researchers so that future experiments can be performed, eventually leading to the creation of a more effective therapeutic for influenza.
ContributorsHayden, Joel James (Author) / Diehnelt, Chris (Thesis director) / Johnston, Stephen (Committee member) / Legutki, Bart (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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This study tested the preliminary effectiveness of a health belief and text messaging intervention for parents of five- to eight-year-old children to determine whether health beliefs and influenza vaccine receipt differ when compared to a text messaging control group. Children are almost four times more likely to be infected with

This study tested the preliminary effectiveness of a health belief and text messaging intervention for parents of five- to eight-year-old children to determine whether health beliefs and influenza vaccine receipt differ when compared to a text messaging control group. Children are almost four times more likely to be infected with influenza than adults (Belshe Piedra, & Block, 2009), shed the greatest quantities of influenza virus, and have been recognized as vectors for spread of disease (Neuzil, Mellen, Wright, Mitchel, Jr., & Griffin, 2002b). The influenza immunization rate for school-age children is less than 56% (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014). Reasons for the low vaccination rate include parents’ misperceptions of influenza disease and vaccinations (Bhat-Schelbert et al., 2012; Taylor et al., 2002). There are few theory-based interventions for increasing influenza vaccination rates of school-age children; however, promising results have been found when using the constructs of the health belief model (HBM) (Chen et al., 2011; Coe, Gatewood, Moczygemba, Goode, & Beckner, 2012). Mobile technology using Short Message Service (SMS) text messaging may increase vaccination rates to a greater extent than traditional vaccine reminders (Daley et al., 2002; Grajalva, 2006). Prior to starting this study, only one randomized controlled trial testing text messaging to increase children’s influenza vaccination rates was found (Stockwell et al., 2012). In this study, text messaging was effective in promoting behavioral changes leading to a 4% increase in influenza vaccination (27.1% vs. 22.8%, RR = 1.19, p < .001). This study was a randomized controlled trial using a two-group pre- and posttest experimental design. This study found that a theory-based intervention (SayNo2Flu) guided by the HBM and combined with the use of mobile technology (SMS text messaging) did change parents’ influenza vaccination perceptions. It had an overall increase of 38.1% in Influenza vaccination rates in the intervention group (OR: 4.46, 95% CL, 1.705-11.706, p < .001). These results offer some insight into the use of theory-based preventative interventions for parents of young school-age children.
ContributorsWiseman, Patricia (Author) / Reifsnider, Elizabeth G. (Thesis advisor) / Cesarotti, Evelyn (Committee member) / Black, Andy (Committee member) / Kim, Sunny (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015