Savita Bagga

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Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) blocks mast-cell (MC)-dependent allergic responses in humans but activates MCs in vitro. We assessed the functions of the EP receptors for PGE2 on cultured human MCs (hMCs). hMCs expressed the EP3, EP2, and EP4 receptors. PGE2 stimulated the accumulation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), and suppressed both Fc epsilo...

Mast cells (MCs) initiate immune responses from mucosal surfaces and perivascular spaces. Stem cell factor (SCF) regulates MC development and viability, but the role of innate serum factors in MC development is unexplored. Cultured cord blood-derived human MCs (hMCs) express mRNA transcripts for all 4 known receptors for lysophosphatidic acid (LPA)...

Mast cells (MCs), effector cells of allergic reactions through FcϵRI, also initiate innate immune responses through pattern recognition receptors such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs). Stimulation of human MCs (hMCs) through either FcϵRI or TLR2 initiates cytokine gene expression; whether this process involves separate or distinct downstream signaling...

RationaleLysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a lipid constituent of human serum that functions as a signaling molecule through binding to 4 known G protein-coupled receptors, designated LPA1-4. LPA has previously been shown to act as a growth factor for human mast cells (hMCs) cultured under serum-free conditions. We now investigate the role of LPA in h...

Fungi secrete subtilisin proteinases to acquire nutrients and breach host barriers. Here we sought a global characterization of the diversity of subtilisins in the insect pathogen Metarhizium anisopliae. Expressed sequence tag (EST) analyses showed that a broad host range strain of M. anisopliae sf. anisopliae (strain 2575) expressed 11 subtilisins...

Mast cells (MCs) proliferate in response to T(H)2 cytokines and express genes de novo after activation. Limited information is available concerning the interplay between these events. We explored the potential for T(H)2 cytokines to alter activation-dependent gene expression by MCs. Cord blood-derived human (h)MCs maintained in stem cell factor (SC...

Expressed sequence tag (EST) libraries for Metarhizium anisopliae, the causative agent of green muscardine disease, were developed from the broad host-range pathogen Metarhizium anisopliae sf. anisopliae and the specific grasshopper pathogen, M. anisopliae sf. acridum. Approximately 1,700 5' end sequences from each subspecies were generated from cD...

A common characteristic among fungal pathogens of plants is that each specializes on a narrow range of specific plants as hosts. One adaptation to a specific host plant is the recognition of the host's chemicals which can be used to trigger genes or developmental pathways needed for pathogenesis. The production of characteristic flavonoids by plant...

Flavonoids exuded from legume roots stimulate spore germination of a number of soilborne fungi which interact with these plants, and so may act as host cues to initiate interaction. Macroconidia of Nectria haematococca MPVI (anamorph Fusarium solani), a pathogen of pea (Pisum sativum), germinate in response to the same flavonoids which induce nod g...

Thesis research directed by Dept. of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics. Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Maryland, College Park, 2002. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-140).