Selected Grantee Publications
Prostatic Escherichia coli Infection Drives CCR2-Dependent Recruitment of Fibrocytes and Collagen Production
Scharpf et al., Disease Models & Mechanisms. 2025.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11789281
In men, lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD) is commonly linked to prostatic collagen accumulation through inflammation-mediated mechanisms. Researchers used 8- to 10-week-old male reporter mice, exposed to either sterile phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or Escherichia coli, to identify that circulating Lyz2+S100a4+Gli1+ myeloid-derived cells are recruited to the prostate to drive inflammation and collagen synthesis. Researchers also used 8- to 10-week-old male Ccr2‑/ - null and Ccr2+/- control mice, exposed to either sterile PBS or E. coli, to determine if Ccr2 is necessary for the fibrotic response to prostatic uropathogen infection. Results demonstrated that CCR2+ cells mediate the collagen abundance and fibrotic response to prostate inflammation. This study elucidates the cell types underlying prostate fibrosis and can be utilized to develop targeted therapies. Supported by ORIP (T32OD010957), NCI, NIDDK, and NIEHS.
The Effect of Common Paralytic Agents Used for Fluorescence Imaging on Redox Tone and ATP Levels in Caenorhabditis elegans
Morton et al., PLOS One. 2024.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38669260
Caenorhabditis elegans is a highly valuable model organism in biological research. However, these worms must be paralyzed for most imaging applications, and the effect that common chemical anesthetics may have on the parameters measured—especially biochemical measurements such as cellular energetics and redox tone—is poorly understood. In this study, the authors used two reporters—QUEEN-2m for relative ATP levels and reduction-oxidation–sensitive green fluorescent protein for redox tone—to assess the impact of commonly used chemical paralytics. The results show that all chemical anesthetics at doses required for full paralysis alter redox tone and/or ATP levels, and anesthetic use alters the detected outcome of rotenone exposure on relative ATP levels and redox tone. Therefore, it is important to tailor the use of anesthetics to different endpoints and experimental questions and to develop less disruptive paralytic methods for optimal imaging of dynamic in vivo reporters. Supported by ORIP (P40OD010440, R44OD024963) and NIEHS.