| dc.contributor.author | Weeratna, Risini Dhammika. | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2014-10-21T12:37:43Z | |
| dc.date.available | 1995 | |
| dc.date.issued | 1995 | en_US |
| dc.identifier.other | AAINN15868 | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10222/55123 | |
| dc.description | L. pneumophila, a facultative intracellular bacterium, is the causative agent of Legionnaires' disease. Its natural habitat is aquatic. When the bacterium is inhaled by a susceptible individual, it is phagocytosed by alveolar macrophages in which it can grow and multiply. OmpS is one of the most abundant proteins synthesised by this bacterium. It is known to help the bacterium to become intracellular. When virulent (V) cells are intracellular, synthesis of OmpS is decreased. The same phenomenon is seen when V bacteria are suspended in a medium containing high levels of sodium chloride. One of the goals of this study was to investigate the regulation of ompS. The results reveal that there is a transcription factor (OmpT) involved in the regulation of ompS. OmpT itself appears to be regulated by sodium chloride levels. When the bacterium is in a high salt environment (human lungs as opposed to fresh water), there is a decrease in OmpT levels resulting in a decrease in ompS transcription. OmpT is a highly unstable 15 kDa protein which is constantly synthesised by the bacterium. In avirulent bacteria, OmpT is not regulated by sodium chloride levels. This study has also looked at the potential of OmpS to elicit a cellular immune response against L. pneumophila. The results show that OmpS is able to induce protective immunity guinea pigs against Legionnaires' disease. In addition, humans surviving legionellosis also demonstrate a strong cellular immune response to OmpS, suggesting that OmpS would be a good candidate for developing a vaccine against L. pneumophila infections. | en_US |
| dc.description | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Dalhousie University (Canada), 1995. | en_US |
| dc.language | eng | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Dalhousie University | en_US |
| dc.publisher | | en_US |
| dc.subject | Biology, Genetics. | en_US |
| dc.subject | Biology, Microbiology. | en_US |
| dc.subject | Health Sciences, Pathology. | en_US |
| dc.subject | Health Sciences, Immunology. | en_US |
| dc.title | Genetic and immunological characterization of the major outer membrane protein (OmpS) of Legionella pneumophila. | en_US |
| dc.type | text | en_US |
| dc.contributor.degree | Ph.D. | en_US |
