Volume 8, Issue 7, July 2011

After three years in the driver’s seat, Dr. Ed Hoover will officially take his foot off of the MIP accelerator pedal and step down as Dept. Head effective July 31st. Under Ed’s effective leadership, the Dept has made very significant strides the last three years. For example, during Ed’s tenure as DH, MIP has helped christen two new buildings (DMC and RIC), tenured 10 faculty members, published over 360 papers, brought in over $80 million in grant funds, threw its first ‘March Madness’ party and fixed (we hope) the elevator in the Micro Bldg.

We all wish Ed well as he returns to the misfolded nature of full-time prion research – but how can one say thanks to someone who has meant so much for the department? Well for starters, please check out our scan of the largest ‘Thank You’ card in the history of the MIP department!

Click the image to see a larger version.

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Charles Calisher has been granted the ‘Cooperstown-esque’ title of Emeritus Professor by CSU. Congratulations Charlie!

Congratulations to Cathy Griffin for her promotion to Accounting Tech IV. Cathy will continue to manage the departmental accounts and perform her current accounting duties, but will now be serving as the Pathology Office Manager.

Be sure to stop by and congratulate Cathy on this well-deserved promotion!

Congratulations to Craig Miller, Anatomic Pathology Resident in the VandeWoude Lab, for receiving a travel fellowship from the Burroughs Welcome Fund to attend the National Veterinary Scholars Symposium in Orlando, Florida in August. The Burroughs Wellcome Fund is an independent private foundation whose mission is to advance the medical sciences by supporting research and other scientific and educational activities.

In the News...

Brian Foy was highlighted on the VOANews.Com article, "Drug Used to Treat Head Lice is Effective Against Malaria" which includes a video starring Dr. Foy and his Laboratory.

Dr. Brian Foy's observations with Ivermectin and malaria also made the ‘Newsmakers’ section of the July 15th edition of the AAAS journal Science entitled, "Antiparasitic Drug Has Bonus Effect on Mosquitoes".

Luke Kingry presented his PhD thesis, "Francisella tularensis: host-pathogen responses and drug development" on July 11. Dr. Richard Slayden is is advisor.

Erik Arthun presented his PhD thesis, "Cationic liposome-DNA complex-based immunotherapeutic and immunization strategies for control of La Crosse virus and Leishmania major infections" on July 11. Dr. Richard Titus is his advisor

Abbe Ames presented her PhD thesis, "DDT and pyrethroid resistance in Xenopsylla cheopis in northern Uganda" on July 19. Dr. William Black is her advisor.

Detailed Structural and Quantitative Analysis Reveals the Spatial Organization of the Cell Wall of in Vivo Grown M. Leprae and in Vitro Grown M. tuberculosis

Suresh Bhamidi, Mike Sherman, Victoria Jones, Dean Crick, John Belisle, Pat Brennan and Mike McNeil

J. Biol Chem 286: 23168-23177

While sitting in a drinking establishment with colleagues at a scientific meeting one evening last week, the ~25 year old Def Leppard song ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ started to reverberate from the jukebox. While I can’t say what thoughts the song induced in the minds of the non-microbiologists in attendance, it made me immediately think of this recent paper by Suresh et al and the idea that the tune should become the theme song of the surface carbohydrate/lipid-centric MRL.

From undergraduate days through medical school, microbiologist wannabes (and those that simply want to pass their micro course and be done with it) memorize the discriminating fact that mycobacteria are acid fast organisms. The reality is that the majority of M. Tb isolated from animal models of infection are not acid fast. This point illustrates the clear need for a deeper understanding of the mycobacterial cell wall and the natural variations in its structure and constituents. That was precisely the goal that this gang of four faculty and their faithful followers set out to accomplish with ninja-like precision.

Crude cell walls were prepared and extracted with chloroform which allowed them to obtain relatively clean preparations of the mAGP portion (mycolates attached to the AG attached to the PG layer) of the cell walls of M. leprae grown in armadillos and M. Tb grown in culture. Using nasty treatments like 2M TFA extraction and 6M HCl hydrolysis, the group was able to determine the relative ratios of mycolic acid, arabinogalactan (AG) and peptidoglycan (PG) in their preparations. They coupled this analysis with mass spectrometry and a few other tricks to provide a comparative biochemical picture of the leprae versus Tb walls. Interestingly, leprae has some variations in the composition of its PG (no N-glycosylated muramic acid and glycine instead of Ala), has shorter galactan units in its AG layer, and almost 3X as much AG per PG in its cell wall. Not content with simply reporting numbers, the group used other available data to prepare models of both cell walls (shown in the picture above).

So why did we choose this work as our coveted MIPublication of the Month® for July? Well my good reader there were three good reasons. First, it represents a fundamental comprehensive analysis of the attached components of the cell wall of the two major mycobacterial pathogens that affect human health. Given the fact that the cell wall is a major anti-mycobacterial drug target as well as an important diagnostic indicator, these data/models may prove pivotal in future analyses. Second, the paper is a terrific example of the synergy that occurs in MIP as 6 faculty members (4 as authors and 2 (John Spencer and Alan Schenkel) in the acknowledgements) and their labs came together to git ‘er done. Finally, the study also strongly implies that M. Tb is a much more sociable organism than M. leprae. Is it just me or do you see the word ‘Hi’ among the mycolic acid that makes up the TB cell wall in the model above?

MIP Publications Late June 2011 - Early July 2011

Ito D, Endicott MM, Jubala CM, Helm KM, Burnett RC, Husbands BD, Borgatti A, Henson MS, Burgess KE, Bell JS, Kisseberth WC, Valli VE, Cutter GR, Avery AC, Hahn KA, O'Brien TD, Modiano JF.  A Tumor-Related Lymphoid Progenitor Population Supports Hierarchical Tumor Organization in Canine B-Cell Lymphoma.  J Vet Intern Med. 2011 Jul;25(4):890-896.

Dharmadhikari AS, Basaraba RJ, Van Der Walt ML, Weyer K, Mphahlele M, Venter K, Jensen PA, First MW, Parsons S, McMurray DN, Orme IM, Nardell EA.  Natural infection of guinea pigs exposed to patients with highly drug-resistant tuberculosis.    Tuberculosis (Edinb). 2011 Jul;91(4):329-38.

Bolling BG, Eisen L, Moore CG, Blair CD.  Insect-specific flaviviruses from culex mosquitoes in colorado, with evidence of vertical transmission.  Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2011 Jul;85(1):169-77.

Tyler S, Bolling BG, Blair CD, Brault AC, Pabbaraju K, Armijos MV, Clark DC, Calisher CH, Drebot MA.  Distribution and Phylogenetic Comparisons of a Novel Mosquito Flavivirus Sequence Present in Culex tarsalis Mosquitoes from Western Canada with Viruses Isolated in California and Colorado.  Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2011 Jul;85(1):162-8.

Bhamidi S, Scherman MS, Jones V, Crick DC, Belisle JT, Brennan PJ, McNeil MR.  Detailed Structural and Quantitative Analysis Reveals the Spatial Organization of the Cell Walls of in Vivo Grown Mycobacterium leprae and in Vitro Grown Mycobacterium tuberculosis.  J Biol Chem. 2011 Jul 1;286(26):23168-77.

Chandler JC, Molins CR, Petersen JM, Belisle JT.  Differential Chitinase Activity and Production within Francisella Species, Subspecies, and Subpopulations.  J Bacteriol. 2011 Jul;193(13):3265-75.

Deng L, Diao J, Chen P, Pujari V, Yao Y, Cheng G, Crick DC, Prasad BV, Song Y.  Inhibition of 1-Deoxy-d-Xylulose-5-Phosphate Reductoisomerase by Lipophilic Phosphonates: SAR, QSAR, and Crystallographic Studies.  J Med Chem. 2011 Jul 14;54(13):4721-34.

Kobylinski KC, Sylla M, Chapman PL, Sarr MD, Foy BD.  Ivermectin mass drug administration to humans disrupts malaria parasite transmission in senegalese villages.  Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2011 Jul;85(1):3-5.

Steel JJ, Henderson BR, Lama SB, Olson KE, Geiss BJ.  Infectious Alphavirus Production from a Simple Plasmid Transfection.  Virol J. 2011 Jul 19;8(1):356.

Henao-Tamayo M, Irwin SM, Shang S, Ordway D, Orme IM.  T lymphocyte surface expression of exhaustion markers as biomarkers of the efficacy of chemotherapy for tuberculosis.  Tuberculosis (Edinb). 2011 Jul;91(4):308-13.

Phelps HA, Kuntz CA, Milner RJ, Powers BE, Bacon NJ.  Radical excision with five-centimeter margins for treatment of feline injection-site sarcomas: 91 cases (1998-2002).  J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2011 Jul 1;239(1):97-106.

Rholl DA, Papp-Wallace KM, Tomaras AP, Vasil ML, Bonomo RA, Schweizer HP.  Molecular Investigations of PenA-mediated β-lactam Resistance in Burkholderia pseudomallei.  Front Microbiol. 2011;2:139.

Mima T, Kvitko BH, Rholl DA, Page MG, Desarbre E, Schweizer HP.  In vitro activity of BAL30072 against Burkholderia pseudomallei.  Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2011 Aug;38(2):157-9.

Rhyan JC, Miller MW, Spraker TR, McCollum M, Nol P, Wolfe LL, Davis TR, Creekmore L, O'Rourke KI.  Failure of Fallow Deer (Dama dama) to Develop Chronic Wasting Disease When Exposed to a Contaminated Environment and Infected Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus).  J Wildl Dis. 2011 Jul;47(3):739-44.

Geluk A, van den Eeden SJ, Dijkman K, Wilson L, Kim HJ, Franken KL, Spencer JS, Pessolani MC, Pereira GM, Ottenhoff TH.  ML1419c Peptide Immunization Induces Mycobacterium leprae-Specific HLA-A*0201-Restricted CTL In Vivo with Potential To Kill Live Mycobacteria.  J Immunol. 2011 Aug 1;187(3):1393-402.

Jensen RW, Rivest J, Li W, Vissa V.  DNA Fingerprinting of Mycobacterium leprae Strains Using Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) - Fragment Length Analysis (FLA).  J Vis Exp. 2011 Jul 15;(53). pii: 3104. doi: 10.3791/3104.

Dickson AM, Wilusz J.  Strategies for viral RNA stability: live long and prosper.  Trends Genet. 2011 Jul;27(7):286-93.

On July 1st, the hard pedaling MIP Office Staff once again successfully completed the annual ‘Tour de Finance’. In Cadel Evans-like fashion, the staff navigated the treacherous mountains of paperwork, sprinted to the fiscal year FY11 finish line and opened up the new accounting records for FY12 – all without the aid of performance-enhancing drugs.

Be sure to take some time out of your busy schedules this week to stop by your facility office and thank some of the hardest working staff in the university. These folks consistently keep the department in tip-top fiscal shape and enable us to provide the very best teaching, service and research at CSU. The MIP staff rocks!

	Ryan Curtis Comparative Medicine Originally from Trenton, Michigan, Ryan has recently moved to Fort Collins. He is interested in studying Infectious Diseases. When not at work he enjoys playing tennis, golfing, and hiking.
	Elijah Edmondson Anatomic Pathology Elijah recently moved to Colorado from Tifton, Georgia. He is interested in Cancer Biology and Immunology. In his free time he enjoys music and the outdoors.
	Craig Miller Anatomic Pathology Originally from Colorado, Craig has been living in Fort Collins for the past 6 years. He is interested in Viral Pathogenesis and Infectious Disease. He enjoys playing the guitar, BBQ-ing, and outdoor activities.
	Daniel Regan Anatomic Pathology Daniel recently moved to Fort Collins from Athens, Georgia. He is interested in studying Cancer Immunology and Metastasis. When not at work, he enjoys skiing, hiking, camping and tennis.
	Seung Yoo Clinical Pathology Originally from Los Angeles, California, Seung has recently moved to Fort Collins. He is interested in studying Coagulation. In his free time he enjoys snowboarding, hiking, and playing ice hockey.

The reception to recognize the residents who have successfully completed their Veterinary Residency Program was held on Monday, June 27 at 3:00pm in the Pathology Glover Gallery.

Faculty, students, and family participated in the event to congratulate Laura, Deanna, Matt, Liz and Brendan on their acheivements. Checkout the Photo Gallery from the event.

Best Wishes Jeanette!

We are sad to report that Jeanette Fritzler's last day with MIP will be Tuesday, July 26. Jeanette has been a valuable MIP employee for the past 6 years; providing the department with excellent service and support. We will miss her smile and great sense of humor, but wish her well in all her future endeavors.

Besides ensuring the students have the supplies they need, the School is Cool Program strives to build self-esteem - an important factor to academic success. Supplies are delivered to Poudre School District school principals or counselors who discreetly distribute the supplies to those students in need.

For just $20, you can help make a local student's educational experience more successful. This amount will sponsor a backpack filled with grade-appropriate school supplies.

Make a Gift Now

Mark your calendars

The Fall meeting of the Rocky Mtn Branch of the ASM will take place October 7-8 at Colorado College in Colorado Springs.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
SEPTEMBER 23-25, 2011
Pingree Park Campus

This year's keynote speaker is our incoming Dept Head Dr. Gregg Dean. Gregg will be speaking about his research on lentiviruses (HIV and FIV), innate immunity, and the generation of effective mucosal and systemic immune responses through oral immunization. This will be a wonderful opportunity to meet our new colleague in the relaxed environs of the Pingree campus. This year's meeting also coincides with peak aspen viewing and will feature the Saturday evening barbecue and, of course, a generous contribution from the New Belgium Brewery. So save up your best data and plan on breaking in those new hiking boots this September!

CSU Parking Permits are expiring on July 31st!

Renew your parking permit online or at the Parking Services Office before the end of July.

For more information, please see the Parking Services website.

Congratulations to Jessica Prenni (Proteomics and Metabolomics Facility) on the birth of her bouncing baby girl!

You never learn anything by doing it right.
~ Source unknown

Ines Da Silva, a 2008 graduate of our microbiology program and research associate in the AIDL, passed away on June 24th in a motor vehicle accident in Nebraska. Born in Portugal and a Ft. Collins resident since 2001, Ines left a strong positive impression on everyone who knew her. Touring the bike trails and white water rafting trips just won’t be quite the same without her. A celebration of her life was held on July 1st in Spring Canyon Park. The united MIP community offers its sincere condolences to the da Silva family and will strive to continue the research Ines performed to ensure her professional legacy.

MIP's First Impression of the Telling Lab

Glenn Telling makes an immediate ‘impression’ upon his arrival at MIP (the crane moving equipment to his 3rd floor lab demolished the sidewalk outside the path bldg).

Questions for MIPuzzle #67
MIPuzzle #67 Answers

Andrea Guillory can get some pretty bizarre questions over the phone.

Perhaps this question was:

1. "Would it be possible to get the entire department together this afternoon for a short presentation on green initiatives"?
2. "Hi – would you mind telling Dr. Akkina that his dry cleaning is ready to be picked up?"
3. "Good morning – this is K99 and you’re live on the radio!"
4. Submit your own

• Attention Students/Postdocs/Residents: Need help paying your student loans? NIH might be able to help

  Check out the NIH’s Loan Repayment Program (LRP).  NIH's LRP could repay up to $35,000 of your educational debt each year.  While NIAID only supports a Clinical Research LRP and a Pediatric Research LRP, other institutes might have programs that fit your particular situation.

• Do you need prior approval before you make that change to your NIH-funded project?

  To answer this important question, you want to carefully check out the NIAID Funding Webpage (or potentially risk losing your funding).

• New NIH Grant Forms Effective July 22nd

  NIH has a new ADOBE-FORMS-B2 application packet that must be used for all new applications.

• New RFA Funding Opportunity that might be of interest:

  RFA-AI-11-032, Host-Targeted Interventions as Therapeutics for Infectious Diseases (R21/R33)

You no longer need to wonder where all of the packing material from the new teaching microscopes went…
Just ask Erica

Alexa Dickson, "The Role of mRNA Stability in Myotonic Dystrophy ", Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation.

Candace Mathiason, "Mother to Offspring Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease", NIH-NIAID

Ian Orme"TB Vaccine Workshop", Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Becky Rivoire, "Provision of M. Tuberculosis manLAM ", InBios International, Inc.

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri
				1 CSU parking decal online sales begin
4 Independence Day Univ Holiday	5 Resident Orientation	6	7	8
11	12	13	14	15
18	19	20	21	22
25	26	27	28	29

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