Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Nouri-Shirazi, Mahyar

Abstract

There is compelling evidence that smokers are less responsive to vaccination. We reported that both therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines fail to protect and cure animals from disease due to negative effects of nicotine on DCs’ ability to generate effector T cells. We have been investigating whether vaccine formulated with TLR agonist(s) could potentially overcome the immunosuppressive effects of nicotine on human DC-NK cross-talk essential for effector T cell generation. Monocyte-derived DCs and nicDCs were stimulated with individual and combined TLR agonists prior to co-culture with purified T cells. The phenotypes and cytokine profiles of T cell were assessed using Flow Cytometry and ELISA, respectively. We found nicDCs cultured with TLR-8/7 alone or in combination with TLR-3 produce quantitatively and qualitatively similar IFN-γ producing effector T cells when compared to control DCs. Our data suggest that the addition of appropriate TLR agonist to vaccine formulation could potentially overcome the immunosuppression seen in smokers, thereby containing the spread of infectious disease to vulnerable population

Extent

144 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00004469

Format

pdf

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