This research is being used to develop an understanding of enteric pathogens, to provide candidates for diagnostics and vaccine development, and to illuminate the molecular mechanisms of infection.ĭhayal, M Ratner, D. Utilizing mass spectrometry, the Ratner lab is identifying carbohydrate-modified proteins critical to infectious diseases-including malaria, giardiasis, trichomoniasis and amoebic dysentery. Our lab is studying these biopolymers with an eye for designing materials based on their unique properties and composition.Ĭarbohydrates can be used as molecular biomarkers, providing a window into cellular processes, wound healing, tissue differentiation, pathogen virulence and host-pathogen interactions. A mixture of carbohydrate and protein polymers, the cyst or oocyst wall protects the parasite during its passage between hosts, enabling the cell to resist bacterial degradation, shielding the cell from the hydrolytic environment of an animal’s digestive tract, and evading host immunity. Many protozoan pathogens encyst to form a resilient and infectious cyst or spore, including Giardia, Entamoeba, Toxoplasma, Cryptosporidium, Acanthamoeba, Microsporidia, and Cyclospora. An especially remarkable material made by many pathogens is the cyst wall biopolymer, a natural stealth biomaterial. The ultimate goal of studying host-pathogen interactions is to design new means for disrupting pathogenesis.īiomimetic Biomaterials: Nature has a great deal to offer when it comes to novel biomaterials. Our lab is interested in developing new tools-based on label-free carbohydrate arrays-to study the roles played by glycans in mediating adhesion between pathogen and host. A great deal can be learned about fundamental biological processes by studying these supposedly simple organisms. Pathogens, including protists, bacteria and viruses, are among humanity’s most significant and worthy adversaries. These tools will be used by the research community to improve our understanding of the biological roles of carbohydrates and aid in the development of novel drugs and treatments for cancer and infectious diseases.
The Ratner laboratory is developing label-free glycoarray technologies to study carbohydrate-protein, carbohydrate-nucleic acid and carbohydrate-cell interactions with particular emphasis on the effects of surface chemistry, method of immobilization, density of attached glycan, and glycan accessibility on microarray performance. Glycans are implicated in fertility, control many host-pathogen interactions (including influenza and gastroenteritis), serve as cancer antigens, and effect tumor metastasis. Online Master of Pharmaceutical Bioengineering (PharBE)Ĭarbohydrates and glycoconjugates play an essential role in biology and medicine.
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