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Thim EA, Fox T, Deering T, Vass LR, Sheybani ND, Kester M, Price RJ. Solid tumor treatment via augmentation of bioactive C6 ceramide levels with thermally ablative focused ultrasound. Drug Deliv Transl Res 2023; 13:3145-3153. [PMID: 37335416 DOI: 10.1007/s13346-023-01377-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023]
Abstract
Sparse scan partial thermal ablation (TA) with focused ultrasound (FUS) may be deployed to treat solid tumors and increase delivery of systemically administered therapeutics. Furthermore, C6-ceramide-loaded nanoliposomes (CNLs), which rely upon the enhanced-permeation and retention (EPR) effect for delivery, have shown promise for treating solid tumors and are being tested in clinical trials. Here, our objective was to determine whether CNLs synergize with TA in the control of 4T1 breast tumors. CNL monotherapy of 4T1 tumors yielded significant intratumoral bioactive C6 accumulation by the EPR effect, but tumor growth was not controlled. TA increased bioactive C6 accumulation by ~ 12.5-fold over the EPR effect. In addition, TA + CNL caused shifts in long-chain to very-long-chain ceramide ratios (i.e., C16/24 and C18/C24) that could potentially contribute to tumor control. Nonetheless, these changes in intratumoral ceramide levels were still insufficient to confer tumor growth control beyond that achieved when combining with TA with control "ghost" nanoliposomes (GNL). While this lack of synergy could be due to increased "pro-tumor" sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) levels, this is unlikely because S1P levels exhibited only a moderate and statistically insignificant increase with TA + CNL. In vitro studies showed that 4T1 cells are highly resistant to C6, offering the most likely explanation for the inability of TA to synergize with CNL. Thus, while our results show that sparse scan TA is a powerful approach for markedly enhancing CNL delivery and generating "anti-tumor" shifts in long-chain to very-long-chain ceramide ratios, resistance of the tumor to C6 can still be a rate-limiting factor for some solid tumor types.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Andrew Thim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Box 800759, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Todd Fox
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Tye Deering
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Luke R Vass
- Department of Pathology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Natasha D Sheybani
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Box 800759, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Mark Kester
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Box 800759, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Richard J Price
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Box 800759, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA.
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Thim EA, Fox T, Deering T, Vass LR, Sheybani ND, Kester M, Price RJ. Solid Tumor Treatment via Augmentation of Bioactive C6 Ceramide Levels with Thermally Ablative Focused Ultrasound. bioRxiv 2023:2023.03.23.532394. [PMID: 36993445 PMCID: PMC10055354 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.23.532394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
Sparse scan partial thermal ablation (TA) with focused ultrasound (FUS) may be deployed to treat solid tumors and increase delivery of systemically administered therapeutics. Further, C6-ceramide-loaded nanoliposomes (CNLs), which rely upon the enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effect for delivery, have shown promise for treating solid tumors and are being tested in clinical trials. Here, our objective was to determine whether CNLs synergize with TA in the control of 4T1 breast tumors. CNL-monotherapy of 4T1 tumors yielded significant intratumoral bioactive C6 accumulation by the EPR effect, but tumor growth was not controlled. TA increased bioactive C6 accumulation by ∼12.5-fold over the EPR effect. In addition, TA+CNL caused shifts in long-chain to very-long-chain ceramide ratios (i.e., C16/24 and C18/C24) that could potentially contribute to tumor control. Nonetheless, these changes in intratumoral ceramide levels were still insufficient to confer tumor growth control beyond that achieved when combining with TA with control "ghost" nanoliposomes (GNL). While this lack of synergy could be due to increased "pro-tumor" sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) levels, this is unlikely because S1P levels exhibited only a moderate and statistically insignificant increase with TA+CNL. In vitro studies showed that 4T1 cells are highly resistant to C6, offering the most likely explanation for the inability of TA to synergize with CNL. Thus, while our results show that sparse scan TA is a powerful approach for markedly enhancing CNL delivery and generating "anti-tumor" shifts in long-chain to very-long-chain ceramide ratios, resistance of the tumor to C6 can still be a rate-limiting factor for some solid tumor types.
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Affiliation(s)
- E. Andrew Thim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908
| | - Todd Fox
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908
| | - Tye Deering
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908
| | - Luke R. Vass
- Department of Pathology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908
| | - Natasha D. Sheybani
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908
| | - Mark Kester
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908
| | - Richard J. Price
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908
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Vass LR, Bourret RB, Foster CA. Analysis of CheW-like domains provides insights into organization of prokaryotic chemotaxis systems. Proteins 2023; 91:315-329. [PMID: 36134607 PMCID: PMC9898116 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Revised: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The ability to control locomotion in a dynamic environment provides a competitive advantage for microorganisms, thus driving the evolution of sophisticated regulatory systems. In total, 19 known categories of chemotaxis systems control motility mediated by flagella or Type IV pili, plus other cellular functions. A key feature that distinguishes chemotaxis systems from generic two-component regulatory systems is separation of receptor and kinase functions into distinct proteins, linked by CheW scaffold proteins. This arrangement allows for formation of varied arrays with remarkable signaling properties. We recently analyzed sequences of CheW-like domains found in CheA kinases and CheW and CheV scaffold proteins. In total, 16 Architectures of CheA, CheW, and CheV proteins contain ~94% of all CheW-like domains and form six Classes with likely functional specializations. We surveyed chemotaxis system categories and proteins containing CheW-like domains in ~1900 prokaryotic species, the most comprehensive analysis to date, revealing new insights. Co-occurrence analyses suggested that many chemotaxis systems occur in non-random combinations within species, implying synergy or antagonism. Furthermore, many Architectures of proteins containing CheW-like domains occurred predominantly with specific categories of chemotaxis systems, suggesting specialized functional interactions. We propose Class 1 (~80%) and Class 6 (~20%) CheW proteins exhibit preferences for distinct chemoreceptor structures. Furthermore, rare (~1%) Class 2 CheW proteins frequently co-occurred with methyl-accepting coiled coil proteins, which contain both receptor and kinase functions and so do not require connection via a CheW scaffold but may benefit from arrays. Last, rare multidomain CheW proteins may interact with different receptors than single-domain CheW proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke R. Vass
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Robert B. Bourret
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Clay A. Foster
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
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Vass LR, Branscum KM, Bourret RB, Foster CA. Generalizable strategy to analyze domains in the context of parent protein architecture: A CheW case study. Proteins 2022; 90:1973-1986. [PMID: 35668544 PMCID: PMC9561059 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Revised: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Domains are the three-dimensional building blocks of proteins. An individual domain can occur in a variety of domain architectures that perform unique functions and are subject to different evolutionary selective pressures. We describe an approach to evaluate the variability in amino acid sequences of a single domain across architectural contexts. The ability to distinguish different evolutionary outcomes of one protein domain can help determine whether existing knowledge about a specific domain will apply to an uncharacterized protein, lead to insights and hypotheses about function, and guide experimental priorities. We developed and tested our approach on CheW-like domains (PF01584), which mediate protein/protein interactions and are difficult to compare experimentally. CheW-like domains occur in CheW scaffolding proteins, CheA kinases, and CheV proteins that regulate bacterial chemotaxis. We analyzed 16 domain architectures that included 94% of all CheW-like domains found in nature. We identified six Classes of CheW-like domains with presumed functional differences. CheV and most CheW proteins contained Class 1 domains, whereas some CheW proteins contained Class 6 (~20%) or Class 2 (~1%) domains instead. Most CheA proteins contained Class 3 domains. CheA proteins with multiple Hpt domains contained Class 4 domains. CheA proteins with two CheW-like domains contained one Class 3 and one Class 5. We also created SimpLogo, an innovative method for visualizing amino acid composition across large sets of multiple sequence alignments of arbitrary length. SimpLogo offers substantial advantages over standard sequence logos for comparison and analysis of related protein sequences. The R package for SimpLogo is freely available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke R. Vass
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- Current Address: Department of Pathology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Katie M. Branscum
- Current Address: Department of Pediatrics, Section Hematology/Oncology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States of America
| | - Robert B. Bourret
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Clay A. Foster
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- Current Address: Department of Pediatrics, Section Hematology/Oncology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States of America
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Ung J, Tan SF, Fox TE, Shaw JJP, Vass LR, Costa-Pinheiro P, Garrett-Bakelman FE, Keng MK, Sharma A, Claxton DF, Levine RL, Tallman MS, Cabot MC, Kester M, Feith DJ, Loughran TP. Harnessing the power of sphingolipids: Prospects for acute myeloid leukemia. Blood Rev 2022; 55:100950. [PMID: 35487785 PMCID: PMC9475810 DOI: 10.1016/j.blre.2022.100950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Revised: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive, heterogenous malignancy characterized by clonal expansion of bone marrow-derived myeloid progenitor cells. While our current understanding of the molecular and genomic landscape of AML has evolved dramatically and opened avenues for molecularly targeted therapeutics to improve upon standard intensive induction chemotherapy, curative treatments are elusive, particularly in older patients. Responses to current AML treatments are transient and incomplete, necessitating the development of novel treatment strategies to improve outcomes. To this end, harnessing the power of bioactive sphingolipids to treat cancer shows great promise. Sphingolipids are involved in many hallmarks of cancer of paramount importance in AML. Leukemic blast survival is influenced by cellular levels of ceramide, a bona fide pro-death molecule, and its conversion to signaling molecules such as sphingosine-1-phosphate and glycosphingolipids. Preclinical studies demonstrate the efficacy of therapeutics that target dysregulated sphingolipid metabolism as well as their combinatorial synergy with clinically-relevant therapeutics. Thus, increased understanding of sphingolipid dysregulation may be exploited to improve AML patient care and outcomes. This review summarizes the current knowledge of dysregulated sphingolipid metabolism in AML, evaluates how pro-survival sphingolipids promote AML pathogenesis, and discusses the therapeutic potential of targeting these dysregulated sphingolipid pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johnson Ung
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America; Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America; University of Virginia Cancer Center, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - Su-Fern Tan
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America; University of Virginia Cancer Center, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - Todd E Fox
- University of Virginia Cancer Center, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America; Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - Jeremy J P Shaw
- University of Virginia Cancer Center, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America; Department of Experimental Pathology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - Luke R Vass
- University of Virginia Cancer Center, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America; Department of Experimental Pathology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - Pedro Costa-Pinheiro
- Cancer Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States of America
| | - Francine E Garrett-Bakelman
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America; University of Virginia Cancer Center, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - Michael K Keng
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America; University of Virginia Cancer Center, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - Arati Sharma
- Penn State Cancer Institute, Hershey, PA, United States of America
| | - David F Claxton
- Penn State Cancer Institute, Hershey, PA, United States of America
| | - Ross L Levine
- Leukemia Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, United States of America; Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, United States of America
| | - Martin S Tallman
- Leukemia Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, United States of America
| | - Myles C Cabot
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, East Carolina University, Brody School of Medicine, Greenville, NC, United States of America; East Carolina Diabetes and Obesity Institute, East Carolina University, Brody School of Medicine, Greenville, NC, United States of America
| | - Mark Kester
- University of Virginia Cancer Center, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America; Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - David J Feith
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America; University of Virginia Cancer Center, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - Thomas P Loughran
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America; Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America; University of Virginia Cancer Center, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America.
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Manigat LC, Granade ME, Taori S, Miller CA, Vass LR, Zhong XP, Harris TE, Purow BW. Loss of Diacylglycerol Kinase α Enhances Macrophage Responsiveness. Front Immunol 2021; 12:722469. [PMID: 34804012 PMCID: PMC8603347 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.722469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The diacylglycerol kinases (DGKs) are a family of enzymes responsible for the conversion of diacylglycerol (DAG) to phosphatidic acid (PA). In addition to their primary function in lipid metabolism, DGKs have recently been identified as potential therapeutic targets in multiple cancers, including glioblastoma (GBM) and melanoma. Aside from its tumorigenic properties, DGKα is also a known promoter of T-cell anergy, supporting a role as a recently-recognized T cell checkpoint. In fact, the only significant phenotype previously observed in Dgka knockout (KO) mice is the enhancement of T-cell activity. Herein we reveal a novel, macrophage-specific, immune-regulatory function of DGKα. In bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) cultured from wild-type (WT) and KO mice, we observed increased responsiveness of KO macrophages to diverse stimuli that yield different phenotypes, including LPS, IL-4, and the chemoattractant MCP-1. Knockdown (KD) of Dgka in a murine macrophage cell line resulted in similar increased responsiveness. Demonstrating in vivo relevance, we observed significantly smaller wounds in Dgka-/- mice with full-thickness cutaneous burns, a complex wound healing process in which macrophages play a key role. The burned area also demonstrated increased numbers of macrophages. In a cortical stab wound model, Dgka-/- brains show increased Iba1+ cell numbers at the needle track versus that in WT brains. Taken together, these findings identify a novel immune-regulatory checkpoint function of DGKα in macrophages with potential implications for wound healing, cancer therapy, and other settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laryssa C Manigat
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States
| | - Mitchell E Granade
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States
| | - Suchet Taori
- Department of Neurology, Division of Neuro-Oncology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States
| | - Charlotte Anne Miller
- Department of Neurology, Division of Neuro-Oncology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States
| | - Luke R Vass
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States
| | - Xiao-Ping Zhong
- Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Thurl E Harris
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States
| | - Benjamin W Purow
- Department of Neurology, Division of Neuro-Oncology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States
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Foster CA, Silversmith RE, Immormino RM, Vass LR, Kennedy EN, Pazy Y, Collins EJ, Bourret RB. Role of Position K+4 in the Phosphorylation and Dephosphorylation Reaction Kinetics of the CheY Response Regulator. Biochemistry 2021; 60:2130-2151. [PMID: 34167303 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.1c00246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Two-component signaling is a primary method by which microorganisms interact with their environments. A kinase detects stimuli and modulates autophosphorylation activity. The signal propagates by phosphotransfer from the kinase to a response regulator, eliciting a response. Response regulators operate over a range of time scales, corresponding to their related biological processes. Response regulator active site chemistry is highly conserved, but certain variable residues can influence phosphorylation kinetics. An Ala-to-Pro substitution (K+4, residue 113) in the Escherichia coli response regulator CheY triggers a constitutively active phenotype; however, the A113P substitution is too far from the active site to directly affect phosphochemistry. To better understand the activating mechanism(s) of the substitution, we analyzed receiver domain sequences to characterize the evolutionary role of the K+4 position. Although most featured Pro, Leu, Ile, and Val residues, chemotaxis-related proteins exhibited atypical Ala, Gly, Asp, and Glu residues at K+4. Structural and in silico analyses revealed that CheY A113P adopted a partially active configuration. Biochemical data showed that A113P shifted CheY toward a more activated state, enhancing autophosphorylation. By characterizing CheY variants, we determined that this functionality was transmitted through a hydrophobic network bounded by the β5α5 loop and the α1 helix of CheY. This region also interacts with the phosphodonor CheAP1, suggesting that binding generates an activating perturbation similar to the A113P substitution. Atypical residues like Ala at the K+4 position likely serve two purposes. First, restricting autophosphorylation may minimize background noise generated by intracellular phosphodonors such as acetyl phosphate. Second, optimizing interactions with upstream partners may help prime the receiver domain for phosphorylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clay A Foster
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
| | - Ruth E Silversmith
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
| | - Robert M Immormino
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
| | - Luke R Vass
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
| | - Emily N Kennedy
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
| | - Yael Pazy
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
| | - Edward J Collins
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
| | - Robert B Bourret
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
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