Students

Fan Zhang

Major: Bacteriology and Inflammation
Joined program in 2004

Mentor: Dr. Ashok K. Chopra

Research Description:
Bacillus anthracis is a biothreat agent that causes lethal infections, particularly by inducing sepsis. During systemic anthrax infection, immunogenic bacterial components, such as peptidoglycan, and exotoxins (lethal toxin and edema toxin), cause intensive alteration of host immune responses. Proinflam-matory mediators, including cytokines and eicosanoids, eventually result in evoking septicemia and multi-organ dysfunction leading to death of the host. Phospholipase A2-activating protein (PLAA) plays an important role in regulating eicosanoid (e.g., PGE2) and cytokine production (e.g., TNF-α and IL-1β). The hypothesis that the plaa gene expression during bacterial challenge is induced by inflammation-associated transcription factors and its expression augments inflammatory signaling will be tested in the following specific aims: 1. To characterize the transcriptional regulation of the plaa gene in cellsbefore and after bacterial challenge and 2.  To dissect inflammatory signaling pathway(s) mediated by PLAA in response to bacterial challenge. In addition, the function of quorum sensing in anthrax pathogenesis is being investigated.  Quorum sensing, the bacterial cell-cell communication in response to population density, is known to play a role in the virulence regulation of Bacillus anthracis.

Publications/Experience:

1. Murine Macrophage Transcriptional and Functional Responses to Bacillus anthracis Edema Toxin. Jason E. Comer, Cristi L. Galindo, Fan Zhang, Autumn M. englikowski, Katie L. Bush, Harold R. Garner, Johnny W. Peterson*, and Ashok K. Chopra*.
   Microbial Pathogenesis. Accepted.

Hometown: Guangzhou City, China.
Education: Bachelor degree of bio-pharmaceutical Science from China Pharmaceutical University
Hobbies: Kayaking, traveling and world culture
Contact:  Lab: 409-772-4990 or fanzhang@utmb.edu

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