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Micro 5147

Eukaryotic Pathogens

Credit Hour(s): 3 Units
Instructor(s): Rappleye
Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Micro 4100
Role in Microbiology Major: Group 1 Elective
Additional Information: Micro 4110 and/or Micro 5122 can provide a helpful background in immunology but are not required to take this course

M5147 Syllabus [PDF]

Lecture Topics:

  • Immune defenses: physical barrier, soluble factors, and cellular effectors
  • Virulence strategies of pathogenic microbes
  • Fungal pathogens (mycoses): Candida (candidiasis/candidemia), Aspergillus (aspergillosis), Cryptococcus (cryptococcosis), and Histoplasma (histoplasmosis)
  • Antifungal diagnostics
  • Antifungal therapeutics
  • Protozoan pathogens: Entameoba histolytica (amoebiasis), Toxoplasma (toxoplasmosis), Trypanosomes (trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease), Leishmania (leishmaniasis), Plasmodium species (malaria)
  • Antiparasite therapeutics

Learning Outcomes:

Successful students will be able to...

  • Describe the molecules involved in innate immune cell recognition of microbial cells
  • Describe common fungal molecules detected by innate immune cells
  • Describe the strategies employed by fungal pathogens for survival in mammalian hosts
  • Describe the molecules used by fungi to form biofilms
  • Evaluate the molecular targets for current fungal diagnostic tests
  • Evaluate the targets and efficacy of current antifungal compounds
  • Describe how parasites escape clearance by the host immune system
  • Describe the mechanisms by which parasites invade and persist in host cells
  • Describe how parasite molecules determine which host cells are invaded
  • Describe the mechanisms through which current anti-parasite treatments work and their limitations

[pdf] - Some links on this page are to Adobe .pdf files requiring the use of Adobe Reader. If you need these files in a more accessible format, please contact micro.grad@osu.edu.