Honors Theses

Advisor

Yvonne Sun, Ph.D.

Department

Biology

Publication Date

4-23-2025

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Abstract

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive, intracellular pathogen responsible for the deadly foodborne illness listeriosis. It is known to express different virulence factors in response to different environmental factors, influencing how the pathogen interacts with the host immune system. From food packaging to digestion, L. monocytogenes is exposed to many different environmental conditions. My honors thesis research focused on two conditions—cold storage and the presence of antimicrobial food additives—and how these conditions affect immune responses against L. monocytogenes. One of the first immune defenses that L. monocytogenes encounters in the body is the phagocytic macrophage. Macrophages can exhibit different shapes or antimicrobial functions depending on the activation state (naive, M1, and M2) in response to different stimuli. Using a cell culture model of infection, we investigated how macrophages interact with L. monocytogenes exposed to cold temperatures and the additive propionate. Our results suggest that macrophage morphology and nitrite (NO2-) output differ based on activation state, and they highlight the aggressive nature of L. monocytogenes.

Permission Statement

This item is protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code) and may only be used for noncommercial, educational, and scholarly purposes.

Keywords

Undergraduate research

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