Christopher P. Coplen
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Age‐Related Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Lymph Node Stromal Cells Limit the Peripheral T Cell Homeostatic Maintenance and Function Open
Lymph nodes (LN) are the key organs in charge of long‐term maintenance of naïve lymphocytes and their initial, primary activation upon infection. Accumulating evidence indicates that LN stromal cells undergo degenerative changes with aging…
Late-life Attenuation of Cytomegalovirus-mediated CD8 T Cell Memory Inflation: Shrinking of the Cytomegalovirus Latency Niche Open
CMV drives the accumulation of virus-specific, highly differentiated CD8 memory T cells (memory inflation [MI]). In mice, MI was shown to directly correlate with the CMV infection dose, yet the CMV-associated CD8 MI plateaus over time. It …
Virological, innate, and adaptive immune profiles shaped by variation in route and age of host in murine cytomegalovirus infection Open
Human cytomegalovirus (hCMV) is a ubiquitous facultative pathogen, which establishes a characteristic latent and reactivating lifelong infection in immunocompetent hosts. Murine CMV (mCMV) infection is widely used as an experimental model …
The age-related changes in lymph node stromal cells underlie defects in peripheral T cell maintenance and immune function decline in old mice Open
Older adults are more vulnerable to infection and cancer, and poorly respond to vaccination. The structural stromal cells in the lymph nodes (LN) are essential regulators of T cell homeostasis and immune response. However, how does aging o…
T-cell cellular stress and reticulocyte signatures, but not loss of naïve T lymphocytes, characterize severe COVID-19 in older adults Open
In children and younger adults up to 39 years of age, SARS-CoV-2 usually elicits mild symptoms that resemble the common cold. Disease severity increases with age starting at 30 and reaches astounding mortality rates that are ~330 fold high…
Lifelong cytomegalovirus and early‐LIFE irradiation synergistically potentiate age‐related defects in response to vaccination and infection Open
While whole‐body irradiation (WBI) can induce some hallmarks of immune aging, (re)activation of persistent microbial infection also occurs following WBI and may contribute to immune effects of WBI over the lifespan. To test this hypothesis…
Cutting Edge: T Cell Responses to B.1.1.529 (Omicron) SARS-CoV-2 Variant Induced by COVID-19 Infection and/or mRNA Vaccination Are Largely Preserved Open
Several studies have demonstrated that the SARS-CoV-2 variant-of-concern B.1.1.529 (Omicron) exhibits a high degree of escape from Ab neutralization. Therefore, it is critical to determine how well the second line of adaptive immunity, T c…
Early age–related atrophy of cutaneous lymph nodes precipitates an early functional decline in skin immunity in mice with aging Open
Significance Older adults are more vulnerable to infection and less capable of vigorously responding to vaccination. The contribution of peripheral T cell maintenance defects to these processes is incompletely understood. Here, we provide …
Quantitative restoration of immune defense in old animals determined by naive antigen‐specific CD8 T‐cell numbers Open
Older humans and animals often exhibit reduced immune responses to infection and vaccination, and this often directly correlates to the numbers and frequency of naive T (Tn) cells. We found such a correlation between reduced numbers of blo…
Resilient T cell responses to B.1.1.529 (Omicron) SARS-CoV-2 variant Open
Emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 variant-of-concern (VOC) B.1.1.529 (Omicron) in late 2021 has raised alarm among scientific and health care communities due to a surprisingly large number of mutations in its spike protein. Public health surveil…
Lifelong Cytomegalovirus and Early-Life Irradiation Synergistically Potentiate Age-Related Defects in Response to Vaccination and Infection Open
A popular “DNA-damage theory” of aging posits that unrepaired DNA damage leads to cellular (and organismal) senescence. Indeed, some hallmarks of immune aging are more prevalent in individuals exposed to Whole-Body Irradiation (WBI). To te…
The impact of murine cytomegalovirus (mCMV) route and age at infection upon virus spread, immune responses and the establishment of latency Open
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a ubiquitous human virus, which establishes a characteristic lifetime infection in its host. Murine CMV (mCMV) is a widely-used infection model that has been employed to investigate the nature and extent of CMV’s c…
Early age-related atrophy of cutaneous lymph nodes precipitates an early functional decline in skin immunity in mice with aging Open
Secondary lymphoid organs (SLO; including the spleen and lymph nodes) are critical both for the maintenance of naïve T (T N ) lymphocytes and for the initiation and coordination of immune responses. How they age, including the exact timing…
Quantitative Restoration of Immune Defense in Old Animals Determined by Naïve Antigen-Specific CD8 T cell Numbers Open
Older humans and animals often exhibit reduced immune responses to infection and vaccination, and this often directly correlates to the numbers and frequency of naïve T (Tn) cells. We found such a correlation between reduced numbers of blo…
New complexities of SOS-induced “untargeted” mutagenesis in <i>Escherichia coli</i> as revealed by mutation accumulation and whole-genome sequencing Open
When its DNA is damaged, Escherichia coli induces the SOS response, which consists of about 40 genes that encode activities to repair or tolerate the damage. Certain alleles of the major SOS-control genes, recA and lexA , cause constitutiv…
Life-long control of cytomegalovirus (CMV) by T resident memory cells in the adipose tissue results in inflammation and hyperglycemia Open
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a ubiquitous herpesvirus infecting most of the world's population. CMV has been rigorously investigated for its impact on lifelong immunity and potential complications arising from lifelong infection. A rigorous ad…