[
Development,
2023]
Aimee Jaramillo-Lambert is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Delaware. Aimee was awarded the Society for Developmental Biology 2023 Elizabeth D. Hay New Investigator Award in recognition of her outstanding research in developmental biology during the early stages of her independent career. We caught up with Aimee over a video call to talk about her research into sexual reproduction in Caenorhabditis elegans, the importance of mentorship, and what drives her work in diversity, equity and inclusion.
[
Parasitol Today,
1991]
The filarial parasites that affect humans most seriously include Onchocerca volvulus, Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi and Loa loa. In general, these species cause disease that is debilitating long before it is fatal, producing clinical manifestations such as general malaise, pruritus and lichenification of the skin, lymphangitis, elephantiasis and blindness(1). As a result, infection with any one of these organisms is physically, as well as economically, devastating. Currently, the pharmacological armamentarium with which to treat filarial infections is very limited and many of the drugs that are known to be efficacious against these worms may produce side effects that cause extreme discomfort. Here, Elizabeth Vande Waa describes the quest for new chemotherapeutic approaches for the treatment of filarial infections.
[
Toxicology,
2020]
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are environmental toxicants primarily produced during incomplete combustion; some are carcinogens. PAHs can be safely metabolized or, paradoxically, bioactivated via specific cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes to more reactive metabolites, some of which can damage DNA and proteins. Among the CYP isoforms implicated in PAH metabolism, CYP1A enzymes have been reported to both sensitize and protect from PAH toxicity. To clarify the role of CYP1A in PAH toxicity, we generated transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans that express CYP1A at a basal (but not inducible) level. Because this species does not normally express any CYP1 family enzyme, this approach permitted a test of the role of basally expressed CYP1A in PAH toxicity. We exposed C. elegans at different life stages to either the PAH benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) alone, or a real-world mixture dominated by PAHs extracted from the sediment of a highly-contaminated site on the Elizabeth River (VA, USA). This site, the former Atlantic Wood Industries, was declared a Superfund site due to coal tar creosote contamination that caused very high levels (in the [mg/mL] range) of high molecular weight PAHs within the sediments. We demonstrate that CYP1A protects against BaP-induced growth delay, reproductive toxicity, and reduction of steady state ATP levels. Lack of sensitivity of a DNA repair (Nucleotide Excision Repair)-deficient strain suggested that CYP1A did not produce significant levels of DNA-reactive metabolites from BaP. The protective effects of CYP1A in Elizabeth River sediment extract (ERSE)-exposed nematodes were less pronounced than those seen in BaP-exposed nematodes; CYP1A expression protected against ERSE-induced reduction of steady-state ATP levels, but not other outcomes of exposure to sediment extracts. Overall, we find that in C. elegans, a basal level of CYP1A activity is protective against the examined PAH exposures.