University of Illinois College of Medicine

3 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Immunology and Infection

Assessing Bacterial Invasion of Cardiac Cells in Culture and Heart Colonization in Infected Mice Using Listeria monocytogenes

P. David McMullen¹, Nancy E. Freitag¹

¹Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago

Listeria monocytogenes causes fetal infections in pregnant women and meningitis in susceptible populations. Subpopulations of bacteria can colonize cardiac tissue, causing myocarditis in patients and laboratory animals. Here we present a protocol that describes how to assess L. monocytogenes cardiac cell invasion in vitro and cardiac colonization in infected animals.

Immunology and Infection

Using a Bacterial Pathogen to Probe for Cellular and Organismic-level Host Responses

Petoria Gayle¹, Nancy E. Freitag², Natasa Strbo¹, Kurt Schesser¹

¹Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, ²Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Illinois College of Medicine

We describe both in vitro and in vivo infection assays that can be used to analyze the activities of host-encoding factors.

Bioengineering

Creation of Patient-Specific Silicone Cardiac Models with Applications in Pre-surgical Plans and Hands-on Training

Megan S. Mattus¹, Tate B. Ralph¹, Sister M. Pieta Keller¹, Alexa L. Waltz², Matthew T. Bramlet²

¹Jump Simulation, OSF HealthCare, ²Advanced Imaging and Modeling Lab, OSF HealthCare Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center, University of Illinois College of Medicine

Patient-specific models improve surgeon and fellow confidence when developing or learning surgical plans. Three-dimensional (3D) printers generate adequate detail for surgical preparation, but fail to replicate tissue haptic fidelity. A protocol is presented detailing the creation of patient-specific, silicone cardiac models, combining 3D printing precision with simulated silicone tissue.