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Carol Wells, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
University of Wisconsin, 1978, Ph.D.
wells002@tc.umn.edu
612-625-5951 office
612-625-5911 lab |
Research Interests:
In vivo and in vitro interactions of microbes with intestinal
epithelial cells.
Dr. Wells is a microbiologist who studies the process by
which specific members of the normal intestinal microflora
(e.g., Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Enterococcus faecalis,
Candida albicans, C. glabrata) adhere to and penetrate the
intestinal epithelial barrier. These translocating intestinal
microbes are major causes of complicating infections in hospitalized
immunosuppressed patients, postsurgical patients, and trauma
patients. Researchers are finding that these microbes can
interact with the intestinal epithelium and trigger a cascade
of events that allows the organisms to enter other tissues,
leading to systemic infection. But the routes and mechanisms
of microbial transport have remained elusive due to the complex
dynamics of the intestinal tract.
Wells and her colleagues are doing in vitro studies of microbial
interactions (adherence, uptake, intracellular survival) with
cultured intestinal epithelial cells. Data from in vitro studies
are correlated with data from clinically relevant mouse models.
Assay techniques include quantitative microbiological methods
and light, immunofluorescent, and electron microscopic methods
which enable the investigators to visualize microbial interactions
with the intestinal epithelial barrier. The roles of several
molecules relevant to intestinal epithelium are currently
receiving particular emphasis, such as heparan sulfate proteoglycans
(specifically syndecan-1).
Together, the mouse and cell culture experiments in Wells'
laboratory have helped clarify the role of the intestinal
epithelial cell in the process of microbial movement across
the intestinal epithelium. Microbial transport across the
intestinal mucosa appears to be a normal, low-level activity
but can be stimulated to accelerate, particularly by trauma.
These and additional findings of microbial virulence mechanisms
may lead to the development of new treatment regimens that
would decrease the costly morbidity associated with systemic
infections caused by normal enteric flora.
Selected Recent Publications:
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Henry-Stanley MJ, Zhang B, Erlandsen SL, Wells CL. Synergistic effect of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interferon-gamma on enterocyte shedding of syndecan-1 and associated decreases in internalization of Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. Cytokine, In press
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Hess DJ, Henry-Stanley MJ, Erlandsen SL, Wells CL. 2006. Heparan sulfate proteoglycans mediate Staphylococcus aureus interactions with intestinal epithelium. Med Microbiol Immunol 195:133-41.
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Henry-Stanley MJ, Wells CL. 2006. Syndecan-1 as a mediator of bacteria-enterocyte interactions. TheScientificWorldJOURNAL. 6:466-471.
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Hess DJ, Garni RM, Henry-Stanley MJ, Wells CL. 2005. Escherichia coli modulates extraintestinal spread of Staphylococcus aureus. Shock 24: 376-381.
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Henry-Stanley MJ, Hess DJ, Erlandsen SL, Wells CL. 2005. Ability of the heparan sulfate proteoglycan syndecan-1 to participate in bacterial translocation across the intestinal epithelial barrier. Shock 24:571-576.
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Henry-Stanley MJ, Garni RM, Johnson MA, Bendel CM, Wells CL. 2005. Comparative abilities of Candida glabrata and Candida albicans to colonize and translocate from intestinal tract of antibiotic-treated mice. Microb Ecol Health Dis 17:129-37.
- Waters CM, Hirt H, McCormick J, Wells CL, Dunny GM. 2004. An amino-terminal domain of Enterococcus faecalis aggregation substance is required for aggregation, bacterial internalization by epithelial cells, and binding to lipoteichoic acid. Med Microbiol 52:1159-71.
- Henry-Stanley MJ, Garni RM, Wells CL. 2004. Adaptation of FUN-1 and Calcofluor white stains to assess the ability of viable and nonviable yeast to adhere to and be internalized by cultured mammalian cells. J Microbiol Meth 59:289-292.
- Wells CL, Hess DJ, Erlandsen SL. 2004. Impact of the indigenous flora in animal models of shock and sepsis. Shock 22:562-568.
- Erlandsen SL, Kristich CJ, Dunny GM, Wells CL. 2004. High resolution visualization of bacterial glycocalyx by low voltage SEM. Dependence on cationic probes. J Histochem Cytochem 52:1427-1435.
Last modified on: August 10, 2006 |
