Summer with the Flu. Summer Work
By: Sohail Mohammed
Tags: Bio, Health, Summer, Virus, Flu

Sniff.

Achoo.

Excuse me.

Fortunately for me, my summer did not actually consist of me struggling with the flu. Instead it was an amazing chance to work at an Immuno-pathology Lab at the University of North Dakota.

I got the opportunity to speak with Dr.Nadeem Khan (Ph.D), an Assistant Professor at the University of North Dakota, who explained the effect of Influenza and co-infection of bacteria on the respiratory system.

Experiment

In one of the experiments in Dr.Khans lab was related to testing the integrity of the epithelial(surface) cells in the lungs.

In an innate response to the virus the host will recruit monocytes, these are the soldiers of our immune system. This results in inflammation caused by cytokines that are produced by the monocytes. These cytokines will recruit more monocytes in the area, leading to more inflammation.

During this process, many of the epithelial cells functions are compromised. Tight junctions are proteins that seal the epithelial cells of the lung together to prevent the invasion of foreign substances, such as bacteria, through the intercellular space.

Because of the inflammatory response by the host, these tight junctions fail to perform their function. This allows bacteria to enter the lungs, making its way into the bloodstream, and eventually throughout the body.

This lab contained all kinds of cool, expensive tools that could allowed us to gather valuble data.

Some tools I interacted with are:

Flow Cytometry

This machine allows for the passage of a sample of cells through a small orifice (an opening, as of a pipe or tube) that is then detected by a laser beam which scatters light based on the density and granularity of the cells. This can tell us what cells and how many of those cells were produced in the host towards a response.

Western Blot

Western Blot recognizes different proteins present in a sample. The presence of specific proteins can give us information about how a cell/host is responding under different conditions

Histopathology

A microtome is a tool that is used to slice a sample of the tissue to be used on slides. These slides can give us a visual about organ structure and abnormalities at a bigger picture. Inflammation for example can be easily seen in a lung sample through the use of a simple microscope.

What is Influenza?

Influenza is a virus that inflects mainly infects mammals and birds. Similar to all viruses, Influenza is a clump of RNA enclosed by proteins. Therefore to multiply it needs a host, which is usually the cells of mammals or birds.

When influenza infects a host it starts to kill our body cell in order to reproduce which compromises our health. During infection the host may have symptoms such as:

Fever

Chills

Muscle Ache

Cough

Congestion

Our immune system is well designed to defend us against these attacks. Over-the-counter and anti-inflammatory pain relievers may help the symptoms. But letting the immune system work best by taking rest and drinking fluids will be your best bet. Taking a vaccine will also help prepare your immune system in case of attack

Conclusions

Our body is a well equiped machine. Infections such as Influenza attack our body and the symptoms we feel are the result of the death of our cells as well as the inflmation caused by the monocytes.