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Department of Biology

Brianna Tate

Assistant Professor
Dr. Tate headshot

Assistant Professor

Email: btate@loyola.edu
Phone: 410-617-5126

Office

Dorothy Day 051
Department of Biology
Loyola University Maryland
4501 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21210-2699

Biography

There has been a long-established link between one’s nutritional status and their immune health. Many studies have shown that the consumption of particular dietary compounds found in certain foods can have beneficial effects on host immune health. These effects can range from enhancing the antimicrobial properties of immune cells to strengthening the physical barriers in the body (i.e., mucosal surfaces) that prevent entry to pathogenic microbes, thus (potentially) protecting the host from infection and illness. In a time of increased rates of antibiotic resistance emerging among pathogenic infectious agents, it is essential that preemptive steps are taken to build and maintain healthy immune systems in order to prevent the rise of disease-related mortality worldwide, especially among vulnerable populations like the young and elderly. The goal of the Tate lab is to investigate dietary compounds and extracts in order to determine their potential immunomodulatory effects and whether they can be leveraged to prevent or ameliorate disease in models of bacterial infection.

In order to carry out these investigations, our lab will develop and utilize enteroid technology. Enteroids are an in vitro model of the gastrointestinal (GI) epithelium system derived from stem cells isolated from intestinal crypts. Under proper growth conditions, these systems are able to be differentiated into a physiologically-relevant model of the GI epithelium, complete with the unique cell types normally found there (i.e., Paneth cells, Goblet cells, etc.). While this model has been established and used across a variety of species, our lab will initially work to establish a bovine enteroid system with which we hope to conduct relevant and translational research; the bovine is an important organism not only agriculturally, but biomedically and epidemiologically as well. With this system, we seek to test the effects of select dietary compounds on both gut integrity and morphology as well as the antimicrobial mechanisms of innate immune cells (i.e., macrophages) co-cultured with the enteroids in an effort to rudimentarily recapitulate the mucosal immune environment. These effects will be explored both within and outside the context of enteric infections. It is our hope that, with these investigative tools, we can begin to shed light on the ways that we can leverage the diet in order to prevent and combat infectious diseases for a healthier community.

Publications

  • N. Tate, A. Zhu, M. J. B. Felippe, D. C. Reyes, and J. W. McFadden. (2024). Effects of lysophosphatidylcholine on the oxidative burst response, inflammatory cytokine secretion, and Escherichia coli killing in polymorphonuclear neutrophils isolated from Holstein heifer calves. J Dairy Sci Comm. 6:583-588. https://doi.org/10.3168/jdsc.2024-0646.
  • N. Tate, M. M. Deys, F. A. Gutierrez-Oviedo, A. D. Ferguson, Y. Zang, B. J. Bradford, P. Deme, N. J. Haughey, & J. W. McFadden. (2023). Subcutaneous lysophosphatidylcholine administration promotes a febrile and immune response in Holstein heifer calves. Journal of Dairy Science. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2023-23688
  • N. Tate, G. P. Van Guilder, M. Aly, L. A. Spence, M. E. Diaz-Rubio, H. H. Le, E. L. Johnson, J. W. McFadden, C. A. Perry. (2023). Changes in Choline Metabolites and Ceramides in Response to a DASH-Style Diet in Older Adults. Nutrients. 15:3687
  • B. P. Fontoura, V. Sáinz de la Maza-Escolà, A. T. Richards, B. N. Tate, M. E. Van Amburgh, E. Grilli, and J. W. McFadden. (2023). Effects of dietary organic acid and pure botanical supplementation on growth performance and circulating measures of metabolic health in Holstein calves challenged by heat stress. J. Dairy Sci. 106:2904-2918.
  • Kristina Harris Jackson, Gary P. Van Guilder, Nathan Tintle, Brianna Tate, Joseph McFadden, Cydne A. Perry. (2022). Plasma fatty acid responses to a calorie-restricted, DASH-style diet with lean beef. Prostaglandins Leukot. Essent. Fat. Acids. 179:102413.
  • N. Tate & C. N. Mowa. (2020). Proteomic analysis of Moringa oleifera's anti-arthritic effects on human fibroblasts-like synoviocytes. S Afr J Bot. 129: 324-335.   

Area of Specialization

  • Nutritional Immunology
  • Microbiology
  • Animal Nutritional Science