Jennifer A. Fulcher

Paradoxical relationships of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha with methamphetamine use and body mass index

Abstract Background: Methamphetamine (MA) use and obesity are linked to inflammation and related comorbidities, yet their combined effects are poorly understood. We evaluated associations between MA use, body mass index (BMI), and systemic inflammation. Methods: We analyzed data...

Comparison of oral and gut microbiome highlights the role of oral bacteria in systemic inflammation in HIV

ABSTRACT Background Chronic HIV-1 infection is associated with increased inflammation-related comorbidities, despite effective viral suppression with antiretroviral therapy. While the role of the gut microbiome in inflammation is well-studied, the contribution of the oral microbi...

An ex vivo gut mucosal explant assay to compare HIV tissue susceptibility shows increased HIV susceptibility with methamphetamine exposure

Background: mucosal explant models for HIV assess viral replication but do not fully capture the ability of tissue to support productive infection and transfer to target cells, an important indicator of tissue susceptibility. Additional tools to investigate relative mucosal susce...