[Cell Reports Methods] Scientists engineered a quadri-fluorescence lentiviral pseudovirus system employing four spectrally distinct fluorescent protein reporters, enabling the concurrent measurement of neutralizing antibodies against four SARS-CoV-2 variants within a single assay.

[Nature Microbiology] Researchers utilized quantitative trait loci mapping with 374 progeny from a cross between a CO2-tolerant clinical isolate and a CO2-sensitive environmental isolate to identify genetic regions regulating CO2 tolerance.

[Nature Microbiology] The authors used transposon sequencing analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) in wild-type and autophagy-deficient mouse macrophages lacking ATG5 or ATG7, and found that Mtb genes involved in phthiocerol dimycocerosate (PDIM) virulence lipid synthesis confered resistance to autophagy.

[Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences of The United States of America] Investigators reported an interaction between the two major cryptococcal virulence factors, the polysaccharide capsule and melanin.

[Cell Reports] Researchers reported that the activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in macrophages played a pivotal role in the progression of Leishmania infantum infection by controlling inflammation and redox balance of macrophages.

[Jama Surgery] Investigators discuss diagnostic and treatment approaches to necrotizing soft tissue infection (NSTI) while highlighting future directions and promising developments in NSTI management.

[National Institutes of Health] The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded grants for 10 projects to improve diagnostic tools for congenital and adult syphilis—conditions currently diagnosed with a sequence of tests, each with limited precision.

[International Journal of Stem Cells] Mice and human umbilical vein endothelial cell models did not sufficiently elucidate the relationship between the genotype and disease phenotype in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia 1, demanding more clinically relevant models that reflect human genetics. Therefore, the authors used prime editing to propose a method for establishing an isogenic hiPSC line.

[Stem Cell Research] Researchers introduced the RS1 (c.C304T, p.R102W) mutation into a normal iPSC line using CRISPR/Cas9 technology.

[Scientific Reports] Using hESC lines, scientists modeled MECP2 loss-of-function to explore its effects on astrocyte development and dysfunction in the brain.

[Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences] Investigators presented a genetically encoded fluorescent probe used to track changes in H3K9me3 landscapes during the differentiation of iPSCs into induced neurons.

[Experimental Hematology] iPSCs hold the potential to address challenges with utilizing adoptive cell therapy as cancer treatment, as they can provide an unlimited source for the in vitro generation of immune cells.