Immunology of Infectious Disease News Volume 7.16 | May 1 2019

TOP STORY

The Long Noncoding RNA Lnczc3h7a Promotes a TRIM25-Mediated RIG-I Antiviral Innate Immune Response

Researchers identified a novel long noncoding RNA that binds to TRIM25 and promoted RIG-I-mediated antiviral innate immune responses. Depletion of Lnczc3h7a impaired RIG-I signaling and the antiviral innate response to RNA viruses in vitro and in vivo. [Nat Immunol] Abstract

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Dendritic Cell NLRC4 Regulates Influenza A Virus-Specific CD4 T Cell Responses through FasL Expression

Scientists explored the role of nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat containing receptor family member NLRC4 in modulating the dendritic cell phenotype during influenza A virus infection. [J Clin Invest] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Differential Human Antibody Repertoires following Zika Infection and the Implications for Serodiagnostics and Disease Outcome

The authors used whole genome phage display library spanning the entire Zika virus (ZIKV) genome for in-depth immune profiling of IgG and IgM antibody repertoires in serum and urine longitudinal samples from individuals acutely infected with ZIKV. [Nat Commun] Full Article

HIV-1 Vpr Counteracts HLTF-Mediated Restriction of HIV-1 Infection in T Cells

Researchers report that select aspects of the cellular postreplication DNA machinery restrict HIV-1 replication in dividing T cells and that these restrictions are counteracted by HIV-1 Vpr accessory virulence factor. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] Full Article

FCRL5⁺ Memory B Cells Exhibit Robust Recall Responses

In mice infected with Plasmodium chabaudi, investigators demonstrated expansion of an antigen-specific FCRL5⁺ population that is distinct from previously described FCRL5⁺ innate-like murine subsets. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Nlrp3 Inflammasome Activation and Gasdermin D-Driven Pyroptosis Are Immunopathogenic upon Gastrointestinal Norovirus Infection

Researchers showed that gastrointestinal murine norovirus (MNV) infection led to widespread IL-1β maturation in MNV-susceptible STAT1-deficient mice. MNV activated the canonical Nlrp3 inflammasome in macrophages, leading to maturation of IL-1β and to Gasdermin D-dependent pyroptosis. [PLoS Pathog] Full Article

Phenotypic and Functional Differences between HHV-6 and HCMV Specific T-Cells

Scientists characterized human herpesvirus (HHV)-6A and 6B specific CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-cell responses from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy donors. They studied the phenotype of effector HHV-6 specific T-cells ex vivo, as well as of induced specific suppressive regulatory CD4⁺ T-cells in vitro post-stimulation, in comparison to human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) responses. [J Virol] Abstract

CD4⁺ T Cell Regulation of Antibodies Cross-Reactive with Fungal Cell Wall Associated Carbohydrates after Pneumocystis murina Infection

While IgG responses against Pneumocystis protein antigens were markedly CD4⁺ T cell dependent, CD4⁺ T cell depletion did not impact quantities of IgG cross-reactive with β-glucan or chitosan/chitin in the serum or mucosa after challenge. [Infect Immun] Abstract

Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection Impairs M1 Macrophage Differentiation and Contributes to CD8⁺ T-Cell Dysfunction

Scientists showed that M1 cells generated from chronic hepatitis C virus patients acquired M2 characteristics, such as increased CD86 expression and IL-10 secretion, compared to uninfected controls. [Cells] Full Article

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T Cell Metabolism in Chronic Viral Infection

T cells are a fundamental component of the adaptive immune response in the context of both acute and chronic viral infection. Tight control over the metabolic processes within T cells provides an additional level of immune regulation that is interlinked with nutrient sensing and the continued balancing of co‐stimulatory and co‐inhibitory signals. [Clin Exp Immunol] Abstract | Full Article

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FDA Approves First Treatment for All Genotypes of Hepatitis C in Pediatric Patients

The FDA approved Mavyret tablets to treat all six genotypes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in children ages 12 to 17. Mavyret was previously approved to treat HCV in adults in 2017. [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] Press Release

Janssen Announces Submission of New Drug Application to US FDA for the First Monthly, Injectable, Two-Drug Regimen of Rilpivirine and Cabotegravir for Treatment of HIV

The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson announced that a New Drug Application to the FDA has been submitted by ViiV Healthcare for the investigational once-monthly, injectable, two-drug regimen of Janssen’s rilpivirine and ViiV’s cabotegravir for the treatment of HIV in adults whose viral load is suppressed and who are not resistant to cabotegravir or rilpivirine. [Janssen Global Services, LLC] Press Release

IBBR Investigator to Lead $3.5M NIH-Funded Project to Study Immune Response to HIV-1

Researchers at the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) received $3.5M from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance understanding of the complex process by which the immune system produces highly specialized antibodies. The goal of the project is to design and test novel vaccine candidates that improve the protective antibody response against HIV-1. [Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research] Press Release

Mymetics Receives Funding from NIH for Novel HIV Vaccine Study

Mymetics Corporation announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Mymetics and Texas Biomedical Research Institute a five-year grant for the project called ‘Cold Chain-Independent, Needle-Free Mucosal Virosomal Vaccine to Prevent HIV-1 Acquisition at Mucosal Levels’. [Mymetics Corporation] Download Press Release

Dengue Vaccine Fiasco Leads to Criminal Charges for Researcher in the Philippines

A prominent pediatrician and medical researcher in the Philippines has been indicted over the failed—and many say premature—introduction of Dengvaxia, a vaccine against dengue that was yanked from the Philippine market in 2017 because of safety issues. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

Two Los Angeles Universities Establish Measles Quarantine

At the University of California, Los Angeles, and California State University, Los Angeles, more than 300 students and staff are under quarantine after potentially being exposed to measles. [The Scientist] Editorial

Thousands of Scientists in Argentina Strike to Protest Budget Cuts

Scientists from labs across Argentina stayed home, joining a nationwide strike against the government’s latest round of austerity measures. One of their key rallying points: a call to restore lost opportunities for young researchers who began their education during a time of high investment in science but now have little hope of continuing their careers in Argentina. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

House Democrats Move to Resurrect Congress’s Science Advisory Office

Democrats in the US House of Representatives want to bring back Congress’s long-dead science advice office. A draft funding bill released today calls for providing $6 million to re-establish the Office of Technology Assessment, which Republican lawmakers killed in 1995. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

NEW American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Microbe 2019
June 20-24, 2019
San Francisco, California, United States

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NEW Research Scientist – Immunology/HBV (Gilead Sciences, Inc.)

Postdoctoral Associate – Influenza Pathogenesis and Cell Death (Fox Chase Cancer Center)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Malaria Immunology (Karolinska Institutet)

Postdoctoral Position – Vaccine Research (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

Project Assistant – Emerging Pathogens (University of Oxford)

Research Scholar – HIV Research (Northern California Institute for Research and Education)

Postdoctoral Fellows – HIV Research (Massachusetts General Hospital)

Qualified Person – BioManufacturing (University of Oxford)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Malaria (Seattle Children’s)

Staff Scientist – Transcriptional Control in Development and Disease (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

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