Immunology of Infectious Disease News

Immunology of Infectious Disease News is an online resource dedicated to covering the latest research and developments in the field of infectious diseases.

Evaluation of Broad Anti-Coronavirus Activity of Autophagy-Related Compounds Using Human Airway Organoids

March 23, 2023

[Molecular Pharmaceutics] Researchers used airway organoids to screen a chemical library of autophagic modulators to identify compounds that could potentially be used to fight against infections by a broad range of coronaviruses.

Nasal Administration of Anti-CD3 mAb (Foralumab) Downregulates NKG7 and Increases TGFB1 and GIMAP7 Expression in T Cells in Subjects with COVID-19

March 22, 2023

[Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America] Using serum proteomics and RNA-sequencing, the authors investigated the immune changes in patients treated with nasal Foralumab.

Stress Keratin 17 and Estrogen Support Viral Persistence and Modulate the Immune Environment during Cervicovaginal Murine Papillomavirus Infection

March 22, 2023

[Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America] Scientists experimentally infected wild-type and stress keratin 17 knockout mice with a murine papillomavirus in the female reproductive tract, in the presence or absence of exogenous estrogen, for 6 months.

Neuraminidase Delivered as an APC-Targeted DNA Vaccine Induces Protective Antibodies against Influenza

March 22, 2023

[Molecular Therapy] Researchers reported that protection was mainly mediated by antibodies, although neuraminidase-specific T cells also contributed. Both antigen-presenting cells-targeting and antigen bivalency were crucial for vaccine efficacy.

Robust T Cell Responses to Pfizer/BioNTech Vaccine Compared to Infection and Evidence of Attenuated Peripheral CD8+ T Cell Responses Due to COVID-19

March 22, 2023

[Immunity] Using “spheromer” peptide-MHC multimer reagents, investigators analyzed healthy subjects receiving two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine.

Uptake-Independent Killing of Macrophages by Extracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis Aggregates

March 22, 2023

[EMBO Journal] Researchers used time-lapse fluorescence microscopy to show that contact with extracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis aggregates triggers macrophage plasma membrane perturbation, cytosolic calcium accumulation, and pyroptotic cell death.

T Helper 2 Cells Control Monocyte to Tissue-Resident Macrophage Differentiation during Nematode Infection of the Pleural Cavity

March 22, 2023

[Immunity] Using both C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice, researchers analyzed immune cells in the pleural cavity. While infection drove monocyte recruitment in both strains, only in C57BL/6 mice were monocytes able to efficiently integrate into the resident pool.

Antibody-Mediated Protection Against Symptomatic COVID-19 Can Be Achieved at Low Serum Neutralizing Titers

March 22, 2023

[Science Translational Medicine] Investigators showed that a half-life–extended monoclonal antibody provided about 50% protection against symptomatic COVID-19 in SARS-CoV-2–naïve adults at serum neutralizing antibody titers on the order of 1:30.

Parasitic Worms Affect Virus Coinfection: A Mechanistic Overview

March 22, 2023

[Trends In Parasitology] The multifarious mechanisms altering the immune system induced by helminths have significant implications on the control of coinfecting pathogens such as viruses. The authors explore the recent literature to highlight the main immune alterations and mechanisms that affect the control of viral coinfection.

Crimean–Congo Haemorrhagic Fever Virus

March 22, 2023

[Nature Reviews Microbiology] Scientists summarize insights into the function of viral proteins in Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) pathogenesis, the current understanding of CCHF, and the state of treatments and vaccines for the disease.

‘It’s inexcusable.’ WHO blasts China For Not Disclosing Potential Data on COVID-19’s Origin

March 22, 2023

[Science Insider] “This is a clue and it’s an important one,” says scientist overseeing the global health agency’s probe into what sparked the pandemic.

Growing Number of High-Security Pathogen Labs around World Raises Concerns

March 22, 2023

[Science Insider] The number of high-containment labs studying the deadliest known pathogens is booming. A new analysis warns the growing number of labs is raising risks of an accidental release or misuse of germs such as the Ebola and Nipah viruses.

Immunology of Infectious Disease News was founded to keep the scientific community current with the latest developments in infectious disease research. We feature high-impact publications, news, jobs, and events focused on immune responses to and the development of treatments for infectious diseases such as COVID-19, HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, influenza, and malaria.