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.

Maternal Immune Response and Placental Antibody Transfer after COVID-19 Vaccination across Trimester and Platforms

June 28, 2022

[Nature Communications] Researchers characterized the antibody profile after Ad26.COV2.S, mRNA-1273, or BNT162b2 vaccination in 158 pregnant individuals and evaluated transplacental antibody transfer by profiling maternal and umbilical cord blood in 175 maternal-neonatal dyads.

The C3d-Fused Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine Platform Overcomes Maternally-Derived Antibody Interference by Inducing a Potent Adaptive Immunity

June 28, 2022

[NPJ Vaccines] The authors developed the immune-enhancing O PA2-C3d and A22-C3d FMD vaccine strains that could stimulate receptors on the surface of B cells by inserting C3d into the VP1 region of O PA2 and A22.

Extrathymic Expression of Aire Controls the Induction of Effective TH17 Cell-Mediated Immune Response to Candida albicans

June 28, 2022

[Nature Immunology] Scientists showed that Aire+MHCII+ type 3 innate lymphoid cells could sense, internalize, and present C. albicans and had a critical role in the induction of Candida-specific T helper 17 (TH17) cell clones.

Viral Infection Engenders Bona Fide and Bystander Subsets of Lung-Resident Memory B Cells through a Permissive Mechanism

June 28, 2022

[Immunity] Investigators combined influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infection with fluorescent-reporter mice to identify memory B cells regardless of antigen specificity.

The Humoral Response and Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 Infection

June 28, 2022

[Nature Immunology] Scientists summarize key observations of humoral immune responses in people with COVID-19, discuss key features of infection- and vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies, and consider vaccine designs for inducing antibodies that are broadly protective against different variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Towards the Future Exploration of Mucosal mRNA Vaccines against Emerging Viral Diseases; Lessons from Existing Next-Generation Mucosal Vaccine Strategies

June 28, 2022

[NPJ Vaccines] The authors provide a comprehensive overview of mRNA vaccines and summarize their application in the fight against emerging viral diseases with particular emphasis on COVID-19 mRNA platforms.

Posttranslational Modifications Optimize the Ability of SARS-CoV-2 Spike for Effective Interaction with Host Cell Receptors

June 27, 2022

[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America] Combining homology modeling, protein-protein docking, and molecular dynamics simulations, investigators developed a full spike structure in a native membrane.

Bronchial Epithelia from Adults and Children: SARS-CoV-2 Spread via Syncytia Formation and Type III Interferon Infectivity Restriction

June 27, 2022

[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America] The authors used reconstituted primary bronchial epithelia from adult and child donors to follow the SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamics.

Convergent Evolution of Antiviral Machinery Derived from Endogenous Retrovirus Truncated Envelope Genes in Multiple Species

June 27, 2022

[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America] Scientists identified the copper transporter CTR1 as the entry receptor for feline leukemia virus subgroup D and genotype I endogenous retrovirus in domestic cats.

Pfizer and BioNTech Announce Omicron-Adapted COVID-19 Vaccine Candidates Demonstrate High Immune Response Against Omicron

June 27, 2022

[Pfizer, Inc.] Pfizer, Inc. and BioNTech SE announced positive data evaluating the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of two Omicron-adapted COVID-19 vaccine candidates: one monovalent and the other bivalent, a combination of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and a vaccine candidate targeting the spike protein of the Omicron BA.1 variant of concern.

WHO Declines to Label Monkeypox a Global Emergency

June 27, 2022

[Science Insider] After two days of deliberation, an advisory panel convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) has concluded the monkeypox outbreak that has spread to more than 50 countries does not yet warrant the declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, its highest alert level.

Engagement of TRAIL Triggers Degranulation and IFNγ Production in Human Natural Killer Cells

June 27, 2022

[EMBO Reports] By combining an unbiased large-scale screening approach with a functional assay, investigators identified TRAIL to be associated with NK cell degranulation against HIV-1-infected target cells.

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.