Immunology of Infectious Disease News 4.30 August 3, 2016 | |
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TOP STORYFollicular CXCR5-Expressing CD8+ T Cells Curtail Chronic Viral Infection Scientists showed that a subset of exhausted CD8+ T cells expressing the chemokine receptor CXCR5 plays a critical role in the control of viral replication in mice that were chronically infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. [Nature] Abstract | |
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PUBLICATIONS(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)Investigators found that during the first week of chronic lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection, before severe dysfunction develops, virus-specific CD8+ T cells were already unable to match the bioenergetics of effector T cells generated during acute infection. [Immunity] Abstract | Graphical Abstract Tissue-Resident CD169+ Macrophages Form a Crucial Front Line against Plasmodium Infection Scientists showed that in the absence of tissue-resident CD169+ macrophages, Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection results in significantly increased parasite sequestration, leading to vascular occlusion and leakage and augmented tissue deposition of the malarial pigment hemozoin. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract Broadly Neutralizing Activity of Zika Virus-Immune Sera Identifies a Single Viral Serotype Researchers investigated the breadth of the neutralizing antibody response following Zika virus (ZIKV) infection by measuring the sensitivity of six ZIKV strains to neutralization by ZIKV-confirmed convalescent human serum or plasma samples. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract Investigators characterized the fine composition of the functional cross-reactive Th1 effector subsets specific to the shared PE/PPE epitopes in mice immunized with the M. tuberculosis Δppe25-pe19 vaccine candidate. [PLoS Pathog] Abstract | Press Release Researchers examined the CD4 T-cell response after oral infection with an internalin A ‘murinized’ L. monocytogenes (Lm). Oral Lm infection induced a robust endogenous listeriolysin O-specific CD4 T-cell response with distinct phenotypic and functional characteristics in the intestine. [Mucosal Immunol] Abstract HIVAltered Memory Circulating T Follicular Helper-B Cell Interaction in Early Acute HIV Infection The RV254 cohort of HIV-infected very early acute and late acute individuals was used to study T helper- B cell responses in acute HIV infection and the impact of early antiretroviral treatment on T and B cell function. [PLoS Pathog] Full Article The Differential Short- and Long-Term Effects of HIV-1 Latency-Reversing Agents on T Cell Function The authors investigated the effects of two leading latency-reversing agent classes on CD8+ T cell phenotype and function: the histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) and protein kinase C modulators (PKCms). They observed that relative to HDACis, the PKCms induced much stronger T cell activation coupled with non-specific cytokine production and T cell proliferation. [Sci Rep] Full Article Gene expression of annexin A1 (ANXA1) and cytokines were assessed in therapy-naïve rhesus macaques during early and chronic stages of SIV infection and compared with SIV-negative controls. ANXA1 expression was suppressed in the gut but systemically increased during early infection. [Sci Rep] Full Article Immune Perturbations in HIV-1–Infected Individuals Who Make Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies Researchers studied cohorts of HIV-1–infected individuals who made broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) and compared them with those who did not do so, and determined immune traits associated with the ability to produce bnAbs. [Sci Immunol] Abstract | Press Release Subscribe to our sister publications: Human Immunology News & Immune Regulation News. | |
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REVIEWSSensing the Enemy, Containing the Threat: Cell-Autonomous Immunity to Chlamydia trachomatis The authors provide a critical summary of our current understanding of cell-autonomous immunity to C. trachomatis and its role in shaping host resistance, inflammation and adaptive immunity to genital C. trachomatis infections. [FEMS Microbiol Rev] Abstract Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the immunology of infectious disease research field. | |
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INDUSTRY NEWSCase Western Reserve Researcher Receives NIH Grant for HIV Research in Uganda W. Henry Boom, MD, professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Moses L. Joloba, MBChB, MS and PhD, dean of the School of Biomedical Sciences at Makerere University have received an HIV research training program grant from the Fogarty International Center of the US National Institutes of Health. [Case Western Reserve University] Press Release Merck announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency has adopted a positive opinion recommending approval of ZEPATIERâ„¢, an investigational, once-daily, fixed-dose combination tablet for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus in adult patients. [Merck & Co., Inc.] Press Release Seres Therapeutics, Inc. announced interim 8-week results from the ongoing SER-109 Phase II ECOSPORTM clinical study for the prevention of multiply recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. [Seres Therapeutics, Inc.] Press Release Vaxart Initiates Clinical Development of First Oral Norovirus Vaccine Vaxart, Inc. announced the initiation of a Phase I clinical trial of the first oral norovirus tablet vaccine. [Vaxart, Inc.] Press Release ContraVir Reports Positive Data from Phase Ib Study of CMX157 ContraVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced positive top-line results from a recently completed Phase Ib multiple ascending dose clinical safety study of CMX157, ContraVir’s novel, highly potent lipid conjugate of tenofovir in development for treating hepatitis B infection. [ContraVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc.] Press Release | |
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POLICY NEWSDNA Vaccines against Zika Virus Speed into Clinical Trials By the end of 2016 at least two vaccines against Zika will have completed Phase I safety trials, marking the first significant clinical progress towards preventing transmission of the virus. [Nat Rev Drug Discov] Editorial Scientists Seek Influence on ‘Brexit Ministry’ Worried at the prospect of losing access to EU funding and collaborations, scientific societies have fired off numerous letters asking the government to keep their country in the EU’s research system, and warning of damage already caused by Brexit. [Nature News] Editorial Brain Implants and Gene-Editing Enhancements Worry US Public Most people in the United States are more worried than enthusiastic about the prospect of scientific advances such as gene editing and brain-chip implants, a survey of thousands suggests. [Nature News] Editorial | Poll Major Review Calls Time on ‘Gaming’ in UK Research Assessment The United Kingdom’s mammoth periodic audit of its research is set for a shake-up that could change the way universities hire academics – and might also encourage scientists to spend more time on public engagement. [Nature News] Editorial Antibiotics Funding Splurge Gets Mixed Reception Antibiotics researchers are set to receive hundreds of millions of dollars from a new funding stream — but not everyone thinks the cash is being directed to the right place. [Nature News] Editorial Young Blood Antiaging Trial Raises Questions A startup company has launched the first clinical trial in the United States to test the antiaging benefits of young blood in relatively healthy people. But there’s a big caveat: It’s a pay-to-participate trial, a type that has raised ethical concerns before, most recently in the stem cell field. [ScienceInsider] Editorial Dispute over President’s Age Tears Pasteur Institute Apart Is 65 too old to stay at the helm of a major research center? That question is sowing division at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, Science has learned, and has plunged the 128-year-old institute, home to 1200 scientists and the place where HIV was first isolated, into a leadership crisis. [ScienceInsider] Editorial U.S. Mental Health Institute Puts Champion of Basic Science at the Helm Up to now, Joshua Gordon has split his career between working with patients with mental illness and mice designed to mimic that illness. But this fall, the neuroscientist and psychiatrist will take control of the $1.5 billion U.S. National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. [ScienceInsider] Editorial | Press Release Russian Scientists Bracing for Massive Job Losses Russia’s scientific community is reeling from news that the government plans to fire about 10,000 researchers over the next three years. [ScienceInsider] Editorial
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EVENTSNEW International Hepatitis B Cure Workshop 2016 Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the immunology of infectious disease community.
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JOB OPPORTUNITIESNEW PhD Positions – Infection Biology and Immunology (ZIBI Graduate School) Research Associate – Immunology and Cell Separation (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.) Research Technologist – Cell Separation (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.) Scientist – Bioengineering (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.) Senior Scientist – Immunology and Cell Separation (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.) Senior Researcher – Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases (El Colegio de la Frontera Sur) Postdoctoral Fellow – Infectious Disease (Metabiota) Postdoctoral Fellow – Malaria Genetics (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute) Two Postdoctoral Positions – Viral Hepatitis (Inserm) Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Immune Response to Infection (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) Principal Investigators – Infectious Diseases (CCID) Recruit Top Talent: Reach potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.
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