Immunology of Infectious Disease News Volume 4.39 | Oct 5 2016

TOP STORY

EBV-Derived MicroRNAs Silence Immune Alarm Signals of the Host Cell

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) prevents infected cells from being attacked by the immune system. The virus drives production of small molecules, so-called microRNAs, that suppress alarm signals sent out by the infected cell. Scientists have elucidated this previously unknown mechanism. [Press release from Helmholtz Zentrum München discussing online prepublication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences] Press Release | Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Type I Interferons Regulate Immune Responses in Humans with Blood-Stage Plasmodium falciparum Infection

Researchers identified type I interferons as important regulators in developing anti-parasitic immunity in healthy volunteers infected for the first time with P. falciparum. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

The Ubiquitin Ligase TRIM27 Functions as a Host Restriction Factor Antagonized by Mycobacterium tuberculosis PtpA during Mycobacterial Infection

Scientists identified a new PtpA-interacting host protein TRIM27, which is reported to possess a conserved RING domain and usually acts as an E3 ubiquitin ligase that interferes with various cellular processes. They also demonstrated that TRIM27 restricts survival of mycobacteria in macrophages by promoting innate immune responses and cell apoptosis. [Sci Rep] Full Article

IL-17 Is Required for Control of Chronic Lung Infection Caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Researchers used a murine model of chronic pulmonary infection with cystic fibrosis-related strains of P. aeruginosa. They demonstrated that IL-17 cytokine signaling is essential for survival and prevention of chronic infection at 2 weeks post-inoculation using two different P. aeruginosa strains. [Infect Immun] Abstract

CD4⁺ T Cells Require either B Cells or CD8⁺ T Cells to Control Spread and Pathogenesis of a Neurotropic Infection

The authors used a mouse model of neuron-restricted measles virus infection, in which immunocompetent adults survive challenge, whereas T and B cell-deficient mice succumb. This model allowed us to more precisely define the contributions of CD4⁺ T cells, CD8⁺ T cells, and B cells in neuroprotection. [Virology] Abstract

Mycobacterium tuberculosis Multidrug Resistant Strain M Induces IL-17⁺IFNγˉ CD4⁺ T Cell Expansion through an IL-23 and TGF-β-Dependent Mechanism in Patients with MDR-TB Tuberculosis

Investigators showed that IL-1β and IL-6 are crucial for the H37Rv and M-induced expansion of IL-17⁺IFNγˉ and IL-17⁺IFNγ⁺ in CD4⁺ T cells from multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and healthy tuberculin reactors. [Clin Exp Immunol] Abstract

HIV

HIV Triggers a cGAS-Dependent, Vpu- and Vpr-Regulated Type I Interferon Response in CD4⁺ T Cells

The authors showed that activated CD4⁺ T cells sense HIV-1 infection through the cytosolic DNA sensor cGAS and mount a bioactive type I interferon response. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Specific Inhibition of HIV Infection by Spironolactone in T Cells

Scientists showed that spironolactone, an aldosterone antagonist approved for clinical use, inhibits HIV-1 and HIV-2 infection of permissive T cells by blocking viral Tat-dependent transcription from the long terminal repeat. [J Virol] Abstract

Immune Tolerance Properties of the Testicular Tissue as a Viral Sanctuary Site in ART-Treated HIV-Infected Adults

When compared to PBMCs, testes were characterized by a lower CD4 T-cell proportion among total T-cells, a decrease in the frequency of naive cells, an increase in the frequency of effector-memory T-cells and an increase in CCR5 expression in both the HIV⁺ and HIV^– groups. [AIDS] Abstract

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Inflammasomes and its Importance in Viral Infections

Researchers discuss the role of inflammasomes in sensing viral infection as well as the evasion strategies that viruses have developed to evade inflammasome-dependent immune responses. They summarize the understanding of host defense mechanisms against viruses and highlight research areas that can provide new approaches to interfere in the pathogenesis of viral diseases. [Immunol Res] Abstract

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Merck to Present New Data on ZEPATIER™ (Elbasvir and Grazoprevir) and Chronic Hepatitis C Clinical Development Programs

Merck announced that new data from the company’s chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) clinical development programs will be presented. Fifteen scientific abstracts, including seven oral and eight poster presentations, will highlight findings from Merck’s HCV clinical development programs. [Press release from Merck & Co., Inc. discussing research presented at The Liver Meeting^® 2016, Boston] Press Release

Dr. Allen Eaves of STEMCELL Technologies Inc. Named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Pacific 2016

Dr. Allen Eaves, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of STEMCELL Technologies, a global biotechnology company that supplies tools and services to enable life science research, is this year’s Entrepreneur Of The Year Pacific winner. [Ernst & Young (CNW Group Ltd.)] Press Release

IAVI Awarded Grants to Expedite AIDS Vaccine Development

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) has recently been awarded two new grants by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to expedite the development of promising AIDS vaccine candidates and other new biomedical HIV prevention tools. The grants provide for funding in an amount of almost US$60 million over three and a half years. [International AIDS Vaccine Initiative] Press Release

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Increases Annual ‘Emerging Leader Award’ Grants to $350,000 for Lyme Disease Research

Bay Area Lyme Foundation announced that it is beginning to accept applications for a new $250,000 grant award that has been added to its existing “Emerging Leader Award” portfolio of yearly funding. [Bay Area Lyme Foundation] Press Release

Medicine Nobel for Research on How Cells ‘Eat Themselves’

Molecular biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi has won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in the field of autophagy: the processes by which the cell digests and recycles its own components. [Nature News] Editorial | Press Release

Dramatic Twists Could Upend Patent Battle over CRISPR Genome-Editing Method

The 9-month-old patent battle over CRISPR, a novel genome-editing tool that could have immense commercial value, has taken two surprising twists. Last week, attorneys for the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the research organizations vying for CRISPR rights, submitted motions that could let it win even if it loses. [Science Insider] Editorial

Democratic Databases: Science on GitHub

Scientists are turning to a software-development site to share data and code. [Nature Toolbox] Editorial

Biologists Plan Scoring System for Antibodies

Biomedical experts plan to create a scoring system that will help researchers choose reliable antibodies for their experiments. The only problems: figuring out how such a ranking would work — and getting manufacturers to adopt the standard. [Nature News] Editorial

UK Bioethicists Eye Designer Babies and CRISPR Cows

From designer babies to engineered mosquitoes, advances in genome-editing technologies such as CRISPR–Cas9 have raised the possibility of tremendous scientific advances — and serious ethical concerns. [Nature News] Editorial

NEW American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) Annual Meeting
March 3-6, 2017
Atlanta, United States

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NEW Postdoctoral Position – Immunology (Klinikum der Universität München)

NEW Faculty Positions – Immunology (Ohio State University)

Research Technologist – Cell Separation (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Postdoctoral Positions – Mucosal, Innate and Adaptive Immunity (UT Southwestern Medical Center)

Faculty Positions – Microbiology, Immunology, and Inflammation Biology (Weill Cornell Medicine)

Faculty Position – Senior Immunologist (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Research Position – Immunotherapy Approach to Treat HIV Infection (California Institute of Technology)

Post Doctoral Research Fellow – Thymic and Immune Regeneration (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Postdoctoral Research Associate – Infectious Disease Dynamics (University of Cambridge)

Faculty Positions – Microbiology (University of Pennsylvania)

Postdoctoral Position – B Regulatory Cells (Inserm)

Postdoctoral Fellow(s) – Biomedical Diagnostics and Global Health Technologies (Cornell University)

Faculty Position – Immunology (Vanderbilt University Medical Center)

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Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Quantitative Infectious Disease Methods (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

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