Immunology of Infectious Disease News Volume 5.37 | Sep 20 2017

TOP STORY

Three-in-One Antibody Protects Monkeys from HIV-Like Virus

A three-pronged antibody made in the laboratory protected monkeys from infection with two strains of SHIV, a monkey form of HIV, better than individual natural antibodies from which the engineered antibody is derived, researchers report. [Press release from the National Institutes of Health discussing online prepublication in Science] Press Release | Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

IL-10-Mediated Signals Act as a Switch for Lymphoproliferation in Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type-1 Infection by Activating the STAT3 and IRF4 Pathways

By using IL-2-dependent human T-cell leukemia virus type-1 (HTLV-1)-infected T-cell lines established from patients with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis, the authors demonstrated that the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and its downstream signals potentially act as a switch for proliferation in HTLV-1-infected cells. [PLoS Pathog] Full Article

Molecular and Cellular Signatures underlying Superior Immunity against Bordetella pertussis upon Pulmonary Vaccination

Systems vaccinology was used to identify immune signatures after pulmonary or subcutaneous immunization of mice with pertussis outer membrane vesicles. Pulmonary immunization led to improved protection, exclusively induced mucosal immunoglobulin A and T helper type 17 (Th17) responses, and in addition evoked elevated systemic immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody levels, IgG-producing plasma cells, memory B cells, and Th17 cells. [Mucosal Immunol] Abstract

Exposure to Human Alveolar Lining Fluid Enhances Mycobacterium bovis BCG Vaccine Efficacy against Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection in a CD8⁺ T-Cell-Dependent Manner

Scientists vaccinated mice with alveolar lining fluid (ALF)-exposed Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), mimicking the mycobacterial cell surface properties that would be present in the lung during Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) infection. ALF-exposed BCG-vaccinated mice were more effective at reducing M.tb bacterial burden in the lung and spleen, and reduced lung inflammation at late stages of M.tb infection. [Mucosal Immunol] Abstract

Evolution of T Cell Responses during Measles Virus Infection and RNA Clearance

Investigators analyzed the appearance, specificity and function of measles virus (MeV)-specific T cells for six months after respiratory infection of rhesus macaques with wild type MeV. Interferon-γ and IL-17-producing cells specific for the hemagglutinin and nucleocapsid proteins appeared in circulation in multiple waves approximately 2-3, 8 and 18-24 weeks after infection. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Zika Virus Infection Confers Protection against West Nile Virus Challenge in Mice

Researchers assessed the humoral response of immunocompetent mice to infection with three viral strains of diverse geographical origin. No infected animals showed any sign of disease or died after infection. However, specific neutralizing antibodies were elicited in all infected mice. [Emerg Microbes Infect] Full Article

Extrinsically Derived TNF Is Primarily Responsible for Limiting Antiviral CD8⁺ T Cell Response Magnitude

The authors showed that the biphasic production of TNF by CD8⁺ T cells following in vitro stimulation corresponds to distinct patterns of epigenetic modifications. Further, they showed that a global loss of TNF during influenza A virus infection results in an augmentation of the peripheral virus-specific CD8⁺ T cell response. [PLoS One] Full Article

HIV

Snapin Promotes HIV-1 Transmission from Dendritic Cells by Dampening TLR8 Signaling

Using a phosphoproteomic approach, researchers identified a robust and diverse signaling cascade triggered by HIV-1 upon entry into human dendritic cells (DCs). A secondary siRNA screen of the identified signaling factors revealed several new mediators of HIV-1 trans-infection of CD4⁺ T cells in DCs, including the dynein motor protein Snapin. [EMBO J] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Vector Order Determines Protection against Pathogenic Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in a Triple Component Vaccine by Balancing CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-Cell Responses

Scientists investigated two prime-boost regimens, both starting vaccination with single cycle immunodeficiency virus, followed by two mucosal boosts either with recombinant adenovirus or fowlpox virus expressing SIVmac239 or SIVmac251 gag/pol and env genes, respectively. [J Virol] Abstract

Preserved Immune Functionality and High CMV-Specific T-Cell Responses in HIV-Infected Individuals with Poor CD4⁺ T-Cell Immune Recovery

Researchers assessed T-cell function by assessing cytokine production after polyclonal, cytomegalovirus (CMV) and HIV stimulations of T-cells from antiretroviral therapy-suppressed HIV-infected individuals with CD4⁺ T-cell counts >350 cells/μL or <350 cells/μL. [Sci Rep] Full Article

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Natural Killer Cells in HIV-1 Infection and Therapy

The authors discuss how the current knowledge of NK cell pathophysiology in HIV-1 infection is being translated both in experimental and clinical trials aimed at controlling the infection and disease. [AIDS] Abstract

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Harvard’s Wyss Institute Launches Human Organ Chip Project to Model Influenza Virus Infection and Develop New Therapies

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering has received funding from the National Institutes of Health to leverage its human Organ-on-a-Chip microfluidic cell culture technology to develop clinically relevant in vitro models of influenza infection of human lung, and to identify new anti-viral therapeutics that act by modulating the host response to infection. [The Wyss Institute] Press Release

IDbyDNA and ARUP Laboratories Introduce Explify Respiratory: Breakthrough Technology to Diagnose Pneumonia Caused by Previously Undetected Pathogens

ARUP Laboratories and IDbyDNA, Inc. announced the launch of Explify™ Respiratory, a novel next-generation sequencing test for respiratory infections. [IDbyDNA Inc.] Press Release

Publishers Go after Networking Site for Illicit Sharing of Journal Papers

A major scientific publishing group is taking aim at a social networking site for allowing researchers to illegally post copies of their journal papers. The International Association of Scientific, Technical, and Medical Publishers in Oxford, U.K., and The Hague, the Netherlands, has written to ResearchGate, a networking website for researchers, to express concerns over its article-sharing practices. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

Scientific Society Defines Sexual Harassment as Scientific Misconduct

Sexual harassment is a form of scientific misconduct under a new policy adopted by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Washington, D.C. The new policy applies not only to the society’s members and staff, but also to nonmembers participating in the society’s activities. AGU President Eric Davidson calls it “a major step forward” in addressing the issue. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

They Got Hundreds of Thousands to Rally. Where Does the March for Science Go from Here?

The hundreds of thousands of people who rallied on the National Mall and in cities worldwide for the March for Science came to be noticed. But as two dozen of them met in New York the following month for a debrief, they faced an obvious reality: A grass-roots organization that was quickly formed to plan a singular event was not, at least immediately, equipped for far-reaching and long-term science advocacy. [STAT News] Editorial

NEW Keystone Symposia: Tuberculosis: Translating Scientific Findings for Clinical and Public Health Impact
April 15-19, 2018
Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

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