Immunology of Infectious Disease News Volume 5.39 | Oct 4 2017

TOP STORY

Monoclonal Antibody ‘Cocktail’ Halts Zika Infection

A collaborative study has found that a “cocktail” of monoclonal antibodies prevented Zika virus infection in primates. [Press release from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine discussing online prepublication in Science Translational Medicine] Press Release | Full Article

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Impaired Polyfunctionality of CD8⁺ T Cells in Severe Sepsis Patients with Human Cytomegalovirus Reactivation

Investigators demonstrated that human cytomegalovirus reactivation in severe sepsis patients is associated with programmed cell death protein 1 expression and impaired polyfunctionality of CD8⁺ T cells. [Exp Mol Med] Full Article

CD8⁺ T Cells Prevent Lethality from Neonatal Murine Roseolovirus Infection

The authors demonstrated that CD8⁺ T cells are required for protective immunity against a naturally occurring murine pathogen that infects the thymus and established a novel infection model for murine roseolovirus (MRV) in C57BL/6 (B6) mice, providing the foundation for detailed future studies on MRV with the availability of innumerable mutant mice on the B6 background. [J Immunol] Abstract

Effects of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) Vaccination at Birth on T and B Lymphocyte Subsets: Results from a Clinical Randomized Trial

Researchers investigated the possible immunological impact of neonatal BCG vaccination on lymphocyte subsets, determined by flow cytometry. [Sci Rep] Full Article

TLR3 Is Required for Survival following Coxsackievirus B3 Infection by Driving T Lymphocyte Activation and Polarization: The Role of Dendritic Cells

The authors found that toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) expression in dendritic cells plays a role in their activation upon type B coxsackievirus 3 infection in vitro, as TLR3-deficient dendritic cells up-regulate CD80 and CD86 to a less degree than WT cells. [PLoS One] Full Article

CD14⁺CD16⁺ Monocytes Are the Main Target of Zika Virus Infection in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells in a Pediatric Study in Nicaragua

Researchers analyzed Zika virus (ZIKV) infectivity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in vitro and from Nicaraguan Zika patients and showed CD14⁺CD16⁺ monocytes are the main target of infection, with ZIKV replication detected in some dendritic cells. [Nat Microbiol] Abstract

HIV

Elicitation of Neutralizing Antibodies Targeting the V2 Apex of the HIV Envelope Trimer in a Wild-Type Animal Model

The authors showed that a rare “glycan hole” at the V2 apex is enriched in HIV isolates neutralized by inferred precursors of prototype V2-apex broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs). To investigate whether this feature could focus neutralizing responses onto the apex bnAb region, they immunized wild-type rabbits with soluble trimers adapted from these HIV envelope glycoprotein. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Host MicroRNAs-221 and -222 Inhibit HIV-1 Entry in Macrophages by Targeting the CD4 Viral Receptor

Scientists used RNA sequencing to examine the expression of >400 microRNAs in productively infected and bystander cells of HIV-1-exposed macrophage cultures. Two microRNAs upregulated in bystander macrophages, miR-221 and miR-222, were identified as negative regulators of CD4 expression and CD4-mediated HIV-1 entry. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Epitope–Specific CD4⁺ T Cells Are Inflated in HIV⁺ CMV⁺ Subjects

To determine whether human CMV (HCMV) epitope–specific CD4⁺ T cell memory inflation occurs during HIV infection, investigators used HLA-DR7 tetramers loaded with the glycoprotein B DYSNTHSTRYV epitope to characterize circulating CD4⁺ T cells in coinfected HLA-DR7⁺ long-term nonprogressor HIV subjects with undetectable HCMV plasma viremia. [J Immunol] Abstract

Non-Neutralizing Antibodies Targeting the V1V2 Domain of HIV Exhibit Strong Antibody-Dependent Cell-Mediated Cytotoxic Activity

Using primary effector and target cells and primary virus isolates, researchers studied the antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) profile of different monoclonal antibodies targeting the V1V2 loop of gp120 that had low or no neutralizing activity. They compared their ADCC activity to some broadly neutralizing antibodies targeting different regions of gp120. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Proteins Mimic Human T Cell Receptors Inducing Cross-Reactive Antibodies

HIV hides from the immune system in part by mimicking host antigens, including human leukocyte antigens. Investigators demonstrated that HIV also mimics the V-β-D-J-β of approximately seventy percent of about 600 randomly selected human T cell receptors. [Int J Mol Sci] Abstract | Full Article (Download)

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Canonical and Non-Canonical Autophagy in HIV-1 Replication Cycle

The authors outline the current knowledge on the complex interplay between autophagy and HIV-1 replication cycle, providing an overview of the autophagy-mediated molecular processes deployed both by infected cells to combat the virus and by HIV-1 to evade antiviral response. [Viruses] Full Article

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PnuVax Awarded $29.4 Million USD Grant to Advance Innovative Vaccine into Clinical Trials

PnuVax Incorporated announced that it is the recipient of a $29.4 million USD grant. The grant will be used to further develop and clinically evaluate PnuVax’s innovative pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. [PnuVax Incorporated] Press Release

HIVE Center Receives $27 Million in NIGMS Funding to Advance HIV Research

The HIV Interactions in Viral Evolution (HIVE) Center at the Scripps Research Institute has been awarded nearly $27 million from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health. This continues the HIVE Center’s crucial work for another five years studying at the atomic level HIV. [The Scripps Research Institute] Press Release

British Tech Leads the Fight against Global Threat of Infectious Diseases

The best of British technology was unveiled at the Royal Institution, when it joined with Imperial College London to host a summit on the international fight against the spread of infectious diseases. [Imperial College London] Press Release

Novel Vaccine for Ebola & Other Hemorrhagic Fever Viruses

Thomas Jefferson University has received a contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to prepare and test a vaccine formulation designed to protect against the Ebola, Sudan, Marburg, and Lassa fever viruses. [Thomas Jefferson University] Press Release

Judge Recommends Ruling to Block Internet Access to Sci-Hub

The American Chemical Society (ACS) brought a case against Sci-Hub, a pirate site providing access to scientific articles, for copyright and trademark infringement. Following a hearing at a court in Virginia, Magistrate Judge John Anderson filed a report that recommended ruling in favor of ACS on all counts. [The Scientist] Editorial

After Upheaval, Russian Academy of Sciences Gets New Leader

After months of uncertainty, the Russian Academy of Sciences finally has a new leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin approved physicist Alexander Sergeyev as the academy’s president for the next five years. Sergeyev has vowed to secure more money for Russian science and create a fund, through a new tax on fossil fuel company profits, for upgrading the country’s antiquated research infrastructure. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

NEW Cell Symposia: Translational Immunometabolism
June 24-26, 2018
Basel, Switzerland

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NEW Assistant/Associate Professor – Immunology (Western Michigan University School of Medicine)

Scientist – Immunology (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Research Technologist – Immunotherapy (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Assistant Professor – Infectious Disease (J. Craig Venter Institute)

Professor – Clinical Infectious Diseases (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster)

Full Professorship – Infection, Inflammation and Cancer (German Cancer Research Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow/Staff Scientist – Tuberculosis Research (Washington University School of Medicine)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Immunology (Johns Hopkins University)

Postdoctoral Position – Autophagy (University of New Mexico)

PhD Positions – Cancer, Infection and Immunity, and Tissue Regeneration Research (Virginia Commonwealth University)

Postdoctoral Scientist – Immunology/Microbial Pathogenesis (Nationwide Children’s Hospital)

Mouse Scientist – T Cell-Based Therapy (Tessa Therapeutics Pte. Ltd.)

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