Immunology of Infectious Disease News Volume 5.40 | Oct 11 2017

TOP STORY

Alveolar Macrophages Are Critical for Broadly-Reactive Antibody-Mediated Protection against Influenza A Virus in Mice

Researchers examined the roles of alveolar macrophages, natural killer cells, and neutrophils in antibody-mediated protection. They demonstrated that alveolar macrophages play a dominant role in conferring protection provided by both broadly neutralizing and non-neutralizing antibodies in mice. [Nat Commun] Full Article

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Safety and Immunogenicity of rVSVΔG-ZEBOV-GP Ebola Vaccine in Adults and Children in Lambaréné, Gabon: A Phase I Randomized Trial

The rVSVΔG-ZEBOV-GP vaccine prevented Ebola virus disease when used at 2 × 10⁷ plaque-forming units in a trial in Guinea. This study provided further safety and immunogenicity data. [PLoS Med] Full Article | Press Release

IRF-8 Regulates Expansion of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells and Foxp3⁺ Regulatory T Cells and Modulates Th2 Immune Responses to Gastrointestinal Nematode Infection

Scientists investigated if interferon regulatory factor-8 (IRF-8) contributes to Th2 immunity to Heligmosomoides polygyrus bakeri (Hpb) infection. Irf8 expression was down-regulated in myeloid-derived suppressor cells from Hpb-infected C57BL/6 mice. [PLoS Pathog] Full Article

Prior Dengue Virus Exposure Shapes T Cell Immunity to Zika Virus in Humans

Researchers investigated the kinetics and viral epitopes targeted by T cells responding to Zika virus and addressed the critical question of whether pre-existing dengue virus T cell immunity modulates these responses. [J Virol] Full Article

Humoral Protection against Mosquito Bite-Transmitted Plasmodium falciparum Infection in Humanized Mice

Investigators used human liver-chimeric mice as a challenge model to assess prevention of natural P. falciparum (Pf) sporozoite infection by antibodies. They demonstrated that these mice are consistently infected with Pf by mosquito bite and that this challenge can be combined with passive transfer of either monoclonal antibodies or polyclonal human IgG from immune serum to measure antibody-mediated blocking of parasite infection using bioluminescent imaging. [Sci Rep] Full Article

CD169⁺ Macrophages Orchestrate Innate Immune Responses by Regulating Bacterial Localization in the Spleen

The authors showed that the strategic position of splenic marginal zone CD169⁺ macrophages is vital for rapid initiation of antibacterial responses. [Sci Immunol] Abstract

Type III Interferon Is a Critical Regulator of Innate Antifungal Immunity

Researchers identified IFN-λs as critical instructors of antifungal neutrophil responses. Using Aspergillus fumigatus as a model to study antifungal immune responses, they found that depletion of CCR2⁺ monocytes compromised the ability of neutrophils to control invasive fungal growth. [Sci Immunol] Full Article

HIV

DNA Vaccination by Electroporation Amplifies Broadly Cross-Restricted Public TCR Clonotypes Shared with HIV Controllers

To determine whether the candidate DNA vaccine ADVAX could induce similar responses, scientists analyzed Gag-specific primary CD4⁺ T cells from healthy volunteers who received ADVAX DNA by electroporation. Vaccinated volunteers had an immunodominant response to the Gag293 epitope with a functional avidity intermediate between that of controllers and treated patients. [J Immunol] Abstract

T Cell-Macrophage Fusion Triggers Multinucleated Giant Cell Formation for HIV-1 Spreading

The authors revealed the mechanisms for cell-to-cell transfer from infected T cells to macrophages and virus spreading between macrophages. They showed that contacts between infected T lymphocytes and macrophages lead to cell fusion for fast and massive transfer of CCR5-tropic viruses to macrophages. [J Virol] Abstract

HIV-Infected Macrophages and Microglia that Survive Acute Infection Become Viral Reservoirs by a Mechanism Involving Bim

Investigators demonstrated that while acute HIV infection of human microglia/macrophages results in massive apoptosis, a small population of HIV-infected cells survive infection, silence viral replication, and can reactivate viral production upon specific treatments. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Changes in the Cellular MicroRNA Profile by the Intracellular Expression of HIV-1 Tat Regulator: A Potential Mechanism for Resistance to Apoptosis and Impaired Proliferation in HIV-1 Infected CD4⁺ T Cells

Intracellular, full-length Tat101 induces functional and morphological changes in CD4⁺ T cells that contribute to HIV-1 pathogenesis such as delay in T-cell proliferation and protection against FasL-mediated apoptosis. Scientists analyzed how the stable expression of intracellular Tat101 and Tat72 modified the miRNA expression profile in Jurkat cells and if this correlated with changes in apoptotic pathways and cell cycle observed in Tat-expressing cells. [PLoS One] Full Article

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Immune Checkpoint Blockade in Infectious Diseases

The recent success of immune checkpoint blockade in cancer therapy suggests that targeting these pathways would also be effective for preventing and treating a range of infectious diseases. The authors review the current understanding of immune checkpoint pathways in the pathogenesis of infectious diseases and discuss the potential for therapeutically targeting these pathways in this setting. [Nat Rev Immunol] Abstract

Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the immunology of infectious disease research field.

Gabriel Victora Named 2017 MacArthur Fellow

Gabriel Victora, an immunologist who studies how antibodies defend against infection, has been named a 2017 MacArthur fellow, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced. One of the most prestigious funding programs in the world, the MacArthur fellows program awards $625,000 to exceptionally creative individuals as an investment in their potential. [The Rockefeller University] Press Release

Ansun BioPharma Announces Breakthrough Designation for Its Experimental Drug DAS181

Ansun BioPharma announced that the Division of Antiviral Products of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Ansun’s first-in-class experimental compound DAS181, for the treatment of lower respiratory tract parainfluenza virus infection in immunocompromised patients. [Ansun BioPharma (PR Newswire Association LLC.)] Press Release

FDA Approves First Test for Screening Zika Virus in Blood Donations

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the cobas Zika test, a qualitative nucleic acid test for the detection of Zika virus RNA in individual plasma specimens obtained from volunteer donors of whole blood and blood components, and from living organ donors. It is intended for use by blood collection establishments to detect Zika virus in blood donations, not for the individual diagnosis of Zika virus infection. [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] Press Release

Durable End to the HIV/AIDS Pandemic Likely Will Require an HIV Vaccine

Despite remarkable gains in the treatment and prevention of HIV infection, development of an effective HIV vaccine likely will be necessary to achieve a durable end to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, according to a new commentary from Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. [National Institutes of Health] Editorial

Publishers Threaten to Remove Millions of Papers from ResearchGate

Millions of articles might soon disappear from ResearchGate, the world’s largest scholarly social network. Five publishers said they had formed a coalition that would start ordering ResearchGate to remove research articles from its site because they breach publishers’ copyright. [Nature News] Editorial

Navajo Nation Reconsiders Ban on Genetic Research

When the Navajo Nation opens its first oncology centre next year in Tuba City, Arizona, clinicians there may be able to offer a service that has been banned on tribal lands for 15 years: analyzing the DNA of Navajo tribe members to guide treatments and study the genetic roots of disease. [Nature News] Editorial

NEW EMBO-EMBL Symposia: Innate Immunity in Host-Pathogen Interactions
June 24-27, 2018
Heidelberg, Germany

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NEW Full Professorship – Systems Immunology (Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg)

NEW Postdoctoral Position – Immune Responses against HIV (DIACCURATE)

Scientist – Immunology (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Research Technologist – Immunotherapy (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

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

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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