Immunology of Infectious Disease News Volume 7.04 | Feb 6 2019

TOP STORY

Dengue Virus Immunity Increases Zika Virus-Induced Damage during Pregnancy

The authors showed that the presence of dengue virus-specific antibodies in Zika virus-infected pregnant mice significantly increased placental damage, fetal growth restriction, and fetal resorption. This was associated with enhanced viral replication in the placenta that coincided with an increased frequency of infected trophoblasts. [Immunity] Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Recurrent Group A Streptococcus tonsillitis Is an Immunosusceptibility Disease Involving Antibody Deficiency and Aberrant T_FH Cells

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) recurrent tonsillitis (RT) tonsils had smaller germinal centers, with an underrepresentation of GAS-specific CD4⁺ germinal center T follicular helper (T_FH) cells. RT children exhibited reduced antibody responses to an important GAS virulence factor, streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin A. [Sci Transl Med] Full Article | Press Release

Targets of Complement-Fixing Antibodies in Protective Immunity against Malaria in Children

Among malaria-exposed individuals, investigators showed that complement-fixing antibodies to merozoites are more strongly correlated with protective immunity than antibodies that inhibit growth quantified using the current reference assay for merozoite vaccine evaluation. [Nat Commun] Full Article

Dengue and Zika Virus Cross-Reactive Human Monoclonal Antibodies Protect against Spondweni Virus Infection and Pathogenesis in Mice

To investigate the pathogenic spectrum of Spondweni virus (SPOV), scientists developed infection models in mice. Although two SPOV strains failed to cause disease in immunocompetent mice, each accumulated in the brain, spleen, eye, testis, and kidney when type I interferon signaling was blocked and unexpectedly caused infection, immune cell infiltration, and swelling in the ankle. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

HIV-1 and SIV Infection Are Associated with Early Loss of Lung Interstitial CD4⁺ T Cells and Dissemination of Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Researchers studied CD4⁺ T cells in the setting of HIV-1 infection in human lung tissue, humanized mice, and a Mycobacterium tuberculosis/simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) nonhuman primate co-infection model. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

HIV-1 Vpu Is a Potent Transcriptional Suppressor of NF-κB-Elicited Antiviral Immune Responses

Investigators showed that the accessory viral protein U (Vpu) of HIV-1 exerts broad immunosuppressive effects by inhibiting activation of the transcription factor NF-κB. Global transcriptional profiling of infected CD4⁺ T-cells revealed that vpu-deficient HIV-1 strains induce substantially stronger immune responses than the respective wild type viruses. [eLife] Full Article | Editorial

IL-10 and ICOS Differentially Regulate T Cell Responses in the Brain during Chronic Toxoplasma gondii Infection

To explore the loss of suppressive cytokines exclusively during the chronic phase of infection, the authors blocked IL-10R in chronically infected mice. Consistent with previous reports, IL-10R blockade led to severe, fatal tissue destruction associated with widespread changes in the inflammatory response, including increased APC activation, expansion of CD4⁺ T cells, and neutrophil recruitment to the brain. [J Immunol] Abstract

The Role of Mannose Binding Lectin in the Immune Response against Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato

Scientists demonstrated that B. burgdorferi N40 needle-infected C57BL/6 mannose binding lectin deficient mice harbored significantly higher B. burgdorferi numbers in skin tissue during the early course of infection. In line with these findings they also developed higher anti-B. burgdorferi IgG serum antibodies compared to WT controls. [Sci Rep] Full Article

NK Cells Activated through Antibody-Dependent Cell Cytotoxicity and Armed with Degranulation/IFN-γ Production Suppress Antibody-Dependent Enhancement of Dengue Viral Infection

Researchers investigated antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity in counteracting Ab-dependent enhancement (ADE). Dengue virus (DENV) and DENV-immune sera were added to peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and ADE and NK cell activation were simultaneously monitored. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Clostridium perfringens α-Toxin Impairs Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor Receptor-Mediated Granulocyte Production while Triggering Septic Shock

Scientists tested whether granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) accounts for the α-toxin-mediated impairment of granulopoiesis. They found that α-toxin dramatically accelerated G-CSF production from endothelial cells in response to Toll-like receptor 2 agonists through activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase signaling pathway. [Commun Biol] Full Article

Subscribe to our sister publications: Human Immunology News & Immune Regulation News.

Can Patrolling Liver-Resident T Cells Control Human Malaria Parasite Development?

The authors discuss the evidence obtained from animal models on several diseases and hypothesize that liver-resident memory CD8⁺ T cells play a critical role in providing protective liver-stage immunity against Plasmodium malaria parasites. [Trends Immunol] Abstract

Considering the ‘Alternatives’ for Next-Generation Anti-Staphylococcus aureus Vaccine Development

S. aureus is an opportunistic pathogen, which can readily develop antibiotic resistance and result in severe disease. To combat antibiotic resistance, new treatment strategies are being developed with a particular focus on vaccine development. [Trends Mol Med] Abstract

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

VALNEVA Reports Positive Initial Booster Data and Final Phase I Data for its Lyme Disease Vaccine Candidate

Valneva SE announced positive initial booster data and final Phase I data for its leading, unique Lyme disease vaccine candidate VLA15. [Valneva SE] Download Press Release

IBBR Awarded NIH Grant to Investigate T Cell Biology toward Development of Biotherapeutics

A team of investigators from the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) and the University of Pittsburgh recently received a $3.6M National Institutes of Health (NIH) award to expand the scope of their T cell research. [Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (PR Newswire Association LLC.)] Press Release

CytoDyn Announces Productive Conference Call with FDA Regarding First BLA Submission for Leronlimab (PRO 140) Combination Therapy at 700 mg Dose

CytoDyn Inc. announced that it had a productive conference call meeting with the FDA regarding its Biologics License Application (BLA) submission. [CytoDyn Inc.] Press Release

Applause, with Some Raised Eyebrows, for Trump’s Pledge to End AIDS in the United States by 2030

When news leaked that U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address would include a call for ramping up efforts to end the AIDS epidemic in the United States by 2030, many advocacy groups quickly weighed in with guffaws. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

University of California Staff Researchers Opt to Form a Union, Joining Postdocs

After five years as a postdoc—four of them at the University of California, Los Angeles—molecular biologist Christina Priest hit the university’s time limit for postdoctoral appointments and transitioned to a university staff position as a project scientist in the same lab. Now an at-will employee in a job with no set end time, she says she finds her work “continuing the project I initiated as a postdoc … not enormously different, [despite] more responsibility.” [Science Careers] Editorial

NEW The International Conference on (Re-)Emerging Infectious Diseases
March 13-15, 2019
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.

NEW Research Chairs – Infection, Immunity and Inflammation (University of Ottawa)

Postdoctoral Position – Bacterium-Host Interaction (Universitätsklinikum Münster)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Virology/Cell Biology (Feinberg School of Medicine)

Junior Research Group Leader – Infectious Disease Research (Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research)

Postdoctoral Position – Immunopathogenesis of In Utero Zika Virus Infection (University of Saskatchewan)

Senior Lecturer – Infection Immunology (University of Gothenburg)

Senior Scientist and Postdoctoral Positions – HIV Molecular Virology (Buck Institute)

Full Professor – Molecular and Experimental Virology (University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover)

Assistant/Associate/Full Professor – Virology (University of Maryland at Baltimore)

Lectureship – Infectious Diseases (King’s College London)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Immunology (Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School)

Recruit Top Talent: Reach potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.

Have we missed an important article or publication in Immunology of Infectious Disease News? Click here to submit!

Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here.