Immunology of Infectious Disease News Volume 7.39 | Oct 9 2019

TOP STORY

Polyclonal and Convergent Antibody Response to Ebola Virus Vaccine rVSV-ZEBOV

Researchers examined the humoral immune response in a subset of human volunteers enrolled in a Phase I recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus-Zaire Ebola virus (rVSV-ZEBOV) vaccination trial by performing comprehensive single B cell and electron microscopy structure analyses. [Nat Med] Full Article

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CD103^hi T_reg Cells Constrain Lung Fibrosis Induced by CD103^lo Tissue-Resident Pathogenic CD4 T Cells

Scientists found that CD69^hiCD103^lo CD4⁺ tissue-resident memory T cells produced effector cytokines and promoted the inflammation and fibrotic responses induced by chronic exposure to Aspergillus fumigatus. [Nat Immunol] Abstract

House Dust Mites Activate Nociceptor-Mast Cell Clusters to Drive Type 2 Skin Inflammation

Investigators found that house dust mites with cysteine protease activity directly activated peptidergic nociceptors, which were neuropeptide-producing nociceptive sensory neurons that expressed the ion channel TRPV1 and Tac1, the gene encoding the precursor for the neuropeptide substance P. [Nat Immunol] Abstract

Glycan-Dependent HIV-Specific Neutralizing Antibodies Bind to Cells of Uninfected Individuals

Scientists showed that certain glycan-dependent broadly neutralizing antibodies, such as PGT121 and PGT151, bound to B, activated T, and natural killer cells of HIV-infected and -uninfected individuals. [J Clin Invest] Full Article

Targeting the IL-22/Il-22bp Axis Enhances Tight Junctions and Reduces Inflammation during Influenza Infection

The authors demonstrated through the use of interleukin-22 (IL-22)BP-knockout mice that a pro-IL-22 environment reduced pulmonary inflammation during H1N1 infection and protected the lung by promoting tight junction formation. [Mucosal Immunol] Abstract

CD161⁺ CD4⁺ T Cells Harbor Clonally Expanded Replication-Competent HIV-1 in Antiretroviral Therapy-Suppressed Individuals

Investigators report that a subset of CD4⁺ T cells, characterized by CD161 expression on the surface, was highly permissive for HIV-1 infection. These cells possessed a significantly higher survival and proliferative capacity than their CD161-negative counterparts. [MBio] Full Article

Effect of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention on Immune Markers of Exhaustion and Regulation

The impact of seasonal malaria chemoprevention on malaria-induced immune dysfunction, as measured by markers associated with exhaustion and regulatory T cells, was explored by flow cytometry. [J Infect Dis] Abstract

Splenic Innate B1 B Cell Plasmablasts Produce Sustained GM-CSF and IL-3 Cytokines during Murine Malaria Infections

Researchers revealed that GM-CSF and IL-3 were produced during malaria infections, initially from IgM⁺ and then from IgG⁺ B1b B cell plasmablasts, which may represent important emergency cellular sources of these cytokines. [Infect Immun] Abstract

Safety and Immunogenicity of the Therapeutic Vaccine TG1050 in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients: A Phase Ib Placebo-Controlled Trial

In chronic hepatitis B patients under NUC, TG1050 exhibited a good safety profile and was capable to induce HBV-specific cellular immune response. [Hum Vaccin Immunother] Full Article

Intranasal Acellular Pertussis Vaccine Provides Mucosal Immunity and Protects Mice from Bordetella pertussis

The authors utilized a murine immunization and challenge model to characterize the efficacy of intranasal immunization with DTaP vaccine or DTaP vaccine supplemented with curdlan, a known Th1/Th17 promoting adjuvant. [npj Vaccines] Full Article

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T Cell-Based Strategies for HIV-1 Vaccines

Scientists outline some encouraging findings from T-cell vaccine studies, and directly compare key features of some T-cell vaccine candidates currently in the clinical pipeline. [Hum Vaccin Immunother] Abstract

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Johnson & Johnson Commits $500 Million Investment Over Four Years to Help End the Epidemics of HIV and Tuberculosis

Johnson & Johnson announced it has committed to ensuring more than $500 million is dedicated to world class research & development and delivery programs over the next four years to accelerate global efforts to eliminate HIV and tuberculosis by 2030. [Johnson & Johnson] Press Release

Prokarium Secures £4.6M from Wellcome to Fund the Clinical Development of Its Lead Vaccine Program

Prokarium announced it has received an investment of £4.59 million from Wellcome to fund two clinical trials of its lead program, Entervax^™, a bivalent vaccine against enteric fever. [Prokarium (Business Wire, Inc.)] Press Release

Arbutus Announces Decision to Discontinue Development of AB-506, an Oral Capsid Inhibitor for the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B

Arbutus Biopharma Corporation announced its decision to discontinue the clinical development of AB-506, an oral capsid inhibitor. AB-506 was in a Phase Ia/Ib clinical trial for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. [Arbutus Biopharma Corporation] Press Release

Bavarian Nordic Announces Initiation of Phase I Clinical Trial of Equine Encephalitis Virus Vaccine

Bavarian Nordic A/S announced the initiation of the first-in-human trial of MVA-BN^® WEV, a prophylactic vaccine candidate against the equine encephalitis virus – a rare, but potentially deadly illness. [Bavarian Nordic A/S] Press Release

Matinas BioPharma Receives Orphan Drug Designation from US FDA for MAT2203 for the Treatment of Cryptococcosis

Matinas BioPharma Holdings, Inc. announced that the FDA has granted orphan drug designation to MAT2203, Matinas’ proprietary oral amphotericin B product, for the treatment of cryptococcosis, a life-threatening fungal infection most commonly observed in immunocompromised individuals. [Matinas BioPharma Holdings, Inc.] Press Release

Large Numbers of Pregnant Women Not Getting Key Vaccines, CDC Says

A significant percentage of pregnant women are not getting a pair of critically important vaccines despite persistent efforts by public health officials to encourage immunizations, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [STAT News] Editorial

Biologists Who Decoded How Cells Sense Oxygen Win Medicine Nobel

A trio of researchers has won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for describing how cells sense and respond to changing oxygen levels by switching genes on and off — a discovery that has been key in understanding human diseases such as cancer and anemia. [Nature News] Editorial

NEW Precision Health: Molecular Basis, Technology and Digital Health
November 13-16, 2019
Heidelberg, Germany

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NEW Postdoctoral Associate – Lung Inflammation (The University of Georgia)

Research Associate – Immune Cell Culture (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor – Virology (The University of Melbourne)

Postdoctoral Scientist – Flavivirus Infection (Pasteur Institute of Cambodia)

Assistant/Associate Professor – Immunology (University of Massachusetts)

Faculty Position – Life Sciences (University of Michigan)

Staff Clinician – Malaria Immunology and Vaccinology (The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

Assistant Professor – Microbiology and Immunology (Stanford University School of Medicine)

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Respiratory Pathogens (Massachusetts General Hospital)

Senior Investigator and Laboratory Chief – Infectious Diseases (The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

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