| Vol. 8.23 – 17 June, 2020 |
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| Investigators discovered Enterobacter cloacae CD-NTase-associated protein 4 (Cap4) as a founding member of a diverse family of >2,000 bacterial receptors that responded to CD-NTase signals. Structures of Cap4 revealed a promiscuous DNA endonuclease domain activated through ligand-induced oligomerization. [Cell] |
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| PUBLICATIONSRanked by the impact factor of the journal |
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| Scientists summarized the characteristics of cellular immune responses in a total of 157 COVID-19 patients enrolled in Tongji Hospital between February and March 2020 and compare the properties between 95 survived and 62 deceased patients with different onset time. [Cellular & Molecular Immunology] |
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| Scientists provide three-step guidelines for the design and optimization of specific primer sets. The three steps include the selection of primer sets for target genes in the genome of SARS-CoV-2, the in silico validation of primer and amplicon sequences, and the optimization of PCR conditions for specific hybridization between the primers and target genes, and the elimination of spurious primer dimers. [Experimental and Molecular Medicine] |
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| Investigators developed a neutralization assay using SARS-CoV-2 strain and Vero-E6 cells. They identified the most potent sera from recovered patients for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients. They also screened 136 safe-in-man broad-spectrum antivirals against the SARS-CoV-2 infection in Vero-E6 cells and identified nelfinavir, salinomycin, amodiaquine, obatoclax, emetine and homoharringtonine. [Viruses] |
| MORE IMMUNOLOGY OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE |
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| Investigators report that periodontal inflammation exacerbates gut inflammation in vivo. Periodontitis led to expansion of oral pathobionts, including Klebsiella and Enterobacter species, in the oral cavity. [Cell] |
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| Researchers showed that Bacille-Calmette-Guérin vaccination in healthy human volunteers induced a persistent transcriptional program connected to myeloid cell development and function within the hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell compartment in the bone marrow. [Cell Host & Microbe] |
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| Through a genome-wide mutant screen of human antigen-presenting cells, investigators showed that the NEDD4 family HECT E3 ubiquitin ligase WWP2 and a tumor-suppressing transmembrane protein of unknown biochemical function, TMEM127, were required for SteD-dependent ubiquitination of mature MHC class II. [Cell Host & Microbe] |
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| Researchers report that, in resting T cells, FOXO1 inhibition impaired autophagy and induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, thereby activating two associated transcription factors: activating transcription factor 4 and nuclear factor of activated T cells. [Nature Microbiology] |
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| Scientists showed, using large scale metabolomics, that ZIKV infection reprogrammed placental lipidome by impairing the lipogenesis pathways. ZIKV-induced metabolic alterations provided building blocks for lipid droplet biogenesis and intracellular membrane rearrangements to support viral replication. [Nature Communications] |
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| Investigators report that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) sheltered Mybacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) to help tolerate anti-TB drugs. MSCs readily took up Mtb and allowed unabated mycobacterial growth despite having a functional innate pathway of phagosome maturation. [Nature Communications] |
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| Leishmania-infected Tlr7−/− mice developed a chronic unhealing lesion, despite Th1 cell differentiation, and scientists showed that Tlr7−/− neutrophils alone mediated this effect. Conversely, topical treatment with a TLR7 agonist early in infection induced smaller lesion development than in untreated mice. [Cell Reports] |
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| Pregnant Balb/cByJ mice were intraperitoneally infected with 105 CFU of the 16 M reference strain, a 16 M mCherry mutant or a human isolate. Milk was collected over the course of lactation, and subjected to culture and immunofluorescence assays. [Scientific Reports] |
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| Researchers evaluated the efficacy of the clade 2.3.2.1c and 2.3.4.4c H5Nx vaccines from the Korean avian influenza national antigen bank for emergency preparedness for their potency and protective efficacy against lethal homologous and heterologous viruses in layer and breeder chickens practically. [Scientific Reports] |
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| MC080, but not MC033, downregulated cell-surface expression of endogenous classical human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class I and non-classical HLA-E by a transporter associated with antigen processing-independent mechanism. [Journal of General Virology] |
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| The authors discuss available sex-disaggregated epidemiological data from the COVID-19 pandemic, introduce sex-differential features of immunity and highlight potential sex differences underlying COVID-19 severity. [Nature Reviews Immunology] |
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| Several of the cytokines involved in COVID-19 employ a distinct intracellular signaling pathway mediated by Janus kinases (JAKs). JAK inhibition, therefore, presents an attractive therapeutic strategy for cytokine release syndrome, which is a common cause of adverse clinical outcomes in COVID-19. [Trends in Pharmacological Sciences] |
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| Understanding the role of killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors and human leukocyte antigens in immunity to malaria can help to better characterize antimalarial immune responses. The authors summarize the different KIRs and HLAs associated with immunity to malaria thus far. [Cellular & Molecular Immunology] |
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| Emerging evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 can drive a diverse array of immune processes, raising the risk that immunosuppressant agents that are in clinical trials might be effective for some patients but detrimental for others. [Nature Reviews Drug Discovery] |
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| Researchers use a metric called infection fatality rate (IFR) to calculate how deadly a new disease is. It is the proportion of infected people who will die as a result, including those who don’t get tested or show symptoms. [Nature News] |
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| With speed borne of desperation comes risk and confusion—of trials too small to yield answers, of treatments overhyped, and of uncertainty about how to design the best studies possible. Science spoke with three clinical trial experts about this unprecedented period for modern medical research. [ScienceInsider] |
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| Pluristem Therapeutics, Inc. announced the activation of clinical sites and initiation of enrollment in its Phase II US FDA study of PLX cells for the treatment of severe COVID-19 complicated by Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). [Pluristem Therapeutics, Inc. ] |
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| Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced a license to commercialize Tempol, a novel patented investigational drug for the treatment of COVID-19. The license includes the worldwide use of Tempol for the treatment of all respiratory diseases including asthma, respiratory syncytial virus, influenza and COVID-19. [Adamis Pharmaceuticals] |
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| University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers and colleagues have received a $13.65 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate and further develop an immunotherapy known as CAR T, which uses genetically modified stem cells to target and destroy HIV. [University of California, Los Angeles] |
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| 2020-07-16 – 2020-07-16 Virtual |
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| Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation – Los Angeles, California, United States |
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| Lund University – Lund, Sweden |
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| Thomas Jefferson Universtiy – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
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| Brigham and Women’s Hospital – Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
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| Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology – Jena, Germany |
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| Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States |
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| Seattle Children’s Research Institute – Seattle, Washington, United States |
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| Hans Knöll Institute – Jena, Germany |
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| The Lundquist Institute – Torrance, California, United States |
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| Johns Hopkins University – Baltimore, Maryland, United States |
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