Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Andres Rojas-Ruiz, Magali Boucher, Rebecka Gill, Louis Gelinas, Fun-Qun Tom, Liah Fereydoonzad, Percival Graham, Jorge Soliz, Ynuk Bosse
Summary: This study compared the lung mechanical properties and lung volumes between C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice and found that the greater lung elastance in C57BL/6 mice is not due to a smaller lung volume but rather a stiffer lung tissue with a higher content of collagen.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Carlos M. Restrepo, Alejandro Llanes, Lizzi Herrera, Esteban Ellis, Ricardo Lleonart, Patricia L. Fernandez
Summary: Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by parasites, with different mouse strains exhibiting varying responses to Leishmania infection. By studying gene expression differences in macrophages, it was found that C57BL/6 macrophages display a classical activation pattern associated with disease resolution, whereas BALB/c macrophages show an intermediate activation pattern favoring parasite persistence. The intermediate pattern observed in BALB/c macrophages resembles the pattern seen in human infections with L. panamensis, supporting BALB/c as a preferred model for studying L. panamensis infection.
PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Changxiao Ma, Baoyin Ren, Lihong Chen, Guangrui Yang
Summary: The mammalian circadian system has plasticity and considerable variations among species, strains, and ages. This study investigated the entrainable range of circadian behavior in two popular mouse strains and suggested that behavioral adaptation may not well reflect their health status.
PHYSIOLOGY & BEHAVIOR
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Edlainne Pinheiro Ferreira-Sena, Daiana de Jesus Hardoim, Flavia de Oliveira Cardoso, Luiz Ney d'Escoffier, Isabela Ferreira Soares, Joao Pedro Rangel da Silva Carvalho, Ricardo Almir Angnes, Stenio Perdigao Fragoso, Carlos Roberto Alves, Salvatore Giovanni De-Simone, Josue da Costa Lima-Junior, Alvaro Luiz Bertho, Tania Zaverucha-do-Valle, Franklin Souza da Silva, Katia da Silva Calabrese
Summary: Leishmaniasis is a complex and diverse disease that is considered a major public health problem. Despite the availability of treatment options, there are currently no vaccines for cutaneous leishmaniasis. This study focused on the prediction and characterization of antigenic epitopes that could interact with major histocompatibility complex class I in mice or humans. Through a combination of immunogenicity prediction and interaction assays, nine antigenic peptides were identified as strong candidates for the development of a peptide vaccine against leishmaniasis.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mohammad Kashif, Sumit Kumar Hira, Partha Pratim Manna
Summary: Despite extensive efforts, the search for therapy against leishmaniasis has not progressed much. This study employed mining strategy and immunoinformatics to identify potential vaccine candidates, screening 21 antigenic proteins and predicting 11 immunogenic epitopes for possible vaccine development.
JOURNAL OF BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURE & DYNAMICS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marta Gomez-Perosanz, Jose L. Sanchez-Trincado, Miguel Fernandez-Arquero, John Sidney, Alessandro Sette, Esther M. Lafuente, Pedro A. Reche
Summary: This study identified and characterized 23 conserved HRV-specific CD8 T cell epitopes on PBMCs from 14 HLA I typed subjects, confirming peptide-specific IFN gamma production and binding to the relevant HLA I for nine of these epitopes. The study also validated cytotoxicity mediated by A*02:01-restricted epitopes and discovered an unusually long 16-mer epitope peptide restricted by A*02:01. These HRV-specific CD8 T cell epitopes are expected to elicit CD8 T cell responses in up to 87% of the population and could be crucial for developing an HRV vaccine.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Evgenii G. G. Skurikhin, Olga Pershina, Natalia Ermakova, Angelina Pakhomova, Mariia Zhukova, Edgar Pan, Lubov Sandrikina, Darius Widera, Lena Kogai, Nikolai Kushlinskii, Aslan Kubatiev, Sergey G. G. Morozov, Alexander Dygai
Summary: This study demonstrates the potential of using a combination of MEK inhibitor and PD-1 blocker to reprogram human CD8(+) T-cells and target lung cancer cells, resulting in antimetastatic activity, decreased cancer cell and cancer stem cell numbers in the lungs, and increased T-cell numbers in the blood. These findings suggest a new approach to targeted lung cancer therapy.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Neda Feizi, Chiara Focaccetti, Ilenia Pacella, Gloria Tucci, Alessandra Rossi, Massimo Costanza, Rosetta Pedotti, John Sidney, Alessandro Sette, Claudia La Rocca, Claudio Procaccini, Giuseppe Matarese, Vincenzo Barnaba, Silvia Piconese
Summary: The study demonstrates that immune responses to cryptic apoptosis-associated epitopes (AEs) may contribute to immunopathology in neuroinflammation, as shown in a mouse model of MS (EAE). The presence of AE-specific CD8(+) T cells, their physiological control, and their exacerbation of disease severity when immunized with AEs during EAE induction were observed, supporting the role of AE-specific autoimmunity in neuroinflammation.
CELL DEATH & DISEASE
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xuedan He, Shiqi Zhou, Wei-Chiao Huang, Amal Seffouh, Moustafa T. Mabrouk, M. Thomas Morgan, Joaquin Ortega, Scott Abrams, Jonathan F. Lovell
Summary: A new vaccine adjuvant system was developed to induce strong cellular immune responses against multiple tumor cell lines, demonstrating durable immunity. The system showed the importance of stable particle formation for effective immune response induction and could control local and metastatic disease in a therapeutic setting.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Paul F. Zierep, Randi Vita, Nina Blazeska, Aurelien F. A. Moumbock, Jason A. Greenbaum, Bjoern Peters, Stefan Guenther
Summary: In this study, the authors attempted to predict the epitope activity of non-peptidic compounds and developed a web server for immunogenic investigation. They identified specific molecular substructures that are frequently found in non-peptidic epitopes and may be responsible for immune responses. This knowledge can help explain allergic reactions to chemicals and reduce health risks in industrial production.
PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Katherine J. L. Jackson, Justin T. Kos, William Lees, William S. Gibson, Melissa Laird Smith, Ayelet Peres, Gur Yaari, Martin Corcoran, Christian E. Busse, Mats Ohlin, Corey T. Watson, Andrew M. Collins
Summary: The poorly characterized immunoglobulin genes in inbred mouse strains commonly used in models of antibody-mediated human diseases could compromise data analysis. This study used long-read SMRT sequencing to amplify VDJ-C sequences from BALB/c mice and identified strain variations in specific immunoglobulin genes. By computationally retrieving IGHV haplotypes, a set of expressed BALB/c IGHV germline gene sequences was established. The study also assessed the suitability of assemblies from the Mouse Genome Project for the determination of IGH loci genes.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Fisheries
C. Kossack, N. Fuentes, K. Maisey
Summary: This study provides a prediction of B-cell and T-cell antigenic epitopes for ISAV proteins in farmed Atlantic salmon. The predicted epitopes have the potential to elicit an immune response in salmon and serve as peptides for future vaccine development against ISAV. The ability to model and predict these interactions is crucial for understanding unknown epitope specificity and MHC binding.
FISH & SHELLFISH IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Magda Melissa Florez, Rocio Rodriguez, Jose Antonio Cabrera, Sara M. Robledo, Gabriela Delgado
Summary: Reverse vaccinology strategies provide tools to rationally select potential candidates on a large scale before in vitro and in vivo evaluations.
This study identified natural Leishmania epitopes in humans, and found that STI41 and STI46 peptides may induce a cellular immune response directed at controlling the parasite's replication.
Results showed that STI41 and STI46 peptides induced a similar behavior to L. panamensis lysate antigens in lymphocytes and moDCs of resistant volunteers.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Zohreh Safari, Majid Sadeghizadeh, Golareh Asgaritarghi, Hassan Bardania, Dina Sadeghizadeh, Sara Soudi
Summary: This study found that M13 phages can polarize macrophages towards the M2 phenotype by inducing anti-inflammatory cytokine production and reducing inflammatory cytokine levels. This suggests the potential of M13 phages in immunotherapy.
INTERNATIONAL IMMUNOPHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Wiebke Hartmann, Birte Blankenhaus, Marie-Luise Brunn, Jana Meiners, Minka Breloer
Summary: This study compared the hierarchy of immunoregulatory pathways in BALB/c, C57BL/6 mice and their F1 progeny infected with S. ratti. The findings suggest that Treg dominate immune regulation in BALB/c and F1 mice, while C57BL/6 mice have multiple regulatory layers that may compensate for the absence of Treg.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Saoussen Ben Ayed, Madiha Bou Ali, Aymen Bali, Youssef Gargouri, Dhafer Laouini, Yassine Ben Ali
Article
Biophysics
Maher Sayhi, Oussama Ouerghi, Kamel Belgacem, Marwa Arbi, Yudum Tepeli, Abdeljalil Ghram, Ulku Anik, Lars Osterlund, Dhafer Laouini, Mohamed Fethi Diouani
BIOSENSORS & BIOELECTRONICS
(2018)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Chiraz Atri, Fatma Z. Guerfali, Dhafer Laouini
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2018)
Article
Immunology
Tesfalem Geremariam Welearegay, Mohamed Fethi Diouani, Lars Osterlund, Sebastian Borys, Samira Khaled, Hanen Smadhi, Florina Ionescu, Meriam Bouchekoua, Dorsaf Aloui, Dhafer Laouini, Umut Cindemir, Radu Ionescu
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2019)
Article
Microbiology
Giovanni Bussotti, Evi Gouzelou, Mariana Cortes Boite, Ihcen Kherachi, Zoubir Harrat, Naouel Eddaikra, Jeremy C. Mottram, Maria Antoniou, Vasiliki Christodoulou, Aymen Bali, Fatma Z. Guerfali, Dhafer Laouini, Maowia Mukhtar, Franck Dumetz, Jean-Claude Dujardin, Despina Smirlis, Pierre Lechat, Pascale Pescher, Adil El Hamouchi, Meryem Lemrani, Carmen Chicharro, Ivonne Pamela Llanes-Acevedo, Laura Botana, Israel Cruz, Javier Moreno, Fakhri Jeddi, Karim Aoun, Aida Bouratbine, Elisa Cupolillo, Gerald F. Spath
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tesfalem Geremariam Welearegay, Mohamed Fethi Diouani, Lars Osterlund, Florina Ionescu, Kamel Belgacem, Hanen Smadhi, Samira Khaled, Abdelhamid Kidar, Umut Cindemir, Dhafer Laouini, Radu Ionescu
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Fatma Z. Guerfali, Dhafer Laouini, Abdellatif Boudabous, Fredj Tekaia
PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
(2019)
Editorial Material
Biochemical Research Methods
Benjamin Moore, Patricia Carvajal-Lopez, Paballo Abel Chauke, Marco Cristancho, Victoria Dominguez Del Angel, Selene L. Fernandez-Valverde, Amel Ghouila, Piraveen Gopalasingam, Fatma Zahra Guerfali, Alice Matimba, Sarah L. Morgan, Guilherme Oliveira, Verena Ras, Alejandro Reyes, Javier de las Rivas, Nicola Mulder
PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Virology
Anissa Chouikha, Wasfi Fares, Asma Laamari, Sondes Haddad-Boubaker, Zeineb Belaiba, Kais Ghedira, Wafa Kammoun Rebai, Kaouther Ayouni, Marwa Khedhiri, Samar Ben Halima, Henda Krichen, Henda Touzi, Imen Ben Dhifallah, Fatma Z. Guerfali, Chiraz Atri, Saifeddine Azouz, Oussema Khamessi, Monia Ardhaoui, Mouna Safer, Nissaf Ben Alaya, Ikram Guizani, Rym Kefi, Mariem Gdoura, Henda Triki
Summary: This study provides genetic information on the different lineages of SARS-CoV-2 that circulated in Tunisia over 17 months and highlights the importance of timely molecular characterization of circulating strains.
Correction
Biochemical Research Methods
Benjamin Moore, Patricia Carvajal-Lopez, Paballo Abel Chauke, Marco Cristancho, Victoria Dominguez Del Angel, Selene L. Fernandez-Valverde, Amel Ghouila, Piraveen Gopalasingam, Fatma Zahra Guerfali, Alice Matimba, Sarah L. Morgan, Guilherme Oliveira, Verena Ras, Alejandro Reyes, Javier De Las Rivas, Nicola Mulder
PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Hanene Attia, Manel Rabia Sghaier, Aymen Bali, Fatma Zahra Guerfali, Sadok Chlif, Chiraz Atri, Nabil Belhaj-Hamida, Amor Zaatour, Adel Gharbi, Afif Ben-Salah, Koussay Dellagi, Dhafer Laouini
Summary: The severity of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania parasites can be influenced by the virulence of the parasite. This study found that resistance to complement lysis and binding of lectins to the parasite's surface are important markers of parasite virulence.
Article
Immunology
Rabiaa M. Sghaier, Fouad Benhnini, Fatma Z. Guerfali, Hanene Attia, Aymen Bali, Amor Zaatour, Ghada Mkannez, Adel Gharbi, Nabil Belhaj-Hamida, Hichem Dridi, Afif Ben-Salah, Koussay Dellagi, Dhafer Laouini
Summary: The scars of healed HCL caused by L. major do not contain detectable residual parasites, suggesting a sterile cure. This is in contrast to other Leishmania species that cause chronic or recurrent forms of leishmaniasis, where parasites do persist in healed lesions. This finding highlights the importance of considering alternative mechanisms for long-term immunity and vaccine development against L. major infection.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Parasitology
Ali Ben-Cheikh, Aymen Bali, Fatma Z. Guerfali, Chiraz Atri, Henene Attia, Dhafer Laouini
Summary: Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1 alpha) is a master regulator of immune and metabolic cellular functions. In this study, it was found that high-virulent Leishmania major reduces the expression levels of HIF-1 alpha in macrophages, thereby inhibiting the expression of related genes.
KOREAN JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Salwa Bouabdallah, Dhafer Laouini, Nabiha Bouzouit, Safia El-Bok, Rabiaa M. Sghaier, Sawssen Selmi, Mossadok Ben Attia
BANGLADESH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY
(2018)