Article
Microbiology
Safia S. Aljedani, Tyler J. Liban, Karen Tran, Ganesh Phad, Suruchi Singh, Viktoriya Dubrovskaya, Pradeepa Pushparaj, Paola Martinez-Murillo, Justas Rodarte, Alex Mileant, Vidya Mangala Prasad, Rachel Kinzelman, Sijy O'Dell, John R. Mascola, Kelly K. Lee, Gunilla B. Karlsson Hedestam, Richard T. Wyatt, Marie Pancera
Summary: Understanding how antibodies target and neutralize specific regions of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein is crucial for vaccine development. Structural analysis revealed that vaccine-induced antibodies from different clonal lineages can penetrate the glycan shield to recognize a unique region within the V2 area, leading to potent neutralization of the autologous virus.
Article
Immunology
Ann J. Hessell, Liuzhe Li, Delphine C. Malherbe, Philip Barnette, Shilpi Pandey, William Sutton, David Spencer, Xiao-Hong Wang, Johannes S. Gach, Ruth Hunegnaw, Michael Tuen, Xunqing Jiang, Christina C. Luo, Celia C. LaBranche, Yongzhao Shao, David C. Montefiori, Donald N. Forthal, Ralf Duerr, Marjorie Robert-Guroff, Nancy L. Haigwood, Miroslaw K. Gorny
Summary: The study tested the role of vaccine-induced anti-V2 antibodies in protecting rhesus macaques from SHIV infection. The results showed that while vaccine-induced neutralizing and nonneutralizing antibodies played a role in controlling viral loads, nonneutralizing V2 antibodies alone may not be sufficient to control the virus.
JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Anusmita Sahoo, Edgar A. Hodge, Celia C. LaBranche, Tiffany M. Styles, Xiaoying Shen, Narayanaiah Cheedarla, Ayalnesh Shiferaw, Gabriel Ozorowski, Wen-Hsin Lee, Andrew B. Ward, Georgia D. Tomaras, David C. Montefiori, Darrell J. Irvine, Kelly K. Lee, Rama Rao Amara
Summary: HIV-1 Glade C envelope immunogens that elicit both neutralizing and non-neutralizing V1V2-scaffold-specific antibodies are urgently needed. This study introduces structure-guided changes and consensus-C-sequence-guided optimizations to generate a stabilized Glade C trimer capable of eliciting improved neutralizing and V1V2-scaffold antibodies. The results highlight the importance of the V2 region in antibody response.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Svenja Weiss, Vincenza Itri, Ruimin Pan, Xunqing Jiang, Christina C. Luo, Lynn Morris, Delphine C. Malherbe, Philip Barnette, Jeff Alexander, Xiang-Peng Kong, Nancy L. Haigwood, Ann J. Hessell, Ralf Duerr, Susan Zolla-Pazner
Summary: The authors demonstrate that an HIV vaccine targeting the V1V2 region of gp120 is superior to whole envelope vaccines or natural infection in inducing V1V2 antibodies with anti-viral functions that correlate with protection.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Jonathan D. Cook, Adree Khondker, Jeffrey E. Lee
Summary: The early humoral immune response to acute HIV-1 infection is non-neutralizing and targeted towards the PID region on the surface of HIV-1 virions. The PID, a conserved 15-residue region, undergoes structural changes and can be recognized by various non-neutralizing antibodies, contributing to HIV-1 immunodominance.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Virology
Roberth Anthony Rojas Chavez, Devlin Boyt, Nathan Schwery, Changze Han, Li Wu, Hillel Haim
Summary: Infection by HIV-1 leads to the formation of antibodies that target the viral Env proteins and can render the virus inactive. The targets of these antibodies vary among infected individuals. This study suggests that antibodies against the base of the Env protein are commonly produced during infection, but their selective pressure is weak. As a result, these antibodies do not completely eliminate the sensitive forms of the virus from the population, but maintain their frequency at a low level since the beginning of the AIDS pandemic. Interestingly, the changes in Env do not occur at the sites targeted by the antibodies, but at a distinct region called the fusion peptide-proximal region (FPPR), which regulates their exposure.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Golnoush Madani, Erwin Lamping, Richard D. Cannon
Summary: This study investigated the role of 6 critical extracellular cysteine residues in the stability, trafficking, and function of the Cdr1 protein, as well as identified a novel nucleotide-binding domain motif in ABCG transporters. The creation of a Cdr1 variant almost devoid of cysteines opens up new possibilities for further biochemical investigations and cross-linking studies, which will aid in the characterization of this important protein family.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
M. Shaminur Rahman, M. Nazmul Hoque, M. Rafiul Islam, Israt Islam, Israt Dilruba Mishu, Md. Mizanur Rahaman, Munawar Sultana, M. Anwar Hossain
Summary: The E protein of SARS-CoV-2 has shown high conservation with only a small percentage of mutant strains, most of which contain unique amino acid substitutions in the C-terminal domain. Mutations in the E gene may affect the efficacy of COVID-19 detection methods. The study highlights the importance of continuous monitoring of structural proteins, particularly the envelope protein, due to increasing genome sequences worldwide.
Article
Immunology
Sydney J. Bennett, Catherine Chunda-Liyoka, Lisa K. Poppe, Katie Meinders, Chisanga Chileshe, John T. West, Charles Wood
Article
Infectious Diseases
Salum J. Lidenge, Tara Tran, For Yue Tso, John R. Ngowi, Danielle M. Shea, Julius Mwaiselage, Charles Wood, John T. West
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Owen Ngalamika, For Yue Tso, Salum Lidenge, Sody Munsaka, Danielle Shea, Charles Wood, John West
Article
Immunology
Owen Ngalamika, Sody Munsaka, Salum J. Lidenge, John T. West, Charles Wood
Summary: This study found that the presence of KS nodules at baseline is an independent predictor of poor treatment outcome for ART-treated HIV-associated KS. Progressors and nonprogressors showed no distinguishing differences in HIV plasma viral load and CD4 counts. Therefore, even with limited cutaneous presentation, the presence of nodular morphotype KS lesions may indicate the need for combined ART plus chemotherapy.
AIDS RESEARCH AND HUMAN RETROVIRUSES
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
For Yue Tso, Salum J. Lidenge, Phoebe B. Pena, Ashley A. Clegg, John R. Ngowi, Julius Mwaiselage, Owen Ngalamika, Peter Julius, John T. West, Charles Wood
Summary: The study found a higher prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 cross-reactive antibodies in pre-pandemic plasma samples from SSA compared to the USA, indicating potential cross-protection due to prior exposure to other coronaviruses in SSA. The detection of nucleocapsid proteins from HCoV-NL63 and HCoV-229E in most samples suggests these viruses as the likely sources of cross-reactive antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. The low incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease in SSA may be correlated with pre-pandemic serological cross-recognition of HCoVs, which are more prevalent in SSA than the USA.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Virology
Shijian Zhang, Kunyu Wang, Wei Li Wang, Hanh T. Nguyen, Shuobing Chen, Maolin Lu, Eden P. Go, Haitao Ding, Robert T. Steinbock, Heather Desaire, John C. Kappes, Joseph Sodroski, Youdong Mao
Summary: The plasticity and asymmetric shapes of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) precursor play a crucial role in influencing the recognition of neutralizing antibodies. The flexibility and asymmetry of the Env precursor can direct host antibody responses without compromising virus infectivity, providing an advantage for persistent viruses like HIV-1.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2021)
Review
Virology
Nathan M. Markarian, Levon Abrahamyan
Summary: The article summarizes previous attempts to immunize mink against Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV) and other preventative measures, shedding light on future studies designing such potentially crucial preventative tools against Aleutian disease. Currently, there are no available vaccines against AMDV, allowing the continuation of the disease's spread.
Article
Microbiology
Victor H. Vazquez-Valadez, Alejandro Hernandez-Serda, Ma Fernanda Jimenez-Cabiedes, Pablo Aguirre-Vidal, Ingrid Gonzalez-Tapia, Laura Carreno-Vargas, Yoshio A. Alarcon-Lopez, Andrea Espejel-Fuentes, Pablo Martinez-Soriano, Miguel Lugo Alvarez, Ana Maria Velazquez-Sanchez, Nathan Marko Markarian, Enrique Angeles, Levon Abrahamyan
Summary: After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the international scientific community focused on developing antiviral drugs and vaccines. This study conducted a computational simulation of compounds designed previously to inhibit the virus entry into cells, with results indicating that certain compounds may be potential anti-COVID-19 agents.
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Olga Zakharova, Ilya A. Titov, Andrey E. Gogin, Timofey A. Sevskikh, Fedor Korennoy, Denis Kolbasov, Levon Abrahamyan, Andrey A. Blokhin
Summary: African swine fever (ASF) is a viral contagious disease that affects domestic pigs and wild boars, causing significant economic damage globally. The intensive spread of ASF in the Russian Far East region since 2019 raises concerns for wildlife population and food resources. The study aims to determine the genotype of ASF virus, analyze the spatio-temporal patterns of outbreaks, and assess the potential reduction in regional fauna due to expected depopulation of wild boars.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shuwen Zhang, Shitao Zou, Deyao Yin, Lihong Zhao, Daniel Finley, Zhaolong Wu, Youdong Mao
Summary: This study presents high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy structures of human USP14 in complex with the 26S proteasome, revealing two pathways of proteasome state transitions induced by USP14. The findings also highlight the dynamic USP14-ATPase interactions that decouple ATPase activity from deubiquitylation and introduce regulatory checkpoints in the proteasome function. These results provide insights into the complete functional cycle of the USP14-regulated proteasome and have implications for the development of USP14-targeted therapies.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zhaolong Wu, Enbo Chen, Shuwen Zhang, Yinping Ma, Youdong Mao
Summary: This study introduces a deep manifold learning framework, called AlphaCryo4D, which enables the reconstruction of the conformational space of biomolecular complexes using cryo-electron microscopy. The method achieves high classification accuracy on simulated datasets and can reconstruct conformational changes of biomolecular complexes in experimental data. It has the potential to explore previously invisible conformational space or transient states. When combined with time-resolved cryo-EM, it allows visualization of conformational changes at the atomic level in non-equilibrium states, potentially enabling therapeutic discovery for dynamic biomolecular targets.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Microbiology
Nathan M. Markarian, Gael Galli, Dhanesh Patel, Mark Hemmings, Priya Nagpal, Albert M. Berghuis, Levon Abrahamyan, Silvia M. Vidal
Summary: This study reviews the specific features of SARS-CoV-2 evolution in immunocompromised patients and identifies recurrent amino acid changes in virus isolates of these patients that may play an important role in SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and evolution.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Editorial Material
Oncology
Shitao Zou, Youdong Mao
CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Aissatou Aicha Sow, Felix Pahmeier, Yann Ayotte, Anais Anton, Clement Mazeaud, Tania Charpentier, Lena Angelo, Simon Woo, Berati Cerikan, Darryl Falzarano, Levon Abrahamyan, Alain Lamarre, Patrick Labonte, Mirko Cortese, Ralf Bartenschlager, Steven R. LaPlante, Laurent Chatel-Chaix
Summary: Dengue virus (DENV) is a common mosquito-borne virus and currently there are no available antiviral treatments. Researchers have identified two potential DENV inhibitors, N-phenylpyridine-3-carboxamide (NPP3C) and 6-acetyl-1H-indazole (6A1HI), which can inhibit viral replication and exhibit antiviral activity against DENV.
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS AND CHEMOTHERAPY
(2023)
Article
Ophthalmology
Peter Julius, Stepfanie N. Siymbwa, Phyllis Moonga, Fred Maate, Trevor Kaile, Guobin Kang, John T. West, Charles Wood, Peter C. Angeletti
Summary: This study in Zambia found a strong association between ocular surface tumors (OSTs) and HIV coinfection, with invasive OSSN and pterygium being the most common diagnoses. Invasive OSSN mainly comprised keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma, often diagnosed in advanced stages, with rare lymphadenopathy and absence of metastasis.
OCULAR ONCOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY
(2021)
