Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zhe Huang, Seung Goo Kang, Yunqiao Li, Jaroslav Zak, Namir Shaabani, Kaiyuan Deng, Jovan Shepherd, Raag Bhargava, John R. Teijaro, Changchun Xiao
Summary: Inhibition of IFN-I signaling in NK cells enhances the responses of CD4 and CD8 T cells, promotes humoral immune responses, and thereby facilitates the control of persistent virus infection.
Article
Immunology
Rebecca Weiss, Leila Issmail, Alexandra Rockstroh, Thomas Grunwald, Jasmin Fertey, Sebastian Ulbert
Summary: West Nile Virus is a virus transmitted by mosquitoes that can cause severe neurological symptoms. However, there is currently no human vaccine available for WNV. This study found that the E protein and the fusion loop domain (FL) of WNV have cross-reactivity, which should be taken into consideration for vaccine development.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Duan Ni, Jian Tan, Paula Niewold, Alanna Gabrielle Spiteri, Gabriela Veronica Pinget, Dragana Stanley, Nicholas Jonathan Cole King, Laurence Macia
Summary: Although dietary fiber can promote healthy gut bacteria, it does not have a significant effect on WNV encephalitis.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kezhen Wang, Chenxiao Huang, Tao Jiang, Zhiqiang Chen, Minfei Xue, Qi Zhang, Jinyu Zhang, Jianfeng Dai
Summary: RBM47 is an interferon-inducible RNA-binding protein that plays an essential role in enhancing host IFN downstream signaling. It increases IFNAR1 mRNA stability, leading to enhanced expression of ISGs and activation of the interferon-stimulated response element (ISRE).
Article
Immunology
Jose-Maria Garcia-Carrasco, Antonio-Roman Munoz, Jesus Olivero, Marina Segura, Raimundo Real
Summary: This study created a database of WNV presence in Africa and used biogeographic models to determine the drivers of its distribution. Wetlands and human-related factors were found to play important roles in the spread of WNV. Understanding high-risk areas can help manage the disease and comprehend its transmission through avian migration routes outside Africa.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Sundy N. Y. Yang, Belinda Maher, Chunxiao Wang, Kylie M. Wagstaff, Johanna E. Fraser, David A. Jans
Summary: This study identifies two drugs that can inhibit the replication of dengue virus and other flaviviruses by directly binding to a viral protein.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Pauline Dianne Santos, Friederike Michel, Claudia Wylezich, Dirk Hoper, Markus Keller, Cora M. Holicki, Claudia A. Szentiks, Martin Eiden, Aemero Muluneh, Antonie Neubauer-Juric, Sabine Thalheim, Anja Globig, Martin Beer, Martin H. Groschup, Ute Ziegler
Summary: The emergence of WNV and USUV in Europe caused significant outbreaks leading to avifauna mortality and human infections. In Germany, a bird surveillance network was established to monitor these zoonotic arthropod-borne viruses. Co-infections of WNV and USUV were detected in dead birds, with WNV strains classified as lineage 2 and USUV strains as lineages Africa 2, Africa 3, and Europe 2. Further reports of co-infections in animals and humans are expected in the future.
TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Alicia Macias, Paloma Martin, Mayte Perez-Olmeda, Beatriz Fernandez-Martinez, Diana Gomez-Barroso, Esperanza Fernandez, Julian Mauro Ramos, Laura Herrero, Saray Rodriguez, Elena Delgado, Maria Paz Sanchez-Seco, Miguel Galan, Antonio Jesus Corbacho, Manuel Jimenez, Cristian Montero-Pena, Antonio Valle, Ana Vazquez
Summary: The largest human West Nile virus (WNV) outbreak in Spain in 2020 occurred in Extremadura, with six reported cases. This study focuses on the clinical aspects, diagnostic results, and control actions of the first WNV human outbreak in Extremadura. Molecular and serological methods are recommended for WNV detection and differential diagnosis.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Patricia Mingo-Casas, Javier Sanchez-Cespedes, Ana-Belen Blazquez, Josefina Casas, Maria Balsera-Manzanero, Laura Herrero, Ana Vazquez, Jeronimo Pachon, Manuela Aguilar-Guisado, Jose Miguel Cisneros, Juan-Carlos Saiz, Miguel A. Martin-Acebes
Summary: West Nile virus (WNV) is a neurotropic flavivirus transmitted by mosquitoes and can cause severe diseases. By studying experimentally infected mice and naturally infected patients, dynamic alterations in the lipidome were identified as metabolic fingerprints of different infection stages. The dysregulation of sphingolipid metabolism by WNV may provide new therapeutic opportunities and support the potential of certain lipids as novel peripheral biomarkers of WND progression.
EMERGING MICROBES & INFECTIONS
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Elizabeth Geerling, E. Taylor Stone, Tara L. Steffen, Mariah Hassert, James D. Brien, Amelia K. Pinto
Summary: Rising obesity rates worldwide have become a significant health concern, with obese individuals at higher risk for severe viral diseases. Research shows that obesity can lead to immune dysfunction, impacting the severity of viral infections.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Shintaro Kobayashi, Yukine Fukuda, Kentaro Yoshii, Passawat Thammahakin, Keisuke Maezono, Ludek Eyer, Daniel Ruzek, Hiroaki Kariwa
Summary: Researchers have successfully developed a recombinant West Nile virus carrying mCherry fluorescent protein as a reporter. The expression of mCherry was observed in infected cells in vitro and in vivo, but the reporter virus grew slower than the parental virus. This reporter virus will facilitate the study of West Nile virus replication in mouse brains.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGICAL METHODS
(2023)
Article
Mathematics, Applied
Folashade Agusto, Daniel Bond, Adira Cohen, Wandi Ding, Rachel Leander, Allis Royer
Summary: We constructed an epidemic model for West Nile virus, considering the interaction between bird hosts, mosquito vectors, and the use of insecticides. We derived the basic reproduction number and formulated optimal control problems to balance the cost and benefit of vector and disease control. Numerical simulations were performed to study the impact of control strategies on the system.
Article
Microbiology
Hannah Reemtsma, Cora M. Holicki, Christine Fast, Felicitas Bergmann, Martin H. Groschup, Ute Ziegler
Summary: Usutu virus (USUV) and West Nile virus (WNV) are closely related pathogens that circulate between mosquitoes, birds, and mammalian hosts. A study found that a previous USUV infection can protect birds from severe clinical disease in a subsequent WNV infection. This protection is evidenced by lower and less frequent presence of WNV genomes in the examined samples and milder histopathological lesions compared to WNV mono-infection.
Article
Virology
Tomoyuki Shiota, Mami Matsuda, Xin Zheng, Noriyo Nagata, Koji Ishii, Ryosuke Suzuki, Masamichi Muramatsu, Kazuhiro Takimoto, Ken-Ichi Hanaki, Stanley M. Lemon, David R. McGivern, Asuka Hirai-Yuki
Summary: Hepatitis A virus (HAV) persists in the liver even after acute hepatitis has been resolved, and macrophages play a crucial role in viral control during late-stage infection.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Virology
Hannah Reemtsma, Cora M. Holicki, Christine Fast, Felicitas Bergmann, Martin Eiden, Martin H. Groschup, Ute Ziegler
Summary: West Nile virus (WNV) is an emerging infectious pathogen that circulates between mosquitoes and birds, causing mortality in avifauna and occasional diseases in humans and horses. A study in Germany infected 15 goslings with WNV and found that the geese developed viremia and shed virus, but they are not considered as important amplifying hosts for the virus. Geese can be used as sentinel animals for WNV surveillance.