Article
Immunology
Qi Li, Ying Qin, Wenwen Wang, Mutian Jia, Wei Zhao, Chunyuan Zhao
Summary: Our study demonstrates that KAP1 attenuates RNA viral infection-induced type I IFNs and facilitates viral replication by inhibiting RIG-I/MDA5 expression in primary peritoneal macrophages (PMs) of C57BL/6J mice. Kap1 deficiency increases IFN-beta expression and inhibits vesicular stomatitis virus replication in C57BL/6J mice in vivo. Mechanistically, KAP1 binds to the promoter regions of Ddx58 and Ifih1 and promotes the establishment of repressive histone marks in primary PMs of C57BL/6J mice.
JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xiaoming Ren, Amy D. Gelinas, Melissa Linehan, Akiko Iwasaki, Wenshuai Wang, Nebojsa Janjic, Anna Marie Pyle
Summary: Vertebrate organisms use protein receptors to recognize pathogenic molecules as an early warning system for infection. RIG-I, an important receptor for detecting RNA viruses, can lead to disease when dysregulated. A high affinity RIG-I antagonist was developed in this study, showing potential for generating immunomodulatory drugs and mechanistic tool compounds.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Virology
Jialu Zheng, Yutong Wei, Guan-Zhu Han
Summary: In this review, recent advances in understanding the diversity and evolution of retroviruses are summarized from the perspective of viral fossils, with a focus on endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) as molecular fossils that document past viral infections, providing crucial insights into the evolutionary history of retroviruses .
Review
Genetics & Heredity
Fan Liao, Yan-Dong Tang, Lei Tan, Jun Yao, Chunfu Zheng, Aibing Wang
Summary: The CRISPR-Cas technology has been widely applied in swine viral research, including studying viral gene functions, enhancing antiviral capabilities, and inactivating endogenous retroviruses. Despite challenges in porcine genetic modification, the CRISPR-Cas system holds promising prospects as an important tool in basic virology research and controlling swine viral infection-related diseases.
Article
Plant Sciences
Ashwin Nair, Chitthavalli Y. Y. Harshith, Anushree Narjala, Padubidri V. V. Shivaprasad
Summary: Chloroplast is the site for converting light energy into chemical energy and producing defense-related molecules. Begomovirus can disrupt chloroplast homeostasis to successfully infect plants, and a viral protein called Beta C1 is responsible for this pathogenicity by interfering with host plastid homeostasis.
Article
Cell Biology
Sam Sheppard, Endi K. Santosa, Colleen M. Lau, Sara Violante, Paolo Giovanelli, Hyunu Kim, Justin R. Cross, Ming O. Li, Joseph C. Sun
Summary: NK cells increase glycolytic rate rapidly following activation and rely on LDHA for effector function and clonal proliferation, with LDHA-deficient NK cells exhibiting defects in anti-viral and anti-tumor protection. Aerobic glycolysis is a hallmark of NK cell activation crucial for their function.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ujjyani Ghosh, Khondakar Sayef Ahammed, Snehasis Mishra, Asim Bhaumik
Summary: This review highlights recent advancements in silver nanoparticle-based nano-formulations for targeting cellular mechanisms of viral propagation, modulating host immune response, and enhancing the activity of existing antiviral drugs. It also discusses the application of silver nanoparticle-based detection methods for viral pathogens in clinical samples.
CHEMISTRY-AN ASIAN JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Hayden C. Metsky, Nicole L. Welch, Priya P. Pillai, Nicholas J. Haradhvala, Laurie Rumker, Sreekar Mantena, Yibin B. Zhang, David K. Yang, Cheri M. Ackerman, Juliane Weller, Paul C. Blainey, Cameron Myhrvold, Michael Mitzenmacher, Pardis C. Sabeti
Summary: The design of nucleic acid-based viral diagnostics typically follows heuristic rules, but researchers have proposed an optimized design method using a learned model to enhance diagnostic effectiveness in the face of viral variation. By utilizing a deep neural network and combinatorial optimization, the researchers successfully designed highly sensitive diagnostic tools that can be customized for various vertebrate-infecting viral species within a short period of time.
NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anna Nemudraia, Artem Nemudryi, Murat Buyukyoruk, Andrew M. Scherffius, Trevor Zahl, Tanner Wiegand, Shishir Pandey, Joseph E. Nichols, Laina N. Hall, Aidan McVey, Helen H. Lee, Royce A. Wilkinson, Laura R. Snyder, Joshua D. Jones, Kristin S. Koutmou, Andrew Santiago-Frangos, Blake Wiedenheft
Summary: This study applies type-III CRISPR-based RNA capture and concentration technology to the detection of SARS-CoV-2, with advantages of rapidity, high sensitivity, and low cost.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yaling Zhao, Xue Cao, Weihua Zhong, Shunkang Zhou, Zhanbiao Li, Hong An, Xiahua Liu, Ruifeng Wu, Surakshya Bohora, Yan Wu, Zhenyi Liang, Jiahao Chen, Xin Yang, Guohui Zhou, Tong Zhang
Summary: This study reveals the molecular mechanism of transmission of the Southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV), finding that the SRBSDV-encoded P6 protein regulates rice ethylene signaling to coordinate viral infection and transmission. In early infection, P6 interacts with OsRTH2 to activate ethylene signaling and enhance virus proliferation, repelling the insect vector. In late infection, P6 enters the nucleus and interacts with OsEIL2 to suppress ethylene signaling, attracting the insect vector for viral transmission.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Louise Dalskov, Hans Henrik Gad, Rune Hartmann
Summary: Interferons are antiviral cytokines that are essential in the innate immune response to viral infections. They are produced and released by cells in response to viral stimuli, and induce the transcription of numerous genes in neighboring cells. These gene products either directly combat the viral infection or contribute to shaping the immune response.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Dingyao Zhang, Jingru Tian, Yadong Wang, Jun Lu
Summary: This study developed the Evitar pipeline for designing anti-viral siRNAs and CRISPR Cas13a gRNA sequences. Time simulations using known coronavirus genomes showed that pre-designed siRNAs and gRNAs could target SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. In vitro experiments confirmed the potential of designed siRNAs to suppress SARS-CoV-2 viral sequences. The results support the utility of Evitar in pre-designing therapeutics against future RNA virus outbreaks.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Elizabeth A. Phillips, Adam D. Silverman, Aric Joneja, Michael Liu, Carl Brown, Paul Carlson, Christine Coticchia, Kristen Shytle, Alex Larsen, Nadish Goyal, Vincent Cai, Jason Huang, Jennifer E. Hickey, Emily Ryan, Joycelynn Acheampong, Pradeep Ramesh, James J. Collins, William J. Blake
Summary: This study presents a cost-effective and simplified nucleic acid detection technique, named INSPECTR, which enables accurate and multiplexed detection at ambient temperature. It utilizes target-specific DNA probes and flexible expression cassettes to generate reporter proteins for linear detection and visual detection. Leveraging synthetic biology, this technique could potentially enhance the applicability of nucleic acid diagnostics at point-of-care settings.
NATURE BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Carlson Tsui, Lorenz Kretschmer, Svenja Rapelius, Sarah S. Gabriel, David Chisanga, Konrad Knoepper, Daniel T. Utzschneider, Simone Nuessing, Yang Liao, Teisha Mason, Santiago Valle Torres, Stephen A. Wilcox, Krystian Kanev, Sebastian Jarosch, Justin Leube, Stephen L. Nutt, Dietmar Zehn, Ian A. Parish, Wolfgang Kastenmueller, Wei Shi, Veit R. Buchholz, Axel Kallies
Summary: This study reveals that CD62L(+) T-PEX cells, maintained by the transcription factor MYB, play a crucial role in maintaining the proliferative potential, multipotency, and repopulation capacity of exhausted T cells during chronic infection, thus contributing to long-term antiviral immunity and responsiveness to immunotherapy.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Songhang Li, Yuhao Liu, Tao Zhang, Shiyu Lin, Sirong Shi, Jiajun He, Yu Xie, Xiaoxiao Cai, Taoran Tian, Yunfeng Lin
Summary: MicroRNA-based therapy shows great potential, but its biomedical functionality is limited by structural challenges. A novel bioswitchable miR inhibitor delivery system (BiRDS) is designed using a tetrahedral framework DNA (tFNA) as a vehicle to maximize miR inhibitor loading capacity and improve delivery efficacy.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Jasmine Alexander-Floyd, Antonia R. Bass, Erin M. Harberts, Daniel Grubaugh, Joseph D. Buxbaum, Igor E. Brodsky, Robert K. Ernst, Sunny Shin
Summary: This study investigates the impact of alterations in the phosphorylation and acylation state of Gram-negative bacterial lipid A on the activation of human TLR4 and CASP4/5. The findings reveal that the acylation state has a differential impact on TLR4 and CASP4/5 activation, while the phosphorylation state does not have a significant effect. These results contribute to a better understanding of the innate immune system's ability to recognize and detect a wide range of bacterial pathogens.
INFECTION AND IMMUNITY
(2022)