Article
Immunology
Christina D'Arco, Alison A. McCormick, Paul M. Arnaboldi
Summary: A vaccine consisting of two Y. pestis virulence factors, LcrV and F1, conjugated to Tobacco Mosaic Virus, has been developed to protect mice from pneumonic plague. Mice immunized with this vaccine showed reduced histopathology, bacterial burden, and inflammatory cytokine production compared to those vaccinated with rF1 and rV. Serum F1 titers before challenge were directly correlated to recovery in all immunized mice.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jingdi Pan, Qihui Wang, Mi Qi, Jianjun Chen, Xuefan Wu, Xiaowei Zhang, Wei Li, Xian-En Zhang, Zongqiang Cui
Summary: Researchers have developed an intranasal multivalent epitope-based nanoparticle vaccine that provides broad protection against diverse influenza A and B viruses. The vaccine induces potent immune responses, including cross-reactive antibodies and T cell-mediated responses, and confers full protection against lethal challenge with different influenza viruses. The HMNF nanoparticle demonstrates long-lasting immunity and shows promise as a universal influenza vaccine candidate.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
F. Murilo Zerbini, Elliot W. Kitajima
Summary: This article discusses the discovery of viruses as agents of diseases and their classification efforts throughout history. It highlights the creation of the International Committee on Nomenclature of Viruses in 1966, which led to the establishment of an official taxonomy for viruses based on evolutionary relationships.
Article
Cell Biology
Traci L. Bricker, Tamarand L. Darling, Ahmed O. Hassan, Houda H. Harastani, Allison Soung, Xiaoping Jiang, Ya-Nan Dai, Haiyan Zhao, Lucas J. Adams, Michael J. Holtzman, Adam L. Bailey, James Brett Case, Daved H. Fremont, Robyn Klein, Michael S. Diamond, Adrianus C. M. Boon
Summary: The study found that intranasal administration provides superior protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and inflammation in the upper respiratory tract compared to intramuscular injection, reducing weight loss, viral infection, and lung pathology. Therefore, intranasal delivery of ChAd-SARS-CoV-2-S candidate vaccine is supported for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jianting Zhang, Ranjith Kumar Kankala, Jingyao Ma, Yihao Zhou, Shi-Bin Wang, Ai-Zheng Chen
Summary: Utilizing the hollow tobacco mosaic virus coat protein as a restrictive template, well-organized one-dimensional inorganic nanostructures were successfully fabricated with high yields, including gold nanoparticles and silver sulfide quantum dots. Different types of functional nanoparticles were encapsulated and assembled into ordered 1D nanochains through TMV-assisted self-assembly approach, showing potential for the fabrication of highly complex hybrid-metal nanostructures.
Article
Plant Sciences
Hongyan Han, Jialing Zou, Jingya Zhou, Mengyuan Zeng, Dongchao Zheng, Xuefeng Yuan, Dehui Xi
Summary: The small GTPase NtRHO1 plays a negative role in tobacco response to TMV infection by interacting with transcription factor NtWRKY50, resulting in reduced plant immunity.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zhe Cao, Xiaozhou Ma, Dashu Lv, Jing Wang, Yang Shen, Shiqi Peng, Shenggang Yang, Jin Huang, Xianchao Sun
Summary: In this study, a novel nanomaterial (ChNC@Zn) was prepared by using chitin nanocrystals loaded with Zn2+, which has the function of inducing disease resistance to plants and reducing virus activity. ChNC@Zn can improve the enzymes activities of peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) in tobacco, and reduce the damage of reactive oxygen species (ROS) caused by TMV infection, thereby inducing resistance to TMV in tobacco. It can exhibit strong antiviral activity at low Zn2+ concentration and minimize the pollution of Zn2+ to the environment, which has high potential application value in the control of virus disease.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Juliane Schuphan, Ulrich Commandeur
Summary: Plant virus nanoparticles can be utilized as promising platforms for enzyme immobilization, but the interference of carrier on substrate binding led researchers to explore the suitability of utilizing tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) instead of potato virus X (PVX). Despite TMV allowing more enzyme molecules to be immobilized, the rigid scaffold and helical spacing of TMV significantly affected enzyme activity.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Sruthy Maria Augustine, Stavros Tzigos, Rod Snowdon
Summary: Since the discovery of the tobacco mosaic virus in the 1890s, there has been an increasing awareness of the impact of viruses on the environment. Not only do viral infections cause disease, but some viruses can also have a beneficial effect on plants. This study shows that heat-killed tobacco mosaic virus can enhance abiotic stress tolerance in plants, which has not been reported before.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Muhammad Adeel, Tahir Farooq, Jason C. White, Yi Hao, Zifu He, Yukui Rui
Summary: The study demonstrates the protective role of carbon-based nanomaterials in inhibiting viral symptoms by hindering physical movement and viral replication. Plants treated with carbon nanomaterials showed normal phenotype and reduced viral infection symptoms, with photosynthesis comparable to healthy controls. Upregulation of defense-related phytohormones and transcription of genes responsible for phytohormone biosynthesis were also observed in treated plants.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jordan T. T. VanderBurgt, Ondre Harper, Christopher P. P. Garnham, Susanne E. E. Kohalmi, Rima Menassa
Summary: This research aimed to display antigenic portions of the M and GP5 proteins on the surface of tobacco mosaic virus-like particles. The modified tobacco mosaic virus coat protein (TMVc) was expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana plants and resulted in self-assembly and surface display of the M-GP5 epitope.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Yonghong Liu, Shirin Strohmeier, Irene Gonzalez-Dominguez, Jessica Tan, Viviana Simon, Florian Krammer, Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, Peter Palese, Weina Sun
Summary: By generating and sequentially vaccinating mice with inactivated influenza B viruses displaying mosaic HAs, researchers have successfully induced long-lasting and cross-protective antibody responses. These findings represent a significant step towards the development of a universal influenza B virus vaccine.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Thomas W. Geisbert, Kathryn Bobb, Viktoriya Borisevich, Joan B. Geisbert, Krystle N. Agans, Robert W. Cross, Abhishek N. Prasad, Karla A. Fenton, Hao Yu, Timothy R. Fouts, Christopher C. Broder, Antony S. Dimitrov
Summary: A human subunit vaccine based on the attachment glycoprotein of Hendra virus was found to provide protection against both Nipah and Hendra viruses in a nonhuman primate model, starting as early as 7 days post immunization with a low dose. This vaccine could potentially serve as an efficient emergency tool to control the spread of Nipah disease during outbreaks.
Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Wen-Hung Wang, Aspiro Nayim Urbina, Chih-Yen Lin, Zih-Syuan Yang, Wanchai Assavalapsakul, Arunee Thitithanyanont, Po-Liang Lu, Yen-Hsu Chen, Sheng-Fan Wang
Summary: The development of dengue vaccines is crucial in preventing and controlling the global health threat caused by Dengue virus. Current approved vaccines have demonstrated low efficacy in certain populations, leading to ongoing investigation and development of novel strategies for dengue vaccines.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2021)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Steven B. Bradfute
Summary: Ebola virus (EBOV) belongs to the filoviridae family and can cause severe disease and high lethality rates. A mouse-adapted EBOV (maEBOV) model has been developed, which has significant advantages in terms of cost, availability of reagents, and genetically modified strains. The model has been widely used in studying vaccines, therapeutic drugs, EBOV mutants, and pathogenesis, and has received numerous citations. This review will discuss the history and use of the maEBOV model in filovirus research.
ANTIVIRAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Maha Alqahtani, Zhuo Ma, Harshada Ketkar, Ragavan Varadharajan Suresh, Meenakshi Malik, Chandra Shekhar Bakshi
JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zhuo Ma, Erica Lasek-Nesselquist, Jackson Lu, Ryan Schneider, Riddhi Shah, George Oliva, Janice Pata, Kathleen McDonough, Manjunath P. Pai, Warren E. Rose, George Sakoulas, Meenakshi Malik
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Arwa Alharbi, Seham M. Rabadi, Maha Alqahtani, Dina Marghani, Madeline Worden, Zhuo Ma, Meenakshi Malik, Chandra Shekhar Bakshi
Article
Microbiology
Erica Lasek-Nesselquist, Jackson Lug, Ryan Schneiders, Zhuo Ma, Vincenzo Russo, Smruti Mishra, Manjunath P. Pai, Janice D. Pata, Kathleen A. McDonough, Meenakshi Malik
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zhuo Ma, Kayla King, Maha Alqahtani, Madeline Worden, Parthasarathy Muthuraman, Christopher L. Cioffi, Chandra Shekhar Bakshi, Meenakshi Malik
Article
Immunology
Wei-Chiao Huang, Bingbing Deng, Amal Seffouh, Joaquin Ortega, Carole A. Long, Ragavan V. Suresh, Xuedan He, Kazutoyo Miura, Shwu-Maan Lee, Yimin Wu, Jonathan F. Lovell
Article
Immunology
Maha Alqahtani, Zhuo Ma, Kayla Fantone, Meenakshi Malik, Chandra Shekhar Bakshi
Summary: This study found that both AIM2 and NLRP3 are dispensable for vaccination-induced immunity against respiratory tularemia caused by F. tularensis, as even deficient mice were fully protected against lethal challenge doses of the bacteria and displayed unaffected production of antibody and cell-mediated responses.
INFECTION AND IMMUNITY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Dina Marghani, Zhuo Ma, Anthony J. Centone, Weihua Huang, Meenakshi Malik, Chandra Shekhar Bakshi
Summary: This study elucidates the role of the osrR transcriptional regulator in the pathogenesis of tularemia caused by F. tularensis. The osrR regulator specifically regulates the oxidative and global stress response, virulence, metabolism, and other key pathways genes required by Francisella when exposed to oxidative stress. Understanding such regulatory mechanisms will help identify potential targets for developing effective therapies and vaccines to prevent tularemia.
JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Ragavan V. Suresh, Elizabeth W. Bradley, Matthew Higgs, Vincenzo C. Russo, Maha Alqahtani, Wiehua Huang, Chandra Shekhar Bakshi, Meenakshi Malik
Summary: Francisella tularensis is a Gram-negative intracellular bacterium that causes tularemia. Classified as a Tier 1 Category A select agent due to its ease of aerosolization and low infectious dose, Francisella has a unique replication cycle where it escapes into the cytosol after uptake. The recognition of Francisella by cytosolic pattern recognition receptors Aim2 and Nlrp3 triggers the assembly and activation of the inflammasome, with Nlrp3 potentially modulating the host's susceptibility to infection.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Smruti Mishra, Erica Lasek-Nesselquist, Anarv Mathur, Zhuo Ma, Kanpong Boonthaworn, Nicholas O'Donnell, Haixin Sui, Janice D. Pata, Kathleen A. McDonough, Pradeepa Jayachandran, Meenakshi Malik
Summary: In this study, the researchers successfully produced and characterized the seesaw effect in MRSA strain N315 using a unique bioreactor model. Although daptomycin resistance conferred enhanced susceptibility to oxacillin, oxacillin treatment of DAP-NS strains was accompanied by a lowered minimum inhibitory concentration for daptomycin. Additionally, there was a reduction in relative positive cell surface charge and cell wall thickness. However, the mutations acquired in our DAP-NS populations were not accompanied by additional genomic changes after treatment with oxacillin, implicating alternative mechanisms for the seesaw effect.
JOURNAL OF GLOBAL ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Zhuo Ma, Matthew Higgs, Maha Alqahtani, Chandra Shekhar Bakshi, Meenakshi Malik
Summary: This study reveals the important role of thioredoxin TrxA1 in the oxidative stress response of Francisella tularensis and its regulation of the master regulator oxyR. TrxA1 is also essential for the intracellular survival and growth of Francisella. These findings provide novel insights into the oxidative stress defense mechanisms of Francisella tularensis.
JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Ragavan Varadharajan Suresh, Bingbing Deng, Yonas Gebremicale, Kyle Roche, Kazutoyo Miura, Carole Long
Summary: Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were found to enhance the infectivity of malaria gametocytes. Co-culturing MSCs with gametocytes significantly increased the number of oocysts in infected mosquitoes, and this enhancement was partially mediated by soluble factor(s) released by MSCs.