Article
Virology
Arpan Acharya, Omalla A. Olwenyi, Michellie Thurman, Kabita Pandey, Brenda M. Morsey, Benjamin Lamberty, Natasha Ferguson, Shannon Callen, Qiu Fang, Shilpa J. Buch, Howard S. Fox, Siddappa N. Byrareddy
Summary: This study established a morphine-dependent simian immunodeficiency virus SIVmac251-infected rhesus macaque model to investigate the impact of opioids on HIV reservoirs. The results suggested that opioids, specifically morphine, play a dual role by reducing CD4(+) T-cell reservoirs in lymphoid tissues while increasing the reservoir size in the central nervous system.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Farah H. Abdalbari, Elvis Martinez-Jaramillo, Benjamin N. Forgie, Estelle Tran, Edith Zorychta, Alicia A. Goyeneche, Siham Sabri, Carlos M. Telleria
Summary: High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is the most common type of ovarian cancer, with a high mortality rate due to resistance against platinum-based chemotherapy. This study investigates the therapeutic potential of auranofin (AF), a gold complex, against HGSOC. The results show that AF targets multiple pathways and exhibits cytotoxic effects in HGSOC cells, regardless of their sensitivity to platinum. This suggests that AF could be used as a long-term consolidation therapy for HGSOC.
Review
Immunology
Michelle K. Ash, Lena Al-Harthi, Jeffrey R. Schneider
Summary: Advances in antiretroviral therapy have prolonged the lives of people living with HIV by reducing viral levels, but challenges remain in eradicating the virus due to significant reservoirs in the central nervous system. Astraycytes and microglia in the CNS have been shown to harbor HIV even with treatment, emphasizing the need for optimization of curative strategies. Measuring the latent HIV reservoir and addressing neuroinflammation in the brain are crucial in developing effective treatment options for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders.
Review
Virology
Josh G. Kim, Liang Shan
Summary: HIV-1 protease plays a critical role in the maturation of viral particles and can also cleave host cell proteins. The interaction between HIV-1 protease and CARD8 inflammasome is of particular interest, as recent studies have shown that CARD8 can sense the activity of HIV-1 protease and induce cell death. Premature activation of HIV-1 protease may be used as a strategy to target CARD8-mediated cell killing and eliminate latent reservoirs in people living with HIV.
Article
History
Marianna Szczygielska, Agata Kowalewska
Summary: Emerging infectious diseases at the human-animal interface, such as zoonoses and epizootic events, have made global health systems vulnerable. This paper examines the overlaps between African Swine Fever, AIDS, and COVID-19 to highlight how scientific approaches to disease outbreaks frame certain human-animal contacts as risky. It explores the concept of reservoirs as bodies harboring infectious diseases and the knowledge and response protocols associated with health crises. The analysis questions the depictions of transgressions against nature from the standpoint of universal humanity by examining the intersections of disease narratives with social categories of race and class.
HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Marcella Vassao de Almeida Baptista, Lais Teodoro da Silva, Sadia Samer, Telma Miyuki Oshiro, Iart Luca Shytaj, Leila B. Giron, Nathalia Mantovani Pena, Nicolly Cruz, Gisele Cristina Gosuen, Paulo Roberto Abrao Ferreira, Edecio Cunha-Neto, Juliana Galinskas, Danilo Dias, Maria Cecilia Araripe Sucupira, Cesar de Almeida-Neto, Reinaldo Salomao, Alberto Jose da Silva Duarte, Luis Mario Janini, James R. Hunter, Andrea Savarino, Maria Aparecida Juliano, Ricardo Sobhie Diaz
Summary: The personalized Monocyte-Derived Dendritic-cell Therapy (MDDCT) induced maturation of MDDCs and increased IL-2 expression in CD4(+) and CD8(+)T-cells. Administration of MDDCT also led to significantly increased intracellular TNF and IFN-gamma expression in CD4(+) T-cells.
AIDS RESEARCH AND THERAPY
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Carla Prezioso, Marco Ciotti, Gabriele Brazzini, Francesca Piacentini, Sara Passerini, Alfonso Grimaldi, Doriana Landi, Carolina Gabri Nicoletti, Maria Antonella Zingaropoli, Marco Iannetta, Marta Altieri, Antonella Conte, Dolores Limongi, Girolama Alessandra Marfia, Maria Rosa Ciardi, Claudio Maria Mastroianni, Anna Teresa Palamara, Ugo Moens, Valeria Pietropaolo
Summary: Analyzing the levels of JCPyV DNA and miR-J1-5p may allow for monitoring JCPyV activity and predicting the risk of developing PML in patients with multiple sclerosis.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Gabriel Siracusano, Lucia Lopalco
Summary: Full HIV-1 remission has not been achieved since its discovery 35 years ago. Combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) can control viral replication, but is unable to eradicate latent reservoirs and may lead to side effects. Antibody-based treatments, such as anti-CCR5 antibodies, have emerged as alternative approaches to target early stages of infection.
Article
Biology
Domenico Galante, Viviana Manzulli, Adelia Donatiello, Antonio Fasanella, Barbara Chirullo, Massimiliano Francia, Valeria Rondinone, Luigina Serrecchia, Lorenzo Pace, Michela Iatarola, Michela Tarantino, Rosanna Adone
Summary: In this study, the Bacillus anthracis vaccine strain Sterne 34F2 was cultured to obtain a secretome with a high concentration of non-degraded PA(83), which was used as an antigen in a Complement Fixation Test (CFT) to monitor antibody production. The results showed that the PAS-based CFT and commercial ELISA kit yielded similar results in terms of specificity and sensitivity, and the Sterne 34F2 vaccine induced a strong antibody response to PA(83) in vaccinated rabbits.
Article
Microbiology
Iart Luca Shytaj, Mohamed Fares, Lara Gallucci, Bojana Lucic, Mahmoud M. Tolba, Liv Zimmermann, Julia M. Adler, Na Xing, Judith Bushe, Achim D. Gruber, Ina Ambiel, Ahmed Taha Ayoub, Mirko Cortese, Christopher J. Neufeldt, Bettina Stolp, Mohamed Hossam Sobhy, Moustafa Fathy, Min Zhao, Vibor Laketa, Ricardo Sobhie Diaz, Richard E. Sutton, Petr Chlanda, Steeve Boulant, Ralf Bartenschlager, Megan L. Stanifer, Oliver T. Fackler, Jakob Trimpert, Andrea Savarino, Marina Lusic
Summary: The lack of effective antiviral treatments against SARS-CoV-2 is a significant limitation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. This study highlights cobicistat as a potential therapeutic candidate for treating SARS-CoV-2 infection and as a building block for combination therapies for COVID-19. Cobicistat inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication through the inhibition of spike protein-mediated membrane fusion and enhances the antiviral effect of remdesivir.
Article
Mathematics, Applied
Alessandro Della Corte
Summary: We study the binary sequence obtained by minimizing repetitiveness at each digit choice, as well as some related topological dynamical systems.
TOPOLOGY AND ITS APPLICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Diego Cantoni, Gabriel Siracusano, Martin Mayora-Neto, Claudia Pastori, Tobia Fantoni, Spyros Lytras, Cecilia Di Genova, Joseph Hughes, Lucia Lopalco, Nigel Temperton
Summary: Coronavirus infections, including the recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, highlight the importance of effective vaccines. COVID-19 vaccines have been rapidly developed to reduce the burden of infections. The neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants was higher in individuals vaccinated with BNT162b2 and previously infected with the virus. The Omicron variant showed the highest resistance. Vaccination did not protect against hCoV-HKU1, but induced antibodies displayed boosting effects against other human coronaviruses.
Article
Mathematics, Applied
Dario Corona, Alessandro Della Corte
Summary: We study the measurable dynamical properties of the interval map generated by the model-case erasing substitution rho. We prove that the square of the map preserves the Lebesgue measure and is strongly mixing, thus ergodic. We also discuss the extension of the results to more general erasing maps.
ERGODIC THEORY AND DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Elisabetta Razzuoli, Barbara Chirullo, Chiara Grazia De Ciucis, Samanta Mecocci, Isabella Martini, Roberto Zoccola, Chiara Campanella, Katia Varello, Paola Petrucci, Antonio Di Meo, Elena Bozzetta, Michela Tarantino, Maria Goria, Paola Modesto
Summary: This study evaluated the expression levels of genes and proteins involved in the innate immune response and cell cycle in the Canine Soft Tissue Sarcoma (STS) cell line A-72, as well as its ability to respond to infective stressors. The results showed that A-72 could respond to bacterial infection by modifying the expression of important genes involved in the innate immune response, and could serve as a useful model for in vitro evaluation of new therapeutic approaches in human oncology.
VETERINARY RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Leonardo Sorrentino, Walter Toscanelli, Matteo Fracella, Marta De Angelis, Federica Frasca, Carolina Scagnolari, Laura Petrarca, Raffaella Nenna, Fabio Midulla, Anna Teresa Palamara, Lucia Nencioni, Alessandra Pierangeli
Summary: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human rhinovirus (HRV) are common causes of hospitalization in children, with RSV being more severe. The study investigated the interplay between interferon (IFN) responses and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) antioxidant activity in RSV and HRV infections. The findings suggest that reduced NRF2 activation in RSV-infected infants may contribute to the severity of bronchiolitis.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Francesco Andrea Procopio, Andrea Savarino, Iart Luca Shytaj
Summary: Integrated HIV-1 DNA persists in cells of people living with HIV during antiretroviral treatment, but its quantification is hindered by its rarity. Here, we present an optimized protocol for evaluating shock and kill therapeutic strategies, including latency reactivation and elimination of infected cells. The protocol involves nested PCR-based assays and viability sorting for scalable and rapid screening of candidate therapeutics in patient-derived blood cells.
Review
Respiratory System
Noha Samir Taibe, Maimona A. Kord, Mohamed Ahmed Badawy, Iart Luca Shytaj, Mahmoud M. Elhefnawi
Summary: This article provides an up-to-date review of FDA-approved repurposed drugs for SARS-CoV-2 infection, discussing their mechanism of action and clinical results. It also summarizes evidence on promising repurposed drugs in development and discusses the stage and steps toward the development of broadly effective drug combinations to suppress COVID-19 onset or progression.
THERAPEUTIC ADVANCES IN RESPIRATORY DISEASE
(2022)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Elisabetta Razzuoli, Chiara Grazia De Ciucis, Barbara Chirullo, Katia Varello, Roberto Zoccola, Lisa Guardone, Paola Petrucci, Danja Rubini, Elena Bozzetta, Maria Goria, Floriana Fruscione, Paola Modesto
Summary: Canine mammary cancer shares many similarities with human breast cancer in terms of risk factors, behavior, and clinical course. These breast tumors are resistant to conventional therapies, making the study of alternative treatments necessary. The CF33 cell line can serve as an in vitro model for evaluating innovative therapeutic approaches involving bacteria.
VETERINARY SCIENCES
(2022)