Immunology of Infectious Disease News
Immunology of Infectious Disease News is an online resource dedicated to covering the latest research and developments in the field of infectious diseases.
Borrelia burgdorferi Lacking All Cp32 Prophage Plasmids Retains Full Infectivity in Mice
[EMBO Reports] Researchers detailed the construction and infectivity of the first described B. burgdorferi strain lacking all cp32 plasmids.
Regulatory T Cells Constrain T Cells of Shared Specificity to Enforce Tolerance during Infection
[Science] Investigators used mouse models to investigate the role of regulatory T cells that recognized the same prostate tissue peptide antigen as conventional T cells.
Salmonella Effector SseL Induces PD-L1 Up-Regulation and T Cell Inactivation via β-catenin Signaling Axis
[Journal of Infectious Diseases] Researchers revealed that PD-L1 upregulation caused by Salmonella infection was mediated by Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 effectors, as PFA-fixed and STMΔssaV fail to alter PD-L1 levels.
METTL3 Plays Regulatory Roles in Acute Pneumonia during Staphylococcus aureus Infection
[ACS Infectious Diseases] The authors assessed the levels of N6-methyladenosine as well as the expression of methyltransferases (METTL3 and METTL14), demethylase fat mass and obesity-related protein, and methylation reader proteins YTHDF1 and YTHDF2 in mice and MH-S cells during S. aureus infection.
Jumbo Phage Killer Immune System Targets Early Infection of Nucleus-Forming Phages
[Cell] Scientists identified “jumbo phage killer”, a two-component immune system that terminates infection of ϕKZ-like phages, suppressing the expression of early phage genes and preventing phage DNA replication and phage nucleus assembly while saving the cell.
Staphylococcus aureus Uses a GGDEF Protein to Recruit Diacylglycerol Kinase to the Membrane for Lipid Recycling
[Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences of The United States of America] Investigators showed that a membrane protein in Staphylococcus aureus called GdpS uses its cytosolic GGDEF domain to recruit DgkB to the membrane, orienting its active site to promote diacylglycerol kinase activity.
Spirocyclic Compounds: Potential Drug Leads in the Fight against Mycobacterium Tuberculosis
[Future Medicinal Chemistry] Investigators cover the exploration of spiro compounds from the year 2004 to 2024 for the combat of tuberculosis (TB). They review the comprehensive advancements in this scaffold which would help the logical design of powerful, less toxic, and more effective spirocyclic anti-TB medicinal molecules.
Fear Spreads That NIH Will Terminate Grants Involving South Africa
[Science ] Health researchers who work in South Africa are on red alert after hearing that the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) could terminate all grants that fund work in that country.
NIH Cuts Funding For Vaccine Hesitancy Research, Amid Measles Outbreak
[Forbes] The NIH and CDC have recently terminated more than 40 grants related to vaccine hesitancy.The timing of these terminated grants has public health experts concerned, given the measles outbreak that originated in Texas that is now tied to over 300 cases and at least one death tied to the virus.
Complement-Mediated Enhancement of SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Neutralization Potency in Vaccinated Individuals
[Nature Communications] The authors showed that replenishment of the complement system in neutralization assays could significantly enhance neutralization titres, with up to an ~83-fold increase in neutralization of the BA.1.1.529 strain using cross-reactive sera from vaccination against the ancestral strain.
mRNA-Based Seasonal Influenza and SARS-CoV-2 Multicomponent Vaccine in Healthy Adults: A Phase I/II Trial
[Nature Medicine] Researchers presented interim findings from a phase I/II study of an mRNA-based multicomponent vaccine, encoding seasonal influenza and SARS-CoV-2 antigens.
The Oral Drug Obeldesivir Protects Nonhuman Primates against Lethal Ebola Virus Infection
[Science Advances] Scientists reported that once daily oral obeldesivir treatment of cynomolgus and rhesus macaques for 10 days conferred 80 and 100% protection, respectively, against lethal Ebola virus infection when treatment was initiated 24 hours after mucosal exposure.
Immunology of Infectious Disease News was founded to keep the scientific community current with the latest developments in infectious disease research. We feature high-impact publications, news, jobs, and events focused on immune responses to and the development of treatments for infectious diseases such as COVID-19, HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, influenza, and malaria.
