Microbiology, Virology & Host Pathogen Interaction
SARS-CoV-2 infection induces protective immunity and limits transmission in Syrian hamstersUsing an aged Syrian hamster model, which develops severe morbidity upon SARS-CoV-2 infection including death, we demonstrated that the immunity induced by a natural infection not only protects hamsters from reinfection but also significantly limits transmission via close contact.
Profiling of immune dysfunction in COVID-19 patients allows early prediction of disease progressionDeep immune profiling of COVID-19 patients with different disease severity reveals populations associated with severe disease and can be used to predict disease severity early on.
Sustained Helicobacter pylori infection accelerates gastric dysplasia in a mouse modelHp infection was found to alter metaplasia and accelerate dysplasia in mice. Thus, Hp can promote gastric preneoplastic progression, in addition to its known role in initiating chronic inflammation.
Inhibiting the reproduction of SARS-CoV-2 through perturbations in human lung cell metabolic networkUsing genomic and structural information from SARS-CoV-2, we created a biomass function capturing its amino and nucleic acid requirements and incorporated this into a metabolic model of the human lung cell to predict metabolic perturbations that inhibit virus reproduction.
G-CSF shifts erythropoiesis from bone marrow into spleen in the setting of systemic inflammationGranulocyte colony-stimulating factor suppresses erythropoiesis of bone marrow and promotes splenic erythropoiesis during lipopolysaccharide-induced systemic inflammation in mice.
Characterization of ori and parS-like functions in secondary genome replicons in Deinococcus radioduransAn array of direct repeats upstream to parAB operon helps in secondary genome elements’ maintenance independent of primary chromosome in multipartite genome harboring bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans.
Leishmania-infected macrophages release extracellular vesicles that can promote lesion developmentMacrophages infected with Leishmania donovani release extracellular vesicles that are composed of parasite and host-derived molecules that have the potential to induce vascular changes in tissues.
Plasmodium DEH is ER-localized and crucial for oocyst mitotic division during malaria transmissionPlasmodium DEH localizes to the ER, with gene deletion resulting in degeneration of developing oocysts and complete ablation of sporogony in the mosquito midgut, blocking transmission.
Fungal mycelia and bacterial thiamine establish a mutualistic growth mechanismBacterial cells travel along fungal highway and pay thiamine as a toll to the fungus. Simultaneous spatial and metabolic interactions in communicating bacterial and fungal species establish a mutualism that facilitates them to obtain an environmental niche and nutrient.
The bacterial quorum sensing signal DSF hijacks Arabidopsis thaliana sterol biosynthesis to suppress plant innate immunityThis study highlights that DSF, the quorum sensing signal produced by bacterial phytopathogens, is able to directly modulate plant plasma membrane dynamics by interfering with host lipid profile and thereby, suppress plant immunity responses.