Blood-based biomarkers investigation does not require invasive tissue biopsies and may explore diverse tumoral components such as proteins, microRNAs, circulating tumor cells, ctDNA, and exosomes and may better reflect tumor molecular heterogeneity, either temporal or spatial. ctDNA is related to tumor burden and represents a more objective measure of the total body disease burden than imaging findings. ctDNA profiling can be therefore useful to determine minimal residual disease (MRD), which is defined as the remaining tumor cells or tumor-derived material after definitive treatment in patients with no clinical evidence of disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, resulted in global health and economic crisis at an exceptional level. The high transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2, a lack of population immunity, and the prevalence of severe clinical outcomes created a need for the rapid development of effective therapeutic countermeasures. Sybodies, or synthetic nanobodies, are a novel and unique class of synthetic antigen-binding fragments ideal for large-scale production.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and influenza viruses lead to severe respiratory illnesses and death in humans, exacerbated in individuals with underlying health conditions, remaining substantial global public health concerns. Here, we developed a bivalent replication-incompetent single-cycle pseudotyped vesicular stomatitis virus vaccine that incorporates both a prefusion-stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike protein lacking a furin cleavage site and a full-length influenza A virus neuraminidase protein. Vaccination of K18-hACE2 or C57BL/6J mouse models generated durable levels of neutralizing antibodies, T cell responses, and protection from morbidity and mortality upon challenge with either virus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThiyl radicals are important reactive sulfur species and can cause cis to trans isomerization on unsaturated fatty acids. However, biocompatible strategies for the controlled generation of thiyl radicals are still lacking. In this work, we report the study of a series of naphthacyl-derived thioethers as photo-triggered thiyl radical precursors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: A novel Hendra virus (HeV) genotype (HeV genotype 2 [HeV-g2]) was recently isolated from a deceased horse, revealing high-sequence conservation and antigenic similarities with the prototypic strain, HeV-g1. As the receptor-binding (G) and fusion (F) glycoproteins of HeV are essential for mediating viral entry, functional characterization of emerging HeV genotypic variants is key to understanding viral entry mechanisms and broader virus-host co-evolution. We first confirmed that HeV-g2 and HeV-g1 glycoproteins share a close phylogenetic relationship, underscoring HeV-g2's relevance to global health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnderstanding the fundamental biochemical and metabolic requirements for the replication of coronaviruses within infected cells is of notable interest for the development of broad-based therapeutic strategies, given the likelihood of the emergence of new pandemic-potential virus species, as well as future variants of SARS-CoV-2. Here we demonstrate members of the glutaminase family of enzymes (GLS and GLS2), which catalyze the hydrolysis of glutamine to glutamate (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) increases oxygen concentration in affected tissues that enhance the cellular hypoxia recovery process, neovascularization, fibroblast proliferation, increased reactive oxygen species, suppression of proinflammatory states, and vascular compression. The aim of this article is to demonstrate the experience in the use of the hyperbaric chamber as an adjunctive management for the prompt recovery of patients who underwent aesthetic plastic surgery.
Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted between 2021 and 2023, involving 296 patients who received HBOT after aesthetic surgical procedures, to demonstrate the recuperation time rate and the complication incidence in postoperative patients using HBOT.
UV-stabilizers are a class of additives that provide extended polymer resistance to UV-degradation, but have also been suggested to have antimicrobial activity, potentially preventing the spread of pathogens, and inhibiting microbial-induced biodegradation. In this work, we incorporated different UV-stabilizers, a hindered amine light stabilizer (HALS), Tinuvin 770 DF and Tinuvin PA 123, or a hybrid HALS/UV-absorber, Tinuvin 5151, in polyurethane formulations to produce lacquer-films, and tested their antimicrobial activity against (methicillin-resistant and -sensitive strains), and . Lacquer-films incorporated with Tinuvin 770 DF showed strong antimicrobial performance against bacteria and fungi, while maintaining cytocompatibility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn intermediate virus-cell fusion step is revealed by an antibody with therapeutic potential.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe ancestral gamete fusion protein, HAP2/GCS1, plays an essential role in fertilization in a broad range of taxa. To identify factors that may regulate HAP2/GCS1 activity, we screened mutants of the ciliate for behaviors that mimic knockout phenotypes in this species. Using this approach, we identified two new genes, and , whose products are necessary for membrane pore formation following mating type recognition and adherence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCOVID-19 can cause neurological symptoms such as fever, dizziness, and nausea. However, such neurological symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been hardly assessed in mouse models. In this study, we infected two commonly used wild-type mouse lines (C57BL/6J and 129/SvEv) and a 129S calcitonin gene-related peptide (αCGRP) null-line with mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 and demonstrated neurological signs including fever, dizziness, and nausea.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Lipoabdominoplasty is one of the most common abdominal body contouring procedures performed today; however, it carries the risk of significant complications. Pneumothorax is a rare complication of liposuction, while, venous thromboembolism has a low short-term mortality and long-term morbidity.
Presentation Of Case: A 57-year-old woman with a history of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, and severe COVID-19 three years earlier.
Abdominal wall defects encompass a broad spectrum of musculo-fasciocutaneous anomalies. We present case of a 42-year-old woman with a history of multimorbidity and bilateral subcostal scars. The patient underwent incisional ventral hernia repair and abdominoplasty performed by a general surgeon at another institution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is causing the ongoing global pandemic associated with morbidity and mortality in humans. Although disease severity correlates with immune dysregulation, the cellular mechanisms of inflammation and pathogenesis of COVID-19 remain relatively poorly understood. Here, we used mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 strain MA10 to investigate the role of adaptive immune cells in disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCOVID-19 can result in neurological symptoms such as fever, headache, dizziness, and nausea. However, neurological signs of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been hardly assessed in mouse models. Here, we infected two commonly used wildtype mice lines (C57BL/6 and 129S) with mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 and demonstrated neurological signs including motion-related dizziness.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParamyxoviruses are a family of single-stranded negative-sense RNA viruses, many of which are responsible for a range of respiratory and neurological diseases in humans and animals. Among the most notable are the henipaviruses, which include the deadly Nipah (NiV) and Hendra (HeV) viruses, the causative agents of outbreaks of severe disease and high case fatality rates in humans and animals. NiV and HeV are maintained in fruit bat reservoirs primarily in the family and spillover into humans directly or by an intermediate amplifying host such as swine or horses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTarget proteins that lack accessible binding pockets and conformational stability have posed increasing challenges for drug development. Induced proximity strategies, such as PROTACs and molecular glues, have thus gained attention as pharmacological alternatives, but still require small molecule docking at binding pockets for targeted protein degradation. The computational design of protein-based binders presents unique opportunities to access "undruggable" targets, but have often relied on stable 3D structures or structure-influenced latent spaces for effective binder generation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNewtown Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River Estuary. It has a legacy of both industrial pollution and sewage pollution and has been designated a Superfund site. To ameliorate the chronically low levels of dissolved oxygen detected in the Creek, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection has been installing aerators.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPathology studies of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants of concern (VOC) are challenged by the lack of pathogenic animal models. While Omicron BA.1 and BA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLOS Glob Public Health
September 2023
Methods Mol Biol
September 2023
Henipaviruses include the deadly zoonotic Nipah (NiV) and Hendra (HeV) paramyxoviruses, which have caused recurring outbreaks in human populations. A hallmark of henipavirus infection is the induction of cell-cell fusion (syncytia), caused by the expression of the attachment (G) and fusion (F) glycoproteins on the surface of infected cells. The interactions of G and F with each other and with receptors on cellular plasma membranes drive both viral entry and syncytia formation and are thus of great interest.
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