Determination of modifiable risk factors for length-for-age z-scores among resource-poor Indonesian infants.

To reduce the burden of early-life linear growth faltering in low- and middle-income countries, interventions have focused on nutrition strategies, sometimes combined with water quality, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). However, even when combined, their effects on linear growth have been inconsistent. Here, we investigate potential predictors of length-for-age z-scores (LAZ) in a cohort of resource-poor rural Indonesian infants to inform the optimal strategies to reduce linear growth faltering.

Inhibition of Amebic Cysteine Proteases Blocks Amebic Trogocytosis but Not Phagocytosis.

Background: Entamoeba histolytica kills human cells by ingesting fragments of live cells until the cell eventually dies, a process termed amebic trogocytosis. In a previous study, we showed that acidified amebic lysosomes are required for both amebic trogocytosis and phagocytosis, as well as cell killing.

Methods: Amebic cysteine proteases (CPs) were inhibited using an irreversible inhibitor, E-64d.

Genetic Diversity of Cryptosporidium hominis in a Bangladeshi Community as Revealed by Whole-Genome Sequencing.

We studied the genetic diversity of Cryptosporidium hominis infections in slum-dwelling infants from Dhaka over a 2-year period. Cryptosporidium hominis infections were common during the monsoon, and were genetically diverse as measured by gp60 genotyping and whole-genome resequencing. Recombination in the parasite was evidenced by the decay of linkage disequilibrium in the genome over <300 bp.

Inhibition of Amebic Lysosomal Acidification Blocks Amebic Trogocytosis and Cell Killing.

ingests fragments of live host cells in a nibbling-like process termed amebic trogocytosis. Amebic trogocytosis is required for cell killing and contributes to tissue invasion, which is a hallmark of invasive amebic colitis. Work done prior to the discovery of amebic trogocytosis showed that acid vesicles are required for amebic cytotoxicity.

Exploring the role of environmental enteropathy in malnutrition, infant development and oral vaccine response.

Environmental enteropathy (EE) is a poorly defined state of intestinal inflammation without overt diarrhoea that occurs in individuals exposed over time to poor sanitation and hygiene. It is characterized pathologically by small intestine villous blunting and inflammation. In children from low-income countries, it is implicated as a cause of malnutrition, oral vaccine failure and impaired cognitive development.

High-level secretion of recombinant monomeric murine and human single-chain Fv antibodies from Drosophila S2 cells.

Single-chain variable fragment (scFvs) antibodies are small polypeptides (∼26 kD) containing the heavy (V(H)) and light (V(L)) immunoglobulin domains of a parent antibody connected by a flexible linker. In addition to being frequently used in diagnostics and therapy for an increasing number of human diseases, scFvs are important tools for structural biology as crystallization chaperones. Although scFvs can be expressed in many different organisms, the expression level of an scFv strongly depends on its particular amino acid sequence.

Studies of the "chain reversal regions" of the avian sarcoma/leukosis virus (ASLV) and ebolavirus fusion proteins: analogous residues are important, and a His residue unique to EnvA affects the pH dependence of ASLV entry.

Most class I fusion proteins exist as trimers of dimers composed of a receptor binding and a fusion subunit. In their postfusion forms, the three fusion subunits form trimers of hairpins consisting of a central coiled coil (formed by the N-terminal helices), an intervening sequence, and a region containing the C helix (and flanking strands) that runs antiparallel to and packs in the grooves of the N-terminal coiled coil. For filoviruses and most retroviruses, the intervening sequence includes a "chain reversal region" consisting of a short stretch of hydrophobic residues, a Gly-Gly pair, a CX(6)CC motif, and a bulky hydrophobic residue.