Publications by authors named "Andrew J Easton"

Article Synopsis
  • In April 2023, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) approved changes to the phylum's classification during their annual vote.
  • The update included the addition of one new family, 14 new genera, and 140 new species.
  • Additionally, the taxonomy featured the renaming of two genera and 538 species, along with the removal of one species and the abolition of four others.
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The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic commenced in 2019 and is still ongoing. Neither infection nor vaccination give long-lasting immunity and, here, in an attempt to understand why this might be, we have compared the neutralizing antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 with those specific for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Currently, most of the antibodies specific for the SARS-CoV-2 S protein map to three broad antigenic sites, all at the distal end of the S trimer (receptor-binding site (RBD), sub-RBD and N-terminal domain), whereas the structurally similar HIV-1 and the RSV F envelope proteins have six antigenic sites.

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Article Synopsis
  • * It was expanded to include two new families, 41 new genera, and 98 new species, along with reclassifications for 349 species.
  • * The article details the updated taxonomy of Negarnaviricota, including corrections of misspelled names for seven species.
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Article Synopsis
  • - In March 2021, the ICTV updated the phylum Negarnaviricota by officially ratifying new taxonomy changes.
  • - The revision included the addition of four families, three subfamilies, 42 genera, and 200 species, along with several renaming and abolishing of species.
  • - This article outlines the newly accepted taxonomic structure of Negarnaviricota following the ICTV's decisions.
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The agricultural sector is currently facing many global challenges, such as climate change, and environmental problems such as the release of pesticides and fertilizers, which will be exacerbated in the face of population growth and food shortages. Therefore, the need to change traditional farming methods and replace them with new technologies is essential, and the application of nanotechnology, especially green technology offers considerable promise in alleviating these problems. Nanotechnology has led to changes and advances in many technologies and has the potential to transform various fields of the agricultural sector, including biosensors, pesticides, fertilizers, food packaging and other areas of the agricultural industry.

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Exploration of the efficiency of metal nanoparticles as adjuvants have reported varying results. The efficacy of metal nanoparticles as adjuvants was investigated Database were searched using the terms 'metal nanoparticles' and 'vaccines'. Studies in animal models utilizing any metal-based vaccines, where the survival rate was described.

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Virus-like particles (VLPs) are virus-derived structures made up of one or more different molecules with the ability to self-assemble, mimicking the form and size of a virus particle but lacking the genetic material so they are not capable of infecting the host cell. Expression and self-assembly of the viral structural proteins can take place in various living or cell-free expression systems after which the viral structures can be assembled and reconstructed. VLPs are gaining in popularity in the field of preventive medicine and to date, a wide range of VLP-based candidate vaccines have been developed for immunization against various infectious agents, the latest of which is the vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the efficacy of which is being evaluated.

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Article Synopsis
  • In March 2020, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) made updates to the taxonomic classification of the phylum Negarnaviricota.
  • The revisions included adding 20 new genera, deleting 2, moving 1, and renaming 3 at the genus level, along with significant changes at the species level, such as adding 160 species.
  • The article provides the latest accepted taxonomy for Negarnaviricota as ratified by the ICTV.
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Type-2 immunity is characterised by interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5 and IL-13, eosinophilia, mucus production, IgE, and alternatively activated macrophages (AAM). However, despite the lack of neutrophil chemoattractants such as CXCL1, neutrophils, a feature of type-1 immunity, are observed in type-2 responses. Consequently, alternative mechanisms must exist to ensure that neutrophils can contribute to type-2 immune reactions without escalation of deleterious inflammation.

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In February 2019, following the annual taxon ratification vote, the order Mononegavirales was amended by the addition of four new subfamilies and 12 new genera and the creation of 28 novel species. This article presents the updated taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales as now accepted by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV).

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In October 2018, the order Mononegavirales was amended by the establishment of three new families and three new genera, abolishment of two genera, and creation of 28 novel species. This article presents the updated taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales as now accepted by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV).

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In 2018, the order Mononegavirales was expanded by inclusion of 1 new genus and 12 novel species. This article presents the updated taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales as now accepted by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) and summarizes additional taxonomic proposals that may affect the order in the near future.

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The live attenuated influenza vaccine FluMist was withdrawn in the USA by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after its failure to provide adequate protective immunity during 2013-2016. The vaccine uses attenuated core type A and type B viruses, reconfigured each year to express the two major surface antigens of the currently circulating viruses. Here Fluenz™ Tetra, the European version of this vaccine, was examined directly for defective-interfering (DI) viral RNAs.

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Background: Defective interfering (DI) viruses are natural antivirals made by nearly all viruses. They have a highly deleted genome (thus being non-infectious) and interfere with the replication of genetically related infectious viruses. We have produced the first potential therapeutic DI virus for the clinic by cloning an influenza A DI RNA (1/244) which was derived naturally from genome segment 1.

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Pneumonia virus of mice (PVM) infection has been widely used as a rodent model to study the closely related human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV). While T cells are indispensable for viral clearance, they also contribute to immunopathology. To gain more insight into mechanistic details, novel tools are needed that allow to study virus-specific T cells in C57BL/6 mice as the majority of transgenic mice are only available on this background.

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In 2017, the order Mononegavirales was expanded by the inclusion of a total of 69 novel species. Five new rhabdovirus genera and one new nyamivirus genus were established to harbor 41 of these species, whereas the remaining new species were assigned to already established genera. Furthermore, non-Latinized binomial species names replaced all paramyxovirus and pneumovirus species names, thereby accomplishing application of binomial species names throughout the entire order.

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Botanical, mycological, zoological, and prokaryotic species names follow the Linnaean format, consisting of an italicized Latinized binomen with a capitalized genus name and a lower case species epithet (e.g., Homo sapiens).

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Defective interfering (DI) viruses arise during the replication of influenza A virus and contain a non-infective version of the genome that is able to interfere with the production of infectious virus. In this study we hypothesise that a cloned DI influenza A virus RNA may prevent infection of human respiratory epithelial cells with infection by influenza A. The DI RNA (244/PR8) was derived by a natural deletion process from segment 1 of influenza A/PR/8/34 (H1N1); it comprises 395 nucleotides and is packaged in the DI virion in place of a full-length genome segment 1.

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In 2016, the order Mononegavirales was emended through the addition of two new families (Mymonaviridae and Sunviridae), the elevation of the paramyxoviral subfamily Pneumovirinae to family status (Pneumoviridae), the addition of five free-floating genera (Anphevirus, Arlivirus, Chengtivirus, Crustavirus, and Wastrivirus), and several other changes at the genus and species levels. This article presents the updated taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales as now accepted by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV).

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Rationale: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a highly contagious pathogen with a huge global health impact. It is a major cause of hospital-acquired infection; a large number of those exposed develop infection. Those infected in hospital are at increased risk of a severe clinical course.

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Pneumonia virus of mice (PVM) infection of BALB/c mice induces bronchiolitis leading to a fatal pneumonia in a dose-dependent manner, closely paralleling the development of severe disease during human respiratory syncytial virus infection in man, and is thus a recognised model in which to study the pathogenesis of pneumoviruses. This model system was used to investigate delivery of the internal structural proteins of PVM as a potential vaccination strategy to protect against pneumovirus disease. Replication-deficient recombinant human adenovirus serotype 5 (rAd5) vectors were constructed that expressed the M or N gene of PVM pathogenic strain J3666.

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Defective interfering (DI) genomes are characterised by their ability to interfere with the replication of the virus from which they were derived, and other genetically compatible viruses. DI genomes are synthesized by nearly all known viruses and represent a vast natural reservoir of antivirals that can potentially be exploited for use in the clinic. This review describes the application of DI virus to protect from virus-associated diseases in vivo using as an example a highly active cloned influenza A DI genome and virus that protects broadly in preclinical trials against different subtypes of influenza A and against non-influenza A respiratory viruses.

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