Protective role of macrophages from maternal-fetal interface in unvaccinated coronavirus disease 2019 pregnant women.

Pregnant women represent a high-risk population for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 has been reported in placenta from infected pregnant women, but whether the virus influences placenta immune response remains unclear. We investigated the properties of maternal-fetal interface macrophages (MFMs) in a cohort of unvaccinated women who contracted coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during their pregnancy.

Pan-microscopic examination of monkeypox virus in trophoblasts cells reveals new insights into virions release through filopodia-like projections.

Vertical transmission has been described following monkeypox virus (MPXV) infection in pregnant women. The presence of MPXV has been reported in the placenta from infected women, but whether pathogens colonize placenta remains unexplored. We identify trophoblasts as a target cell for MPXV replication.

Evidence of a tolerogenic vaccine against AIDS in the Chinese macaque prefigures a potential human vaccine.

In 2006 we discovered a new type of mucosal vaccine against simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in Chinese macaques. Here, we review 15 years of our published work on this vaccine, which consists of inactivated SIVmac239 particles adjuvanted with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, Lactobacillus plantarum, or Lactobacillus rhamnosus. Without adjuvant, the vaccine administered by the intragastric route induced the usual SIV-specific humoral and cellular immune responses but provided no protection against intrarectal challenge with SIVmac239.

White-handed gibbons discriminate context-specific song compositions.

White-handed gibbons produce loud and acoustically complex songs when interacting with their neighbours or when encountering predators. In both contexts, songs are assembled from a small number of units although their composition differs in context-specific ways. Here, we investigated whether wild gibbons could infer the 'meaning' when hearing exemplars recorded in both contexts (i.

Transcription pattern of reproduction relevant genes along the brain-pituitary-gonad axis of female, male and intersex thicklip grey mullets, Chelon labrosus, from a polluted harbor.

The reproductive cycle of teleost fishes is regulated by the brain-pituitary-gonad (BPG) axis. The transcription profile of genes involved in the reproduction signalling in the BPG-axis differs in females and males during the gametogenic cycle. Impacts of endocrine disrupting chemicals on these signalling pathways in fish are known, but the participation of the BPG-axis in the development of the intersex condition is not well understood.

Chronic administration of minoxidil protects elastic fibers and stimulates their neosynthesis with improvement of the aorta mechanics in mice.

Arterial wall elastic fibers, made of 90% elastin, are arranged into elastic lamellae which are responsible for the resilience and elastic properties of the large arteries (aorta and its proximal branches). Elastin is synthesized only in early life and adolescence mainly by the vascular smooth muscles cells (VSMC) through the cross-linking of its soluble precursor, tropoelastin. In normal aging, the elastic fibers become fragmented and the mechanical load is transferred to collagen fibers, which are 100-1000 times stiffer than elastic fibers.

Expression and purification of recombinant extracellular sulfatase HSulf-2 allows deciphering of enzyme sub-domain coordinated role for the binding and 6-O-desulfation of heparan sulfate.

Through their ability to edit 6-O-sulfation pattern of Heparan sulfate (HS) polysaccharides, Sulf extracellular endosulfatases have emerged as critical regulators of many biological processes, including tumor progression. However, study of Sulfs remains extremely intricate and progress in characterizing their functional and structural features has been hampered by limited access to recombinant enzyme. In this study, we unlock this critical bottleneck, by reporting an efficient expression and purification system of recombinant HSulf-2 in mammalian HEK293 cells.

Phage-displayed peptides targeting specific tissues and organs.

Phage display is a powerful and widely used technique to find novel peptide ligands. A massive amount of peptide sequences have been identified for all kinds of materials, and peptides that may have targeting capabilities towards specific cells and tissues have received special attention in biomedical sciences. As a result, it is increasingly harder to follow all the work that has been done, which sometimes leads to many promising ligands receiving little attention, together with the publication of false positives that have already been found.

A 30-year journey of trial and error towards a tolerogenic AIDS vaccine.

Since 1985, we have tested several immunological approaches to suppressing HIV replication in HIV-infected patients and to prevent HIV acquisition in uninfected people. Here, after briefly reviewing our studies on immunosuppressive treatments and therapeutic dendritic cell-based therapies, we examine in more detail our work on the tolerogenic vaccines we developed against AIDS in Chinese macaques. The vaccine consisted of inactivated SIVmac239 particles adjuvanted with the Bacillus of Calmette and Guerin (BCG), Lactobacillus plantarum (LP), or Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LR).

Intragastric Administration of Lactobacillus plantarum and 2,2'-Dithiodipyridine-Inactivated Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) Does Not Protect Indian Rhesus Macaques from Intrarectal SIV Challenge or Reduce Virus Replication after Transmission.

A major obstacle to development of an effective AIDS vaccine is that along with the intended beneficial responses, the immunization regimen may activate CD4 T cells that can facilitate acquisition of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by serving as target cells for the virus. Lu et al. (W.

Quantifying intracellular equilibrium dissociation constants using single-channel time-resolved FRET.

Quantification of the intracellular equilibrium dissociation constant of the interaction, K , is challenging due to the variability of the relative concentrations of the interacting proteins in the cell. Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) of the donor provides an accurate measurement of the molecular fraction of donor involved in FRET, but the fraction of bound acceptor is also needed to reliably estimate K . We present a method that exploits the spectroscopic properties of the widely used eGFP - mCherry FRET pair to rigorously determine the intracellular K based on imaging the fluorescence lifetime of only the donor (single-channel FLIM).

A Two-component NADPH Oxidase (NOX)-like System in Bacteria Is Involved in the Electron Transfer Chain to the Methionine Sulfoxide Reductase MsrP.

MsrPQ is a newly identified methionine sulfoxide reductase system found in bacteria, which appears to be specifically involved in the repair of periplasmic proteins oxidized by hypochlorous acid. It involves two proteins: a periplasmic one, MsrP, previously named YedY, carrying out the Msr activity, and MsrQ, an integral b-type heme membrane-spanning protein, which acts as the specific electron donor to MsrP. MsrQ, previously named YedZ, was mainly characterized by bioinformatics as a member of the FRD superfamily of heme-containing membrane proteins, which include the NADPH oxidase proteins (NOX/DUOX).

Suppression of HIV Replication by CD8(+) Regulatory T-Cells in Elite Controllers.

We previously demonstrated in the Chinese macaque model that an oral vaccine made of inactivated SIV and Lactobacillus plantarum induced CD8(+) regulatory T-cells, which suppressed the activation of SIV(+)CD4(+) T-cells, prevented SIV replication, and protected macaques from SIV challenges. Here, we sought whether a similar population of CD8(+) T-regs would induce the suppression of HIV replication in elite controllers (ECs), a small population (3‰) of HIV-infected patients with undetectable HIV replication. For that purpose, we investigated the in vitro antiviral activity of fresh CD8(+) T-cells on HIV-infected CD4(+) T-cells taken from 10 ECs.

Informed horses are influential in group movements, but they may avoid leading.

In species that move in cohesive groups, animals generally reach decisions through socially distributed processes, and individual knowledge is expected to influence collective decision making. Pooling of information should not be considered a general rule, however, since conflicts of interest may occur between group members. When resources are limited or highly attractive, higher-ranking individuals can prevent others from accessing food, and subordinates may have an interest in withholding information about its location.

[Ethics and solitary confinement in psychiatry].

The decision to treat a patient in solitary confinement in psychiatry does not follow any protocol and is not made on a case-by-case basis. Team deliberation opens discussion and enables the group as a whole to take responsibility for clarifying what is to be supported by the team and implemented by the carer during treatment. When presented with complex situations, uncertainty can be a force when it calls upon an ethical dilemma.

Evolving molecular epidemiological profile of human immunodeficiency virus 1 in the southwest border of China.

Background: We have previously reported in Xishuangbanna (Banna) Dai Autonomous Prefecture, a well-developed tourist destination in the southwest border of China, that HIV-1 transmitted dominantly through heterosexual contact with less divergent genotypes and few drug resistant mutations. Due to the rapid increase of newly diagnosed HIV-1 cases per year in Banna in recent years, it's important to evaluate the evolution of HIV-1 molecular epidemiology for the better understanding of ongoing HIV-1 outbreak in this region.

Methodology/principal Findings: By sequencing of HIV-1 pol genes and phylogenetic analysis, we conducted a molecular epidemiologic study in 352 HIV-1-seropositive highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART)-naïve individuals newly diagnosed at the Banna Center for Disease Control and Prevention between 2009 and 2011.

The TET2 and TET3 aminopeptidases from Pyrococcus horikoshii form a hetero-subunit peptidasome with enhanced peptide destruction properties.

TET aminopeptidases assemble as large homo-dodecameric complexes. The reason why prokaryotic genomes often encode a diverse set of TET peptidases homologues remains unclear. In the archaeon Pyrococcus horikoshii, PhTET1, PhTET2 and PhTET3 homo-oligomeric particles have been proposed to work in concert to breakdown intracellular polypeptides.

Agar-supported cultivation of Halorubrum sp. SSR, and production of halocin C8 on the scale-up prototype Platotex.

Halorubrum sp. SSR was isolated from a solar saltern in Algeria. The strain exhibited a high antibiotic activity against the indicator strain Natronorubrum aibiense G23, and the bioactive compound showed thermal, acid and alkali stability.

Mucosal SIV Vaccines Comprising Inactivated Virus Particles and Bacterial Adjuvants Induce CD8(+) T-Regulatory Cells that Suppress SIV-Positive CD4(+) T-Cell Activation and Prevent SIV Infection in the Macaque Model.

A new paradigm of mucosal vaccination against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has been investigated in the macaque model. A vaccine consisting of inactivated simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)mac239 particles together with a living bacterial adjuvant (either the Calmette and Guerin bacillus, Lactobacillus plantarum or Lactobacillus rhamnosus) was administered to macaques via the vaginal or oral/intragastric route. In contrast to all established human and veterinary vaccines, these three vaccine regimens did not elicit SIV-specific antibodies nor cytotoxic T-lymphocytes but induced a previously unrecognized population of non-cytolytic MHCIb/E-restricted CD8(+) T-regulatory cells that suppressed the activation of SIV-positive CD4(+) T-lymphocytes.

Heteromeric complexes of native collectin kidney 1 and collectin liver 1 are found in the circulation with MASPs and activate the complement system.

The complement system is an important part of the innate immune system. The complement cascade may be initiated downstream of the lectin activation pathway upon binding of mannan-binding lectin, ficolins, or collectin kidney 1 (CL-K1, alias CL-11) to suitable microbial patterns consisting of carbohydrates or acetylated molecules. During purification and characterization of native CL-K1 from plasma, we observed that collectin liver 1 (CL-L1) was copurified.

Electrosynthesis of imidazolium carboxylates.

Synthesis of imidazolium carboxylate compounds was efficiently achieved by electrochemical reduction of imidazolium precursors under very mild conditions.