Adaptive evolution of SARS-CoV-2 during a persistent infection for 521 days in an immunocompromised patient.

Immunocompromised patients struggle to adequately clear viral infections, offering the virus the opportunity to adapt to the immune system in the host. Here we present a case study of a patient undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with a 521-day follow-up of a SARS-CoV-2 infection with the BF.7.

The Autophagy Receptor /p62 Is a Restriction Factor of HCMV Infection.

(1) Background: Intrinsic defense mechanisms are pivotal host strategies to restrict viruses already at early stages of their infection. Here, we addressed the question of how the autophagy receptor sequestome 1 (/p62, hereafter referred to as p62) interferes with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. (2) Methods: CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing, mass spectrometry and the expression of p62 phosphovariants from recombinant HCMVs were used to address the role of p62 during infection.

Nanopore adaptive sampling of a metagenomic sample derived from a human monkeypox case.

In 2022, a series of human monkeypox cases in multiple countries led to the largest and most widespread outbreak outside the known endemic areas. Setup of proper genomic surveillance is of utmost importance to control such outbreaks. To this end, we performed Nanopore (PromethION P24) and Illumina (NextSeq.

Subviral Dense Bodies of Human Cytomegalovirus Enhance Interferon-Beta Responses in Infected Cells and Impair Progeny Production.

(1) Background: Infection with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) leads to the production and release of subviral particles, termed Dense Bodies (DB). They are enclosed by a membrane resembling the viral envelope. This membrane mediates the entrance of DBs into cells in a way that is comparable to virus infection.