Prolonged coronavirus disease 2019 may generate new viral variants. We report an immunocompromised patient treated with monoclonal antibodies who experienced rebound of viral RNA and emergence of an antibody-resistant (>1000-fold) variant containing 5 mutations in the spike gene. The mutant virus was isolated from respiratory secretions, suggesting the potential for secondary transmission.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInvest Ophthalmol Vis Sci
February 2023
Purpose: Corynebacterium spp. are Gram-positive bacteria commonly associated with the ocular surface. Corynebacterium mastitidis was isolated from mouse eyes and was demonstrated to induce a beneficial immune response that can protect the eye from pathogenic infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMutations in the spike glycoproteins of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern have independently been shown to enhance aspects of spike protein fitness. Here, we describe an antibody fragment (V ab6) that neutralizes all major variants including the recently emerged BA.1 and BA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) requires the development of next-generation biologics with high neutralization breadth. Here, we characterized a human V domain, F6, which we generated by sequentially panning large phage-displayed V libraries against receptor binding domains (RBDs) containing VOC mutations. Cryo-EM analyses reveal that F6 has a unique binding mode that spans a broad surface of the RBD and involves the antibody framework region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTunable control of gene expression is an invaluable tool for biological experiments. In this study, we describe a new xylose-inducible promoter system and evaluate it in both and The promoter, derived from the operon, was incorporated into a broad-host-range pBBR1-based plasmid and was compared to the -derived promoter using as a reporter. Green fluorescent protein (GFP) fluorescence from the promoter was inducible in both species, but not in , which may facilitate the cloning of genes toxic to to generate plasmids.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReactivation of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) from neurons in sensory ganglia such as the trigeminal ganglia (TG) is influenced by virus-specific CD8 T cells that infiltrate the ganglia at the onset of latency and contract to a stable activated tissue-resident memory population. In C57BL/6 mice, half of HSV-specific CD8 T cells (gB-CD8s) recognize one dominant epitope (residues 498 to 505) on glycoprotein B (gB), while the remainder (non-gB-CD8s) recognize 19 subdominant epitopes from 12 viral proteins. To address how expression by HSV-1 influences the formation and ganglionic retention of CD8 T cell populations, we developed recombinant HSV-1 with the native immunodominant gB epitope disrupted but then expressed ectopically from different viral promoters.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHerpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) causes a lifelong infection of neurons that innervate barrier sites like the skin and mucosal surfaces like the eye. After primary infection of the cornea, the virus enters latency within the trigeminal ganglion (TG), from which it can reactivate throughout the life of the host. Viral latency is maintained, in part, by virus-specific CD8 T cells that nonlethally interact with infected neurons.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHerpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) latency in sensory ganglia such as trigeminal ganglia (TG) is associated with a persistent immune infiltrate that includes effector memory CD8+ T cells that can influence HSV-1 reactivation. In C57BL/6 mice, HSV-1 induces a highly skewed CD8+ T cell repertoire, in which half of CD8+ T cells (gB-CD8s) recognize a single epitope on glycoprotein B (gB498-505), while the remainder (non-gB-CD8s) recognize, in varying proportions, 19 subdominant epitopes on 12 viral proteins. The gB-CD8s remain functional in TG throughout latency, while non-gB-CD8s exhibit varying degrees of functional compromise.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHSV-1 infections of the cornea range in severity from minor transient discomfort to the blinding disease herpes stromal keratitis, yet most patients experience a single episode of epithelial keratitis followed by re-establishment of a clear cornea. We asked whether a single transient episode of HSV-1 epithelial keratitis causes long-term changes in the corneal microenvironment that influence immune responses to subsequent corneal infection or trauma. We showed that C57BL/6 mouse corneas infected with HSV-1 KOS, which induces transient herpes epithelial keratitis without herpes stromal keratitis sequelae, possessed a significant leukocytic infiltrate composed primarily of CD4 T cells and macrophages along with elevated chemokines and cytokines that persisted without loss of corneal clarity (subclinical inflammation).
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