Publications by authors named "Danielle Antos"

Article Synopsis
  • Millions get influenza yearly, often complicated by secondary bacterial pneumonia, with inflammatory cytokines playing a role in susceptibility.
  • Nrf2, a key regulator of antioxidant and inflammatory responses, was studied using mice models to analyze its impact on influenza and Staphylococcus aureus superinfection.
  • Results showed that Nrf2 deficiency led to reduced flu severity and increased bacterial load, while enhancing regulatory T cell responses that improved survival time, despite the higher bacterial presence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Influenza infections result in a significant number of severe illnesses annually, many of which are complicated by secondary bacterial super-infection. Primary influenza infection has been shown to increase susceptibility to secondary methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection by altering the host immune response, leading to significant immunopathology. Type III interferons (IFNs), or IFNλs, have gained traction as potential antiviral therapeutics due to their restriction of viral replication without damaging inflammation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Children are susceptible to influenza infections and can experience severe disease presentation due to a lack of or limited pre-existing immunity. Despite the disproportionate impact influenza has on this population, there is a lack of focus on pediatric influenza research, particularly when it comes to identifying the pathogenesis of long-term outcomes that persist beyond the point of viral clearance. In this study, juvenile outbred male and female mice were infected with influenza and analyzed following viral clearance to determine how sex impacts the persistent inflammatory responses to influenza.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Respiratory virus infections result in millions of hospitalizations and can lead to long-lasting lung damage and inflammation.
  • A study using C57BL/6 mice infected with influenza showed that the mTORC1 inhibitor rapamycin, when administered after viral clearance, reduced persistent lung inflammation primarily driven by immune cells.
  • The findings suggest that targeting mTORC1 could be a potential treatment for chronic lung inflammation following respiratory viral infections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

CD8+ T cell dysfunction contributes to severe respiratory viral infection outcomes in older adults. CD8+ T cells are the primary cell type responsible for viral clearance. With increasing age, CD8+ T cell function declines in conjunction with an accumulation of cytotoxic tissue-resident memory (TRM) CD8+ T cells.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Interferon (IFN) plays a crucial role in antiviral immunity, particularly in the respiratory tract, where it's activated upon viral detection to curb virus transmission.
  • The IFNλ family has gained attention for its strong antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects against respiratory viruses but has shown complex and potentially harmful interactions with other types of pulmonary infections.
  • This review explores the function of IFNλs in various pulmonary infections, including viral, bacterial, and fungal, and discusses implications for future research in this area.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Influenza can lead to bacterial superinfections that severely harm the lungs and increase mortality risk, but prior exposure to influenza helps build immune memory in individuals.
  • Research using a model with different strains of influenza found that mice with previous influenza experience are more resistant to secondary bacterial infections, showing less illness and lung damage.
  • The study discovered changes in the lung's immune environment in these experienced mice, including increased specific CD8 T cells, which help reduce inflammation and protect the lungs from further bacterial invasion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - Influenza neuraminidase (NA) is crucial for the virus to exit infected cells, and its function relies on disulfide bonds, which may be facilitated by protein disulfide isomerase (PDI)A3.
  • - Researchers investigated the role of PDIA3 in the maturation and activity of NA using various assays, discovering that the interaction between NA and PDIA3 is essential for NA activity and overall viral propagation.
  • - The use of a PDI-specific inhibitor (LOC14) in mouse models showed reduced NA activity and viral burden, suggesting that targeting PDIA3 could be a new strategy for developing antiviral treatments against influenza.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Type III interferon, or interferon lambda (IFNλ) is a crucial antiviral cytokine induced by influenza infection. While IFNλ is important for anti-viral host defense, published data demonstrate that IFNλ is pathogenic during influenza/bacterial super-infection. It is known that polymorphisms in specific IFNλ genes affect influenza responses, but the effect of IFNλ subtypes on bacterial super-infection is unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Vaccines have played a pivotal role in improving public health, however, many infectious diseases lack an effective vaccine. Controlling the spread of infectious diseases requires continuing studies to develop new and improved vaccines. Our laboratory has been investigating the immune enhancing mechanisms of Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligand-based adjuvants, including the TLR2 ligand Neisseria meningitidis outer membrane protein, PorB.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Asthma is a highly prevalent, chronic respiratory disease that impacts millions of people worldwide and causes thousands of deaths every year. Asthmatics display different phenotypes with distinct genetic components, environmental causes, and immunopathologic signatures, and are broadly characterized into type 2-high or type 2-low (non-type 2) endotypes by linking clinical characteristics, steroid responsiveness, and molecular pathways. Regardless of asthma severity and adequate disease management, patients may experience acute exacerbations of symptoms and a loss of disease control, often triggered by respiratory infections.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Vaccines are arguably one of the greatest advancements in modern medicine. Subunit vaccines comprise the majority of current preparations and consist of two main components-antigen and adjuvant. The antigen is a small molecule against which the vaccine induces an immune response to provide protection via the immunostimulatory ability of the adjuvant.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF