Lipoarabinomannan modification as a source of phenotypic heterogeneity in host-adapted isolates.

is increasingly recognized as the causative agent of chronic pulmonary infections in humans. One of the genes found to be under strong evolutionary pressure during adaptation of to the human lung is which encodes an arabinosyltransferase required for the biosynthesis of the cell envelope lipoglycan, lipoarabinomannan (LAM). To assess the impact of patient-derived mutations on the physiology and virulence of , mutations were introduced in the isogenic background of ATCC 19977 and the resulting strains probed for phenotypic changes in a variety of in vitro and host cell-based assays relevant to infection.

Human mRNA in saliva can correctly identify individuals harboring acute infection.

There are a variety of clinical and laboratory criteria available to clinicians in controlled healthcare settings to help them identify whether an infectious disease is present. However, in situations such as a new epidemic caused by an unknown infectious agent, in health screening contexts performed within communities and outside of healthcare facilities or in battlefield or potential biowarfare situations, this gets more difficult. Pathogen-agnostic methods for rapid screening and triage of large numbers of people for infection status are needed, in particular methods that might work on an easily accessible biospecimen like saliva.

Nicotine has no significant cytoprotective activity against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

When coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) became a pandemic, one of most important questions was whether people who smoke are at more risk of COVID-19 infection. A number of clinical data have been reported in the literature so far, but controversy exists in the collection and interpretation of the data. Particularly, there is a controversial hypothesis that nicotine might be able to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Expression of fatty acid synthase genes and their role in development and arboviral infection of Aedes aegypti.

Background: Fatty acids are the building blocks of complex lipids essential for living organisms. In mosquitoes, fatty acids are involved in cell membrane production, energy conservation and expenditure, innate immunity, development and reproduction. Fatty acids are synthesized by a multifunctional enzyme complex called fatty acid synthase (FAS).

2-Aminoimidazoles Inhibit Biofilms in a Zinc-Dependent Manner.

Biofilm growth is thought to be a significant obstacle to the successful treatment of infections. A search for agents capable of inhibiting biofilms led to our interest in 2-aminoimidazoles and related scaffolds, which have proven to display antibiofilm properties against a number of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, including and . The screening of a library of 30 compounds led to the identification of a compound, AB-2-29, which inhibits the formation of biofilms with an IC (the concentration required to inhibit 50% of biofilm formation) in the range of 12.

Acyl-Coa Thioesterases: A Rheostat That Controls Activated Fatty Acids Modulates Dengue Virus Serotype 2 Replication.

During infection with dengue viruses (DENVs), the lipid landscape within host cells is significantly altered to assemble membrane platforms that support viral replication and particle assembly. Fatty acyl-CoAs are key intermediates in the biosynthesis of complex lipids that form these membranes. They also function as key signaling lipids in the cell.

Safety study of Rift Valley Fever human vaccine candidate (DDVax) in mosquitoes.

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne pathogen with significant human and veterinary health consequences that periodically emerges in epizootics. RVFV causes fetal loss and death in ruminants and in humans can lead to liver and renal disease, delayed-onset encephalitis, retinitis, and in some cases severe haemorrhagic fever. A live attenuated vaccine candidate (DDVax), was developed by the deletion of the virulence factors NSs and NSm from a clinical isolate, ZH501, and has proven safe and immunogenic in rodents, pregnant sheep and non-human primates.

Unique Features of Biofilms Formed in Synthetic Cystic Fibrosis Medium.

Characterizing complex (MABSC) biofilms under host-relevant conditions is essential to the design of informed therapeutic strategies targeted to this persistent, drug-tolerant, population of extracellular bacilli. Using synthetic cystic fibrosis medium (SCFM) which we previously reported to closely mimic the conditions encountered by MABSC in actual cystic fibrosis (CF) sputum and a new model of biofilm formation, we show that MABSC biofilms formed under these conditions are substantially different from previously reported biofilms grown in standard laboratory media in terms of their composition, gene expression profile and stress response. Extracellular DNA (eDNA), mannose-and glucose-containing glycans and phospholipids, rather than proteins and mycolic acids, were revealed as key extracellular matrix (ECM) constituents holding clusters of bacilli together.

The 19th Rocky Mountain Virology Association Meeting.

This autumn, 95 scientists and students from the Rocky Mountain area, along with invited speakers from Colorado, California, Montana, Florida, Louisiana, New York, Maryland, and India, attended the 19th annual meeting of the Rocky Mountain Virology Association that was held at the Colorado State University Mountain Campus located in the Rocky Mountains. The two-day gathering featured 30 talks and 13 posters-all of which focused on specific areas of current virology and prion protein research. The keynote presentation reviewed new tools for microbial discovery and diagnostics.

The 18th Rocky Mountain Virology Association Meeting.

This autumn, approximately 100 scientists and students from the Rocky Mountain area along with invited speakers attended the 18th annual meeting of the Rocky Mountain Virology Association that was held at the Colorado State University Mountain Campus. The two-day gathering featured 31 talks and 33 posters all of which focused on specific areas of current virology and prion protein research. Since the keynote presentation focused on the oligoadenylate synthetase-ribonuclease L pathway the main area of focus was on host⁻virus interactions, however other areas of interest included virus vectors, current models of virus infections, prevention and treatment of virus infections, separate sessions on RNA viruses and prion proteins, and a special talk highlighting various attributes of targeted next-generation sequencing.