Publications by authors named "Elizabeth B Sobolik"
Article Synopsis
- Paramyxoviruses, such as measles and Nipah, pose significant public health risks and have pandemic potential, with HPIV3 being a major cause of illness among vulnerable populations.
- * There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for HPIV3, but neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) could be a promising strategy despite challenges from viral resistance due to mutations.
- * The study presents cryo-electron tomography structures showing how mutated HPIV3 can evade neutralization by mAbs by altering the interaction between viral proteins, providing insights that could inform future mAb design.
Article Synopsis
- Immunocompromised individuals face a higher risk of prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infections and severe COVID-19, raising concerns about the effectiveness of late-onset antiviral treatments.
- In a study using an immunocompromised mouse model, it was found that early treatments like nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (paxlovid) or molnupiravir were only moderately effective, while the experimental drug 4'-fluorouridine (4'-FlU) showed significant benefits in reducing viral load.
- Late-onset direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapies were shown to effectively shorten the duration of viral replication in immunocompromised hosts, suggesting potential clinical applications to reduce severe disease risks in vulnerable
Measles virus (MeV) presents a public health threat that is escalating as vaccine coverage in the general population declines and as populations of immunocompromised individuals, who cannot be vaccinated, increase. There are no approved therapeutics for MeV. Neutralizing antibodies targeting viral fusion are one potential therapeutic approach but have not yet been structurally characterized or advanced to clinical use.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: The immunocompromised are at high risk of prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infection and progression to severe COVID-19. However, efficacy of late-onset direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy with therapeutics in clinical use and experimental drugs to mitigate persistent viral replication is unclear. In this study, we employed an immunocompromised mouse model, which supports prolonged replication of SARS-CoV-2 to explore late-onset treatment options.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMeasles cases have surged pre-COVID-19 and the pandemic has aggravated the problem. Most measles-associated morbidity and mortality arises from destruction of pre-existing immune memory by measles virus (MeV), a paramyxovirus of the morbillivirus genus. Therapeutic measles vaccination lacks efficacy, but little is known about preserving immune memory through antivirals and the effect of respiratory disease history on measles severity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPre-existing or rapidly emerging resistance of influenza viruses to approved antivirals makes the development of novel therapeutics to mitigate seasonal influenza and improve preparedness against future influenza pandemics an urgent priority. We have recently identified the chain-terminating broad-spectrum nucleoside analog clinical candidate 4'-fluorouridine (4'-FlU) and demonstrated oral efficacy against seasonal, pandemic, and highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in the mouse and ferret model. Here, we have resistance-profiled 4'-FlU against a pandemic A/CA/07/2009 (H1N1) (CA09).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The urgency for developing new antiviral treatments for influenza is highlighted due to resistance to current approved drugs.
- Recent studies identified 4'-fluorouridine (4'-FlU) as a promising treatment that works against various strains of influenza in animal models.
- While resistance to 4'-FlU was observed through distinct mutations in viruses, the treatment still proved effective, showing reduced virus load and preventing transmission in treated animals.
We sequenced 54 respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) genomes collected during 2021-22 and 2022-23 outbreaks in Washington, USA, to determine the origin of increased RSV cases. Detected RSV strains have been spreading for >10 years, suggesting a role for diminished population immunity from low RSV exposure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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