Non-cross-reactive epitopes dominate the humoral immune response to COVID-19 vaccination - kinetics of plasma antibodies, plasmablasts and memory B cells.

Introduction: COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in inducing protective immunity. While the serum antibody response to COVID-19 vaccination has been studied in depth, our knowledge of the underlying plasmablast and memory B cell (Bmem) responses is still incomplete. Here, we determined the antibody and B cell response to COVID-19 vaccination in a naïve population and contrasted it with the response to a single influenza vaccination in a primed cohort.

Suitable Disinfectants with Proven Efficacy for Genetically Modified Viruses and Viral Vectors.

Viral disinfection is important for medical facilities, the food industry, and the veterinary field, especially in terms of controlling virus outbreaks. Therefore, standardized methods and activity levels are available for these areas. Usually, disinfectants used in these areas are characterized by their activity against test organisms (i.

3D-printed wound dressing platform for protein administration based on alginate and zinc oxide tetrapods.

Wound treatment requires a plethora of independent properties. Hydration, anti-bacterial properties, oxygenation and patient-specific drug delivery all contribute to the best possible wound healing. Three-dimensional (3D) printing has emerged as a set of techniques to realize individually adapted wound dressings with open porous structure from biomedically optimized materials.

S2k-Guideline SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 and (early) rehabilitation - a consensus-based guideline for Germany.

The consensus-based guideline "SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 and (early) rehabilitation" for Germany has two sections: In the first part, the guideline addresses infection protection-related procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the second part, it provides practice recommendations for rehabilitation after COVID-19. The specific recommendations for rehabilitation after COVID-19 as issued by 13 German medical societies and two patient-representative organizations are presented together with general background information for their development.

Proteolytic processing of galectin-3 by meprin metalloproteases is crucial for host-microbiome homeostasis.

The metalloproteases meprin α and meprin β are highly expressed in the healthy gut but significantly decreased in inflammatory bowel disease, implicating a protective role in mucosal homeostasis. In the colon, meprin α and meprin β form covalently linked heterodimers tethering meprin α to the plasma membrane, therefore presenting dual proteolytic activity in a unique enzyme complex. To unravel its function, we applied N-terminomics and identified galectin-3 as the major intestinal substrate for meprin α/β heterodimers.

Antibacterial Activity of Nanostructured Zinc Oxide Tetrapods.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) tetrapods as microparticles with nanostructured surfaces show peculiar physical properties and anti-infective activities. The aim of this study was to investigate the antibacterial and bactericidal properties of ZnO tetrapods in comparison to spherical, unstructured ZnO particles. Additionally, killing rates of either methylene blue-treated or untreated tetrapods and spherical ZnO particles for Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria species were determined.

The pre-exposure SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell repertoire determines the quality of the immune response to vaccination.

SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination generates enormous host-response heterogeneity and an age-dependent loss of immune-response quality. How the pre-exposure T cell repertoire contributes to this heterogeneity is poorly understood. We combined analysis of SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4 T cells pre- and post-vaccination with longitudinal T cell receptor tracking.

The long term vaccine-induced anti-SARS-CoV-2 immune response is impaired in quantity and quality under TNFα blockade.

The humoral immune response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination in patients with chronic inflammatory disease (CID) declines more rapidly with tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) inhibition. Furthermore, the efficacy of current vaccines against Omicron variants of concern (VOC) including BA.2 is limited.

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The consensus-based SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, and Rehabilitation Practice Guideline provides recommendations that take both infection prevention and the pursuit of therapeutic goals in rehabilitation settings during the coronavirus pandemic into account. The Practice Guideline provides guidance how to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections in rehabilitation settings in a first part. The guideline's second part addresses rehabilitation for patients affected by COVID-19 starting with interventions on intensive care units, during early rehabilitation, post-acute rehabilitation, in outpatient and community rehabilitation settings, as well as long-term care, e.

Self-Repairing Herpesvirus Saimiri Deletion Variants.

Herpesvirus saimiri (HVS) is discussed as a possible vector in gene therapy. In order to create a self-repairing HVS vector, the F plasmid vector moiety of the bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) was transposed via Red recombination into the virus genes or , both important for virus replication. Repetitive sequences were additionally inserted, allowing the removal of the F-derived sequences from the viral DNA genome upon reconstitution in permissive epithelial cells.

Humoral immune response after different SARS-CoV-2 vaccination regimens.

Background: The humoral immune response after primary immunisation with a SARS-CoV-2 vector vaccine (AstraZeneca AZD1222, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, Vaxzevria) followed by an mRNA vaccine boost (Pfizer/BioNTech, BNT162b2; Moderna, m-1273) was examined and compared with the antibody response after homologous vaccination schemes (AZD1222/AZD1222 or BNT162b2/BNT162b2).

Methods: Sera from 59 vaccinees were tested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) and virus-neutralising antibodies (VNA) with three IgG assays based on (parts of) the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S)-protein as antigen, an IgG immunoblot (additionally contains the SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein (NP) as an antigen), a surrogate neutralisation test (sVNT), and a Vero-cell-based virus-neutralisation test (cVNT) with the B.1.

IL-26 inhibits hepatitis C virus replication in hepatocytes.

Background & Aims: Interleukin-26 (IL-26) is a proinflammatory cytokine that has properties atypical for a cytokine, such as direct antibacterial activity and DNA-binding capacity. We previously observed an accumulation of IL-26 in fibrotic and inflammatory lesions in the livers of patients with chronic HCV infection and showed that infiltrating CD3 lymphocytes were the principal source of IL-26. Surprisingly, IL-26 was also detected in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes from HCV-infected patients, even though these cells do not produce IL-26, even when infected with HCV.

Estimation of Reduction in Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Due to Egg-Adaptation Changes-Systematic Literature Review and Expert Consensus.

Background: Influenza vaccines are the main tool to prevent morbidity and mortality of the disease; however, egg adaptations associated with the choice of the manufacturing process may reduce their effectiveness. This study aimed to estimate the impact of egg adaptations and antigenic drift on the effectiveness of trivalent (TIV) and quadrivalent (QIV) influenza vaccines.

Methods: Nine experts in influenza virology were recruited into a Delphi-style exercise.

The Kinocidin Interleukin-26 Shows Immediate Antimicrobial Effects Even to Multi-resistant Isolates.

The cationic proinflammatory cytokine Interleukin 26 (IL-26) shows antibacterial activity and inhibits the replication of cytomegalovirus and hepatitis C virus. This study evaluates the early microbicidal activities of IL-26 against major bacterial species including multi-resistant variants and . Recombinant IL-26 was bacterially expressed and studied for its microbicidal effects in culture.

Antiviral susceptibility of recombinant Herpes simplex virus 1 strains with specific polymerase amino acid changes.

Acyclovir (ACV) and penciclovir and their prodrugs are recommended for therapy or prophylaxis of Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infections. Their administration, however, can lead to the emergence of resistant strains with altered viral thymidine kinase (TK) function, especially in immunocompromised patients. Furthermore, amino acid (aa) changes of the viral deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase (POL) may contribute to resistance to the aforementioned nucleoside analogues.

[Non-cholera Vibrio species - currently still rare but growing danger of infection in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea].

Background: The abundance of non-cholera Vibrio spp. in the aquatic environment shows a positive correlation with water temperatures. Therefore, climate change has an important impact on the epidemiology of human infections with these pathogens.

Development of SARS-CoV-2 Specific IgG and Virus-Neutralizing Antibodies after Infection with Variants of Concern or Vaccination.

The humoral immunity after SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination was examined. Convalescent sera after infection with variants of concern (VOCs: B.1.

Prophylaxis and treatment of influenza: options, antiviral susceptibility, and existing recommendations.

Influenza viruses of types A and B attack 5-10% of adults and 20-30% of children, thereby causing millions of acute respiratory infections in Germany annually. A significant number of these infections are associated with complications such as pneumonia and bacterial superinfections that need hospitalization and might lead to death. In addition to vaccines, drugs were developed that might support influenza prevention and that can be used to treat influenza patients.

Light-controlled growth factors release on tetrapodal ZnO-incorporated 3D-printed hydrogels for developing smart wound scaffold.

Advanced wound scaffolds that integrate active substances to treat chronic wounds have gained significant recent attention. While wound scaffolds and advanced functionalities have previously been incorporated into one medical device, the wirelessly triggered release of active substances has remained the focus of many research endeavors. To combine multiple functions including light-triggered activation, anti-septic, angiogenic, and moisturizing properties, we have developed a 3D printed hydrogel patch encapsulating vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) decorated with photoactive and antibacterial tetrapodal zinc oxide (t-ZnO) microparticles.

[COVID-19 in Schleswig-Holstein: infection epidemiological evaluations from March to September 2020].

The COVID-19 pandemic poses major challenges for the German notification system in public infection control. For the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein evaluations, the state reporting office supports the public health departments by providing daily and weekly evaluations and supports the transmission of notification data to the Robert Koch Institute according to the Infection Protection Act.In the present report of the state notification office of Schleswig-Holstein, the SARS-CoV‑2 reporting data for the period from March to September 2020 are evaluated.

Performance of a Point-of-Care Test for the Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Antigen.

The rapid detection of infections caused by the (SARS-CoV-2) is necessary in the ongoing pandemic. Antigen-specific point-of-care tests (POCT) may be useful for this purpose. Here, such a POCT (SARS-CoV-2 NADAL COVID-19 Ag) was compared to a laboratory-developed triplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) designed for the detection of viral nucleoprotein gene and two control targets.