Protective role of macrophages from maternal-fetal interface in unvaccinated coronavirus disease 2019 pregnant women.

Pregnant women represent a high-risk population for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 has been reported in placenta from infected pregnant women, but whether the virus influences placenta immune response remains unclear. We investigated the properties of maternal-fetal interface macrophages (MFMs) in a cohort of unvaccinated women who contracted coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during their pregnancy.

Pan-microscopic examination of monkeypox virus in trophoblasts cells reveals new insights into virions release through filopodia-like projections.

Vertical transmission has been described following monkeypox virus (MPXV) infection in pregnant women. The presence of MPXV has been reported in the placenta from infected women, but whether pathogens colonize placenta remains unexplored. We identify trophoblasts as a target cell for MPXV replication.

Evidence of a tolerogenic vaccine against AIDS in the Chinese macaque prefigures a potential human vaccine.

In 2006 we discovered a new type of mucosal vaccine against simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in Chinese macaques. Here, we review 15 years of our published work on this vaccine, which consists of inactivated SIVmac239 particles adjuvanted with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, Lactobacillus plantarum, or Lactobacillus rhamnosus. Without adjuvant, the vaccine administered by the intragastric route induced the usual SIV-specific humoral and cellular immune responses but provided no protection against intrarectal challenge with SIVmac239.

White-handed gibbons discriminate context-specific song compositions.

White-handed gibbons produce loud and acoustically complex songs when interacting with their neighbours or when encountering predators. In both contexts, songs are assembled from a small number of units although their composition differs in context-specific ways. Here, we investigated whether wild gibbons could infer the 'meaning' when hearing exemplars recorded in both contexts (i.