Spatiotemporal profile of an optimal host response to virus infection in the primate central nervous system.

Viral infections of the central nervous system (CNS) are a major cause of morbidity largely due to lack of prevention and inadequate treatments. While mortality from viral CNS infections is significant, nearly two thirds of the patients survive. Thus, it is important to understand how the human CNS can successfully control virus infection and recover.

Effect of pandemic influenza A virus PB1 genes of avian origin on viral RNA polymerase activity and pathogenicity.

Zoonotic influenza A virus (IAV) infections pose a substantial threat to global health. The influenza RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) comprises the PB2, PB1, and PA proteins. Of the last four pandemic IAVs, three featured avian-origin PB1 genes.

Sialylated IgG induces the transcription factor REST in alveolar macrophages to protect against lung inflammation and severe influenza disease.

While most respiratory viral infections resolve with little harm to the host, severe symptoms arise when infection triggers an aberrant inflammatory response that damages lung tissue. Host regulators of virally induced lung inflammation have not been well defined. Here, we show that enrichment for sialylated, but not asialylated immunoglobulin G (IgG), predicted mild influenza disease in humans and was broadly protective against heterologous influenza viruses in a murine challenge model.

Two complete 1918 influenza A/H1N1 pandemic virus genomes characterized by next-generation sequencing using RNA isolated from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded autopsy lung tissue samples along with evidence of secondary bacterial co-infection.

Unlabelled: The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most devastating respiratory pandemic in modern human history, with 50-100 million deaths worldwide. Here, we characterized the complete genomes of influenza A virus (IAV) from two fatal cases during the fall wave of 1918 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic in the United States, one from Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, DC, and the other from Camp Jackson, SC. The two complete IAV genomes were obtained by combining Illumina deep sequencing data from both total RNA and influenza viral genome-enriched libraries along with Sanger sequencing data from PCR across the sequencing gaps.

Mucosal correlates of protection after influenza viral challenge of vaccinated and unvaccinated healthy volunteers.

The induction of systemic antibody titers against hemagglutinin has long been the main focus of influenza vaccination strategies, but mucosal immunity has also been shown to play a key role in the protection against respiratory viruses. By vaccinating and challenging healthy volunteers, we demonstrated that inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) modestly reduced the rate of influenza while predominantly boosting serum antibody titers against hemagglutinin (HA) and HA stalk, a consequence of the low neuraminidase (NA) content of IIV and the intramuscular route of administration. The viral challenge induced nasal and serum responses against both HA and NA.