Publications by authors named "J W Towner"
Article Synopsis
- This chapter outlines the various procedures involved in studying experimental infections of Egyptian rousette bats with the Marburg virus.
- It covers topics like planning and preparation for studies, the importance of personal protective equipment, and the overall methodologies used in these experiments.
- The chapter concludes with a focus on specific techniques for serial sampling and sacrifice within the context of the research studies.
Article Synopsis
- The Sosuga virus (SOSV) is a rare paramyxovirus linked to human illness, first identified in 2012 in an individual from South Sudan and Uganda.
- Ecological studies revealed that the Egyptian rousette bat (ERB) is the only bat species consistently testing positive for SOSV, indicating it serves as a competent host for the virus.
- Recent surveillance in Sierra Leone identified SOSV RNA in ERBs, suggesting that the virus has expanded its range from East Africa to West Africa, potentially affecting ERB populations across sub-Saharan Africa.
Background: Liquid biopsy based on circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is a novel tool in clinical oncology, however, its use has been limited in glioma to date, due to low levels of ctDNA. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate that sequencing techniques optimized for liquid biopsy in glioma patients can detect ctDNA in plasma with high sensitivity and with potential clinical utility.
Methods: We investigated 10 glioma patients with tumor tissue available from at least 2 surgical operations, who had 49 longitudinally collected plasma samples available for analysis.
Background: Circulating tumor DNA has emerging clinical applications in several cancers; however, previous studies have shown low sensitivity in glioma. We investigated if 3 key glioma gene mutations , , and could be reliably detected in plasma by droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) thereby demonstrating the potential of this technique for glioma liquid biopsy.
Methods: We analyzed 110 glioma patients from our biobank with a total of 359 plasma samples (median 4 samples per patient).
Bats are increasingly recognized as reservoirs of emerging zoonotic pathogens. Egyptian rousette bats (ERBs) are the known reservoir of Marburg virus (MARV), a filovirus that causes deadly Marburg virus disease (MVD) in humans. However, ERBs harbor MARV asymptomatically, likely due to a coadapted and specific host immunity-pathogen relationship.
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