New and old lessons from a devastating case of neonatal E coli meningitis.

Background: Neonatal Escherichia coli (E coli) meningitis results in significant morbidity and mortality. We present a case of a premature infant with extensive central nervous system (CNS) injury from recurrent E coli infection and the non-traditional methods necessary to identify and clear the infection.

Case Presentation: The infant was transferred to our institution's pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) after recurrence of E coli CNS infection requiring neurosurgical intervention.

Inactivation of Material from SARS-CoV-2-Infected Primary Airway Epithelial Cell Cultures.

Given that the airway epithelium is the initial site of infection, study of primary human airway epithelial cells (AEC) infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) will be crucial to improved understanding of viral entry factors and innate immune responses to the virus. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance recommends work with live SARS-CoV-2 in cell culture be conducted in a Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) laboratory. To facilitate downstream assays of materials from experiments there is a need for validated protocols for SARS-CoV-2 inactivation to facilitate safe transfer of material out of a BSL-3 laboratory.

SARS-CoV-2 Serologic Assays in Control and Unknown Populations Demonstrate the Necessity of Virus Neutralization Testing.

Background: To determine how serologic antibody testing outcome links with virus neutralization of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), we evaluated individuals for SARS-CoV-2 antibody level and viral neutralization.

Methods: We compared serum Ig levels across platforms of viral antigens and antibodies with 15 positive and 30 negative SARS-CoV-2 controls followed by viral neutralization assessment. We then applied these platforms to a clinically relevant cohort of 114 individuals with unknown histories of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Atypical Severe Shock-like Reactions in Adolescents After Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Therapy.

Severe drug hypersensitivity reactions to antibiotics are rare but trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) is uniquely associated with numerous and varied manifestations including a reaction resembling septic shock, first observed in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS patients. Over the past 25 years about 20 cases have been reported and an association with the virus and related immune system dysregulation was assumed. However, recent reports in adults have recognized similar shock-like reactions in non-HIV infected individuals.

Congenital Parvovirus B19 Infection: Persistent Viremia and Red Blood Cell Aplasia.

We describe a case of fetal parvovirus B19 infection resulting in preterm birth and leading to hydrops fetalis requiring multiple in utero transfusions. The infant developed chronic postnatal anemia responsive to intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. Serum viral load decreased after immunoglobulin treatment but remained detectable for over 1 year.

Molecular modeling, organ culture and reverse genetics for a newly identified human rhinovirus C.

A recently recognized human rhinovirus species C (HRV-C) is associated with up to half of HRV infections in young children. Here we propagated two HRV-C isolates ex vivo in organ culture of nasal epithelial cells, sequenced a new C15 isolate and developed the first, to our knowledge, reverse genetics system for HRV-C. Using contact points for the known HRV receptors, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), inter- and intraspecies footprint analyses predicted a unique cell attachment site for HRV-Cs.

Analysis of the complete genome sequences of human rhinovirus.

Human rhinovirus (HRV) infection is the cause of about one half of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations. With more than 100 serotypes in the HRV reference set, an effort was undertaken to sequence their complete genomes so as to understand the diversity, structural variation, and evolution of the virus. Analysis revealed conserved motifs, hypervariable regions, a potential fourth HRV species, within-serotype variation in field isolates, a nonscanning internal ribosome entry site, and evidence for HRV recombination.

Full-genome sequence and analysis of a novel human rhinovirus strain within a divergent HRV-A clade.

Genome sequences of human rhinoviruses (HRV) have primarily been from stocks collected in the 1960s, with genomes and phylogeny of modern HRVs remaining undefined. Here, two modern isolates (hrv-A101 and hrv-A101-v1) collected approximately 8 years apart were sequenced in their entirety. Incorporation into our full-genome HRV alignment with subsequent phylogenetic network inference indicated that these represent a unique HRV-A, localized within a distinct divergent clade.

Sequencing and analyses of all known human rhinovirus genomes reveal structure and evolution.

Infection by human rhinovirus (HRV) is a major cause of upper and lower respiratory tract disease worldwide and displays considerable phenotypic variation. We examined diversity by completing the genome sequences for all known serotypes (n = 99). Superimposition of capsid crystal structure and optimal-energy RNA configurations established alignments and phylogeny.

Gene-based SNP mapping of a psychotic bipolar affective disorder linkage region on 22q12.3: association with HMG2L1 and TOM1.

Genetic linkage studies in both bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) and schizophrenia have implicated overlapping regions of chromosome 22q. We previously reported that BPAD pedigrees containing multiple members with psychotic symptoms showed suggestive linkage to chromosome 22q12.3.

Inactivation of BRCA1 and BRCA2 in ovarian cancer.

Background: Although BRCA1 and BRCA2 play important roles in hereditary ovarian cancers, the extent of their role in sporadic ovarian cancers and their mechanisms of inactivation are not yet well understood. Our goal was to characterize BRCA2 mutations and mRNA expression in a group of ovarian tumors previously evaluated for BRCA1 mutations and mRNA expression.

Methods: The tumors of 92 unrelated women with "ovarian" cancer (i.

Frequency of BRCA1 dysfunction in ovarian cancer.

Background: Ovarian cancer is one of the most common hereditary cancers in women. Mutations in the BRCA1 gene increase a woman's risk of ovarian cancer. Testing for BRCA1 mutations is cumbersome and impractical for large populations.