Publications by authors named "Jing Chu Hu"
Divergent trajectory of replication and intrinsic pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron post-BA.2/5 subvariants in the upper and lower respiratory tract.
EBioMedicine
January 2024
Background: Earlier Omicron subvariants including BA.1, BA.2, and BA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe viral fitness and intrinsic pathogenicity of dominant SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sublineages BA.1, BA.2, and BA.5.
EBioMedicine
September 2023
Background: Among the Omicron sublineages that have emerged, BA.1, BA.2, BA.
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- * Researchers have developed a model using antigenic distance to identify optimized booster vaccine strains that could enhance protection against both current and future variants.
- * Experimental results showed that a booster vaccine based on SARS-CoV-1 significantly improved antibody response and protection against Omicron compared to other candidate vaccines, suggesting a new approach for future vaccine development.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron BA.2 was a dominant circulating SARS-CoV-2 variant worldwide. Recent reports hint that BA.
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- SARS-CoV-2 has caused over 450 million confirmed cases worldwide since 2019, leading to the development and administration of various vaccines, though some variants can evade immune responses.
- Research investigated the effectiveness of the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, known for its ability to boost innate immune responses, in protecting against SARS-CoV-2 in a specific mouse model.
- Findings show that intravenous BCG vaccination significantly enhances immune responses and offers protection against both the original virus and its variants, supporting the potential of BCG as a supplementary strategy in COVID-19 defense.
Article Synopsis
- * Researchers created a computational model that accurately predicts how changes in the virus's spike protein affect its ability to evade neutralization by antibodies, achieving an accuracy rate of around 79%.
- * This model offers a rapid way to assess new variants' antigenicity and could assist in updating vaccines to tackle major variants, with predictions indicating that the Omicron variant is 17.4 times less susceptible to neutralization.
Article Synopsis
- Omicron was labeled as a Variant of Concern (VOC) by the WHO just four days after its genetic sequence was submitted on November 26, 2021, but its effects on existing vaccines and antibodies are still being evaluated.
- Our analysis identified that the mutations present in the Omicron variant affect all epitopes in several key antibody groups, indicating that most antibodies may not effectively neutralize the variant.
- Only four out of 120 antibodies studied might offer full resistance, suggesting that the mutations in Omicron could also reduce the effectiveness of current COVID-19 vaccines.
Article Synopsis
- The study analyzes the potential for certain SARS-CoV-2 variants, specifically the B.1.1.7 variant, to infect wildtype mice, which typically don't contract the virus.
- Using various experimental methods, the research shows that these variants can infect both wildtype mice and rats, demonstrating high levels of viral presence in their systems.
- The findings suggest that B.1.1.7 and similar variants have expanded their ability to infect different species, indicating a need for improved murine control measures to address public health concerns related to the pandemic.
A novel linker-immunodominant site (LIS) vaccine targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein protects against severe COVID-19 in Syrian hamsters.
Emerg Microbes Infect
December 2021
Article Synopsis
- The COVID-19 pandemic continues until enough herd immunity is achieved through natural infections or vaccinations.
- Researchers designed two vaccine candidates focused on the immunodominant sites of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein: one targeting just the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) and another targeting all major sites.
- The study showed that the vaccine targeting all sites (S-ID) was more effective, leading to better antibody responses and reduced symptoms in vaccinated hamsters compared to the RBD-specific vaccine.
One of the core symptoms in anxiety disorders is dysregulated fear response. It is crucial for psychologists and neuroscientists to understand how fear responses are enhanced and inhibited. Although oxytocin (OXT) was initially conceived as a prosocial molecule and mammalian neuropeptide that enhances cooperation and trust, later studies showed that it produces modulatory influence on fear responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is growing recognition that caring for a patient with schizophrenia often results in high levels of perceived burden and poorer overall mental health for caregivers. A quantitative cross-sectional design and standardized instruments were used to collect data from 355 primary caregivers of adults in outpatient care with schizophrenia in China. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the association between caregiver burden and mental health among primary caregivers and whether this association is influenced by personality, coping style, and family functioning, based on a diathesis-stress perspective.
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- * In experiments on mice, researchers saw that removing the WT1 gene led to the death of germ cells, which are needed for sperm production, leaving only supportive cells behind, like what happens in human azoospermia.
- * The study showed that WT1 helps keep the cells in the right shape and function, and its absence affects a special barrier and certain genes that are important for making sperm.
Background: Marie Unna hereditary hypotrichosis (MUHH) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterised by coarse, wiry, twisted hair developed in early childhood and subsequent progressive hair loss. MUHH is a genetically heterogeneous disorder. No gene in 1p21.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDisseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis (DSAP) is an autosomal dominantly inherited epidermal keratinization disorder whose etiology remains unclear. We performed exome sequencing in one unaffected and two affected individuals from a DSAP family. The mevalonate kinase gene (MVK) emerged as the only candidate gene located in previously defined linkage regions after filtering against existing SNP databases, eight HapMap exomes and 1000 Genomes Project data and taking into consideration the functional implications of the mutations.
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