Plants have evolved a number of defense mechanisms to protect themselves against biotic stresses. Each cell, tissue, and organ is able to perceive and fight off attackers using a combination of chemical and physical defense mechanisms. Root cells employ similar defense response patterning.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStabilized trimers preserving the native-like HIV envelope structure may be key components of a preventive HIV vaccine regimen to induce broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs). We evaluated trimeric BG505 SOSIP.664 gp140 formulated with a novel TLR7/8 signaling adjuvant, 3M-052-AF/Alum, for safety, adjuvant dose-finding, and immunogenicity in a first-in-healthy adult (n = 17), randomized, and placebo-controlled trial (HVTN 137A).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEliciting potent and broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) is a major goal in HIV-1 vaccine development. Here, we describe how germline-targeting immunogen BG505 SOSIP germline trimer 1.1 (GT1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVegetative desiccation tolerance has evolved within the genera and . A centre of endemism and diversification for these plants appears to occur in ancient tropical montane rainforests of east Africa in Kenya and Tanzania. , a desiccation-sensitive relative of , occurs in these rainforests and experiences adequate rainfall and thus does not require desiccation tolerance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFScience is humanity's best insurance against threats from nature, but it is a fragile enterprise that must be nourished and protected. The preponderance of scientific evidence indicates a natural origin for SARS-CoV-2. Yet, the theory that SARS-CoV-2 was engineered in and escaped from a lab dominates media attention, even in the absence of strong evidence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Stabilized trimers preserving the native-like HIV envelope structure may be key components of a preventive HIV vaccine regimen to induce broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs). We evaluated trimeric BG505 SOSIP.664 gp140, formulated with a novel TLR7/8 signaling adjuvant, 3M-052-AF/Alum, for safety, adjuvant dose-finding and immunogenicity in a first-in-healthy adult (n=17), randomized, placebo-controlled trial (HVTN 137A).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFour new studies inform on the multistep path to generate broadly active HIV-1 antibodies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeutralizing antibodies (NAbs) to multiple epitopes on the HIV-1-envelope glycoprotein (Env) have been isolated from infected persons. The potency of NAbs is measured more often than the size of the persistent fraction of infectivity at maximum neutralization, which may also influence preventive efficacy of active or passive immunization and the therapeutic outcome of the latter. Many NAbs neutralize HIV-1 CZA97.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWine astringency is thought to be due to salivary protein precipitation; however, the actual mechanism is not well-defined. This study aimed understand the relationship between whole polysaccharide extracts, produced with and without enzyme maceration, and the saliva protein-tannin precipitation reaction. Polysaccharides were analyzed in the context of salivary protein-tannin interactions using gel electrophoresis, quantitative H proton nuclear magnetic resonance (qHNMR), size separation chromatography, immunochemistry, and sensory analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPriming agents are plant defence-inducing compounds which can prompt a state of protection but may also aid in plant growth and interactions with beneficial microbes. The synthetic strigolactones (±)-GR24 and Nijmegen-1 were evaluated as potential priming agents for induced resistance against in tobacco and grapevine plants. The growth and stress response profiles of to strigolactones were also investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe survival of extreme water deficit stress by tolerant organisms requires a coordinated series of responses, including those at cellular, transcriptional, translational and metabolic levels. Small molecules play a pivotal role in creating the proper chemical environment for the preservation of cellular integrity and homeostasis during dehydration. This review surveys recent insights in the importance of primary and specialised metabolites in the response to drying of angiosperms with vegetative desiccation tolerance, i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) protect against HIV-1 acquisition in animal models and show promise in treatment of infection. They act by binding to the viral envelope glycoprotein (Env), thereby blocking its receptor interactions and fusogenic function. The potency of neutralization is largely determined by affinity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTargeting germline (gl-) precursors of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) is acknowledged as an important strategy for HIV-1 vaccines. The VRC01-class of bNAbs is attractive because of its distinct genetic signature. However, VRC01-class bNAbs often require extensive somatic hypermutation, including rare insertions and deletions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeutralizing antibodies (NAbs) protect against HIV-1 acquisition in animal models and show promise in treatment of infection. They act by binding to the viral envelope glycoprotein (Env), thereby blocking its receptor interactions and fusogenic function. The potency of neutralization is largely determined by affinity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: For some vaccine-preventable diseases, the immunologic response to vaccination is altered by a pregnant state. The effect of pregnancy on SARS-CoV-2 vaccine response remains unclear.
Objective: We sought to characterize the peak and longitudinal anti-S immunoglobulin G, immunoglobulin M, and immunoglobulin A responses to messenger RNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in pregnant persons and compare them with those in nonpregnant, reproductive-aged persons.
Industrial wine yeast strains expressing hydrolytic enzymes were fermented on Chardonnay pomace and were shown to unravel the cell walls of the berry tissues according to the enzyme activities. The yeasts produced a native endo-polygalacturonase ( × , named PR7) and/or a recombinant endo-glucanase ( strains named VIN13 END1 and PR7 END1). The impact of the enzymes during the fermentations was evaluated by directly studying the cell wall changes in the berry tissues using a Comprehensive Microarray Polymer Profiling technique.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccination of cows has elicited broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs). In this study, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are isolated from a clade A (KNH1144 and BG505) vaccinated cow using a heterologous clade B antigen (AD8). CD4 binding site (CD4bs) bNAb (MEL-1872) is more potent than a majority of CD4bs bNAbs isolated so far.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith the much-debated exception of the modestly reduced acquisition reported for the RV144 efficacy trial, HIV-1 vaccines have not protected humans against infection, and a vaccine of similar design to that tested in RV144 was not protective in a later trial, HVTN 702. Similar vaccine regimens have also not consistently protected nonhuman primates (NHPs) against viral acquisition. Conversely, experimental vaccines of different designs have protected macaques from viral challenges but then failed to protect humans, while many other HIV-1 vaccine candidates have not protected NHPs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPectolytic enzyme maceration is common for producing red wines, but the effects on bitterness and astringency are not well understood. Glycan microarrays assessed polysaccharide diversity and with polyphenol analysis was correlated with sensory data on descriptors of astringency and their perceived levels in enzyme-crafted Cabernet Sauvignon wines. Enzyme use is shown to have no effect on bitterness, but enzyme-macerated wines are more astringent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: A hydrogeological conceptual model of the source, circulation pathways and temporal variation of a low-enthalpy thermal spring in a fractured limestone setting is derived from a multidisciplinary approach. St. Gorman's Well is a thermal spring in east-central Ireland with a complex and variable temperature profile (maximum of 21.
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