Publications by authors named "Liana Medina"

Article Synopsis
  • - Zika virus (ZIKV) is a serious global health threat due to its association with neurological diseases like Guillain-Barré syndrome and microcephaly, and it spreads primarily through mosquito bites.
  • - Accurate detection of ZIKV is complicated by its genetic similarity to other flaviviruses and the cross-reactivity of existing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), particularly those targeting the envelope protein.
  • - Researchers have developed two specific mAbs, A11 and A42, which target distinct regions of the ZIKV E protein, enhancing the tools available for research on ZIKV detection and understanding its behavior in infected cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for an unprecedented global pandemic of COVID-19. Animal models are urgently needed to study the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and to screen vaccines and treatments. We show that African green monkeys (AGMs) support robust SARS-CoV-2 replication and develop pronounced respiratory disease, which may more accurately reflect human COVID-19 cases than other nonhuman primate species.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for an unprecedented global pandemic of COVID-19. Animal models are urgently needed to study the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and to screen candidate vaccines and treatments. Nonhuman primates (NHP) are considered the gold standard model for many infectious pathogens as they usually best reflect the human condition.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ebola virus (EBOV) is among the deadliest pathogens known to man causing infrequent outbreaks of hemorrhagic disease. In humans, the case fatality rates in the outbreaks can reach 90%. During the West African epidemic almost 30,000 people were infected and of these over 11,000 fatalities were reported.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Zika Virus (ZIKV), a virus with no severe clinical symptoms or sequelae previously associated with human infection, became a public health threat following an epidemic in French Polynesia 2013-2014 that resulted in neurological complications associated with infection. Although no treatment currently exists, several vaccines using different platforms are in clinical development. These include nucleic acid vaccines based on the prM-E protein from the virus and purified formalin-inactivated ZIKV vaccines (ZPIV) which are in Phase 1/2 clinical trials.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Following the 2015 Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreaks in the South Pacific, Caribbean, and Americas, ZIKV has emerged as a serious threat due to its association with infantile microcephaly and other neurologic disorders. Despite an international effort to develop a safe and effective vaccine to combat congenital Zika syndrome and ZIKV infection, only DNA and mRNA vaccines encoding the precursor membrane (prM) and envelope (E) proteins, an inactivated-ZIKV vaccine, and a measles virus-based ZIKV vaccine are currently in phase I or II (prM/E DNA) clinical trials. A ZIKV vaccine based on a nonreplicating, recombinant subunit platform offers a higher safety profile than other ZIKV vaccine candidates but is still highly immunogenic, inducing high virus-neutralizing antibody titers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aim: To compare landmark vs surface-shape measurements in a sample of patients with cleft lips and palates following secondary alveolar bone grafting.

Methods: The faces of 10 patients (4 males and 6 females) with an unilateral cleft lip and palate were captured using a 3D surface camera system before and 6 weeks after alveolar bone grafting. In each face, six coordinates were registered.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF