Molecular Basis for the Differential Function of HAVCR1 Mucin Variants.

: The hepatitis A virus (HAV) cellular receptor 1 (HAVCR1) is a type I integral membrane glycoprotein discovered in monkeys and humans as a HAV receptor. HAVCR1 contains an N-terminal immunoglobulin-like variable domain (IgV) followed by a mucin-like domain (Muc), a transmembrane domain, and a cytoplasmic tail with a canonical tyrosine kinase phosphorylation site. The IgV binds phosphatidylserine on apoptotic cells, extracellular vesicles, and enveloped viruses.

Comparison of Nanopore and Synthesis-Based Next-Generation Sequencing Platforms for SARS-CoV-2 Variant Monitoring in Wastewater.

Shortly after the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, many countries implemented sewage sentinel systems to monitor the circulation of the virus in the population. A fundamental part of these surveillance programs is the variant tracking through sequencing approaches to monitor and identify new variants or mutations that may be of importance. Two of the main sequencing platforms are Illumina and Oxford Nanopore Technologies.

Comparison of Extracellular Vesicle Isolation Methods for miRNA Sequencing.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) encapsulated in extracellular vesicles (EVs) are potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. However, discrepancies in miRNA patterns and their validation are still frequent due to differences in sample origin, EV isolation, and miRNA sequencing methods. The aim of the present study is to find a reliable EV isolation method for miRNA sequencing, adequate for clinical application.

Detection of Nonenveloped Hepatitis E Virus in Plasma of Infected Blood Donors.

Background: Transfusion-transmitted hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections have raised many concerns regarding the safety of blood products. To date, enveloped HEV particles have been described in circulating blood, whereas nonenveloped HEV virions have only been found in feces; however, no exhaustive studies have been performed to fully characterize HEV particles in blood.

Methods: Using isopycnic ultracentrifugation, we determined the types of HEV particles in plasma of HEV-infected blood donors.

Partial restoration of immune response in Hepatitis C patients after viral clearance by direct-acting antiviral therapy.

Background & Aims: HCV CD4+ and CD8+ specific T cells responses are functionally impaired during chronic hepatitis C infection. DAAs therapies eradicate HCV infection in more than 95% of treated patients. However, the impact of HCV elimination on immune responses remain controversial.

Pathogenicity and virulence of hepatitis A virus.

Hepatitis A is an acute infection of the liver, which is mostly asymptomatic in children and increases the severity with age. Although in most patients the infection resolves completely, in a few of them it may follow a prolonged or relapsed course or even a fulminant form. The reason for these different outcomes is unknown, but it is generally accepted that host factors such as the immunological status, age and the occurrence of underlaying hepatic diseases are the main determinants of the severity.

Exosome mimicry by a HAVCR1-NPC1 pathway of endosomal fusion mediates hepatitis A virus infection.

Cell-to-cell communication by exosomes controls normal and pathogenic processes. Viruses can spread in exosomes and thereby avoid immune recognition. While biogenesis, binding and uptake of exosomes are well characterized, delivery of exosome cargo into the cytoplasm is poorly understood.

HAVCR1 (CD365) and Its Mouse Ortholog Are Functional Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) Cellular Receptors That Mediate HAV Infection.

The hepatitis A virus (HAV) cellular receptor 1 (HAVCR1), classified as CD365, was initially discovered as an HAV cellular receptor using an expression cloning strategy. Due to the lack of HAV receptor-negative replication-competent cells, it was not possible to fully prove that HAVCR1 was a functional HAV receptor. However, biochemistry, classical virology, and epidemiology studies further supported the functional role of HAVCR1 as an HAV receptor.

Determinants in the Ig Variable Domain of Human HAVCR1 (TIM-1) Are Required To Enhance Hepatitis C Virus Entry.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the leading cause of chronic hepatitis in humans. Several host molecules participate in HCV cell entry, but this process remains unclear. The complete unraveling of the HCV entry process is important to further understand viral pathogenesis and develop therapeutics.

Improving virus production through quasispecies genomic selection and molecular breeding.

Virus production still is a challenging issue in antigen manufacture, particularly with slow-growing viruses. Deep-sequencing of genomic regions indicative of efficient replication may be used to identify high-fitness minority individuals suppressed by the ensemble of mutants in a virus quasispecies. Molecular breeding of quasispecies containing colonizer individuals, under regimes allowing more than one replicative cycle, is a strategy to select the fittest competitors among the colonizers.