Publications by authors named "Mhlanga M"

The Human Cell Atlas (HCA) is a global partnership "to create comprehensive reference maps of all human cells-the fundamental units of life - as a basis for both understanding human health and diagnosing, monitoring, and treating disease." ( https://www.humancellatlas.

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  • Colorectal surgery often leads to significant postoperative complications, mainly infections, potentially due to monocyte epigenetic changes and immune tolerance.
  • A study involving 100 patients measured changes in damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and cytokine production, alongside exploratory analyses of proteins and DNA accessibility in monocytes.
  • Results showed significant increases in plasma DAMPs, particularly HMGB1 and mitochondrial DNA post-surgery, while in vitro tests revealed that HSP70 and HMGB1 reduced the cytokine production capacity of immune cells.
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  • * A project aimed to address these issues by creating targeted peer support groups for pregnant adolescents and young mothers in Epworth district, using a 'Champions of Change' approach for comprehensive sexuality education.
  • * Results showed significant improvements in knowledge, attitudes, and healthcare-seeking behaviors related to sexual and reproductive health, as well as enhanced service quality and provider friendliness.
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  • Chronic high cholesterol levels lead to systemic immune responses that accelerate atherosclerosis, but the impact of alternating high-fat diets (HFD) had not been well studied.
  • Researchers used a mouse model to compare the effects of an alternating HFD versus a continuous HFD on atherosclerosis progression, finding that the alternating diet significantly worsened the condition.
  • The study revealed that this worsening was linked to IL-1β production, which triggered inflammatory responses and increased neutrophil levels that contributed to plaque formation and exacerbated atherosclerosis, suggesting that targeting these pathways could reverse the effects.
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Trained immunity is characterized by histone modifications and metabolic changes in innate immune cells following exposure to inflammatory signals, leading to heightened responsiveness to secondary stimuli. Although our understanding of the molecular regulation of trained immunity has increased, the role of adaptive immune cells herein remains largely unknown. Here, we show that T cells modulate trained immunity via cluster of differentiation 40-tissue necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (CD40-TRAF6) signaling.

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The innate immune system plays an essential role in regulating the immune responses to kidney transplantation, but the mechanisms through which innate immune cells influence long-term graft survival are unclear. The current study highlights the vital role of trained immunity in kidney allograft survival. Trained immunity describes the epigenetic and metabolic changes that innate immune cells undergo following an initial stimulus, allowing them have a stronger inflammatory response to subsequent stimuli.

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We performed long-read transcriptome and proteome profiling of pathogen-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy donors to discover new transcript and protein isoforms expressed during immune responses to diverse pathogens. Long-read transcriptome profiling reveals novel sequences and isoform switching induced upon pathogen stimulation, including transcripts that are difficult to detect using traditional short-read sequencing. Widespread loss of intron retention occurs as a common result of all pathogen stimulations.

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Inflammation is characterized by a biphasic cycle consisting initially of a proinflammatory phase that is subsequently resolved by anti-inflammatory processes. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is a master regulator of proinflammation and is encoded within the same topologically associating domain (TAD) as IL-37, which is an anti-inflammatory cytokine that opposes the function of IL-1β. Within this TAD, we identified a long noncoding RNA called AMANZI, which negatively regulates IL-1β expression and trained immunity through the induction of IL37 transcription.

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Macrophages provide a first line of defense against invading pathogens, including the leading cause of bacterial mortality, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). A challenge for quantitative characterization of host-pathogen processes in differentially polarized primary human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) is their heterogeneous morphology. Here, we describe the use of microfabricated patterns that constrain the size and shape of cells, mimicking the physiological spatial confinement cells experience in tissues, to quantitatively characterize interactions during and after phagocytosis at the single-cell level at high resolution.

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Fetal biometry and amniotic fluid volume assessments are two essential yet repetitive tasks in fetal ultrasound screening scans, aiding in the detection of potentially life-threatening conditions. However, these assessment methods can occasionally yield unreliable results. Advances in deep learning have opened up new avenues for automated measurements in fetal ultrasound, demonstrating human-level performance in various fetal ultrasound tasks.

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During 2016-2017, Nakaseomyces glabrata (formerly Candida glabrata) caused 14% of cases of candidaemia in South Africa. We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of adults with N. glabrata candidaemia at 20 sentinel hospitals (accounting for 20% (172/917) of cases) and the antifungal susceptibility of the corresponding isolates.

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Genetic variation is a key factor influencing cytokine production capacity, but which genetic loci regulate cytokine production before and after vaccination, particularly in African population is unknown. Here, we aimed to identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) controlling cytokine responses after microbial stimulation in infants of West-African ancestry, comprising of low-birth-weight neonates randomized to bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine-at-birth or to the usual delayed BCG. Genome-wide cytokine cytokine quantitative trait loci (cQTL) mapping revealed 12 independent loci, of which the LINC01082-LINC00917 locus influenced more than half of the cytokine-stimulation pairs assessed.

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Mutations and defects in nuclear lamins can cause major pathologies, including inflammation and inflammatory diseases. Yet, the underlying molecular mechanisms are not known. We now report that the pro-inflammatory activation of macrophages, as induced by LPS or pathogenic .

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Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as critical regulators of gene expression, yet their contribution to immune regulation in humans remains poorly understood. Here, we report that the primate-specific lncRNA is induced by influenza A virus and SARS-CoV-2 infection and coordinates the expression of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) that execute antiviral responses. depletion in human macrophages reduces histone acetylation at regulatory regions of ISG loci and attenuates ISG expression in response to microbial stimuli.

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Nuclear-encoded mitochondrial protein mRNAs have been found to be localized and locally translated within neuronal processes. However, the mechanism of transport for those mRNAs to distal locations is not fully understood. Here, we describe axonal co-transport of Cox7c with mitochondria.

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Advances in single-cell RNA sequencing have allowed for the identification of cellular subtypes on the basis of quantification of the number of transcripts in each cell. However, cells might also differ in the spatial distribution of molecules, including RNAs. Here, we present DypFISH, an approach to quantitatively investigate the subcellular localization of RNA and protein.

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Mammals face and overcome an onslaught of endogenous and exogenous challenges in order to survive. Typical immune cells and barrier cells, such as epithelia, must respond rapidly and effectively to encountered pathogens and aberrant cells to prevent invasion and eliminate pathogenic species before they become overgrown and cause harm. On the other hand, inappropriate initiation and failed termination of immune cell effector function in the absence of pathogens or aberrant tissue gives rise to a number of chronic, auto-immune, and neoplastic diseases.

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Background: The interleukin (IL)-1 pathway is primarily associated with innate immunological defense and plays a major role in the induction and regulation of inflammation. Both common and rare genetic variation in this pathway underlies various inflammation-mediated diseases, but the role of rare variants relative to common variants in immune response variability in healthy individuals remains unclear.

Methods: We performed molecular inversion probe sequencing on 48 IL-1 pathway-related genes in 463 healthy individuals from the Human Functional Genomics Project.

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  • The study focused on the epidemiology of candidemia, a yeast infection in the bloodstream, among children in South Africa from 2012 to 2017, with a significant number of cases in neonates (49%).
  • The most common types of Candida identified were C. parapsilosis (42%) and C. albicans (36%), with notable fluconazole resistance in C. parapsilosis (55%).
  • Despite high overall mortality rates (38%), infection with C. parapsilosis in neonates was associated with lower mortality compared to other species, indicating a complex relationship between the type of Candida and patient outcomes.
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RNA binding proteins (RBPs) interact with cellular mRNAs, controlling various steps throughout the lifetime of these transcripts, including transcription, cellular transport, subcellular localization, translation and degradation. In addition to binding mRNA transcripts, a growing number of RBPs are shown to bind long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), controlling key cellular processes, including gene expression and translation of proteins. Current methodologies aimed at identifying and characterizing protein binding partners of specific RNAs of interest typically rely on tagging of the RNA with affinity aptamers, using transcribed RNA or immobilized oligonucleotides to capture RNA-protein complexes under native conditions.

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