Productive infection of the retinal pigment epithelium by SARS-CoV-2: Initial effects and consideration of long-term consequences.

As the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus continues to evolve and infect the global population, many individuals are likely to suffer from post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC). Manifestations of PASC include vision symptoms, but little is known about the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to infect and impact the retinal cells. Here, we demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 can infect and perturb the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in vivo, after intranasal inoculation of a transgenic mouse model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and in cell culture.

Immunofocusing on the conserved fusion peptide of HIV envelope glycoprotein in rhesus macaques.

During infection, the fusion peptide (FP) of HIV envelope glycoprotein (Env) serves a central role in viral fusion with the host cell. As such, the FP is highly conserved and therefore an attractive epitope for vaccine design. Here, we describe a vaccination study in non-human primates (NHPs) where glycan deletions were made on soluble HIV Env to increase FP epitope exposure.

The type VI secretion system induces intestinal macrophage redistribution and enhanced intestinal motility.

Unlabelled: Intestinal microbes, whether resident or transient, influence the physiology of their hosts, altering both the chemical and the physical characteristics of the gut. An example of the latter is the human pathogen ability to induce strong mechanical contractions, discovered in zebrafish. The underlying mechanism has remained unknown, but the phenomenon requires the actin crosslinking domain (ACD) of 's type VI secretion system (T6SS), a multicomponent protein syringe that pierces adjacent cells and delivers toxins.

Diabetes Device Satisfaction Among Adolescents Living With Type 1 Diabetes and Their Parents.

Background: Diabetes technologies are valuable tools to reduce burden and enhance glycemic control, especially during adolescence. The current study sought to understand the factors associated with parent and adolescent diabetes device satisfaction.

Methods: This study used cross-sectional data from 175 adolescents living with type 1 diabetes and 176 parents.

A novel HIV triple broadly neutralizing antibody (bNAb) combination-based passive immunization of infant rhesus macaques achieves durable protective plasma neutralization levels and mediates anti-viral effector functions.

To eliminate vertical HIV transmission and achieve therapy-free viral suppression among children living with HIV, novel strategies beyond antiretroviral therapy (ART) are necessary. Our group previously identified a triple broadly neutralizing antibody (bNAb) combination comprising of 3BNC117, PGDM1400 and PGT151 that mediates robust in vitro neutralization and non-neutralizing effector functions against a cross-clade panel of simian human immunodeficiency viruses (SHIVs). In this study, we evaluated the safety, pharmacokinetics, and antiviral potency of this bNAb combination in infant rhesus macaques (RMs).

Multi-disciplinary team approach for pediatric hemimegalencephaly: Insights from a single institutional case series.

Recent genetic studies have revealed that hemimegalencephaly (HME) is a multi-system disorder associated with germline or mosaic variants within the PI3K-mTOR-GATOR1 signaling pathways. Patients with HME typically develop drug-resistant epilepsy necessitating extensive evaluation, hemispherectomy, and long-term management. We describe the role of a multidisciplinary team (MDT) for the diagnosis and management of recent patients with HME at UCLA who underwent hemispherectomy.

Calpains Orchestrate Secretion of Annexin-containing Microvesicles during Membrane Repair.

Microvesicles (MVs) are membrane-enclosed, plasma membrane-derived particles released by cells from all branches of life. MVs have utility as disease biomarkers and may participate in intercellular communication; however, physiological processes that induce their secretion are not known. Here, we isolate and characterize annexin-containing MVs and show that these vesicles are secreted in response to the calcium influx caused by membrane damage.

Human Papillomavirus Vaccination and Human Papillomavirus-Related Cancer Rates.

Importance: To inform the design and implementation of targeted interventions to reduce the future burden of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancers in Texas, it is necessary to examine the county and health service region (HSR) levels of (1) the proportion of children and teenagers aged 9 to 17 years who initiated and were up to date for HPV vaccination series and (2) HPV-related cancer incidence rates (IRs).

Objective: To evaluate temporal trends and geospatial patterns of HPV vaccination initiation and up-to-date status as well as HPV-related cancer rates at county and HSR levels in Texas.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This population-based cross-sectional study used data from the Texas Immunization Registry, the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program database, and Texas Department of State Health Services annual population counts from 2006 to 2022.

The cellular adaptor GULP1 interacts with ATG14 to potentiate autophagy and APP processing.

Autophagy is a highly conserved catabolic mechanism by which unnecessary or dysfunctional cellular components are removed. The dysregulation of autophagy has been implicated in various neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Understanding the molecular mechanism(s)/molecules that influence autophagy may provide important insights into developing therapeutic strategies against AD and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Design of a covalent protein-protein interaction inhibitor of SRPKs to suppress angiogenesis and invasion of cancer cells.

Serine-arginine (SR) proteins are splicing factors that play essential roles in both constitutive and alternative pre-mRNA splicing. Phosphorylation of their C-terminal RS domains by SR protein kinases (SRPKs) regulates their localization and diverse cellular activities. Dysregulation of phosphorylation has been implicated in many human diseases, including cancers.

Fluorescein-Based SynNotch Adaptors for Regulating Gene Expression Responses to Diverse Extracellular Cues.

We introduce an adaptor-based strategy for regulating fluorescein-binding synthetic Notch (SynNotch) receptors using ligands based on conjugates of fluorescein isomers and analogs. To develop a versatile system, we evaluated the surface expression and activities of multiple constructs containing distinct extracellular fluorescein-binding domains. Using an optimized receptor, we devised ways to regulate signaling via fluorescein-based chemical transformations, including an approach based on a bio-orthogonal chemical ligation and a spatially controllable strategy via the photo-patterned uncaging of an -nitrobenzyl-caged fluorescein conjugate.

Vaccination induces broadly neutralizing antibody precursors to HIV gp41.

A key barrier to the development of vaccines that induce broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other viruses of high antigenic diversity is the design of priming immunogens that induce rare bnAb-precursor B cells. The high neutralization breadth of the HIV bnAb 10E8 makes elicitation of 10E8-class bnAbs desirable; however, the recessed epitope within gp41 makes envelope trimers poor priming immunogens and requires that 10E8-class bnAbs possess a long heavy chain complementarity determining region 3 (HCDR3) with a specific binding motif. We developed germline-targeting epitope scaffolds with affinity for 10E8-class precursors and engineered nanoparticles for multivalent display.

Temporal dynamics of fecal microbiota community succession in broiler chickens, calves, and piglets under aerobic exposure.

Researchers have extensively studied the effect of oxygen on the growth and survival of bacteria. However, the impact of oxygen on bacterial community structure, particularly its ability to select for taxa within the context of a complex microbial community, is still unclear. In a 21-day microcosm experiment, we investigated the effect of aerobic exposure on the fecal community structure and succession pattern in broiler, calf, and piglet feces ( = 10 for each feces type).

An integrated toolkit for human microglia functional genomics.

Background: Microglia, the brain's resident immune cells, play vital roles in brain development, and disorders like Alzheimer's disease (AD). Human iPSC-derived microglia (iMG) provide a promising model to study these processes. However, existing iMG generation protocols face challenges, such as prolonged differentiation time, lack of detailed characterization, and limited gene function investigation via CRISPR-Cas9.

Elucidating the ecophysiology of soybean pod-sucking stinkbug Riptortus pedestris (Hemiptera: Alydidae) based on de novo genome assembly and transcriptome analysis.

Food security is important for the ever-growing global population. Soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr.

Developing Lipase Inhibitor as a Novel Approach to Address the Rice Bran Rancidity Issue─A Critical Review.

Rice bran is a valuable byproduct from the food processing industry, which contains abundant protein, essential unsaturated fatty acids, and numerous bioactive compounds. However, its susceptibility to rancidity greatly restricts its wide utilization. Many strategies have been proposed to delay the rancidity of rice bran, but most of them have their respective limitations.

SRPK2 Mediates HBV Core Protein Phosphorylation and Capsid Assembly via Docking Interaction.

Members of the serine-arginine protein kinase (SRPK) family, SRPK1 and SRPK2, phosphorylate the hepatitis B core protein (Cp) and are crucial for pregenomic RNA encapsidation during viral nucleocapsid assembly. Among them, SRPK2 exhibits higher kinase activity toward Cp. In this study, we identified Cp sites that are phosphorylated by SRPK2 and demonstrated that the kinase utilizes an SRPK-specific docking groove to interact with and regulate the phosphorylation of the C-terminal arginine rich domain of Cp.

Development and validation of the provider assessed quality of consultations with language interpretation scale (PQC-LI).

Objective: With the growing immigrant communities in the western world, there is an urgent need to address language barriers to care, and health disparities as a whole. Studies on limited English proficiency patients (LEP) have focused on patient perspectives of office visits, however little is known about health care provider perspectives of medical visits using interpretive services. We aimed to develop a pragmatic brief questionnaire for assessing providers' views of the quality of communication in outpatient visits with patients with LEP.