Publications by authors named "Sandra N Lester"
Article Synopsis
- * The CDC's National SARS-CoV-2 Strain Surveillance (NS3) program analyzed SARS-CoV-2 samples to understand the evolution of these variants and their spike mutations from May 2021 to February 2023.
- * The study found that some subvariants have significantly evaded neutralizing antibodies from post-vaccination sera, indicating a need for ongoing research to evaluate the effectiveness of current vaccines and inform future updates.
Article Synopsis
- SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, was identified in 2019 and has led to a significant global health crisis.
- The study evaluated the effectiveness of various serological tests for detecting SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies, including in-house ELISA and commercial assays, using samples from confirmed COVID-19 patients and a control group.
- All tests showed high sensitivity (95.4-96.6%) and diagnostic accuracy, but the researchers emphasized the need for independent evaluations to enhance the interpretation of serological test results.
Article Synopsis
- This study aimed to evaluate how effective COVID-19 vaccines, both with and without booster doses, are at preventing hospital admissions due to the omicron variant in the U.S.
- Conducted in 18 hospitals, the research involved 4,760 adults diagnosed with respiratory symptoms, half of whom had confirmed COVID-19, allowing for a comparison between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals based on their COVID-19 vaccine status.
- Results showed that vaccine effectiveness varied: for immunocompetent patients, receiving a primary series plus two boosters had a 63% effectiveness, one booster had 65%, whereas a primary series alone was only 37% effective against hospitalization due to COVID-19.
To compare the effectiveness of a primary COVID-19 vaccine series plus a booster dose with a primary series alone for the prevention of Omicron variant COVID-19 hospitalization. Multicenter observational case-control study using the test-negative design to evaluate vaccine effectiveness (VE). Twenty-one hospitals in the United States (US).
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- - A study was conducted on nursing home residents who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 to analyze immune responses in both plasma and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) during and after their infection.
- - 14 residents participated, with antibody levels measured at multiple time points; results showed that most participants had robust immune responses, with key antibodies detected in both plasma and GCF.
- - The findings suggest that GCF could be a noninvasive and effective way to monitor immune responses to SARS-CoV-2, especially in individuals who may have difficulty with blood draws.
The rapid worldwide spread of SARS-CoV-2 has accelerated research and development for controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. A multi-coronavirus protein microarray was created containing full-length proteins, overlapping protein fragments of various lengths, and peptide libraries from SARS-CoV-2 and four other human coronaviruses. Sera from confirmed COVID-19 patients as well as unexposed individuals were applied to multicoronavirus arrays to identify specific antibody reactivity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThree COVID-19 vaccines are authorized or approved for use among adults in the United States (1,2). Two 2-dose mRNA vaccines, mRNA-1273 from Moderna and BNT162b2 from Pfizer-BioNTech, received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2020 for persons aged ≥18 years and aged ≥16 years, respectively. A 1-dose viral vector vaccine (Ad26.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Widespread global transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), continues. Many questions remain about asymptomatic or atypical infections and transmission dynamics. We used comprehensive contact tracing of the first 2 confirmed patients in Illinois with COVID-19 and serologic SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing to determine whether contacts had evidence of undetected COVID-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmong 249 healthcare personnel who worked in hospital units with COVID-19 patients for 1 month, 19 (7.6%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Only 11 (57.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAfter returning from Europe to the United States, on March 1, 2020, a symptomatic teacher received positive test results for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Of the 21 students exposed to the teacher in the classroom, serologic results suggested past infection for 2. Classroom contact may result in virus transmission.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFToll-like receptors (TLRs) are fundamental sensor molecules of the host innate immune system, which detect conserved molecular signatures of a wide range of microbial pathogens and initiate innate immune responses via distinct signaling pathways. Various TLRs are implicated in the early interplay of host cells with invading viruses, which regulates viral replication and/or host responses, ultimately impacting on viral pathogenesis. To survive the host innate defense mechanisms, many viruses have developed strategies to evade or counteract signaling through the TLR pathways, creating an advantageous environment for their propagation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMCPIP1 restricts HIV infection and is rapidly degraded in activated CD4+ T cells.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
November 2013
HIV-1 primarily infects activated CD4+ T cells and macrophages. Quiescent CD4+ T cells, however, possess cellular factors that limit HIV-1 infection at different postentry steps of the viral life cycle. Here, we show that the previously reported immune regulator monocyte chemotactic protein-induced protein 1 (MCPIP1) restricts HIV-1 production in CD4+ T cells.
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