Publications by authors named "Sophie N Spector"
Article Synopsis
- Arboviruses pose a significant public health risk, especially as cardiovascular symptoms related to these infections are becoming more recognized.
- A study explored how various arboviruses, particularly the alphaviruses chikungunya and Mayaro, interact with human cardiac cells, revealing that while Mayaro can replicate effectively, the Indian Ocean Lineage of chikungunya shows complete replication restrictions.
- The research suggests that this replication restriction occurs during the virus's entry and exit from cells, and hints that Mayaro may better evade the immune response in heart cells, warranting further investigation into how these dynamics affect disease outcomes.
Article Synopsis
- Scientists studied a virus called chikungunya and found changes in its protein that affect how it infects cells.
- They discovered specific mutations in the virus’s E1 protein that change another protein called E2, making it easier for the virus to enter different types of cells.
- The study showed that these changes can make the virus infect more effectively in mosquitoes and certain cell types, which helps us understand how the virus spreads and could help fight it.
Unlabelled: The genomic determinants that contribute to orthobunyavirus infection and pathogenesis are not well-defined. In this study, we harnessed the process of reassortment to understand which viral factors drive change in the replication and pathogenesis of La Crosse virus (LACV). We systematically reassorted the genomic segments of two genetically similar Lineage I LACV isolates into six unique reassortants.
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- Alphaviruses, such as CHIKV, have different mechanisms for infecting mammals and insects, with this study focusing on specific variants of the E1 glycoprotein that affect host infection dynamics.
- The variants E1-N20Y and E1-M88L showed enhanced infectivity in mosquito and mammalian cells, respectively, suggesting that the E1 glycoprotein's structure plays a crucial role in virus binding and entry.
- The findings highlight the importance of understanding glycoprotein interactions and dynamics, as they influence the virus's ability to infect different cell types and hosts, which is vital given the public health implications of arboviruses.
Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are an emerging and evolving global public health threat, with limited antiviral treatments or vaccines available. La Crosse virus (LACV) from the order is responsible for pediatric encephalitis cases in the United States, yet little is known about the infectivity of LACV. Given the structural similarities between class II fusion glycoproteins of LACV and chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an alphavirus from the family, we hypothesized that LACV would share similar entry mechanisms with CHIKV.
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- - Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) can infect heart cells, specifically cardiac fibroblasts, and while often cleared by the immune response in healthy mice, it can lead to cardiac issues in the absence of proper immune signaling.
- - The study used mouse models and human cardiac cells to show that MAVS signaling is crucial for clearing CHIKV from the heart, and without it, persistent infection can cause inflammatory heart conditions.
- - Researchers emphasize the need for monitoring heart health in patients infected with CHIKV due to the potential for lasting cardiovascular problems, including vasculitis and myocarditis.
Unlabelled: Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are an emerging and evolving global public health threat with little to no antiviral treatments. La Crosse virus (LACV) from the order is responsible for pediatric encephalitis cases in the United States, yet little is known about the infectivity of LACV. Given the structural similarities between class II fusion glycoproteins of LACV and chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an alphavirus from the family, we hypothesized that LACV would share similar entry mechanisms to CHIKV.
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