Micromanaging Immunity in the Murine Host vs. the Mosquito Vector: Microbiota-Dependent Immune Responses to Intestinal Parasites.

The digestive tract plays a central role in nutrient acquisition and harbors a vast and intricate community of bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites, collectively known as the microbiota. In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of the complex and highly contextual involvement of this microbiota in the induction and education of host innate and adaptive immune responses under homeostasis, during infection and inflammation. The gut passage and colonization by unicellular and multicellular parasite species present an immense challenge to the host immune system and to the microbial communities that provide vital support for its proper functioning.

Insects Go on a STING Operation to Tackle Intracellular Invaders.

Insect immunity to extracellular microbes relies largely on the TOLL and IMD pathways. In this issue of Immunity, Goto et al. (2018) report that the IKKβ-Relish module of the IMD pathway hitches up the intracellular sensor STING to activate antiviral responses in Drosophila.

NF-κB-Like Signaling Pathway REL2 in Immune Defenses of the Malaria Vector .

The blood feeding requirements of insects are often exploited by pathogens for their transmission. This is also the case of the protozoan parasites of genus , the causative agents of malaria. Every year malaria claims the lives of a half million people, making its vector, the mosquito, the deadliest animal in the world.

HIV-1 diversity, transmission dynamics and primary drug resistance in Angola.

Objectives: To assess HIV-1 diversity, transmission dynamics and prevalence of transmitted drug resistance (TDR) in Angola, five years after ART scale-up.

Methods: Population sequencing of the pol gene was performed on 139 plasma samples collected in 2009 from drug-naive HIV-1 infected individuals living in Luanda. HIV-1 subtypes were determined using phylogenetic analysis.