Type I interferons play a fundamental role in innate host defense against viral infections by eliciting the induction of an antiviral gene program that serves to inhibit viral replication. Activation of type I interferon is regulated by the IRF3 transcription factor, which undergoes phosphorylation-dependent activation by the upstream kinase, TBK1, during viral infection. However, the mechanisms by which TBK1 achieves activation to support signaling to IRF3 remain incompletely understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBile acid transformation is a common gut microbiome activity that produces secondary bile acids, some of which are important for human health. One such process, 7α-dehydroxylation, converts the primary bile acids, cholic acid and chenodeoxycholic acid, to deoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid, respectively. This transformation requires a number of enzymes, generally encoded in a bile acid-inducible () operon and consists of multiple steps.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCOVID-19, which is caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2, is characterized by lung pathology and extrapulmonary complications. Type I interferons (IFNs) have an essential role in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 (refs ). Although rapid induction of type I IFNs limits virus propagation, a sustained increase in the levels of type I IFNs in the late phase of the infection is associated with aberrant inflammation and poor clinical outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurrent treatments for hepatitis C infection have limited efficacy, and there is no vaccine available. The goal of this study was to compare the immune response to several immunization combinations against hepatitis C virus (HCV). Six groups of mice were immunized at weeks 0, 4, and 8 with different combinations of a candidate HCV vaccine consisting of 100 microg recombinant HCV core/E1/E2 (rHCV) DNA plasmid and/or 25 microg rHCV polyprotein and 50 microL Montanide ISA- 51.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfect Immun
December 1996
Migration of the fungal pathogen Candida albicans across the endothelial cell layer is considered a prerequisite for the invasion of multiple organs occurring in systemic candidiasis. We developed an experimental system in which C. albicans migrates from a luminal compartment across a monolayer of bovine aortic endothelial cells on a porous filter support to an abluminal compartment.
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