Publications by authors named "T Maemura"

Influenza B viruses pose a significant threat to global public health, leading to severe respiratory infections in humans and, in some cases, death. During the last 50 years, influenza B viruses of two antigenically distinct lineages (termed 'Victoria' and 'Yamagata') have circulated in humans, necessitating two different influenza B vaccine strains. In this study, we devised a novel vaccine strategy involving reciprocal amino acid substitutions at sites where Victoria- and Yamagata-lineage viruses differ, leading to the generation of 'hybrid' vaccine viruses with the potential to protect against both lineages.

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Vaccination is the most effective strategy to combat influenza. Ideally, potent and persistent vaccine effects would be induced with a single vaccine dose. Here, we designed a virus-like particle (VLP)-based vaccine presenting multiple copies of the influenza hemagglutinin (HA) from A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 (PR8HA-VLP) and examined its immunogenicity and protective efficacy in ferrets.

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Article Synopsis
  • An unprecedented outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (HPAI H5N1) affected bovine herds in the USA in spring 2024, leading to infections in other animals and potential spillover to humans.
  • Researchers isolated HPAI H5N1 virus from infected cow milk and studied its impact on mice and ferrets, finding that it spread throughout these animals, including to mammary glands, similar to previous strains.
  • Although the bovine H5N1 virus showed some ability to bind to human respiratory tissues and transmit minimally among ferrets, it exhibited features that raise concerns about potential infection and spread in mammals.
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Background/aim: The larynx plays a pivotal role in vocalization and airway protection, and laryngeal cancer manifests through various symptoms. Contemporary strategies focus on laryngeal preservation, particularly through non-surgical modality therapies that utilize radiotherapy. The aim of this study was to assess the laryngeal preservation rate after definitive radiation therapy in patients with locally advanced laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and investigate salvage therapy subsequent to the initial recurrence in a real-world context.

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