Strain Variation Can Significantly Modulate the miRNA Response to Zika Virus Infection.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted virus that has emerged as a major public health concern due to its association with neurological disorders in humans, including microcephaly in fetuses. ZIKV infection has been shown to alter the miRNA profile in host cells, and these changes can contain elements that are proviral, while others can be antiviral in action. In this study, the expression of 22 miRNAs in human A549 cells infected with two different ZIKV isolates was investigated.

The vitamin D receptor agonist EB1089 can exert its antiviral activity independently of the vitamin D receptor.

Vitamin D has been shown to have antiviral activity in a number of different systems. However, few studies have investigated whether the antiviral activity is exerted through the vitamin D receptor (VDR). In this study, we investigated whether the antiviral activity of a vitamin D receptor agonist (EB1089) towards dengue virus (DENV) was modulated by VDR.

Hydrogel-based 3D human iPSC-derived neuronal culture for the study of rabies virus infection.

Background: Rabies is a highly fatal infectious disease that poses a significant threat to human health in developing countries. In vitro study-based understanding of pathogenesis and tropism of different strains of rabies virus (RABV) in the central nervous system (CNS) is limited due to the lack of suitable culture models that recapitulate the complex communication pathways among host cells, extracellular matrices, and viruses. Therefore, a three-dimensional (3D) cell culture that mimics cell-matrix interactions, resembling in vivo microenvironment, is necessary to discover relevant underlying mechanisms of RABV infection and host responses.

SARS-CoV-2 Delta (B.1.617.2) variant replicates and induces syncytia formation in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived macrophages.

Alveolar macrophages are tissue-resident immune cells that protect epithelial cells in the alveoli from invasion by pathogens, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Therefore, the interaction between macrophages and SARS-CoV-2 is inevitable. However, little is known about the role of macrophages in SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Establishment of Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neurons-A Promising In Vitro Model for a Molecular Study of Rabies Virus and Host Interaction.

Rabies is a deadly viral disease caused by the rabies virus (RABV), transmitted through a bite of an infected host, resulting in irreversible neurological symptoms and a 100% fatality rate in humans. Despite many aspects describing rabies neuropathogenesis, numerous hypotheses remain unanswered and concealed. Observations obtained from infected primary neurons or mouse brain samples are more relevant to human clinical rabies than permissive cell lines; however, limitations regarding the ethical issue and sample accessibility become a hurdle for discovering new insights into virus-host interplays.

PEDV and PDCoV Pathogenesis: The Interplay Between Host Innate Immune Responses and Porcine Enteric Coronaviruses.

Enteropathogenic porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) and porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV), members of the coronavirus family, account for the majority of lethal watery diarrhea in neonatal pigs in the past decade. These two viruses pose significant economic and public health burdens, even as both continue to emerge and reemerge worldwide. The ability to evade, circumvent or subvert the host's first line of defense, namely the innate immune system, is the key determinant for pathogen virulence, survival, and the establishment of successful infection.

Modeling Williams syndrome with induced pluripotent stem cells.

The development of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) like never before has opened novel opportunity to study diseases in relevant cell types. In our recent study, Williams syndrome (WS), a rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorder, that is caused by hemizygous deletion of 25-28 genes on chromosome 7, is of interest because of its unique cognitive and social profiles. Little is known about haploinsufficiency effect of those deleted genes on molecular and cellular phenotypes at the neural level due to the lack of relevant human cellular model.

Deciphering the biology of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus in the era of reverse genetics.

Emergence of the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) as a global threat to the swine industry underlies the urgent need for deeper understanding of this virus. To date, we have yet to identify functions for all the major gene products, much less grasp their implications for the viral life cycle and pathogenic mechanisms. A major reason is the lack of genetic tools for studying PEDV.

Systematic optimization of human pluripotent stem cells media using Design of Experiments.

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) are used to study the early stages of human development in vitro and, increasingly due to somatic cell reprogramming, cellular and molecular mechanisms of disease. Cell culture medium is a critical factor for hPSC to maintain pluripotency and self-renewal. Numerous defined culture media have been empirically developed but never systematically optimized for culturing hPSC.

Micro RNA detection in long-term fixed tissue of cortical glutamatergic pyramidal neurons after targeted laser-capture neuroanatomical microdissection.

Background: Formalin fixation (FF) is the standard and most common method for preserving postmortem brain tissue. FF stabilizes cellular morphology and tissue architecture, and can be used to study the distinct morphologic and genetic signatures of different cell types. Although the procedure involved in FF degrades messenger RNA over time, an alternative approach is to use small RNAs (sRNAs) for genetic analysis associated with cell morphology.

Modeling neurodevelopmental disorders using human neurons.

The cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism spectrum disorders have been studied intensively for decades. The unavailability of live patient neurons for research, however, has represented a major obstacle in the elucidation of the disease etiologies. Recently, the development of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology allows for the generation of human neurons from somatic cells of patients.