Publications by authors named "Tracy K Santo"
Article Synopsis
- Gene drives are genetic tools created to spread specific modifications through populations, and a new approach has been developed for herpesviruses that uses co-infection of engineered and wild-type viruses.* -
- This research focused on a gene drive targeting human herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), demonstrating its ability to propagate in cell cultures and during infections in mice, particularly affecting neuronal tissues.* -
- The study revealed significant co-infection and recombination rates in HSV-1, suggesting that these gene drives could serve as potential therapies by effectively spreading genetic modifications during viral infections.*
Article Synopsis
- Anti-HSV therapies currently only suppress the virus and don't eliminate its dormant form in nerve cells, which causes recurring outbreaks.
- A new gene editing method using HSV-specific meganucleases delivered by adeno-associated virus (AAV) can significantly reduce latent HSV DNA in mouse models, achieving over 90% elimination in orofacial infections and up to 97% in genital infections.
- Although the therapy is mostly well-tolerated, some high doses lead to liver toxicity and mild nerve damage; adjustments like using a single AAV serotype and a specific neuron-targeting promoter could enhance safety without losing effectiveness.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a pathogen of major public health importance that is largely incurable once a chronic infection is established. Only humans and great apes are fully permissive to HBV infection, and this species restriction has impacted HBV research by limiting the utility of small animal models. To combat HBV species restrictions and enable more studies, liver-humanized mouse models have been developed that are permissive to HBV infection and replication.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections comprise a leading cause of newborn impairments worldwide and are pervasive concerns among the immunocompromised. Quantification of CMV viral loads is increasingly used to guide definitions of CMV disease but standardization of CMV quantitation remains problematic, mostly due to differences in qPCR amplicon sizes between clinical laboratories. Here, we used plasma cfDNA sequencing data from 2,208 samples sent for non-invasive prenatal aneuploidy screening to detect CMV and precisely measure the length of CMV fragments in human plasma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Human herpesvirus 6 is associated with a variety of complications in immunocompromised patients, but no studies have systematically and comprehensively assessed the impact of human herpesvirus 6 reactivation, and its interaction with cytomegalovirus, in ICU patients.
Design: We prospectively assessed human herpesvirus 6 and cytomegalovirus viremia by twice-weekly plasma polymerase chain reaction in a longitudinal cohort study of 115 adult, immunocompetent ICU patients. The association of human herpesvirus 6 and cytomegalovirus reactivation with death or continued hospitalization by day 30 (primary endpoint) was assessed by multivariable logistic regression analyses.