Publications by authors named "W Van den Broeck"

Article Synopsis
  • Alphaherpesviruses like HSV-1, pseudorabies virus (PRV), and bovine herpesvirus (BoHV-1) are important pathogens that invade the respiratory tract, but the specifics of how they penetrate mucosal barriers are still unclear.
  • This study focuses on the gE/gI glycoprotein complex and proteases, finding that removing calcium from the environment enhances viral infection by breaking down epithelial junctions and suggesting a shared method for how these viruses target their receptors.
  • Results showed that PRV replicates faster and invades deeper than HSV-1 and BoHV-1, with the gE glycoprotein being crucial for viral entry, while specific proteases contribute differently to invasion among
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Numerous (Af) airborne spores are inhaled daily by humans and animals due to their ubiquitous presence. The interaction between the spores and the respiratory epithelium, as well as its impact on the epithelial barrier function, remains largely unknown. The epithelial barrier protects the respiratory epithelium against viral infections.

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White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is marked as one of the most economically devastating pathogens in shrimp aquaculture worldwide. Infection of cultured shrimp can lead to mass mortality (up to 100%). Although progress has been made, our understanding of WSSV's infection process and the virus-host-environment interaction is far from complete.

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Background: Only seven cases of ocular Spiroplasma infection have been reported to date, all presenting as congenital cataracts with concomitant intraocular inflammation. We describe the first case of Spiroplasma infection initially presenting as a corneal infiltrate.

Case Presentation: A 1-month-old girl was referred for a corneal infiltrate in the left eye.

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Background: Chitinase-like proteins (CLPs) play a key role in immunosuppression under inflammatory conditions such as cancer. CLPs are enzymatically inactive and become neutralized upon binding of their natural ligand chitin, potentially reducing CLP-driven immunosuppression. We investigated the efficacy of chitin treatment in the context of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) using complementary mouse models.

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