Publications by authors named "Xue-Bing Ni"

Emerging tick-borne orthonairovirus infections pose a growing global concern, with limited understanding of the viral ovarian tumor-like cysteine proteases (vOTUs) encoded by novel orthonairoviruses. These vOTUs, a group of deubiquinylases (DUBs), disrupt the innate immune response. Yezo virus (YEZV), a recently discovered pathogenic orthonairovirus, was first reported in Japan in 2021.

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Spillovers of viruses from animals to humans occur more frequently under warmer conditions, particularly arboviruses. The invasive tick species Haemaphysalis longicornis, the Asian longhorned tick, poses a significant public health threat due to its global expansion and its potential to carry a wide range of pathogens. We analyzed meta-transcriptomic data from 3595 adult H.

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Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), an etiological agent causing febrile human disease was identified as an emerging tick-borne bunyavirus. The clinical disease characteristics and case fatality rates of SFTSV may vary across distinct regions and among different variant genotypes. From 2018 to 2022, we surveyed and recruited 202 severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) patients in Hubei Province, a high-incidence area of the epidemic, and conducted timely and systematic research on the disease characteristics, SFTSV diversity, and the correlation between virus genome variation and clinical diseases.

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Introduction: Ticks are the most important obligate blood-feeding vectors of human pathogens. With the advance of high-throughput sequencing, more and more bacterial community and virome in tick has been reported, which seems to pose a great threat to people.

Methods: A total of 14 skin specimens collected from tick-bite patients with mild to severe symptoms were analyzed through meta-transcriptomic sequencings.

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Background: The impact of host skin microbiome on horizontal transmission of tick-borne pathogens , and of pathogen associated transstadial and transovarial changes in tick microbiome are largely unknown, but are important to control increasingly emerging tick-borne diseases worldwide.

Methods: Focusing on a rickettsiosis pathogen, Rickettsia raoultii, we used R. raoultii-positive and R.

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The increasing prevalence and expanding distribution of tick-borne viruses globally have raised health concerns, but the full repertoire of the tick virome has not been assessed. We sequenced the meta-transcriptomes of 31 different tick species in the Ixodidae and Argasidae families from across mainland China, and identified 724 RNA viruses with distinctive virome compositions among genera. A total of 1,801 assembled and complete or nearly complete viral genomes revealed an extensive diversity of genome architectures of tick-associated viruses, highlighting ticks as a reservoir of RNA viruses.

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The long-lasting co-evolution of ticks with pathogens results in mutual adaptation. Blood-feeding is one of the critical physiological behaviors that have been associated with the tick microbiome; however, most knowledge was gained through the study of laboratory-reared ticks. Here we detached ticks at different stages of blood-feeding from human patients and performed high-throughput transcriptomic analysis on them to identify their virome and genes differentially expressed between flat and fully fed ticks.

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Among arthropod vectors, ticks transmit the most diverse human and animal pathogens, leading to an increasing number of new challenges worldwide. Here we sequenced and assembled high-quality genomes of six ixodid tick species and further resequenced 678 tick specimens to understand three key aspects of ticks: genetic diversity, population structure, and pathogen distribution. We explored the genetic basis common to ticks, including heme and hemoglobin digestion, iron metabolism, and reactive oxygen species, and unveiled for the first time that genetic structure and pathogen composition in different tick species are mainly shaped by ecological and geographic factors.

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The ongoing outbreak of viral pneumonia in China and across the world is associated with a new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. This outbreak has been tentatively associated with a seafood market in Wuhan, China, where the sale of wild animals may be the source of zoonotic infection. Although bats are probable reservoir hosts for SARS-CoV-2, the identity of any intermediate host that may have facilitated transfer to humans is unknown.

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Article Synopsis
  • Jingmen tick virus (JMTV) has been linked to tick bites and severe cases in humans, including connections to a deadly disease called Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever.
  • Researchers discovered JMTV strains in patients and infected ticks, demonstrating the virus can replicate in human skin tissue and accumulate in tick salivary glands.
  • The study indicates JMTV poses significant public health risks due to its potential to cause severe illness and its efficient transmission by ticks, warranting further research and attention.
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Northeastern China is a region of high tick abundance, multiple tick-borne pathogens and likely human infections. The spectrum of diseases caused by tick-borne pathogens has not been objectively evaluated in this region for clinical management and for comparison with other regions globally where tick-transmitted diseases are common. Based on clinical symptoms, PCR, indirect immunofluorescent assay and (or) blood smear, we identified and described tick-borne diseases from patients with recent tick bite seen at Mudanjiang Forestry Central Hospital.

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Rickettsiales are important zoonotic pathogens, causing severe disease in humans globally. Although mosquitoes are an important vector for diverse pathogens, with the exception of members of the genus Wolbachia little is known about their role in the transmission of Rickettsiales. Herein, Rickettsiales were identified by PCR in five species of mosquitoes (Anopheles sinensis, Armigeres subalbatus, Aedes albopictus, Culex quinquefasciatus and Cu.

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Article Synopsis
  • Human babesiosis, specifically caused by "Babesia venatorum," is a newly recognized disease, with 48 cases identified in individuals following tick bites in a hospital in China.
  • Diagnosis was made through various methods including PCR and microscopic identification, and most patients were middle-aged, with symptoms like fever, headache, and myalgia.
  • The study suggests that "B venatorum" should be considered in diagnosing tick-borne illnesses, as the infection leads to notable changes in certain biomarkers and symptoms similar to other tick-borne diseases.
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  • Researchers identified Rickettsia raoultii infections in two individuals in China who had localized rashes from tick bites.
  • The presence of R. raoultii DNA was detected in 4% of Dermacentor silvarum ticks collected from the area.
  • Additionally, the DNA was found in one tick that was removed from one of the infected patients.
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Salp15, a 15-kDa tick salivary gland protein, is both essential for ticks to successfully obtain host blood and also facilitates transmission of Lyme borreliosis. To determine whether the Salp15 gene is expressed in Ixodes persulcatus and Ixodes sinensis, principle vectors of Lyme borreliosis in China, we studied transcriptions of this gene in semi-engorged larvae, nymph and adults of these two species. A total of eight Salp15 homologues, five in I.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers have sequenced the genome of Borrelia afzelii strain HLJ01, which was isolated from a Lyme disease patient in China.
  • This finding marks the first complete genomic analysis of a B. burgdorferi sensu lato strain taken from a human in China.
  • The study contributes to our understanding of Lyme disease-causing bacteria in the region.
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