Respiratory infections cause significant morbidity and mortality, yet it is unclear why some individuals succumb to severe disease. In patients hospitalized with avian A(H7N9) influenza, we investigated early drivers underpinning fatal disease. Transcriptomics strongly linked oleoyl-acyl-carrier-protein (ACP) hydrolase (OLAH), an enzyme mediating fatty acid production, with fatal A(H7N9) early after hospital admission, persisting until death.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) assay is a widely used technology for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) in clinical samples. However, the study on the failure of the Xpert assay during routine implementation and its potential solutions is limited.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the records of unsuccessful tests in the Xpert and the GeneXpert MTB/RIF Ultra (Ultra) assays between April 2017 and April 2021 at the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center.
The Shroom (Shrm) family of actin-binding proteins has a unique and highly conserved Apx/Shrm Domain 2 (ASD2) motif. Shroom protein directs the subcellular localization of Rho-associated kinase (ROCK), which remodels the actomyosin cytoskeleton and changes cellular morphology via its ability to phosphorylate and activate non-muscle myosin II. Therefore, the Shrm-ROCK complex is critical for the cellular shape and the development of many tissues, including the neural tube, eye, intestines, heart, and vasculature system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFT cell/B cell mixed phenotypic lymphocytes have been observed in different disease contexts, yet their presence and function in physiological conditions remain elusive. Here, we provide evidence for the existence of a lymphocyte subset endogenously expressing both T- and B-cell lineage markers in mice. The majority of these T/B phenotypic lymphocytes (CD3CD19) show an origin of pro/pre B cells and distribute widely in mouse bone marrow, lymph nodes, spleen, and peripheral blood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground & Aims: Immunotherapy for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has not yet demonstrated sufficient efficacy. We developed a non-integrative lentiviral-vectored therapeutic vaccine for chronic hepatitis B and tested its antiviral effects in HBV-persistent mice and two inactive HBsAg carriers.
Methods: Lentiviral vectors (LVs) encoding the core, preS1, or large HBsAg (LHBs) proteins of HBV were evaluated for immunogenicity in HBV-naïve mice and therapeutic efficacy in a murine model of chronic HBV infection.
Background: The confirmed cases in the current outbreak of Monkeypox are predominantly identified in the networks of men who have sex with men (MSM). The preexisting antibodies may profoundly impact the transmission of monkeypox virus (MPXV), however the current-day prevalence of antibodies against MPXV among gay men is not well characterized.
Methods: A cohort of gay men (n = 326) and a cohort of the general adult population (n = 295) were enrolled in this study.
Although hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination is recommended for hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected individuals to avoid HBV superinfection, the persistence of their humoral and cell-mediated immunity responses to HBV vaccination is still under investigation. Patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and matched healthy controls, who completed three doses of hepatitis B vaccine (HepB) in 2014, were followed up five years later. One booster dose of HepB was given to those with antibody against hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) lower than 10mIU/mL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLatent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) treatment is known to accelerate the decline in TB incidence, especially in high-risk populations. () expression profiles differ at different growth periods, and vaccines protective and therapeutic effects may increase when they include antigenic compositions from different periods. To develop a post-exposure vaccine that targets LTBI, we constructed four therapeutic DNA vaccines (, , , and ) using different combinations of antigens from the proliferation phase (Ag85A, Ag85B), PE/PPE family (Rv3425), and latent phase (Rv2029c, Rv1813c, Rv1738).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Viral persistence is a crucial factor that influences the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2. However, the impacts of vaccination and physiological variables on viral persistence have not been adequately clarified.
Methods: We collected the clinical records of 377 COVID-19 patients, which contained unvaccinated patients and patients received two doses of an inactivated vaccine or an mRNA vaccine.
Anti-HBc IgG is usually recognized as a diagnostic marker of hepatitis B, while the functional role anti-HBc IgG in HBV infection has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we firstly investigated the relationship between the anti-HBc IgG responses and the replication of HBV using AAV8-1.3HBV infected C57BL/6N mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe origins of preexisting SARS-CoV-2 cross-reactive antibodies and their potential impacts on vaccine efficacy have not been fully clarified. In this study, we demonstrated that S2 was the prevailing target of the preexisting S protein cross-reactive antibodies in both healthy human and SPF mice. A dominant antibody epitope was identified on the connector domain of S2 (1147-SFKEELDKYFKNHT-1160, P144), which could be recognized by preexisting antibodies in both human and mouse.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe gut microbiota is essential for good health. It has also been demonstrated that the gut microbiota can regulate immune responses against respiratory tract infections. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, accumulating evidence suggests that there is a link between the severity of COVID-19 and the alteration of one's gut microbiota.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInterleukin-12 receptor β1 (IL12RB1)-deficient individuals show increased susceptibilities to local or disseminated BCG infection and environmental mycobacteria infection. However, the low clinical penetrance of IL12RB1 deficiency and low recurrence rate of mycobacteria infection suggest that protective immunity still exists in this population. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of tuberculosis suppression using the IL12RB1-deficient mouse model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA booster vaccination is called for constraining the evolving epidemic of SARS-CoV-2. However, the necessity of a new COVID-19 vaccine is currently unclear. To compare the effect of an Omicron-matched S DNA vaccine and an ancestral S DNA vaccine in boosting cross-reactive immunities, we firstly immunized mice with two-dose of a DNA vaccine encoding the spike protein of the ancestral Wuhan strain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA variety of methods have been explored to increase delivery efficiencies for DNA vaccine. However, the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines has not been satisfactorily improved. Unlike most of the previous attempts, we provided evidence suggesting that changing the injection site successively (successively site-translocated inoculation, SSTI) could significantly enhance the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines in a previous study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStud Health Technol Inform
December 2021
Firstly, we form the Pediatric Nursing-Knowledge Base for Hyperthermia, which combines publicly clinical practice guidelines and nursing routines of hyperthermia management. Then, following the nursing process framework, the system is developed by clinical decision support technology. Finally, a pre- and post-test is adopted to examine the effectiveness, usability and feasibility before and after using the system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Inactivated COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective in the general population with intact immunity. However, their safety and immunogenicity have not been demonstrated in people living with HIV (PLWH).
Methods: 42 HIV-1 infected individuals who were stable on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) and 28 healthy individuals were enrolled in this open-label two-arm non-randomized study at Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China.
Follicular helper T (T) cells are a specialized subset of CD4 T cells that essentially support germinal center responses where high-affinity and long-lived humoral immunity is generated. The regulation of T cell survival remains unclear. Here we report that T cells show intensified lipid peroxidation and altered mitochondrial morphology, resembling the features of ferroptosis, a form of programmed cell death that is driven by iron-dependent accumulation of lipid peroxidation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article describes the development process and application of the Pediatric Nursing-Clinical Decision Support System for Hyperthermia. Firstly, we formed the Pediatric Nursing-Knowledge Base for Hyperthermia, which combines publicly available clinical practice guidelines and nursing routines of hyperthermia management. Then, following the nursing process framework, the system was developed using clinical decision support technology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFinfection showed protective effects against allergic airway inflammation (AAI). However, controversial findings exist especially regarding the timing of the helminth infection and the underlying mechanisms. Most previous studies focused on understanding the preventive effect of infection on asthma (infection before allergen sensitization), whereas the protective effects of infection (allergen sensitization before infection) on asthma were rarely investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFollicular helper T (T) cells control antibody responses by supporting antibody affinity maturation and memory formation. Inadequate T function has been found in individuals with ineffective responses to vaccines, but the mechanism underlying T regulation in vaccination is not understood. Here, we report that lower serum levels of the metabolic hormone leptin associate with reduced vaccine responses to influenza or hepatitis B virus vaccines in healthy populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRaising a heterologous tier 2 neutralizing antibody (nAb) response remains a daunting task for HIV vaccine development. In this study, we explored the utility of diverse HIV-1 envelope (Env) immunogens in a sequential immunization scheme as a solution to this task. This exploration stemmed from the rationale that gp145, a membrane-bound truncation form of HIV Env, may facilitate the focusing of induced antibody response on neutralizing epitopes when sequentially combined with the soluble gp140 form as immunogens in a prime-boost mode.
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