Haptoglobin is dispensable for haemoglobin uptake by .

Haptoglobin is a plasma protein of mammals that plays a crucial role in vascular homeostasis by binding free haemoglobin released from ruptured red blood cells. can exploit this by internalising haptoglobin-haemoglobin complex to acquire host haem. Here, we investigated the impact of haptoglobin deficiency (Hp-/-) on infection and the parasite´s capacity to internalise haemoglobin in a Hp-/- mouse model.

Together or alone? Huddling energetic savings in three social mole-rat species of genus Fukomys. A dispersal perspective.

African mole-rats (Bathyergidae) are strictly subterranean rodents distributed in sub-Saharan Africa. Although the soil layer provides a temperature buffer, the temperature in their burrows is usually below their thermoneutral zone and thermogenesis is necessary to maintain a stable body temperature. In social bathyergids, an important mechanism for decreasing the thermoregulatory cost is social thermoregulation in the form of huddling.

Tick-borne encephalitis virus inhibits rRNA synthesis and host protein production in human cells of neural origin.

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), a member of the genus Flavivirus (Flaviviridae), is a causative agent of a severe neuroinfection. Recently, several flaviviruses have been shown to interact with host protein synthesis. In order to determine whether TBEV interacts with this host process in its natural target cells, we analysed de novo protein synthesis in a human cell line derived from cerebellar medulloblastoma (DAOY HTB-186).

Broad-range survey of vector-borne pathogens and tick host identification of Ixodes ricinus from Southern Czech Republic.

Ixodes ricinus ticks are vectors of numerous human and animal pathogens. They are host generalists able to feed on more than 300 vertebrate species. The prevalence of tick-borne pathogens is influenced by host-vector-pathogen interactions that results in spatial distribution of infection risk.

Expression of a second open reading frame present in the genome of tick-borne encephalitis virus strain Neudoerfl is not detectable in infected cells.

A short upstream open reading frame (uORF) was recently identified in the 5' untranslated region of some tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) strains. However, it is not known if the peptide encoded by TBEV uORF (TuORF) is expressed in infected cells. Here we show that TuORF forms three phylogenetically separated clades which are typical of European, Siberian, and Far-Eastern TBEV subtypes.

Abundance of Ixodes ricinus and prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. in the nature reserve Siebengebirge, Germany, in comparison to three former studies from 1978 onwards.

Background: During the last decades, population densities of Ixodes ricinus and prevalences of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. have increased in different regions in Europe.