Background: Short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have been shown to induce immune stimulation through a number of different receptors in a range of cell types. In primary cells, both TLR7 and TLR8 have been shown to recognise siRNAs however, despite the identification of a number of TLR7/8 stimulatory RNA motifs, the complete and definitive sequence determinants of TLR7 and TLR8 are yet to be elucidated.
Results: A total of 207 siRNA sequences were screened for TLR7/8 stimulation in human PBMCs. There was a significant correlation between the U count of the U-rich strand and the immunostimulatory activity of the duplex. Using siRNAs specifically designed to analyse the effect of base substitutions and hybridisation of the two strands, we found that sequence motifs and the thermodynamic properties of the duplexes appeared to be the major determinants of siRNA immunogenicity and that the strength of the hybridisation interaction between the two strands correlated negatively with immunostimulatory activity.
Conclusion: The data presented favour a model of TLR7/8 activation by siRNAs, in which the two strands are denatured in the endosome, and single-stranded, U-rich RNA species activate TLR7/8. These findings have relevance to the design of siRNAs, particularly for in vivo or clinical applications.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2172-10-40 | DOI Listing |
Respir Res
January 2025
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth and Development, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, 275 E Hancock St, Rm 195, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA.
Current fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) studies primarily focus on alcohol's actions on the fetal brain although respiratory infections are a leading cause of morbidity/mortality in newborns. The limited studies examining the pulmonary adaptations in FASD demonstrate decreased surfactant protein A and alveolar macrophage phagocytosis, impaired differentiation, and increased risk of Group B streptococcal pneumonia with no study examining sexual dimorphism in adaptations. We hypothesized that developmental alcohol exposure in pregnancy will lead to sexually dimorphic fetal lung morphological and immune adaptations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAquaculture is one of the world's fastest-growing sectors in food production but with multiple challenges related to animal handling and infections. The disease caused by infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV) leads to outbreaks of local epidemics, reducing animal welfare, and causing significant economic losses. The composition of feed has shifted from marine ingredients such as fish oil and fish meal towards a more plant-based diet causing reduced levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Cancer
January 2025
Department of Tumor Biology and Genetics, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
Aim: The study was designed to evaluate molecular alterations, relevant to the prognosis and personalized therapy of salivary gland cancers (SGCs).
Materials And Methods: DNA was extracted from archival tissue of 40 patients with various SGCs subtypes. A targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel was used for the identification of small-scale mutations, focal and chromosomal arm-level copy number changes.
BMC Biol
January 2025
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Background: Treponemal diseases are a significant global health risk, presenting challenges to public health and severe consequences to individuals if left untreated. Despite numerous genomic studies on Treponema pallidum and the known possible biases introduced by the choice of the reference genome used for mapping, few investigations have addressed how these biases affect phylogenetic and evolutionary analysis of these bacteria. In this study, we ascertain the importance of selecting an appropriate genomic reference on phylogenetic and evolutionary analyses of T.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Genomics
January 2025
Transversal Activities in Applied Genomics, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.
The influx of whole genome sequencing (WGS) data in the public health and clinical diagnostic sectors has created a need for data analysis methods and bioinformatics expertise, which can be a bottleneck for many laboratories. At Sciensano, the Belgian national public health institute, an intuitive and user-friendly bioinformatics tool portal was implemented using Galaxy, an open-source platform for data analysis and workflow creation. The Galaxy @Sciensano instance is available to both internal and external scientists and offers a wide range of tools provided by the community, complemented by over 50 custom tools and pipelines developed in-house.
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