Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) accounts for approximately 10,000 annual cases of severe encephalitis in Europe and Asia and causes encephalitis in humans. In this study, we demonstrate TBEV appears to activate the interferon (IFN)-β dependent on RIG-I/MDA5. Both the IFN-β accumulation and the IFN stimulated genes (ISGs) transcription greatly delay. Further studies reveal that TBEV NS4A could block the phosphorylation and dimerization of STAT1/STAT2 to affect type I and II IFN-mediated STAT signalling. Additional data...

Emerging studies have indicated that some penaeidins restrict virus infection; however, the mechanism(s) involved are poorly understood. In the present study, we uncovered that penaeidins are a novel family of antiviral effectors against white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), which antagonize the envelope proteins to block viral entry. We found that the expression levels of four identified penaeidins from Litopenaeus vannamei, including BigPEN, PEN2, PEN3, and PEN4, were significantly induced in hemocytes during the early stage...

One of the major goals in HIV-1 vaccine development is to achieve properly folded and stabilized envelope glycoprotein (Env) trimers that mimic the native Env on the mature virion. Here, we design and characterize uncleaved prefusion-optimized (UFO) trimers for 12 Envs currently circulating in China. Biochemical and biophysical characterization of these UFO trimers identified two subtype B/Bʹ Envs, CNE6 and MG13, which exhibited the highest trimer content and stability at a level comparable to the...

One of the major goals in HIV-1 vaccine development is to achieve properly folded and stabilized envelope glycoprotein (Env) trimers that mimic the native Env on the mature virion. Here, we design and characterize uncleaved prefusion-optimized (UFO) trimers for 12 Envs currently circulating in China. Biochemical and biophysical characterization of these UFO trimers identified two subtype B/Bʹ Envs, CNE6 and MG13, which exhibited the highest trimer content and stability at a level comparable to the...

Abstract Background Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common chronic liver disease characterized by excessive fat accumulation in the liver. One of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms is insulin resistance (IR). Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has showed potential benefits in the management of NAFLD. Lingguizhugan decoction (LGZG) is a representative Chinese herbal formula; however, there is still no rigorous clinical trial supporting its application. Methods/design This study will be a three-arm, dose-optimization, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled...

Human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63) is primarily associated with common cold in children, elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Outbreaks caused by HCoV-NL63 are rare. Here we report a cluster of HCoV-NL63 cases with severe lower respiratory tract infection that arose in Guangzhou, China, in 2018. Twenty-three hospitalized children were confirmed to be HCoV-NL63 positive, and most of whom were hospitalized with severe pneumonia or acute bronchitis. Whole genomes of HCoV-NL63 were obtained using next-generation sequencing. Phylogenetic and...

Quantitative real time PCR (RT-PCR) is widely used as the gold standard for clinical detection of SARS-CoV-2. However, due to the low viral load specimens and the limitations of RT-PCR, significant numbers of false negative reports are inevitable, which results in failure to timely diagnose, cut off transmission, and assess discharge criteria. To improve this situation, an optimized droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) was used for detection of SARS-CoV-2, which showed that the limit of detection...

In December 2019, Wuhan, China suffered a serious outbreak of a novel coronavirus infectious disease (COVID) caused by novel severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV 2). To quickly identify the pathogen, we designed and screened primer sets, and established a sensitive and specific qRT-PCR assay for SARS-CoV 2; the lower limit of detection (LOD) was 15 (95% CI: 9.8–21) copies per reaction. We combined this qRT-PCR assay with an automatic integration system for nucleic acid...

Burkholderia pseudomallei: which causes melioidosis with high mortality in humans, has become a global public health concern. Recently, infection-driven lipid droplet accumulation has been related to the progression of host-pathogen interactions, and its contribution to the pathogenesis of infectious disease has been investigated. Here, we demonstrated that B. pseudomallei infection actively induced a time-dependent increase in the number and size of lipid droplets in human lung epithelial cells and macrophages. We also found that lipid...

We studied plasma antibody responses of 35 patients about 1 month after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Titers of antibodies binding to the viral nucleocapsid and spike proteins were significantly higher in patients with severe disease. Likewise, mean antibody neutralization titers against SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus and live virus were higher in the sicker patients, by ∼5-fold and ∼7-fold, respectively. These findings have important implications for those pursuing plasma therapy, isolation of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies, and determinants of immunity.

Biomedical device-associated infection(BAI) and lack of osseointegration are the main causes of implant failure. Therefore, it is imperative for implant not only to depress microbial activity and biofilm colonization but also to prompt osteoblast functions and osseointegration. As part of the coating development for implants, the interest of in vitro studies on the interaction between implant substrate morphology and biological performances is growing. In this study, by harnessing the adhesion and reactivity of bioinspired polydopamine,...

Antimicrobial peptides have become promising candidates for the development of antimicrobial therapeutics. This paper describes the collection and analysis of data performed for a published concise review on the application of antimicrobial peptides for the management of dental caries. A literature search was performed to locate journal articles published in the English language up to 2019. The search was performed through six common databases. The search term was (Antimicrobial peptide OR AMP OR Cathelicidin OR...

Our previous works have shown that tanshinone IIA inhibited maladaptive extracellular matrix remodeling in cardiac fibroblasts implicating its potential role in treating of pathologic cardiac remodeling. However, the intrinsically poor solubility and bioavailability of tanshinone IIA hindered its clinical application. Here we develop monomethoxy-poly (ethylene glycol)-poly (lactic acid)-D-α-Tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (mPEG-PLA-TPGS) nanoparticle incorporating tanshinone IIA (tanshinone IIA-NPs) and study its efficacy in post-infarction left ventricular (LV) remodeling. Male C57BL/6 mice underwent left coronary...

Supplemental material, sj-xlsx-2-tam-10.1177_1758835920977117 for Low intratumor heterogeneity correlates with increased response to PD-1 blockade in renal cell carcinoma by Xia Ran, Jinyuan Xiao, Yi Zhang, Huajing Teng, Fang Cheng, Huiqian Chen, Kaifan Zhang and Zhongsheng Sun in Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology

Background:Intratumor heterogeneity (ITH) has been shown to be inversely associated with immune infiltration in several cancers including clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), but it remains unclear whether ITH is associated with response to immunotherapy (e.g. PD-1 blockade) in ccRCC.Methods:We quantified ITH using mutant-allele tumor heterogeneity, investigated the association of ITH with immune parameters in patients with ccRCC (n = 336) as well as those with papillary RCC (pRCC, n = 280) from The Cancer...

The present study aimed to assess the role of miR-1275 in cardiac ischemia reperfusion injury. H9 human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived cardiomyocytes stimulated by oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) were used to simulate myocardial injury in vitro. miR-1275 expression levels in cells were measured by RT-qPCR. The release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase (CK) was examined through LDH and CK ELISA kits. Cell apoptosis was detected through flow cytometry. A Fura-2 Calcium Flux Assay Kit...

Cronobacter sakazakii, an emerging opportunistic pathogen, is implicated in severe foodborne outbreak infections in premature and full-term infants. Generally, acid tolerance is vital for the pathogenesis of foodborne pathogens; however, its role in C. sakazakii virulence remains largely unknown. To screen out acid-tolerance determinants from transposon mutants, anovel counterselection method using gentamicin and acid was developed. Using the counterselection method and growth assay, we screened several acid-sensitive mutants and found that nlpD encodes an acid-resistance...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of urea-N recycling, rumen bacterial community, and rumen epithelial gene expression in nitrogen utilization of calves. Here, 12 Holstein calves were divided into two dietary treatments: a high-protein diet (HP, 173 g/kg), and a low-protein diet (LP, 125 g/kg). Urea-N kinetics was evaluated using urea-15N15N isotope labeling method. Gene expression in rumen epithelium and liver, bacterial diversity, and metabolites in rumen were characterized using transcriptomic,...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of urea-N recycling, rumen bacterial community, and rumen epithelial gene expression in nitrogen utilization of calves. Here, 12 Holstein calves were divided into two dietary treatments: a high-protein diet (HP, 173 g/kg), and a low-protein diet (LP, 125 g/kg). Urea-N kinetics was evaluated using urea-15N15N isotope labeling method. Gene expression in rumen epithelium and liver, bacterial diversity, and metabolites in rumen were characterized using transcriptomic,...

Additional file 1. Completed Standard Protocol Items: Recommendation for Interventional Trials (SPIRIT) 2013 Checklist: items addressed in this clinical trial protocol.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common RCC subtype with high metastasis, poor prognosis and conventional chemotherapy resistance. Prostate cancer associated transcript 1 (PCAT1) is an important lncRNA that was reported to be involved in cell proliferation, migration and invasion of several types of cancer cells. However, its role in ccRCC is still undetermined. This study found that PCAT1 levels were elevated in ccRCC tumors as well as several ccRCC cells, and...

Quantile treatment effects can be important causal estimands in the evaluation of biomedical treatments or interventions for health outcomes such as birthweight and medical cost. However, the existing estimators require either a propensity score model or a conditional density vector model is correctly specified, which is difficult to verify in practice. In this paper, we allow multiple models for propensity score and conditional density vector, then construct a class of calibration estimators based on multiple...

The three-dimensional (3D) structure of RNA usually plays an important role in the recognition with RNA-binding protein. Along with the discovering of RNAs, several RNA databases are developed to study the functions of RNA based on sequence, secondary structure, local 3D structural motif and global structure. Based on RNA function and structure, different RNAs are classified and stored in SCOR and DARTS, respectively. The classification of RNA structures is useful in RNA structure prediction and...

Human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63) is primarily associated with common cold in children, elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Outbreaks caused by HCoV-NL63 are rare. Here we report a cluster of HCoV-NL63 cases with severe lower respiratory tract infection that arose in Guangzhou, China, in 2018. Twenty-three hospitalized children were confirmed to be HCoV-NL63 positive, and most of whom were hospitalized with severe pneumonia or acute bronchitis. Whole genomes of HCoV-NL63 were obtained using next-generation sequencing. Phylogenetic and...

Complement receptor 3 (CD11b/CD18) is an important receptor that mediates adhesion, phagocytosis and chemotaxis in various immunocytes. The conidia of the medically-important pathogenic fungus, Aspergillus fumigatus can be internalized into alveolar epithelial cells to disseminate its infection in immunocompromised host; however, the role of CR3 in this process is poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated the potential role of CR3 on A. fumigatus internalization into type II alveolar epithelial cells and its effect...