Therapeutics and Prevention
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionComparative Study of Protection against Newcastle Disease in Young Broilers Administered Natural Chicken Alpha Interferon via Oral and Intramuscular RoutesNewcastle disease (ND) is an economically important contagious disease of wild and domestic birds worldwide. The disease causes severe economic losses in terms of production due to high mortality and morbidity in nonvaccinated chickens. Despite extensive vaccination approaches, Newcastle disease (ND) remains a permanent threat to the poultry industry worldwide. In the current study, we used natural chicken IFN-α as an innate immune...
Meeting Highlights | Therapeutics and PreventionNipah@20: Lessons Learned from Another Virus with Pandemic PotentialNipah disease is listed as one of the WHO priority diseases that pose the greatest public health risk due to their epidemic potential. More than 200 experts from around the world convened in Singapore last year to mark the 20th anniversary of the first Nipah virus outbreaks in Malaysia and Singapore. Most of these experts are now involved in responding to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Here, members of the Organizing...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionSecretion of Recombinant Interleukin-22 by Engineered Lactobacillus reuteri Reduces Fatty Liver Disease in a Mouse Model of Diet-Induced ObesityIn humans, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent liver disease due to the increased prevalence of obesity. While treatment of NAFLD is often geared toward lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise, the use of dietary supplements such as probiotics is underinvestigated. Here, we report that probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri reduces fatty liver...
Observation | Therapeutics and PreventionNonclassical Biofilms Induced by DNA Breaks in Klebsiella pneumoniaeMany pathogenic bacteria can form biofilm matrices that consist of complex molecules such as polysaccharides, proteins, and DNA. These biofilms help the bacteria to infect and colonize a host. Such biofilms may attach and develop on the surfaces of indwelling medical devices or other supportive environments. This study found that following double-strand breaks in their DNA, ...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionInduction of Neutralizing Responses against Autologous Virus in Maternal HIV Vaccine TrialsMaternal antiretroviral therapy (ART) has effectively reduced but not eliminated the burden of mother-to-child transmission of HIV across the globe, as an estimated 160,000 children were newly infected with HIV in 2018. Thus, additional preventive strategies beyond ART will be required to close the remaining gap and end the pediatric HIV epidemic. A maternal active immunization strategy that synergizes with maternal ART could further...
Minireview | Therapeutics and PreventionCOVID-19: Learning from Lessons To Guide Treatment and Prevention InterventionsCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and first emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. Since then, the virus has rapidly spread to many countries. While the outbreak in China appears to be in decline, the disease has spread across the world, with a daily increase in the number of confirmed cases and infection-related deaths....
Opinion/Hypothesis | Therapeutics and PreventionCan Unconventional Immunomodulatory Agents Help Alleviate COVID-19 Symptoms and Severity?Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of the respiratory infection known as COVID-19. From an immunopathological standpoint, coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV-2 induce increased levels of a variety of T-helper 1 (Th1) and inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, including interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, CCL2 protein, and CXCL10 protein. In the absence of proven antiviral agents or an...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionVaccine Candidate Brucella melitensis 16MΔvjbR Is Safe in a Pregnant Sheep Model and Confers ProtectionBrucellosis is one of the most commonly reported zoonotic disease with a worldwide distribution. Of the 12 Brucella species, Brucella melitensis is considered the most virulent and causes reproductive failure (abortions/stillbirths) in small ruminants, which can spread the disease to other animals or to humans. Vaccination of small ruminants is a key measure...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionInhibition of Respiration of Candida albicans by Small Molecules Increases Phagocytosis Efficacy by MacrophagesThe yeast Candida albicans is one of the major fungal human pathogens, for which new therapeutic approaches are required. We aimed at enhancements of the phagocytosis efficacy of macrophages by targeting the cell wall structure of C. albicans, as the coverage of the β-glucan layer by mannans is one...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionThe Diversity Outbred Mouse Population Is an Improved Animal Model of Vaccination against Tuberculosis That Reflects Heterogeneity of ProtectionWe vaccinated the Diversity Outbred (DO) population of mice with BCG, the only vaccine currently used to protect against tuberculosis, and then challenged them with M. tuberculosis by aerosol. We found that the BCG-vaccinated DO mouse population exhibited a wide range of outcomes, in which outcomes in individual mice ranged from minimal respiratory or systemic disease...