Therapeutics and Prevention
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionRecombinant Zika Virus Subunits Are Immunogenic and Efficacious in MiceThe recent outbreaks of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in French Polynesia, the Caribbean, and the Americas have highlighted the severe neuropathological sequelae that such an infection may cause. The development of a safe, effective ZIKV vaccine is critical for several reasons: (i) the difficulty in diagnosing an active infection due to common nonspecific symptoms, (ii) the lack of a specific antiviral therapy, and (iii) the potentially...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionA Single Amino Acid Change in the Marburg Virus Glycoprotein Arises during Serial Cell Culture Passages and Attenuates the Virus in a Macaque Model of DiseaseMarburg virus (MARV) causes disease with a high case fatality rate, and there are no approved vaccines or therapies. Serial amplification of viruses in cell culture often results in accumulation of mutations, but the effect of such cell culture passage on MARV is unclear. Serial passages of MARV resulted in a single mutation in the region encoding the glycoprotein (GP). This is a region where mutations can have important consequences on...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionCharacterization of the Mechanisms of Daptomycin Resistance among Gram-Positive Bacterial Pathogens by Multidimensional LipidomicsThis work comprehensively characterizes lipidomic changes underlying daptomycin resistance in three Gram-positive bacterial species, E. faecalis, S. aureus, and C. striatum, by using a novel three-dimensional lipidomics methodology based on advanced mass spectrometry. We demonstrated a...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionVaccination with a Recombinant H7 Hemagglutinin-Based Influenza Virus Vaccine Induces Broadly Reactive Antibodies in HumansZoonotic infections with high case fatality rates caused by avian H7N9 influenza viruses have been reported since early 2013 in China. Since then, the fifth wave of the H7N9 epidemic emerged in China, resulting in higher numbers of laboratory-confirmed cases than in previous years. Recently, H7N9 has started to antigenically drift and split into two new lineages, the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta clades, which do not match...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionInteraction of Antibiotics with Innate Host Defense Factors against Salmonella enterica Serotype NewportIt is becoming increasingly understood that the current paradigms of in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing may have significant shortcomings in predicting activity in vivo. This study evaluated the activity of several antibiotics alone and in combination against clinical isolates of Salmonella enterica serotype Newport (meningitis case)...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionA Novel Biomimetic Nanosponge Protects the Retina from the Enterococcus faecalis CytolysinEndophthalmitis is a serious, potentially blinding infection that can result in vision loss, leaving a patient with only the ability to count fingers, or it may require enucleation of the globe. The incidence of postoperative endophthalmitis has markedly increased over the past 2 decades, paralleling the rise in ocular surgeries and intravitreal therapies. E. faecalis...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionInhibition of Retrograde Transport Limits Polyomavirus Infection In VivoPyVs can cause significant morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised individuals. No clinically efficacious anti-PyV therapeutic agents are available. A recently identified inhibitor of retrograde transport, Retro-2cycl, blocks movement of PyV virion-containing vesicles from early endosomes to the endoplasmic reticulum, an early step in the PyV life cycle. Retro-2cycl and its derivatives have been shown to...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionImaging the Antistaphylococcal Activity of CATH-2: Mechanism of Attack and Regulation of Inflammatory ResponseDue to the high use of antibiotics in both human and veterinary settings, many bacteria have become resistant to those antibiotics that we so heavily rely on. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is one of these difficult-to-treat resistant pathogens for which novel antimicrobial therapies will be required in the near future. One novel approach could be the...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionSynergistic Activity between Two Antifungal Proteins, the Plant Defensin NaD1 and the Bovine Pancreatic Trypsin InhibitorThis work describes the increased activity of a natural antifungal peptide in the presence of another antifungal peptide from a different family. This is termed antifungal synergy. Synergy is important for decreasing the amount of antifungal molecule needed to control the disease. Traditionally, naturally occurring antifungal molecules are assayed in isolation. Identification of synergistic interactions between antifungal peptides means...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionEssential Assembly Factor Rpf2 Forms Novel Interactions within the 5S RNP in Trypanosoma bruceiTrypanosoma brucei is the parasitic protozoan that causes African sleeping sickness. Ribosome assembly is essential for the survival of this parasite through the different host environments it encounters during its life cycle. The assembly of the 5S ribonucleoprotein particle (5S RNP) functions as one of the regulatory checkpoints during ribosome biogenesis. We have...