ObjectivesAlterations in the intestinal microbiota are linked with a wide range of autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), where pathobionts penetrate the intestinal barrier and promote inflammatory reactions. In patients with IBD, the ability of intestinal macrophages to efficiently clear invading patho...
An inexpensive virus detection scheme with high sensitivity and specificity is desirable for broad applications such as the COVID-19 virus. In this article, we introduce the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) principle on the aggregation of antigen-coated gold nanoparticles (GNPs) to detect SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid (N) proteins. Experiments ...
Flaviviruses are major human disease-causing pathogens, including dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus, yellow fever virus and others. DENV infects hundreds of millions of people per year around the world, causing a tremendous social and economic burden. DENV capsid (C) protein plays an essential role during genome encapsidation and viral particle forma...
We studied the T cell response to SARS-CoV-2 spike and non-spike peptide epitopes in eight convalescent pregnant women together with the immune monitoring that included innate tolerogenic dendritic cell populations important to maintain the immunological mother/fetus interface to address a potential risk for the antiviral cellular response in the o...
Cross-reactivity and direct killing of target cells remain underexplored for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)-specific CD8+ T cells. Isolation of T cell receptors (TCRs) and overexpression in allogeneic cells allows for extensive T cell reactivity profiling. We identify SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp/NSP12...
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to evolve in humans. Spike protein mutations increase transmission and potentially evade antibodies raised against the original sequence used in current vaccines. Our evaluation of serum neutralizing activity in both persons soon after SARS-CoV-2 infection (in April 2020 or earl...
SARS-CoV-2 infection causes diverse outcomes ranging from asymptomatic infection to respiratory distress and death. A major unresolved question is whether prior immunity to endemic, human common cold coronaviruses (hCCCoVs) impacts susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection or immunity following infection and vaccination. Therefore, we analyzed samples...
Knowledge about person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is reviewed, emphasizing three components: emission of virus-containing particles and drops from infectious persons; transport and fate of such emissions indoors; and inhalation of viral particles by susceptible persons. Emissions are usefully clustered into three groups: small particles (...
The rapid spread of the new SARS-CoV-2 virus triggered a global health crisis, disproportionately impacting people with pre-existing health conditions and particular demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. One of the main concerns of governments has been to avoid health systems becoming overwhelmed. For this reason, they have implemented a s...
Human clinical studies investigating use of convalescent plasma (CP) for treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have produced conflicting results. Outcomes in these studies may vary at least partly due to different timing of CP administration relative to symptom onset. The mechanisms of action of CP include neutralizing antibodies but may...
