Host-Microbe Biology
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyNitric Oxide Circumvents Virus-Mediated Metabolic Regulation during Human Cytomegalovirus InfectionHuman cytomegalovirus is a prevalent pathogen that can cause serious disease in patients with compromised immune systems, including transplant patients and during congenital infection. HCMV lytic replication likely occurs in localized sites of infection with immune cells infiltrating and releasing nitric oxide with other effector molecules.
Opinion/Hypothesis | Host-Microbe BiologyWhy Are Some Listeria monocytogenes Genotypes More Likely To Cause Invasive (Brain, Placental) Infection?Although all isolates of the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes are considered to be pathogenic, epidemiological evidence indicates that certain serovar 4b lineages are more likely to cause severe invasive (neuromeningeal, maternal-fetal) listeriosis. Recently described as L. monocytogenes “...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyIntracellular Staphylococcus aureus Perturbs the Host Cell Ca2+ Homeostasis To Promote Cell DeathDespite being regarded as an extracellular bacterium, the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus can invade and survive within human cells. The intracellular niche is considered a hideout from the host immune system and antibiotic treatment and allows bacterial proliferation.
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyNeonatal Mouse Gut Metabolites Influence Cryptosporidium parvum Infection in Intestinal Epithelial CellsCryptosporidium sp. occupies a unique intracellular niche that exposes the parasite to both host cell contents and the intestinal lumen, including metabolites from the diet and produced by the microbiota. Both dietary and microbial products change over the course of early development and could contribute to the changes seen in susceptibility to cryptosporidiosis in humans and mice.
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMerkel Cell Polyomavirus Encodes Circular RNAs (circRNAs) Enabling a Dynamic circRNA/microRNA/mRNA Regulatory NetworkCovalently closed circular RNAs were recently described in the human DNA tumor viruses Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), and human papillomavirus (HPV). Here, we show that MCV, another DNA tumor virus, generates circRNAs from its early regulatory region in concert with T antigen linear transcripts.
Observation | Host-Microbe BiologyRecombinant ACE2 Expression Is Required for SARS-CoV-2 To Infect Primary Human Endothelial Cells and Induce Inflammatory and Procoagulative ResponsesSARS-CoV-2 infects pulmonary epithelial cells through ACE2 receptors and causes ARDS. COVID-19 causes progressive respiratory failure resulting from diffuse alveolar damage and systemic coagulopathy, thrombosis, and capillary inflammation that tie alveolar responses to EC dysfunction.
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyLower Density and Shorter Duration of Nasopharyngeal Carriage by Pneumococcal Serotype 1 (ST217) May Explain Its Increased Invasiveness over Other SerotypesThe pneumococcus causes serious diseases such as pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Serotype 1 accounts for the majority of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in sub-Saharan Africa but is rarely found during nasopharyngeal carriage.
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyHIV-1 Vpr-Induced Proinflammatory Response and Apoptosis Are Mediated through the Sur1-Trpm4 Channel in AstrocytesEffective antiretroviral therapies can now prolong patients’ lives to nearly normal life span. The current challenge faced by many HIV-infected patients is chronic neuroinflammation and neurotoxicity that contributes to HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND).
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologySyndecan-1 Promotes Streptococcus pneumoniae Corneal Infection by Facilitating the Assembly of Adhesive Fibronectin FibrilsBacterial pathogens have evolved several ingenious mechanisms to subvert host cell biology for their pathogenesis. Bacterial attachment to the host ECM establishes a niche to grow and is considered one of the critical steps of infection. This pathogenic mechanism entails coordinated assembly of the ECM by the host to form the ECM structure and organization that are specifically recognized by bacteria for their adhesion. We...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyProduction of Noncapped Genomic RNAs Is Critical to Sindbis Virus Disease and PathogenicityMosquito-transmitted alphaviruses have been the cause of widespread outbreaks of disease that can range from mild illness to lethal encephalitis or severe polyarthritis. There are currently no safe and effective vaccines or therapeutics with which to prevent or treat alphaviral disease, highlighting the need to better understand alphaviral pathogenesis to develop novel antiviral strategies. This report reveals production of noncapped...