Translational Immunology Core

Ebola virus (EBOV), the causative agent of Ebola virus disease, remains one of the World Health Organization's top 10 threats to global health. Infectious EBOV virions can be found on the surface of skin late in infection and may be transmitted to others through skin-to-skin contact. We investigate in vivo EBOV tropism and the kinetics of virus movement to and from the skin. Increasing viral loads were detected over time in the skin of EBOV-infected non-human primates and mice, with antigen...

Replication of HIV-1 requires the coordinated action of host and viral transcription factors, most critically the viral transactivator Tat and the host nuclear factor κB (NF-κB). This activity is disrupted in infected cells that are cultured with extracellular vesicles (EVs) present in human semen, suggesting that they contain factors that could inform the development of new therapeutics. Here, we explored the contents of semen-derived EVs (SEVs) from uninfected donors and individuals with HIV-1...

High fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity increases the risk and severity of psoriasis. However, the immunoregulatory effects of different HFDs on psoriasis pathogenesis remains poorly understood. Here, mimicking human dietary fat profiles, four HFDs-saturated, monounsaturated, omega-6, and omega-3 fats-were designed and used to induce obesity in mice. Despite comparable obesity levels across groups, only the saturated HFD exacerbated imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis. This exacerbation correlated...

Accurate prognosis prediction is essential for guiding cancer treatment and improving patient outcomes. While recent studies have demonstrated the potential of histopathological images in survival analysis, existing models are typically developed in a cancer-specific manner, lack extensive external validation, and often rely on molecular data that are not routinely available in clinical practice. To address these limitations, we present PROGPATH, a unified model capable of integrating...

Introduction. Infection is a leading cause of mortality during the first year of life, with the neonatal period being particularly high risk. It is critical to identify non-antibiotic approaches to improve neonatal infection outcomes due to the non-specific clinical signs of neonatal infection and negative consequences of early-life antibiotic exposure. Lactoferrin is a protein found in all mammalian milk that has a variety of antimicrobial properties. Clinical trials have shown that lactoferrin...

Influenza A virus (IAV) is a zoonotic pathogen responsible for seasonal and pandemic flu. The extensive genetic and antigenic diversity within and between IAV phylogenetic groups presents major challenges for developing universal vaccines and broad-spectrum antiviral therapies. Current interventions provide limited protection due to the virus's high mutation rate and capacity for immune evasion. Recent advancements in viral hemagglutinin (HA)-targeting small-molecule entry inhibitors offer a...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review article examines the evolving evidence on cancer recurrence and new malignancy risk associated with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), including TNF inhibitors, rituximab, IL-6 inhibitors, and JAK inhibitors, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and a prior malignancy.

Human challenge models (CHIMs) are instrumental in advancing influenza research but have traditionally relied on intranasal inoculation, which does not mimic the natural aerosol transmission of the virus. We conducted a dose-escalation influenza CHIM study to evaluate the safety and feasibility of two modern aerosol delivery systems: a flow-focusing monodisperse aerosol generator (FMAG) and a medical nebulizer. Fourteen healthy adults aged 18-49 years were exposed to influenza A/Perth/16/2009...

The H5N1 strain of influenza A virus (IAV) continues to cause severe infections in a range of avian and mammalian species, including sporadic but concerning cases in humans. There is growing concern that circulating H5N1 strains could lead to widespread human outbreaks. Research with highly pathogenic H5N1 viruses is restricted to Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) laboratories. Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)-based vaccine vectors expressing heterologous viral proteins from Ebola, SARS-CoV-2, Lassa...

CONCLUSION: Palmitate-exposed MSCs show enhanced immunomodulation of human MDMs, through the ceramide/CCL2 axis in vitro.