A5088025778- Viral Infections and Vectors
- Mosquito-borne diseases and control
- Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research
- Virology and Viral Diseases
- Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences
- Poxvirus research and outbreaks
- Virus-based gene therapy research
- Herpesvirus Infections and Treatments
- SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
- Immunotherapy and Immune Responses
- DNA Repair Mechanisms
- Animal Virus Infections Studies
- Bacillus and Francisella bacterial research
- Hepatitis B Virus Studies
- interferon and immune responses
- Vector-borne infectious diseases
- Microtubule and mitosis dynamics
- Malaria Research and Control
- Plant Virus Research Studies
- Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and Applications
- HIV Research and Treatment
- Vector-Borne Animal Diseases
- Parvovirus B19 Infection Studies
- Integrated Circuits and Semiconductor Failure Analysis
- Fungal and yeast genetics research
Tonix Pharmaceuticals (United States)
2022-2024
United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases
2014-2024
The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
2011-2023
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
2023
Henry M. Jackson Foundation
2023
Eloxx Pharmaceuticals (United States)
2023
University of California, Davis
2011
Institut Pasteur de Dakar
2011
Human Immunome Project
2006-2009
Pearl River Community College
2004-2007
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), a mosquito-borne alphavirus, has traditionally circulated in Africa and Asia, causing human febrile illness accompanied by severe, chronic joint pain. In Africa, epidemic emergence of CHIKV involves the transition from an enzootic, sylvatic cycle involving arboreal mosquito vectors nonhuman primates, into urban where peridomestic mosquitoes transmit among humans. however, appears to circulate only endemic, cycle. Recently, emerged Indian Ocean subcontinent cause...
The Togaviridae is a family of small, enveloped viruses with single-stranded, positive-sense RNA genomes 10-12 kb. Within the family, genus Alphavirus includes large number diverse species, while Rubivirus single species Rubella virus. Most alphaviruses are mosquito-borne and pathogenic in their vertebrate hosts. Many important human veterinary pathogens (e.g. chikungunya virus eastern equine encephalitis virus). transmitted by respiratory routes among humans. This summary International...
Most alphaviruses and many other arboviruses are mosquito-borne exhibit a broad host range, infecting different vertebrates including birds, rodents, equids, humans, nonhuman primates. Consequently, they can be propagated in most vertebrate insect cell cultures. This ability of to infect arthropods is usually essential for their maintenance nature. However, several flaviviruses have recently been described that mosquitoes but not vertebrates, although the mechanism restriction has...
ABSTRACT Six novel insect-specific viruses, isolated from mosquitoes and phlebotomine sand flies collected in Brazil, Peru, the United States, Ivory Coast, Israel, Indonesia, are described. Their genomes consist of single-stranded, positive-sense RNAs with poly(A) tails. By electron microscopy, virions appear as spherical particles diameters ∼45 to 55 nm. Based on their genome organization phylogenetic relationship, six designated Negev, Ngewotan, Piura, Loreto, Dezidougou, Santana, form a...
Unprotected sexual intercourse between persons residing in or traveling from regions with Zika virus transmission is a risk factor for infection. To model infection after intercourse, we inoculated rhesus and cynomolgus macaques by intravaginal intrarectal routes. In intravaginally, detected viremia RNA 50% of macaques, followed seroconversion. intrarectally, viremia, RNA, both, 100% both species, The magnitude duration infectious the blood suggest humans infected through will likely...
ABSTRACT Most alphaviruses are mosquito-borne and exhibit a broad host range, infecting many different vertebrates, including birds, rodents, equids, humans, nonhuman primates. This ability of most to infect arthropods vertebrates is essential for their maintenance in nature. Recently, new alphavirus, Eilat virus (EILV), was described, contrast all other viruses, it unable replicate vertebrate cell lines. Investigations into the nature its range restriction showed inability genomic EILV RNA...
Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne member of the genus Flavivirus that has emerged since 2007 to cause outbreaks in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and most recently, Americas. Here, we used an isolate history as well genetic phylogenetic analyses characterize three low-passage isolates representing African (ArD 41525) Asian (CPC-0740, SV0127-14) lineages investigate potential phenotypic differences vitro vivo. The displayed large plaque phenotype (∼3-4 mm) on Vero HEK-293 cells, whereas either...
Expansion of trinucleotide repeats is associated with a growing number human diseases. The mechanism and timing expansion the repeat tract are poorly understood. In humans, show extreme meiotic instability, has been suggested to occur in germ-line mitotic divisions or postmeiotically during early embryo. Studies model organisms have indicated that polymerase slippage plays major role instability severalfold higher than instability. We here CAG/CTG yeast double-strand break (DSB) formation...
ABSTRACT Recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) has shown great potential as a new viral vector for vaccination. However, the prototypic rVSV described previously was found to be insufficiently attenuated clinical evaluation when assessed neurovirulence in nonhuman primates. Here, we describe attenuation, neurovirulence, and immunogenicity of vectors expressing human immunodeficiency type 1 Gag. These were by combinations following manipulations: N gene translocations (N4), G...
In December of 2013, chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an alphavirus in the family Togaviridae, was introduced to island Saint Martin Caribbean, resulting first autochthonous cases reported Americas. As January 2015, local and imported CHIKV has been 50 American countries with over 1.1 million suspected cases. causes a severe arthralgic disease for which there are no approved vaccines or therapeutics. Furthermore, lack commercially available, sensitive, affordable diagnostic assay limits...
Most alphaviruses are mosquito borne and exhibit a broad host range, infecting many different vertebrates, including birds, rodents, equids, humans, nonhuman primates. Recently, host-restricted, mosquito-borne alphavirus, Eilat virus (EILV), was described with an inability to infect vertebrate cells based on defective attachment and/or entry, as well lack of genomic RNA replication. We investigated the utilization EILV recombinant technology vaccine platform against eastern (EEEV) Venezuelan...
Inverted-repeated or palindromic sequences have been found to occur in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes. Such repeated are usually short present at several functionally important regions the genome. However, long rare a major source of genomic instability. The palindrome-mediated instability is believed be due cruciform hairpin formation subsequent cleavage this structure by structure-specific nucleases. Here we genetic physical evidence that (>50 bp) generate double-strand breaks...
ABSTRACT A variety of rational approaches to attenuate growth and virulence vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) have been described previously. These include gene shuffling, truncation the cytoplasmic tail G protein, generation noncytopathic M mutants. When separately introduced into recombinant VSV (rVSV), these mutations gave rise viruses distinguished from their “wild-type” progenitor by diminished reproductive capacity in cell culture and/or reduced cytopathology decreased pathogenicity...
Background Zika virus (ZIKV) has extended its known geographic distribution to the New World and is now responsible for severe clinical complications in a subset of patients. While substantial genetic vector susceptibility data exist ZIKV, less closest related flavivirus, Spondweni (SPONV). Both ZIKV SPONV have been circulate Africa since mid-1900s, but neither genetically characterized by gene compared parallel. Furthermore, peridomestic mosquito species incriminated or suspected...
Most alphaviruses are mosquito-borne and can cause severe disease in domesticated animals humans. The most notable recent outbreak the Americas was 2014 chikungunya virus (CHIKV) affecting millions producing highlighted by rash arthralgia. Chikungunya is a member of Semliki Forest (SF) serocomplex, before its arrival Americas, two other SF complex, Una (UNAV) Mayaro (MAYV) viruses, were circulating Central South America. This study examined whether antibodies from convalescent CHIKV patients...
Most alphaviruses are arthropod-borne and utilize mosquitoes as vectors for transmission to susceptible vertebrate hosts. This ability infect both vertebrates is essential maintenance of most in nature. A recently characterized alphavirus, Eilat virus (EILV), isolated from a pool Anopheles coustani s.I. unable replicate cell lines. The EILV host range restriction occurs at attachment/entry well genomic RNA replication levels. Here we investigated the mosquito vector species encompassing...
Recent experimentation with the variants of Ebola virus that differ in glycoprotein's poly-uridine site, which dictates form glycoprotein produced through a transcriptional stutter, has resulted questions regarding pathogenicity and lethality stocks used to develop products currently undergoing human clinical trials combat disease. In order address these concerns prevent delay critical research programs, we designed an experiment permitted us intramuscularly challenge statistically...
Diverse pathogenic agents often utilize overlapping host networks, and hub proteins within these networks represent attractive targets for broad-spectrum drugs. Using bacterial toxins, we describe a new approach discovering therapies capable of inhibiting that mediate multiple pathways. This can be widely used, as it combines genetic-based target identification with cell survival-based protein function-based multiplex drug screens, concurrently discovers therapeutic compounds their targets....
Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) is mosquito-borne that produces fatal in humans. We recently conducted a first of its kind study to investigate EEEV clinical disease course following aerosol challenge cynomolgus macaque model utilizing the state-of-the-art telemetry measure critical physiological parameters. Here, we report results comprehensive pathology NHP tissues collected at euthanasia gain insights into pathogenesis. Viral RNA and proteins as well microscopic lesions were...
ABSTRACT In previous work, a prototypic recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus Indiana serotype (rVSIV) vector expressing simian immunodeficiency (SIV) gag and human type 1 (HIV-1) env antigens protected nonhuman primates (NHPs) from disease following challenge with an HIV-1/SIV (SHIV). However, when tested in stringent NHP neurovirulence (NV) model, this was not adequately attenuated for clinical evaluation. For the work described here, rVSIV by combining specific G protein truncations...