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Richard Herron

Viruses Can Have Immune System, Study Finds | Biology | Sci-News.com - 1 views

www.sci-news.com/...article00905.html

virology virus immune system

shared by Richard Herron on 03 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • A new research led by Dr Kimberley Seed from the Tufts University School of Medicine provides the first evidence that bacteriophages – viruses that infect and replicate within bacteria – can acquire a wholly functional and adaptive immune system.
  • The study, published today in the journal Nature, finds that a viral predator of the cholera bacteria can steal the functional immune system of bacteria and use it against its bacterial host.
  • Developing phage therapy is particularly important because some bacteria, called superbugs, are resistant to most or all current antibiotics.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • This study focused on a phage that attacks Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium responsible for cholera epidemics in humans.
  • Finding a CRISPR/Cas system in a phage shows that there is gene flow between the phage and bacteria even for something as large and complex as the genes for an adaptive immune system,”
Alison Prodzinski

Brand-New Vaccine Strategy Works Against Herpes, And Potentially HIV | Popular Science - 0 views

www.popsci.com/...rpes-and-may-do-whole-lot-more

shared by Alison Prodzinski on 28 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • The Yale team’s “prime and pull” method is focused on exactly that. Working with mice, the researchers found a way to “prime” T cells to fight a certain kind of infection
  • through conventional vaccination that causes a system-wide immune response.
  • The “prime and pull” technique could potentially be used to combat any infectious agent that enters the body through any specific tissue--agents like the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS.
  • Alison Prodzinski on 28 Mar 13
     
    Manipulating T-Cells to fight certain infections, then pulling them out of the body as to not harm anything - because they can spread nasty diseases in places like the central nervous system.  They are now testing these T-cells against HIV. This could be revolutionary - in that the 'Prime and Pull' method could be used over and over without harming the person.  Just proof of how cool T-cells are!! Both useful and harmful if used inappropriately.
Alletia DeMartino

Human brain cells developed in lab, grow in mice - 0 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...130503230313.htm

shared by Alletia DeMartino on 07 May 13 - No Cached
  • The researchers generated and transplanted a type of human nerve-cell progenitor called the medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) cell, in experiments describe
  • The researchers generated and transplanted a type of human nerve-cell progenitor called the medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) cel
  • Kriegstein sees MGE cells as a potential treatment to better control nerve circuits that become overactive in certain neurological disorders.
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • Kriegstein sees MGE cells as a potential treatment to better control nerve circuits that become overactive in certain neurological disorders.
  • , the human MGE-like cells survived within the rodent forebrain, integrated into the brain by forming connections with rodent nerve cells, and matured into specialized subtypes of interneurons.
  • To generate MGE cells in the lab, the researchers reliably directed the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells -- either human embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells derived from human skin
  • unlimited potential to become any human cell type.
  • To generate MGE cells in the lab, the researchers reliably directed the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells -- either human embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells derived from human skin.
  • These findings may serve as a model to study human diseases in which mature interneurons malfunction,
  • These findings may serve as a model to study human diseases in which
  • mature interneurons malfunction,
  • Nicholas utilized key growth factors and other molecules to direct the derivation and maturation of the human MGE-like interneurons
  • Nicholas utilized key growth factors and other molecules to direct the derivation and maturation of the human MGE-like interneurons. He timed the delivery of these fa
  • "The hope is that we can deliver these cells to various places within the nervous system that have been overactive and that they will functionally integrate and provide regulated inhibition," Nicholas said.
  • The researchers also plan to develop MGE cells from induced pluripotent stem cells derived from skin cells of individuals with autism, epilepsy, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, in order to investigate how the development and function of interneurons might become abnormal -- creating a lab-dish model of disease.
  • One mystery and challenge to both the clinical and pre-clinical study of human MGE cells is that they develop at a slower, human pace, reflecting an "intrinsic clock." In fast-developing mice, the human MGE-like cells still took seven to nine months to form interneuron subtypes that normally are present near birth.
  • Alletia DeMartino on 07 May 13
     
    pretty interesting that there wasnt rejection from the mice immune system. very cool for furthering research 
Richard Herron

Braconidae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 1 views

en.wikipedia.org/...Braconidae

parasites virus immunosupression dna virology

shared by Richard Herron on 19 Jan 13 - No Cached
  • Endoparasitoid species often display elaborate physiological adaptations to enhance larval survival within the host, such as the co-option of endosymbiotic viruses for compromising host immune defenses.
  • he DNA of the wasp actually contains portions that are the templates for the components of the viral particles and they are assembled in an organ in the female's abdomen known as the calyx.
  • Because of this highly modified system of host immunosuppression it is not surprising that there is a high level of parasitoid-host specificity. It is this specificity that makes Braconids a very powerful and important biological control agent.
  • anonymous on 20 Jan 13
     
    My husband was telling me about this yesterday. He heard about it on reddit but he couldn't remember which kind of bug it was.
  • Richard Herron on 20 Jan 13
     
    That's actually where I found it the other night. It was a very interesting read to say the least.
Abdirizak Abdi

Your Immune System 'Remembers' Microbes It's Never Fought Before, New Study Says - 0 views

www.popsci.com/...ts-never-fought-new-study-says

shared by Abdirizak Abdi on 09 May 13 - No Cached
  • Abdirizak Abdi on 09 May 13
     
    How do naive cells accomplish this microbial memory generation? It's all about the environment. People are constantly exposed to countless bacteria, fungi and viruses, everywhere all of the time. T cells might act like they're reacting to something they've seen before--maybe the bacteria's proteins look similar to that of a harmless bug, and the cell is fooled.
Charles Bach

Ebola's secret weapon revealed - 0 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...130502192226.htm

shared by Charles Bach on 03 May 13 - No Cached
  • Charles Bach on 03 May 13
     
    An example of infectors ability to stop the immune response. Researchers have discovered the mechanism behind one of the Ebola virus' most dangerous attributes: its ability to disarm the adaptive immune system. University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston scientists determined that Ebola short-circuits the immune system using proteins that work together to shut down cellular signaling related to interferon.
Casey Finnerty

Yeast Infection Led to Removal of Transplanted Uterus - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...al-of-transplanted-uterus.html

shared by Casey Finnerty on 11 Apr 16 - No Cached
  • The infection was caused by a fungus, a type of yeast called Candida albicans
  • It is normally found in the vagina, living in balance with bacteria and other microbes. But illness or some medications can disrupt the balance, allowing for a problematic overgrowth of the yeasts.
  • The surgeons said that since yeasts normally inhabit the genital tract, they could have come from either the donor or the recipient.
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  • But in transplant recipients, yeast infections can be hard to control, because the drugs that prevent rejection also prevent the immune system from fighting the infection. If a yeast infection spreads into the bloodstream, it can be extremely difficult to treat, and can be fatal.
  • Doctors rushed Ms. McFarland into surgery and discovered that an infection — they did not know then what kind — had extended into an artery they had connected to provide blood flow to the uterus. It had damaged the vessel and caused clots. The transplant had to be removed immediately. A week later, Ms. McFarland needed another operation, to treat more bleeding.
  • Once the cause of the infection was identified, she was treated with antifungal medicines. With the transplant removed, she was able to stop taking antirejection drugs and give her immune system a chance to recover and help control the infection.
  • She spent about five weeks in the hospital. Dr. Tzakis said she was still taking antifungal medicine, but was well.
  • The goal of the surgery is to make pregnancy and childbirth possible for women who were born without a uterus or lack one because of illness or injury.
  • They said they were considering various options, like using antifungal medicines preventively and washing the tissues of both the donor and recipient to reduce the risk of infection.
  • The only successful uterus transplants have been performed in Sweden, at the University of Gothenburg. Nine women have had the transplants there, and five have given birth.
  • Two of the nine transplants failed during the first year after the surgery and had to be removed
  • the other because of a bacterial infection.
  • Unlike the Cleveland team, doctors in Sweden used live uterus donors rather than cadavers for the transplants.
  • He also said that the Baylor team had adjusted its screening procedures to take into account possible exposure to the Zika virus
Casey Finnerty

The Virus That Learns - Phenomena: The Loom - 0 views

phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/...the-virus-that-learns

microbiology CRISPR

shared by Casey Finnerty on 07 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • Likewise, restriction enzymes are a dangerous defense, because they can chop up the distinctive stretches of DNA in a bacterium’s own genes. It avoids attacking itself by capping those sequences in its own DNA, so that the restriction enzymes can’t reach them.
  • Some species can muck up the production of new viruses, stealing their proteins before they can form shells. Others commit suicide upon infection, so as to avoid becoming an incubator for new viruses that would then kill their nearby relatives.
  • CRISPR genes can produce RNA molecules with a matching sequence. They grab onto the virus’s RNA and prevent them from being turned into proteins. The virus factory grinds to a halt.
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  • The bacteria hold onto an invading virus’s DNA, so that they are now prepared for a fresh attack. And over time, bacteria can build up little libraries of these virus barcodes. 
  • Last year, scientists at Indiana University surveyed the bacteria in people’s mouths and discovered 8,000 different viral barcodes–many of them corresponding to viruses scientists have yet to discover.
  • But if you build up a healthy store of antibodies to various strains of flu, smallpox, and other diseases, all that knowledge dies with you.
  • Not so for bacteria. When a microbe reproduces, it passes down its CRISPR genes and all of their viral barcodes to its descendants–including the ones it acquired in its own lifetime.
  • Last fall, for example, University of Cambridge scientists discovered viruses that carry an antidote for the suicide toxin made by their hosts. When the bacteria want to die, the virus forces them to live on. And just last month, University of Toronto scientists even discovered anti-CRISPR genes in viruses, which the viruses use to shut down the production of virus-killing molecules.
  • the scientists demonstrated that the ICP1 virus uses its CRISPR immune system to attack its host’s virus-attacking genes.
Casey Finnerty

Baby With H.I.V. Is Reported Cured - NYTimes.com - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...-cured-of-hiv-doctors-say.html

HIV microbiology virology immunity

shared by Casey Finnerty on 07 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • If the report is confirmed, the child born in Mississippi would be only the second well-documented case of a cure in the world
  • Typically a newborn with an infected mother would be given one or two drugs as a prophylactic measure. But Dr. Gay said that based on her experience, she almost immediately used a three-drug regimen aimed at treatment, not prophylaxis, not even waiting for the test results confirming infection.
  • Virus levels rapidly declined with treatment and were undetectable by the time the baby was a month old. That remained the case until the baby was 18 months old, after which the mother stopped coming to the hospital and stopped giving the drugs.
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  • Dr. Gay contacted Dr. Katherine Luzuriaga, an immunologist at the University of Massachusetts,
  • Dr. Steven Deeks, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said if the reservoir never established itself, then he would not call it a true cure, though this was somewhat a matter of semantics. “Was there enough time for a latent reservoir, the true barrier to cure, to establish itself?” he said.
  • One hypothesis is that the drugs killed off the virus before it could establish a hidden reservoir in the baby.
  • They found tiny amounts of some viral genetic material but no virus able to replicate, even lying dormant in so-called reservoirs in the body.
  • “For pediatrics, this is our Timothy Brown,” said Dr. Deborah Persaud, associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and lead author of the report on the baby. “It’s proof of principle that we can cure H.I.V. infection if we can replicate this case.”
  • Dr. Hannah B. Gay, an associate professor of pediatrics,
  • The results have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
  • The baby, born in rural Mississippi, was treated aggressively with antiretroviral drugs starting around 30 hours after birth, something that is not usually done. If further study shows this works in other babies, it will almost certainly be recommended globally.
  • those reports and this new one could suggest there is something different about babies’ immune systems, said Dr. Joseph McCune of the University of California, San Francisco.
  • the results could lead to a new protocol for quickly testing and treating infants.
Abdirizak Abdi

Cell Therapy Promising for Acute Type of Leukemia - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...romise-for-acute-leukemia.html

shared by Abdirizak Abdi on 26 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • Abdirizak Abdi on 26 Mar 13
     
    Exciting experimental treatment that stops cancer cells. The treatment uses the patient's own T-cells(disease fighting cells) and uses some sort of virus as a vector to change those cells into cancer fighting cells. My concern was was is there a damage done to other immune systems cells that also have the CD19 molecule on their surface? dendritic cells to name, which is mandatory for the body to fight both bacterial as well as viral infections. You wipe the dendritic cells and that introduces opportunistic infections. Regardless amazing news.
Nate Scheibe

Resistance to last-line antibiotic makes bacteria resistant to immune system - 0 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...130521011230.htm

resistance genes antibiotic bacteria

shared by Nate Scheibe on 21 May 13 - No Cached
  • Nate Scheibe on 21 May 13
     
    An interesting article on cross-resistance.
Whitney Hopfauf

Could new flu spark global flu pandemic? New bird flu strain seen adapting to mammals, ... - 0 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...130412192402.htm

pandemic humans virology influenza

shared by Whitney Hopfauf on 16 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • "The human isolates, but not the avian and environmental ones, have a protein mutation that allows for efficient growth in human cells and that also allows them to grow at a temperature that corresponds to the upper respiratory tract of humans, which is lower than you find in birds,
    • Whitney Hopfauf
      Whitney Hopfauf on 30 Apr 13
       
      These are the same researchers who did the infamous bird flu study that was temporarily banned
  • new virus has sickened at least 33 people, killing nine.
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    • Whitney Hopfauf
      Whitney Hopfauf on 30 Apr 13
       
      This is so concerning... and yet it seems that the general population is oblivious to the implications of this virus
  • majority of the viruses in the study -- from both humans and birds -- display mutations in the surface protein hemagglutinin, which the pathogen uses to bind to host cells.
  • The same mutation, Kawaoka notes, lets the avian virus thrive in the cooler temperatures of the human upper respiratory system
  • the new strain could be treated with another clinically relevant antiviral drug, oseltamivir.
  • Jenna Veldhuizen on 16 Apr 13
     
    Genetic sequencing of the current H7N9 outbreak in China has revealed the ability of the virus to adapt to a human host
Tyrell Varner

Bacteria evolve resistance more quickly when stronger antibiotics are used - 1 views

phys.org/...sistance-quickly-stronger.html

resistance antibiotics

shared by Tyrell Varner on 24 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • they found that the rate of evolution of antibiotic resistance speeds up when potent treatments are given because resistant bacterial cells flourish most during the most aggressive therapies.
  • Tyrell Varner on 24 Apr 13
     
    Hmm common sense?
  • Casey Finnerty on 25 Apr 13
     
    Kind of. So if you remove the competition more completely with aggressive antibiotics, the proportion of remaining bacteria that are resistant is higher. Of course, the opposite happens when you treat incompletely with antibiotics (i.e. stop taking them early). In that case our thinking is that the immune system is unlikely to kill all the remaining bacteria, increasing the chance resistant bacteria will survive.
anonymous

U.S.-backed HIV vaccine fails; study halted - 0 views

news.yahoo.com/ls-study-halted-164329679.html

shared by anonymous on 25 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • anonymous on 25 Apr 13
     
    The tested HIV vaccine was based on the common cold virus, to alert the body's immune system.There are still many HIV vaccine trials being tested, so HIV vaccines are still in the works.
anonymous

Comparison of Single and Combination Antimicrobial Agents for Prevention of Experimenta... - 0 views

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/...aac00093-0200.pdf

shared by anonymous on 30 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • anonymous on 30 Apr 13
     
    The main therapy of Gas Gangrene is amputation even before systemic infection, hyperbaric oxygen, or penicillin treatment therapy. Combination therapies were tested on mice with Gas Gangrene, which proved that metronidazole and penicillin together produced a higher mortality rate than that of metronidazole alone. But, metronidazole and clindamycin were more effective than penicillin alone. So some combination therapies are effective, while others are more dangerous.
Megan Rasmussen

Feds blame combination of parasite, virus, bacteria, pesticides for strange bee disappe... - 1 views

www.foxnews.com/...ria-pesticides-for-strange-bee

microbiology virus

shared by Megan Rasmussen on 05 May 13 - No Cached
  • Megan Rasmussen on 05 May 13
     
    A report blames colony collapse disorder on pesticides for possibly damaging the bee's immune system and making them more susceptible to parasites, viruses and bacteria. I know a lot of people are allergic to bees or hate them but check out this quotation: "About one-third of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants, and the honeybee is responsible for 80 percent of that pollination." Bees are important!!!
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