Science Alert April 18, 2023 Mosquito transmission of dengue viruses to humans starts with infection of skin resident cells at the biting site. There is great interest in identifying transmission-enhancing factors in mosquito saliva in order to counteract them. An international team of researchers (Singapore, USA – University of Texas, University Virginia, Spain, France) has discovered high levels of the anti-immune subgenomic flaviviral RNA (sfRNA) in dengue virus 2-infected mosquito saliva. They confirmed that sfRNA was present in saliva. They showed that salivary sfRNA was protected in detergent-sensitive compartments. Based on this hypothesis, they visualized viral RNAs in vesicles in […]
Tag Archives: Pathogens
New Hybrid Virus Discovered as Flu And RSV Fuse Into Single Pathogen
Science Alert October 31, 2022 Interactions between respiratory viruses during infection affect transmission dynamics and clinical outcomes. To identify and characterize virus–virus interactions at the cellular level, researchers in the UK coinfected human lung cells with influenza A virus (IAV) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Super-resolution microscopy, live-cell imaging, scanning electron microscopy and cryo-electron tomography revealed extracellular and membrane-associated filamentous structures consistent with hybrid viral particles (HVPs). They found that HVPs harbor surface glycoproteins and ribonucleoproteins of IAV and RSV. HVPs use the RSV fusion glycoprotein to evade anti-IAV neutralizing antibodies and infect and spread among cells lacking IAV receptors…read […]
How Pathogens Learn To Be Pathogens: Partnerships Between Microbes Lead to Human Disease
SciTech Daily February 21, 2022 Microbes compete for resources and must also hide from or fight predators. Using the fungus Rhizopus, which grows in the soil and on spoiled food, an international team of researchers (UK, USA – UCLA) showed how it fights back against this predator by partnering with a bacteria called Ralstonia in a two-way partnership. By living inside Rhizopus, Ralstonia hides from the predator. In return, Ralstonia makes a toxin that Rhizopus can use to neutralize the predator, preventing it from feeding on the pair. By learning to fight off predators in the soil, Rhizopus has also […]