登革病毒ADE发生机制的研究进展

在登革病毒致病机理中,抗体依赖增强感染效应(Antibody-dependent enhancement,ADE)占据重要地位,可能在人体二次感染登革病毒后引起严重疾病。对近年来重症登革病毒感染作用机制研究中常用的细胞系、动物模型、ADE对于病毒进入宿主细胞的促进作用以及ADE引起的细胞因子变化等方面的研究进展进行了综述。     

肺炎链球菌与宿主炎症小体的相互作用机制

肺炎链球菌(Streptococcus pneumoniae)是一种定植于上呼吸道的革兰阳性胞外菌,是导致侵袭性肺炎的主要原因,所致疾病具有较高的发病率和死亡率。炎症小体(inflammasome)是胞浆内重要的蛋白复合体,在先天免疫应答过程中起着重要作用。大量研究表明,肺炎链球菌感染可诱导宿主炎症小体的激活、半胱天冬酶1的活化和促炎性细胞因子的分泌。在长期选择压力的作用下,肺炎链球菌的部分突变菌株可以逃避炎症小体的识别。本文就肺炎链球菌感染过程中炎症小体的激活、炎症小体在抗肺炎链球菌过程中的作用以及肺炎链球菌逃避宿主炎症小体识别的机制三方面对肺炎链球菌与炎症小体之间相互作用的研究进展进行综述。     

肺炎链球菌粘附机制的研究现状

肺炎链球菌粘附宿主我肺炎链球菌侵袭、感染宿主细胞的先决条件。粘附过程是特异的,是细菌表面的粘附分子和宿主细胞膜受体相互作用的结果。英膜对肺炎链球菌的粘附无影响,而细胞壁（ＣＷ）在介导肺炎链附粘附宿主细胞过程中起重要作用;ＣＷ亚组人脂磷酸（ＬＴＡ）介导肺炎链球菌的粘附过程,并导致炎症反应;细菌表面的结构蛋白或分泌蛋白是细菌与宿主细胞连接的桥梁;肺炎链球菌能与宿主细胞外基质蛋白特异性结合,进而粘附宿主     

徐氏拟裸茎吸虫感染免疫及排虫机制的研究进展

徐氏拟裸茎吸虫是一种少见的人类肠道吸虫,感染人群主要分布于韩国西海岸与南海岸,近年来感染范围不断扩大,与其相邻的中国和日本等国或将受到感染威胁。近年来,韩国学者对该吸虫生物学进行了大量研究,主要集中在成虫从宿主体内排出的机制和虫体感染所引发的宿主肠道屏障功能增强等。杯状细胞增殖、肠上皮更替加快、肠道平滑肌收缩加剧以及宿主免疫细胞及细胞因子的改变都在这一过程中发挥了重要作用。但到目前为止人们对该虫感染的发病机制和如何防治此病等相关问题研究较少。本文就近年来对徐氏拟裸茎吸虫感染与免疫、排虫机制与此病自限性等问题的研究进展作一综述。     

A群链球菌疫苗研究：历史的要略和新的视角

化脓性链球菌通常是指Lancefield分类中的A群链球菌(GAS),它是一群革兰阳性致病菌,能引起人们包括咽炎、腥红热、化脓性筋膜炎和链球菌毒素中毒性休克综合症(streptococcal toxic shock syndrome,STSS)等在内的广泛的疾病。感染后遗症有急性风湿热(acute rheumatic fever,ARF),并发病症有风湿性心脏病(rheumatic heart disease,RHD),     

054表皮细胞总mRNA表达谱研究揭示化脓性链球菌属FAS调节活性与侵袭性的相关性

化脓性链球菌[A群链球菌（group Astreptococci,GAS）]是感染人类的重要革兰阳性菌。细菌对宿主黏膜表面和皮肤表皮细胞的黏附和内化是感染的关键起始步骤,但对感染宿主细胞的转录反应还了解甚少。作者采用Affymetrix人类基因组DNA芯片分别检测了HEp-2细胞感染M49化脓性链球菌的野生型细菌和△fasX型细菌的总mRNA转录,     

高毒力A组链球菌致病机制研究进展

A组链球菌(Group A Streptococcus,GAS)常导致咽炎和皮肤感染,也能引起严重侵袭性感染。根据其表面M蛋白编码基因emm可将GAS分为200多型,严重侵袭性感染多由高毒力株引起,以emm1、emm3、emm12、emm28和emm89型常见。研究发现高毒力GAS株中covRS基因突变可导致细菌逃逸固有免疫防御以及侵袭血管;SpeB的表达下调影响GAS侵袭;高毒力株表达的超抗原(Superantigens, SAgs)能够过度激活T细胞,加剧宿主炎症反应;M1蛋白诱导产生的肝素结合蛋白可造成血管渗漏,加速向全身侵袭。总结了近年来在高毒力GAS致病机制方面的研究进展,以期为GAS严重侵袭性感染的预防和治疗提供新的思路。     

MOI对PK-15细胞感染PPV后细胞因子mRNA转录时相的影响

【目的】更好地了解感染复数(MOI)对猪细小病毒(PPV)感染PK-15细胞后引起细胞因子的反应,探讨宿主-病毒之间的作用关系。【方法】运用荧光定量PCR技术,测定和分析3种感染复数对PPV感染PK-15细胞引起的病毒DNA量的变化和细胞因子IFN-、IRF-3、TNF-a和IL-18分泌水平。【结果】PPV感染PK-15细胞12 h病毒开始大量迅速增殖,感染48 h且MOI为1.0时达到最高峰;PPV感染后可引起PK-15细胞中IFN-、IRF-3、TNF-a和IL-18的表达量显著增加,其中IRF-3基因在感染后1 h且MOI为10.0时表达量达到967倍。【结论】细胞因子的分泌水平显著依赖感染复数和感染时间的交互作用。     

葡萄球菌和链球菌超抗原及其在人类疾病中的作用

本文介绍超抗原对于Ｔ细胞的作用方式,几种主要超抗原的来源和致病机制,以及葡萄球菌和链球菌超抗原与某些人类疾病如中毒性休克综合征（ＴＳＳ）、烫伤样皮肤综合征、皮肤粘膜淋巴结综合征、类风湿性关节炎、自身免疫性中枢神经系统紊乱、滴状牛皮癣等的关系。     

重症新型冠状病毒肺炎患者遗传易感性研究进展

新型冠状病毒肺炎是由新型冠状病毒感染引起的全球大流行疾病。患者呈现出无症状感染、轻症到(危)重症不同严重程度的临床表现。部分重症患者因发生细胞因子风暴而出现多器官功能衰竭并最终导致死亡。除性别、年龄、基础疾病(如高血压、糖尿病)等增加重型感染风险外,宿主先天遗传缺陷也被认为与疾病严重程度(包括细胞因子风暴的发生)密切相关。在重症患者中,相继发现与病毒识别、杀伤等相关的关键基因(如TLR7、UNC13D等)先天遗传变异。本文主要总结了宿主抗病毒免疫应答机制及与新型冠状病毒感染严重程度相关的先天变异基因,以期为新型冠状病毒肺炎的早期干预和分层治疗提供遗传学依据。     

Bacterial Superantigens Promote Acute Nasopharyngeal Infection by Streptococcus pyogenes in a Human MHC Class II-Dependent Manner

Establishing the genetic determinants of niche adaptation by microbial pathogens to specific hosts is important for the management and control of infectious disease. Streptococcus pyogenes is a globally prominent human-specific bacterial pathogen that secretes superantigens (SAgs) as ‘trademark’ virulence factors. SAgs function to force the activation of T lymphocytes through direct binding to lateral surfaces of T cell receptors and class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC-II) molecules. S. pyogenes invariably encodes multiple SAgs, often within putative mobile genetic elements, and although SAgs are documented virulence factors for diseases such as scarlet fever and the streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS), how these exotoxins contribute to the fitness and evolution of S. pyogenes is unknown. Here we show that acute infection in the nasopharynx is dependent upon both bacterial SAgs and host MHC-II molecules. S. pyogenes was rapidly cleared from the nasal cavity of wild-type C57BL/6 (B6) mice, whereas infection was enhanced up to ∼10,000-fold in B6 mice that express human MHC-II. This phenotype required the SpeA superantigen, and vaccination with an MHC –II binding mutant toxoid of SpeA dramatically inhibited infection. Our findings indicate that streptococcal SAgs are critical for the establishment of nasopharyngeal infection, thus providing an explanation as to why S. pyogenes produces these potent toxins. This work also highlights that SAg redundancy exists to avoid host anti-SAg humoral immune responses and to potentially overcome host MHC-II polymorphisms.     

鲍曼不动杆菌VI型分泌系统功能蛋白的研究及应用新进展

细菌VI型分泌系统（type VI secretion system,T6SS）作为一个动态多蛋白复合体,各元件之间分工明确,转运各种效应蛋白作用于竞争细菌获得自我生长优势。鲍曼不动杆菌（Acinetobacter baumannii,Ab）通过T6SS介导细菌在微生物群落中的竞争能力,影响其耐药进化、宿主侵袭感染等过程。其中,缬氨酸-甘氨酸-精氨酸G蛋白三聚体（valine-glycine repeat protein G,VgrG）、脯氨酸-丙氨酸-丙氨酸-精氨酸重复序列蛋白（proline-alanine-alanine-arginine,PAAR）、溶血素共调节蛋白（hemolysin-coregulated protein,Hcp）和效应-免疫（effector-immunity,E-I）对发挥着关键作用。有关T6SS的研究总结虽然很多,但是鲜有文章系统概述其临床应用前景,因为这对T6SS功能蛋白的鉴定、特性、转运机制等基础研究的进展提出了挑战。本文通过综述鲍曼不动杆菌中T6SS的分布、主要功能蛋白的特性及转运机制的研究进展,结合T6SS的应用案例,提供其应用的可行性证据。以期进一步推动鲍曼不动杆菌VI型分泌系统基因和功能的研究,为开发新型抗感染疫苗、筛选合适的靶点抑制剂及生产工程化药物递送工具提供新的思路。     

Vomocytosis: What we know so far

Vomocytosis, or nonlytic exocytosis, has been reported for Cryptococcus neoformans since 2006. Since then, the repertoire of vomocytosing pathogens and host cells has increased and so have the molecular components linked to vomocytosis occurrence. Nonetheless, the mechanism underlying this phenomenon, whether it is triggered by the host or the pathogen, and how it affects disease progression are still unresolved. This review contains a summary of the main findings regarding vomocytosis and the outstanding questions puzzling scientists to this day.     

肺炎链球菌荚膜多糖O-乙酰化修饰的研究进展

肺炎链球菌表面覆盖着一层荚膜,由多糖组成,是肺炎链球菌关键的毒力因子和重要的抗原,也是细菌分型的依据。强毒血清型的荚膜多糖被制成糖疫苗在抗感染方面发挥了巨大作用。荚膜多糖结构复杂,经常被O-乙酰化修饰,这些多变的化学修饰扮演着重要的生物学角色。本文对肺炎链球菌荚膜多糖O-乙酰化修饰的研究进展进行了介绍,包括荚膜多糖的遗传基础、合成途径和血清学特征,荚膜多糖的O-乙酰化修饰的化学结构及其相应的O-乙酰基转移酶,O-乙酰化修饰的化学鉴定和生物学功能。同时,我们也总结了多糖O-乙酰化修饰在肺炎链球菌微进化中的作用和对糖疫苗的影响,并对今后的研究进行了展望。本综述旨在为研究荚膜多糖的O-乙酰化修饰的致病机制奠定基础,也为糖疫苗的设计提供指导。     

Opposing roles of IL-10 in acute bacterial infection

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is recognized as an anti-inflammatory cytokine that downmodulates inflammatory immune responses at multiple levels. In innate cells, production of this cytokine is usually triggered after pathogen recognition receptor (PRR) engagement by pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) or damage-associated molecular patters (DAMPs), as well as by other soluble factors. Importantly, IL-10 is frequently secreted during acute bacterial infections and has been described to play a key role in infection resolution, although its effects can significantly vary depending on the infecting bacterium. While the production of IL-10 might favor host survival in some cases, it may also result harmful for the host in other circumstances, as it can prevent appropriate bacterial clearance. In this review we discuss the role of IL-10 in bacterial clearance and propose that this cytokine is required to recover from infection caused by extracellular or highly pro-inflammatory bacteria. Altogether, we propose that IL-10 drives excessive suppression of the immune response upon infection with intracellular bacteria or in non-inflammatory bacterial infections, which ultimately favors bacterial persistence and dissemination within the host. Thus, the nature of the bacterium causing infection is an important factor that needs to be taken into account when considering new immunotherapies that consist on the modulation of inflammation, such as IL-10. Indeed, induction of this cytokine may significantly improve the host’s immune response to certain bacteria when antibiotics are not completely effective.     

Agrobacterium Rhizogenes rolB and rolD Genes: Regulation and Involvement in Plant Development

Rol genes belong to the T-DNA which is transferred by Agrobacterium rhizogenes into plant cells. Each of these genes affects plant development and is regulated by the host. In this review, after a brief historical background, the most intriguing aspects of past and current research on rolB and rolD genes are highlighted and discussed.     

Energetic stress in the honeybee Apis mellifera from Nosema ceranae infection

Parasites are dependent on their hosts for energy to reproduce and can exert a significant nutritional stress on them. Energetic demand placed on the host is especially high in cases where the parasite-host complex is less co-evolved. The higher virulence of the newly discovered honeybee pathogen, Nosema ceranae, which causes a higher mortality in its new host Apis mellifera, might be based on a similar mechanism. Using Proboscis Extension Response and feeding experiments, we show that bees infected with N. ceranae have a higher hunger level that leads to a lower survival. Significantly, we also demonstrate that the survival of infected bees fed ad libitum is not different from that of uninfected bees. These results demonstrate that energetic stress is the probable cause of the shortened life span observed in infected bees. We argue that energetic stress can lead to the precocious and risky foraging observed in Nosema infected bees and discuss its relevance to colony collapse syndrome. The significance of energetic stress as a general mechanism by which infectious diseases influence host behavior and physiology is discussed.     

Group A streptococcal cysteine protease degrades C3 (C3b) and contributes to evasion of innate immunity

A relative lack of neutrophils around Streptococcus pyogenes is observed in streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS). Because the bacteria spread rapidly into various organs in STSS, we speculated that S. pyogenes is equipped with molecules to evade the host innate immune system. Complement C3b opsonizes the pathogen to facilitate phagocytosis, and a complex of C3b converts C5 into anaphylatoxin. Because we found that C3 (C3b) is degraded in sera from patients with STSS, we investigated the mechanism of C3 (C3b) degradation by S. pyogenes. We incubated human C3b or serum with recombinant SpeB (rSpeB), a wild-type S. pyogenes strain isolated from an STSS patient or its isogenic DeltaspeB mutant and examined the supernatant by Western blotting with anti-human C3b. Western blot and Biacore analyses revealed that rSpeB and wild-type S. pyogenes rapidly degrade C3b. Additionally, C3 (C3b) was not detected in sera collected from infected areas of STSS patients. Furthermore, the survival rate in human blood and in mice was lower for the DeltaspeB mutant than the wild-type strain. Histopathological observations demonstrated that neutrophils were recruited to and phagocytosed the DeltaspeB mutant, whereas with the wild-type strain, few neutrophils migrated to the site of infection, and the bacteria spread along the fascia. We observed the degradation of C3 (C3b) in sera from STSS patients and the degradation of C3 (C3b) by rSpeB. This suggests that SpeB contributes to the escape of S. pyogenes from phagocytosis at the site of initial infection, allowing it to invade host tissues during severe infections.