Tropism of Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Virus to Mesenchymal Stem Cells and CD34+ Hematopoietic Stem Cells

The presence of abnormal hematologic findings such as lymphopenia, thrombocytopenia, and pancytopenia were diagnosed in severe cases of avian influenza A H5N1. Whether direct viral dissemination to bone marrow (BM) cells causes this phenomenon remains elusive. We explore the susceptibility of the two stem cell types; hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) isolated from human BM cells or cord blood, to infection with avian H5N1 viruses. For the first time, we demonstrated that the H5N1 virus could productively infect and induce cell death in both human stem cell types. In contrast, these activities were not observed upon human influenza virus infection. We also determined whether infection affects the immunomodulatory function of MSCs. We noted a consequent dysregulation of MSC-mediated immune modulation as observed by high cytokine and chemokine production in H5N1 infected MSCs and monocytes cocultures. These findings provide a better understanding of H5N1 pathogenesis in terms of broad tissue tropism and systemic spread.     

Microring Switching Control Using Plasmonic Ring Resonator Circuits for Super-Channel Use

The multi-wavelength selection and switching system using the hybrid plasmonic add-drop ring resonator (HPARR) for optical communication is proposed for multi-carrier super-channel-based designed. The plasmonic polariton technique applied in the ring resonator mode to the alternate waveguide interferometer switches the multi-wavelength laser emission in the various ranges. The combination of curvature-coupled plasmon ring and substances with different refractive index allows switching the multi-wavelength emission to shorter the free spectrum range (FSR) and specific wavelengths, without an applied pump signal or adjusted the ring size. It is suitable for the super-channel of wavelength division multiplex (WDM) in the future optical network.