Volume 04 · Issue 04 · 2022

Recently, death from herpes B virus (Cercopithecine Herpesvirus 1) infection was reported in China, reminding us to be alert to the risk of transmission and infection with herpes B virus. Herpes B virus is a zoonotic pathogen that can cause fatal encephalomyelitis in humans. The virus naturally infects rhesus monkeys, causing diseases like human herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection, which are often asymptomatic or mild in the rhesus macaque. However, herpes B virus infection can be fatal to humans. Without timely treatment, the mortality rate of herpes B virus infection is as high as 70%-80%. To date, approximately 50 cases of human herpes B virus (HBV) infection have been reported worldwide. Most cases are related to direct contact with macaques, such as scratching, biting, or mucosal contact with monkey body fluids or secretions. Although the risk of human-to-human transmission is low, the widespread prevalence of the virus among monkeys, the high mortality of infected persons, and the severe neurological sequelae of survivors render this virus an important zoonotic pathogen that threatens human beings. Biorisk-related training programs for at risk personnel and timely treatment after exposure to the B virus can reduce infection rate and mortality. The early initiation of antiviral therapy prevents severe disease or death after the rapid diagnosis of human B virus disease. Identification of risk factors is essential in controlling the spread of the herpes B virus in the population at risk.

Cell-cell communication is the basis of physiological processes and cell signals. The disease occurs when the cells do not adequately communicate and the messages are blocked. With ligand-receptor interaction databases and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) databases, we can detect intercellular signaling and reconstruct the cell-cell communications among different cell types. This review summarized the computational approaches for analyzing the cell-cell communication based on scRNA-seq data and discussed its applications in carcinogenesis and COVID-19. We believe that this review will accelerate the scRNA-seq data deciphering and facilitate the cell-cell communication studies for complex physiological processes, such as carcinogenesis and SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Tuberculosis (TB) is among the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide. Although the existing antituberculosis (anti-TB) drugs remain to be effective, the administration of these complex anti-TB drug combinations with obvious toxicity often leads to patients’ nonadherence. This may contribute toward the emergence of drug-resistant strains as well as lead to treatment failure and relapse. Therefore, in the past half century, the main focus of anti-TB drug research was to reduce the frequency of administration and toxicity and improve patients' compliance and drug sensitivity. Following these principles, the development of engineered biosafety materials is one of the most effective and promising methods in resolving these challenges. Compared with traditional drugs, biosafety materials provide a viable platform for treating TB, which are beneficial in reducing the frequency of drug administration and systemic toxicity, improving patients’ compliance and drug sensitivity, and enhancing drug targeting. In this review, we summarized the application of biosafety materials in treatment of TB in recent years and discussed the challenges faced when developing a safe, more effective, and economical pharmacotherapy against TB.

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance attributed to the overuse and abuse of antibiotics severely endangers global biosafety. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) produced by various living organisms exhibit broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties with a low propensity to the resistance. However, the application of AMPs has been greatly limited owing to their poor stability, high manufacturing cost, and high cytotoxicity. Thus, AMP-mimetic antimicrobial cationic polymers with cationic and amphiphilic moieties have attracted considerable attention as antimicrobial agents. These polymers typically exhibit broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities, negligible antimicrobial resistance, and rapid bactericidal effect. These polymers exhibit low hemolysis and cytotoxicity by optimizing their chemical structures. In this study, we summarize the design principles and current findings of antimicrobial cationic polymers and identify potential candidates for developing innovative polymeric antimicrobials.

A series of stringent non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions were implemented to contain the pandemic but the pandemic continues. Moreover, vaccination breakthrough infection and reinfection in convalescent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases have been reported. Further, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants emerged with mutations in spike (S) gene, the target of most current vaccines. Importantly, the mutations exhibit a trend of immune escape from the vaccination. Herein the scientific question that if the vaccination drives genetic or antigenic drifts of SARS-CoV-2 remains elusive. We performed correlation analyses to uncover the impacts of wide vaccination on epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19. In addition, we investigated the evolutionary dynamics and genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 under immune pressure by utilizing the Bayesian phylodynamic inferences and the lineage entropy calculation respectively. We found that vaccination coverage was negatively related to the infections, severe cases, and deaths of COVID-19 respectively. With the increasing vaccination coverage, the lineage diversity of SARS-CoV-2 dampened, but the rapid mutation rates of the S gene were identified, and the vaccination could be one of the explanations for driving mutations in S gene. Moreover, new epidemics resurged in several countries with high vaccination coverage, questioning their current pandemic control strategies. Hence, integrated vaccination and non-pharmacological interventions are critical to control the pandemic. Furthermore, novel vaccine preparation should enhance its capabilities to curb both disease severity and infection possibility.

African swine fever (ASF) is a highly infectious, transboundary viral disease of domestic and wild pigs, and is currently the most serious threat to world swine production, resulting in significant economic loss. In the absence of vaccines and treatments, the control of the disease entirely depends on accurate and early diagnosis accompanied by the culling of infected pigs. Thus, a highly specific and sensitive diagnostic assay is required during an outbreak and surveillance of the disease. In this study, a highly sensitive, specific, rapid and repeatable P22-monoclonal antibody-based blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (bELISA) assay was developed for the detection of antibodies against genotype I and II African swine fever viruses(ASFVs). A total of 806 pig serum samples were tested to evaluate the performance of the diagnostic assay. To determine the PI (percent Inhibition) cut-off value, receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was applied. According to the ROC analysis of the data, 98.10% specificity and 100% sensitivity were recorded when the threshold cut-off value of PI was established at 47%. In addition, the assay was able to detect ASFV antibodies as early as 9 days post-infection when serum samples from experimentally infected pigs were used. Taking all together, the results of the present study indicated that the P22-mAb based bELISA assay can be used for rapid and accurate detection of antibodies against ASFV, which could play a valuable role in the containment and prevention of ASFV as an alternative to other serological diagnostic methods. Also, this study will assist researchers to further investigate the immunogenic importance of P22 protein in ASFV infection.

Phenuiviridae, a member of the Bunyavirales order, can lead to significant human morbidity and mortality. Various phenuiviruses target specific cellular proteins and have strategies to counteract the effects of type I interferon (IFN). Previous studies have shown that phenuiviruses infection inhibits the synthesis of type I IFNs, and viral nonstructural proteins (NSs) had been further identified as an IFN antagonist. This study found that the NSs proteins of Dabie bandavirus (DBV), Sandfly fever Sicilian virus (SFSV), and Uukuniemi virus (UUKV) can inhibit Sendai virus-induced activation of IFN-β promoter and phosphorylation of IFN regulatory factor 3 (IRF3). Moreover, detailed analysis revealed that the phenuivirus NSs protein could directly interact with retinoic acid inducible gene-I (RIG-I) and degrade it via a proteasome-dependent pathway. In short, this study demonstrate a novel mechanism of phenuiviruses to resist host antiviral immunity, which may help understand these pathogens and suggest novel therapeutic approaches.

At present, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spread worldwide, which has emerged multiple variants and brought a threat to global public health. To analyze the genomic characteristics and variations of SARS-CoV-2 imported into Beijing, we collected the respiratory tract specimens of 112 cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from January to September 2021 in Beijing, China, including 40 local cases and 72 imported cases. The whole-genome sequences of the viruses were sequenced by the next-generation sequencing method. Variant markers and phylogenic features of SARS-CoV-2 were analyzed. Our results showed that in all 112 sequences, the mutations were concentrated in spike protein. D614G was found in all sequences, and mutations including L452R, T478K, P681R/H, and D950N in some cases. Furthermore, 112 sequences belonged to 23 lineages by phylogenetic analysis. B.1.1.7 (Alpha) and B.1.617.2 (Delta) lineages were dominant. Our study drew a variation image of SARS-CoV-2 and could help evaluate the potential risk of COVID-19 for pandemic preparedness and response.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the practice of infectious diseases biobanking, as well as existing challenges and opportunities. Thus, the future of infectious diseases biobanking in the post-pandemic era, shall not be an "entry-level version" of its counterpart in non-communicable diseases and large population cohorts, but incorporate the lessons learned. Biobanks constitute a critical research infrastructure supported by harmonized practices through the implementation of international standards, and perceived within the broader scope of healthcare's intersection with research. This perspective paper considers the barriers in biobanking and standardization of practices, as well as the emerging opportunities in the field.