Mostly Microbes and Infection

University of the Pacific recently launched the   Pacific Journal of Health   ( PJH ) as a new way to promote health sciences research and scholarship to the public.  A peer-reviewed online journal, the  PJH  will publish multiple issues per year in fields of health studied on the three campuses of the university. Areas covered will include clinical research and case reports, biomedical research, business and economics of health, education in health disciplines, music therapy, health care delivery, health policy and law and community-based research.   The publication's editor-in-chief is Dr. David Ojcius, chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Pacific's Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry. The editorial board also includes faculty members representing Stanford University School of Medicine; University of California, Merced; California State University, Fresno; University of Paris-Sud, France; and Chang Gung University, Taiwan.   A...

Highlights • Metformin increases the frequency of productively HIV-infected T cells • Metformin acts on HIV-1 replication cycle at post-entry and post-integration levels • Metformin increases BST2 and Bcl-2 expression in productively HIV-infected T cells • Metformin increases viral reservoir recognition by anti-HIV-Env Abs

  Abstract Aim:  Mineralo-organic particles, naturally present in human body fluids, participate in ectopic calcification and inflammatory diseases. These particles coexist with influenza A virus (IAV) in the same microenvironment during viral infection. Our objective was to investigate the functional consequences of the potential interactions between these particles and the virions. Materials & methods:  We used  in vitro  models, including electron microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, hemagglutination assay and viral infection assays to examine the interactions. Results:  Mineralo-organic particles bind to IAV virions through interactions involving particle-bound fetuin-A and mineral content, effectively engaging viral hemagglutinin. These interactions result in hindered viral infection. Conclusion:  These findings uncover the novel interactions between mineralo-organic particles and IAV, highlighting the impact of virus microenvironment complexi...

Highlights • Metformin prevents brain atrophy, elevating cognitive function in aged male primates • Metformin slows the pace of aging across diverse male primate tissues • Metformin counterparts neuronal aging, delivering geroprotection via Nrf2 in male primates  

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are enclosed by a phospholipid bilayer and can be secreted by most types of cells. EVs deliver cargo from the secreting cell into the cytoplasm of recipient cells, influencing the function of the recipient cells. EVs are attracting increasing attention from a broad range of clinicians and scientists due to their ability to promote or inhibit various physiological pathways or pathological conditions. This special issue of  Biomedical Journal  contains articles describing the biogenesis and biodistribution of EVs and their role in the intercellular transfer of various molecules or viruses to target cells, in rejecting allogeneic transplants and maintaining immune tolerance of the allogeneic fetus, and in modulating innate and adaptive immunity. Characterization of the role of EVs in various pathological conditions and our ability to engineer modified EVs may lead to discovery of novel biomarkers and development of therapeutic strategies for treatment...

Inflammasomes play a major role in the immune response to infection, development of autoimmune disease, and control of cancer. Western blots were originally used in the early 2000s to characterize inflammasome activation. Since then, a panoply of techniques has been developed to characterize and visualize inflammasome activation in cells, tissues, and animals. This review article describes the most common techniques used by researchers in the inflammasome field and proposes that cell-specific characterization of inflammasome activation in tissues or animals may soon be commonly reported.  

The disease, spread by midges and mosquitoes, has been linked to two deaths as cases surge in previously unaffected areas.