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Ebola virus (EBOV) is classified as a category A pathogen as it causes viral hemorrhagic fever, one of the most-deadly virus-related diseases. Since its discovery in 1976, EBOV has caused a number of global public health incidents, which have posed a serious threat to both humans and non-human primates. Thus, numerous preventive vaccine studies are underway, including research on inactivated vaccines, DNA vaccines, subunit vaccines, virus-like particles, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus replicon particles, and several viral vector vaccines. The vesicular stomatitis virus-based vaccine Ervebo was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration and the European Union, and several other vaccines have also been proven to confer potent protection in non-human primates against EBOV lethal challenge. This review provides a brief background of EBOV, with a focus on the epidemiology, available animal models, and advances in preventive approaches for EBOV infection.

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), an important neurotropic pathogen, belongs to the genus Flavivirus of the family Flaviviridae and has caused huge threat to public health. It is still obscure regarding the functions of stem-loop (SL) and dumbbell (DB) domains of JEV 3′ UTR in viral replication and virulence. In the current study, using the infectious clone of JEV SA14 strain as a backbone, we constructed a series of deletion mutants of 3′ UTR to investigate their effects on virus replication. The results showed that partial deletions within SL or DB domain had no apparent effects on virus replication in both mammalian (BHK-21) and mosquito (C6/36) cells, suggesting that they were not involved in viral host-specific replication. However, the entire SL domain deletion (ΔVR) significantly reduced virus replication in both cell lines, indicating the important role of the complete SL domain in virus replication. The revertant of ΔVR mutant virus was obtained by serial passage in BHK-21 cells that acquired a duplication of DB domain (DB-dup) in the 3′ UTR, which greatly restored virus replication as well as the capability to produce the subgenomic flavivirus RNAs (sfRNAs). Interestingly, the DB-dup mutant virus was highly attenuated in C57BL/6 mice despite replicating similar to WT JEV. These findings demonstrate the significant roles of the duplicated structures in 3′ UTR in JEV replication and provide a novel strategy for the design of live-attenuated vaccines.

IntroductionMetric learning, as a fundamental research direction in the field of computer vision, has played a crucial role in image matching. Traditional metric learning methods aim at constructing two-branch siamese neural networks to address the challenge of image matching, but they often overlook to cross-source and cross-view scenarios.MethodsIn this article, a multi-branch metric learning model is proposed to address these limitations. The main contributions of this work are as follows: Firstly, we design a multi-branch siamese network model that enhances measurement reliability through information compensation among data points. Secondly, we construct a non-local information perception and fusion model, which accurately distinguishes positive and negative samples by fusing information at different scales. Thirdly, we enhance the model by integrating semantic information and establish an information consistency mapping between multiple branches, thereby improving the robustness in cross-source and cross-view scenarios.ResultsExperimental tests which demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method are carried out under various conditions, including homologous, heterogeneous, multi-view, and crossview scenarios. Compared to the state-of-the-art comparison algorithms, our proposed algorithm achieves an improvement of ~1, 2, 1, and 1% in terms of similarity measurement Recall@10, respectively, under these four conditions.DiscussionIn addition, our work provides an idea for improving the crossscene application ability of UAV positioning and navigation algorithm.

Abstract The lung is the prophylaxis target against SARS-CoV-2 infection, and neutralizing antibodies are a leading class of biological products against various infectious viral pathogen. In this study, we develop a safe and cost-effective platform to express neutralizing antibody in the lung with replicating mRNA basing on alphavirus replicon particle (VRP) delivery system, to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections. First, a modified VEEV replicon with two subgenomic (sg) promoters was engineered to translate the light and heavy chains of antibody simultaneously, for expression and assembly of neutralizing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody CB6. Second, the feasibility and protective efficacy of replicating mRNA against SARS-CoV-2 infection were demonstrated through both in vitro and in vivo assays. The lung target delivery with the help of VRP system resulted in efficiently block SARS-CoV-2 infection with reducing viral titer and less tissue damage in the lung of mice. Overall, our data suggests that expressing neutralizing antibodies in the lungs with the help of self-replicating mRNA could potentially be a promising prophylaxis approach against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Abstract The genus Flavivirus comprises numerous emerging and re‐emerging arboviruses causing human illness. Vaccines are the best approach to prevent flavivirus diseases. But pathogen diversities are always one of the major hindrances for timely development of new vaccines when confronting unpredicted flavivirus outbreaks. We used West Nile virus (WNV) as a model to develop a new live‐attenuated vaccine (LAV), WNV‐poly(A), by replacing 5ʹ portion (corresponding to SL and DB domains in WNV) of 3ʹ‐UTR with internal poly(A) tract. WNV‐poly(A) not only propagated efficiently in Vero cells, but also was highly attenuated in mouse model. A single‐dose vaccination elicited robust and long‐lasting immune responses, conferring full protection against WNV challenge. Such “poly(A)” vaccine strategy may be promising for wide application in the development of flavivirus LAVs because of its general target regions in flaviviruses.

COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 has posed a significant threat to global public health since its outbreak in late 2019. Although there are a few drugs approved for clinical treatment to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection currently, the severity of the ongoing global pandemic still urges the efforts to discover new antiviral compounds. As the viral spike (S) protein plays a key role in mediating virus entry, it becomes a potential target for the design of antiviral drugs against COVID-19. Here, we tested the antiviral activity of berbamine hydrochloride, a bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloid, against SARS-CoV-2 infection. We found that berbamine hydrochloride could efficiently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection in different cell lines. Further experiments showed berbamine hydrochloride inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection by targeting the viral entry into host cells. Moreover, berbamine hydrochloride and other bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloids could potently inhibit S-mediated cell-cell fusion. Furthermore, molecular docking results implied that the berbamine hydrochloride could bind to the post fusion core of SARS-CoV-2 S2 subunit. Therefore, berbamine hydrochloride may represent a potential efficient antiviral agent against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

ABSTRACTThe emerging SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with the outbreak of viral pneumonia in China is ongoing worldwide. There are no approved antiviral therapies to treat this viral disease. Here we examined the antiviral abilities of three broad-spectrum antiviral compounds gemcitabine, lycorine and oxysophoridine against SARS-CoV-2 in cell culture. We found that all three tested compounds inhibited viral replication in Vero-E6 cells at noncytotoxic concentrations. The antiviral effect of gemcitabine was suppressed efficiently by the cytidine nucleosides. Additionally, combination of gemcitabine with oxysophoridine had an additive antiviral effect against SARS-CoV-2. Our results demonstrate that broad-spectrum antiviral compounds may have a priority for the screening of antiviral compounds against newly emerging viruses to control viral infection.

The flaviviruses pose serious threats to human health. Being a natural fusion of a methyltransferase (MTase) and an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP), NS5 is the most conserved flavivirus protein and an important antiviral target. Previously reported NS5 structures represented by those from the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) and Dengue virus serotype 3 (DENV3) exhibit two apparently different global conformations, defining two sets of intra-molecular MTase-RdRP interactions. However, whether these NS5 conformations are conserved in flaviviruses and their specific functions remain elusive. Here we report two forms of DENV serotype 2 (DENV2) NS5 crystal structures representing two conformational states with defined analogies to the JEV-mode and DENV3-mode conformations, respectively, demonstrating the conservation of both conformation modes and providing clues for how different conformational states may be interconnected. Data from in vitro polymerase assays further demonstrate that perturbing the JEV-mode but not the DENV3-mode intra-molecular interactions inhibits catalysis only at initiation, while the cell-based virological analysis suggests that both modes of interactions are important for virus proliferation. Our work highlights the role of MTase as a unique intra-molecular initiation factor specifically only through the JEV-mode conformation, providing an example of conformation-based crosstalk between naturally fused protein functional modules.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), the third physiological gasotransmitter, is well recognized as an anti-inflammatory mediator in various inflammatory conditions. Herein, we explored the protective effects of S-propargyl-cysteine (SPRC, also known as ZYZ-802), an endogenous H2S modulator, on RA and determined the underlying mechanisms. In the present study, SPRC concentration-dependently attenuated inflammatory mediator expression, reactive oxidase species generation, and the expression and activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-9 in interleukin (IL)-1β-induced human rheumatoid fibroblast-like synoviocytes MH7A. In addition, SPRC blocked IL-1β-mediated migration and invasion of MH7A cells. As expected, the protective effects of SPRC were partially abrogated by DL-propargylglycine (PAG, a H2S biosynthesis inhibitor). In vivo study also demonstrated that SPRC treatment markedly ameliorated the severity of RA in adjuvant-induced arthritis rats, and this effect was associated with the inhibition of inflammatory response. We further identified that SPRC remarkably induced heme oxygenase-1 expression associated with the degradation of Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) and nuclear translocation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2); this effect was attributed to the sulfhydrylation of the cysteine residue of Keap1. Our data demonstrated for the first time that SPRC, an endogenous H2S modulator, exerted anti-inflammatory properties in RA by upregulating the Nrf2-antioxidant response element (ARE) signaling pathway.

Background/Aim: Sodium 9-acetoxyltanshinone IIA sulfonate (ZY-1A4), a novel compound derived from sodium 9-hydroxyltanshinone IIA sulfonate, was synthesized with potential biological activities. This study aimed to explore the effects of ZY-1A4 on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-triggered inflammatory response and the underlying mechanisms. Methods: Activation of RAW264.7 macrophages was induced by LPS. The effects of ZY-1A4 on inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression, nitric oxide (NO) generation, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression, and nuclear factor-erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway were evaluated to elucidate its underlying mechanisms on inflammatory responses. Results: ZY-1A4 concentration-dependently reduced iNOS expression and NO production, and inhibited c-Jun-N-terminal kinase 1/2 (JNK1/2) phosphorylation and NF-κB activation in LPS-stimulated macrophages. In addition, ZY-1A4 concentration- and time-dependently induced HO-1 expression associated with degradation of Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) and nuclear translocation of Nrf2, while the effect of ZY-1A4 was abolished by a phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor LY294002. Intriguingly, pharmacological inactivation of HO-1 with zinc protoporphyrin IX reversed anti-inflammatory effect of ZY-1A4, but the anti-inflammatory effect of ZY-1A4 was largely mimicked by HO-1 by-products carbon monoxide and bilirubin. Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of ZY-1A4 on LPS-induced iNOS expression and NO release was abolished by HO-1 siRNA or LY294002. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that ZY-1A4 suppressed LPS-induced iNOS expression and NO generation via modulation of NF-κB activation and HO-1 expression. This new finding might shed light to the prevention and therapy of cardiovascular diseases.

Clean graphene transfer has received widespread research attention, where most methods are focused on cleaning the upper surface of graphene to improve the transfer technique. However, the residue formation on the bottom surface of graphene is also inevitable; therefore, cleaning the bottom surface is crucial. In this study, we proposed an improved graphene wet transfer method using an ultrasonic processing (UP) step for etching copper (Cu). Using this method, the bottom surface can be cleaned efficiently. The results of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy mapping revealed that the graphene films transferred with UP had smoother and cleaner surfaces, less contamination, and higher quality than those transferred without UP.