HSV Infection Induces Production of ROS, which Potentiate Signaling from Pattern Recognition Receptors: Role for S-glutathionylation of TRAF3 and 6

The innate immune response constitutes the first line of defense against infections. Pattern recognition receptors recognize pathogen structures and trigger intracellular signaling pathways leading to cytokine and chemokine expression. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are emerging as an important regulator of some of these pathways. ROS directly interact with signaling components or induce other post-translational modifications such as S-glutathionylation, thereby altering target function. Applying live microscopy, we have demonstrated that herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection induces early production of ROS that are required for the activation of NF-κB and IRF-3 pathways and the production of type I IFNs and ISGs. All the known receptors involved in the recognition of HSV were shown to be dependent on the cellular redox levels for successful signaling. In addition, we provide biochemical evidence suggesting S-glutathionylation of TRAF family proteins to be important. In particular, by performing mutational studies we show that S-glutathionylation of a conserved cysteine residue of TRAF3 and TRAF6 is important for ROS-dependent activation of innate immune pathways. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate that ROS are essential for effective activation of signaling pathways leading to a successful innate immune response against HSV infection

State and societal responses to natural disasters in Latin American and Caribbean history

Natural hazards—earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, droughts, volcanoes, famines, epidemics, and climatic events such as El Niño–Southern Oscillations—have repeatedly struck Latin America and the Caribbean since pre-Columbian times. Natural disasters provide historians with an optic into political, social, economic, and cultural structures. Catastrophes reveal the ability of governments and administrators to efficiently and adequately respond, highlight embedded mentalities and social relationships, contribute to political and economic transformations, underscore scientific and technological advances, and the persistence of religious perspectives of calamities. States and societies that repeatedly experience natural hazards develop a culture of disaster to adapt and cope with catastrophic events by creating institutions and building codes, architecture, and mentalities. A historical perspective of contemporary calamities examines the political decisions, social and economic structures, and cultural milieu overtime that created the natural disasters