Influenza virus NS1 protein binds cellular DNA to block transcription of antiviral genes

Influenza NS1 protein is an important virulence factor that is capable of binding double-stranded (ds) RNA and inhibiting dsRNA-mediated host innate immune responses. Here we show that NS1 can also bind cellular dsDNA. This interaction prevents loading of transcriptional machinery to the DNA, thereby attenuating IAV-mediated expression of antiviral genes. Thus, we identified a previously undescribed strategy, by which RNA virus inhibits cellular transcription to escape antiviral response and secure its replication. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Anticancer compound ABT-263 accelerates apoptosis in virus-infected cells and imbalances cytokine production and lowers survival rates of infected mice

Peer reviewe

Thermal Conductivity Reduction at Inorganic-Organic Interfaces

| openaire: EC/H2020/339478/EU//LAYERENG-HYBMATNanoscale superlattice structures are known to significantly suppress the thermal conductivity in thin films due to phonon scattering at the interfaces of the mutually different layers. Here it is demonstrated that in addition to the number of interfaces, their spacing within the film can lead to a reduction in thermal conductivity. The proof-of-concept data are for ZnO/benzene thin films fabricated through sequential gas-surface reactions in atomic/molecular layer precision using the atomic/molecular layer deposition technique. In comparison to similarly constructed regular superlattice thin films, thermal conductivity values that are of the same magnitude, or even lower, are achieved for hybrid ZnO/benzene thin films in which the inorganic and organic layers are arranged in a more irregular manner to form various gradient patterns.Peer reviewe

Heat-transport mechanisms in molecular building blocks of inorganic/organic hybrid superlattices

Nanomaterial interfaces and concomitant thermal resistances are generally considered as atomic-scale planes that scatter the fundamental energy carriers. Given that the nanoscale structural and chemical properties of solid interfaces can strongly influence this thermal boundary conductance, the ballistic and diffusive nature of phonon transport along with the corresponding phonon wavelengths can affect how energy is scattered and transmitted across an interfacial region between two materials. In hybrid composites composed of atomic layer building blocks of inorganic and organic constituents, the varying interaction between the phononic spectrum in the inorganic crystals and vibronic modes in the molecular films can provide a new avenue to manipulate the energy exchange between the fundamental vibrational energy carriers across interfaces. Here, we systematically study the heat transfer mechanisms in hybrid superlattices of atomic- and molecular-layer-grown zinc oxide and hydroquinone with varying thicknesses of the inorganic and organic layers in the superlattices. We demonstrate ballistic energy transfer of phonons in the zinc oxide that is limited by scattering at the zinc oxide/hydroquinone interface for superlattices with a single monolayer of hydroquinone separating the thicker inorganic layers. The concomitant thermal boundary conductance across the zinc oxide interfacial region approaches the maximal thermal boundary conductance of a zinc oxide phonon flux, indicative of the contribution of long wavelength vibrations across the aromatic molecular monolayers in transmitting energy across the interface. This transmission of energy across the molecular interface decreases considerably as the thickness of the organic layers are increased.Peer reviewe