Longitudinally Profiling Neutralizing Antibody Response to SARS Coronavirus with Pseudotypes

SARS-CoV spike protein pseudotypes are the basis of an in vitro microneutralization assay sensitive and specific for SARS-CoV neutralizing antibodies

Calcineurin Controls Voltage-Dependent-Inactivation (VDI) of the Normal and Timothy Cardiac Channels

Ca2+-entry in the heart is tightly controlled by Cav1.2 inactivation, which involves Ca2+-dependent inactivation (CDI) and voltage-dependent inactivation (VDI) components. Timothy syndrome, a subtype-form of congenital long-QT syndrome, results from a nearly complete elimination of VDI by the G406R mutation in the α11.2 subunit of Cav1.2. Here, we show that a single (A1929P) or a double mutation (H1926A-H1927A) within the CaN-binding site at the human C-terminal tail of α11.2, accelerate the inactivation rate and enhances VDI of both wt and Timothy channels. These results identify the CaN-binding site as the long-sought VDI-regulatory motif of the cardiac channel. The substantial increase in VDI and the accelerated inactivation caused by the selective inhibitors of CaN, cyclosporine A and FK-506, which act at the same CaN-binding site, further support this conclusion. A reversal of enhanced-sympathetic tone by VDI-enhancing CaN inhibitors could be beneficial for improving Timothy syndrome complications such as long-QT and autism

HIV infection and HERV expression: a review

The human genome contains multiple copies of retrovirus genomes known as endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) that have entered the germ-line at some point in evolution. Several of these proviruses have retained (partial) coding capacity, so that a number of viral proteins or even virus particles are expressed under various conditions. Human ERVs (HERVs) belong to the beta-, gamma-, or spuma- retrovirus groups. Endogenous delta- and lenti- viruses are notably absent in humans, although endogenous lentivirus genomes have been found in lower primates. Exogenous retroviruses that currently form a health threat to humans intriguingly belong to those absent groups. The best studied of the two infectious human retroviruses is the lentivirus human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which has an overwhelming influence on its host by infecting cells of the immune system. One HIV-induced change is the induction of HERV transcription, often leading to induced HERV protein expression. This review will discuss the potential HIV-HERV interactions

Structural decoding of the netrin-1/UNC5 interaction and its therapeutical implications in cancers

Netrin-1 has been shown to be up-regulated in a fraction of human cancers as a mechanism to allow these tumors to escape the pro-apoptotic activity of some of its main dependence receptors, the UNC5 homologs (UNC5H). Here we identify the V-2 domain of netrin-1 to be important for its interaction with the Ig1/Ig2 domains of UNC5H2. We generate a humanized anti-netrin-1 antibody that disrupts the interaction between netrin-1 and UNC5H2 and triggers death of netrin-1-expressing tumor cells in vitro. We also present evidence that combining the anti-netrin-1 antibody with epidrugs such as decitabine could be effective in treating tumors showing no or modest netrin-1 expression. These results support that this antibody is a promising drug candidate