Effect of Ethanol Vapor Inhalation Treatment on Lethal Respiratory Viral Infection With Influenza A

Ethanol (EtOH) effectively inactivates enveloped viruses in vitro, including influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Inhaled EtOH vapor may inhibit viral infection in mammalian respiratory tracts, but this has not yet been demonstrated. Here we report that unexpectedly low EtOH concentrations in solution, approximately 20% (vol/vol), rapidly inactivate influenza A virus (IAV) at mammalian body temperature and are not toxic to lung epithelial cells on apical exposure. Furthermore, brief exposure to 20% (vol/vol) EtOH decreases progeny virus production in IAV-infected cells. Using an EtOH vapor exposure system that is expected to expose murine respiratory tracts to 20% (vol/vol) EtOH solution by gas-liquid equilibrium, we demonstrate that brief EtOH vapor inhalation twice a day protects mice from lethal IAV respiratory infection by reducing viruses in the lungs without harmful side effects. Our data suggest that EtOH vapor inhalation may provide a versatile therapy against various respiratory viral infectious diseases.journal articl

Improved sample dispersion in cryo-EM using “perpetually-hydrated” graphene oxide flakes

For many macromolecular complexes, the inability to uniformly disperse solubilized specimen particles within vitreous ice films precludes their analysis by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Here, we introduce a sample preparation process using “perpetually-hydrated” graphene oxide flakes as particle support films, and report vastly improved specimen dispersion. The new method introduced in this study incorporates hydrated graphene oxide flakes into a standard sample preparation regime, without the need for additional tools or devices, making it a cost-effective and easily adoptable alternative to currently available sample preparation approaches

Low-energy scanning transmission electron microscopy applied to ice-embedded biological macromolecules

In this report, we applied annular bright-field (ABF) and annular dark-field (ADF) low-energy (30 keV) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) imaging to a vitreous ice-embedded biological macromolecule, T4 phage, to investigate the applicability of these methods for morphological investigation and sample screening. Multiple camera lengths were examined to find the optimal acceptance angle for both modes. Image clarity differed substantially between the modes, with the presence of ice also strongly influencing the quality of acquired micrographs. In ADF mode, the proper discrimination of electrons scattered by the specimen from those scattered by the background ice was found to be difficult owing to the severe overlap of the scattered electrons. The resulting micrographs lacked clarity, and the ice-embedded phage particles could only be discerned after post-processing image adjustment. However, in ABF mode, despite similar overlapping of the scattered electrons, it was possible to assess the morphology and intactness of the specimen in the embedding ice, suggesting that this mode may find utility in low-energy cryo-STEM imaging methods