Sara Chandy, Rohitha S. Chandra, Diksha Sharma, Garima Goyal, Tathagata Das, Ekaterina Martynova, Emmanuel Kabwe, Albert Rizvanov, Svetlana Khaiboullina, Manoj Baranwal
{"title":"Detection of Anti-Orthohantavirus Antibodies in Febrile Patients in India","authors":"Sara Chandy, Rohitha S. Chandra, Diksha Sharma, Garima Goyal, Tathagata Das, Ekaterina Martynova, Emmanuel Kabwe, Albert Rizvanov, Svetlana Khaiboullina, Manoj Baranwal","doi":"10.1111/1348-0421.70036","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1348-0421.70036","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Orthohantaviruses are a genus of zoonotic viruses from the family Hantaviridae, which is primarily known for their ability to cause severe human diseases. The virus is primarily known for causing two major human diseases, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. However, the frequency of this infection remains largely unknown. Hence, the aim of this study was to diagnose patients infected with Orthohantavirus in India. We tested serum samples from 216 febrile patients, presented at Lisie Hospital, Kochi, for positive anti-orthohantavirus IgM and IgG antibodies. All the participating patients were negative for dengue and scrub typhus IgM antibodies. In total, 16.20% (<i>n</i> = 35) of the febrile patients were positive for anti-orthohantavirus IgM and 11.57% (<i>n</i> = 25) for anti-orthohantavirus IgG antibodies. Anti-orthohantavirus IgM and IgG both were detected in 4.63% (<i>n</i> = 10) of the enrolled subjects. In total, 51.43% of the IgM-positive patients had a final diagnosis of either viral fever or acute febrile disease, with only two patients reported to have contact with rodents, and none of these patients had traveled outside of their place of residence. Orthohantavirus infections may be endemic in India, as their hosts are omnipresent. However, the lack of proper diagnostic tools and limited awareness of these emerging infections amongst doctors in India reduces the diagnosis of the disease. Therefore, there is a pressing need for educating healthcare providers about the circulation of orthohantaviruses in India. There is an urgent need for the development of serotype-specific, affordable, and accurate diagnostic tools for early diagnosis of orthohantavirus infections.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":18679,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Immunology","volume":"70 3","pages":"160-165"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145820212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Aline Barral Takahashi, Daniella Paternostro de Araújo Grisólia, Moises Batista da Silva, Naila Ferreira da Cruz, Sâmela Miranda da Silva, Patrícia Fagundes da Costa, Claudio Guedes Salgado
{"title":"In Vitro Activities of Five Antifungal Drugs Against Conidia and Sclerotic Cells of Chromoblastomycosis Agent Fonsecaea spp","authors":"Aline Barral Takahashi, Daniella Paternostro de Araújo Grisólia, Moises Batista da Silva, Naila Ferreira da Cruz, Sâmela Miranda da Silva, Patrícia Fagundes da Costa, Claudio Guedes Salgado","doi":"10.1111/1348-0421.70038","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1348-0421.70038","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Chromoblastomycosis (CBM) is a chronic skin and subcutaneous infection mainly caused by <i>Fonsecaea pedrosoi</i>, a dematiaceous fungus with various morphotypes. Characteristic sclerotic cells—globe-shaped, multiseptated and pigmented—are found in lesions of infected individuals, though their differentiation in the host remains poorly understood. To evaluate in vitro activity of five antifungal drugs—itraconazole (ITZ), posaconazole (PCZ), voriconazole (VCZ), fluconazole (FCZ), and caspofungin (CAS)—against <i>Fonsecaea</i> spp. conidia or sclerotic cells, assessing their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal fungicidal concentration (MFC) and correlated the ITZ MIC with patients' clinical evolution. Forty-three clinical isolates of <i>Fonsecaea spp</i>. and the <i>F. pedrosoi</i> strain ATCC 46428 were assessed for susceptibility to ITZ, PCZ, VCZ, FCZ, and CAS following Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute guidelines (CLSI) (document M38-A2). MIC values were determined after 5 days of incubation at 30°C, followed by MFC determination, with geometric mean MIC (GMMIC) and MFC (GMMFC) used for comparison. PCZ was the most effective antifungal drug, with geometric mean MICs of 0.3 µg/mL (conidia) and 1 µg/mL (sclerotic), and MFCs of 2.98 and 6.72 µg/mL, respectively. Clinical follow-up revealed that higher ITZ MIC values (0.9 µg/mL) correlated with poor patient outcomes compared to lower values in improved or cured patients. These findings highlight PCZ and VCZ as promising options for CBM treatment, especially for patients not responding to ITZ.</p>","PeriodicalId":18679,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Immunology","volume":"70 3","pages":"139-147"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12963719/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145850442","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Diversity of Susceptibility to Unsaturated Fatty Acids in Enterococcus Strains and Their Synergistic Effects With Antibiotics","authors":"Keijuro Ohdan, Yasuyuki Asada, Saki Nishihama, Miki Kawada-Matsuo, Hideki Shiba, Souichi Yanamoto, Tomonao Aikawa, Hitoshi Komatsuzawa","doi":"10.1111/1348-0421.70037","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1348-0421.70037","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Enterococci are commensal bacteria in humans that are found in the intestine, pharynx and oral cavity and sometimes cause opportunistic infections such as intra-abdominal infections and bacteraemia. Several enterococcal species, especially <i>E. faecium</i> and <i>E. faecalis</i>, have become clinical problems as drug-resistant bacteria, including vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE). Therefore, new antibacterial agents against enterococcal infections are needed. Because several fatty acids (FAs) have been reported to possess antibacterial activity, in this study, the effects of 3 unsaturated fatty acids on enterococci were evaluated using clinically isolated strains. Among the 3 fatty acids we tested, linoleic acid (LA) and palmitoleic acid (POA) exhibited antibacterial activity against <i>E. faecalis</i> and <i>E. faecium</i>. Next, we evaluated the antibacterial activities of the two FAs against 126 enterococcal clinical strains, including five different species. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of LA varied among bacterial species and strains (ranging from 37.5 to 1200 μM), while the MIC of POA was similar (ranging from 37.5 to 150 μM). Among species, <i>E. faecium</i> strains presented higher MICs than <i>E. faecalis</i>, <i>E. avium</i> and <i>E. casseliflavus</i> strains. In 6 VRE strains, the MICs of LA showed variable (150–1200 μM), whereas MICs of POA were constant at 75 μM. We subsequently investigated the combined effects of LA and POA with several antibiotics and found that LA had synergistic effects with β-lactam, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin and vancomycin against <i>E. faecalis</i> and <i>E. faecium</i> strains, including VRE, whereas POA did not have a significant effect. Our results indicate the potential application of FAs for enterococcal infection.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":18679,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Immunology","volume":"70 3","pages":"129-138"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145966453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comparison of the Prevalence of Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV) in Holstein and Angus Cattle Breeds From Shandong Province, China","authors":"Jingyuan Wang, Lin Dong, Guangjun Guo, Chunyang Yao, Changjiang Wang, Fengrong Tian, Feng Wei, Jishan Liu, Xuebo Wang, Ryosuke Matsuura, Sonoko Watanuki, Yasunobu Matsumoto, Jinliang Wang, Yoko Aida","doi":"10.1111/1348-0421.70042","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1348-0421.70042","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is widespread globally and causes economic losses in the cattle industry. Shandong Province plays a significant role in China's livestock industry, with an increasing importance in food of Holstein and Angus cattle. However, BLV prevalence in Holstein and Angus breeds in Shandong Province remains unclear. In particular, there are no reports of BLV prevalence of Angus cattle in field surveys worldwide. In this study, 613 samples from six large-scale farms (> 1000 heads per farm) in Binzhou and Weifang cities were screened for BLV antibodies (gp51) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The samples included 303 Angus (beef) and 310 Holstein (dairy) cattle. All Angus breeding samples from the three farms were BLV-negative at both the animal- and herd-level prevalences. In contrast, 62 of 310 Holstein cattle (20.0%) from three dairy farms were positive for BLV antibodies. For example, 35/110 (31.8%), 19/100 (19.0%), and 8/100 (8.0%) samples from the D, E, and F farms, respectively, were BLV-positive. Notably, the animal- and herd-level prevalences for Holstein cattle exhibited 20% and 100% positivity, respectively. These findings offer significant insights into the BLV status of Holstein and Angus cattle in Shandong Province, China.</p>","PeriodicalId":18679,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Immunology","volume":"70 3","pages":"175-181"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12963718/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146003775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Issue Information – Cover","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/1348-0421.70047","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1348-0421.70047","url":null,"abstract":"<p><b>Cover photograph</b>: Photograph of a 96-well plate onto which each strain was cultured with rabbit red blood cells for 1 h and the supernatant was transferred after centrifugation. <i>Microbiol Immunol: 70:57-67</i>. Article link here\u0000 \u0000 <figure>\u0000 <div><picture>\u0000 <source></source></picture><p></p>\u0000 </div>\u0000 </figure></p>","PeriodicalId":18679,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Immunology","volume":"70 2","pages":"i-ii"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1348-0421.70047","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146139122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Issue Information – Cover","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/1348-0421.70035","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1348-0421.70035","url":null,"abstract":"<p><b>Cover photograph</b>: Gene organization of the assembly and insertion machinery (Aim) operon in Porphyromonas gingivalis. Schematic representation of the chromosomal arrangement of genes PGN_0296 to PGN_0301. Arrows indicate the direction of transcription. T9SS: type IX secretion system. <i>Microbiol Immunol: 70:9-14</i>. Article link here\u0000 \u0000 <figure>\u0000 <div><picture>\u0000 <source></source></picture><p></p>\u0000 </div>\u0000 </figure></p>","PeriodicalId":18679,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Immunology","volume":"70 1","pages":"i-ii"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1348-0421.70035","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145904919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marion Retailleau, Fanny Martini, Florence Abravanel, Nassim Kamar, Jacques Izopet, Eric Champagne
{"title":"Exacerbation of Anti-Cytomegalovirus Immunity and Mobilization of γ9δ1 T Cells During the Acute Phase of Hepatitis E Virus Infection","authors":"Marion Retailleau, Fanny Martini, Florence Abravanel, Nassim Kamar, Jacques Izopet, Eric Champagne","doi":"10.1111/1348-0421.70034","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1348-0421.70034","url":null,"abstract":"<p>HEV causes chronic infections that are detrimental to immunocompromised patients. Previous studies showed alterations of γδ T cell subsets at the acute phase of HEV infection. To assess a possible role of CMV, we have examined the frequencies and responses to CMV and HEV of blood γδ T cell subsets from control donors and acute-phase HEV patients with or without CMV. CMV DNA was mostly undetectable in the blood of CMV-seropositive HEV patients, and anti-CMV antibodies were only slightly elevated. However, Vγ9<sup>neg</sup>Vδ1<sup>pos</sup> cells were enriched in vivo, suggesting an increased CMV burden. In contrast, γ9δ1 cells were depleted in most HEV patients, regardless of CMV status. Culturing with IL-2 and IL-15 led to strong γ9δ1 T cell enrichment in samples from HEV patients. After IL-2/IL-15 sensitization, analysis of IFN-γ responses to CMV-infected fibroblasts or hepatocarcinoma cells (with IL-18) showed innate responsiveness to CMV in γ9δ1, γ9δ2, and γ9<sup>neg</sup>δ1<sup>pos</sup> cells in some control subjects and CMV-seronegative patients. However, these responses were selectively exacerbated in CMV-seropositive HEV patients, who also showed significant αβ T cell responses to CMV. This indicates reactivation of anti-CMV immunity. Responses to HEV-infected HepG2 cells remained undetected. IFN-γ responses were not associated with TCR downmodulation in γ9δ2 or γ9<sup>neg</sup>δ1<sup>pos</sup> cells. However, IFN-γ-producing γ9δ1 from HEV patients were characterized by high TCR expression, which was downmodulated after stimulation with CMV-infected fibroblasts or CMV/HEV-coinfected HepG2 cells. We conclude that γ9δ1 T cells are selectively mobilized in HEV patients and can be activated by CMV.</p>","PeriodicalId":18679,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Immunology","volume":"70 2","pages":"113-124"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12868941/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145756913","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Guoxiang Qin, Zhihong Wu, Ying Li, Min Jia, Yi Wang, Xiaoyu Sun, Xue Huang, Tao Huang, Jiang Zhong
{"title":"miR-34a Mediates IL-23/IL-17 Immune Inflammation and Promotes Cell Proliferation in HaCaT Cells by Targeting SIRT1/NLRP3","authors":"Guoxiang Qin, Zhihong Wu, Ying Li, Min Jia, Yi Wang, Xiaoyu Sun, Xue Huang, Tao Huang, Jiang Zhong","doi":"10.1111/1348-0421.70032","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1348-0421.70032","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 <p>Psoriasis is a common immune-mediated skin disorder. miR-34a, as a significant regulatory component, has been involved in the regulation of immune-inflammatory responses. Previous studies have shown that miR-34a is abnormally expressed in psoriasis cell models. However, the role of miR-34a in psoriasis remains unvalidated by any existing studies. We co-stimulated HaCaT cells with IL-17A, IL-22, TNF-α, IL-1α, and M5 to establish an in vitro model of psoriasis. qPCR was used to detect the expression of miR-34a; ELISA was performed to measure the secretion levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17, and IL-23 in HaCaT cells; CCK-8 and EdU staining assays were used to assess cell growth and proliferation; Western blot analysis was employed to assess the expression levels of relevant proteins, including SIRT1, NLRP3, ASC, pro-Caspase-1, and Caspase-1; dual-luciferase reporter gene assays and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) were conducted to investigate the interaction between miR-34a and SIRT1. Additionally, a mouse psoriasis model was induced by imiquimod (IMQ) to validate the role of miR-34a in vivo. qPCR results found that miR-34a was upregulated in HaCaT cells. ELISA results indicated that the levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17, and IL-23 were significantly elevated in the M5-treated group. CCK-8 and EdU staining assays revealed that M5 treatment notably increased the proliferation and viability of HaCaT cells. After treatment with the miR-34a inhibitor, the levels of cytokines and cell proliferation were significantly reduced. Western blot analysis showed that M5 treatment resulted in a significant decrease in SIRT1 protein levels, while the expression levels of NLRP3, ASC, pro-Caspase-1, and Caspase-1 were increased. In contrast, miR-34a-inhibitor treatment showed the opposite results. Dual-luciferase reporter and RIP assays indicated a negative feedback interaction between miR-34a and SIRT1. Rescue experiments showed that overexpression of SIRT1 effectively inhibited NLRP3 expression, significantly reduced IL-23/IL-17 immune-inflammatory responses, and suppressed HaCaT cell proliferation, while overexpression of NLRP3 had the opposite effects. In the IMQ-induced mouse psoriasis model, the IMQ group showed severe psoriasis-like phenotypes, obvious skin pathological changes, upregulated miR-34a expression, and increased skin cytokine levels; all these abnormalities were alleviated by miR-34a inhibitor treatment. miR-34a mediates the IL-23/IL-17 immune-inflammatory response and promotes HaCaT cell proliferation by regulating the SIRT1/NLRP3 pathway.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":18679,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Immunology","volume":"70 2","pages":"91-102"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145743240","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fengli Wu, Yunlan Deng, Yuanyuan Xu, Long Ma, Xinsheng Yao, Jun Li
{"title":"Characterization of the Cattle TCR β CDR3 Repertoire and Gene Rearrangement Bias Influenced by Recombination Signal Sequences and Physical Distance","authors":"Fengli Wu, Yunlan Deng, Yuanyuan Xu, Long Ma, Xinsheng Yao, Jun Li","doi":"10.1111/1348-0421.70033","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1348-0421.70033","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Cattle exhibit distinct immune system features, including ultra-long IGH CDR3 regions, which are characteristic of their adaptive immunity. However, less is known about the diversity and functional aspects of their T cell receptor (TCR) β chain complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) repertoire. This study aimed to investigate the features of the TCR β chain CDR3 repertoire in cattle using high throughput sequencing. The spleen tissue samples were collected from cattle, and the TCR β CDR3 repertoires were constructed using high-throughput sequencing. Key attributes analyzed included CDR3 length distribution, V and J gene usage, sequence diversity, and specific amino acid enrichment. The analysis also incorporated the impact of recombination signal sequences (RSS) quality and the physical distance on the rearrangement of germline genes. Frequently utilized V and J genes included TRBV7, TRBV6, TRBV14, TRBV21, TRBV29, TRBV5, TRBJ2-2, and TRBJ1-2. A bias in TRBV gene rearrangement was identified, influenced by RSS quality, where genes with RSS information content (RIC) scores below −45 showed reduced rearrangement frequency. The CDR3 length distribution displayed a bell-shaped curve, with a preference for the amino acids serine (S), glycine (G), and alanine (A). Compared to humans and mice, cattle exhibited lower diversity in their TCR β CDR3 repertoire and a higher proportion of dominant clones. This study provides insights into the TCR β CDR3 repertoire in cattle, enhancing our understanding of the species’ adaptive immune system. These findings offer valuable insights for future research on the immune repertoire in cattle.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":18679,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Immunology","volume":"70 2","pages":"103-112"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145701076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}