{"title":"Issue Information – Cover","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/1348-0421.13164","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1348-0421.13164","url":null,"abstract":"<p><b>Cover photograph</b>: The heatmap of the gut microbiota on the genus level of <i>L</i>. <i>reuteri</i>+LPS group and AKI group. The metabolites heatmap of the two groups. <i>Microbiol Immunol: 68:213-223</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":"68 7","pages":"i-ii"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1348-0421.13164","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141565728","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":"Virological characteristics of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron EG.5.1 variant","authors":"Shuhei Tsujino, Sayaka Deguchi, Tomo Nomai, Miguel Padilla-Blanco, Arnon Plianchaisuk, Lei Wang, MST Monira Begum, Keiya Uriu, Keita Mizuma, Naganori Nao, Isshu Kojima, Tomoya Tsubo, Jingshu Li, Yasufumi Matsumura, Miki Nagao, Yoshitaka Oda, Masumi Tsuda, Yuki Anraku, Shunsuke Kita, Hisano Yajima, Kaori Sasaki-Tabata, Ziyi Guo, Alfredo A. Hinay Jr., Kumiko Yoshimatsu, Yuki Yamamoto, Tetsuharu Nagamoto, Hiroyuki Asakura, Mami Nagashima, Kenji Sadamasu, Kazuhisa Yoshimura, Hesham Nasser, Michael Jonathan, Olivia Putri, Yoonjin Kim, Luo Chen, Rigel Suzuki, Tomokazu Tamura, Katsumi Maenaka, Takashi Irie, Keita Matsuno, Shinya Tanaka, Jumpei Ito, Terumasa Ikeda, Kazuo Takayama, Jiri Zahradnik, Takao Hashiguchi, Takasuke Fukuhara, Kei Sato, The Genotype to Phenotype Japan (G2P-Japan) Consortium","doi":"10.1111/1348-0421.13165","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1348-0421.13165","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In middle to late 2023, a sublineage of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron XBB, EG.5.1 (a progeny of XBB.1.9.2), is spreading rapidly around the world. We performed multiscale investigations, including phylogenetic analysis, epidemic dynamics modeling, infection experiments using pseudoviruses, clinical isolates, and recombinant viruses in cell cultures and experimental animals, and the use of human sera and antiviral compounds, to reveal the virological features of the newly emerging EG.5.1 variant. Our phylogenetic analysis and epidemic dynamics modeling suggested that two hallmark substitutions of EG.5.1, S:F456L and ORF9b:I5T are critical to its increased viral fitness. Experimental investigations on the growth kinetics, sensitivity to clinically available antivirals, fusogenicity, and pathogenicity of EG.5.1 suggested that the virological features of EG.5.1 are comparable to those of XBB.1.5. However, cryo-electron microscopy revealed structural differences between the spike proteins of EG.5.1 and XBB.1.5. We further assessed the impact of ORF9b:I5T on viral features, but it was almost negligible in our experimental setup. Our multiscale investigations provide knowledge for understanding the evolutionary traits of newly emerging pathogenic viruses, including EG.5.1, in the human population.</p>","PeriodicalId":18679,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Immunology","volume":"68 9","pages":"305-330"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1348-0421.13165","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141498379","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":"Pathogenicity of genotype 2.1 classical swine fever virus isolated from Japan in 2019 in pigs","authors":"Maiko Yamashita, Shoko Iwamoto, Mariko Ochiai, Atsushi Yamamoto, Kasumi Sudo, Rie Narushima, Takao Nagasaka, Akito Saito, Mami Oba, Tsutomu Omatsu, Tetsuya Mizutani, Kinya Yamamoto","doi":"10.1111/1348-0421.13160","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1348-0421.13160","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Classical swine fever (CSF) re-emerged in Japan in 2018 for the first time in 26 years. The disease has been known to be caused by a moderately pathogenic virus, rather than the highly pathogenic virus that had occurred in the past. However, the underlying pathophysiology remains unknown. This study conducted an experimental challenge on specific pathogen-free (SPF) pigs in a naïve state for 2, 4, and 6 weeks and confirmed the disease state during each period by clinical observation, virus detection, and pathological necropsy. We revealed the pathological changes and distribution of pathogens and virus-specific antibodies at each period after virus challenge. These results were comprehensively analyzed and approximately 70% of the pigs recovered, especially at 4- and 6-week post-virus challenge. This study provides useful information for future countermeasures against CSF by clarifying the pathogenicity outcomes in unvaccinated pigs with moderately pathogenic genotype 2.1 virus.</p>","PeriodicalId":18679,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Immunology","volume":"68 8","pages":"267-280"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1348-0421.13160","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141469513","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":"Tumor-associated macrophages: The key player in hepatoblastoma microenvironment and the promising therapeutic target","authors":"Ahmad Adawy, Yoshihiro Komohara, Taizo Hibi","doi":"10.1111/1348-0421.13162","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1348-0421.13162","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The tumor microenvironment of hepatoblastoma (HB), the most common pediatric liver tumor, predominantly exhibits a myeloid immune landscape. in which tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are considered the core component. The crosstalk between TAMs and HB cells markedly influences tumor behavior. TAM-derived factors are involved in tumor proliferation and vascular invasion. On the other hand, HB cell secretome attracts, stimulates, and reprograms TAMs to be immunosuppressive in favor of tumor invasion, rather than their innate role in combating tumor growth, such crosstalk sometimes forms bidirectional feedback loops, making the tumor more virulent and resistant to routine therapeutics. Consequently, TAMs are the common denominator of most suggested HB immunotherapeutic strategies. Macrophage immune checkpoint inhibitors, macrophage-mediated antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis, and the novel chimeric antigen receptor macrophage therapy (CAR Mφ) are currently under trial. In this review, we will summarize the significance of TAMs and their potential role as a therapeutic target in HB.</p>","PeriodicalId":18679,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Immunology","volume":"68 8","pages":"249-253"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141458101","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":"A fungal-binding agglutinin in the skin slime of Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) is glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase","authors":"Shigeyuki Tsutsui, Mizuki Terashima, Osamu Nakamura","doi":"10.1111/1348-0421.13163","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1348-0421.13163","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Agglutination of pathogenic microorganisms on the body surface is a significant phenomenon for the prevention of infection. In the present study, we show that an extract of the skin mucus from Japanese flounder (<i>Paralichthys olivaceus</i>) has agglutination activity against the yeast <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i>. We purified this yeast-binding protein, which consists of an approximately 35-kDa homodimer, using affinity chromatography with yeast as a ligand. Multiple internal amino acid sequences of the protein, as determined using liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry, mapped to flounder glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). An anti-GAPDH antibody inhibited the yeast agglutination activity in the skin mucus extract and stained agglutinated yeast, indicating that flounder GAPDH could agglutinate yeast. The current study suggests that GAPDH, a well-known protein as the sixth enzyme in the glycolytic pathway, is a significant player in mucosal immunity in teleosts.</p>","PeriodicalId":18679,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Immunology","volume":"68 9","pages":"331-338"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141458100","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":"Epigallocatechin-3-gallate ameliorates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute thymus involution in mice via AMPK/Sirt1 pathway","authors":"Qing Su, Shu-Ping Yang, Jun-Ping Guo, Yi-Ren Rong, Yun Sun, Yu-Rong Chai","doi":"10.1111/1348-0421.13159","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1348-0421.13159","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The thymus, a site to culture the naïve T lymphocytes, is susceptible to atrophy or involution due to aging, inflammation, and oxidation. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) has been proven to possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor activity. Here, we investigate the effects of EGCG on thymic involution induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an endotoxin derived from Gram-negative bacteria. The methodology included an in vivo experiment on female Kunming mice exposed to LPS and EGCG. Morphological assessment of thymic involution, immunohistochemical detection, and thymocyte subsets analysis by flow cytometry were further carried out to evaluate the potential role of EGCG on the thymus. As a result, we found that EGCG alleviated LPS-induced thymic atrophy, increased mitochondrial membrane potential and superoxide dismutase levels, and decreased malondialdehyde and reactive oxygen species levels. In addition, EGCG pre-supplement restored the ratio of thymocyte subsets, the expression of autoimmune regulator, sex-determining region Y-box 2, and Nanog homebox, and reduced the number of senescent cells and collagen fiber deposition. Western blotting results indicated that EGCG treatment elevated LPS-induced decrease in pAMPK, Sirt1 protein expression. Collectively, EGCG relieved thymus architecture and function damaged by LPS via regulation of AMPK/Sirt1 signaling pathway. Our findings may provide a new strategy on protection of thymus from involution caused by LPS by using EGCG. And EGCG might be considered as a potential agent for the prevention and treatment of thymic involution.</p>","PeriodicalId":18679,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Immunology","volume":"68 8","pages":"281-293"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141419878","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":"Antibiotic susceptibility and genome analysis of Enterococcus species isolated from inpatients in one hospital with no apparent outbreak of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus in Japan","authors":"Ayumi Fujii, Miki Kawada-Matsuo, Mi Nguyen-Tra Le, Kanako Masuda, Kayoko Tadera, Yujin Suzuki, Saki Nishihama, Junzo Hisatsune, Yo Sugawara, Seiya Kashiyama, Hideki Shiba, Tomonao Aikawa, Hiroki Ohge, Motoyuki Sugai, Hitoshi Komatsuzawa","doi":"10.1111/1348-0421.13155","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1348-0421.13155","url":null,"abstract":"<p>To prevent nosocomial infection, it is important to screen for potential vancomycin-resistant <i>Enterococcus</i> (VRE) among patients. In this study, we analyzed enterococcal isolates from inpatients in one hospital without any apparent outbreak of VRE. Enterococcal isolates were collected from inpatients at Hiroshima University Hospital from April 1 to June 30, 2021 using selective medium for Enterococci. Multilocus sequence typing, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and whole-genome sequencing were performed. A total of 164 isolates, including <i>Enterococcus faecium</i> (41 isolates), <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i> (80 isolates), <i>Enterococcus raffinosus</i> (11 isolates), <i>Enterococcus casseliflavus</i> (nine isolates), <i>Enterococcus avium</i> (12 isolates), <i>Enterococcus lactis</i> (eight isolates), <i>Enterococcus gallinarum</i> (two isolates), and <i>Enterococcus malodoratus</i> (one isolate), were analyzed. We found one <i>vanA</i>-positive <i>E. faecium</i>, which was already informed when the patient was transferred to the hospital, nine <i>vanC</i>-positive <i>E. casseliflavus</i>, and two <i>vanC</i>-positive <i>E. gallinarum. E. faecium</i> isolates showed resistance to ampicillin (95.1%), imipenem (95.1%), and levofloxacin (87.8%), and <i>E. faecalis</i> isolates showed resistance to minocycline (49.4%). Ampicillin- and levofloxacin-resistant <i>E. faecium</i> had multiple mutations in penicillin-binding protein 5 (PBP5) (39/39 isolates) and ParC/GyrA (21/36 isolates), respectively. <i>E. raffinosus</i> showed resistance to ampicillin (81.8%), imipenem (45.5%), and levofloxacin (45.5%), and <i>E. lactis</i> showed resistance to ampicillin (37.5%) and imipenem (50.0%). The linezolid resistance genes <i>optrA</i> and <i>cfr</i>(B) were found only in one isolate of <i>E. faecalis</i> and <i>E. raffinosus</i>, respectively. This study, showing the status of enterococci infection in hospitalized patients, is one of the important information when considering nosocomial infection control of VRE.</p>","PeriodicalId":18679,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Immunology","volume":"68 8","pages":"254-266"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141317675","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":"Involvement of SARS-CoV-2 accessory proteins in immunopathogenesis","authors":"Hayato Ito, Tomokazu Tamura, Lei Wang, Kento Mori, Masumi Tsuda, Rigel Suzuki, Saori Suzuki, Kumiko Yoshimatsu, Shinya Tanaka, Takasuke Fukuhara","doi":"10.1111/1348-0421.13157","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1348-0421.13157","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the largest single-stranded RNA virus known to date. Its genome contains multiple accessory protein genes that act against host immune responses but are not required for progeny virus production. The functions of the accessory proteins in the viral life cycle have been examined, but their involvement in viral pathogenicity remains unclear. Here, we investigated the roles of the accessory proteins in viral immunopathogenicity. To this end, recombinant SARS-CoV-2 possessing nonsense mutations in the seven accessory protein open reading frames (ORFs) (ORF3a, ORF3b, ORF6, ORF7a, ORF8, ORF9b, and ORF10) was de novo generated using an early pandemic SARS-CoV-2 strain as a backbone. We confirmed that the resultant virus (termed ORF3–10 KO) did not express accessory proteins in infected cells and retained the desired mutations in the viral genome. In cell culture, the ORF3–10 KO virus exhibited similar virus growth kinetics as the parental virus. In hamsters, ORF3–10 KO virus infection resulted in mild weight loss and reduced viral replication in the oral cavity and lung tissue. ORF3–10 KO virus infection led to mild inflammation, indicating that an inability to evade innate immune sensing because of a lack of accessory proteins impairs virus growth in vivo and results in quick elimination from the body. Overall, we showed that SARS-CoV-2 accessory proteins are involved in immunopathogenicity.</p>","PeriodicalId":18679,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Immunology","volume":"68 7","pages":"237-247"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141261842","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":"Biofilm-derived membrane vesicles exhibit potent immunomodulatory activity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1","authors":"Minato Takahara, Satoru Hirayama, Hiroyuki Futamata, Ryoma Nakao, Yosuke Tashiro","doi":"10.1111/1348-0421.13156","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1348-0421.13156","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Pathogenic bacteria form biofilms on epithelial cells, and most bacterial biofilms show increased production of membrane vesicles (MVs), also known as outer membrane vesicles in Gram-negative bacteria. Numerous studies have investigated the MVs released under planktonic conditions; however, the impact of MVs released from biofilms on immune responses remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics and immunomodulatory activity of MVs obtained from both planktonic and biofilm cultures of <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> PAO1. The innate immune responses of macrophages to planktonic-derived MVs (p-MVs) and biofilm-derived MVs (b-MVs) were investigated by measuring the mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokines. Our results showed that b-MVs induced a higher expression of inflammatory cytokines, including <i>Il1b</i>, <i>Il6</i>, and <i>Il12p40</i>, than p-MVs. The mRNA expression levels of Toll-like receptor 4 (<i>Tlr4</i>) differed between the two types of MVs, but not <i>Tlr2</i>. Polymyxin B significantly neutralized b-MV-mediated cytokine induction, suggesting that lipopolysaccharide of native b-MVs is the origin of the immune response. In addition, heat-treated or homogenized b-MVs induced the mRNA expression of cytokines, including <i>Tnfa</i>, <i>Il1b</i>, <i>Il6</i>, and <i>Il12p40</i>. Heat treatment of MVs led to increased expression of <i>Tlr2</i> but not <i>Tlr4</i>, suggesting that TLR2 ligands play a role in detecting the pathogen-associated molecular patterns in lysed MVs. Taken together, our data indicate that potent immunomodulatory MVs are produced in <i>P. aeruginosa</i> biofilms and that this behavior could be a strategy for the bacteria to infect host cells. Furthermore, our findings would contribute to developing novel vaccines using MVs.</p>","PeriodicalId":18679,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Immunology","volume":"68 7","pages":"224-236"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1348-0421.13156","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141155582","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}