Project description:Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) represent a threat to global public health, especially in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. More than 150 arboviruses can infect humans; they cause mainly febrile illness, although hemorrhagic complications and diseases affecting the central nervous system (SNC) can also be observed. Arboviruses represent a threat to Brazil and, therefore, a permanent surveillance of these viruses is required to timely reduce the risk of epidemic outbreaks. The Brazilian Amazon region is where the highest number of arboviruses has been detected in the world. Besides, malaria is also endemic in the Amazon region, with a significant predominance of Plasmodium vivax. It is often difficult to differentiate between malaria and arboviral diseases, as they share similar clinical features and laboratory findings, mainly undifferentiated fever. This study aimed to estimate possible viral etiology in patients with febrile syndrome negative for Plasmodium infection, in the Brazilian Amazon. We initially analyzed serum samples of 124 participants with a DNA microarray platform designed for the detection of arboviruses and viruses transmitted by small mammals, but no virus was detected. Then, the serum samples of 76 participants were analyzed with a deep New Generation Sequencing, which showed evidence of the presence of only one arbovirus, the Zika virus in only one pool of 9 serum samples. This result is in contrast with our hypothesis, showing that arboviruses are not frequent in suspected malaria cases in Manaus, Brazil. Other viruses instead of arboviruses were found in this study. Primate erythrovirus 1 was the virus most frequently found virus in the suspected malaria patients, followed by Enterobacteria phage lambda. Besides, we detected, in a lower frequency, the Pegivirus C. In addition to the exogenous viruses, we also detected human endogenous retrovirus in all pools. Due to the high number of viruses that are important in the differential diagnosis of malaria, cost-effective and simple high throughput methods are required, helping molecular surveillance of misdiagnosed viral infections. Further studies with more robust sample sizes in other areas in the Amazon are needed.
Project description:Ticks are vectors of arboviruses in many parts of the world. The rising incidence and emergence of tick-borne arboviral infections across human populations indicates that further transmission control strategies including those based on vectors, will be required to reduce the burden of disease. However, arbovirus-tick interactions at the cellular level remain poorly understood in general, and particularly neglected for negative strand RNA arboviruses. In this study we developed a proteomics informed by transcriptomics approach to characterize the cellular response of Rhipicephalus microplus-derived cell cultures to infection with the tick-borne pathogen severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV, Phenuiviridae). For this, we generated the first de novo transcriptomes and confirmed proteomes of SFTSV- or mock-infected tick cell cultures derived from a vector species that transmits the virus in nature. Through comprehensive annotation of genes, proteins and pathway analysis, we identified core host responses and regulatory processes mediated in response to SFTSV infection. Moreover, examining the interactome of the virally encoded nucleoprotein (N) allowed us to integrate host responses with the analysis of cellular factors required for viral replication. The influence of specific host genes on SFTSV replication was systematically assessed through dsRNA-mediated gene silencing. This functional genomics approach pinpointed two tick-derived RNA helicases as critical antiviral factors capable of restricting SFTSV infection: the DexD/box helicase (DHX9) and the Up-Frameshift Protein 1 (UPF1). Collectively, our findings enrich the repository of resources available for understanding the antiviral response to SFTSV infection in Rh. microplus vector cells and support the identification of SFTSV-antiviral restrictions factors.
2025-05-26 | PXD052311 | Pride
Project description:Arboviruses circulating among phlebotomine sandflies in Kenya
| PRJNA1023525 | ENA
Project description:Nasopharyngeal Swab Metatranscriptomics for identification of SARS-Cov-2
Project description:The human gut is colonized by trillions of microorganisms that influence human health and disease through the metabolism of xenobiotics, including therapeutic drugs and antibiotics. The diversity and metabolic potential of the human gut microbiome have been extensively characterized, but it remains unclear which microorganisms are active and which perturbations can influence this activity. Here, we use flow cytometry, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and metatranscriptomics to demonstrate that the human gut contains distinctive subsets of active and damaged microorganisms, primarily composed of Firmicutes, which display marked temporal variation. Short-term exposure to a panel of xenobiotics resulted in significant changes in the physiology and gene expression of this active microbiome. Xenobiotic-responsive genes were found across multiple bacterial phyla, encoding novel candidate proteins for antibiotic resistance, drug metabolism, and stress response. These results demonstrate the power of moving beyond DNA-based measurements of microbial communities to better understand their physiology and metabolism. RNA-Seq analysis of the human gut microbiome during exposure to antibiotics and therapeutic drugs.
Project description:Arboviruses are defined by their ability to replicate in both mosquito vectors and mammalian hosts. There is good evidence that arboviruses “prime” their progeny for infection of the next host, such as differential glycosylation of their outer glycoproteins or packaging of host ribosomal subunits. We and others have previously shown that mosquito derived viruses more efficiently infect mammalian cells than mammalian derived viruses. These observations are coherent with arboviruses acquiring host-specific adaptations, and we hypothesized that virus derived from either the mammalian host or mosquito vector will elicit different responses when infecting the mammalian host. Here we perform an RNA-sequencing analysis of the transcriptional response of Human Embryonic Kidney 293 (HEK-293) cells to infection with either mosquito (Aedes albopictus, C7/10) or mammalian (Baby Hamster Kidney, BHK) derived Sindbis virus (SINV). We show that C7/10 derived virus infection leads to a more robust transcriptional response in HEK-293s as compared to infection with the BHK derived virus. Surprisingly, despite more efficient infection, we found an increase in interferon-β (IFN-β) and interferon stimulated gene (ISG) transcripts in response to C7/10 derived virus infection versus BHK derived virus infection. However, translation of interferon stimulated genes was lower in HEK-293s infected with C7/10 derived virus, starkly contrasting with the transcriptional response. This inhibition of ISG translation is reflective of a more rapid overall shut-off of host cell translation following infection with C7/10 derived virus. Finally, we show that C7/10 derived virus infection of HEK-293 cells leads to elevated levels of phosphorylated eukaryotic translation elongation factor-2 (eEF2), identifying a potential mechanism leading to the more rapid shut-off of host translation. We postulate that the rapid shut-off of host translation in mammalian cells infected with mosquito derived virus acts to counter the IFN-β stimulated transcriptional response.