Cross-species transmission of viruses from wildlife animal reservoirs poses a marked threat to human and animal health
. Bats have been recognized as one of the most important reservoirs for emerging ...viruses and the transmission of a coronavirus that originated in bats to humans via intermediate hosts was responsible for the high-impact emerging zoonosis, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
. Here we provide virological, epidemiological, evolutionary and experimental evidence that a novel HKU2-related bat coronavirus, swine acute diarrhoea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV), is the aetiological agent that was responsible for a large-scale outbreak of fatal disease in pigs in China that has caused the death of 24,693 piglets across four farms. Notably, the outbreak began in Guangdong province in the vicinity of the origin of the SARS pandemic. Furthermore, we identified SADS-related CoVs with 96-98% sequence identity in 9.8% (58 out of 591) of anal swabs collected from bats in Guangdong province during 2013-2016, predominantly in horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus spp.) that are known reservoirs of SARS-related CoVs. We found that there were striking similarities between the SADS and SARS outbreaks in geographical, temporal, ecological and aetiological settings. This study highlights the importance of identifying coronavirus diversity and distribution in bats to mitigate future outbreaks that could threaten livestock, public health and economic growth.
Treponema pallidum (Tp) has a well-known ability to evade the immune system and can cause neurosyphilis by invading the central nervous system (CNS). Microglia are resident macrophages of the CNS ...that are essential for host defense against pathogens, this study aims to investigate the interaction between Tp and microglia and the potential mechanism. Here, we found that Tp can exert significant toxic effects on microglia in vivo in Tg (mpeg1: EGFP) transgenic zebrafish embryos. Single-cell RNA sequencing results showed that Tp downregulated autophagy-related genes in human HMC3 microglial cells, which is negatively associated with apoptotic gene expression. Biochemical and cell biology assays further established that Tp inhibits microglial autophagy by interfering with the autophagosome-lysosome fusion process. Transcription factor EB (TFEB) is a master regulator of lysosome biogenesis, Tp activates the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling to inhibit the nuclear translocation of TFEB, leading to decreased lysosomal biogenesis and accumulated autophagosome. Importantly, the inhibition of autophagosome formation reversed Tp-induced apoptosis and promoted microglial clearance of Tp. Taken together, these findings show that Tp blocks autophagic flux by inhibiting TFEB-mediated lysosomal biosynthesis in human microglia. Autophagosome accumulation was demonstrated to be a key mechanism underlying the effects of Tp in promoting apoptosis and preventing itself from clearing by human microglia. This study offers novel perspectives on the potential mechanism of immune evasion employed by Tp within CNS. The results not only establish the pivotal role of autophagy dysregulation in the detrimental effects of Tp on microglial cells but also bear considerable implications for the development of therapeutic strategies against Tp, specifically involving mTORC1 inhibitors and autophagosome formation inhibitors, in the context of neurosyphilis patients.
Some syphilis patients remain in a serologically active state after the recommended therapy. We currently know too little about the characteristics of this serological response.
We conducted a cohort ...study using the clinical database from Zhongshan Hospital, Medical College of Xiamen. In total, 1,327 HIV-negative patients with primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary syphilis were enrolled. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were utilised to identify factors associated with a serological cure and serofast state in syphilis patients one year after therapy. Chi-square tests were used to determine the differences in the serological cure rate across different therapy time points.
One year after the recommended therapy, 870 patients achieved a serological cure, and 457 patients (34.4%) remained in the serofast state. The serological cure rate increased only within the first 6 months. The bivariate analysis indicated that male or younger patients had a higher likelihood of a serological cure than female or older patients. Having a baseline titre ≤ 1∶2 or ≥ 1∶64 was associated with an increased likelihood of a serological cure. The serological cure rate decreased for the different disease stages in the order of primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary syphilis. A distinction should be drawn between early and late syphilis. The multivariate analysis indicated that a serological cure was significantly associated with the disease phase, gender, age, and baseline rapid plasma reagin (RPR) titre.
The serofast state is common in clinical work. After one year of the recommended therapy, quite a few syphilis patients remained RPR positive. The primary endpoint of the study indicated that disease phase, gender, age and baseline RPR titre were crucial factors associated with a serological cure.
Treponema pallidum ssp. pallidum (T. pallidum), the causative agent of the sexually transmitted disease syphilis, is an uncultivatable human pathogen. The geographical differences in T. pallidum ...genomes leading to differences in pathogenicity are not yet understood. Presently, twelve T. pallidum genomes are available to the public, all of which are American in origin and often co-infect patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In this study, we examined the T. pallidum subsp. pallidum strain Amoy, a syphilis pathogen found in Xiamen, China. We sequenced its genome using Illumina next-generation sequencing technology and obtained a nearly (98.83%) complete genome of approximately 1.12 Mbps. The new genome shows good synteny with its five T. pallidum sibling strains (Nichols, SS14, Mexico A, DAL-1, and Chicago), among which SS14 is the strain closest to the Amoy strain. Compared with strain SS14, the Amoy strain possesses four uncharacterized strain-specific genes and is likely missing six genes, including a gene encoding the TPR domain protein, which may partially account for the comparatively low virulence and toxicity of the Amoy strain in animal infection. Notably, we did not detect the 23S rRNA A2058G/A2059G mutation in the Amoy strain, which likely explains the sensitivity of Amoy strain to macrolides. The results of this study will lead to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of syphilis and the geographical distribution of T. pallidum genotypes.
Efficient crop improvement depends on the application of accurate genetic information contained in diverse germplasm resources. Here we report a reference-grade genome of wild soybean accession W05, ...with a final assembled genome size of 1013.2 Mb and a contig N50 of 3.3 Mb. The analytical power of the W05 genome is demonstrated by several examples. First, we identify an inversion at the locus determining seed coat color during domestication. Second, a translocation event between chromosomes 11 and 13 of some genotypes is shown to interfere with the assignment of QTLs. Third, we find a region containing copy number variations of the Kunitz trypsin inhibitor (KTI) genes. Such findings illustrate the power of this assembly in the analysis of large structural variations in soybean germplasm collections. The wild soybean genome assembly has wide applications in comparative genomic and evolutionary studies, as well as in crop breeding and improvement programs.
Although the tprK gene of Treponema pallidum are thought to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of syphilis, the profile of variations in tprK during the development of human syphilis infection ...have remained unclear.
Through next-generation sequencing, we compared the tprK gene of 14 secondary syphilis patients with that of 14 primary syphilis patients, and the results showed an increased number of variants within the seven V regions of the tprK gene in the secondary syphilis samples. The length of the sequences within each V region also presented a 3-bp changing pattern. Interestingly, the frequencies of predominant sequences within the V regions in the secondary syphilis samples were generally decreased compared with those found in the primary syphilis samples, particularly in the V7 region, where a frequency below 60% was found in up to 57% (8/14) of all secondary samples compared with 7% (1/14) of all primary samples. Moreover, the number of minor variants distributed between frequencies of 10 and 49.9% was increased. The alignment of all amino acid sequences within each V region of the primary and secondary syphilis samples revealed that some amino acid sequences, particularly the amino acid sequences IASDGGAIKH and IASEDGSAGNLKH in V1, were highly stable. Additionally, the amino acid sequences in V6 also exhibited notable intrastrain heterogeneity and were likely to form a strain-specific pattern at the interstrain level.
The identification of different profiles of the tprK gene in primary and secondary syphilis patients indicated that the tprK gene of T. pallidum undergoes constant variation to result in the best adaptation to the host. The highly stable peptides found in V1 are likely promising potential vaccine components. The highly heterogenetic regions (e.g., V6) could help to understand the role of tprK in immune evasion.
Display omitted
Three new Co(II) complexes containing half-salamo type ligand HL viz. Co(L)Cl (1), Co(L)(NO3) (2) and Co(L)(NCS) (3) were synthesized and characterized by single crystal X-ray ...diffraction. The results showed that the central Co(II) atoms in mononuclear complexes 1–3 are all located in the N3O cavity of the deprotonated ligand (L)− unit, while coordinated with different counteranions. The presence of counteranions in complexes 1–3 are Cl−, NO3− and NCS−, respectively. The spectral properties of these complexes were investigated in detail. In addition, the structural descriptions were corroborated with theoretical calculations. The Hirshfeld surface analysis combined with 2D fingerprint plots revealed the short-range intermolecular interactions of these complexes.
A symmetrical N
2
O
2
-tetradentate dioxime chemical sensor H
2
L was synthesized for the first time. The sensor H
2
L can identify S
2-
ion with dual channels of fluorescence-ultraviolet spectra, ...and through the calculation of binding constant and detection limit of L-S system, it was showed that H
2
L can detect S
2-
ion with high efficiency and specificity. pH response experiments were carried out on L-S system and H
2
L to explore the pH range recognized by them. The recognition mechanism was determined by
1
H NMR titration experiment. At the same time, a new method of macro recognition by means of naked eye recognition (under natural light and ultraviolet light of 365 nm) and filter paper recognition was developed. The practical application of the sensor H
2
L to detect H
2
S was evaluated in actual water samples and identification experiment of H
2
S.
•The quinoline-decorated N3O-donor half-salamo type ligand HL was designed and synthesized.•Two novel Co(Ⅱ) complexes Co(L)Cl (1) and Co(L)(NCS) (2) were obtained by the reaction of HL with different ...Co(Ⅱ) salts.•Quantitative analyses of intermolecular interactions in the crystalline structures were performed by Hirshfeld surfaces analysis.
Self-assembly through a quinoline-decorated N3O donor half-salamo-type tetradentate ligand HL and coordinative preference of Co(II) ion, two novel Co(II) complexes Co(L)Cl (1) and Co(L)(NCS) (2) were synthesized and characterized. X-ray crystallography revealed that both complexes 1 and 2 have similar mononuclear structure, in which the five-coordinated Co(II) atoms are not only surrounded by the N3O cavity of the deprotonated ligand (L)− unit, but also coordinated with different Cl− and NCS− anions. For the involvement of different anions, the crystal structures of the two complexes exhibit intermolecular CH···Cl and CH···S hydrogen interactions in building supramolecular assemblies, respectively. The two complexes are stabilized by CH···O, CH···N, CH···C, CH···S bonds and CH···π, π···π interactions. The spectral properties of the complexes were investigated through UV–Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. In addition, the detailed analyses of Hirshfeld surfaces and fingerprint plots provide the basis of the intermolecular interactions in building crystal blocks.
Two novel Co(II) complexes, Co(L)Cl (1) and Co(L)(NCS) (2) with a quinoline-decorated half-salamo type ligand HL were synthesized and characterized structurally. In addition, spectroscopic properties, DFT calculations and Hirshfeld surfaces analyses of HL and its two Co(II) complexes were investigated in detail. Display omitted
PDF
