Search
Advanced Search
Publish with PLoS We want to publish your work
 

Featured Pearl

Norovirus Gastroenteritis, Carbohydrate Receptors, and Animal Models

article image

Ming Tan and Xi Jiang explore how polymorphic human histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) are most likely the driving force of the divergence of human noroviruses, and how recognition of carbohydrate receptors may be a common feature of caliciviruses. They also note how the findings of HBGA receptors as determinants of host range and evolution of noroviruses help our understanding of the epidemiology of norovirus gastroenteritis and whether GII.4 noroviruses will continue to dominate in future epidemics.

 

Featured Research

Surface Co-Expression of Two Different PfEMP1 Antigens on Single Plasmodium falciparum-Infected Erythrocytes Facilitates Binding to ICAM1 and PECAM1

article image

Joergensen et al. show that different variants of adhesion binding proteins can be found expressed simultaneously on single infected red blood cells mediating binding to different endothelial receptors. Their new results on PfEMP1 antigen expression indicate that a re-evaluation of the molecular mechanisms involved in P. falciparum adhesion and of the accepted paradigm of absolutely mutually exclusive var gene transcription is required.

 

Generation of Neutralizing Antibodies and Divergence of SIVmac239 in Cynomolgus Macaques Following Short-term Early Antiretroviral Therapy

article image

Özkaya Şahin, Bowles and colleagues use a well-established model of experimental pathogenic infection in cynomolgus macaques, which reproduces long-lasting HIV-1 infection, to study the neutralizing antibodies (Nab) response as well as the viral evolution of the highly neutralization-resistant SIVmac239. They note that early broad NAb responses correlated with relatively preserved CD4+ T-cell numbers, low viral load and limited viral divergence.

 

Two Genes on A/J Chromosome 18 Are Associated with Susceptibility to Staphylococcus aureus Infection by Combined Microarray and QTL Analyses

article image

Ahn et al. show that genes on chromosomes 8, 11, and 18 in A/J mice are responsible for susceptibility to Staphylococcus aureus by using chromosome substitution strains (CSS). Their findings suggest that two genes, Tnfaip8 and Seh1l, may contribute to susceptibility to S. aureus in A/J mice, and represent promising candidates for human genetic susceptibility studies.

 

PLoS Pathogens is an open-access journal that publishes important new ideas on bacteria, fungi, parasites, prions, and viruses that contribute to our understanding of the biology of pathogens and pathogen-host interactions.

Stay Connected

 
Fedora-Commons.org Internet Systems Consortium Moore Foundation Mulgara.org Science Commons

All site content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.