Mary Jane

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – It’s a big milestone for Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders as it becomes the first NFL stadium to be powered by 100% renewable energy. The Raiders seco…

The countdown is on to the annular solar eclipse as the path for the eclipse will slide through several states including Nevada, where Las Vegas residents can catch a partial eclipse.

On Oct. 10, the membership of 100+ Women Who Care Medina met to determine the charitable organization that will receive the group's donations from the fourth quarter of 2023.

CATLETTSBURG An Ashland man accused of gunning down his girlfriend two years ago will have one last go at a plea negotiation ahead of a looming trial date.

CATLETTSBURG Two men accused of assaulting Boyd County deputies were given trial dates on Thursday in Boyd County Circuit Court.

Abstract. BACKGROUND: Adverse clinical events cause significant morbidity in patients with glioblastoma (GBM). We examined whether genomic alterations were associated with adverse events (AEs) in GBM patients. METHODS: We identified adults with histologically confirmed IDH-wildtype GBM with targeted next-generation sequencing (OncoPanel) at Dana Farber Cancer Institute from 2013-2019. Seizure at presentation, lymphopenia, thromboembolic events, pseudoprogression, and early progression (within 6 months of diagnosis) were identified as AEs. The biologic function of genetic variants was categorized as loss-of-function (LoF), no change in function, or gain-of-function (GoF) using a somatic tumor mutation knowledge base (OncoKB) and consensus protein function predictions. Associations between functional genomic alterations and AEs were examined using univariate logistic regressions and multivariable regressions adjusted for additional clinical predictors. RESULTS: 470 GBM patients met study criteria. 105 genes both had sequencing data available for ≥90% of patients and were altered in ≥10% of the cohort. Following false-discovery rate (FDR) correction and multivariable adjustment, the TP53, RB1, IGF1R, and DIS3 LoF alterations were associated with lower odds of seizures, while EGFR, SMARCA4, GNA11, BRD4, and TCF3 GoF and SETD2 LoF alterations were associated with higher odds of seizures. For all other AEs of interest, no significant associations were found with genomic alterations following FDR correction. CONCLUSION: Genomic biomarkers based on functional variant analysis of a routine clinical panel may help identify adverse events in GBM, particularly seizures. Identifying these risk factors could improve the management of patients through better supportive care and consideration of prophylactic therapies.

Background. EcoHIV is a chimeric HIV that replicates in mice in CD4+ T cells, macrophages, and microglia (but not in neurons), causing lasting neurocognitive impairment resembling neurocognitive disease in people living with HIV. The present study was designed to develop EcoHIV-susceptible primary mouse brain cultures to investigate the indirect effects of HIV infection on neuronal integrity. Results. We used two EcoHIV clones encoding EGFP and mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMM), mixed mouse brain cells, or enriched mouse glial cells from two wild-type mouse strains to test EcoHIV replication efficiency, the identity of productively infected cells, and neuronal apoptosis and integrity. EcoHIV replicated efficiently in BMM. In mixed brain cell cultures, EcoHIV targeted microglia but did not cause neuronal apoptosis. Instead, the productive infection of the microglia activated them and impaired synaptophysin expression, dendritic density, and axonal structure in the neurons. EcoHIV replication in the microglia and neuronal structural changes during infection were prevented by culture with an antiretroviral. Conclusions. In murine brain cell cultures, EcoHIV replication in the microglia is largely responsible for the aspects of neuronal dysfunction relevant to cognitive disease in infected mice and people living with HIV. These cultures provide a tool for further study of HIV neuropathogenesis and its control.

We previously described a two-component protein nanoparticle vaccine platform that displays 60 copies of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein RBD (RBD-NP). The vaccine, when adjuvanted with AS03, was shown to elicit robust neutralizing antibody and CD4 T cell responses in Phase I/II clinical trials, met its primary co-endpoints in a Phase III trial, and has been licensed by multiple regulatory authorities under the brand name SKYCovioneTM. Here we characterize the biophysical properties, stability, antigenicity, and immunogenicity of RBD-NP immunogens incorporating mutations from the B.1.351 (β) and P.1 (γ) variants of concern (VOCs) that emerged in 2020. We also show that the RBD-NP platform can be adapted to the Omicron strains BA.5 and XBB.1.5. We compare β and γ variant and E484K point mutant nanoparticle immunogens to the nanoparticle displaying the Wu-1 RBD, as well as to soluble prefusion-stabilized (HexaPro) spike trimers harboring VOC-derived mutations. We find the properties of immunogens based on different SARS-CoV-2 variants can differ substantially, which could affect the viability of variant vaccine development. Introducing stabilizing mutations in the linoleic acid binding site of the RBD-NPs resulted in increased physical stability compared to versions lacking the stabilizing mutations without deleteriously affecting immunogenicity. The RBD-NP immunogens and HexaPro trimers, as well as combinations of VOC-based immunogens, elicited comparable levels of neutralizing antibodies against distinct VOCs. Our results demonstrate that RBD-NP-based vaccines can elicit neutralizing antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2 variants and can be rapidly designed and stabilized, demonstrating the potential of two-component RBD-NPs as a platform for the development of broadly protective coronavirus vaccines.

This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon. Open Access Article by Javiera Ortega-Bastidas

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