Changes in gut microbiota signatures associated with the epidemiological dynamics of wild European rabbits facing haemorrhagic disease outbreaks.

The new variant of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV2 or RHDVb) is responsible for a lethal, emerging infectious disease in several species of lagomorphs, and is globally threatening wild rabbit populations. It is known that the gut microbiota plays a crucial role in modulating host health, including immune responses and disease susceptibility. We hypothesize potential association of gut microbiota with the epidemiological dynamics of RHDV2 outbreaks that may provide key insights into how this lethal, emerging pathogen impacts wild rabbit populations.

Understanding the Role of Variability in Motor Control and Learning: Towards an Accessible Protocol for Analysis.

The scientific literature highlights the significance of human motor variability in understanding motor control, learning, and neurological disorders. Visuomotor tasks in laboratory settings offer a controlled platform for studying motor variability, but the specialized equipment used for these tasks limits their accessibility and generalizability. Thus, this study aimed to develop an accessible, standardized mouse-based task for home-based assessment of motor variability characteristics.

Type 1 Cryoglobulinemic Glomerulonephritis With IgG2-Kappa Arising From Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance: A Case Report and Literature Review.

This case report describes a rare presentation of Type 1 Cryoglobulinemic Glomerulonephritis due to IgG2 kappa monoclonal gammopathy in a 74-year-old man with a history of Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS), classifiable under Monoclonal Gammopathy of Renal Significance (MGRS). The patient presented with acute kidney injury, hypertensive urgency, and a migratory rash. Kidney biopsy revealed glomerulitis with IgG2-kappa deposition.

Sex differences in cardiac remodeling after kidney transplantation.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases are the most frequent causes of death in patients with chronic kidney disease. Patients with chronic kidney disease often have heart remodeling with left ventricular hypertrophy, left atrial enlargement, and diastolic and systolic dysfunction which reverse after kidney transplantation. Since sex hormones modulate heart histology and physiology, this study aims to know whether the remodeling changes of the heart after a kidney transplant according to sex.

Germline polymorphisms in the immunoglobulin kappa and lambda loci explain variation in the expressed light chain antibody repertoire.

Variation in antibody (Ab) responses contributes to variable disease outcomes and therapeutic responsiveness, the determinants of which are incompletely understood. This study demonstrates that polymorphisms in immunoglobulin (IG) light chain loci dictate the composition of the Ab repertoire, establishing fundamental baseline differences that preclude functional Ab-mediated responses. Using long-read genomic sequencing of the IG kappa (IGK) and IG lambda (IGL) loci, we comprehensively resolved genetic variation, including novel structural variants, single nucleotide variants, and gene alleles.

Harnessing Nanobodies for Precision Targeting of Proteoforms: Opportunities and Challenges in Therapeutics and Diagnostics.

Proteoforms are biologically distinct yet structurally similar proteins that play key roles in driving disease progression but are rarely accounted for in the development of therapeutics and diagnostics. Nanobodies (Nbs) have emerged as a therapeutic and diagnostic "silver bullet" as they possess unique structural and functional attributes that offer advantages over traditional antibodies. One of the most profound advantages of Nbs is the heightened sensitivity and ability to distinguish subtle changes in the conformation of a given protein.

Tick-wildlife host-pathogen network interactions in Northern Africa.

Ticks are hosts and vectors of zoonotic pathogens, posing a critical threat to public health and the conservation of animal host populations, especially in Northern Africa. Tick-host-pathogen interactions are driven by tick spatial distribution and abundance, and the influence of biotic (animal hosts) and abiotic (environmental conditions) factors. The objectives of this study, conducted in the Maamora Forest (Northwest Morocco), were: (i) description of seasonal interactions network between off-host questing ticks and the wild hosts, rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and addax (Addax nasomaculatus), (ii) analysis of density-dependent and environmental effects in questing and on-rabbit ticks, and (iii) identification of tick-borne pathogens in questing and on-addax ticks.

Germline polymorphisms in the immunoglobulin kappa and lambda loci explain variation in the expressed light chain antibody repertoire.

Variation in antibody (Ab) responses contributes to variable disease outcomes and therapeutic responsiveness, the determinants of which are incompletely understood. This study demonstrates that polymorphisms in immunoglobulin (IG) light chain loci dictate the composition of the Ab repertoire, establishing fundamental baseline differences that preclude functional Ab-mediated responses. Using long-read genomic sequencing of the IG kappa (IGK) and IG lambda (IGL) loci, we comprehensively resolved genetic variation, including novel structural variants, single nucleotide variants, and gene alleles.

Human genetic variation shapes the antibody repertoire across B cell development.

The peripheral antibody repertoire is shaped by inherited genetic variation and selection during B cell development. However, how the repertoire changes across developmental stages-and the relative impact of genetics and selection in establishing the antibody repertoire-remain largely unknown. To dissect the individual and combined effects of these factors, we integrated antibody repertoire transcriptomics across pro-B, pre-B, immature, and naive B cells with single-molecule real-time long-read DNA sequencing of the immunoglobulin heavy (IGH), kappa (IGK), and lambda (IGL) chain loci.

Towards Defining Follow-up Strategies for Patients with Primary Intermediate-risk Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer.

Background And Objective: The current European Association of Urology (EAU) guidelines on non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) categorize patients into four risk groups. In 2024, a specific follow-up schedule was introduced for intermediate-risk (IR) disease. However, recommendations are based on expert opinion and restricted to patients with IR-NMIBC who have primary low-grade or high-grade/grade 2 disease.

Diverse priming outcomes under conditions of very rare precursor B cells.

Rare naive B cells have special pathogen-recognition features that enable outsized contributions to protective immunity but infrequently participate in immune responses. We investigatee how germline-targeting vaccine delivery and adjuvant selection affect priming of exceptionally rare BG18-like HIV broadly neutralizing antibody-precursor B cells (<1-in-50 million) in non-human primates. Only escalating dose (ED) priming immunization using the saponin adjuvant SMNP elicited detectable BG18-like cells in germinal centers (GCs) compared with other conditions.

The human immunoglobulin heavy chain constant gene locus is enriched for large complex structural variants and coding polymorphisms that vary in frequency among human populations.

The immunoglobulin heavy chain constant (IGHC) domain of antibodies (Ab) is responsible for effector functions critical to Ab mediated immunity. In humans, this domain is encoded by genes within the IGHC locus, where descriptions of genomic diversity remain incomplete. To address this, we utilized long-read genomic datasets to build a high-quality IGHC haplotype/variant catalog from 105 individuals of diverse ancestry, and developed a high-throughput approach for targeted long-read IGHC locus sequencing and assembly.

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Objetivo: Analizar los lugares que habitaban las personas que migraron por inseguridad y violencia en marzo de 2020 -antes del inicio de la pandemia-, así como sus condiciones socioeconómicas y demográficas. Material y métodos. Utilizando los microdatos del Censo de Población y Vivienda de 2020 y un análisis de correlación espacial, primero se determinaron las regiones atrayentes de migrantes por inseguridad y violencia que mostraron bajos niveles de violencia, previo a la pandemia de Covid-19.

How bumblebees manage conflicting information seen on arrival and departure from flowers.

Bees are flexible and adaptive learners, capable of learning stimuli seen on arrival and at departure from flowers where they have fed. This gives bees the potential to learn all information associated with a feeding event, but it also presents the challenge of managing information that is irrelevant, inconsistent, or conflicting. Here, we examined how presenting bumblebees with conflicting visual information before and after feeding influenced their learning rate and what they learned.

A Broad Survey and Functional Analysis of Immunoglobulin Loci Variation in Rhesus Macaques.

Rhesus macaques (RMs) are a vital model for studying human disease and invaluable to pre-clinical vaccine research, particularly for the study of broadly neutralizing antibody responses. Such studies require robust genetic resources for antibody-encoding genes within the immunoglobulin (IG) loci. The complexity of the IG loci has historically made them challenging to characterize accurately.

Performance of Biodegradable Active Packaging in the Preservation of Fresh-Cut Fruits: A Systematic Review.

Fresh-cutting fruits is a common practice in markets and households, but their short shelf life is a challenge. Active packaging is a prominent strategy for extending food shelf life. A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines to explore the performance and materials used in biodegradable active packaging for fresh-cut fruits.

Diverse priming outcomes under conditions of very rare precursor B cells.

Rare B cells can have special pathogen-recognition features giving them the potential to make outsized contributions to protective immunity. However, rare naive B cells infrequently participate in immune responses. We investigated how germline-targeting vaccine antigen delivery and adjuvant selection affect priming of exceptionally rare BG18-like HIV broadly neutralizing antibody-precursor B cells (~1 in 50 million) in non-human primates.

A dynamical study of Hilda asteroids in the Circular and Elliptic RTBP.

The Hilda group is a set of asteroids whose mean motion is in a 3:2 orbital resonance with Jupiter. In this paper, we use the planar Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem (CRTBP) as a dynamical model and we show that there exists a family of stable periodic orbits that are surrounded by islands of quasi-periodic motions. We have computed the frequencies of these quasi-periodic motions and we have shown how the Hilda family fits inside these islands.

Ultrasensitive allele inference from immune repertoire sequencing data with MiXCR.

Allelic variability in the adaptive immune receptor loci, which harbor the gene segments that encode B cell and T cell receptors (BCR/TCR), is of critical importance for immune responses to pathogens and vaccines. Adaptive immune receptor repertoire sequencing (AIRR-seq) has become widespread in immunology research making it the most readily available source of information about allelic diversity in immunoglobulin (IG) and T cell receptor (TR) loci. Here, we present a novel algorithm for extrasensitive and specific variable (V) and joining (J) gene allele inference, allowing the reconstruction of individual high-quality gene segment libraries.

Addressing Technical Pitfalls in Pursuit of Molecular Factors That Mediate Immunoglobulin Gene Regulation.

The expressed Ab repertoire is a critical determinant of immune-related phenotypes. Ab-encoding transcripts are distinct from other expressed genes because they are transcribed from somatically rearranged gene segments. Human Abs are composed of two identical H and L chain polypeptides derived from genes in IGH locus and one of two L chain loci.

Resolving haplotype variation and complex genetic architecture in the human immunoglobulin kappa chain locus in individuals of diverse ancestry.

Immunoglobulins (IGs), critical components of the human immune system, are composed of heavy and light protein chains encoded at three genomic loci. The IG Kappa (IGK) chain locus consists of two large, inverted segmental duplications. The complexity of the IG loci has hindered use of standard high-throughput methods for characterizing genetic variation within these regions.

Vaccination induces broadly neutralizing antibody precursors to HIV gp41.

A key barrier to the development of vaccines that induce broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other viruses of high antigenic diversity is the design of priming immunogens that induce rare bnAb-precursor B cells. The high neutralization breadth of the HIV bnAb 10E8 makes elicitation of 10E8-class bnAbs desirable; however, the recessed epitope within gp41 makes envelope trimers poor priming immunogens and requires that 10E8-class bnAbs possess a long heavy chain complementarity determining region 3 (HCDR3) with a specific binding motif. We developed germline-targeting epitope scaffolds with affinity for 10E8-class precursors and engineered nanoparticles for multivalent display.

Vaccine priming of rare HIV broadly neutralizing antibody precursors in nonhuman primates.

Germline-targeting immunogens hold promise for initiating the induction of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) to HIV and other pathogens. However, antibody-antigen recognition is typically dominated by heavy chain complementarity determining region 3 (HCDR3) interactions, and vaccine priming of HCDR3-dominant bnAbs by germline-targeting immunogens has not been demonstrated in humans or outbred animals. In this work, immunization with N332-GT5, an HIV envelope trimer designed to target precursors of the HCDR3-dominant bnAb BG18, primed bnAb-precursor B cells in eight of eight rhesus macaques to substantial frequencies and with diverse lineages in germinal center and memory B cells.