Biology subjects

Elliff, J.

Publications and source records attributed to Elliff, J..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Acute malaria dysregulates specialized lymph node macrophages to suppress vaccine-elicited protection against Ebola virus

The filovirus, Ebola virus (EBOV), causes outbreaks of Ebola virus disease (EVD) throughout equatorial Africa. ERVEBO(R) (rVSV/EBOV) is a replication-competent, recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV)-vectored vaccine licensed to control EVD outbreaks. EVD outbreaks occur in regions endemic for Plasmodium-caused malaria. Plasmodium infections persist due in part to the parasites ability to evade sterilizing immunity which also dampens immune responses to heterologous vaccines. Acute murine Plasmodium infection at the time of rVSV/EBOV vaccination reduced vaccine-mediated protection against mouse-adapted EBOV (ma-EBOV) challenge. Decreased protection was associated with a Plasmodium-induced interferon gamma (IFN-{gamma})-mediated decrease of rVSV/EBOV replication in lymph node (LN) macrophages, resulting in reduced primary anti-EBOV glycoprotein antibody responses. Higher doses of rVSV/EBOV partially overcame the antibody deficits and elicited protective responses. Evidence of the negative impact of Plasmodium on the efficacy of low dose rVSV/EBOV vaccine protocols supports the use of high antigen loads in effective management of EVD outbreaks. IMPORTANCEWe show that blood-stage murine Plasmodium infections negatively impacts the primary antibody response elicited by low dose rVSV/EBOV vaccination and results in reduced protection against a lethal dose of ma-EBOV. This defect occurs within the draining lymph node due to the elevation of IFN-{gamma} elicted in Py-infected mice. The Py-imposed decrease in vaccine-mediated protection can be overcome with higher doses of rVSV/EBOV. While the strong protection conferred by rVSV/EBOV and significant side effects known to be associated with this vaccine have led to the suggestion that the vaccine dosage be reduced19, our studies provide a rationale for maintaining a higher dose.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2025

Tick-borne coinfections modulate CD8+ T cell response and progressive leishmaniosis

Leishmania infantum causes human Visceral Leishmaniasis and Leishmaniosis (CanL) in reservoir host, dogs. As infection progresses to disease in both humans and dogs there is a shift from controlling, Type 1, immunity to a regulatory, exhausted, T cell phenotype. In endemic areas, association between tickborne coinfections (TBC) and Leishmania diagnosis and/or clinical severity has been demonstrated. To identify immune factors correlating with disease progression, we prospectively evaluated a cohort of L. infantum infected dogs from 2019-2022. The cohort was TBC-negative with asymptomatic leishmaniosis at the time of enrollment. We measured TBC serology, anti-Leishmania antigen T cell immunity, CanL serological response, parasitemia, and disease severity to probe how nascent TBC perturbs the immune state. At the conclusion, TBC+ dogs with CanL experienced greater increases in anti-Leishmania antibody reactivity and parasite burden compared to dogs that did not have incident TBC during the study. TBC+ dogs were twice as likely to experience moderate (LeishVet stage 2) or severe/terminal disease (LeishVet stage 3/4). Prolonged exposure to TBC was associated with a shift in Leishmania antigen-induced IFN{gamma}/IL-10 and enhanced CD8 T cell proliferation. Frequency of proliferating CD8 T cells significantly correlated with parasitemia and antibody reactivity. TBC exacerbated parasite burden and immune exhaustion. These findings highlight the need for combined vector control efforts as prevention programs for dogs in Leishmania endemic areas to reduce transmission to humans. Public health education efforts should aim to increase awareness of the connection between TBC and leishmaniosis.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2024

Multiple dermal cell types support productive infection and dynamic translocation of infectious Ebola virus to the apical surface of human skin

Ebola virus (EBOV) within the Filoviridae family causes severe human disease. At late stages of infection, EBOV virions are found on the surface of patients skin; however, the permissive cell types within the skin and how infectious virus translocates to the apical skin surfaces is not known. Here, we describe a human transwell skin explant culture model and show that EBOV infection of human skin tissues via the basal media results in a time- and dose-dependent increase in infectious virus in dermal and epidermal tissue. Infectious virus was detected on the apical epidermal surface within 3 days, indicating that the virus propagates within and traffics through the tissue. In the dermis, EBOV-infected cells were of myeloid, endothelial and fibroblast origins, whereas keratinocytes harbored virus in the epidermis. Complementary studies showed that both purified skin fibroblasts and keratinocytes supported EBOV infection ex vivo and that both cell types required the phosphatidylserine receptor, Axl, and the endosomal protein, NPC1, for virus entry. Our experimental platform identified new susceptible cell types and demonstrated dynamic trafficking of EBOV virions that resulted in infectious virus on the skin surface; findings that may explain person-to-person transmission via skin contact. TeaserUsing a human skin explant model, these studies identify and characterize skin cell populations that support Ebola virus infection.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2022

Dynamic states of eIF6 and SDS variants modulate interactions with uL14 of the 60S ribosomal subunit.

Assembly of ribosomal subunits into active ribosomal complexes is integral to protein synthesis. Release of eIF6 from the 60S ribosomal subunit primes 60S to associate with the 40S subunit and engage in translation. The dynamics of eIF6 interaction with the uL14 (RPL23) interface of 60S and its regulation by somatic mutations acquired in Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome (SDS) is yet to be clearly understood. Here, by using a modified strategy to obtain high yields of recombinant human eIF6 we have uncovered the critical interface entailing 8 key residues in the C-tail of RPL23 that is essential for physical interactions between 60S and eIF6. Disruption of the complementary binding interface by conformational changes in eIF6 disease variants provide a mechanism for weakened interactions of variants with the 60S. Hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) analyses uncovered dynamic configurational rearrangements in eIF6 induced by binding to RPL23 and exposed an allosteric interface regulated by the C-tail of eIF6. Disrupting a key residue in the eIF6-60S binding interface markedly limits proliferation of cancer cells, which highlights the significance of therapeutically targeting this interface. Establishing these key interfaces thus provide a therapeutic framework for targeting eIF6 in cancers and SDS.

biochemistry↗