University of Rhode Island Expert Available to Discuss Dengue Fever

Dr. Alan Rothman is a biomedical researcher at the University of Rhode Island’s College of the Environment and Life Sciences. He leads the University’s Laboratory of Viral Immunity and Pathogenesis. Dr. Rothman is an infectious disease specialist who has been involved in…

LJI Instructor Annie Elong Ngono, Ph.D., wins GVN support to advance infectious disease research

LJI Instructor Annie Elong Ngono, Ph.D., has spearheaded important studies into the immune response to deadly pathogens such as dengue virus. Now, this dedication to global health and virology has earned her acceptance to the Global Virus Network’s (GVN) highly selective Rising Star Mentorship Program.

Dengue immune function discovery could benefit much-needed vaccine development

The discovery of new possible biomarkers to predict clinical and immune responses to dengue virus infection could be critical to informing future vaccines for the mosquito-borne virus, which saw a record number of over 400 million cases in 2019.

Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Global Climate Change Mortality Study

New Brunswick, N.J. (Aug. 3, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Robert E. Kopp is available to discuss a major study released today on the global consequences of climate change on death rates. The study by the Climate Impact Lab,…

Engineered mosquitoes cannot be infected with or transmit any dengue virus

Genetically engineered mosquitoes are resistant to multiple types of dengue virus (DENV), according to a study published January 16 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Prasad Paradkar of the Australian Animal Health Laboratory, and Omar Akbari of the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues. As noted by the authors, this is the first engineered approach that targets all types of DENV, which is crucial for effective disease suppression.

Cellular culprit suspected of pushing dengue fever from bad to worse is cleared by advanced transcriptomics

No one knows what makes a mild dengue viral infection morph into a severe and sometimes deadly dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome. Experts previously believed the likely cause was ramped up activity of T cells, which can massively boost an immune response to a virus. Now, however, researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), have found definitive evidence that CD4 T cells, one of two main subtypes of T cells, are not to blame.

Researchers discover how Zika virus remodels its host cell to boost viral production

Researchers in China have discovered how a Zika virus protein reshapes its host cell to aid viral replication. The study, which will be published December 23 in the Journal of Cell Biology, reveals that the viral protein NS1 converts an interior cellular compartment called the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) into a protective region where the virus can survive and replicate. Blocking this process could be a novel therapeutic strategy to treat patients infected with Zika or similar viral pathogens, such as the yellow fever and dengue viruses.