0000000000326247
AUTHOR
Anu Kantele
Novel activities of safe-in-human broad-spectrum antiviral agents
According to the WHO, there is an urgent need for better control of viral diseases. Re-positioning existing safe-in-human antiviral agents from one viral disease to another could play a pivotal role in this process. Here, we reviewed all approved, investigational and experimental antiviral agents, which are safe in man, and identified 59 compounds that target at least three viral diseases. We tested 55 of these compounds against eight different RNA and DNA viruses. We found novel activities for dalbavancin against echovirus 1, ezetimibe against human immunodeficiency virus 1 and Zika virus, as well as azacitidine, cyclosporine, minocycline, oritavancin and ritonavir against Rift valley feve…
Cutaneous lymphocyte antigen expression on human effector B cells depends on the site and on the nature of antigen encounter
In contrast to T cells, information on skin-homing B cells expressing the cutaneous lymphocyte antigen (CLA) is sparse. CLA expression on human B cells was investigated among circulating immunoglobulin-secreting cells (ISC) and among antigen-specific antibody-secreting cells (ASC) elicited by parenteral, oral or rectal primary immunization, or by parenteral or oral secondary immunization with Salmonella typhi Ty21a. CLA expression was examined by combining cell sorting with an enzyme-linked immunospot assay. Among all ISC, the proportion of CLA(+) cells was 13-21%. Parenteral immunization induced antigen-specific ASC of which 13% were CLA(+), while oral and rectal immunizations were followe…
Unique Characteristics of the Intestinal Immune System as an Inductive Site after Antigen Reencounter
Background Immunization prepares the body for a reencounter with the microbe. Information on the targeting of immune effector cells during secondary immune response--that is, lymphocyte homing--is scarce. In the present study, the homing potentials of lymphocytes are examined after antigen reencounter at mucosal versus nonmucosal sites. Methods Orally or parenterally immunized volunteers were reimmunized orally or parenterally with Salmonella typhi Ty21a, and the expression of the gut homing receptor (HR), alpha(4)beta(7), and of the peripheral lymph node HR, L-selectin, was investigated in circulating antigen-specific antibody-secreting cells (ASCs). Lymphocytes were sorted by HR expressio…