Topics

Application of Prophylactic Prophage-Based Therapy

Prophylactic phage-based therapy is the preventive administration of bacteriophages before bacterial exposure or before infection becomes established, using the natural capacity of phages to infect and kill susceptible bacterial hosts.

Targets for Influenza A Virus Entry into Host Cells

Influenza A virus entry is the sequence that delivers viral genomes from extracellular virions to the nuclear site of transcription and replication, making entry the first essential stage of infection and a major antiviral intervention point.

Antigen Localization Determines CD4⁺ T Cell Efficacy

Antigen localization is a major determinant of whether tumor antigens enter productive antigen-processing and presentation pathways and thereby generate effective CD4+ T-cell immunity.

Inactivation of Bacterial Defense Systems by Phage T7K

Bacteriophage T7 kinase, T7K, is the protein kinase encoded by T7 gene 0.

Mechanisms of Wheat Resistance to Stripe Rust

Wheat resistance to stripe rust comprises genetically controlled defenses against Puccinia striiformis f.

Pathogen Hijacking of Host Organelle Communication Mechanisms

Membrane contact sites (MCSs) are zones of close apposition between cellular membranes that support direct inter-organelle communication and non-vesicular transfer of lipids, ions, proteins, and metabolites.

IDH-PPAR-Ferroptosis & Persistent Bacterial Infection

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent form of regulated necrotic cell death driven by lipid peroxidation, and tuberculosis research has progressively connected this cell-death program to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) persistence, macrophage necrosis, and tissue pathology.

Maturation and Function of Antimicrobial Peptides

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are evolutionarily conserved effectors of innate immunity that can directly restrict microorganisms while also shaping inflammatory, epithelial, and immune-cell responses.

Innate Immune Recognition and Defense Against HSV

Innate immune recognition and defense against herpes simplex virus (HSV) describes the host’s immediate detection and restriction of HSV-1 and HSV-2 through germline-encoded pattern-recognition systems, antiviral signaling, and intrinsic cellular defenses.

Synergistic Strategies: Membrane Depolarization and Antibiotics

Bacterial membrane potential is a dynamic component of cellular bioenergetics and plays signaling roles in adaptation to antibiotics, while the proton motive force (PMF) is an energetic pathway located on the bacterial membrane that regulates ATP synthesis and active transport.

Recurrence of Bacterial Infection: Tolerance and Persistence

Bacterial infection recurrence can arise when antibiotic exposure eliminates susceptible cells but leaves phenotypically tolerant survivors capable of resuming growth after treatment ends.

Mitochondrial Antiviral Innate Immunity: Composition and Function

Mitochondrial antiviral innate immunity is a mitochondria-centered host-defense system in which mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS), anchored to the mitochondrial outer membrane, connects cytosolic viral RNA recognition to antiviral gene expression.

Infection Signals in RNA Splicing Fidelity

RNA splicing converts precursor messenger RNA into mature transcripts, while alternative splicing generates structurally and functionally distinct RNA and protein isoforms; infection-induced remodeling of this process has emerged as an important layer of host-pathogen interaction.

Reactivation, Replication, and Transmission of Endogenous Viruses

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are genomic remnants of ancestral retroviral infections that entered germ cells and became heritable components of host chromosomes; in humans, ERV-derived sequences constitute about 8% of the genome.

Anti-Aging Drugs: Strategies for Infectious Diseases

Anti-aging drugs are pharmacological interventions that target biological processes of aging rather than a single age-associated disease, an approach increasingly framed within geroscience.

Bacterial Anti-Phage Defense Systems

Bacterial anti-phage defense systems comprise molecular mechanisms that protect bacteria from bacteriophage infection by recognizing viral components, blocking infection or replication, destroying invading nucleic acids, or inducing infected-cell dormancy or death.

Thermoregulation and Antimicrobial Effects

Thermoregulation during infection encompasses host-driven changes in body temperature, including fever and hypothermia, that interact with antimicrobial resistance and disease-tolerance mechanisms.

Long-Acting Antiviral Agents for HIV Post-Exposure Prophylaxis

Current HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) requires 28 days of daily oral antiretroviral drugs, and low adherence and incomplete regimen completion remain important challenges, creating a rationale for long-acting antiviral agents that could reduce repeated dosing after exposure.

Micro/Nanorobots for Infection Prevention and Control

Micro/nanorobots (MNRs) are engineered micro- to nanoscale systems that combine active locomotion, controllable navigation, and localized therapeutic functions to address infections that are difficult to reach or eradicate with conventional antimicrobial approaches.

Fluorescent Acid-Fast Staining for the Diagnosis of Mycobacteria and Other Pathogens

Fluorescent acid-fast staining is a microscopy-based diagnostic approach used to detect mycobacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae, as well as acid-fast parasites and some acid-variable bacteria; auramine O and auramine-rhodamine are established fluorochromes for this purpose.

The Role of Gut Microbiota in Tumorigenesis

The gut microbiota comprises intestinal microorganisms whose metabolic activity and effects on host immunity can alter cancer susceptibility and progression.

Applications of Antigens and Antibodies in the Diagnosis, Vaccination, and Treatment of Monkeypox

Monkeypox, now widely termed mpox, is a zoonotic disease caused by monkeypox virus (MPXV), and renewed global transmission has intensified research into viral antigens and antibody responses as tools for diagnosis, vaccination, serosurveillance, and treatment.

RPA-CRISPR Technology: Rapid On-Site Detection of Zoonotic Diseases

RPA-CRISPR technology integrates recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA), an isothermal nucleic-acid amplification method, with programmable CRISPR-Cas detection to create rapid, sensitive, and portable assays for zoonotic pathogens.

Artificial Intelligence for Infectious Disease Epidemiological Modeling

Artificial intelligence for infectious disease epidemiological modeling combines machine learning, computational statistics, information retrieval, and data science with epidemiological data to characterize transmission, forecast outbreaks, and support public-health decisions.

Artificial Intelligence in Addressing Antimicrobial Resistance: From Diagnosis and Treatment to New Drug Development

Artificial intelligence (AI) in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research comprises machine-learning and deep-learning approaches that analyze clinical, genomic, microbiological, and chemical data to identify pathogens, predict resistance, support antimicrobial selection, and discover antibacterial compounds.

CRISPR-Cas Facilitates Vaccine Development and Combats Viral Infections

CRISPR-Cas systems originated as adaptive antiviral defense mechanisms in bacteria and archaea and have been repurposed as programmable genome-editing platforms that recognize nucleic-acid targets through guide RNAs and Cas effectors.

Nasal-Spray Vaccines: A New Strategy for Respiratory Infection Control

Nasal-spray vaccines deliver vaccine antigens directly to the respiratory mucosa, a major entry site for airborne pathogens, with the aim of establishing local mucosal immunity alongside systemic protection.

Extracellular Vesicles and HIV Infection

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes and microvesicles, are lipid-bound particles released by cells that transfer proteins, lipids, RNA, microRNA, and other molecular cargo between cells; virus-infected cells can additionally package viral proteins and genetic material into EVs.

Studying Marine Viral Infection Dynamics Using Single-Cell Techniques

Marine viral infection dynamics at single-cell resolution examines virus-host interactions within individual marine microbial cells rather than averaging signals across whole populations.

Mechanisms of Action of Inorganic Antibacterial Materials Against Drug-Resistant Bacteria

Inorganic antibacterial materials comprise metallic, bimetallic, metal-oxide, magnetic, and related nanoscale materials investigated as direct antimicrobials or carriers for antibacterial agents.

Potential Applications of Selenized Polysaccharides in the Field of Antivirals

Selenized polysaccharides are bioactive polysaccharide derivatives produced by incorporating selenium into polysaccharides; structural variation associated with selenium incorporation or seleno-groups can influence their biological activities.

Translational Applications of Organoids in Virology

Organoids are three-dimensional, self-organizing cultures derived from pluripotent or tissue stem cells that reproduce important structural and functional characteristics of native human organs, providing physiologically relevant systems for studying viral infection.

Membrane Contact Sites (MCS): Hubs for Intracellular Pathogen Infection

Membrane contact sites (MCSs) are zones where heterologous cellular membranes come into close proximity and support direct inter-organelle communication, material transfer, organelle biogenesis, and cellular homeostasis.

Interactions Between Viral Infection and Ribosome Quality Control (RQC)

Ribosome-associated quality control (RQC) is a conserved translational surveillance system that detects interrupted protein synthesis and eliminates incomplete nascent polypeptides, thereby protecting cellular proteostasis.

Synonymous Mutations in Viruses and Codon Design for Vaccines

Synonymous mutations alter viral nucleotide sequences without changing encoded amino acids, but extensive experimental work shows that they are not necessarily phenotypically neutral.

Quorum Sensing Engineering: A New Strategy for Antimicrobial Therapy

Quorum sensing (QS) is bacterial cell-cell communication in which extracellular autoinducers report population density and coordinate gene expression, including virulence, biofilm formation, and other collective behaviors.

Pathogenic Strategies of Pathogens to Hijack Host Sugar Metabolism

Pathogenic hijacking of host sugar metabolism describes infection-driven remodeling of carbohydrate use so that host nutrients, energy, and metabolic intermediates become more available for pathogen replication, persistence, or immune evasion.

Molecular Strategies Used by Bacteria to Recognize Fungal Competitors

Bacterial recognition of fungal competitors is a central component of bacterial-fungal interactions, encompassing the mechanisms by which bacteria detect fungal cells, fungal-derived molecules, physical contact, or competition-generated environmental changes and convert these inputs into adaptive responses.

Functions and Mechanisms of Small Regulatory RNAs in Bacteria

Bacterial small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) are key mediators of post-transcriptional gene control, most often acting as short regulatory molecules that alter translation or RNA stability through interactions with target RNAs.

Transmission and Pathogenicity of Foodborne Bacteria in Nano- and Microstructures

Foodborne bacterial transmission is increasingly understood as a process shaped not only by individual planktonic cells but also by organized nano- and microstructures, including surface adhesins, extracellular polymers, biofilms, and membrane vesicles.

Pathogen Effectors Regulate Host Calcium Signaling Pathways

Pathogen regulation of host calcium signaling describes the capacity of microbial virulence factors and effector proteins to reshape Ca2+ influx, intracellular Ca2+ release, calcium sensors, and downstream calcium-dependent signaling during infection.

Engineered Symbiotic Microbes: A New Strategy for Living Therapeutics

Engineered symbiotic microbes, commonly described as engineered live biotherapeutic products or synthetic biotics, are living microorganisms genetically programmed to perform defined diagnostic or therapeutic functions.

Regulatory Network of the Plant Symbiosis-Immunity Continuum

The plant symbiosis-immunity continuum describes the interconnected regulatory networks through which plants distinguish beneficial microorganisms from harmful microbes while coordinating accommodation and defense.

Microbial Bile Acid Metabolism: Pleiotropic Regulation of Gut Homeostasis

Microbial bile acid metabolism describes the enzymatic remodeling of host-derived primary bile acids by intestinal microorganisms into a chemically diverse secondary bile acid pool.

Pyroptosis and NETs Mediate Host Antifungal Immunity

Pyroptosis and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) represent inflammatory innate immune programs that shape host responses to pathogenic fungi.

Glycosylation-Microbiota Metabolism: Defense Against Intestinal Pathogens

Intestinal glycosylation-microbiota metabolism describes a reciprocal host-microbial system in which glycans displayed on epithelial cells and mucus influence microbial colonization, while intestinal microorganisms use and reshape these carbohydrate structures.

Mechanisms and Treatment of Candida Infections

Candida infections, collectively termed candidiasis, arise when normally commensal Candida species become opportunistic pathogens and produce mucosal, bloodstream, or systemic disease; Candida albicans remains a major human pathogen, while C.

RNA Interference as a Therapeutic Strategy for Chronic Hepatitis B Infection

RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged as a therapeutic strategy for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) because current nucleos (t) ide analogues and interferons achieve low rates of functional cure, defined around sustained hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) loss after treatment cessation.

Strategies for the Immunological Clearance of the HIV Reservoir

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) effectively suppresses HIV-1 replication but does not eliminate the long-lived reservoir of infected cells, and viral replication generally resumes after treatment interruption.

Gaseous Signaling Molecules for the Treatment of Orthopedic Infections

Gaseous signaling molecules, or gasotransmitters, are endogenous small molecules with signaling activity, among which nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) are the principal species investigated for orthopedic applications.