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- Liu, Qingyun, 1993-, et al.
(författare)
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High throughput decoding approach for luminescencekinetics-based optical encoding of lanthanide upconversion nanoparticles
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Lanthanide upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are increasingly explored to develop high-security-level anti-counterfeiting and multiplexing applications, due to the availability of ample encoding dimensions. Among other applications, upconversion luminescence(UCL) kinetics-based optical encoding is particularly attractive as it provides an almost unlimited encoding capacity due to the ease of manipulating the UCL kinetics by chemical engineering. However, current decoding methods limit its applications because of a typically low throughput and high cost of the system. In this Letter, we propose a novel decoding approach for UCL kinetics-based optical encoding, which utilizes a pulsed excitation source with adjustable pulse duration and a low time-resolution and large-area detector. We develop a theoretical fitting model and show how fingerprint time constants of the UCNPs (the encoding identities) can be extracted from the correlation between the averaged UCL intensity and the pulse duration. Our new approach provides a high-throughput and cost-effective solution to decode UCL kinetics.
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| 3. |
- Selvavinayagam, Sivaprakasam T., et al.
(författare)
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Evolution of the Omicron B.1.1.529 Sars-Cov-2 and its Variants in Tamil Nadu, India – a State-Wide Prospective Longitudinal Genomic Surveillance
- 2023
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: The emergence of the omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant beholding many mutations, especially in the spike (S) protein severely threatens global health. With an aim to understand the mutational pattern of the variant and its genetic interrelationship in the Indian population, here we prospectively followed the viral evolution and transmission between December 2021 and March 2023 in Tamil Nadu.Methods: A total of 11526 nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs (6431 males, 5095 females including 603 children) collected from across the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu were subjected to WGS. Of the 10663 samples (92.5%) positive for omicron variants, 1688 were sequenced at the State Public Health Laboratory. We longitudinally studied the evolutionary dynamics of the different omicron variants, starting from the first detected case (B.1.1.529) to the recently reported recombinant XBB variants by sequencing the S gene and by performing phylo-geographic and molecular modeling analyses.Findings: Administration of a booster dose was associated with reduced risk of hospitalization and death. BA.1 sub-variants and BA.2.75 were associated with increased risk of severe disease, whereas BA.1 and BA.2 were associated with increased risk of death. High quality WGS data from 150 samples revealed six major omicron clusters and several other sub-clusters. Seven variants in the same BA lineages with different divergences in the S protein were noticed. Of the 5009 mutations detected, the highest was seen in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) followed by the N-terminal domain (NTD) in varying proportions among the different omicron lineages. Importantly, the mutations were observed in the sub-domain (SD1/2) furin cleavage site, fusion peptide (FP), and the heptapeptide repeat sequence (HR1) regions. Notably, unique mutations Y473I, P479F, C480F, V483T, E484C, G485T, P491G, L492K, S494M, Y495C, and G496Q were detected in BA.2.43 whereas A475Q and T478S occurred in the RBD domain of the BA.2.43 variant. The XBB variant showed 41 different mutations between the HR1 and HR2 domains of the S2 subunit. Molecular modeling using BA.2 lineage as a template for seven divergent proteins showed that BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 exhibited strong binding affinity towards ACE2.Interpretation: The high frequency of mutations in the RBD highlights the wider distribution of vaccine escape-variants that would impact the structural and functional attributes of the omicron variant in the population. Further, our work provides key insights on the evolutionary pattern leading to the identification of seven divergent variants of omicron in Tamil Nadu, India.
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| 4. |
- Selvavinayagam, Sivaprakasam T, et al.
(författare)
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Plasma CXCL8 and MCP-1 as biomarkers of latent tuberculosis infection
- 2023
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- BackgroundEarly detection of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is critical to TB elimination in the current WHO vision of End Tuberculosis Strategy.Methods We investigated whether detecting plasma cytokines could aid in diagnosing LTBI across household contacts (HHCs) positive for IGRA, HHCs negative for IGRA, and healthy controls. We also measured the plasma cytokines using a commercial Bio-Plex Pro Human Cytokine 17-plex assay.ResultsIncreased plasma CXCL8 and decreased MCP-1, TNF-α, and IFN-γ were associated with LTBI. Regression analysis showed that a combination of CXCL8 and MCP-1 increased the risk of LTBI among HHCs to 14-fold.ConclusionsWe postulated that CXCL8 and MCP-1 could be the surrogate biomarkers of LTBI, especially in resource-limited settings.
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| 5. |
- Vimali, Jaisheela, et al.
(författare)
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Chronic viral infection compromises the quality of circulating mucosal-invariant T cells and follicular T helper cells via expression of both activating and inhibitory receptors
- 2023
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Chronic viral infection results in impaired immune responses rendering viral persistence. Here, we investigated the role of immune activation and compared the quality of T-cell responses in chronic HBV, HCV, and HIV infections. Cytokines were measured using a commercial Bio-plex Pro Human Cytokine Grp I Panel 17-plex kit (BioRad, Hercules, CA, USA). Inflammation was assessed by measuring an array of plasma cytokines, and peripheral CD4+ T cells including circulating Tfh cells, CD8+ T cells, and TCR iVα7.2+ MAIT cells in chronic HBV, HCV, and HIV-infected patients and healthy controls. The cells were characterized based markers pertaining to immune activation (CD69, ICOS, and CD27) proliferation (Ki67), cytokine production (TNF-α, IFN-γ) and exhaustion (PD-1). The cytokine levels and T cell phenotypes together with cell markers were correlated with surrogate markers of disease progression. The activation marker CD69 was significantly increased in CD4+ hi T cells, while CD8+ MAIT cells expressing IFN-γ were significantly increased in chronic HBV, HCV and HIV infections. Six cell phenotypes, viz., TNF-α+CD4+ lo T cells, CD69+CD8+ T cells, CD69+CD4+ MAIT cells, PD-1+CD4+ hi T cells, PD-1+CD8+ T cells, Ki67+CD4+ MAIT cells were independently associated with decelerating the plasma viral load (PVL). TNF-α levels showed a positive correlation with increase in cytokine levels and decrease in PVL. Chronic viral infection negatively impacts the quality of peripheral MAIT cells and TFH cells via expression of both activating and inhibitory receptors.
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| 6. |
- Vimali, Jaisheela, et al.
(författare)
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HIV-HPgV Co-Infected Individuals Display Functional MAIT and Follicular T Cells Irrespective of PD-1 Expression
- 2023
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Human Pegivirus (HPgV) appears to alter the clinical outcome of HIV disease by modulating T-cell homeostasis, chemokine/cytokine production, as well as by reducing T-cell activation, and proliferation to limit HIV replication. Here, we evaluated if HPgV had any ‘favorable’ impact on the quantity and quality of T cells in HIV-infected individuals. T-cell subsets such as CD4lo, CD4hi, and CD8+ T cells, CD4+ MAIT cells, CD8+ MAIT cells, follicular helper T cells (Tfh), and follicular cytotoxic T cells (Tfc) were characterized based on the expression of markers associated with immune activation (CD69, ICOS), proliferation (ki67), cytokine production (TNF-α, IFN-γ), and exhaustion (PD-1). HIV+HPgV+ individuals had lower plasma liver transaminase SGOT and GGT (biliary) than those who were HPgV-. HIV/HPgV co-infection was significantly associated with increased absolute CD4+ T-cell counts. HIV+HPgV+ and HIV+HPgV- individuals had highly activated T-cell subsets with high expression of CD69 and ICOS on bulk CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, CD4+ MAIT cells, CD8+ MAIT cells and CXCR5+CD4+ T cells and CXCR5+CD8+ T cells as compared to healthy controls. Irrespective of activation markers these cells also expressed higher levels of PD-1 on CD4+ T and CD8+ T cells and their counterparts. However, exploring their functionality based on the mitogen stimulation demonstrated higher levels of cytokine production by CD4+ MAIT and CD8+ MAIT cells as compared to healthy controls. Decrease in absolute CD4+ T cell counts correlated positively with intracellular IFN-γ levels by CD4lo T cells, whereas increase of the same correlated inversely with TNF-α in the CD4lo T cells of HIV+HPgV+ individuals. Together, we found that HIV/HPgV co-infected individuals display functional CD4+ and CD8+ MAIT, Tfh and Tfc cells irrespective of PD-1 expression.
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| 7. |
- Yu, Guimei, et al.
(författare)
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Structure of SOQ1 lumenal domains identifies potential disulfide exchange for negative regulation of photoprotection, qH
- 2024
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) plays an important role for phototrophs in decreasing photo-oxidative damage. qH is a sustained component of NPQ and depends on the plastid lipocalin (LCNP). A thylakoid membrane-anchored protein SUPPRESSOR OF QUENCHING1 (SOQ1) prevents qH formation by inhibiting LCNP. SOQ1 suppresses qH with its lumen-located C-terminal Trx-like and NHL domains. Here we report crystal structures and biochemical characterization of SOQ1 lumenal domains. Our results show that the Trx-like and NHL domains are stably associated, with the potential redox-active motif located at their interface. Residue E859 essential for SOQ1 function is pivotal for mediating the inter-domain interaction. Moreover, the C-terminal region of SOQ1 forms an independent β-stranded domain, which possibly interacts with the Trx-like domain through disulfide exchange. Furthermore, SOQ1 is susceptible to cleavage at the loops connecting the neighboring domains both in vitro and in vivo, which could be a regulatory process for its suppression function of qH.
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