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1. Shift work influences the outcomes of Chlamydia infection and pathogenesis

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-72409-5  

   Lundy, Stephanie R.; Richardson, Shakyra; Ramsey, Anne; Ellerson, Debra; Fengxia, Yan; Onyeabor, Sunny; Kirlin, Ward; Thompson, Winston; Black, Carolyn M.; DeBruyne, Jason P.; et al (December 2020, Scientific Reports)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract Shift work, performed by approximately 21 million Americans, is irregular or unusual work schedule hours occurring after 6:00 pm. Shift work has been shown to disrupt circadian rhythms and is associated with several adverse health outcomes and chronic diseases such as cancer, gastrointestinal and psychiatric diseases and disorders. It is unclear if shift work influences the complications associated with certain infectious agents, such as pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy and tubal factor infertility resulting from genital chlamydial infection. We used an Environmental circadian disruption (ECD) model mimicking circadian disruption occurring during shift work, where mice had a 6-h advance in the normal light/dark cycle (LD) every week for a month. Control group mice were housed under normal 12/12 LD cycle. Our hypothesis was that compared to controls, mice that had their circadian rhythms disrupted in this ECD model will have a higher Chlamydia load, more pathology and decreased fertility rate following Chlamydia infection. Results showed that, compared to controls, mice that had their circadian rhythms disrupted (ECD) had higher Chlamydia loads, more tissue alterations or lesions, and lower fertility rate associated with chlamydial infection. Also, infected ECD mice elicited higher proinflammatory cytokines compared to mice under normal 12/12 LD cycle. These results imply that there might be an association between shift work and the increased likelihood of developing more severe disease from Chlamydia infection. 

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2. Defining early SIV replication and dissemination dynamics following vaginal transmission

   https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav7116  

   Deleage, Claire; Immonen, Taina T.; Fennessey, Christine M.; Reynaldi, Arnold; Reid, Carolyn; Newman, Laura; Lipkey, Leslie; Schlub, Timothy E.; Camus, Celine; O’Brien, Sean; et al (May 2019, Science Advances)

   Understanding HIV transmission is critical to guide the development of prophylactic interventions to prevent infection. We used a nonhuman primate (NHP) model with a synthetic swarm of sequence-tagged variants of SIVmac239 (“SIVmac239X”) and scheduled necropsy during primary infection (days 3 to 14 after challenge) to study viral dynamics and host responses to the establishment and dissemination of infection following vaginal challenge. We demonstrate that local replication was initiated at multiple sites within the female genital tract (FGT), with each site having multiple viral variants. Local replication and spread in the FGT preceded lymphatic dissemination. Innate viral restriction factors were observed but appeared to follow viral replication and were ineffective at blocking initial viral establishment and dissemination. However, major delays were observed in time to dissemination in animals and among different viral variants within the same animal. It will be important to assess how phenotypic differences affect early viral dynamics. 

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3. Intra-horn insemination in the alpaca Vicugna pacos: Copulatory wounding and deep sperm deposition

   https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0295882  

   Brennan, Patricia_L R; Purdy, Stephen; Bacon, Sarah J (April 2024, PLOS ONE)

   Bhattacharjee, Jayonta (Ed.)

   Alpacas (Vicugna pacos) are reported to be the rare mammal in which the penis enters the uterus in mating. To date, however, only circumstantial evidence supports this assertion. Using female alpacas culled for meat, we determined that the alpaca penis penetrates to the very tips of the uterine horns, abrading the tract and breaking fine blood vessels. All female alpacas sacrificed one hour or 24 hours after mating showed conspicuous bleeding in the epithelium of some region of their reproductive tract, including the hymen, cervix and the tips of each uterine horn, but typically not in the vagina. Unmated females showed no evidence of conspicuous bleeding. Histological examination of mated females revealed widespread abrasion of the cervical and endometrial epithelium, injuries absent in unmated females. Within one hour of mating, sperm were already present in the oviduct. The male alpaca’s cartilaginous penis tip with a hardened urethral process is likely responsible for the copulatory abrasion. The entire female reproductive tract interacts with the penis, functioning like a vagina. Alpacas are induced ovulators, and wounding may hasten delivery of the seminal ovulation-inducing factor beta-NGF into the female’s blood stream. There is no evidence of sexual conflict in copulation in alpaca, and thus wounding may also be one of a variety of mechanisms devised by mammals to induce a beneficial, short-term inflammatory response that stimulates blastocyst implantation, the uterine remodeling associated with placental development, and thus the success of early pregnancy. 

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4. Transcript and blood-microbiome analysis towards a blood diagnostic tool for goats affected by Haemonchus contortus

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-08939-x  

   Tilahun, Yonathan; Pinango, Jessica Quijada; Johnson, Felicia; Lett, Charles; Smith, Kayla; Gipson, Terry; McCallum, Malcolm; Hoyt, Peter; Tritt, Andrew; Yadav, Archana; et al (December 2022, Scientific Reports)

   Abstract The Alpine goat ( Capra aegagrus hircus ) is parasitized by the barber pole worm ( Haemonchus contortus ). Hematological parameters from transcript and metagenome analysis in the host are reflective of infestation. We explored comparisons between blood samples of control, infected, infected zoledronic acid-treated, and infected antibody (anti-γδ T cells) treated wethers under controlled conditions. Seven days post-inoculation (dpi), we identified 7,627 transcripts associated with the different treatment types. Microbiome measurements at 7 dpi revealed fewer raw read counts across all treatments and a less diverse microbial flora than at 21 dpi. This study identifies treatment specific transcripts and an increase in microflora abundance and diversity as wethers age. Further, F / B ratio reflect health, based on depression or elevation above thresholds defined by the baseline of non-infected controls. Forty Alpine wethers were studied where blood samples were collected from five goats in four treatment groups on 7 dpi and 21 dpi. Transcript and microbiome profiles were obtained using the Partek Flow (St. Louis, Missouri, USA) software suites pipelines. Inflammation comparisons were based on the Firmicutes / Bacteriodetes ratios that are calculated as well as the reduction of microbial diversity. 

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5. HIV efficiently infects T cells from the endometrium and remodels them to promote systemic viral spread

   https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.55487  

   Ma, Tongcui; Luo, Xiaoyu; George, Ashley F; Mukherjee, Gourab; Sen, Nandini; Spitzer, Trimble L; Giudice, Linda C; Greene, Warner C; Roan, Nadia R (May 2020, eLife)

   The female reproductive tract (FRT) is the most common site of infection during HIV transmission to women, but viral remodeling complicates characterization of cells targeted for infection. Here, we report extensive phenotypic analyses of HIV-infected endometrial cells by CyTOF, and use a ‘nearest neighbor’ bioinformatics approach to trace cells to their original pre-infection phenotypes. Like in blood, HIV preferentially targets memory CD4+ T cells in the endometrium, but these cells exhibit unique phenotypes and sustain much higher levels of infection. Genital cell remodeling by HIV includes downregulating TCR complex components and modulating chemokine receptor expression to promote dissemination of infected cells to lymphoid follicles. HIV also upregulates the anti-apoptotic protein BIRC5, which when blocked promotes death of infected endometrial cells. These results suggest that HIV remodels genital T cells to prolong viability and promote viral dissemination and that interfering with these processes might reduce the likelihood of systemic viral spread. 

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