This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Sepsis is a life-threatening overreaction of the immune system to infection. Sepsis causes damage to vascular endothelial cells, which play an important role in maintaining vascular function. Treatment strategies that restore vascular endothelial cell function after sepsis are desperately needed. Pericyte-derived microvesicles (PMVs) have had therapeutic effects in other disorders and may be useful in sepsis treatment. To evaluate the potential treatment utility of PMVs, researchers combined experiments in rats and cultured vascular endothelial cells. PMVs were able to protect lung tissue and improve pulmonary function of septic rats. PMVs were also protective of cellular function in the cell culture model. Through subsequent experiments, the researchers determined that PMV absorption was mediated by the cell-surface protein CD44. and that PMVs restored vascular function by delivering the signaling molecule CTGF and activating the ERK1/2- STAT3 pathway..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Sepsis – life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by infection – is a major cause of death in intensive care units. Inflammation and coagulation are known to build off of each other to contribute to sepsis pathogenesis. Unfortunately, the detailed mechanisms behind signaling in sepsis are incompletely understood. In a new study, researchers evaluated signaling pathways using human cell lines and a mouse model of sepsis. They found that inhibiting phosphorylation of the Tyr705 site on STAT3 (pY-STAT3) reduced inflammation. In septic mice, pY-STAT3 inhibition reduced proinflammatory factors, coagulation, lung injury, and vascular leakage, improving the sepsis survival rate. Inhibiting pY-STAT3 decreased LPS-induced cytokine production by macrophages, protecting pulmonary endothelial cells from damage, and procoagulant factors were downregulated by pY-STAT3 inhibition. Although further studies are needed to translate these findings to the clinic..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Microbes are widely known to spread disease, but could they also help prevent it? A look inside in the mosquito gut reveals a community of microbes fit for the job. Mosquitoes are well-known vectors of disease, transmitting West Nile and Zika virus and the pathogens that cause malaria and dengue fever. Unfortunately, traditional control methods have led to insecticide resistance and negative impacts on other organisms, but mosquitoes, like other animals, also host non-disease-causing microbes in their gut. These benign microorganisms can directly interact with the deadly pathogens harbored by these insects. They can also affect mosquito traits influencing pathogen transmission, such as their population density, development, biting rate, and survival. For example, certain bacterial strains can reduce female fertility and the egg-hatching rate, while others can protect mosquitoes from environmental stress..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Tiny but tenacious, the tick is one of the most dangerous creatures on earth—and perhaps one of the most misunderstood. Because while typically associated with Lyme disease, ticks can actually harbor more than 120 different species of bacteria, each a unique source of infection. Unfortunately, the one-microbe, one-disease myth surrounding the tick extends well beyond the court of public opinion. The lack of broad-spectrum diagnostics in the clinic means that a single sufferer of tick-borne disease may spend up to $60,000, or 54,000 €, on more than 11 visits, doctors, and tests just to get a proper diagnosis. A 2018 blood analysis of 432 individuals showing symptoms of Lyme disease puts the problem in perspective—and calls for revamped screening procedures that decrease the probability of missed or misdiagnosis..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Chronic infection with the hepatitis C virus is a major cause of chronic liver disease, even after the virus has been eradicated by antiviral treatment. The problem appears to lie in the lingering activation of harmful Wnt/β-catenin signaling, which active viruses exploit for replication. A new study suggests the enzyme PKA could play a role. PKA is part of a signaling cascade that is activated during hepatitis C infection. To determine its role, researchers prevented PKA activation by treating cells with a PKA inhibitor. Inhibition was found to be beneficial. Inhibiting PKA reduced cells’ capacity to support both the hepatitis C virus and Wnt/β-catenin signaling, as mediated by another enzyme, GSK-3β. Interestingly, similar benefits were observed when another harmful effect of viral infection was repressed, namely, endoplasmic reticulum stress..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Mitochondrial stress is a key trigger of innate immune responses. Sources of stress include environmental changes, genetic mutations, and pathogenic infection. Mitochondria respond by releasing mitochondrial DAMPs and cytochrome c into the cytosol that induce inflammation and apoptosis through activating inflammasomes, cGAS and apoptotic caspases. One way cells manage mitochondrial stress is by eliminating dysfunctional mitochondria, a process known as “mitophagy.” Mitophagy regulatory pathways are classified as ubiquitin (Ub)-dependent or Ub-independent (receptor-dependent). Growing evidence shows that mitophagy can be induced by certain bacteria and viruses. Co-opting the mitophagy process enables these pathogens to evade hosts’ immune defense. Much remains to be learned about the mechanisms that pathogens employ to hijack host mitophagy. Understanding these mechanisms could point to new therapeutic strategies for fighting infection and related diseases..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"A new preprint reports one factor that might contribute to the deadliness of the COVID-19 pandemic: wearing shoes indoors. Researchers compared COVID-19 death rates between countries that follow the cultural practice of removing shoes indoors and those that do not and observed a distinct pattern. Those where removing shoes is customary showed a lower death rate on average. Interestingly, no significant differences were observed when countries were compared according to the number of COVID-19 cases. It could be that the lack of reliable, universal testing may obscure the true prevalence of the disease. More work is still needed to discount a number of confounding factors, such as differences in preventive measures enacted by different countries, but the correlation suggests that removing shoes indoors might help curb the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Olives are enjoyed by many people worldwide. One of the most devastating diseases affecting olive production is Verticillium wilt of olive (VWO). An efficient way to manage this disease is the use of resistant or tolerant olive cultivars . But it is still unclear exactly what makes a cultivar capable of surviving VWO. The collection of microbes associated with an organism, or microbiome, is known to affect its susceptibility to infection. Therefore, a recent study aimed to describe the belowground microbial communities associated with two olive cultivars. One that is tolerant to VWO, and one that is susceptible to it. The authors found that the tolerant cultivar was associated with microbes known to promote plant growth. While the microbes associated with the susceptible cultivar tended to be more deleterious. Also, unlike for the tolerant cultivar, the fungus that causes VWO was able to enter the microbial community of the susceptible cultivar..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Peptide hormones are important signaling molecules within the body. One such peptide is the secreted protein augurin, which is encoded by the gene Ecrg4, whose expression has been reported in a wide range of human tissues. The product of the gene Ecrg4, the augurin precursor ECRG4, has been predicted to be cleaved to originate different peptides. Augurin is implicated in a variety of processes, including tumorigenesis, inflammation, and infection. It is also involved in the regulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis and in osteoblast differentiation. Augurin is implicated in the modulation of well-known signaling cascades, including NF-kB, PI3K/Akt/mTor, Wnt-beta catenin, and apoptosis pathways, however, the molecular mechanisms underlying its action remain largely unexplored. Given its involvement in health and disease, augurin is an attractive target for the discovery of new therapeutic agents for human pathologies..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.