Nanotechnology-mediated podocyte injury repair: mechanistic exploration and therapeutic prospects.
Podocyte injury serves as a central pathological driver in chronic kidney diseases (CKD), including diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and IgA nephropathy (IgAN). However, conventional therapies are still limited by poor targeting efficacy and systemic side effects. Nanotechnology provides transformative…
A Case of False-Positive Treponema Pallidum Immunohistochemistry and Review of Syphilis Testing as It Pertains to Dermatologists.
A 76-year-old man presented with a persistent pruritic eruption initially diagnosed as Grover disease, unresponsive to topical corticosteroids, and only partially responsive to systemic steroids. During the course of several months, serial skin biopsies revealed spongiotic dermatitis with increasing…
Two pediatric Lyme neuroborreliosis patients presenting with cerebrovascular events.
Pediatric Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB), caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl), may rarely present with cerebrovascular involvement, particularly affecting the posterior circulation and causing ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. In endemic regions, LNB should be considered a potential cause of…
Evaluation of EcoCRM, virus-like particles, and mRNA as vaccine platforms against Borrelia burgdorferi.
Lyme disease (LD) is the most prevalent vector-borne disease in the United States, impacting ∼476,000 individuals annually with increasing incidence. Prevention relies on personal protective measures such as insecticides and tick checks, underscoring the need for new preventatives such as vac…
Dual site targeting of the bacterial 70S ribosome by tetracyclines.
The tetracycline class of antibiotics is widely used for treating bacterial diseases including Lyme disease, anthrax, acne vulgaris, and pneumonia. Using a series of high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures, we show that tetracyclines can simultaneously target the mRNA decoding…
Lyme disease is a multisystemic zoonotic infection transmitted by the bite of infected Ixodes ticks. It displays highly diverse clinical manifestations, potentially affecting a wide array of organ systems. An infection that involves the nervous system is specifically categorized as Lyme neuroborreli…
mSphere of Influence: How a gut microbiota study reshaped my thinking on tick-borne pathogens.
Xin-Ru Wang works in tick biology and intracellular bacterial pathogenesis. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how "Gut microbiota of the tick vector Ixodes scapularis modulate colonization of the Lyme disease spirochete" by Narasimhan et al. (2014) reshaped her understanding of v…
High-performance magnetic sorbent derived from silk floss tree (Ceiba speciosa) resin: A sustainable macromolecular approach for rapid petroleum removal.
This study explores the chemical characterization of the natural exudate resin from the silk floss tree, Ceiba speciosa, and the development of a novel magnetic bionanocomposite (R-MNP) designed for the environmental remediation of petroleum spills. The raw resin and the synthesized bionanocomposite…