In: Current opinion in immunology, 2016, vol. 41, no. August, p. 62-67
In the last decade, progress in the analysis of the human immune response and in the isolation of human monoclonal antibodies have provided an innovative approach to the identification of protective antigens which are the basis for the design of vaccines capable of eliciting effective B-cell immunity. In this review we illustrate, with relevant examples, the power of this approach that can...
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In: Frontiers in Immunology, 2020, vol. 11, p. -
The chemokine receptor CXCR4 plays a fundamental role in homeostasis and pathology by orchestrating recruitment and positioning of immune cells, under the guidance of a CXCL12 gradient. The ability of chemokines to form heterocomplexes, enhancing their function, represents an additional level of regulation on their cognate receptors. In particular, the multi-faceted activity of the...
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In: Viruses, 2020, vol. 12, no. 1, p. 17 p
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infects more than 70% of the human population worldwide. HCMV is responsible for high morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients and remains the leading viral cause of congenital birth defects. Despite considerable efforts in vaccine and therapeutic development, HCMV infection still represents an unmet clinical need and a life-threatening disease in...
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In: Cell, 2019, vol. 177, no. 6, p. 1420-1431.e17
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a worldwide public health concern for which no vaccine is available. Elucidation of the prefusion structure of the RSV F glycoprotein and its identification as the main target of neutralizing antibodies have provided new opportunities for development of an effective vaccine. Here, we describe the structure-based design of a self-assembling protein ...
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In: Frontiers in microbiology, 2019, vol. 10, p. 1005
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the leading viral cause of congenital birth defects and is responsible for morbidity and mortality in immunosuppressed individuals. Considerable efforts have been deployed over the last decade to develop a vaccine capable of preventing HCMV infection. However, in recent clinical trials, vaccines showed at best modest efficacy in preventing infection. These...
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In: BMC structural biology, 2016, vol. 16, p. 17
Background: TPX2 (Targeting Protein for Xklp2) is essential for spindle assembly, activation of the mitotic kinase Aurora A and for triggering microtubule nucleation. Homologs of TPX2 in Chordata and plants were previously identified. Currently, proteins of the TPX2 family have little structural information and only small parts are covered by defined protein domains. Methods: We have used ...
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In: Molecular oncology, 2015, vol. 9, no. 6, p. 1194-1206
STAT3 is a key element in many oncogenic pathways and, like other transcription factors, is an attractive target for development of novel anticancer drugs. However, interfering with STAT3 functions has been a difficult task and very few small molecule inhibitors have made their way to the clinic. OPB‐31121, an anticancer compound currently in clinical trials, has been reported to affect...
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In: Proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the United States of America, 2014, vol. 111, no. 50, p. 17965-17970
The use of neutralizing antibodies to identify the most effective antigen has been proposed as a strategy to design vaccines capable of eliciting protective B-cell immunity. In this study, we analyzed the human antibody response to cytomegalovirus (human cytomegalovirus, HCMV) infection and found that antibodies to glycoprotein (g)B, a surface glycoprotein that has been developed as a HCMV...
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In: Proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the United States of America, 2017, vol. 114, no. 25, p. E4924-E4933
In addition to its canonical role in nuclear transcription, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is emerging as an important regulator of mitochondrial function. Here, we demonstrate that a novel inhibitor that binds with high affinity to the STAT3 SH2 domain triggers a complex cascade of events initiated by interference with mitochondrial STAT3 (mSTAT3). The...
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