Multi-Photon Microscopy System Configured for Multiview Non-Linear Optical Imaging

This invention is a microscopy device and system for multi-photon microscopy utilizing multi-view nonlinear optical imaging. Nonlinear optical imaging remains the premier technique for deep-tissue imaging in which typically a multi photon arrangement may be used to illuminate and excite a sample. However, the penetration depth, signal-to-noise ratio, and resolution of this technique is ultimately limited by scattering. The present system addresses these issues by sequential excitation of a sample through three or more objective lenses oriented at different axes intersecting the sample.

A Human Progenitor Mast Cell Line for Allergic and Fibrotic Research and Therapeutic Screening

Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome type-1 (HPS-1) is a rare genetic disorder that affects around 1 in 500,000 people worldwide and 1 in 1,800 Puerto Ricans. Patients with HPS-1 display oculocutaneous albinism, bleeding due to platelet abnormality, and pulmonary fibrosis. Those that develop pulmonary fibrosis often succumb and live no more than a decade after early onset of breathing problems.

Zika Virus Vaccines

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a flavivirus transmitted by mosquitos that is strongly linked to neurological complications including Guillain-Barré syndrome, meningoencephalitis, and microcephaly. The association between active ZIKV infection during pregnancy and microcephaly and intrauterine growth retardation in the fetus has been confirmed in murine models of ZIKV infection.

Synergistic Internal Ribosomal Entry Site (IRES)—MicroRNA-Based Approach for Attenuation of Flaviviruses and Live Vaccine Development

Many members of the Flaviviridae family are emerging and reemerging human pathogens that have caused outbreaks of devastating and often fatal diseases and represent a serious public health problem on a global scale. There is no single attenuation strategy that exists which is sufficient to prepare a safe, efficacious and immunogenic live attenuated virus vaccine that will work universally for Flaviviridae.

A Full-Length Infectious cDNA Clone of Zika Virus from the 2015 Epidemic in Brazil as a Genetic Platform for Studies of Virus-Host Interactions and Vaccine Development

An arthropod-borne virus, Zika virus (ZIKV), has recently emerged as a major human pathogen. Associated with complications during perinatal development and Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults, ZIKV raises new challenges for understanding the molecular determinants of flavivirus pathogenesis. This underscores the necessity for the development of a reverse genetic system based on an epidemic ZIKV strain. This technology relates to the generation and characterization in cell cultures of an infectious cDNA clone of ZIKV isolated from the 2015 epidemic in Brazil.

Compositions and Methods for Detecting Loa loa

Loa loa is a filarial nematode estimated to infect 3-13 million people in Central and Western Africa. In parts of Africa, mass administration of ivermectin is common for onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis control. However, some individuals infected with Loa loa microfilariae in high densities are known to experience post-ivermectin severe adverse events, such as encephalopathy, coma, or even death. Therefore, diagnostic tools that can accurately identify and differentiate Loa loa microfilariae from other filarial infections are needed.

Live Attenuated Zika Virus Vaccine

This application claims live attenuated Zika viruses and vaccines, attenuated chimeric Zika viruses and vaccines, and multivalent immunogenic compositions comprising Zika vaccines and vaccines for other flaviviruses. The chimeric Zika viruses claimed include a first nucleotide sequence encoding at least one structural protein from a Zika virus (ZIKV), a second nucleotide sequence encoding at least one nonstructural protein from a first flavivirus, and a third nucleotide sequence of a 3' untranslated region from a second flavivirus.

Human-derived Monoclonal Antibody for Treatment of Ebola Virus Infection

Ebola virus infection can lead to severe hemorrhagic fever, known as Ebola virus disease (EVD), which is often fatal. The Zaire species of Ebola virus (EBOV) was responsible for the largest Ebola outbreak in history, which occurred in 2014. Scientists at the NIAID Vaccine Research Center have developed a human monoclonal neutralizing antibody, mAb114 for treatment and prevention of EBOV infection. Because there are very few treatments available to treat or prevent EBOV infection, there is a great need to develop effective pre- and post- exposure therapeutics before another outbreak occurs.

Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies Against HIV-1 Directed to the CD4 Binding Site of HIV Envelope Protein

Inhibiting the ability of HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, to infect cells is one approach to both prevention and treatment of HIV. Scientists at the NIAID Vaccine Research Center have isolated and characterized neutralizing antibodies (VRC01, 02, 03, and 07) that bind to the CD4 binding site of HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp120. These human monoclonal antibodies can potentially be used as a therapeutic to: (1) treat an HIV infection, (2) decrease and prevent HIV-transmission from mother to infant, and (3) be effectively combined with anti-retroviral drug therapy.