BackgroundYeast two-hybrid (Y2H) screens have been among the most powerful methods to detect and analyze protein-protein interactions. However, they suffer from a significant degree of false negatives, i.e. true interactions that are not detected, and to a certain degree from false positives, i.e. interactions that appear to take place only in the context of the Y2H assay. While the fraction of false positives remains difficult to estimate, the fraction of false negatives in typical Y2H screens is on the order of 70-90%. Here we present novel Y2H vectors that significantly decrease the number of false negatives and help to mitigate the false positive problem.ResultsWe have constructed two new vectors (pGBKCg and pGADCg) that allow us to make both C-terminal fusion proteins of DNA-binding and activation domains. Both vectors can be combined with existing vectors for N-terminal fusions and thus allow four different bait-prey combinations: NN, CC, NC, and CN. We have tested all ~4,900 pairwise combinations of the 70 Varicella-Zoster-Virus (VZV) proteins for interactions, using all possible combinations. About ~20,000 individual Y2H tests resulted in 182 NN, 89 NC, 149 CN, and 144 CC interactions. Overlap between screens ranged from 17% (NC-CN) to 43% (CN-CC). Performing four screens (i.e. permutations) instead of one resulted in about twice as many interactions and thus much fewer false negatives. In addition, interactions that are found in multiple combinations confirm each other and thus provide a quality score. This study is the first systematic analysis of such N- and C-terminal Y2H vectors.ConclusionsPermutations of C- and N-terminal Y2H vectors dramatically increase the coverage of interactome studies and thus significantly reduce the number of false negatives. We suggest that future interaction screens should use such vector combinations on a routine basis, not the least because they provide a built-in quality score for Y2H interactions that can provide a measure of reproducibility without additional assays.

Stem-cell-based therapies hold considerable promise for regenerative medicine. However, acute donor-cell death within several weeks after cell delivery remains a critical hurdle for clinical translation. Co-transplantation of stem cells with pro-survival factors can improve cell engraftment, but this strategy has been hampered by the typically short half-lives of the factors and by the use of Matrigel and other scaffolds that are not chemically defined. Here, we report a collagen–dendrimer biomaterial crosslinked with pro-survival peptide analogues that adheres to the extracellular matrix and slowly releases the peptides, significantly prolonging stem cell survival in mouse models of ischaemic injury. The biomaterial can serve as a generic delivery system to improve functional outcomes in cell-replacement therapy.

Lyme disease is the most common zoonotic bacterial disease in North America. It is estimated that >300,000 cases per annum are reported in USA alone. A total of 10%–20% of patients who have been treated with antibiotic therapy report the recrudescence of symptoms, such as muscle and joint pain, psychosocial and cognitive difficulties, and generalized fatigue. This condition is referred to as posttreatment Lyme disease syndrome. While there is no evidence for the presence of viable infectious organisms in individuals with posttreatment Lyme disease syndrome, some researchers found surviving Borrelia burgdorferi population in rodents and primates even after antibiotic treatment. Although such observations need more ratification, there is unmet need for developing the therapeutic agents that focus on removing the persisting bacterial form of B. burgdorferi in rodent and nonhuman primates. For this purpose, high-throughput screening was done using BacTiter-Glo assay for four compound libraries to identify candidates that stop the growth of B. burgdorferi in vitro. The four chemical libraries containing 4,366 compounds (80% Food and Drug Administration [FDA] approved) that were screened are Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds (LOPAC1280), the National Institutes of Health Clinical Collection, the Microsource Spectrum, and the Biomol FDA. We subsequently identified 150 unique compounds, which inhibited >90% of B. burgdorferi growth at a concentration of <25 µM. These 150 unique compounds comprise many safe antibiotics, chemical compounds, and also small molecules from plant sources. Of the 150 unique compounds, 101 compounds are FDA approved. We selected the top 20 FDA-approved molecules based on safety and potency and studied their minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration. The promising safe FDA-approved candidates that show low minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration values can be chosen as lead molecules for further advanced studies.

i Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is the etiological agent of chickenpox and shingles. Due to the virus's restricted host and cell type tropism and the lack of tools for VZV proteomics, it is one of the least-characterized human herpesviruses. We generated 251 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against 59 of the 71 (83%) currently known unique VZV proteins to characterize VZV protein expression in vitro and in situ. Using this new set of MAbs, 44 viral proteins were detected by Western blotting (WB) and indirect immunofluorescence (IF); 13 were detected by WB only, and 2 were detected by IF only. A large proportion of viral proteins was analyzed for the first time in the context of virus infection. Our study revealed the subcellular localization of 46 proteins, 14 of which were analyzed in detail by confocal microscopy. Seven viral proteins were analyzed in time course experiments and showed a cascade-like temporal gene expression pattern similar to those of other herpesviruses. Furthermore, selected MAbs tested positive on human skin lesions by using immunohistochemistry, demonstrating the wide applicability of the MAb collection. Finally, a significant portion of the VZV-specific antibodies reacted with orthologs of simian varicella virus (SVV), thus enabling the systematic analysis of varicella in a nonhuman primate model system. In summary, this study provides insight into the potential function of numerous VZV proteins and novel tools to systematically study VZV and SVV pathogenesis. V aricella-zoster virus (VZV) belongs to the alphaherpesvirus subfamily and is the only member of the genus Varicellovirus that can infect humans (1, 2). Primary infection causes chickenpox and typically occurs in early childhood with a prominent, highly contagious vesicular rash (3). During primary infection, VZV establishes latency in sensory trigeminal and dorsal root ganglia. Reactivation from latency results in a secondary disease called herpes zoster (HZ), or shingles, that is more common in elderly people (4). HZ most frequently occurs in the thoracic or lumbar nerve segments and the distribution area of the trigeminal nerve, causing a painful rash in the corresponding dermatome. While the molecular mechanism for reactivation from latency is not well characterized, it is more frequent in immunocompromised patients (5). The most common sequela of HZ is postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). In addition, VZV reactivation can lead to zoster ophthalmicus, acute retinal necrosis, meningitis, and vasculopathy (6).The seroprevalence of VZV differs significantly between countries, but the majority of individuals are seropositive by the time of adolescence (7). While in otherwise healthy children and adolescents, primary VZV infection mostly resolves spontaneously without sequelae, severe symptoms may occur in immunocompromised people and during pregnancy (6). Vertical transmission of VZV during the first trimester causes congenital varicella syndrome (CVS), which is characterized by skin lesions, hypoplasia, low birth weight, and neurological dis...

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