An inactivated vaccine for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) was evaluated in rhesus monkeys. The monkeys were inoculated intramuscularly (i.m.) with 0.5, 5, 50, or 5000 microg of vaccine, or PBS as control, and boosted on day 7. After 3 weeks, they were challenged with the NS-1 strain of SARS-CoV. The humoral and mucosal immune responses, clinical signs, chemical indices and viremia were monitored following the immunization and challenge. The control animals who received PBS developed atypical SAR-CoV infection after viral challenge, according to clinical, virological and pathological findings. No systematic side effects were observed in vaccinated animals post-immunization, even in at the high dose of 5000 microg. The 50 microg dosage of vaccine elicited SARS-CoV specific immune responses against viral infection as compared to the partial immunity elicited by 0.5 and 5 microg doses. The results show that this inactivated vaccine can induce effective concomitant humoral and mucosal immunity against SARS-CoV infection, is safe in monkeys, and the vaccine maybe a good candidate for clinical trials.

Loss of PTEN expression and increased levels of HIF-1alpha and VEGF may play an important role in carcinogenesis and progression of colorectal adenocarcinoma.

No abstract

No abstract

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the most common communicable infectious disease worldwide and the top killer of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected people. Because of common dual HIV and M. tuberculosis infections, the emergence of multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis strains, the lack of effective vaccination, the morbidity, and the mortality of M. tuberculosis infection are increasing sharply. Therefore, there is an urgent need for vaccine and drug development against M. tuberculosis infection. These require appropriate animal models that closely resemble human disease. To this end, we infected Chinese rhesus macaques with the M. tuberculosis H37Rv strain. Bronchoscopy was used to inoculate nine monkeys with different doses of M. tuberculosis H37Rv strain. Regardless of the M. tuberculosis dose, all monkeys were infected successfully. This was shown by clinical, laboratory, and histopathology assessments. Among nine infected monkeys, six developed acute rapid progressive tuberculosis and the remaining animals mirrored early-stage chronic disease. These data, taken together, demonstrate that Chinese rhesus macaques are highly susceptible to M. tuberculosis infection and develop similar manifestations of disease that are seen in humans. This model affords new opportunities for studies of M. tuberculosis disease pathology and therapeutics.