Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
7.1
4.7
Journals
Viruses
Special Issues
Microscopy Methods for Virus Research
share announcement

Microscopy Methods for Virus Research

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "General Virology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2024 | Viewed by 1838

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Krishanu Ray

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Human Virology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
Interests: single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy; super-resolution imaging; fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy; HIV envelope; SARS-CoV-2; Fc-receptor; DNA packaging motor; plasmonics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Significant advances in microscopy methods for biomedical applications have been made in the past two decades, and these methods are now being actively pursued with regard to virus research. Implementing quantitative advanced microscopic methods, including optical and EM imaging, can provide vital information regarding the mechanism and dynamics of viral infection and aid in the identification of targets for antiviral strategies. These methods are opening novel avenues for research in microbiology, particularly with respect to viruses. Improvements in microscopy methods have allowed researchers to directly examine single viruses in their natural forms, generating new insights into their structure, function, and mechanism of action over time and/or in three dimensions. Specifically, recent progress in several super-resolved fluorescence microscopy, single-molecule, and in vivo optical imaging methods, as well as novel fluorescence tags and electron microscopy methods including Cryo-EM and Cryo-ET, has revealed the possibility of tracking viruses in host–pathogen interactions and evaluating dynamics at the molecular level. This promises to provide unprecedented information for developing intervention and therapeutic strategies. In this Special Issue, we welcome the submission of reviews and original research articles that focus on the progress and application of microscopy methods and imaging in the broad area of virus research.

Dr. Krishanu Ray
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • viruses
  • fluorescence imaging
  • single-molecule imaging
  • super-resolution imaging
  • intra-vital imaging
  • electron microscopy
  • Cryo-EM
  • Cryo-ET

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

20 pages, 3592 KiB  
Article
Discordant Antigenic Properties of Soluble and Virion SARS-CoV-2 Spike Proteins
by Sameer Kumar, Souradip Dasgupta, Mohammad M. Sajadi, Greg A. Snyder, Anthony L. DeVico and Krishanu Ray
Viruses 2024, 16(3), 407; https://doi.org/10.3390/v16030407 - 06 Mar 2024
Viewed by 957
Abstract
Efforts to develop vaccine and immunotherapeutic countermeasures against the COVID-19 pandemic focus on targeting the trimeric spike (S) proteins of SARS-CoV-2. Vaccines and therapeutic design strategies must impart the characteristics of virion S from historical and emerging variants onto practical constructs such as [...] Read more.
Efforts to develop vaccine and immunotherapeutic countermeasures against the COVID-19 pandemic focus on targeting the trimeric spike (S) proteins of SARS-CoV-2. Vaccines and therapeutic design strategies must impart the characteristics of virion S from historical and emerging variants onto practical constructs such as soluble, stabilized trimers. The virus spike is a heterotrimer of two subunits: S1, which includes the receptor binding domain (RBD) that binds the cell surface receptor ACE2, and S2, which mediates membrane fusion. Previous studies suggest that the antigenic, structural, and functional characteristics of virion S may differ from current soluble surrogates. For example, it was reported that certain anti-glycan, HIV-1 neutralizing monoclonal antibodies bind soluble SARS-CoV-2 S but do not neutralize SARS-CoV-2 virions. In this study, we used single-molecule fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) under physiologically relevant conditions to examine the reactivity of broadly neutralizing and non-neutralizing anti-S human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) isolated in 2020. Binding efficiency was assessed by FCS with soluble S trimers, pseudoviruses and inactivated wild-type virions representing variants emerging from 2020 to date. Anti-glycan mAbs were tested and compared. We find that both anti-S specific and anti-glycan mAbs exhibit variable but efficient binding to a range of stabilized, soluble trimers. Across mAbs, the efficiencies of soluble S binding were positively correlated with reactivity against inactivated virions but not pseudoviruses. Binding efficiencies with pseudoviruses were generally lower than with soluble S or inactivated virions. Among neutralizing mAbs, potency did not correlate with binding efficiencies on any target. No neutralizing activity was detected with anti-glycan antibodies. Notably, the virion S released from membranes by detergent treatment gained more efficient reactivity with anti-glycan, HIV-neutralizing antibodies but lost reactivity with all anti-S mAbs. Collectively, the FCS binding data suggest that virion surfaces present appreciable amounts of both functional and nonfunctional trimers, with neutralizing anti-S favoring the former structures and non-neutralizing anti-glycan mAbs binding the latter. S released from solubilized virions represents a nonfunctional structure bound by anti-glycan mAbs, while engineered soluble trimers present a composite structure that is broadly reactive with both mAb types. The detection of disparate antigenicity and immunoreactivity profiles in engineered and virion-associated S highlight the value of single-virus analyses in designing future antiviral strategies against SARS-CoV-2. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microscopy Methods for Virus Research)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 11849 KiB  
Article
An Improved Workflow for the Quantification of Orthohantavirus Infection Using Automated Imaging and Flow Cytometry
by Laura Menke and Christian Sieben
Viruses 2024, 16(2), 269; https://doi.org/10.3390/v16020269 - 08 Feb 2024
Viewed by 673
Abstract
Determination of the infectious titer is a central requirement when working with pathogenic viruses. The plaque or focus assay is a commonly used but labor- and time-consuming approach for determining the infectious titer of orthohantavirus samples. We have developed an optimized virus quantification [...] Read more.
Determination of the infectious titer is a central requirement when working with pathogenic viruses. The plaque or focus assay is a commonly used but labor- and time-consuming approach for determining the infectious titer of orthohantavirus samples. We have developed an optimized virus quantification approach that relies on the fluorescence-based detection of the orthohantavirus nucleocapsid protein (N) in infected cells with high sensitivity. We present the use of flow cytometry but highlight fluorescence microscopy in combination with automated data analysis as an attractive alternative to increase the information retrieved from an infection experiment. Additionally, we offer open-source software equipped with a user-friendly graphical interface, eliminating the necessity for advanced programming skills. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microscopy Methods for Virus Research)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop