Biology subjects

Braun, W.

Publications and source records attributed to Braun, W..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

Laser-facilitated epicutaneous immunization with SARS-CoV-2 spike protein induces ACE2 blocking antibodies in mice

The skin represents an attractive target tissue for vaccination against respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV-2. Laser-facilitated epicutaneous immunization (EPI) has been established as a novel technology to overcome the skin barrier, which combines efficient delivery via micropores with an inherent adjuvant effect due to the release of danger-associated molecular patterns. Here we delivered the S1 subunit of the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 to the skin of BALB/c mice via laser-generated micropores with or without CpG-ODN1826 or the B subunit of heat-labile enterotoxin of E.coli (LT-B). EPI induced serum IgG titers of 1:3200 that could be boosted 5 to 10-fold by co-administration of LT-B and CpG, respectively. Sera were able to inhibit binding of the spike protein to its receptor ACE2. Our data indicate that delivery of recombinant spike protein via the skin may represent an alternative route for vaccines against Covid-19.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2020

D-graph clusters flaviviruses and β-coronaviruses according to their hosts, disease type and human cell receptors

MotivationThere is a need for rapid and easy to use, alignment free methods to cluster large groups of protein sequence data. Commonly used phylogenetic trees based on alignments can be used to visualize only a limited number of protein sequences. DGraph, introduced here, is a dynamic programming application developed to generate 2D-maps based on similarity scores for sequences. The program automatically calculates and graphically displays property distance (PD) scores based on physico-chemical property (PCP) similarities from an unaligned list of FASTA files. Such "PD-graphs" show the interrelatedness of the sequences, whereby clusters can reveal deeper connectivities. ResultsPD-Graphs generated for flavivirus (FV), enterovirus (EV), and coronavirus (CoV) sequences from complete polyproteins or individual proteins are consistent with biological data on vector types, hosts, cellular receptors and disease phenotypes. PD-graphs separate the tick- from the mosquito-borne FV, clusters viruses that infect bats, camels, seabirds and humans separately and the clusters correlate with disease phenotype. The PD method segregates the {beta}-CoV spike proteins of SARS, SARS-CoV-2, and MERS sequences from other human pathogenic CoV, with clustering consistent with cellular receptor usage. The graphs also suggest evolutionary relationships that may be difficult to determine with conventional bootstrapping methods that require postulating an ancestral sequence. Availability and implementationDGraph is written in Java, compatible with the Java 5 runtime or newer. Source code and executable is available from the GitHub website (https://github.com/bjmnbraun/DGraph/releases). Documentation for installation and use of the software is available from the Readme.md file at (https://github.com/bjmnbraun/DGraph). Contactbjmnbraun@gmail.com or webraun@utmb.edu Supplementary informationSupplementary information Table S1 and Fig. S1 are online available.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2019

From Single Neurons to Behavior in the Jellyfish Aurelia aurita

Jellyfish nerve nets provide insight into the origins of nervous systems, as both their taxonomic position and their evolutionary age imply that jellyfish resemble some of the earliest neuron-bearing, actively-swimming animals. Here we develop the first neuronal network model for the nerve nets of jellyfish. Specifically, we focus on the moon jelly Aurelia aurita and the control of its energy-eZcient swimming motion. The proposed single neuron model disentangles the contributions of different currents to a spike. The network model identifies factors ensuring non-pathological activity and suggests an optimization for the transmission of signals. After modeling the jellyfishs muscle system and its bell in a hydrodynamic environment, we explore the swimming elicited by neural activity. We find that different delays between nerve net activations lead to well-controlled, differently directed movements. Our model bridges the scales from single neurons to behavior, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of jellyfish neural control.

neuroscience↗