Yingjun Cui, PhD
Associate Research Scientist (Infectious Diseases)Cards
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Research
Publications
2025
Tick feeding or vaccination with tick antigens elicits immunity to the Ixodes scapularis exoproteome in guinea pigs and humans
Hart T, Cui Y, Telford S, Marín-López A, Calloway K, Dai Y, Matias J, DePonte K, Jaycox J, DeBlasio M, Hoornstra D, Belperron A, Cibichakravarthy B, Johnson E, Alameh M, Dwivedi G, Hovius J, Bockenstedt L, Weissman D, Ring A, Fikrig E. Tick feeding or vaccination with tick antigens elicits immunity to the Ixodes scapularis exoproteome in guinea pigs and humans. Science Translational Medicine 2025, 17: eads9207. PMID: 40138454, PMCID: PMC12067475, DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.ads9207.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsTick antigensTick resistanceVector of tick-borne pathogensAcquired tick resistanceTick-borne pathogensIxodes scapularisTick feedingAntitick vaccinesDetectable antibody responseGuinea pigsTicksTick bitesAntigen cocktailPigsPrimary vectorFeedingAntibody responseHumoral responseImmunogen candidateAntigenLyme diseaseImmunoglobulin GRepeated exposureIxodesNorth AmericaCCL17 Influences Borrelia burgdorferi Infection in the Heart
Tang X, Yu Q, Cui Y, Hart T, Rivas-Giorgi F, Calloway K, Mohapatra A, Fikrig E. CCL17 Influences Borrelia burgdorferi Infection in the Heart. The Journal Of Infectious Diseases 2025, 232: 162-169. PMID: 39777514, PMCID: PMC12308671, DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiaf011.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSerum levels of proinflammatory cytokinesLevels of proinflammatory cytokinesVector-Borne PathogensB. burgdorferiReduce pathogen loadImmune alterationsMacrophage infiltrationProinflammatory cytokinesCCL17B. burgdorferi infectionIxodes ticksPathogen loadControl animalsChemokinesBorrelia burgdorferiInfectious diseasesInfectionDiverse illnessesKnockoutLyme diseaseDisease
2024
A safe insect-based chikungunya fever vaccine affords rapid and durable protection in cynomolgus macaques
Adam A, Woolsey C, Lu H, Plante K, Wallace S, Rodriguez L, Shinde D, Cui Y, Franz A, Thangamani S, Comer J, Weaver S, Wang T. A safe insect-based chikungunya fever vaccine affords rapid and durable protection in cynomolgus macaques. Npj Vaccines 2024, 9: 251. PMID: 39702442, PMCID: PMC11659317, DOI: 10.1038/s41541-024-01047-z.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMemory B cellsCynomolgus macaquesB cellsDose vaccinationAntigen presenting cell activationReceptor signalingCHIK feverNK cell responsesRobust type I interferonT cell responsesT cell immunityMultiple innate immune pathwaysToll-like receptor signalingWild-typeDose-dependent mannerSkin hypersensitivity reactionsType I interferonInnate immune signalingInnate immune pathwaysT cellsMechanisms of host protectionCHIKV infectionCell activationHypersensitivity reactionsAntibody responseDual roles for a tick protein disulfide isomerase during the life cycle of the Lyme disease agent
Tang X, Cui Y, Namarra U, Tian X, Rivas-Giorgi F, Fikrig E. Dual roles for a tick protein disulfide isomerase during the life cycle of the Lyme disease agent. MBio 2024, 15: e01754-24. PMID: 39470213, PMCID: PMC11633212, DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01754-24.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchProtein disulfide isomeraseLyme disease agentDisulfide isomeraseBlood-feeding vectorsExtracellular pathogensGene expressionInvasion of host cellsThiol-disulfide oxidoreductasesDisease agentsGroup of enzymesStages of bacterial infectionVirulence factorsLife cycleChaperone activityMammalian hostsHost cellsBlood-feeding ticksIsomeraseMicrobial infectionsColonized ticksPathogensDiverse infectionsMicrobial invasionInfection of miceVector-borne diseasesSalp14 epitope-based mRNA vaccination induces early recognition of a tick bite
Cui Y, Cibichakravarthy B, Tang X, Alameh M, Dwivedi G, Weissman D, Fikrig E. Salp14 epitope-based mRNA vaccination induces early recognition of a tick bite. Vaccine 2024, 42: 126304. PMID: 39236403, PMCID: PMC11416896, DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.126304.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchTick bite siteGuinea pigsMRNA-LNPMRNA vaccinesBite siteImmunized guinea pigsTiters of IgGIxodes scapularis ticksDevelopment of erythemaLipid nanoparticlesSkin of guinea pigsI. scapularisTicksErythemaHistamine activityPigsTick bitesCarboxyl terminusRepeated exposureExposure of animalsAmino acidsSalivary proteinsVaccineMRNAGuineaCytoskeleton‐associated gelsolin responds to the midgut distention process in saline meal‐fed Aedes aegypti and affects arbovirus dissemination from the midgut
Cui Y, Megawati D, Lin J, Rehard D, Grant D, Liu P, Jurkevich A, Reid W, Mooney B, Franz A. Cytoskeleton‐associated gelsolin responds to the midgut distention process in saline meal‐fed Aedes aegypti and affects arbovirus dissemination from the midgut. The FASEB Journal 2024, 38: e23764. PMID: 39042395, PMCID: PMC11268798, DOI: 10.1096/fj.202302684rr.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsApoptotic signalingHost factorsInduction of apoptosisIncreased induction of apoptosisBlood meal ingestionDifferentially expressed proteinsActin filamentsCytoskeleton modulationTime course analysisSecondary tissuesBasal laminaStable knockoutTissue distentionAedes aegyptiMosquito linesFunctional studiesVertebrate hostsSynthesized virionsMosquito midgutMidgut escape barrierCourse analysisGelsolinSurrounding basal laminaMidgutMidgut tissueZika virus exists in enterocytes and enteroendocrine cells of the Aedes aegypti midgut
Chen T, Raduwan H, Marín-López A, Cui Y, Fikrig E. Zika virus exists in enterocytes and enteroendocrine cells of the Aedes aegypti midgut. IScience 2024, 27: 110353. PMID: 39055935, PMCID: PMC11269924, DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110353.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAedes aegypti midgutEnteroendocrine cellsSingle-cell RNA sequencingIntestinal stem cellsVirus infectionPathogen interactionsExpressed genesRNA sequencingCopy numberTranscriptomic changesFunctional studiesInfected cellsZika virus infectionEnteroendocrineBlood digestionRNA copy numberCellular levelCell processesGenesMidgutPotential targetCell clustersCellsEnterocytesViral infectionAn atlas of human vector-borne microbe interactions reveals pathogenicity mechanisms
Hart T, Sonnert N, Tang X, Chaurasia R, Allen P, Hunt J, Read C, Johnson E, Arora G, Dai Y, Cui Y, Chuang Y, Yu Q, Rahman M, Mendes M, Rolandelli A, Singh P, Tripathi A, Ben Mamoun C, Caimano M, Radolf J, Lin Y, Fingerle V, Margos G, Pal U, Johnson R, Pedra J, Azad A, Salje J, Dimopoulos G, Vinetz J, Carlyon J, Palm N, Fikrig E, Ring A. An atlas of human vector-borne microbe interactions reveals pathogenicity mechanisms. Cell 2024, 187: 4113-4127.e13. PMID: 38876107, PMCID: PMC11959484, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.05.023.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCell invasionHost-microbe interactionsArthropod-borne pathogensHost sensingMicrobe interactionsTranscriptional regulationLyme disease spirocheteMicrobial interactionsExtracellular proteinsMicrobial pathogenesisEpidermal growth factorTissue colonizationEnvironmental cuesBacterial selectivityIntracellular pathogensPutative interactionsNext-generation therapeuticsPathogensFunctional investigationsInteractomeVector-borne diseasesImmune evasionPathogenic mechanismsStrainUnmet medical needA cell atlas of the adult female Aedes aegypti midgut revealed by single-cell RNA sequencing
Wang S, Huang Y, Wang F, Han Q, Ren N, Wang X, Cui Y, Yuan Z, Xia H. A cell atlas of the adult female Aedes aegypti midgut revealed by single-cell RNA sequencing. Scientific Data 2024, 11: 587. PMID: 38839790, PMCID: PMC11153528, DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-03432-8.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSingle-cell RNA sequencingFat body cellsRNA sequencingSingle-cell levelHemocyte cellsEnteroendocrine cellsVisceral musclesSingle-nucleus resolutionTranscriptome of AeMosquito midgutAedes aegypti midgutMidgut transcriptomeBlood meal digestionCell atlasCardia cellsArbovirus infectionMeal digestionNutrient absorptionMidgut cellsMidgutBody cellsCell clustersPrimary vectorSequenceCellsmosGILT controls innate immunity and germ cell development in Anopheles gambiae
Arora G, Tang X, Cui Y, Yang J, Chuang Y, Joshi J, Sajid A, Dong Y, Cresswell P, Dimopoulos G, Fikrig E. mosGILT controls innate immunity and germ cell development in Anopheles gambiae. BMC Genomics 2024, 25: 42. PMID: 38191283, PMCID: PMC10775533, DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09887-0.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGerm cell developmentAnopheles gambiaeCell developmentOvarian developmentReductase-like proteinWild-type mosquitoesPlasmodium life cycleBiological controlGrowth genesEssential regulatorRNA sequencingA. gambiaeGenesGambiaeAltered expressionImpaired ovarian developmentMosquito vectorsLife cycleMosquitoesImmune activationPlasmodium infectionTranscriptomeOogenesisRegulatorProtein
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