Volume 21 Issue 3, March 2023

Global COVID-19 vaccine equity remains aspirational for much of the world. But the emergence of rapidly evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants provides new opportunities to correct past public policies, support local vaccine production and combat rising anti-vaccine aggression.

Xie et al. show that the harmaline metabolite produced by Akkermansia muciniphila modulates nuclear factor-κB signalling and reduces severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome severity.

A recent study reports the development of a biomarker-responsive engineered bacterium that can diagnose, record and treat inflammatory bowel disease in mice.

Thaiss and colleagues report a gut–brain connection in mice that regulates the motivation for exercise, linking the intestinal microbiome to midbrain dopamine signalling.

A recent study found that the Helicobacter pylori genome evolves during disease progression and that these genomic changes select for effective colonizers of gastric metaplasia.

Choi et al. demonstrate there is a mutualistic interaction between Pseudomonas aeruginosa and cancer cells that modulates tumour homeostasis.

Yang et al. present the fluorogenic reversible reporter SURF to monitor real-time interactions between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and ACE2, and identify compounds that block such interaction.

This study reports the finding that the commensal Streptococcus salivarius exacerbates allergic rhinitis.

This study reports that Acinetobacter baumannii establishes intracellular reservoirs in the bladder that can seed recurrent infections following catheterization.

This Genome Watch explores how metagenomics aids in profiling plant-derived microorganisms and molecules that could have an impact on the composition and function of the human gut microbiome.

Long COVID is an often debilitating illness of severe symptoms that can develop during or following COVID-19. In this Review, Davis, McCorkell, Vogel and Topol explore our knowledge of long COVID and highlight key findings, including potential mechanisms, the overlap with other conditions and potential treatments. They also discuss challenges and recommendations for long COVID research and care.

A better understanding of the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is essential to inform public health measures. In this Review, Puhach, Meyer and Eckerle explore insights into what influences SARS-CoV-2 shedding, how this drives transmission and the tools available to measure this and determine infectiousness.

In this Review, the authors summarize the mutations harboured by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern. They describe the impact of mutations on virus infectivity and transmissibility, and discuss SARS-CoV-2 evolution in the context of T cells, innate immunity and population immunity.

In this Review, Minkoff and tenOever examine the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 biology and innate immunity, and they explore how antagonism and dysregulation of host innate immune defences contribute to COVID-19 disease severity.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable impact on respiratory virus infections worldwide. In this Review, Chu and colleagues discuss the changes in community spread and consequent infections by respiratory viruses other than severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) throughout the course of the pandemic, and describe the impact on the evolution and genetic diversity of these viruses.