Search results for " DNA"
showing 5 items of 2475 documents
Single amino acid substitutions in the glycoprotein B carboxy terminus influence the fusion from without property of herpes simplex virus type 1.
1995
Syncytial mutations of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) strains ANG, ANG path, HFEM, tsB5 and HSZP cause extensive cell fusion and were mapped to the cytoplasmic domain of glycoprotein B (gB), within the syn 3 locus. These strains are so far the only ones which show the phenotype ‘fusion from without’ (FFWO): 60 min after infection with high m.o.i., cells in a tissue culture are fused without transcription and translation of the viral genome. In this report we detected, using the recombinants 27/III and K-7, that an amino acid exchange from Ala to Val at aa position 854 of gB is the main determinant for FFWO activity of strains ANG, ANG path and recombinant K-7. The transfer of this muta…
Pseudovirions as Specific Tools for Investigation of Virus Interactions With Cells
2004
This chapter outlines the generation and application of human papillomavirus type 33 (HPV33) pseudovirions. The method describes (1) the construction of vaccinia viruses recombinant for the major and minor HPV capsid proteins, L1 and L2, respectively; (2) the transfection of Cos7 cells with a marker plasmid replicating to high copy numbers; (3) the expression of L1 and L2 using the vaccinia virus expression system; (4) the extraction, purification, and analysis of HPV33 pseudovirions; and (5) their use in pseudoinfection assays. These pseudovirions are structurally indistinguishable from native virions and are therefore valuable tools for the study of papillomavirus-cell interactions. The m…
Characterization of the autoantigen La (SS-B) as a dsRNA unwinding enzyme
1997
During the analysis of the La (SS-B) autoantigen for catalytic activities an ATP-dependent double-stranded RNA unwinding activity was detected. Both native and recombinant La proteins from different species displayed this activity, which could be inhibited by monospecific anti-La antibodies. La protein was able to melt dsRNA substrates with either two 3'-overhangs or a single 3'- and a 5'-overhang. Double-stranded RNAs with two 5'-overhangs were not unwound, indicating that at least one 3'-overhang is required for unwinding. Sequence elements of the La protein that might be involved in dsRNA unwinding, such as an evolutionarily conserved putative ATP-binding motif and an element that is hom…
Conservation of the positions of metazoan introns from sponges to humans
2002
Abstract Sponges (phylum Porifera) are the phylogenetic oldest Metazoa still extant. They can be considered as reference animals (Urmetazoa) for the understanding of the evolutionary processes resulting in the creation of Metazoa in general and also for the metazoan gene organization in particular. In the marine sponge Suberites domuncula , genes encoding p38 and JNK kinases contain nine and twelve introns, respectively. Eight introns in both genes share the same positions and the identical phases. One p38 intron slipped for six bases and the JNK gene has three more introns. However, the sequences of the introns are not conserved and the introns in JNK gene are generally much longer. Intron…
Emergence and Disappearance of an Immune Molecule, an Antimicrobial Lectin, in Basal Metazoa
2003
Sponges (phylum Porifera) represent the evolutionarily oldest metazoans that comprise already a complex immune system and are related to the crown taxa of the protostomians and the deuterostomians. Here, we demonstrate the existence of a tachylectin-related protein in the demosponge Suberites domuncula, termed Suberites lectin. The MAPK pathway was activated in response to lipopolysaccharide treatment of the three-dimensional cell aggregates, the primmorphs; this process was abolished by the monosaccharide D-GlcNAc. The cDNA encoding the S. domuncula lectin was identified and cloned; it comprises 238 amino acids (26 kDa) in the open reading frame. The deduced protein has one potential trans…