Search results for "viruses"
showing 10 items of 1182 documents
Pegylated interferon α plus ribavirin for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C: A multicentre independent study supported by the Italian Drug Agency
2014
a b s t r a c t Background: Data on the efficacy of Peg-interferon/ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C are mostly derived from treatment of selected patients enrolled in clinical trials. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of Peg-interferon/ribavirin therapy in “real world” chronic hepatitis C patients in Italy. Methods: Independent observational multicentre study including consecutive patients receiving Peginterferon/ribavirin in the 18 months before (retrospective phase) and after (prospective phase) the start of the study. Results: 4176 patients were eligible. The final study population consisted of 2051 patients in the retrospective and 2073 in the prospective phase. Sust…
Evolution of oncolytic viruses.
2015
Owing to their replicative capacity, oncolytic viruses (OVs) can evolve under the action of natural selection. Reversion to virulence and recombination with wild-type strains may compromise OV safety, therefore requiring evolutionary risk assessment studies. On the other hand, evolution can be directed in the laboratory to create more potent and safer OVs. Previous work in the experimental evolution field provides a background for OV directed evolution, and has identified interesting exploitable features. While genetic engineering has greatly advanced the field of oncolytic virotherapy, this approach is sometimes curtailed by the complexity and diversity of virus-host interactions. Directed…
Establishment of an HIV cell-cell fusion assay by using two genetically modified HeLa cell lines and reporter gene.
2003
Infection of human cells with the human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1) can be mimicked by a fusion process between cells expressing the HIV envelope protein (Env) and cells expressing both human CD4 together with the appropriate human chemokine receptors. In this study, a T-tropic HIV cell-cell fusion assay was established that utilized CD4, human CXCR4 and HIV NL4-3 gp160 as fusion components and a T7 polymerase-activated luciferase as a reporter system. The HeLa T4 cells used, expressed CD4 and CXCR4, and the applied HeLa KS386 cells expressed HIV NL4-3 gp160. By combining HeLa T4 cells with HeLa KS386 cells, an approximately about 100- to 300-fold increase in luciferase activity c…
Improving baculovirus transduction of mammalian cells by surface display of a RGD-motif
2006
An RGD-containing peptide, comprising 23 amino acids from the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) VP1 protein was engineered into the envelope of Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus surface (AcNPV) using two different display strategies. The RGD-motif is a well-described tripeptide, that by binding to cell surface integrins facilitates virus entry into cells. This epitope was displayed, either by directly modifying the native major envelope protein gp64 of AcNPV, or by incorporating a second, modified version of gp64 onto the virus surface. Transduction efficiencies of four mammalian cell lines were compared by detecting the expression of the reporter gene green fluorescent pr…
Inhibition of expression of natural UAG suppressor glutamine tRNA in HIV-infected human H9 cells in vitro by Avarol.
1988
HTLV-IIIB-infected H9 cells are shown to contain a high level of the natural UAG suppressor glutamine tRNA(UmUG Gln); this tRNA has been demonstrated to be required for the synthesis of Moloney murine leukemia virus (Mo-MuLV)-encoded protease. After cultivation of HTLV-IIIB-infected H9 cells with Avarol at a concentration (1 microgram/ml), previously found to protect the cells against the cytopathic effects of HTLV-III, an almost complete inhibition of the synthesis of the tRNA(UmUG Gln) was observed. Moreover, we obtained some evidence that the processing of the HTLV-III precursor protein p53 to p24 is inhibited by Avarol in infected cells, suggesting that the compound interferes with the …
Efficient gene delivery to photoreceptors using AAV2/rh10 and rescue of the Rho–/– mouse
2015
As gene therapies for various forms of retinal degeneration progress toward human clinical trial, it will be essential to have a repertoire of safe and efficient vectors for gene delivery to the target cells. Recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) serotype 2/2 has been shown to be well tolerated in the human retina and has provided efficacy in human patients for some inherited retinal degenerations. In this study, the AAV2/8 and AAV2/rh10 serotypes have been compared as a means of gene delivery to mammalian photoreceptor cells using a photoreceptor specific promoter for transgene expression. Both AAV2/8 and AAV2/rh10 provided rescue of the retinal degeneration present in the rhodopsin kno…
Relationships of gag-pol diversity between Ty3/Gypsy and Retroviridae LTR retroelements and the three kings hypothesis
2008
Abstract Background The origin of vertebrate retroviruses (Retroviridae) is yet to be thoroughly investigated, but due to their similarity and identical gag-pol (and env) genome structure, it is accepted that they evolve from Ty3/Gypsy LTR retroelements the retrotransposons and retroviruses of plants, fungi and animals. These 2 groups of LTR retroelements code for 3 proteins rarely studied due to the high variability – gag polyprotein, protease and GPY/F module. In relation to 3 previously proposed Retroviridae classes I, II and II, investigation of the above proteins conclusively uncovers important insights regarding the ancient history of Ty3/Gypsy and Retroviridae LTR retroelements. Resu…
Gypsy endogenous retrovirus maintains potential infectivity in several species of Drosophilids.
2008
Abstract Background Sequences homologous to the gypsy retroelement from Drosophila melanogaster are widely distributed among drosophilids. The structure of gypsy includes an open reading frame resembling the retroviral gene env, which is responsible for the infectious properties of retroviruses. Results In this study we report molecular and phylogeny analysis of the complete env gene from ten species of the obscura group of the genus Drosophila and one species from the genus Scaptomyza. Conclusion The results indicate that in most cases env sequences could produce a functional Env protein and therefore maintain the infectious capability of gypsy in these species.
Serological evidence for Borna disease virus infection in humans, wild rodents and other vertebrates in Finland
2005
Abstract Background Borna disease virus (BDV) can infect many vertebrate species, including humans. BDV infection may lead to meningoencephalomyelitis in animals. An association with human neuropsychiatric diseases has been reported, but the causal relationship between BDV and human disease remains unclear. Objectives and study design To find out whether BDV is present in Finland and to look for a potential reservoir, we examined a large panel of blood samples from different vertebrate species with immunofluorescence assay. Samples from horses, cats, dogs, sheep, cattle, large predators, grouse, wild rodents and humans were included. Most positive results were confirmed by other specific me…
Rapid, reproducible transduction of select forebrain regions by targeted recombinant virus injection into the neonatal mouse brain
2009
Viral vectors can mediate long-term gene expression in different regions of the brain. Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) and Lenti virus (LV) have both gained prominence due to their ability to achieve specific transduction of various neuronal populations. Whilst widespread gene delivery has been obtained by targeted injection of rAAV in various brain structures, LV has also been utilized for infection of stem cell populations for cell lineage tracing. Both viral vector systems are most commonly used for gene delivery in mature brains, but the great potential of somatic gene delivery into the neonate brain has not been systematically exploited. Here we provide a systematic guideline…