scholarly journals A Tick-Borne Langat Virus Mutant That Is Temperature Sensitive and Host Range Restricted in Neuroblastoma Cells and Lacks Neuroinvasiveness for Immunodeficient Mice

2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 1427-1439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander A. Rumyantsev ◽  
Brian R. Murphy ◽  
Alexander G. Pletnev
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Genetics ◽  
Neuroblastoma Cells ◽  
Scid Mice ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Permissive Temperature ◽  
Structural Protein ◽  
Human Neuroblastoma ◽  
Immunodeficient Mice ◽  
Langat Virus

ABSTRACT Langat virus (LGT), the naturally attenuated member of the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) complex, was tested extensively in clinical trials as a live TBEV vaccine and was found to induce a protective, durable immune response; however, it retained a low residual neuroinvasiveness in mice and humans. In order to ablate or reduce this property, LGT mutants that produced a small plaque size or temperature-sensitive (ts) phenotype in Vero cells were generated using 5-fluorouracil. One of these ts mutants, clone E5-104, exhibited a more than 103-fold reduction in replication at the permissive temperature in both mouse and human neuroblastoma cells and lacked detectable neuroinvasiveness for highly sensitive immunodeficient mice. The E5-104 mutant possessed five amino acid substitutions in the structural protein E and one change in each of the nonstructural proteins NS3 and NS5. Using reverse genetics, we demonstrated that a Lys46→Glu substitution in NS3 as well as a single Lys315→Glu change in E significantly impaired the growth of LGT in neuroblastoma cells and reduced its peripheral neurovirulence for SCID mice. This study and our previous experience with chimeric flaviviruses indicated that a decrease in viral replication in neuroblastoma cells might serve as a predictor of in vivo attenuation of the neurotropic flaviviruses. The combination of seven mutations identified in the nonneuroinvasive E5-104 mutant provided a useful foundation for further development of a live attenuated TBEV vaccine. An evaluation of the complete sequence of virus recovered from brain of SCID mice inoculated with LGT mutants identified sites in the LGT genome that promoted neurovirulence/neuroinvasiveness.

Phenotype–genotype relationships in peroxisome biogenesis disorders of PEX1-defective complementation group 1 are defined by Pex1p–Pex6p interaction

2001 ◽  
Vol 357 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigehiko TAMURA ◽  
Naomi MATSUMOTO ◽  
Atsushi IMAMURA ◽  
Nobuyuki SHIMOZAWA ◽  
Yasuyuki SUZUKI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Zellweger Syndrome ◽  
Complementation Group ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Permissive Temperature ◽  
Peroxisome Biogenesis ◽  
Causative Gene ◽  
Aaa Atpase ◽  
Peroxisome Biogenesis Disorders ◽  
The Stability

The peroxisome biogenesis disorders (PBDs), including Zellweger syndrome (ZS), neonatal adrenoleucodystrophy (NALD) and infantile Refsum disease (IRD), are fatal autosomal recessive diseases caused by impaired peroxisome biogenesis, of which 12 genotypes have been reported. ZS patients manifest the severest clinical and biochemical abnormalities, whereas those with NALD and IRD show less severity and the mildest features respectively. We have reported previously that temperature-sensitive peroxisome assembly is responsible for the mildness of the clinical features of IRD. PEX1 is the causative gene for PBDs of complementation group E (CG-E, CG1 in the U.S.A. and Europe), the PBDs of highest incidence, encoding the peroxin Pex1p of the AAA ATPase family. It has been also reported that Pex1p and Pex6p interact with each other. In the present study we investigated phenotype–genotype relationships of CG1 PBDs. Pex1p from IRD such as Pex1p with the most frequently identified mutation at G843D was largely degraded in vivo at 37°C, whereas a normal level of Pex1p was detectable at the permissive temperature. In contrast, PEX1 proteins derived from ZS patients, including proteins with a mutation at L664P or the deletion of residues 634–690, were stably present at both temperatures. Pex1p-G843D interacted with Pex6p at approx. 50% of the level of normal Pex1p, whereas Pex1p from ZS patients mostly showing non-temperature-sensitive peroxisome biogenesis hardly bound to Pex6p. Taking these results together, we consider it most likely that the stability of Pex1p reflects temperature-sensitive peroxisome assembly in IRD fibroblasts. Failure in Pex1p–Pex6p interaction gives rise to more severe abnormalities, such as those manifested by patients with ZS.

scholarly journals A Novel Approach To Display Structural Proteins of Hepatitis C Virus Quasispecies in Patients Reveals a Key Role of E2 HVR1 in Viral Evolution

2020 ◽  
Vol 94 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yimin Tong ◽  
Qingchao Li ◽  
Rui Li ◽  
Yongfen Xu ◽  
Yu Pan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Genetics ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Viral Evolution ◽  
Hcv Infection ◽  
Clinical Isolates ◽  
Structural Proteins ◽  
Structural Protein ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Viral Structural Proteins

ABSTRACT Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains a major worldwide health problem despite development of highly effective direct-acting antivirals. HCV rapidly evolves upon acute infection and generates multiple viral variants (quasispecies), leading to immune evasion and persistent viral infection. Identification of epitopes of broadly neutralizing anti-HCV antibodies (nAbs) is critical to guide HCV vaccine development. In this study, we developed a new reverse genetics system for HCV infection based on trans-complementation of viral structural proteins. The HCV genome (JFH1 strain) lacking the structural protein-coding sequence can be efficiently rescued by ectopic expression of core-E1-E2-p7-NS2 (core-NS2) or core-E1-E2-p7 (core-p7) in trans, leading to production of single-round infectious virions designated HCVΔS. JFH1-based HCVΔS can be also rescued by expressing core-NS2 of other HCV genotypes, rendering it an efficient tool to display the structural proteins of HCV strains of interests. Furthermore, we successfully rescued HCVΔS with structural proteins from clinical isolates. Multiple viral structural proteins with different sensitivities to nAbs were identified from a same patient serum, demonstrating the genetic diversity of HCV quasispecies in vivo. Interestingly, the structural protein-coding sequences of highly divergent viral quasispecies from the same patient can be clustered based on their hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) in viral envelope protein E2, which critically dictates the sensitivity to neutralizing antibodies. In summary, we developed a novel reverse genetics system that efficiently displays viral structural proteins from HCV clinical isolates, and analysis of quasispecies from the same patient using this system demonstrated that E2 HVR1 is the major determinant of viral evolution in vivo. IMPORTANCE A cell culture model that can recapitulate the diversity of HCV quasispecies in patients is important for analysis of neutralizing epitopes and HCV vaccine development. In this study, we developed a new reverse genetics system for HCV infection based on trans-complementation of viral structural proteins (HCVΔS). This system can be used to display structural proteins of HCV strains of multiple genotypes as well as clinical isolates. By using this system, we showed that multiple different HCV structural proteins from a same patient were displayed on HCVΔS. Interestingly, these variant structural proteins within the same patient can be classified according to the sequence of HVR1in E2, which dictates viral sensitivity to nAbs and viral evolution in vivo. Our work provided a new tool to study highly divergent HCV quasispecies and shed light on underlying mechanisms driving HCV evolution.

scholarly journals In vivo activities of ceftriaxone and vancomycin against Borrelia spp. in the mouse brain and other sites.

1996 ◽  
Vol 40 (11) ◽  
pp. 2632-2636 ◽  
Author(s):  
R J Kazragis ◽  
L L Dever ◽  
J H Jorgensen ◽  
A G Barbour
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Lyme Disease ◽  
Positive Control ◽  
Negative Control ◽  
Scid Mice ◽  
Immunodeficient Mice ◽  
Infected Adult ◽  
The Brain

Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, and B. turicatae, a neurotropic agent of relapsing fever, are susceptible to vancomycin in vitro, with an MIC of 0.5 microgram/ml. To determine the activity of vancomycin in vivo, particularly in the brain, we infected adult immunocompetent BALB/c and immunodeficient CB-17 scid mice with B. burgdorferi or B. turicatae. The mice were then treated with vancomycin, ceftriaxone as a positive control, or normal saline as a negative control. The effectiveness of treatment was assessed by cultures of blood and brain and other tissues. Ceftriaxone at a dose of 25 mg/kg of body weight administered every 12 h for 7 to 10 days eliminated cultivable B. burgdorferi or B. turicatae from all BALB/c or scid mice in the study. Vancomycin at 30 mg/kg administered every 12 h was effective in eliminating infection from immunodeficient mice if treatment was started within 3 days of the onset of infection. If treatment with vancomycin was delayed for 7 days or more, vancomycin failed to eradicate infection with B. burgdorferi or B. turicatae from immunodeficient mice. The failure of vancomycin in eradicating established infections in immunodeficient mice was associated with the persistence of viable spirochetes in the brain during antibiotic treatment.

scholarly journals Trapping of a Spiral-Like Intermediate of the Bacterial Cytokinetic Protein FtsZ

2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (5) ◽  
pp. 1680-1690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine A. Michie ◽  
Leigh G. Monahan ◽  
Peter L. Beech ◽  
Elizabeth J. Harry
Keyword(s):  
Ring Formation ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Permissive Temperature ◽  
Nonpermissive Temperature ◽  
Bacterial Cell Division ◽  
Temporal Regulation ◽  
Division Site ◽  
Spiral Form ◽  
Z Ring

ABSTRACT The earliest stage in bacterial cell division is the formation of a ring, composed of the tubulin-like protein FtsZ, at the division site. Tight spatial and temporal regulation of Z-ring formation is required to ensure that division occurs precisely at midcell between two replicated chromosomes. However, the mechanism of Z-ring formation and its regulation in vivo remain unresolved. Here we identify the defect of an interesting temperature-sensitive ftsZ mutant (ts1) of Bacillus subtilis. At the nonpermissive temperature, the mutant protein, FtsZ(Ts1), assembles into spiral-like structures between chromosomes. When shifted back down to the permissive temperature, functional Z rings form and division resumes. Our observations support a model in which Z-ring formation at the division site arises from reorganization of a long cytoskeletal spiral form of FtsZ and suggest that the FtsZ(Ts1) protein is captured as a shorter spiral-forming intermediate that is unable to complete this reorganization step. The ts1 mutant is likely to be very valuable in revealing how FtsZ assembles into a ring and how this occurs precisely at the division site.

scholarly journals Yeast 18S rRNA Dimethylase Dim1p: a Quality Control Mechanism in Ribosome Synthesis?

1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 2360-2370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis L. J. Lafontaine ◽  
Thomas Preiss ◽  
David Tollervey
Keyword(s):  
18S Rrna ◽  
Small Subunit ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Permissive Temperature ◽  
Rrna Processing ◽  
Small Subunit Rrna ◽  
Enzymatic Function ◽  
Processing Steps

ABSTRACT One of the few rRNA modifications conserved between bacteria and eukaryotes is the base dimethylation present at the 3′ end of the small subunit rRNA. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, this modification is carried out by Dim1p. We previously reported that genetic depletion of Dim1p not only blocked this modification but also strongly inhibited the pre-rRNA processing steps that lead to the synthesis of 18S rRNA. This prevented the formation of mature but unmodified 18S rRNA. The processing steps inhibited were nucleolar, and consistent with this, Dim1p was shown to localize mostly to this cellular compartment. dim1-2 was isolated from a library of conditionally lethal alleles of DIM1. In dim1-2strains, pre-rRNA processing was not affected at the permissive temperature for growth, but dimethylation was blocked, leading to strong accumulation of nondimethylated 18S rRNA. This demonstrates that the enzymatic function of Dim1p in dimethylation can be separated from its involvement in pre-rRNA processing. The growth rate ofdim1-2 strains was not affected, showing the dimethylation to be dispensable in vivo. Extracts of dim1-2 strains, however, were incompetent for translation in vitro. This suggests that dimethylation is required under the suboptimal in vitro conditions but only fine-tunes ribosomal function in vivo. Unexpectedly, when transcription of pre-rRNA was driven by a polymerase II PGKpromoter, its processing became insensitive to temperature-sensitive mutations in DIM1 or to depletion of Dim1p. This observation, which demonstrates that Dim1p is not directly required for pre-rRNA processing reactions, is consistent with the inhibition of pre-rRNA processing by an active repression system in the absence of Dim1p.

scholarly journals A natural product inhibits the initiation of α-synuclein aggregation and suppresses its toxicity

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (6) ◽  
pp. E1009-E1017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Perni ◽  
Céline Galvagnion ◽  
Alexander Maltsev ◽  
Georg Meisl ◽  
Martin B. D. Müller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Natural Product ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Lipid Membranes ◽  
Neuroblastoma Cells ◽  
Lipid Vesicles ◽  
Human Neuroblastoma

The self-assembly of α-synuclein is closely associated with Parkinson’s disease and related syndromes. We show that squalamine, a natural product with known anticancer and antiviral activity, dramatically affects α-synuclein aggregation in vitro and in vivo. We elucidate the mechanism of action of squalamine by investigating its interaction with lipid vesicles, which are known to stimulate nucleation, and find that this compound displaces α-synuclein from the surfaces of such vesicles, thereby blocking the first steps in its aggregation process. We also show that squalamine almost completely suppresses the toxicity of α-synuclein oligomers in human neuroblastoma cells by inhibiting their interactions with lipid membranes. We further examine the effects of squalamine in a Caenorhabditis elegans strain overexpressing α-synuclein, observing a dramatic reduction of α-synuclein aggregation and an almost complete elimination of muscle paralysis. These findings suggest that squalamine could be a means of therapeutic intervention in Parkinson’s disease and related conditions.

scholarly journals Neuroinductive properties of mGDNF depend on the producer, E. Coli or human cells

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. e0258289
Author(s):  
Dzhirgala V. Shamadykova ◽  
Dmitry Y. Panteleev ◽  
Nadezhda N. Kust ◽  
Ekaterina A. Savchenko ◽  
Ekaterina Y. Rybalkina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Neuroblastoma Cells ◽  
Human Cells ◽  
Hek293 Cells ◽  
Human Neuroblastoma ◽  
Mammalian Expression

The glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is involved in the survival of dopaminergic neurons. Besides, GDNF can also induce axonal growth and creation of new functional synapses. GDNF potential is promising for translation to treat diseases associated with neuronal death: neurodegenerative disorders, ischemic stroke, and cerebral or spinal cord damages. Unproductive clinical trials of GDNF for Parkinson’s disease treatment have induced to study this failure. A reason could be due to irrelevant producer cells that cannot perform the required post-translational modifications. The biological activity of recombinant mGDNF produced by E. coli have been compared with mGDNF produced by human cells HEK293. mGDNF variants were tested with PC12 cells, rat embryonic spinal ganglion cells, and SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells in vitro as well as with a mouse model of the Parkinson’s disease in vivo. Both in vitro and in vivo the best neuro-inductive ability belongs to mGDNF produced by HEK293 cells. Keywords: GDNF, neural differentiation, bacterial and mammalian expression systems, cell cultures, model of Parkinson’s disease.

scholarly journals A Conditionally Immortalized Human Podocyte Cell Line Demonstrating Nephrin and Podocin Expression

2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 630-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moin A. Saleem ◽  
Michael J. O’Hare ◽  
Jochen Reiser ◽  
Richard J. Coward ◽  
Carol D. Inward ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Line ◽  
Kinase Inhibitors ◽  
Growth Arrest ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Permissive Temperature ◽  
Cell Cycle Protein ◽  
Filtration Barrier ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Podocyte Proteins

ABSTRACT. Recent molecular insights have established the podocyte as a key component of the glomerular filtration barrier, and hence an important common pathway in proteinuric diseases. A conditionally immortalized human podocyte cell line has been developed by transfection with the temperature-sensitive SV40-T gene. These cells proliferate at the “permissive” temperature (33°C). After transfer to the “nonpermissive” temperature (37°C), they entered growth arrest and expressed markers of differentiated in vivo podocytes, including the novel podocyte proteins, nephrin, podocin, CD2AP, and synaptopodin, and known molecules of the slit diaphragm ZO-1, α-, β-, and γ-catenin and P-cadherin. The differentiation was accompanied by a growth arrest and the upregulation of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, p27 and p57, as well as cyclin D1, whereas cyclin A was downregulated. These data are consistent with cell cycle protein expression during podocyte maturation in vivo. In conclusion, the development of this cell line provides a new tool in the study of podocyte biology, which will enable accurate assessment of the behavior of these complex cells in health and disease.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document