scholarly journals MOV10 Helicase Interacts with Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Protein and Has Antiviral Activity

mBio ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Wang ◽  
Isabel Sola ◽  
Luis Enjuanes ◽  
Sonia Zuñiga
Keyword(s):  
Antiviral Activity ◽  
Nucleocapsid Protein ◽  
Emerging Pathogens ◽  
Host Interactions ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Host Pathways

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are emerging pathogens causing life-threatening diseases in humans. Knowledge of virus-host interactions and viral subversion mechanisms of host pathways is required for the development of effective countermeasures against CoVs.

scholarly journals New and emerging yeast pathogens.

1995 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 462-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
K C Hazen
Keyword(s):  
Systemic Disease ◽  
Venous Catheter ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Emerging Pathogens ◽  
Central Venous Catheter Removal ◽  
Hansenula Anomala ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Rhodotorula Species ◽  
Seriously Ill Patients ◽  
Trichosporon Beigelii

The most common yeast species that act as agents of human disease are Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida glabrata, Candida parapsilosis, and Cryptococcus neoformans. The incidence of infections by other yeasts has increased during the past decade. The most evident emerging pathogens are Malassezia furfur, Trichosporon beigelii, Rhodotorula species, Hansenula anomala, Candida lusitaniae, and Candida krusei. Organisms once considered environmental contaminants or only industrially important, such as Candida utilis and Candida lipolytica, have now been implicated as agents of fungemia, onychomycosis, and systemic disease. The unusual yeasts primarily infect immunocompromised patients, newborns, and the elderly. The role of central venous catheter removal and antifungal therapy in patient management is controversial. The antibiograms of the unusual yeasts range from resistant to the most recent azoles and amphotericin B to highly susceptible to all antifungal agents. Current routine methods for yeast identification may be insufficient to identify the unusual yeasts within 2 days after isolation. The recognition of unusual yeasts as agents of sometimes life-threatening infection and their unpredictable antifungal susceptibilities increase the burden on the clinical mycology laboratory to pursue complete species identification and MIC determinations. Given the current and evolving medical practices for management of seriously ill patients, further evaluations of the clinically important data about these yeasts are needed.

scholarly journals The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) nucleocapsid protein zinc ejection activity of disulfide benzamides and benzisothiazolones: correlation with anti-HIV and virucidal activities.

1997 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 394-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
P J Tummino ◽  
P J Harvey ◽  
T McQuade ◽  
J Domagala ◽  
R Gogliotti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Antiviral Activity ◽  
Nucleocapsid Protein ◽  
Nitrobenzoic Acid ◽  
Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Kinetic Rates ◽  
Thiol Reagent ◽  
Relative Kinetic

It has been shown previously by our group and others that a series of four disulfide benzamides with cellular anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) activity can eject zinc from HIV type 1 nucleocapsid protein (NCp7) in vitro while analogs without antiviral activity do not. We also found that the zinc ejection activity correlates with the loss of the ability of NCp7 to bind to HIV psi RNA in vitro. These observations indicate that the antiviral disulfide benzamides may act at a novel retroviral target of action, i.e., the nucleocapsid protein. The present studies examine the relationship among disulfide benzamide structure, in vitro NCp7 zinc ejection activity, and antiviral activity for a larger series of compounds. All of the antiviral disulfide benzamides were found to eject NCp7 zinc, while some disulfide benzamides with zinc ejection activity are not antiviral. Utilizing the thiol reagent 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid), it was determined that the o-amido-phenyl disulfides being studied cyclize in aqueous solution to form benzisothiazolones. A series of benzisothiazolones, which are stable in solution in the absence of dithiothreitol, were found to eject NCp7 zinc at a rate similar to that of their disulfide benzamide analogs and to possess similar antiviral activity. It was also found that the relative rates of HIV inactivation by various disulfide benzamides and benzisothiazolones correlate with their relative kinetic rates of NCp7 zinc ejection, which is consistent with the nucleocapsid protein being the target of action of these compounds.

scholarly journals Scrutinizing Coronaviruses Using Publicly Available Bioinformatic Tools: The Viral Structural Proteins as a Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Beeckmans ◽  
Edilbert Van Driessche
Keyword(s):  
Structural Biology ◽  
Nucleocapsid Protein ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Protein S ◽  
Structural Proteins ◽  
Molecular Graphics ◽  
Bioinformatic Tools ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Lung Infections

Since early 2020, the world suffers from a new beta-coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2, that has devastating effects globally due to its associated disease, Covid-19. Until today, Covid-19, which not only causes life-threatening lung infections but also impairs various other organs and tissues, has killed hundreds of thousands of people and caused irreparable damage to many others. Since the very onset of the pandemic, huge efforts were made worldwide to fully understand this virus and numerous studies were, and still are, published. Many of these deal with structural analyses of the viral spike glycoprotein and with vaccine development, antibodies and antiviral molecules or immunomodulators that are assumed to become essential tools in the struggle against the virus. This paper summarizes knowledge on the properties of the four structural proteins (spike protein S, membrane protein M, envelope protein E and nucleocapsid protein N) of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its relatives, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, that emerged few years earlier. Moreover, attention is paid to ways to analyze such proteins using freely available bioinformatic tools and, more importantly, to bring these proteins alive by looking at them on a computer/laptop screen with the easy-to-use but highly performant and interactive molecular graphics program DeepView. It is hoped that this paper will stimulate non-bioinformaticians and non-specialists in structural biology to scrutinize these and other macromolecules and as such will contribute to establishing procedures to fight these and maybe other forthcoming viruses.

scholarly journals Microbiological Spectrum of Brain Abscess at a Tertiary Care Hospital in South India: 24-Year Data and Review

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Lakshmi ◽  
P. Umabala ◽  
K. Anuradha ◽  
K. Padmaja ◽  
C. Padmasree ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Abscess ◽  
South India ◽  
Tertiary Care Hospital ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Salmonella Typhi ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Emerging Pathogens ◽  
Diagnostic Challenge ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Brain Abscesses

Intracranial abscesses are life-threatening infections that pose a diagnostic challenge not only to the neurosurgeon but also to the microbiologists. Detailed studies documenting the spectrum of infecting agents involved in brain abscesses are limited from India. Materials and Methods. This is a retrospective analysis of 352 samples from 1987 to 2010 analyzed at a tertiary care hospital in South India from 1987 to 2010, to document the changing trends with time. Results. The age of the patients ranged from 2 to 80 years, a larger number of males being affected. Otogenic infections were the most common cause while cryptogenic abscesses were 20%. Gram stain and culture positivity were 78% each. Gram-positive and negative facultative aerobes and obligate anaerobes were also on the rise. Unusual organisms, like Burkholderia pseudomallei, Salmonella typhi, Nocardia species, Cladosporium bantiana, Fonsecaea pedrosoi, Entamoeba histolytica, and Acanthamoeba were also isolated and/or detected from the brain abscesses aspirate or resected tissue. Summary. New and emerging pathogens associated with brain abscess, especially in immunosuppressed individuals, have renewed the necessity of an early detection, and it will be of great value in appropriate management of patients with brain abscess.

scholarly journals A mimic of HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein impairs reverse transcription and displays antiviral activity

1999 ◽  
Vol 96 (9) ◽  
pp. 4886-4891 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Druillennec ◽  
C. Z. Dong ◽  
S. Escaich ◽  
N. Gresh ◽  
A. Bousseau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antiviral Activity ◽  
Reverse Transcription ◽  
Nucleocapsid Protein ◽  
Hiv 1

scholarly journals In vitro infection models to study fungal-host interactions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonia Last ◽  
Michelle Maurer ◽  
Alexander S Mosig ◽  
Mark S Gresnigt ◽  
Bernhard Hube
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Infections ◽  
In Vitro Models ◽  
Fungal Host ◽  
Host Interactions ◽  
Mucosal Surfaces ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
On Chip ◽  
Fungal Interactions

Abstract Fungal infections (mycoses) affect over a billion people per year. Approximately two million of these infections are life-threatening, especially for patients with a compromised immune system. Fungi of the genera Aspergillus, Candida, Histoplasma, and Cryptococcus are opportunistic pathogens that contribute to a substantial number of mycoses. To optimize the diagnosis and treatment of mycoses, we need to understand the complex fungal-host interplay during pathogenesis, the fungal attributes causing virulence, and how the host resists infection via immunological defenses. In vitro models can be used to mimic fungal infections of various tissues and organs and the corresponding immune responses at near-physiological conditions. Furthermore, models can include fungal interactions with the host-microbiota to mimic the in vivo situation on skin and mucosal surfaces. This article reviews currently used in vitro models of fungal infections ranging from cell monolayers to microfluidic 3D organ-on-chip (OOC) platforms. We also discuss how OOC models can expand the toolbox for investigating interactions of fungi and their human hosts in the future.

scholarly journals Candida albicans Sfp1 Is Involved in the Cell Wall and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Responses Induced by Human Antimicrobial Peptide LL-37

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (19) ◽  
pp. 10633
Author(s):  
Chun-Min Hsu ◽  
Yi-Ling Liao ◽  
Che-Kang Chang ◽  
Chung-Yu Lan
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Wall Stress ◽  
Cell Wall Integrity ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Host Interactions ◽  
Life Threatening

Candida albicans is a commensal fungus of humans but can cause infections, particularly in immunocompromised individuals, ranging from superficial to life-threatening systemic infections. The cell wall is the outermost layer of C. albicans that interacts with the host environment. Moreover, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are important components in innate immunity and play crucial roles in host defense. Our previous studies showed that the human AMP LL-37 binds to the cell wall of C. albicans, alters the cell wall integrity (CWI) and affects cell adhesion of this pathogen. In this study, we aimed to further investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the C. albicans response to LL-37. We found that LL-37 causes cell wall stress, activates unfolded protein response (UPR) signaling related to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), induces ER-derived reactive oxygen species and affects protein secretion. Interestingly, the deletion of the SFP1 gene encoding a transcription factor reduced C. albicans susceptibility to LL-37, which is cell wall-associated. Moreover, in the presence of LL-37, deletion of SFP1 attenuated the UPR pathway, upregulated oxidative stress responsive (OSR) genes and affected bovine serum albumin (BSA) degradation by secreted proteases. Therefore, these findings suggested that Sfp1 positively regulates cell wall integrity and ER homeostasis upon treatment with LL-37 and shed light on pathogen-host interactions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document