scholarly journals Development of “NEC-SD-LAMP,” a New Non-Electrified Infectious Diseases Testing Method

Author(s):  
Yusuke Kimura ◽  
Masashi Ikeuchi

Abstract Here, non-electric-control SalivaDirect loop-mediated isothermal amplification (NEC-SD-LAMP), which can detect infections by analyzing viral gene expression in saliva without electrical control systems, was developed. In this method, viral genes are purified from saliva using SalivaDirect, and gene expression is analyzed by loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) by adding water to the device, and the results can be visually confirmed. Melting palmitic acid maintains the optimal temperature for the LAMP reaction, as the temperature of palmitic acid is maintained at 62.9°C, its melting point. By taking advantage of the proximity of this melting point to the optimal temperature for LAMP, it is possible to perform LAMP without electricity. Using this method, adenovirus DNA was detected in saliva. Furthermore, the detection limit was 2 copies per µL, indicating that it is possible to detect viral infections in saliva even before the onset of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Viruses ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie Bernier ◽  
Selena Sagan

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. Through this activity, they are implicated in almost every cellular process investigated to date. Hence, it is not surprising that miRNAs play diverse roles in regulation of viral infections and antiviral responses. Diverse families of DNA and RNA viruses have been shown to take advantage of cellular miRNAs or produce virally encoded miRNAs that alter host or viral gene expression. MiRNA-mediated changes in gene expression have been demonstrated to modulate viral replication, antiviral immune responses, viral latency, and pathogenesis. Interestingly, viruses mediate both canonical and non-canonical interactions with miRNAs to downregulate specific targets or to promote viral genome stability, translation, and/or RNA accumulation. In this review, we focus on recent findings elucidating several key mechanisms employed by diverse virus families, with a focus on miRNAs at the host–virus interface during herpesvirus, polyomavirus, retroviruses, pestivirus, and hepacivirus infections.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5545
Author(s):  
Annika P. Schnell ◽  
Stephan Kohrt ◽  
Andrea K. Thoma-Kress

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1), the cause of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL), is a retrovirus, which integrates into the host genome and persistently infects CD4+ T-cells. Virus propagation is stimulated by (1) clonal expansion of infected cells and (2) de novo infection. Viral gene expression is induced by the transactivator protein Tax, which recruits host factors like positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) to the viral promoter. Since HTLV-1 gene expression is repressed in vivo by viral, cellular, and epigenetic mechanisms in late phases of infection, HTLV-1 avoids an efficient CD8+ cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) response directed against the immunodominant viral Tax antigen. Hence, therapeutic strategies using latency reversing agents (LRAs) sought to transiently activate viral gene expression and antigen presentation of Tax to enhance CTL responses towards HTLV-1, and thus, to expose the latent HTLV-1 reservoir to immune destruction. Here, we review strategies that aimed at enhancing Tax expression and Tax-specific CTL responses to interfere with HTLV-1 latency. Further, we provide an overview of LRAs including (1) histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) and (2) activators of P-TEFb, that have mainly been studied in context of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), but which may also be powerful in the context of HTLV-1.


Genetics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 155 (2) ◽  
pp. 601-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zsolt Tallóczy ◽  
Rebecca Mazar ◽  
Denise E Georgopoulos ◽  
Fausto Ramos ◽  
Michael J Leibowitz

Abstract The cytoplasmically inherited [KIL-d] element epigenetically regulates killer virus gene expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. [KIL-d] results in variegated defects in expression of the M double-stranded RNA viral segment in haploid cells that are “healed” in diploids. We report that the [KIL-d] element is spontaneously lost with a frequency of 10−4–10−5 and reappears with variegated phenotypic expression with a frequency of ≥10−3. This high rate of loss and higher rate of reappearance is unlike any known nucleic acid replicon but resembles the behavior of yeast prions. However, [KIL-d] is distinct from the known yeast prions in its relative guanidinium hydrochloride incurability and independence of Hsp104 protein for its maintenance. Despite its transmissibility by successive cytoplasmic transfers, multiple cytoplasmic nucleic acids have been proven not to carry the [KIL-d] trait. [KIL-d] epigenetically regulates the expression of the M double-stranded RNA satellite virus genome, but fails to alter the expression of M cDNA. This specificity remained even after a cycle of mating and meiosis. Due to its unique genetic properties and viral RNA specificity, [KIL-d] represents a new type of genetic element that interacts with a viral RNA genome.


2002 ◽  
Vol 76 (15) ◽  
pp. 7578-7586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bodil Øster ◽  
Per Höllsberg

ABSTRACT Herpesvirus gene expression is divided into immediate-early (IE) or α genes, early (E) or β genes, and late (L) or γ genes on the basis of temporal expression and dependency on other gene products. By using real-time PCR, we have investigated the expression of 35 human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) genes in T cells infected by strain PL-1. Kinetic analysis and dependency on de novo protein synthesis and viral DNA polymerase activity suggest that the HHV-6B genes segregate into six separate kinetic groups. The genes expressed early (groups I and II) and late (groups V and VI) corresponded well with IE and L genes, whereas the intermediate groups III and IV contained E and L genes. Although HHV-6B has characteristics similar to those of other roseoloviruses in its overall gene regulation, we detected three B-variant-specific IE genes. Moreover, genes that were independent of de novo protein synthesis clustered in an area of the viral genome that has the lowest identity to the HHV-6A variant. The organization of IE genes in an area of the genome that differs from that of HHV-6A underscores the distinct differences between HHV-6B and HHV-6A and may provide a basis for further molecular and immunological analyses to elucidate their different biological behaviors.


2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. e1002908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Marcinowski ◽  
Michael Lidschreiber ◽  
Lukas Windhager ◽  
Martina Rieder ◽  
Jens B. Bosse ◽  
...  

Retrovirology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (S2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahesh Bachu ◽  
Rajesh V Murali ◽  
Anil MHKH Babu ◽  
Venkat SRK Yedavalli ◽  
Kuan-Teh Jeang ◽  
...  

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