A novel virus-encoded nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein: the UL3 protein of herpes simplex virus type 1

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) UL3 protein is a nuclear protein. In this study, the molecular mechanism of the subcellular localization of UL3 was characterized by fluorescence microscopy in living cells. A nuclear localization signal (NLS) and a nuclear export signal (NES) were also identified. UL3 was demonstrated to target to the cytoplasm through the NES via chromosomal region maintenance 1 (CRM-1) dependent pathway, and to the nucleus through RanGTP-dependent mechanism. Heterokaryon assays confirmed that UL3 was capable of shuttling between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. These results demonstrate that the UL3 protein is a novel HSV-1 encoded nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein.     

Nuclear body formation and PML body remodeling by the human cytomegalovirus protein UL35

The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) UL35 gene encodes two proteins, UL35 and UL35a. Expression of UL35 in transfected cells results in the formation of UL35 nuclear bodies that associate with promyelocytic leukemia (PML) protein. PML forms the basis for PML nuclear bodies that are important for suppressing viral lytic gene expression. Given the important relationship between PML and viral infection, we have further investigated the association of UL35 with PML bodies. We demonstrate that UL35 bodies form independently of PML and subsequently recruit PML, Sp100 and Daxx. In contrast, UL35a did not form bodies; however, it could bind UL35 and inhibit the formation of UL35 bodies. The HCMV tegument protein pp71 promoted the formation of UL35 bodies and the cytoplasmic localization of UL35a. Similarly, UL35a shifted pp71 to the cytoplasm. These results indicate that the interplay between UL35, UL35a and pp71 affects their subcellular localization and likely their functions throughout infection.     

Mechanical ventilation in ARDS: a state-of-the-art review

Mechanical ventilation is an essential component of the care of patients with ARDS, and a large number of randomized controlled clinical trials have now been conducted evaluating the efficacy and safety of various methods of mechanical ventilation for the treatment of ARDS. Low tidal volume ventilation (相似文献   

Efficient inhibition of human cytomegalovirus UL122 gene expression in cell by small interfering RNAs

In order to develop a gene therapy to human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), RNA interference (RNAi) was employed to inhibit the expression of HCMV UL122 gene in vitro. Recombinant vector pUL122‐EGFP, which expressed UL122‐EGFP fusion protein, and recombinant vectors psi122‐1, psi122‐2 and psi122‐3, which expressed small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeted to UL122 were contransfected into AD293 cells. The fluorescence signal of pUL122‐EGFP was greatly suppressed by psi122‐1 and psi122‐2, with an inhibitory rate of 82.0% ± 1.0% and 79.5% ± 2.5%, respectively. The mRNA of pUL122‐EGFP of the cells transfected with psi122‐1 and psi122‐2 was decreased 97.3% ± 0.6% and 98.0% ± 0.1%, respectively. Vector psi122‐3 showed a slightly low suppression rate. Therefore, it may be concluded that plasmids encoding siRNAs targeted to UL122 is able to in vitro reduce markedly the expression of UL122‐EGFP. And it is very likely that the psi122‐1 and psi122‐2 are potentially efficacious siRNAs in the gene therapy of HCMV infection in vivo, in which further investigations are required. This study is expected to greatly facilitate the use of the RNAi technology for the anti‐HCMV studies. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

人巨细胞病毒UL143基因在临床低传代分离株中的多态性研究

目的 探讨人巨细胞病毒(human eytomegalovirus,HCMV)UL143序列在临床患儿低传代分离株中的多态性及其与临床疾病的关系.方法 对19株HCMV临床低传代分离株进行HCMV-UL143 PCR扩增分析及伞序列测定分析.结果 19株HCMV感染患儿临床分离株均因碱基插入造成移码突变,开放阅读框架(ORF)比Toledo株短.根据序列变异情况可将19个序列分为2组,第1组16个序列新增一个MYRISTYL位点;缺失2个PKC磷酸化位点.未发现黄疸、小头畸形、先天性巨结肠等不同疾病类型的序列之间的差异.结论 HCMV-UL143较多存在于临床低传代分离株中,序列呈现一定多态性.     

Analysis of synonymous codon usage in the UL24 gene of duck enteritis virus

The analysis on codon usage bias of UL24 gene of duck enteritis virus (DEV) may improve our understanding of the evolution and pathogenesis of DEV and provide a basis for understanding the relevant mechanism for biased usage of synonymous codons and for selecting appropriate expression systems to improve the expression of target genes. The codon usage bias of UL24 genes of DEV and 27 reference herpesviruses were analyzed. The results showed that codon of UL24 gene of DEV was strong bias toward the synonymous codons with A and T at the third codon position. A high level of diversity in codon usage bias existed, and the effective number of codons used in a gene plot revealed that the genetic heterogeneity in UL24 gene of herpesviruses was constrained by the G + C content. The phylogentic analysis suggested that DEV was evolutionarily closer to Alphaherpesvirinae and that there was no significant deviation in codon usage in different virus strains. There were 20 codons showing distinct usage differences between DEV and Escherichia coli, 23 between DEV and Homo sapiens, but only 16 codons between DEV and yeast. Therefore the yeast expression system may be more suitable for the expression of DEV genes. Renyong Jia, Anchun Cheng, Mingshu Wang, and Hongyi Xin contributed equally to this work and should be considered as first author.     

DFNB74, a novel autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing impairment locus on chromosome 12q14.2-q15

Autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing impairment (ARNSHI) segregating in three unrelated, large consanguineous Pakistani families (PKDF528, PKDF859 and PKDF326) is linked to markers on chromosome 12q14.2-q15. This novel locus is designated DFNB74 . Maximum two-point limit of detection (LOD) scores of 5.6, 5.7 and 2.6 were estimated for markers D 12 S 313, D 12 S 83 and D 12 S 75 at θ = 0 for recessive deafness segregating in these three families. Haplotype analyses identified a critical linkage interval of 5.35 cM (5.36 Mb) defined by D 12 S 329 at 74.58 cM and D 12 S 313 at 79.93 cM. DFNB74 is the second ARNSHI locus mapped to chromosome 12, but the physical intervals do not overlap with one another. A locus contributing to the early onset, rapidly progressing hearing loss of A/J mice ( ahl4 , age-related hearing loss 4) was reported to map to chromosome 10 in a region of conserved synteny to DFNB74 , suggesting that ahl4 and DFNB74 may be due to mutations of the same gene in these two species.     

Suppressive Effects of Selected Food Phytochemicals on CD74 Expression in NCI-N87 Gastric Carcinoma Cells

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is one of the most widespread human pathogens, and plays major roles in chronic gastritis and gastric cancer. CD74 of gastric epithelial cells has recently been identified as an adhesion molecule to urease in H. pylori. In this study, we found that CD74 is highly expressed in a constitutive manner in NCI-N87 human gastric carcinoma cells at both the protein and mRNA levels as compared with Hs738St./Int fetal gastric cells. Subsequently, a novel cell-based ELISA able to rapidly screen the suppressive agents of CD74 expression was established. NCI-N87 cells were treated separately with 25 different food phytochemicals (4-100 microM) for 48 h and subjected to our novel assay. From those results, a citrus coumarin, bergamottin, was indicated to be the most promising compound with an LC(50)/IC(50) value greater than 7.1, followed by luteolin (>5.4), nobiletin (>5.3), and quercetin (>5.1). Our findings suggest that these CD74 suppressants are unique candidates for preventing H. pylori adhesion and subsequent infection with reasonable action mechanisms.