Molecular characterization and determination of the coding capacity of the genome of equine herpesvirus type 2 between the genome coordinates 0.235 and 0.258 (theEcoRI DNA fragment N; 4.2 kbp)

The complete DNA nucleotide sequence of theEcoRI DNA fragment N (0.235 to 0.258 viral map units) of equine herpes virus type 2 (EHV-2) strain T400/3 was determined. This DNA fragment comprises 4237 bp with a base composition of 55.23% G+C and 44.77% A+T. Nineteen open reading frames (ORFs) of 50-287 amino acid (aa) residues were detected. ORF number 10 is located between the nucleotide position 2220 and 2756 coding for a protein of 179 amino acid residues. This protein shows significant homology to the cytokine synthesis inhibitory factor (CSIF; interleukin 10) of human (76.4%) and mouse (68.5%), and to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) protein BCRF1 (70.6%). The existence of an interleukin 10 (IL-10) analogous gene within the genome of the EHV-2 was confirmed by screening the genome of nine EHV-2 strains using specific oligonucleotide primers corresponding to the 5 and 3 region of this particular gene by polymerase chain reaction. In all experiments an 870 bp DNA product was amplified. The specifity of the amplified DNA fragments obtained from individual EHV-2 strains was confirmed by DNA-DNA hybridization experiments. The DNA sequence analysis of the amplified DNA products of the EHV-2 strain LK was carried out. This analysis revealed the identity of the corresponding IL-10 gene (540 bp) of this strain to the IL-10 gene of EHV-2 strain T400/3. The presented data indicate that the EHV-2 genome harbors a viral interleukin 10-like gene. This is further evidence that the IL-10 gene can be present in the genomes of members of the Herpesviridae family.     

Large Envelope Glycoprotein and Nucleocapsid Protein of Equine Arteritis Virus (EAV) Induce an Immune Response in Balb/c Mice by DNA Vaccination; Strategy for Developing a DNA-Vaccine Against EAV-Infection

Equine arteritis virus (EAV) is a member of the Arteriviridae family, that includes lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus (LDV), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), and simian haemorrhagic fever virus (SHFV). Equine arteritis is a contagious disease of horses and is spread via respiratory or reproductive tract. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the possibility for developing a model system for prevention horses against an EAV infection by DNA vaccination. A cDNA bank from the RNA of EAV was established. This gene library contains the translation unit of the EAV open reading frames (ORF) 1 to 7. The identity of the cDNA was confirmed by nucleotide sequence analysis. Using this defined EAV cDNA gene library the cDNA sequence of the viral ORFs were molecularly cloned into the corresponding sites of well characterized and powerful expression vectors (pCR3.1, pDisplay, and/or pcDNA3.1/HisC).The capability of these recombinant plasmids expressing the gene products of the individual viral ORFs 3 to 5, and 7 in induction of an immune response in mouse system was investigated. The Balb/c mice (ten mice per assay) were inoculated with the DNA of the constructed expression vectors harboring and expressing the EAV cDNA of the viral ORFs. The Balb/c mice were injected with about 100 g DNA diluted in 100 l PBS. The DNA was injected subcutaneously and into the tibialis cranialis muscle (Musculus gastrocnemius). The mice were boosted 3 to 5 times with the same quantities of DNA and under the same conditions at about two week intervals. Control mice received the same amount of parental expression vectors via an identical route and frequency.The pre- and post-vaccinated sera of the individual animals were screened by neutralization tests (NT). Neutralizing antibodies against EAV were detected when the animals were inoculated with the DNA of the expression vectors harboring cDNA of the EAV ORFs 5 and 7. Highest NT-titers were observed when the animals were administered with the cDNA of ORF 5 and/or with the cDNA of the neutralization determinants of EAV that is located on the N-terminal ectodomain of the gene product of ORF 5 between the amino acid positions 1–121. These results obtained from these studies justified proofing the capability of the EAV cDNA sequences of the viral genes including ORFs 5 and 7 in the autologous animal system horse.     

Acute and long-term alteration of chemokine mRNA expression after anti-viral and anti-inflammatory treatment in herpes simplex virus encephalitis

Mortality and morbidity rates remain high among patients with herpes simplex virus encephalitis (HSVE). Chemokine-mediated recruitment and activation of leukocytes to focal areas of viral CNS infection are crucial steps in antiviral response and clearance. However, the inflammatory reaction and cellular antiviral response may enhance collateral damage to neurons and account for chronic progressive brain damage. We identified a specific mRNA expression of the interferon-gamma-inducible chemokines (CXCL9, CXCL10 and CXCL11), and RANTES (CCL5) in the acute course and long-term of experimental HSVE. This pattern was substantially altered by anti-viral and anti-inflammatory treatment. Our findings indicate a pivotal role of these chemokines in the immunopathogenesis of HSVE.     

Evaluation of aspirin, caffeine, and their combination in postoperative oral surgery pain

Three hundred fifty outpatients with postoperative pain after the surgical removal of impacted third molars were randomly assigned, on a double-blind basis, to receive a single oral dose of aspirin 650 or 1000 mg, caffeine 65 mg, a combination of aspirin 650 mg with caffeine 65 mg, or placebo. Using a self-rating record, subjects rated their pain and its relief hourly for 6 hours after medicating. Estimates of summed pain intensity difference, peak pain intensity difference, total relief, peak relief, and hours of 50% relief were derived from these subjective reports. All active treatments except caffeine were significantly superior to placebo. Pairwise comparisons indicated the aspirin-caffeine combination was statistically superior to aspirin 650 mg alone for hours of 50% relief among patients who had severe baseline pain. Adverse effects were transitory and none were serious.     

Intracerebral inoculation of pathological α-synuclein initiates a rapidly progressive neurodegenerative α-synucleinopathy in mice

The accumulation of misfolded proteins is a fundamental pathogenic process in neurodegenerative diseases. However, the factors that trigger aggregation of α-Synuclein (α-Syn), the principal component of the intraneuronal inclusions known as Lewy bodies (LBs), and Lewy neurites (LNs), which characterize Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with LBs (DLB), are poorly understood. We show here that in young asymptomatic α-Syn transgenic (Tg) mice, intracerebral injections of brain homogenates derived from older Tg mice exhibiting α-Syn pathology accelerate both the formation of intracellular LB/LN-like inclusions and the onset of neurological symptoms in recipient animals. Pathological α-Syn propagated along major central nervous system (CNS) pathways to regions far beyond injection sites and reduced survival with a highly reproducible interval from injection to death in inoculated animals. Importantly, inoculation with α-Syn amyloid fibrils assembled from recombinant human α-Syn induced identical consequences. Furthermore, we show for the first time that synthetic α-Syn fibrils are wholly sufficient to initiate PD-like LBs/LNs and to transmit disease in vivo. Thus, our data point to a prion-like cascade in synucleinopathies whereby cell-cell transmission and propagation of misfolded α-Syn underlie the CNS spread of LBs/LNs. These findings open up new avenues for understanding the progression of PD and for developing novel therapeutics.     

Efficacy of anise oil, dwarf-pine oil and chamomile oil against thymidine-kinase-positive and thymidine-kinase-negative herpesviruses

The effect of anise oil, dwarf-pine oil and chamomile oil against different thymidine-kinase-positive (aciclovir-sensitive) and thymidine-kinase-negative (aciclovir-resistant) herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) strains was examined. Clinical HSV-1 isolates containing frameshift mutations in the thymidine kinase (TK) gene, an insertion or a deletion, yield a non-functional thymidine kinase enzyme resulting in phenotypical resistance against aciclovir. The inhibitory activity of three different essential oils against herpes simplex virus isolates was tested in-vitro using a plaque reduction assay. All essential oils exhibited high levels of antiviral activity against aciclovir-sensitive HSV strain KOS and aciclovir-resistant clinical HSV isolates as well as aciclovir-resistant strain Angelotti. At maximum noncytotoxic concentrations of the plant oils, plaque formation was significantly reduced by 96.6-99.9%, when herpesviruses were preincubated with drugs before attachment to host cells. No significant effect on viral infectivity could be achieved by adding these compounds during the replication phase. These results indicate that anise oil, dwarf-pine oil and chamomile oil affected the virus by interrupting adsorption of herpesviruses and in a different manner than aciclovir, which is effective after attachment inside the infected cells. Thus the investigated essential oils are capable of exerting a direct effect on HSV and might be useful in the treatment of drug-resistant viruses. Chamomile oil did not reveal any irritating potential on hen's egg chorioallantoic membrane, demonstrated the highest selectivity index among the oils tested and was highly active against clinically relevant aciclovir-resistant HSV-1 strains.     

Benign breast disease increases breast cancer risk independent of underlying familial risk profile: Findings from a Prospective Family Study Cohort

Benign breast disease (BBD) is an established breast cancer (BC) risk factor, but it is unclear whether the magnitude of the association applies to women at familial or genetic risk. This information is needed to improve BC risk assessment in clinical settings. Using the Prospective Family Study Cohort, we used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association of BBD with BC risk. We also examined whether the association with BBD differed by underlying familial risk profile (FRP), calculated using absolute risk estimates from the Breast Ovarian Analysis of Disease Incidence and Carrier Estimation Algorithm (BOADICEA) model. During 176,756 person-years of follow-up (median: 10.9 years, maximum: 23.7) of 17,154 women unaffected with BC at baseline, we observed 968 incident cases of BC. A total of 4,704 (27%) women reported a history of BBD diagnosis at baseline. A history of BBD was associated with a greater risk of BC: HR = 1.31 (95% CI: 1.14–1.50), and did not differ by underlying FRP, with HRs of 1.35 (95% CI: 1.11–1.65), 1.26 (95% CI: 1.00–1.60), and 1.40 (95% CI: 1.01–1.93), for categories of full-lifetime BOADICEA score <20%, 20 to <35%, ≥35%, respectively. There was no difference in the association for women with BRCA1 mutations (HR: 1.64; 95% CI: 1.04–2.58), women with BRCA2 mutations (HR: 1.34; 95% CI: 0.78–2.3) or for women without a known BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation (HR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.13–1.53) (p_interaction = 0.95). Women with a history of BBD have an increased risk of BC that is independent of, and multiplies, their underlying familial and genetic risk.     

Expression Analysis of Recombinant Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 DNase

Expression of recombinant herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) deoxyribonuclease (DNase) was analyzed in BHK-21 cells, a standard cell line for virus propagation, by using mammalian cell expression systems based on vaccinia virus and on Semliki Forest virus (SFV)¹. Although the establishing of recombinant vaccinia virus failed due to the apparent toxicity of the herpesviral enzyme, soluble and functional HSV-1 DNase was efficiently expressed in BHK-21 cells by the vaccinia virus/T7 RNA polymerase hybrid system as well as by recombinant Semliki Forest virus. Using rabbit antiserum ExoC, directed against the C-terminal residues 503–626, or mouse monoclonal antibody (MAb) Q1, raised against the type 2 enzyme, a major 85-kDa protein with the identical size of the enzyme from HSV-1-infected cells was identified to be induced in both expression systems. With recombinant SFV functional HSV-1 DNase coincided with the overproduction of a single major 85-kDa protein re aching an optimum between 16 h and 36 h after infection. At later times of infection the enzymatic activity vanished. Thus, recombinant SFV may be an appropriate expression vector for biochemical studies of the enzyme when (i) packaged recombinant virus particles are used for infection and (ii) infection does not exceed 24 h. Due to the limitations of transient expression systems, the vaccinia/T7 RNA polymerase hybrid system is suited for expression analysis on a small scale, and for studying intracellular interactions of the enzyme as demonstrated by immunofluorescence microscopy studies. Using vector pTM1, recombinant HSV-1 DNase was efficiently overproduced in BHK-21 cells at 6 h after transfection and was shown to colocalize with the cellular chromatin at sites apparently distinct from the bulk of the herpesviral replication sites the way it is observed for the enzyme of lytically infected cells. The deleting of the 123 C-terminal amino acid residues did not alter this nuclear loca lization of HSV-1 DNase, suggesting that the latter sequences and other herpesviral factors are not required for the chromatin association. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Identification of the gene encoding the DNA (cytosine-5) methyltransferase of lymphocystis disease virus

The gene encoding the DNA (cytosine-5) methyltransferase (m5C-MTase) of lymphocystis disease virus (flounder isolate, LCDV-1) has been identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using oligonucleotide primers synthesized corresponding to different regions of the m5C-MTase gene of frog virus 3 (FV3). A DNA fragment of 487 bp was amplified using oligonucleotide primers L3 and R4 which correspond to the nucleotide positions 87 to 109 and 530 to 550 of the m5C-MTase gene of FV3, respectively. The DNA nucleotide sequence of the PCR product was determined by direct cycle sequencing. The alignment of the deduced amino acid sequence derived from the PCR product and the m5C-MTase protein of FV3 revealed a homology of 55.4% identity and 29.1% similarity. The amino acid sequence which was found to be significantly homologous to the amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the PCR product was located at the amino acid position 37 to 175 of the m5C-MTase of FV3 indicating the specificity of the amplified PCR product. The DNA nucleotide sequence of the LCDV-1 genome corresponding to the 5 and 3 termini of the m5C-MTase gene was determined by primer walking. The locus of the m5C-MTase gene of LCDV-1 was identified within the EcoRI DNA fragment G of LCDV-1 (7.9 kbp; 0.947 to 0.034 map units). The m5C-MTase gene of LCDV-1 comprises 684 nucleotides coding for a putative protein of 228 amino acid residues. A high degree of amino acid sequence homology (53.3% identity and 25.8% similarity) was detected between the m5C-MTases of LCDV-1 and FV3.