Reverse transcription-nested polymerase chain reaction for detecting p40 RNA of Borna disease virus, without risk of plasmid contamination. (1/10399)

Several methods for the detection of Borna disease virus (BDV) RNA have been reported, one being the reverse transcription-nested polymerase chain reaction (RT-nested PCR) method. However, due to the possibility of contamination of the cloned DNA in a reaction tube, false-positive results might be obtained by RT-nested PCR. To detect only BDV RNA without anxiety of contamination, we developed an RT-nested PCR system using "mRNA selective PCR kit". Using this system, cDNA of BDV p40 in the plasmid (up to 5 x 10(7) molecules) was not amplified. BDV specific sequence was amplified from total RNA (more than 50 pg) of MDCK/BDV cells, which were persistently infected with BDV. These results indicate that this mRNA selective RT-nested PCR system can specifically amplify target RNA as distinguished from plasmid contaminated.  (+info)

Inhibition of Pichinde virus replication by actinomycin D. (2/10399)

The yields of Pichinde virus, a member of the arenavirus group, were markedly inhibited when infected BHK 21 cells were incubated in the presence of 0.4 to 4 mug/ml of actinomycin D. Maximal inhibition was observed when actinomycin D was added after the adsorption of virus to cultures; however, addition of drug as late as 12 h after infection reduced the 24 h yield by 50%. Virus antigen synthesis, as measured by complement fixation and immunodiffusion, was not dramatically reduced by actinomycin D. The expression of virus antigens on the surface of infected cells was greater on cells treated with actinomycin D than on untreated cells. Putative defective particles with a density of Pichinde virus were not detected in fluids of cultures incubated with actinomycin D and 3H-amino acids. Actinomycin D appears to inhibit Pichinde virus late in the replicative cycle. The observations raise the possibility that the drug inhibits the synthesis of proteins of the host cell membrane which are required for virus maturation.  (+info)

The clinical utility of CMV surveillance cultures and antigenemia following bone marrow transplantation. (3/10399)

At our institution, the cytomegalovirus (CMV) prophylaxis protocol for allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT) recipients who are CMV-seropositive or receive marrow from a CMV-seropositive donor consists of a surveillance bronchoscopy approximately 35 days posttransplant. Patients with a positive surveillance bronchoscopy for CMV receive pre-emptive ganciclovir. In order to determine the utility of other screening methods for CMV, we prospectively performed weekly CMV antigenemia, and blood, urine and throat cultures from time of engraftment to day 120 post-BMT in 126 consecutive patients. Pre-emptive ganciclovir was given to 11/81 patients (13.6%) because of a positive surveillance bronchoscopy for CMV. Results of CMV blood, urine and throat cultures and the antigenemia assay done prior to or at the time of the surveillance bronchoscopy were analyzed for their ability to predict the bronchoscopy result. The antigenemia test had the highest positive and negative predictive values (72% and 96%, respectively). The ability of these tests to predict CMV disease was evaluated in the 70 patients with a negative surveillance bronchoscopy who did not receive pre-emptive ganciclovir. Of 19 cases of active CMV disease, CMV antigenemia was positive in 15 patients (79%) a mean of 34 days preceding symptoms. Blood cultures were positive in 14/19 patients (74%) a mean of 31 days before onset of disease. CMV antigenemia is useful for predicting the surveillance bronchoscopy result, and also predicts the development of CMV disease in the majority of patients missed by the surveillance bronchoscopy.  (+info)

A new picornavirus isolated from bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus). (4/10399)

A previously unknown picornavirus was isolated from bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus). Electron microscopy images and sequence data of the prototype isolate, named Ljungan virus, showed that it is a picornavirus. The amino acid sequences of predicted Ljungan virus capsid proteins VP2 and VP3 were closely related to the human pathogen echovirus 22 (approximately 70% similarity). A partial 5' noncoding region sequence of Ljungan virus showed the highest degree of relatedness to cardioviruses. Two additional isolates were serologically and molecularly related to the prototype.  (+info)

Immune response to the immunodominant epitope of mouse hepatitis virus is polyclonal, but functionally monospecific in C57Bl/6 mice. (5/10399)

Mutations in an immunodominant CD8 CTL epitope (S-510-518) are selected in mice persistently infected with the neurotropic JHM strain of mouse hepatitis virus. These mutations abrogate recognition by T cells harvested from the infected CNS in direct ex vivo cytotoxicity assays. Previous reports have suggested that, in general, an oligoclonal, monospecific T cell response contributes to the selection of CTL escape mutants. Herein, we show that, in MHV-JHM-infected mice, the CD8 T cell response after intraperitoneal infection is polyclonal and diverse. This diverse response was shown to include both polyclonal and oligoclonal components. The polyclonal data were shown to fit a logarithmic distribution. With regard to specificity, we used a panel of peptide analogues of epitope S-510-518 and spleen-derived CD8 T cell lines to determine why only a subset of possible mutations was selected in persistently infected mice. At a given position in the epitope, the mutations identified in in vivo isolates were among those that resulted in the greatest loss of recognition. However, not all such mutations were selected, suggesting that additional factors must contribute to selection in vivo. By extrapolation of these results to the persistently infected CNS, they suggest that the selection of CTL escape mutants requires the presence of a monospecific T cell response but also show that this response need not be oligoclonal.  (+info)

Immune surveillance against a solid tumor fails because of immunological ignorance. (6/10399)

Many peripheral solid tumors such as sarcomas and carcinomas express tumor-specific antigens that can serve as targets for immune effector T cells. Nevertheless, overall immune surveillance against such tumors seems relatively inefficient. We studied immune surveillance against a s.c. sarcoma expressing a characterized viral tumor antigen. Surprisingly, the tumor cells were capable of inducing a protective cytotoxic T cell response if transferred as a single-cell suspension. However, if they were transplanted as small tumor pieces, tumors readily grew. Tumor growth correlated strictly with (i) failure of tumor cells to reach the draining lymph nodes and (ii) absence of primed cytotoxic T cells. Cytotoxic T cells were not tolerant or deleted because a tumor antigen-specific cytotoxic T cell response was readily induced in lymphoid tissue by immunization with virus or with tumor cells even in the presence of large tumors. Established tumors were rejected by vaccine-induced effector T cells if effector T cells were maintained by prolonged or repetitive vaccination, but not by single-dose vaccination. Thus, in addition to several other tumor-promoting parameters, some antigenic peripheral sarcomas-and probably carcinomas-may grow not because they anergize or tolerize tumor-specific T cells, but because such tumors are immunologically dealt with as if they were in a so-called immunologically privileged site and are ignored for too long.  (+info)

Development of a Western blot assay for detection of bovine immunodeficiency-like virus using capsid and transmembrane envelope proteins expressed from recombinant baculovirus. (7/10399)

A 120-amino-acid polypeptide selected from the transmembrane protein region (tTM) and the major capsid protein p26 of bovine immunodeficiency-like virus (BIV) were expressed as fusion proteins from recombinant baculoviruses. The antigenic reactivity of both recombinant fusion proteins was confirmed by Western blot with bovine and rabbit antisera to BIV. BIV-negative bovine sera and animal sera positive for bovine syncytial virus and bovine leukemia virus failed to recognize the recombinant fusion proteins, thereby showing the specificity of the BIV Western blot. One hundred and five bovine serum samples were tested for the presence of anti-BIV antibodies by the recombinant protein-based Western blot and a reference Western blot assay using cell culture-derived virions as test antigens. There was a 100% concordance when the p26 fusion protein was used in the Western blot. However, the Western blot using the tTM fusion protein as its test antigen identified four BIV-positive bovine sera which had tested negative in both the p26 recombinant-protein-based and the reference Western blot assays. This resulted in the lower concordance of 96.2% between the tTM-protein-based and reference Western blot assays. The results of this study showed that the recombinant p26 and tTM proteins can be used as test antigens for the serodetection of BIV-infection in animals.  (+info)

Human serum antibodies to a major defined epitope of human herpesvirus 8 small viral capsid antigen. (8/10399)

The major antibody-reactive epitope of the small viral capsid antigen (sVCA) of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) was defined by use of overlapping peptides. Strong IgG reactivity was found among approximately 50% of 44 human immunodeficiency virus-positive or -negative patients with Kaposi's sarcoma and 13 subjects who were seropositive by immunofluorescence assay (IFA) for the latent HHV-8 nuclear antigen. Only 1 of 106 subjects seronegative for both lytic and latent HHV-8 antigens and 10 of 81 subjects IFA-seropositive only for the lytic HHV-8 antigen had strong IgG reactivity to this epitope. Among 534 healthy Swedish women, only 1.3% were strongly seropositive. Comparison of the peptide-based and purified sVCA protein-based ELISAs found 55% sensitivity and 98% specificity. However, only 1 of 452 serum samples from healthy women was positive in both tests. In conclusion, the defined sVCA epitope was a specific, but not very sensitive, serologic marker of active HHV-8 infection. Such infection appears to be rare among Swedish women, even with sexual risk-taking behavior.  (+info)

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