Enterovirus 71 (EV71), one of the major pathogens of Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), results in millions of infections and hundreds of deaths each year in Southeast Asia. Biased infection and variable clinical manifestations of EV71 HFMD indicated that host genetic background played an important role in the occurrence and development of the disease. We identified the mRNA profiles of EV71 ...

We hypothesized that host antiviral genes induced by type I interferons might affect the natural course of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). We analyzed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase 1 (OAS-1), myxovirus resistance-A (MxA), and double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase in 44 Vietnamese SARS patients with 103 controls. The G-allele of non-sy...

The development of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) is a major problem in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with interferon-beta (IFN-ß). Whereas binding antibodies (BAbs) can be demonstrated in the vast majority of patients, only a smaller proportion of patients develop NAbs. The principle in NAb in vitro assays is the utilization of cultured cell lines that are responsive to IFN-ß. The c...

In the past two decades public interest in herbal products has increased significantly in Europe, especially in the plant-based products from non-European traditions. Eleutherococcus senticosus has been used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, anemia, and rheumatoid arthritis. The Eleutherococcus senticosus fruits intractum was examined for the content of phenolic acids (LC-ESI-MS/MS), ...

Members of the saframycin/safracin/ecteinascidin family of peptide natural products are potent antitumor agents currently under clinical development. Saframycin MX1, from Myxococcus xanthus, is synthesized by a nonribosomal peptide synthetase, SafAB, and an O-methyltransferase, SafC, although other proteins are likely involved in the pathway. SafC was overexpressed in Escherichia coli, purified...

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) based recombinant viruses (such as VSV-ΔM51) are effective oncolytic viruses (OVs) against a majority of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cell lines. However, some PDAC cell lines are highly resistant to VSV-ΔM51. We recently showed that treatment of VSV-resistant PDAC cells with ruxolitinib (JAK1/2 inhibitor) or TPCA-1 (IKK-β inhibitor) breaks their resi...

PURPOSE The direct transmission of avian influenza viruses to human and increasing drug resisted strains posing new threats for public health. Therefore, development of efficient vaccines is needed to generate protective and persistent immunity to the viruses. METHODS Three motifs of Mx protein sequence in human, mouse and poultry located in interferon induced (GTP ase) domain were candidate ...

To acquire epidemiological data on the bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) and identify cattle persistently infected (PI) with this virus, 4,327 samples from Holstein dairy cows were screened over a four-year period in Beijing, China. Eighteen BVD viruses were isolated, 12 from PI cattle. Based on genetic analysis of their 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR), the 18 isolates were assigned to subgeno...

Because of their high susceptibility to infection with various influenza virus strains, Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells have been widely used as a substrate for influenza virus isolation and vaccine production. However, MDCK cells are also interferon (IFN) competent, and the type I IFN response is commonly thought to be a factor strongly inhibiting virus replication. Therefore, the inhib...

To establish a new lineage in the human population, avian influenza A viruses (AIV) must overcome the intracellular restriction factor MxA. Partial escape from MxA restriction can be achieved when the viral nucleoprotein (NP) acquires the critical human-adaptive amino acid residues 100I/V, 283P, and 313Y. Here, we show that introduction of these three residues into the NP of an avian H5N1 virus...