The crystal structure of the vesicular stomatitis virus nucleoprotein (N) in complex with RNA reveals extensive and specific intermolecular interactions among the N molecules in the 10-member oligomer. What roles these interactions play in encapsidating RNA was studied by mutagenesis of the N protein. Three N mutants intended for disruption of the intermolecular interactions were designed and c...

Vesicular stomatitis (VS) outbreaks of unknown origin occur at 8-10-year intervals in the south-western USA with the most recent outbreak beginning in 2004. A previous study has suggested that strains causing US outbreaks are closely related to strains causing outbreaks in Mexico [Rodriguez (2002) Virus Res 85, 211-219]. This study determined the phylogenetic relationships among 116 vesicular s...

Senecavirus A (SV-A), formerly, Seneca Valley virus (SVV), has been detected in swine with vesicular lesions and is thought to be associated with swine idiopathic vesicular disease (SIVD), a vesicular disease syndrome that lacks a defined causative agent. The clinical presentation of SIVD resembles that of other more contagious and economically devastating vesicular diseases, such as foot-and-m...

Circulating microRNAs are protected from degradation by their association with either vesicles or components of the RNAi machinery. Although increasing evidence indicates that cell-free microRNAs are transported in body fluids by different types of vesicles, current research mainly focuses on the characterization of exosome-associated microRNAs. However, as isolation and characterization of exo...

Rifampin reversibly inhibits the intracellular replication of a VSV mutant, whereas a revertant variant selected from this viral population, as well as the wild strain, are not affected by this drug. Rifampin inhibits transcriptase activity of the sensitive mutant only and, consequently, total viral RNA synthesis decreases significantly in the cells.

Structures of L proteins from La Crosse orthobunyavirus and vesicular stomatitis virus reveal insights into RNA synthesis and distinctive mRNA capping mechanisms of segmented and non-segmented negative-sense single-strand RNA viruses.

Recent studies demonstrated that vesicular dopamine (DA) uptake can be rapidly altered in synaptic vesicles purified from the striata of stimulant-treated rats. Specifically, a single administration of the plasmalemmal DA transporter inhibitor, cocaine, or the DA D(2) agonist, quinpirole, increases vesicular DA uptake in vesicles purified from the striata of treated rats. These effects of cocai...