Urinary glycosaminoglycan (GAG) excretion was measured in 24 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) before and after treatment with conventional second-line agents. Urinary GAG excretion was also measured in normal controls, patients with osteoarthritis (OA), and patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI). Total GAG excretion was increased in the RA group and fell after second-line ...

The genomic retroviral RNA is the messenger for the translation of the gag and pol genes encoding the precursors to the major structural proteins and enzymes, respectively, of the virion core. The long 5' untranslated region, the leader, is formed of independent well-structured domains involved in key steps of the viral life cycle such as the initiation of proviral DNA synthesis, genomic RNA di...

The nucleocapsid (NC) domain of the retrovirus Gag protein plays several important roles in the viral life cycle, including virus assembly, viral genomic RNA encapsidation, primer tRNA placement, and enhancement of viral reverse transcription. In this study, deletion of NC domain of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag was found to drastically reduce virus particle production in CD4(...

Our previous studies identified the 1,4,5-inositol trisphosphate receptor (IP3R), a channel mediating release of Ca(2+) from ER stores, as a cellular factor differentially associated with HIV-1 Gag that might facilitate ESCRT function in virus budding. Channel opening requires activation that is initiated by binding of 1,4,5-triphosphate (IP3), a product of phospholipase C (PLC)-mediated PI(4,5...

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag and genomic RNA determinants required for encapsidation are well established, but where and when encapsidation occurs in the cell is unknown. We constructed MS2 phage coat protein labeling systems to track spatial dynamics of primate and nonprimate lentiviral genomic RNAs (HIV-1 and feline immunodeficiency virus [FIV]) vis-à-vis their Gag proteins...

Decorin binding protein A (DBPA) is a glycosaminoglycan (GAG)-binding adhesin found on the surface of the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi (B. burgdorferi), the causative agent of Lyme disease. DBPA facilitates bacterial adherence to extracellular matrices of human tissues and is crucial during the early stage of the infection process. Interestingly, DBPA from different strains (B31, N40, and PBr...

Previously we demonstrated that murine retroviral Gag proteins associate with a cellular motor protein, KIF-4. Using the yeast two-hybrid assay, we also found an association of KIF-4 with Gag proteins of Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (MPMV), simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Studies performed with mammalian cell systems confirmed that the HIV-1 Ga...

We have investigated the effects of hormones and serum on glycosaminoglycan (GAG) synthesis, using cultured rat chondrocytes isolated from growing cartilage. Somatomedin A stimulated GAG synthesis at a physiological concentration, however in the case of insulin the dose required to stimulate GAG synthesis was 500 times as great as the physiological concentration. Parathyroid hormone also increa...

INI1/hSNF5/SMARCB1/BAF47 is an HIV-specific integrase (IN)-binding protein that influences HIV-1 transcription and particle production. INI1 binds to SAP18 (Sin3a-associated protein, 18 kDa), and both INI1 and SAP18 are incorporated into HIV-1 virions. To determine the significance of INI1 and the INI1-SAP18 interaction during HIV-1 replication, we isolated a panel of SAP18-interaction-defectiv...

In some retroviruses, such as Rous sarcoma virus and prototype foamy virus, Gag proteins are known to shuttle between the nucleus and the cytoplasm and are implicated in nuclear export of the viral genomic unspliced RNA (gRNA) for subsequent encapsidation. A similar function has been proposed for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag based on the identification of nuclear localization...