Radioimmunological techniques were applied to the analysis of reverse transcriptase of mammalian type C RNA viruses. The polymerase of Rauscher mouse leukemia virus was purified by ion exchange and sequential affinity chromatography. Radioimmunoassays that utilized the viral enzyme as a probe detected as little as 1 ng of purified polymerase. No cross-reactivity could be demonstrated between th...

HIV-1 resistance to 3'-azido-2',3'-deoxythymidine (AZT, zidovudine) results from mutations in reverse transcriptase that increase the ability of the enzyme to excise AZT-monophosphate after it has been incorporated. Crystal structures of complexes of wild type and mutant reverse transcriptase with double-stranded DNA with or without the excision product, AZT adenosine dinucleoside tetraphosphat...

HIV-1 reverse transcriptase is a dimeric enzyme mainly involved in the replication of the viral genome. A filamentous phage cDNA expression library from human lymphocytes was used to select cellular proteins interacting with HIV-1 reverse transcriptase Affinity selections using the bacterially expressed monomeric large subunit of reverse transcriptase (p66) yielded host beta-actin. This clone w...

A series of monoclonal antibodies against p51/p66 human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT) were prepared by immunizing mice with the native enzyme immobilized on nitrocellulose. One of these antibodies, designated 1E8, was found to inhibit both RNA-dependent and DNA-dependent polymerase activities of RT but had no effect on the RNase H activity of the enzyme. This inhib...

background noroviruses are one of the major viral pathogens responsible for gastroenteritis. outbreaks of diarrhea due to norovirus have been reported frequently. this study is performed to determine the prevalence of norovirus in fecal specimens of children with gastroenteritis. many viruses can cause gastroenteritis, including rotaviruses; adenoviruses types 40 and 41; sapoviruses; and norovi...

Plants of the genus Euphorbia have been investigated for different bioactive natural products. I have isolated several new and bioactive diterpenoids from different species of Euphorbia of Iran with myrsinane type skeleton. The structure of the compounds was determined using high resolution mass spectroscopy, 1 D and 2 D NMR spectral data. The stereochemistry of the diterpenoids was determined ...

The intrinsic properties of reverse transcriptase in reverse transcription were studied using a synthetic, partial ovalbumin mRNA with a synthetic DNA oligonucleotide annealed to the 3'-end of the RNA as a model substrate. With or without concomitant cDNA synthesis, the RNase H activity of avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV)-reverse transcriptase cleaved the substrate at a site which would leave a...

The basis of the specific binding of tRNATrp by avian myeloblastosis virus reverse transcriptase was studied by chemical and enzymatic modification of the RNA. Binding does not depend on recognition of the tryptophan anticodon since molecules cleaved in the anticodon are stably bound by the enzyme. Modification of pseudouridine residues in the tRNA destroys binding to reverse transcriptase. The...

Reverse transcriptase has been purified from feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) by DEAE-cellulose and phosphocellulose chromatography. The purified enzyme consists of a single protein with a Mr of 67,000. When proteolysis is not minimized during purification, a fragment of Mr 54,000 is also observed. This is similar to the reverse transcriptase from human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV), w...