Abstract Objectives Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) has been associated with several types of cancers, most often nasopharyngeal carcinomas and hematological malignancies. It is also suggested that EBV significant role in the pathogenesis different autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus (SEL). The exact mechanisms behind these processes are not elucidated. Case presentation We pres...

Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV2) infection is a major source of morbidity in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients, since reactivations - whether symptomatic or asymptomatic - are associated with increased HIV viral load and viral shedding. Acyclovir, valacyclovir and famcyclovir are indicated for the treatment of HSV2 in HIV patients. This class of drugs has been shown to enha...

It has been suggested that some cases of schizophrenia may be caused by an interaction between physiological risk factors and exposure to certain neurotropic infectious agents such as Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (HSV1). This study investigated whether HSV1 exposure was associated with structural brain abnormalities in individuals who, because of genetic or other factors, were deemed at ultra hi...

To optimize the sensitivity of imaging HSV1-tk/GFP reporter gene expression, a series of HSV1-tk/GFP mutants was developed with altered nuclear localization and better cellular enzymatic activity, compared to that of the native HSV1-tk/GFP fusion protein (HSV1-tk/GFP). Several modifications of HSV1-tk/GFP reporter gene were performed, including targeted inactivating mutations in the nuclear loc...

UNLABELLED The herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase (HSV1-tk) gene is widely used as a suicide gene in combination with ganciclovir (GCV) and as a nuclear imaging reporter gene with an appropriate reporter probe. Wild-type HSV1-tk recognizes a variety of pyrimidine and acycloguanosine nucleoside analogs, including clinically used antiviral drugs. PET of HSV1-tk reporter gene expression ...

19 Herpes virus type 2 (HSV2) is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections globally 20 with a very high prevalence in many countries. During HSV2 infection viral particles become 21 coated with complement proteins and antibodies, both existent in the genital fluids, which could 22 influence the activation of the immune responses. In genital mucosa, the primary target cells for 23 H...

The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a sensitive method for the simultaneous identification of 14 urogenital potential pathogens. A multiplex PCR-based reverse line blot (mPCR/RLB) assay was developed to detect 14 urogenital pathogens or putative pathogens, namely Trichomonas vaginalis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma parvum, U. ur...

Of the eight members of the herpes family of viruses, HSV1, HSV2, and varicella zoster are the most common and are mainly involved in cutaneous disorders. These viruses usually are not life-threatening, but in some cases they might cause serious infections to the eyes and the brain that can lead to blindness and possibly death. An effective drug (acyclovir and its derivatives) is available agai...

We are developing assays for noninvasive, quantitative imaging of reporter genes with positron emission tomography (PET), for application both in animal models and in human gene therapy. We report here a method to improve the detection of lower levels of PET reporter gene expression by utilizing a mutant herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase (HSV1-sr39tk) as a PET reporter gene. The HSV1...