Our laboratory first demonstrated that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is associated with the most deadly form of primary brain tumor, glioblastoma (GBM). We showed that HCMV glycoprotein B (gB) mediates viral cellular entry via the receptor tyrosine kinase PDGFR-alpha (PDGFRα), resulting in activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway, a critical signaling axis gliomagenesis. Here, we investigated the effe...

Herpesviruses characteristically disseminate from immune hosts. Therefore in the context of natural infection, antibody neutralizes them poorly. Murid herpesvirus-4 (MuHV-4) provides a tractable model with which to understand gammaherpesvirus neutralization. MuHV-4 virions blocked for cell binding by immune sera remain infectious for IgG-Fc receptor(+) myeloid cells, so broadly neutralizing ant...

The coupled motion of a closed non-circular grain boundary (GB) in a bicrystal, with both isotropic and anisotropic GB energies, is studied using the level set method. The kinetic relations, obtained within the framework of linear irreversible thermodynamics, govern the overall dynamics including normal motion (migration) of the GB, viscous sliding along the GB, and tangential motion of the gra...

Genomic heterogeneity and quasispecies composition of GB virus C (GBV-C) within plasma and lymphocyte subsets in a naturally infected blood donor were investigated. For this purpose, fragments from the 5' untranslated region (5' UTR) and the E2 gene recovered from plasma, B and T lymphocytes, were cloned and sequenced. A total of 63 clones was analysed: 95.2 % of them (n=60) - obtained from pla...

A novel fusion assay was established to determine fusion activity with cocultivated human foreskin fibroblasts of stable transfectants derived from human astrocytoma cells (U373) expressing authentic or mutagenized human cytomegalovirus glycoprotein B (HCMV gB; gpUL55). Compared to transfectants expressing authentic HCMV gB, those expressing gB forms with a deletion of hydrophobic domain 1 (hd1...

We have identified the key protein substrate of gelatinase B/MMP-9 (GB) that is cleaved in vivo during dermal-epidermal separation triggered by antibodies to the hemidesmosomal protein BP180 (collagen XVII, BPAG2). Mice deficient in either GB or neutrophil elastase (NE) are resistant to blister formation in response to these antibodies in a mouse model of the autoimmune disease bullous pemphigo...

BACKGROUND Gastroesophageal reflux and progressive esophageal dilatation can develop after gastric banding (GB). HYPOTHESIS Gastric banding may interfere with esophageal motility, enhance reflux, or promote esophageal dilatation. DESIGN Before-after trial in patients undergoing GB. SETTING University teaching hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between January 1999 and August 2002, 43 patien...

To evaluate the feasibility of using pseudorabies virus (PrV) glycoprotein B (gB) as a carrier of foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) antigens in DNA immunization, FMDV B- and T-cell epitopes were inserted either between the two B-cell epitopes of the N-term subunit of PrV-gB (BT-PrV-gB-N-term construct) or within the B-cell epitope of the C-term subunit of PrV-gB (BT-PrV-gB-C-term construct). ...

The use of endocytic pathways by viral glycoproteins is thought to play various functions during viral infection. We previously showed in transfection assays that herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) glycoprotein B (gB) is transported from the cell surface back to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and that two motifs of gB cytoplasmic tail, YTQV and LL, function distinctly in this process. To invest...

We investigate the impact of varying the grain boundary (GB) position on the output (Id–Vd) characteristics of submicron single GB polysilicon thin film transistors (TFTs), by two-dimensional (2D), drift-diffusion based, device simulation. We employ a localized GB trapping model with a distribution of both donor-like and acceptor-like trap states over the forbidden energy gap of the GB region. ...