It has been reported that IFN-λs inhibit HCV replication in vitro. But the mechanisms of how IL-28A conducts antiviral activity and the functions of IL-28A-induced ISGs (IFN-stimulated genes) are not fully understood. In this study, we found that IL-28A has the antiviral effect on HCV life cycle including viral replication, assembly, and release. IL-28A and IFN-α synergistically inhibit virus r...

BACKGROUND Specific differences in signaling and antiviral properties between the different Lambda-interferons, a novel group of interferons composed of IL-28A, IL-28B and IL-29, are currently unknown. This is the first study comparatively investigating the transcriptome and the antiviral properties of the Lambda-interferons IL-28A and IL-29. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Expression studies ...

A practical synthesis of 28a-homo-28a-selenolupane triterpenes and the corresponding selenosaponins containing d-mannose, l-arabinose, l-rhamnose, and d-idose moieties is described. Selenium containing triterpenes were obtained from the readily available 3-O-allyl-homobetulin mesylate by nucleophilic substitution with the selenocyanate ion which upon reduction of the -SeCN group afforded the fr...

We have previously reported that in several renal cell types, adenosine receptor agonists inhibit adenylyl cyclase and activate phospholipase C via a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein. In the present study, in 28A cells, both of these adenosine receptor-mediated responses were inhibited by 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (DPCPX), a highly selective A1 adenosine receptor antagonist. The bin...

During our studies involving protein-DNA interactions, we constructed plasmid pSAM to fulfill two requirements: 1) to facilitate transfer of cloned sequences from widely used expression vector pET-28a(+), and 2) to provide a vector compatible with pBR322-derived plasmids for use in cells harboring two different plasmids. Vector pSAM is a pET-28a(+)-derived plasmid with the p15A origin of replic...

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmunological inflammatory disorder of the neuromuscular junction. Inflammation could be a key player for understanding the pathogenesis of MG. We measured the serum levels of 24 inflammatory cytokines in 43 patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive MG and 25 healthy controls. In patients with MG, serum levels of a proliferation-inducing ligand...

A human high mobility group box 4 (hHMGB4) expression construct (pET‑28a/hHMGB4) was generated by cloning the hHMGB4 full‑length cDNA in the expression vector pET‑28a(+). The hHMGB4 fusion protein with His6‑Tag was prepared using E.coli BL21 (DE3) transformed with pET‑28a/hHMGB4 and purified via preparative SDS‑PAGE plus electroelution. Immunization of rabbits with the purified hHMGB4 generated...

The most studied biological role of type III interferons (IFNs) has so far been their antiviral activity, but their role in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases remains largely unexplored. Here, we show that treatment with IFN-λ2/IL-28A completely halts and reverses the development of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) and discover cellular and molecular mechanisms of IL-28A antiinflammatory func...

We used gene expression profiling to identify inflammatory cytokines that correlate with bladder cancer development. Gene expression profiles of the tissue samples were investigated using cDNA microarrays that contained 103 non-muscle invasive bladder cancers (NMIBC), 62 muscle invasive bladder cancers (MIBC), 58 samples of histologically normal-looking surrounding tissues, and 10 normal, healt...

GSee accompanying Closeup by Michael R Edwards and Sebastian L Johnston http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/emmm.201100143 IL-28 (IFN-l) cytokines exhibit potent antiviral and antitumor function but their full spectrum of activities remains largely unknown. Recently, IL-28 cytokine family members were found to be profoundly down-regulated in allergic asthma. We now reveal a novel role of IL-28 cytokines ...