2008年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖与艾滋病毒的发现

艾滋病（AIDS）被称为“世纪瘟疫”。艾滋病毒的发现是生命科学史上的重要事件。围绕谁是艾滋病毒的最早发现者曾有一段争论。这场争论虽然在20世纪90年代中期落下帷幕,但2008年的诺贝尔生理学或医学奖才算划上一个圆满的句号。对艾滋病毒的发现过程和历史上的争论作简明的介绍。     

艾滋病毒监测装置研制成功

澳大利亚墨尔本伯内特研究所研制成功艾滋病毒监测装置。该监测装置无需任何实验室设备，在30分钟内发现患者是否需要抗逆转录病毒治疗。该系统低成本、点护理，特别适合远程医疗，因此而获得发明奖。     

FASEB：研究揭示宿主细胞限制艾滋病毒复制新机制

中科院上海巴斯德研究所王建华研究组在最新研究中,揭示了宿主细胞限制艾滋病毒Ⅰ型（HIV-1）复制的新机制。相关研究成果于7月发表在国际期刊《美国实验生物学会联合会会志》（The FASEB Journal）上。     

纳米颗粒与生物大分子的相互作用及其生物毒性机制

纳米颗粒已得到广泛的应用,同时其潜在的毒性及生物学效应也引起了广泛的关注。许多文献证实纳米颗粒对生物体具有毒性作用,但在分子水平上对其毒性机制的研究较少。本文对近年来纳米颗粒与生物大分子相互作用的最新研究进行了综述,包括纳米颗粒与蛋白质、脂类、核酸等生物分子间的相互作用。     

1／4世纪的艾滋病毒研究——艾滋病毒的发现获得2008年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖

法国科学家弗朗索瓦丝·巴尔·西诺西和吕克·蒙塔尼因发现艾滋病毒而获得2008年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。本文简述了艾滋病毒的发现及25年来在HIV起源、致病、治疗和预防领域取得的研究进展。     

艾滋病毒制成疫苗可预防流感

伦敦大学免疫学教授玛丽·科林斯进行的试验表明：艾滋病毒也是可以用来治病的。机制是将艾滋病毒输送到人体的T细胞中,从而激发T细胞抵抗侵入人体的病毒病菌。研究人员曾经使用一种改良的艾滋病毒成功治愈了2名小男孩致命的肾上腺脑白质营养不良症（ALD）。     

噬菌体与细菌相互作用的分子机制研究进展

噬菌体与细菌是自然界中存在最广泛的两类微生物,两者在群体水平、个体水平以及分子水平上均存在复杂的相互作用关系.细菌能够影响溶原性噬菌体的溶原-裂解决策,而被噬菌体感染的细菌基因表达谱也会受到噬菌体影响,使宿主菌的代谢、应激、抵抗力、毒性等多种性状发生改变.现从细菌和噬菌体两者的角度,分别综述细菌抵抗噬菌体感染以及噬菌体...     

萘磺酸衍生物抑制艾滋病毒增殖

美国科研人员已测定萘磺酸衍生物有效抑制人免疫缺陷症病毒(艾滋病病毒,HIV)的增殖,这种衍生物在接受治疗剂量范围的适当浓度是有效的,并只产生一点不愉快的副效应,为此很寄希望此衍生化合物用于治疗艾滋病。     

Beneficial effect of GB virus C co-infection in Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1-infected individuals

Several reports have documented a better prognosis for HIV‐1‐infected patients co‐infected with GBV‐C, while other reports have contradicted such findings with the result that this issue remains controversial. We attempted to clarify the complicated status of the effect of GBV‐C co‐infection on HIV‐1‐infected patients. GBV‐C RNA was detected in 37 samples in 182 HIV‐1‐infected patients (20.3%) using RT/nested PCR. Of these, 3 were determined to be GBV‐C genotype 1, 12 were genotype 2, and the remaining 22 were genotype 3. The GBV‐C viral load quantified by real‐time PCR ranged from 7.8 × 10³ to 3.3 × 10⁶ copies/ml. Weakly negative correlation was observed between GBV‐C viral load and HIV‐1 viral load in 19 HAART‐naïve patients, indicating that a higher GBV‐C viral load is associated with a greater suppression of HIV‐1 replication. A previously published in vitro study suggested that GBV‐C infection would induce up‐regulation of RANTES, leading to suppression of HIV‐1 replication. However, in our present study, the blood RANTES level was significantly lower in the GBV‐C co‐infected group than in the uninfected group (190–9,959 vs. 264–31,038 pg/ml, P=0.004). Our results suggested that a suppression of HIV‐1 replication by GBV‐C co‐infection is not mediated by up‐regulated RANTES, and thus call for another as yet unknown factor.     

HIV感染中的细胞凋亡

CD4^ T细胞的丢失在HIV感染引起免疫缺陷过程中起着重要作用。但造成CD4^ T细胞丢失的具体机制还不清楚,细胞凋亡可能是CD4^ T细胞丢失的一个重要因素,HIV感染以后,病毒蛋白的持续性产出导致免疫系统的持续性激活,引起Th1细胞的丢失,Th1细胞通过合成Ⅰ型细胞因子,抑制淋巴细胞的自发凋亡,另外,病毒蛋白或其他因素能够使CD4^ ,CD8^ T细胞和APC转化为凋亡的效应细胞,通过Fas/FasL或其他途径引起细胞凋亡,HIV感染人体后凋亡细胞不仅有CD4^ T细胞,还包括B细胞,NK细胞,粒细胞,神经细胞和单细胞,凋亡作为机体的自我防护措施,在清除感染细胞的同时,并没有抑制HIV在单细胞/巨噬细胞内的复制,反而造成大量未感染细胞的凋亡,导致对HIV复制的失控,发展为严重的免疫缺陷,引起AIDS相关的机会性感染。     

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 2 Vpx-Gag Interaction

Incorporation of Vpx into human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) virus-like particles is mediated by the Gag polyprotein. We have identified residues 15 to 40 of Gag p6 and residues 73 to 89 of Vpx as being necessary for virion incorporation. In addition, we show enhanced in vitro binding of Vpx to a chimeric HIV-1/HIV-2 Gag construct containing residues 2 to 49 of HIV-2 p6 and demonstrate that the presence of residues 73 to 89 of Vpx allows for in vitro binding to HIV-2 Gag.     

Slow Evolutionary Rate of GB Virus C/Hepatitis G Virus

With the aim of elucidating evolutionary features of GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV), molecular evolutionary analyses were conducted using the entire coding region of this virus. In particular, the rate of nucleotide substitution for this virus was estimated to be less than 9.0 × 10⁻⁶ per site per year, which was much slower than those for other RNA viruses. The phylogenetic tree reconstructed for GBV-C/HGV, by using GB virus A (GBV-A) as outgroup, indicated that there were three major clusters (the HG, GB, and Asian types) in GBV-C/HGV, and the divergence between the ancestor of GB- and Asian-type strains and that of HG-type strains first took place more than 7000–10,000 years ago. The slow evolutionary rate for GBV-C/HGV suggested that this virus cannot escape from the immune response of the host by means of producing escape mutants, implying that it may have evolved other systems for persistent infection. Received: 2 June 1998 / Accepted: 8 August 1998     

17种植物中蛋白质提取物的抗HIV—1活性

以化合物对ＨＩＶ－１诱导Ｃ８１６６细胞形成合胞体的抑制实验和化合物对ＨＩＶ－１感染细胞的保护实验作为初筛方法,筛选了来源７科１７种植物的４７个样品,其中８个样品经测定是核糖体失活蛋白,其余为粗提蛋白。     

Simian Immunodeficiency Virus and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Nef Proteins Show Distinct Patterns and Mechanisms of Src Kinase Activation

The nef gene from human and simian immunodeficiency viruses (HIV and SIV) regulates cell function and viral replication, possibly through binding of the nef product to cellular proteins, including Src family tyrosine kinases. We show here that the Nef protein encoded by SIVmac239 interacts with and also activates the human Src kinases Lck and Hck. This is in direct contrast to the inhibitory effect of HIV type 1 (HIV-1) Nef on Lck catalytic activity. Unexpectedly, however, the interaction of SIV Nef with human Lck or Hck is not mediated via its consensus proline motif, which is known to mediate HIV-1 Nef binding to Src homology 3 (SH3) domains, and various experimental analyses failed to show significant interaction of SIV Nef with the SH3 domain of either kinase. Instead, SIV Nef can bind Lck and Hck SH2 domains, and its N-terminal 50 amino acid residues are sufficient for Src kinase binding and activation. Our results provide evidence for multiple mechanisms by which Nef binds to and regulates Src kinases.     

Hepatitis C Virus Infection among Injection Drug Users with and without Human Immunodeficiency Virus Co-Infection

The aim of this study is to explore the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among injection drug users (IDUs) with and without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in southern Taiwan. For 562 IDUs (265 anti-HIV negative, 297 anti-HIV positive), we analyzed liver function, anti-HIV antibody, anti-HCV antibody, HCV viral loads, and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). HIV RNA viral loads and CD4 cell count for anti-HIV-seropositive IDUs and the HCV genotype for HCV RNA-seropositive IDUs were measured. The seroprevalence rates of anti-HIV, anti-HCV, and HBsAg were 52.8%, 91.3%, and 15.3%, respectively. All the anti-HIV-seropositive IDUs were positive for HIV RNA. Anti-HCV seropositivity was the most important factor associated with HIV infection (odds ratio [OR], 25.06; 95% confidence intervals [CI], 8.97–74.9), followed by male gender (OR, 6.12; 95% CI, 4.05–9.39) and HBsAg seropositivity (OR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.11–3.34). Among IDUs positive for anti-HCV, 80.7% had detectable HCV RNA. HCV viremia after HCV exposure was strongly related to HIV infection (OR, 6.262; 95% CI, 1.515–18.28), but negatively correlated to HBsAg seropositivity (OR, 0.161; 95% CI, 0.082–0.317). HCV genotype 6 was the most prevalent genotype among all IDUs (41.0%), followed by genotypes 1 (32.3%), 3 (12.8%), and 2 (5.6%). In conclusion, about half IDUs were infected with HIV and >90% with HCV infection. Male and seropositivity for HBsAg and anti-HCV were factors related to HIV infection among our IDUs. HIV was positively correlated, whereas hepatitis B co-infection was negatively correlated with HCV viremia among IDUs with HCV exposure. Different HCV molecular epidemiology was noted among IDUs.     

Infectious Simian/Human Immunodeficiency Virus with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Subtype C from an African Isolate: Rhesus Macaque Model

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) subtype C is responsible for more than 56% of all infections in the HIV and AIDS pandemic. It is the predominant subtype in the rapidly expanding epidemic in southern Africa. To develop a relevant model that would facilitate studies of transmission, pathogenesis, and vaccine development for this subtype, we generated SHIV(MJ4), a simian/human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) chimera based on HIV-1 subtype C. SHIV(MJ4) contains the majority of env, the entire second exon of tat, and a partial sequence of the second exon of rev, all derived from a CCR5-tropic, primary isolate envelope clone from southern Africa. SHIV(MJ4) replicated efficiently in human, rhesus, and pig-tailed macaque peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in vitro but not in CEMx174 cells. To assess in vivo infectivity, SHIV(MJ4) was intravenously inoculated into four rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). All four animals became infected as determined through virus isolation, PCR analysis, and viral loads of 10(7) to 10(8) copies of viral RNA per ml of plasma during the primary infection phase. We have established a CCR5-tropic SHIV(MJ4)/rhesus macaque model that may be useful in the studies of HIV-1 subtype C immunology and biology and may also facilitate the evaluation of vaccines to control the spread of HIV-1 subtype C in southern Africa and elsewhere.     

Targeting of Chrolamphenicol Acetyltransferase to Human Immunodeficiency Virus Particles via Vpr and Vpx

Vpr and Vpx are the auxiliary proteins of human immunodeficiency viruses (HIVs) selectively incorporated into mature viral particles. We showed that the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) fused to the N-terminus of HIV-1 Vpr, HIV-2 Vpr, or HIV-2 Vpx was incorporated into mature virions in a type-selective manner. By using chimeric proteins between HIV-1 Vpr and HIV-2 Vpx, we found that the N-terminal side of these proteins was mainly important for type-selective virion incorporation. The C-terminal arginine-rich region of HIV-1 Vpr was also found to transport CAT fusion proteins into virions but without any type selectivity. Furthermore, the corresponding regions of HIV-2 Vpr and HIV-2 Vpx had no such activity. This region of HIV-1 Vpr may interact nonspecifically with viral genomic RNA. Collectively, Vpr and Vpx may provide a means to introduce foreign proteins and other molecules into HIV virions for therapeutic purposes.