Paracoccidioidomycosis in nude mice: Presence of filamentous forms of the fungus

Congenitally athymic nude mice (nu/nu) and their phenotypically normal littermates (nu/+) were intraperitoneally infected with yeast cells of a strain of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. The nude mice developed a severe and generalized infection with an intense parasitism of several organs, accompanied by a low-grade of tissue reaction. The lesions were characterized by abundant yeast-like cells of the fungus, and in some animals, numerous hyphal forms could be well visualized. In control animals, infection was moderate, almost exclusively restricted to the area of inoculation, and the lesions presented few parasites surrounded by an inflammatory response. Filamentous forms of the fungus were never encountered in these animals.     

Interaction of a cellular 57-kilodalton protein with the internal translation initiation site of foot-and-mouth disease virus.

A cellular 57-kDa protein (p57) that binds specifically to the internal translation initiation site in the 5' untranslated region of foot-and-mouth disease virus RNA was detected in cell extracts of different mammalian species by UV cross-linking. The protein binds to two distinct sites of the translation control region which have as the only common sequence a UUUC motif. The first binding site consists of a conserved hairpin structure, whereas the second binding site contains an essential pyrimidine-rich region without obvious secondary structure. Competition experiments indicate that the complexes with the two binding sites were formed by a single p57 species. The protein binds also to the 5' untranslated region of other picornaviruses. Results from footprint analyses with foot-and-mouth disease RNA suggest the participation of additional cellular factors in the translation initiation complex.