Effect of chitosan on tobacco mosaic virus（TMV） accumulation,hydrolase activity,and morphological abnormalities of the viral particles in leaves of N. tabacum L. cv. Samsun

The effect of chitosan on the development of infection caused by Tobacco mosaic virus（TMV） in leaves of Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Samsun has been studied. It was shown that the infectivity and viral coat protein content in leaves inoculated with a mixture of TMV（2 μg/mL） and chitosan（1 mg/mL） were lower in the early period of infection（3 days after inoculation）, by 63% and 66% respectively, than in leaves inoculated with TMV only. Treatment of leaves with chitosan 24 h before inoculation with TMV also caused the antiviral effects, but these were less apparent than when the virus and polysaccharide were applied simultaneously. The inhibitory effects of the agent decreased as the infection progressed. Inoculation of leaves with TMV together with chitosan considerably enhanced the activity of hydrolases（proteases, RNases） in the leaves, in comparison with leaves inoculated with TMV alone. Electron microscope assays of phosphotungstic acid（PTA）-stained suspensions from infected tobacco leaves showed that, in addition to the normal TMV particles（18 nm in diameter, 300 nm long）, these suspensions contained abnormal（swollen, “thin” and “short”） virions. The highest number of abnormal virions was found in suspensions from leaves inoculated with a mixture of TMV and chitosan. Immuno-electron microscopy showed that “thin” virus particles, in contrast to the particles of normal diameter, lost the ability to bind to specific antiserum. It seems that the chitosan-induced activation of hydrolases stimulates the intracellular degradation of TMV particles and hence hydrolase activation may be considered to be one of the polysaccharide-mediated cellular defense mechanisms that limit virus accumulation in cells.     

Henipavirus Pathogenesis in Human Respiratory Epithelial Cells

Hendra virus (HeV) and Nipah virus (NiV) are deadly zoonotic viruses for which no vaccines or therapeutics are licensed for human use. Henipavirus infection causes severe respiratory illness and encephalitis. Although the exact route of transmission in human is unknown, epidemiological studies and in vivo studies suggest that the respiratory tract is important for virus replication. However, the target cells in the respiratory tract are unknown, as are the mechanisms by which henipaviruses can cause disease. In this study, we characterized henipavirus pathogenesis using primary cells derived from the human respiratory tract. The growth kinetics of NiV-Malaysia, NiV-Bangladesh, and HeV were determined in bronchial/tracheal epithelial cells (NHBE) and small airway epithelial cells (SAEC). In addition, host responses to infection were assessed by gene expression analysis and immunoassays. Viruses replicated efficiently in both cell types and induced large syncytia. The host response to henipavirus infection in NHBE and SAEC highlighted a difference in the inflammatory response between HeV and NiV strains as well as intrinsic differences in the ability to mount an inflammatory response between NHBE and SAEC. These responses were highest during HeV infection in SAEC, as characterized by the levels of key cytokines (interleukin 6 [IL-6], IL-8, IL-1α, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 [MCP-1], and colony-stimulating factors) responsible for immune cell recruitment. Finally, we identified virus strain-dependent variability in type I interferon antagonism in NHBE and SAEC: NiV-Malaysia counteracted this pathway more efficiently than NiV-Bangladesh and HeV. These results provide crucial new information in the understanding of henipavirus pathogenesis in the human respiratory tract at an early stage of infection.     

Evolution of Salmonella enterica Virulence via Point Mutations in the Fimbrial Adhesin

Whereas the majority of pathogenic Salmonella serovars are capable of infecting many different animal species, typically producing a self-limited gastroenteritis, serovars with narrow host-specificity exhibit increased virulence and their infections frequently result in fatal systemic diseases. In our study, a genetic and functional analysis of the mannose-specific type 1 fimbrial adhesin FimH from a variety of serovars of Salmonella enterica revealed that specific mutant variants of FimH are common in host-adapted (systemically invasive) serovars. We have found that while the low-binding shear-dependent phenotype of the adhesin is preserved in broad host-range (usually systemically non-invasive) Salmonella, the majority of host-adapted serovars express FimH variants with one of two alternative phenotypes: a significantly increased binding to mannose (as in S. Typhi, S. Paratyphi C, S. Dublin and some isolates of S. Choleraesuis), or complete loss of the mannose-binding activity (as in S. Paratyphi B, S. Choleraesuis and S. Gallinarum). The functional diversification of FimH in host-adapted Salmonella results from recently acquired structural mutations. Many of the mutations are of a convergent nature indicative of strong positive selection. The high-binding phenotype of FimH that leads to increased bacterial adhesiveness to and invasiveness of epithelial cells and macrophages usually precedes acquisition of the non-binding phenotype. Collectively these observations suggest that activation or inactivation of mannose-specific adhesive properties in different systemically invasive serovars of Salmonella reflects their dynamic trajectories of adaptation to a life style in specific hosts. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that point mutations are the target of positive selection and, in addition to horizontal gene transfer and genome degradation events, can contribute to the differential pathoadaptive evolution of Salmonella.     

Endogenous adenosine protects preconditioned heart during early minutes of reperfusion by activating Akt

Ischemic preconditioning (IPC) is thought to protect by activating survival kinases during reperfusion. We tested whether binding of adenosine receptors is also required during reperfusion and, if so, how long these receptors must be populated. Isolated rabbit hearts were subjected to 30 min of regional ischemia and 2 h of reperfusion. IPC reduced infarct size from 32.1 +/- 4.6% of the risk zone in control hearts to 7.3 +/- 3.6%. IPC protection was blocked by a 20-min pulse of the nonselective adenosine receptor blocker 8-(p-sulfophenyl)-theophylline when started either 5 min before or 10 min after the onset of reperfusion but not when started after 30 min of reperfusion. Protection was also blocked by either 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine, an adenosine A1-selective receptor antagonist, or MRS1754, an A2B-selective antagonist, but not by 8-(3-chlorostyryl)caffeine, an A2A-selective antagonist. Blockade of phosphatidylinositol 3-OH kinase (PI3K) with a 20-min pulse of wortmannin also aborted protection when started either 5 min before or 10 or 30 min after the onset of reperfusion but failed when started after 60 min of reflow. U-0126, an antagonist of MEK1/2 and therefore of ERK1/2, blocked protection when started 5 min before reperfusion but not when started after only 10 min of reperfusion. These studies reveal that A1 and/or A2B receptors initiate the protective signal transduction cascade during reperfusion. Although PI3K activity must continue long into the reperfusion phase, adenosine receptor occupancy is no longer needed by 30 min of reperfusion, and ERK activity is only required in the first few minutes of reperfusion.     

Correlated cleavage of damaged DNA by bacterial and human 8-oxoguanine-DNA glycosylases

Many enzymes acting on specific rare lesions in DNA are suggested to search for their targets by facilitated one-dimensional diffusion. We have used a recently developed correlated cleavage assay to investigate whether this mechanism operates for Fpg and OGG1, two structurally unrelated DNA glycosylases that excise an important oxidative lesion, 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG), from DNA. Similar to a number of other DNA glycosylases or restriction endonucleases, Fpg and OGG1 processively excised 8-oxoG from pairs with cytosine at low salt concentrations, indicating that the lesion search likely proceeds by one-dimensional diffusion. At high salt concentrations, both enzymes switched to a distributive mode of lesion search. Correlated cleavage of abasic site-containing substrates proceeded in the same manner as cleavage of 8-oxoG. Interestingly, both Fpg and especially OGG1 demonstrated higher processivity if the substrate contained 8-oxoG.A pairs, against which these enzyme discriminate. Introduction of a nick into the substrate DNA did not decrease the extent of correlated cleavage, suggesting that the search probably involves hopping between adjacent positions on DNA rather than sliding along DNA. This was further supported by the observation that mutant forms of Fpg (Fpg-F110A and Fpg-F110W) with different sizes of the side chain of the amino acid residue inserted into DNA during scanning were both less processive than the wild-type enzyme. In conclusion, processive cleavage by Fpg and OGG1 does not correlate with their substrate specificity and under nearly physiological salt conditions may be replaced with the distributive mode of action.     

Mutations in the passenger polypeptide can affect its partitioning between mitochondria and cytoplasm

In this study, we report that the partitioning between mitochondria and cytoplasm of two variants, mCherry and DsRed Express (DRE), of the red fluorescent protein, DsRed, fused to one of the six matrix targeting sequences (MTSs) can be affected by both MTS and amino acid substitutions in DsRed. Of the six MTSs tested, MTSs from superoxide dismutase and DNA polymerase gamma failed to direct mCherry, but not DRE to mitochondria. By evaluating a series of chimeras between mCherry and DRE fused to the MTS of superoxide dismutase, we attribute the differences in the mitochondrial partitioning to differences in the primary amino acid sequence of the passenger polypeptide. The impairment of mitochondrial partitioning closely parallels the number of mCherry-specific mutations, and is not specific to mutations located in any particular region of the polypeptide. These observations suggest that both MTS and the passenger polypeptide affect the efficiency of mitochondrial import and provide a rationale for the observed diversity in the primary amino acid sequences of natural MTSs.     

Brown seaweed protein as an inhibitor of marine mollusk endo-(1-->3)-beta-D-glucanases

Aqueous ethanol extracts from brown seaweed were found to contain substances inhibiting endo-(1-->3)-beta-D-glucanases, the digestive enzymes of marine mollusks. The inhibitors were detected in 70% of the brown seaweeds investigated. An irreversible protein inhibitor with high specificity for endo-(1-->3)-beta-D-glucanases of marine mollusks was isolated from the brown seaweed, Laminaria cichorioides. As determined by gel filtration, the molecular weight of the inhibitor was 46 kDa. The value of [I]50 (10(-8) M) for the inhibitor was comparable with the corresponding value for natural alpha-amylase inhibitors from terrestrial plants. Chemical modification results indicated that tryptophan, dicarboxylic acid, histidine and probably tyrosine residues of inhibitor molecule are important for interaction of the inhibitor with the enzyme.