New 2‐Oxoimidazolidine Derivatives: Design,Synthesis and Evaluation of Anti‐BK Virus Activities in Vitro

A series of novel 2‐oxoimidazolidine derivatives were synthesized and their antiviral activities against BK human polyomavirus type 1 (BKPyV) were evaluated in vitro. Bioassays showed that the synthesized compounds 1‐{[(4E)‐5‐(dichloromethylidene)‐2‐oxoimidazolidin‐4‐ylidene]sulfamoyl}piperidine‐4‐carboxylic acid ( 5 ) and N‐Cyclobutyl‐N′‐[(4E)‐5‐(dichloromethylidene)‐2‐oxoimidazolidin‐4‐ylidene]sulfuric diamide ( 4 ) exhibited moderate activities against BKPyV (EC₅₀=5.4 and 5.5 μm , respectively) that are comparable to the standard drug Cidofovir. Compound 5 exhibited the same cytotoxicity in HFF cells and selectivity index (SI₅₀) as Cidofovir. The selectivity index of compound 4 is three times less than that of Cidofovir due to the higher toxicity of this compound. Hence, these compounds may be taken as lead compound for further development of novel ant‐BKPyV agents.     

F-actin involvement in guinea pig sperm motility

Sperm motility is a must for natural fertilization to occur. During their travel through the epididymis, mammalian spermatozoa gradually acquire the ability to move. This is accomplished through a sliding movement of the outer doublet microtubules of the axoneme which is energized by the dynein ATPase. Within its complex structure, the mammalian sperm flagellum contains F-actin and thus, we decided to test in the guinea pig sperm flagellum the role of F-actin in motility. During maturation, capacitation, and the acrosome reaction, a gradual decrease of the relative concentration of F-actin was observed. Motility increased as spermatozoa became able to fertilize. Gelsolin, phalloidin, and KI inhibited sperm motility. Gelsolin canceled sperm motility within 20 min of treatment while 0.6 M KI had immediate effects. Phalloidin diminished hyperactive sperm motility slightly. All three compounds significantly increased the relative concentration of F-actin. Latrunculins are conventional drugs that destabilize the F-actin cytoskeleton. Latrunculin A (LAT A) did not affect sperm motility; but significantly increased F-actin relative concentration. The results suggested that in guinea pig spermatozoa, randomly severing F-actin filaments inhibits flagellar motility; while end filament alteration does not. Thus, specific filament regions seem to be important for sperm motility.     

急性呼吸道感染儿童中WU多瘤病毒基因组序列特征分析

为了解从北京地区急性呼吸道感染儿童中发现的WU多瘤病毒的基因组编码特征,并对其进行基因序列多样性分析,应用针对基因组5'端非编码区、衣壳蛋白VP1、VP2编码基因以及LTAg编码基因的引物对,从已确证为WU病毒阳性的来自北京地区急性呼吸道感染儿童的编号为BJF5276的临床标本中经聚合酶链反应扩增得到预期的基因片段,直接测序后将序列拼接得到全基因组序列,进而推导其基因组编码特征;随后从其它21例已确证为WU多瘤病毒阳性的急性呼吸道感染儿童标本中扩增得到衣壳蛋白VP2编码区基因,进行基因序列测定以及基因序列多样性分析。得到了WU病毒BJF5276全基因组序列。序列分析结果显示WU病毒BJF5276基因组序列全长为5229bp,共有5个主要的CDS(Coding domain sequences),分别编码衣壳蛋白VP2、VP3、VP1,并以其互补序列为模板,编码STAg和LTAg;所得到的22例VP2蛋白编码区基因序列同源性比较结果显示病毒VP2基因编码区序列与GenBank中已有的64个序列之间同源性很高;Mega4.0NJ进化树(Neighbor-joiningtree)分析显示这22个VP2基因序列分属于不同的基因进化簇,其中20个序列属于进化簇I中的Ia,另外2个序列属于进化簇III,其中的一个序列在IIIb基因进化簇中,另外一个序列独立成簇,不属于现有的IIIa或IIIb,暂时将其命名为IIIc。本研究结果提示北京地区的WU病毒具有多瘤病毒科的基因组编码特性;序列非常保守,有分属于不同基因进化簇的WU病毒在北京地区流行,与文献报道的以Ib流行为主所不同的是北京地区的WU病毒以Ia为主,且有新的基因进化簇出现。     

A bacterial toxin and a nonenveloped virus hijack ER-to-cytosol membrane translocation pathways to cause disease

Abstract

A dedicated network of cellular factors ensures that proteins translocated into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) are folded correctly before they exit this compartment en route to other cellular destinations or for secretion. When proteins misfold, selective ER-resident enzymes and chaperones are recruited to rectify the protein-misfolding problem in order to maintain cellular proteostasis. However, when a protein becomes terminally misfolded, it is ejected into the cytosol and degraded by the proteasome via a pathway called ER-associated degradation (ERAD). Strikingly, toxins and viruses can hijack elements of the ERAD pathway to access the host cytosol and cause infection. This review focuses on emerging data illuminating the molecular mechanisms by which these toxic agents co-opt the ER-to-cytosol translocation process to cause disease.     

中国浙江地区儿童下呼吸道感染KI多瘤病毒的鉴定

呼吸道病毒感染可以导致大面积人群致病[1],近些年,临床上由于不明原因导致的小儿下呼吸道感染病例屡见不鲜,对于该类患儿一般采取抗生素混合治疗的方法,但是治疗效果不佳.尽管过去几年开展的多项研究已经鉴定到了很多的病原体,如腺病毒,鼻病毒属病毒,冠状病毒属病毒,呼吸道合胞体病毒,流感病毒,副流感病毒等.     

Seroprevalence of SV40-like polyomavirus infections in captive and free-ranging macaque species

BACKGROUND AND METHODS: To investigate the seroprevalence of polyomavirus infections in macaques, we analyzed 1579 sera from nine different species for antibodies cross-reactive with simian virus 40 (SV40) in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Most samples were collected from captive animals, but we also investigated a colony of free-ranging Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus). RESULTS: High seropositive rates were found in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta; 74.7%), cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis; 44.8%) and Tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana; 41.7%), especially in animals imported from China. Low rates were measured in cynomolgus macaques from Mauritius (8.8%), and in Barbary macaques (1.4%). Seropositivity was age-dependent increasing to >70% in animals of 5 years and older. CONCLUSIONS: High seroprevalence rates were found in different species of macaques, dependent on their origin. Very low infection rates found in Barbary macaques and cynomolgus macaques from Mauritius suggest that these animals in the wild are not commonly infected by SV40-like viruses.     

Mutation in the VP1-LDV motif of the murine polyomavirus affects viral infectivity and conditions virus tissue tropism in vivo

The first contact of a virus with the host cell surface and further entry are important steps for a successful outcome of the infection process and for the virus-associated pathogenicity. We have previously shown that the entry of the murine Polyomavirus (Py) into fibroblasts is a multi-step process involving, at least, the attachment to primary sialic acids (SA)-containing cell receptors followed by post-binding interaction with secondary receptors, such as the alpha4beta1 integrin, likely through the VP1-LDV motif. Here we report on the functional role of the VP1-LDV motif in Py infectivity and in vivo virus tissue tropism. For this purpose, we have characterized a recombinant virus mutant, PyLNV, harboring a single aa substitution in this motif (D138N). Although not critical for virus viability, the D138N substitution abrogates the post-attachment Py-alpha4beta1 interaction, rendering the PyLNV mutant virus twofold less infectious than the Py wild-type (Wt) in alpha4beta1-positive fibroblasts. To study the putative role of the VP1-LDV motif in vivo, newborn C57BL/6 mice were inoculated with PyWt or PyLNV and, after six days, organs were analyzed for the presence of viral DNA. Intriguingly, PyLNV showed an altered spectrum of in vivo replication compared with PyWt, particularly in the skin and in the kidney. The implication of Py-alpha4beta1 integrin interaction in conditioning tissue-specificity of virus replication is discussed.