Antiviral Activity of Antimicrobial Lipopeptide from Bacillus subtilis fmbj Against Pseudorabies Virus, Porcine Parvovirus, Newcastle Disease Virus and Infectious Bursal Disease Virus in Vitro

Bacillus subtilis fmbj can produce lipopeptide antimicrobial substance, whose main components were surfactin and fengycin. In the study, the antiviral activity of antimicrobial lipopeptides (AMLs) from B. subtilis fmbj (CGMCC No. 0934) against Pseudorabies Virus (PRV), Porcine Parvovirus (PPV), Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) and Infectious Bursal Disease Virus (IBDV) was evaluated in vitro. The AMLs represented a direct inactivation effect on cell-free virus stocks of PRV, PPV, NDV and IBDV, and it could effectively inhibit infection and replication of the NDV and IBDV, but failed to affect PRV and PPV. The AMLs were represented higher toxicity for the Porcine Kidney (PK-15) cells (50% cytotoxic concentration (CC₅₀) value was 32.87 μM) and lower for the Chicken Embryo Fibroblasts (CEF) cells (CC₅₀ value was 89.16 μM). The Selectivity index of AMLs on PRV, PPV, NDV and IBDV was 1.44, 2.23, 8.40 and 12.19, respectively.     

Ⅰ型单纯疱疹病毒 gD基因片段的高效表达及抗原性分析

目的 获得高表达的Ⅰ型单纯疱疹病毒(HSV)被膜糖蛋白gD（简称gD1）基因的工程菌。方法 通过计算机分析,筛选出疱疹病毒gD1中优势抗原决定簇的基因片段。将克隆的基因片段插入表达载体pTrxA内,转化大肠杆菌Rosetta,以异丙基-β-D-硫代半乳糖苷诱导表达。十二烷基硫酸钠-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(SDS-PAGE)分析表达产物。　结果　PCR扩增出约930bp的gD1编码基因目的片段,与预期片段大小相符,经测序鉴定无基因突变;所构建pTrxA-gD1重组表达质粒阳性克隆经PCR与双酶切鉴定,与预期结果一致;含有pTrxA-gD1重组质粒的大肠杆菌Rosetta诱导后得到了高效达,SDS-PAGE显示表达产物约Mr48000（Dalton）。免疫印迹结果表明表达产物具有较好的抗原性。结论　成功构建了pTrxA-gD1表达质粒,实现了成熟gD1蛋白在大肠杆菌中的高效表达,表达产物具有好的抗原性。     

植物基因功能鉴定新工具--病毒诱导基因沉默技术的研究进展

病毒诱导基因沉默（Virus—induced gene silencing,VIGS）技术是指带一段靶基因序列的VIGS重组病毒侵染植物、引起植物同源基因沉默与表型变异,进而通过表型变异进行基因功能分析的方法,是近年发展起来的从反向遗传学方向快速鉴定植物基因功能的技术,是转录后基因沉默机制的一种表现。①VIGS的分子机制,涉厦基因沉默的起始、维持和信号放大、传播共3个阶段;②VIGS技术、栽体与方法学的发展;③VIGS作为基因功能研究的优越性,如不必进行转基因、操作方法简便、获得结果快速等;④应用VIGS对植物抗病途径、代谢与发育调控中参与基因功能进行研究的概况。同时。展望了VIGS技术作为植物功能基因组学功能分析的高通量技术平台的美好前景。     

传染性法氏囊病毒VP2 蛋白的分子生物学研究进展

本文综述了IBDV的保护性抗原蛋白VP2与病毒形态、毒力变异、抗原变异间的关系及在诱导宿主细胞凋亡中的作用。同时也探讨了其在新型疫苗开发中的应用等方面的研究进展。     

酪酸梭菌活菌散在治疗手足口病中的应用

目的观察和评价酪酸梭菌活菌散治疗手足口病的临床疗效。方法将34例手足口病患儿随机分为治疗组和对照组,治疗组18例,对照组16例,2组均给予对症支持治疗。其中治疗组在治疗的同时加用酪酸梭菌活菌散,1周岁以下,0．5g／次,1周岁以上,1g／次,3次／d,温水送服。对照组不用酪酸梭菌活菌散治疗。对两组疱疹、食欲、体温变化情况及腹泻等并发症进行统计分析。结果治疗组起效时间、疱疹消失时间、食欲正常时间和体温恢复正常时间显著短于对照组,差异具有统计学意义（P〈0．05或0．01）。结论酪酸梭菌活菌散治疗手足口病疗效显著,具有积极的临床意义。     

中国学术期刊网络出版总库节点文献新疆驴脑组织尼帕病毒N基因片段的检测

目的检测新疆伊犁草原地区放养新疆驴的脑组织样本中尼帕病毒（Nipah Virus,NiV）核蛋白（N）基因片段,调查该地区放养新疆驴NiV感染流行状况。方法采用一步法实时荧光定量逆转录聚合酶链反应（one-step Real-Time FQ RT-PCR）对采自新疆伊犁地区草原放养且未接种NiV疫苗的65例新疆驴脑组织进行NiVN基因片段检测。结果新疆驴脑组织标本中未检出NiV N基因片段。结论目前尚无证据表明我国新疆伊犁地区新疆驴中存在NiV感染,提示该地区短时间内爆发该病毒感染可能性较小。     

Mutations Altering a Structurally Conserved Loop-Helix-Loop Region of a Viral Packaging Motor Change DNA Translocation Velocity and Processivity

Many double-stranded DNA viruses employ ATP-driven motors to translocate their genomes into small, preformed viral capsids against large forces resisting confinement. Here, we show via direct single-molecule measurements that a mutation T194M downstream of the Walker B motif in the phage λ gpA packaging motor causes an 8-fold reduction in translocation velocity without substantially changing processivity or force dependence, whereas the mutation G212S in the putative C (coupling) motif causes a 3-fold reduction in velocity and a 6-fold reduction in processivity. Meanwhile a T194M pseudorevertant (T194V) showed a near restoration of the wild-type dynamics. Structural comparisons and modeling show that these mutations are in a loop-helix-loop region that positions the key residues of the catalytic motifs, Walker B and C, in the ATPase center and is structurally homologous with analogous regions in chromosome transporters and SF2 RNA helicases. Together with recently published studies of SpoIIIE chromosome transporter and Ded1 RNA helicase mutants, these findings suggest the presence of a structurally conserved region that may be a part of the mechanism that determines motor velocity and processivity in several different types of nucleic acid translocases.     

Heat Shock Protein 72 Is Associated with the Hepatitis C Virus Replicase Complex and Enhances Viral RNA Replication

The NS5A protein of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an integral component of the viral replicase. It also modulates cellular signaling and perturbs host interferon responses. The multifunctional characteristics of NS5A are mostly attributed to its ability to interact with various cellular proteins. This study aimed to identify the novel cellular factors that interact with NS5A and decipher the significance of this interaction in viral replication. The NS5A-interacting proteins were purified by the tandem affinity purification (TAP) procedure from cells expressing NS5A and identified by mass spectrometry. The chaperone protein Hsp72 was identified herein. In vivo protein-protein interaction was verified by co-immunoprecipitation and an in situ proximity ligation assay. In addition to NS5A, Hsp72 was also associated with other members of the replicase complex, NS3 and NS5B, suggesting that it might be directly involved in the HCV replication complex. Hsp72 plays a positive regulatory role in HCV RNA replication by increasing levels of the replicase complex, which was attributed either to the increased stability of the viral proteins in the replicase complex or to the enhanced translational activity of the internal ribosome entry site of HCV. The fact that the host chaperone protein Hsp72 is involved in HCV RNA replication may represent a therapeutic target for controlling virus production.     

Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus 2C Is a Hexameric AAA+ Protein with a Coordinated ATP Hydrolysis Mechanism

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), a positive sense, single-stranded RNA virus, causes a highly contagious disease in cloven-hoofed livestock. Like other picornaviruses, FMDV has a conserved 2C protein assigned to the superfamily 3 helicases a group of AAA+ ATPases that has a predicted N-terminal membrane-binding amphipathic helix attached to the main ATPase domain. In infected cells, 2C is involved in the formation of membrane vesicles, where it co-localizes with viral RNA replication complexes, but its precise role in virus replication has not been elucidated. We show here that deletion of the predicted N-terminal amphipathic helix enables overexpression in Escherichia coli of a highly soluble truncated protein, 2C(34–318), that has ATPase and RNA binding activity. ATPase activity was abrogated by point mutations in the Walker A (K116A) and B (D160A) motifs and Motif C (N207A) in the active site. Unliganded 2C(34–318) exhibits concentration-dependent self-association to yield oligomeric forms, the largest of which is tetrameric. Strikingly, in the presence of ATP and RNA, FMDV 2C(34–318) containing the N207A mutation, which binds but does not hydrolyze ATP, was found to oligomerize specifically into hexamers. Visualization of FMDV 2C-ATP-RNA complexes by negative stain electron microscopy revealed hexameric ring structures with 6-fold symmetry that are characteristic of AAA+ ATPases. ATPase assays performed by mixing purified active and inactive 2C(34–318) subunits revealed a coordinated mechanism of ATP hydrolysis. Our results provide new insights into the structure and mechanism of picornavirus 2C proteins that will facilitate new investigations of their roles in infection.     

Resistance profiles of novel electrostatically constrained HIV-1 fusion inhibitors

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) gp41 plays a key role in viral fusion; the N- and C-terminal heptad repeats (N-HR and C-HR) of gp41 form a stable 6-helical conformation for fusion. Therefore, HR-derived peptides, such as enfuvirtide (T-20), inhibit HIV-1 fusion by acting as decoys, and have been used for the treatment of HIV-1 infection. However, the efficacy of T-20 is attenuated by resistance mutations in gp41, including V38A and N43D. To suppress the resistant variants, we previously developed electrostatically constrained peptides, SC34 and SC34EK, and showed that both exhibited potent anti-HIV-1 activity against wild-type and T-20-resistant variants. In this study, to clarify the resistance mechanism to this next generation of fusion inhibitors, we selected variants with resistance to SC34 and SC34EK in vitro. The resistant variants had multiple mutations in gp41. All of these mutations individually caused less than 6-fold resistance to SC34 and SC34EK, indicating that there is a significant genetic barrier for high-level resistance. Cross-resistance to SC34 and SC34EK was reduced by a simple difference in the polarity of two intramolecular electrostatic pairs. Furthermore, the selected mutations enhanced the physicochemical interactions with N-HR variants and restored activities of the parental peptide, C34, even to resistant variants. These results demonstrate that our approach of designing gp41-binding inhibitors using electrostatic constraints and information derived from resistance studies produces inhibitors with enhanced activity, high genetic barrier, and distinct resistance profile from T-20 and other inhibitors. Hence, this is a promising approach for the design of future generation peptide fusion inhibitors.