Gene/Protein
Disease
Symptom
Drug
Enzyme
Compound
Pivot Concepts:
Gene/Protein
Disease
Symptom
Drug
Enzyme
Compound
Target Concepts:
Gene/Protein
Disease
Symptom
Drug
Enzyme
Compound
Query: EC:2.7.7.49 (
reverse transcriptase
)
31,746
document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)
Specific immune cell activation is a hallmark of infections and autoimmune disorders. Quantification of proliferative cell responses by (3)H-thymidine incorporation is a slow process and describes only one type of cellular reaction. We here investigated early immunological responses of purified human peripheral blood mononuclear cells to the direct stimulus alpha CD3 and antigen specific stimulation (human myelin basic protein (hMBP), tetanus toxoid, and
influenza
vaccine) and compared them to polyclonal LPS stimulation. Cytokine mRNA levels were quantified using real-time quantitative
reverse transcriptase
polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) 4 h, 16 h, and 48 h after activation. Proliferation was measured 96 h after initiation of the cultures. Antigen specific responses were detected as early as 4 h after stimulation and followed different kinetics depending on the mode of activation. We demonstrated significant correlations of cytokine mRNA and protein expression for TNF alpha, IL10, and IFN gamma. Expression of IL2 mRNA at 16 h was correlated with proliferation indices at 96 h whereas IL4 mRNA levels were negatively correlated. Early cytokine mRNA expression in stimulated immune cells provides important functional data and is a powerful tool with which to study immunological reactions.
...
PMID:Characterization of early immunological responses in primary cultures of differentially activated human peripheral mononuclear cells. 1115 May 44
To determine whether some constitutional symptoms of
influenza
, such as headache, myalgia and nausea, could represent a viral infection of brain, muscle, and liver, we inoculated juvenile Balb/c mice intranasally with 103 plaque forming units of
influenza
B/Lee virus. Blood, brain, liver, skeletal muscle, and lung tissues were removed aseptically and assayed for infectivity by a plaque assay, viral RNA by
reverse transcriptase
-polymerase chain reaction (RT - PCR), viral antigen by immunoperoxidase staining, and histologic changes by light microscopy. Mice became ill 2 - 3 days post inoculation (PI). A productive viral infection of the lungs developed from days 1 - 8 with maxima of virus titers, pneumonia, and the number of immunoperoxidase staining lung cells occurring on days 2 - 6 PI. Virus isolation from blood was rare and viral RNA was detected intermittently in blood by RT - PCR. In many animals, a non-permissive or abortive infection of brain occurred from days 1 - 8 and peaked on days 3 - 4 PI. Viral RNA was detected in brain tissue and viral antigen was seen in cerebral endothelial cells but infectious virus was rarely isolated from brain. In liver, viral RNA was detected and viral antigen was seen occasionally in hepatocytes. In skeletal muscle, viral RNA was detected but neither infectious virus nor viral antigen was seen. A correlation existed between the severity of the illness, pneumonia, lung virus titer, viral antigen in lung cells, and extent of a non-permissive viral infection of brain and liver but not muscle. These studies demonstrate that following intranasal infection of
influenza
virus in mice, a viral pneumonia develops with subsequent intermittent viremia and non-permissive or abortive infection of brain, liver and muscle.
...
PMID:Experimental influenza causes a non-permissive viral infection of brain, liver and muscle. 1117 25
The Hexaplex assay (Prodesse, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis.) is a multiplex
reverse transcriptase
(RT)-PCR assay for the detection of parainfluenza virus types 1, 2, and 3, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) types A and B, and
influenza
virus types A and B. We evaluated the Hexaplex assay in comparison with conventional viral cell cultures and rapid enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) for RSV (Directigen; Becton Dickinson Inc., Cockeysville, Md.) and
influenza
A virus (Abbott Test Pack; Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill.) for the detection of respiratory viruses from pediatric respiratory specimens obtained from children seen at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin from December 1997 through May 1998. A total of 363 respiratory specimens were evaluated. The tissue culture prevalence of parainfluenza virus during this period of time was low (1.1%). The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value of Hexaplex compared to tissue culture for the detection of parainfluenza virus were 100, 95.8, 19.0, and 100%, respectively. Only one specimen was determined to contain
influenza
B virus by Hexaplex; it was tissue culture negative. A specimen was considered to contain RSV or
influenza
A virus when it was either culture positive or culture negative but Hexaplex and EIA positive. Prior to the analysis of discrepant results, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value for the detection of RSV were 91.2, 100, 100, and 98.0%, respectively, for tissue culture; 84.5, 100, 100, and 96.6% for EIA; and 98.5, 91.5, 72.8, and 99.6% for Hexaplex, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value for the detection of
influenza
A virus prior to the analysis of discrepant results were 100, 100, 100, and 100%, respectively, for culture, 78.0, 100, 100, and 89.4% for EIA, respectively, and 95.1, 94.1, 67.2, and 99.3% for Hexaplex, respectively. Culture- and/or EIA-negative, Hexaplex-positive specimens were analyzed by a second RT-PCR assay which used primers specific for a different genomic region than that used in the Hexaplex assay. After analysis of these discrepant results, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value for the detection of RSV were 74.3, 100, 100, and 93.5%, respectively, for tissue culture; 70.3, 100, 100, and 92.5% for EIA; and 98.6, 97.4, 91.2, and 99.6% for Hexaplex. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value for the detection of
influenza
A virus were 83.3, 100, 100, and 97.4%, respectively, for tissue culture; 69.4, 100, 100, and 83.3% for EIA; and 95.8, 98.7, 92.0, and 99.3% for Hexaplex. Hexaplex is a rapid, sensitive, and specific method for the detection of the seven most common respiratory viruses in children.
...
PMID:Evaluation of the Hexaplex assay for detection of respiratory viruses in children. 1132 76
Elderberry, chondroitin, and glucosamine sulfate have been found to block HIV replication at three distinct points in the replication cycle. For quadruple therapy, a
reverse transcriptase
inhibitor such as olive leaf extract or Epivir (3TC) could be added. In one case, a female, taking no HIV drugs, used an elderberry extract, called Sambucol, with olive leaf extract and experienced a viral load drop from 17,000 to 4,000. Instructions are given for making both alcohol-free and alcohol-based elderberry extracts. In 1993, researchers at Jerusalem?s Hebrew University Medical School found in a placebo-controlled double-blind study that Sambucol led to a rapid recovery from
influenza
and inhibited replication of nine other strains of the
flu
virus. A theory is that elderberry renders viruses nonfunctional by staining and coating them. Another promising treatment is soil based organisms, which improved Natural Killer cell function in a person with CFIDS.
...
PMID:A new triple combination therapy. 1136 42
We describe a fast and robust new assay format to measure poly(A) polymerase (PAP) activity in a microtiter plate format. The new assay principle uses only natural nucleotide triphosphates and avoids a labour-intensive filtration step. A coupled enzymatic system combining PAP and
reverse transcriptase
forms the basis of the assay. The PAP generates a poly(A) tail on a RNA substrate and the
reverse transcriptase
is used to quantify the polyadenylated RNA by extension of a biotinylated oligo-dT primer. We demonstrate the principle of the assay using
influenza
virus RNA polymerase and yeast PAP as examples. A specific increase in the K(m) value for ATP and the observation of burst kinetics in the polyadenylation dependent, but not in the polyadenylation independent, assay suggest that a rate limiting step of
influenza
polymerase activity occurs after transcription elongation. Yeast PAP was used to validate the assay as an example of a template independent PAP. The new yeast PAP assay was approximately 100-fold more sensitive than the conventional TCA precipitation assay for yeast PAP, but the kinetic analysis of the PAP reaction gave similar results in both assays. The two enzymes show important differences with respect to inhibition by 3'-deoxy-ATP. Whereas the K(i) value for 3'-deoxy-ATP (105-117 microM) is similar to the K(m) value for ATP (186 microM) in the case of
influenza
RNA polymerase, the K(i) value for 3'-deoxy-ATP (0.4-0.6 microM) is approximately 100-fold lower than the K(m) value for ATP (50 microM) in the case of yeast PAP.
...
PMID:A sensitive, single-tube assay to measure the enzymatic activities of influenza RNA polymerase and other poly(A) polymerases: application to kinetic and inhibitor analysis. 1143 13
To investigate the pathogenesis of
influenza
myositis in animals, juvenile BALB/c mice were inoculated with
influenza
B/Lee virus intramuscularly into the right quadriceps muscle. Chicken normal allantoic fluid (NAF) or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) was injected into the left quadriceps of control mice and in some virus-infected mice. Serum creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) levels rose significantly on days 1 and 2 post-inoculation (PI) in only virus-inoculated mice. On days 2 and 3 PI, right quadriceps muscles developed scattered foci of a predominantly mononuclear inflammation in the perimysial connective tissue often adjacent to degenerating or necrotic muscle fibers. Immunofluorescent staining with specific anti-
influenza
B virus antisera showed muscle fibers that contained specific staining in nuclei and adjacent cytoplasm. Skip areas of staining within muscle fibers suggested that not all muscle nuclei within an individual muscle fiber were infected. A continuous fall in infectious virus titer in the right quadriceps muscles suggested the initial virus inoculum became inactivated and progeny virions were not produced. Left quadriceps muscle never had muscle necrosis or endomysial inflammation, specific staining of viral antigen, virus isolation, or viral RNA detected by the
reverse transcriptase
polymerase chain reaction assay. These findings support the hypothesis that a non-permissive
influenza
viral infection can develop in murine skeletal muscle that can damage specific nuclear domains of muscle fibers producing muscle degeneration or necrosis. A similar type of muscle infection may develop in humans that occasionally develop focal myositis during
influenza
.
...
PMID:Experimental influenza B viral myositis. 1144 Jul 46
In collaboration with the Dutch Institute for Health Care Improvement (CBO) and on the basis of recent developments, new guidelines have been developed for the diagnosis and treatment of HIV-infected patients. The most important recommendations are: Treatment of adult patients is indicated if HIV load > 30,000 RNA copies/ml, or when CD4+ cell count is < 350 x 10(6) cells/l. Treatment of children is indicated if HIV load > 5,000 copies/ml, even when CD4+ cell count is > 500 x 10(6) cells/l. Optimal antiretroviral treatment consists of a combination of two nucleoside
reverse transcriptase
inhibitors (NRTIs) and one protease inhibitor, or a combination of two NRTIs and one non-nucleoside
reverse transcriptase
inhibitor. Patients on antiretroviral treatment should be monitored every 3 months. Undetectable HIV load should be the target of first- or second-line antiretroviral treatment. In order to prevent HIV transmission from mother to child, prescription of antiretroviral drugs after the first three months of pregnancy is indicated in pregnant women with a detectable HIV load. Prophylaxis of opportunistic infections can be discontinued if CD4+ cell count recovers above 200 x 10(6)/l. In case of exposure to HIV due to a needle or other occupational accident or unsafe sexual contact, post-exposure prophylaxis should be offered after careful risk evaluation. Preferably, vaccination to prevent pneumococci infections,
influenza
, hepatitis A or hepatitis B should be given when CD4+ cell count is > 200 x 10(6)/l.
...
PMID:[CBO guidelines 'Antiretroviral therapy in the Netherlands']. 1153 75
Influenza
vaccines must be revised constantly on almost a yearly basis because of the sequential mutations (antigenic drift) that occur as the virus responds to immunologic pressure. New, high yield (hy) reassortant viruses have proved essential to meet production needs for the supply of new vaccines. We have devised a method for simple, rapid and precise identification of the principal
influenza
A virus RNA segment (RNA 7) associated with hy and transferred from the hy donor virus, A/PR/8/34 (H1N1). The method entails the use of a single restriction enzyme, Bsgl, in analysis by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of
reverse transcriptase
-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-generated DNA amplicons. The method clearly distinguishes the RNA coding for the M proteins of the donor virus from that of representative and epidemiologically significant human wild type viruses of the past 60 years. In the course of this methodological study further evidence has been found of the variability of the so-called 'invariant' and stable M1 and M2 proteins of the virus. Another finding of potentially basic significance that merits further study is the occurrence of a consistent change at the same amino acid (aa) site of the donated RNA 7 upon its transfer to reassortant viruses.
...
PMID:Rapid confirmation by RFLP of transfer to vaccine candidate reassortment viruses of the principal 'high yield' gene of influenza A viruses. 1174 60
We examined the expression of mRNAs for inflammatory cytokines and Fas in cultured human fetal membrane cells responding to
influenza
virus (IV) infection using the
reverse transcriptase
-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Primary cultured chorion and amnion cells prepared from human fetal membranes were infected with IV. Chorion cells expressed significant amounts of interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interferon (IFN)-beta, IFN-gamma and granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) mRNAs and small amounts of Fas mRNA in response to IV infection. Amnion cells expressed TNF-alpha and IFN-beta mRNAs in response to IV infection, while expression of the other mRNAs was not altered. We also examined whether or not TNF-alpha, IFN-beta, IFN-gamma and Fas participated in IV infection-induced apoptotic DNA fragmentation in chorion cells. Neutralizing antibodies against them did not inhibit DNA fragmentation. These results suggested that chorion cells expressed significant amounts of mRNAs for inflammatory cytokines in response to IV infection, and that, in contrast, mRNA expression was quiescent in amnion cells. Moreover, TNF-alpha, IFN-beta, IFN-gamma and Fas do not appear to be directly involved in the apoptosis induction of IV-infected chorion cells. The results indicated that chorion cells may play a role in defense against IV through an antiviral immune response and apoptosis to eliminate own cells and viral pathogens in infected organs, whereas amnion cells do not play such a role.
...
PMID:Differential mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines in cultured human fetal membrane cells responding to influenza virus infection. 1185 74
The globular region of hemagglutinin (residues 91-261) membrane glycoprotein of
influenza
virus that encompasses the binding zone to the oligosaccharide receptor of target cells has been cloned by
reverse transcriptase
-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). This protein segment (denoted HA91-261 peptide) induced significant immune response in mice. The serum antibodies and lung homogenates from the immunized mice cross-reacted with native virus particles. The cellular immunity was manifested by proliferative splenocyte responses and cytokine release indicating T helper type 1 activity. The plasmid DNA containing this segment (denoted pHA91-261) provoked, in addition, a significant cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response, whereas the HA91-261 protein fragment led to no such response. Both the DNA and the protein fragment of HA91-261 induced significant protection against viral challenge, although the immune response they induce might be along different pathways. Interestingly, the combined DNA priming-protein boosting immunization regimen did not induce protection against viral challenges even though it led to significant humoral immune responses similar to that induced by the peptide vaccine.
...
PMID:Immunization with influenza virus hemagglutinin globular region containing the receptor-binding pocket. 1195 38
<< Previous
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Next >>