Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.7.7.49 (reverse transcriptase)
31,746 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Eleven (nine CD4+ and two CD8+) protein purified derivative-specific and eight tetanus toxoid-specific T cell clones (TCC), established from the peripheral blood of healthy persons, were cocultured in vitro with irradiated mononuclear cells from patients infected by HIV in the presence of PHA and polybrene. Two weeks post-HIV exposure, all 17 CD4+, but neither of the two CD8+, TCC exhibited integration of HIV in their genoma, as detected by polymerase chain reaction analysis, and released HIV into their supernatants, as detected by measuring both reverse transcriptase activity and p24 Ag. When co-cultured with either autologous or allogeneic B cells, all CD4+ HIV-infected TCC induced the synthesis of extraordinarily high amounts of IgM, IgG, and IgA. In contrast, their noninfected counterparts could provide helper function for Ig synthesis by autologous B cells only in the presence of the specific Ag (or anti-CD3 antibody), and induced allogeneic B cells to synthesize Ig only upon stimulation with anti-CD3 antibody. The supernatants of HIV-infected TCC failed to stimulate Ig synthesis in B cells. More importantly, when HIV-infected clonal T blasts and B cells were cultured in different chambers separated by a millipore membrane, permeable to molecules but not to cells, Ig synthesis did not occur. The Ig synthesis induced by HIV-infected TCC was also markedly inhibited by the addition in culture of either anti-CD4 or anti-LFA-1 antibody. In contrast, HIV-infected TCC maintained their ability to provide helper function for Ig synthesis in the absence of any stimulus, even after fixation with p-formaldehyde. These data demonstrate that in vitro infection with HIV enables human T cells to stimulate Ig synthesis by B cells by an Ag-nonspecific, MHC-unrestricted, contact-dependent mechanism. This may explain, at least in part, the hypergammaglobulinemia and other phenomena related to polyclonal B cell activation frequently seen in HIV-infected persons.
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PMID:In vitro infection with HIV enables human CD4+ T cell clones to induce noncognate contact-dependent polyclonal B cell activation. 167 84

Effects of cell fixation procedures appropriate for flow cytometric analysis on the infectivity of human T lymphoblastoid H9 cells infected with human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) were evaluated to provide guidelines for choosing cell treatments for potentially infectious samples. H9 cells experimentally infected with HIV-1 were treated by the test fixation procedure, washed, and cocultured with equal numbers of live, uninfected H9 cells. To estimate the reduction in infectivity due to the fixation procedure, dilution series of live infected H9 cells in uninfected H9 cells were simultaneously established in culture. Cell cultures were incubated 8-10 d, harvested, and evaluated for evidence of HIV-1 infection by the presence of cell-associated HIV-1 antigens and/or by the presence of particle-associated reverse transcriptase activity in cell culture supernatants. Thirty-minute fixation with formaldehyde (1.85%), methanol (absolute), methanol:acetone (1:1), or paraformaldehyde (0.5%) reduced the infectivity of HIV-1-infected H9 cells by greater than 99.99%. To the same degree, a multi-step fixation procedure utilizing formaldehyde and ethanol was effective in reducing HIV-1 infectivity. Conversely, the erythrocyte fixative dimethylsuberimidate at 3 micrograms/ml was ineffective in reducing HIV-1 infectivity.
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PMID:Effects of cellular fixatives on human immunodeficiency virus production. 237 57

This study evaluates a panel of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to HIV-1 antigens (DuPont anti-gp120, gp41, p24; Olympus anti-gp120/160, gp41, p24A, p24B, p55, p18A, p18B, reverse transcriptase) for their ability to detect the virus in tissues after exposure to various fixatives (100% acetone, 10% formaldehyde, 2.5% glutaraldehyde, 4% paraformaldehyde/1% glutaraldehyde, Bouin's fluid) and after paraffin embedding. Acetone, 10% formaldehyde, and Bouin's fluid all preserved a wide range of viral epitopes compared with other fixatives. The most robust MAbs were DuPont p24 and Olympus p55, which produced excellent staining regardless of the fixative used. Embedding in paraffin variability influenced the capacity of MAbs to detect HIV-1 epitopes on fixed cells. Certain antibodies (e.g., DuPont gp24, Olympus p24B) produced good staining, whereas other epitopes (e.g., DuPont gp120, formaldehyde) were destroyed. In some cases, paraffin embedding revealed antigenic sites that had been formerly masked (e.g., Olympus gp120 and p24A; formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde fixation). These results indicate that HIV-1 antigens can be detected by immunohistology on cells exposed to most common fixatives. Therefore, retrospective analysis of pathological material is possible, provided that the antibodies are matched to the fixative used to preserve the tissue.
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PMID:Effects of fixation and paraffin embedding on the immunohistological detection of cell-associated HIV-1 by different monoclonal antibodies. 754 12

A candidate HIV subunit vaccine NFU.Ac.HIV[JM] was prepared by detergent and formaldehyde treatment of HIV-infected JM cells. The preparation contained HIV polypeptides at 200, 118, 70, 41 and 24 kD, with reactivity by immunoblotting of approximately fifteen virus-specific polypeptides including polypeptides at 119, 55, 41 and 24 kD, which may represent gp 120, p55, gp41 and p24, respectively. The content of gp120 was estimated to be 5 micrograms/ml. The vaccine was immunogenic in a rabbit, inducing neutralising antibody and reactivity by ELISA and by immunoblotting against a number of HIV polypeptides including those of molecular weights 24, 41, 55 nd 120 kD. The vaccine contained no infectious HIV or reverse transcriptase enzyme activity.
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PMID:Early studies on a candidate intracellular subunit vaccine NFU.Ac.HIV[JM] for prevention and/or modification of HIV-related disease. 769 81

The kinetics of inactivation of four different strains of HIV-1 (RF, MN, SF2 and IIIB) by beta-propiolactone (BPL) and binary ethylenimine (BEI) were studied under various conditions. The conditions that would be required for the reduction of virus infectivity by at least 10(20) TCID50 ml-1 were estimated on the basis of the experimental rates of inactivation obtained. A multiple step procedure including treatment with 0.2% BPL, 0.05% sodium cholate, 10 mM BEI and 0.02% formaldehyde was designed to inactivate HIV-1 for use as an experimental vaccine. Complete inactivation of virus infectivity was confirmed by prolonged cell culture. The experimental vaccine preparation was analysed for the presence of HIV-1 proviral DNA utilizing the polymerase chain reaction. After treatment with both BPL and BEI proviral DNA was detected in one of four samples using primers encoding a 244 bp segment of the pol region of the viral genome. Proviral DNA could not be detected in any of the four samples using primers encoding segments of > 400 bp in the gag and reverse transcriptase region.
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PMID:A multistep procedure for the chemical inactivation of human immunodeficiency virus for use as an experimental vaccine. 857 44

A lymphoblastoid cell line, HAJ, was derived by in vitro transformation with Epstein-Barr virus of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from a patient with renal insufficiency awaiting kidney graft. Cell surface expression of class I and class II HLA molecules was determined by flow cytofluorimetry using monoclonal antibodies and compared with that of cell line PAJ similarly derived from a healthy donor. HAJ cells expressed class I antigens at levels comparable with PAJ cells. In contrast, class II antigens were absent from the cell surface of HAJ cells while they were abundant on PAJ cells. Permeabilization and fixation of cells with acetone/formaldehyde solution revealed intracellular Ki-67 antigen but not class II HLA molecules. The genes for HLA-DR beta, DQ alpha and DP alpha were present in the HAJ genome as detected with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using locus-specific primers amplifying a second exon. In RT (reverse transcriptase)-PCR, transcripts of DQA1 and DPA1 genes were easily detectable in PAJ (positive control) but not in HAJ cells. These results suggest a defect in HAJ cells of transcription of genes for all class II antigens. The cell line HAJ may prove to be an interesting model for in vitro studies of molecular mechanisms of the regulation of class II expression.
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PMID:A new lymphoblastoid cell line defective in class II HLA expression. 891 23

To decrease the toxicity of potent anti-HIV nucleosides 3'-azido-2',3'-dideoxythymidine (AZT) and 2',3'-dideoxy-3'-fluorothymidine (3'-FddThd, FLT), their new analogues, 3'-azido-2',3'-dideoxy-5-hydroxymethyluridine (3'-Az5HmddUrd) and 2',3'-dideoxy-3'-fluoro-5-hydroxymethyluridine (3'-F5HmddUrd), were synthesized. The reaction of 3'-azido-2',3'-dideoxyuridine (3'-AzddUrd) and 2',3'-dideoxy-3'-fluorouridine (3'-FddUrd) with formaldehyde, under strongly alkaline conditions and at elevated temperature, proceeded after 4 days to completion to afford the corresponding 5-hydroxymethyl derivatives 3'-Az5HmddUrd and 3'-F5HmddUrd in good yield. These compounds were also prepared by oxidation of AZT and FLT with the use of K2S2O8. 1H NMR analyses were subjected to the series of 3', 4 and 5-substituted pyrimidine 2'-deoxy- and 2',3'-dideoxynucleosides involving 3'-Az5HmddUrd and 3'-F5HmddUrd. Analysis of the sugar furanose ring puckering demonstrated that all 3'-fluorine derivatives exhibited strong domination of the S conformation (approximately 100%) while 3'-substitution by electron-donating groups, such as NH2, increased population of the N conformation. Experimentally observed substituent effect on the furanose ring puckering equilibrium was reconstructed in the 100 ps molecular dynamic trajectories obtained for AZT, FLT, dThd, 2',3'-ddThd and 3'-amino-2',3'-ddThd. It may be concluded that anti-HIV activity is linked to a direct interaction of the 3'-substituent with reverse transcriptase (RT) binding site. Anti-HIV activities of 3'-Az5HmddUrd and 3'-F5HmddUrd are lower than activity of AZT and FLT; however, 3'-Az5HmddUrd and 3'-F5HmddUrd are less toxic than AZT and FLT.
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PMID:Synthesis, solution conformation and anti-HIV activity of novel 3'-substituted-2',3'-dideoxy-5-hydroxymethyluridines and their 4,5-substituted analogues. 1452 29

The adenomatous polyposis coli gene (APC gene) originally was identified as a tumor suppressor gene in colon cancer. We reported previously that APC is mutated and/or deleted in primary oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) tissues and suggested that loss of APC function contributes to carcinogenesis in the oral region. In this study, we examined 50 OSCC tissue samples, which had been fixed in 10% buffered formaldehyde solution and embedded in paraffin, and eight cell lines, which were derived from OSCC, to analyze the expression level of the APC gene. Significant down-regulation of APC was detected by immunohistochemistry in 15 (30.0%) of 50 tissue samples and by the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in five (62.5%) of eight cell lines. We then investigated the status of APC gene promoter methylation and restoration of the APC gene mRNA. Hypermethylation of the APC promoter CpG island was detected in two of eight (25%) OSCC-derived cell lines, and APC gene mRNA was restored in all OSCC-derived cell lines showing down-regulation of gene expression (n=5) after treatment with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine, a DNA demethylating agent. Thus, the contribution of down-regulated APC expression to the development of human OSCC was about 30%, and hypermethylation of the gene promoter CpG island was confirmed to be a significant mechanism of inactivation of the APC gene in oral carcinogenesis.
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PMID:Status of reduced expression and hypermethylation of the APC tumor suppressor gene in human oral squamous cell carcinoma. 1575 20

A fluorescence in situ hybridization-flow cytometry (FISH/FC)-based method was optimized using artificial mixtures of pure cultures of methanotrophic bacteria. Traditional oligonucleotide probes targeting 16S rRNAs of type I (MG84/705 probe) and type II (MA450 probe) methanotrophs were labeled with fluorescein or Alexa fluor and used for FISH, followed by fluorescence-activated FC analysis and cell sorting (FACS). The method resulted in efficient separation of target cells (type I or type II methanotrophs) from the artificial mixtures. The method was then applied for detection and enrichment of type I and type II methanotroph populations from a natural sample, Lake Washington sediment. Cells were extracted from the sediment, fixed, and subjected to FISH/FC/FACS. The resulting subpopulations were analyzed by reverse transcriptase PCR surveys of 16S rRNA, pmoA (encoding a subunit of particulate methane monooxygenase), and fae (encoding formaldehyde-activating enzyme) genes. The functional gene analysis indicated specific separation of the type I and type II methanotroph populations. 16S rRNA gene analysis revealed that type I methanotrophs comprised 59% of the subpopulation separated using the type I-specific probe and that type II methanotrophs comprised 47.5% of the subpopulation separated using the type II-specific probe. Our data indicate that the FISH/FC/FACS protocol described can provide significant enrichment of microbial populations of interest from complex natural communities and that these can be used for genetic tests. We further tested the possibility of direct whole-genome amplification (WGA) from limited numbers of sorted cells, using artificial mixtures of microbes whose genome sequences are known. We demonstrated that efficient WGA can be achieved using 10(4) or more cells separated by 16S rRNA-specific FISH/FC/FACS, while fewer cells resulted in less specific WGA.
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PMID:Fluorescence in situ hybridization-flow cytometry-cell sorting-based method for separation and enrichment of type I and type II methanotroph populations. 1675 44

High-quality RNA preparations are critical for further applications such as reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) transcript amplifications, and elaboration of cDNA and expressed sequence tag libraries. Melanins are phenolic compounds present in many fungi and apparently play key roles in fungi pathogenesis and survival. However, during RNA extraction these compounds constitute a significant challenge to extraction of substantial quantities of high-quality RNA, and consequently to preparation of cDNA libraries. No method currently exists for RNA extraction from Mycosphaerella fijiensis that produces high quantities of melanin-free RNA. This fungus is the most important pathogen of cultivated Musa sp. varieties. A comparison is made between results obtained from the Trizol and RNeasy protocols for RNA extraction, two commercially available methods commonly used to obtain RNA from various sources. An improved methodology is described that allows isolation of intact RNA and elimination of melanins from M. fijiensis mycelium. RNA quality is evaluated by electrophoresis in formaldehyde-agarose gels, RT into cDNAs, and subsequent PCR amplification using primers designed against actin and beta- tubulin from fungi.
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PMID:Extraction of high-quality, melanin-free RNA From Mycosphaerella fijiensis for cDNA preparation. 1694 70


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