Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0014070 (encephalomyelitis)
 13,017 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The 26S mRNA and most of the nsP4 encoding regions of the eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) viral genome have been cloned. Excluding the poly(A) tail, the 26S mRNA region was determined to be 4139 nucleotides long and to share the same general organization as that of other alphaviruses. A highly conserved region of 19 nucleotides, the putative transcriptase recognition site for 26S mRNA synthesis, was present at the 26S/42S junction region of the 42S genomic RNA. Translation of the 26S mRNA began at the first AUG (positions 59 to 61) initiation codon and continued with an open reading frame that coded for a polyprotein of 1258 amino acids ending at a UAA ochre termination codon (positions 3776 to 3778). All four putative posttranslational cleavage sites used to generate the capsid, E3, E2, 6K and E1 proteins were conserved. Transmembrane domains present in the EEE virus structural polyprotein have been identified and their functions discussed. Pairwise comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences of the polyproteins of five alphaviruses (EEE, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, Sindbis, Semliki Forest and Ross River viruses) revealed EEE virus to be more closely related to VEE virus than to the other three viruses.
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PMID:Nucleotide sequence of the genome region encoding the 26S mRNA of eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus and the deduced amino acid sequence of the viral structural proteins. 288 48

Ross River virus (strain T48) infection in mice causes an encephalomyelitis characterized by focal, primary demyelination in the cerebellum, brain stem, and spinal cord. Maximal serum and brain content of virus occurs on days 2 and 4, respectively. Virus is not detectable in serum after day 3 or in brain after day 9. Histopathological lesions are present by day 2 and consist of perivascular macrophage and polymorphonuclear leukocyte infiltration, focal necrosis in the internal granule cell layer, and myelin disruption. Mononuclear cell infiltrates are present by day 5. Foci of demyelination in the presence of preserved axons become more widespread by day 8, and early partial remyelination occurs by day 13. Immunosuppression reduces the mononuclear cell infiltration but does not alter the demyelination . Although the mechanism of Ross River virus-induced demyelination is not known, these findings suggest that it is not immune mediated.
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PMID:Ross River virus-induced demyelination: I. Pathogenesis and histopathology. 629 70

The complete nucleotide sequence of a 1982 Florida strain of eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) virus, and partial sequence of the nonstructural protein genes of western equine encephalomyelitis (WEE) virus, were determined. The EEE virus genome was 11,678 nucleotides in length, excluding the cap nucleotide and poly(A) tail, and the nucleotide composition was 28% A, 24% G, 25% C, and 23% U. The organization of both EEE and WEE virus genomes was like that of other alphaviruses and included a termination codon between the nsP3 and nsP4 genes. Codon usage for 10 of 20 amino acids was nonrandom in the EEE genome, and dinucleotide CpG-containing codons were underutilized in both genomes. The slight CpG deficiency was similar to that seen in other alphaviruses and plant viruses in the alphavirus-like group, but less than that of poliovirus and yellow fever virus. This slight deficiency may reflect adaptation for replication in both CpG-deficient vertebrates, as well as insects which do not have CpG-deficient genomes. Phylogenetic analyses using nonstructural protein amino acid sequences indicated that alphaviruses evolved from a common ancestor which existed a few thousand years ago. An intercontinental introduction of an ancestral virus from the Old to New World, or vice versa, probably resulted in two main extant groups: one includes New World (EEE and Venezuelan equine encephalitis) viruses, while the other includes Old World (Sindbis, Middelburg, O'nyong-nyong, Ross River, and Semliki Forest) viruses. The position of WEE virus in the phylogenetic trees indicated that, in addition to its capsid gene (C. S. Hahn et al. (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85, 5997-6001), WEE virus acquired its nonstructural genes from an EEE-like ancestor during recombination.
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PMID:A comparison of the nucleotide sequences of eastern and western equine encephalomyelitis viruses with those of other alphaviruses and related RNA viruses. 803 Feb 17

Part of WEE virus (strain 16310-5614) genome coding for the nucleocapsid (C) protein was cloned and sequenced in two independent clones. The C gene of WEE virus is composed of 77 nucleotides, both for the BFS and 16310 strains, and is 48, 24, 33, 15, 3, and 3 nucleotides shorter than that of Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (VEE), Semliki Forest, Ross River, Sindbis, O'Nyong-Nyong, and Eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) viruses, respectively. It contains 16 nucleotide changes in comparison with the BFS-1703 strain, four of which are significant: Ser57(BFS)-->Ala(16310), Gly63-->Cys, Lys74-->Glu, Gly97-->Trp. Amino acid composition, charges, hydropathic profiles, and location of potential functional sites in C proteins of the heretofore studied alphaviruses have been compared. High positively charged N-domain of the nucleocapsid is the most variable in all alphaviruses and is characterized by an irregular secondary structure due to high Pro content (25.5%). Positively charged Lys (10.8% of total) and Arg (6.9% of total) are presented 18 and 11 times, respectively, in the N-domain of WEE virus (16310) protein, and clusters thereof possibly form the initial sites for interaction with RNA. Only Sindbis virus (HRSP and Ock) nucleocapsids do not contain Cys, while others do contain several residues. This part of C protein includes overlapping nuclear transport signals predicted for several cellular proteins and repeated 4, 7, and 2 times in WEE, EEE, and Sindbis viruses, respectively. There is a highly conservative region (96-113 as residues) in the C protein structure of all studied alphaviruses, which potentially binds to a large ribosomal subunit as it was shown for Sindbis virus by Wengler et al. (1992), and a consensus motif K/R95-P-X-K/R-X-R-M could be a main part of the nucleoprotein ribosome binding site. The W186HHGAVQ (WEE virus) is absolutely conservative for all alphaviruses and with the invariant Asn222 could have a common function, including C protein lateral interaction (Choi et al., 1991). The origination of WEE virus C protein from EEE virus is confirmed by very high (92.7%) similarity of this protein's C domain in the WEE/EEE pair and low (64.8%) in the WEE/Sindbis pair. Determination of C gene and protein type in the Sindbis/WEE virus serocomplex might be useful in the differential identification of this virus group.
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PMID:[Comparative analysis of primary structure of nucleocapsid protein from Western equine encephalomyelitis virus and other alphaviruses]. 899 81

Although alphaviruses have been extensively studied as model systems for the structural organization of enveloped viruses, no structures exist for the phylogenetically distinct eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE)-Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (VEE) lineage of New World alphaviruses. Here we report the 25-A structure of VEE virus, obtained from electron cryomicroscopy and image reconstruction. The envelope spike glycoproteins of VEE virus have a T=4 icosahedral arrangement, similar to that observed in Old World Sindbis, Semliki Forest, and Ross River alphaviruses. However, VEE virus has pronounced differences in its nucleocapsid structure relative to nucleocapsid structures repeatedly observed in Old World alphaviruses.
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PMID:Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis virus structure and its divergence from old world alphaviruses. 1153 16

Alphaviruses, members of the positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus family Togaviridae, represent a re-emerging public health concern worldwide as mosquito vectors expand into new geographic ranges. Members of the alphavirus genus tend to induce clinical disease characterized by rash, arthralgia, and arthritis (chikungunya virus, Ross River virus, and Semliki Forest virus) or encephalomyelitis (eastern equine encephalitis virus, western equine encephalitis virus, and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus), though some patients who recover from the initial acute illness may develop long-term sequelae, regardless of the specific infecting virus. Studies examining the natural disease course in humans and experimental infection in cell culture and animal models reveal that host genetics play a major role in influencing susceptibility to infection and severity of clinical disease. Genome-wide genetic screens, including loss of function screens, microarrays, RNA-sequencing, and candidate gene studies, have further elucidated the role host genetics play in the response to virus infection, with the immune response being found in particular to majorly influence the outcome. This review describes the current knowledge of the mechanisms by which host genetic factors influence alphavirus pathogenesis and discusses emerging technologies that are poised to increase our understanding of the complex interplay between viral and host genetics on disease susceptibility and clinical outcome.
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PMID:Genetic control of alphavirus pathogenesis. 3015 11

Alphaviruses, members of the enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA Togaviridae family, represent a reemerging public health threat as mosquito vectors expand into new geographic territories. The Old World alphaviruses, which include chikungunya virus, Ross River virus, and Sindbis virus, tend to cause a clinical syndrome characterized by fever, rash, and arthritis, whereas the New World alphaviruses, which consist of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, eastern equine encephalitis virus, and western equine encephalitis virus, induce encephalomyelitis. Following recovery from the acute phase of infection, many patients are left with debilitating persistent joint and neurological complications that can last for years. Clues from human cases and studies using animal models strongly suggest that much of the disease and pathology induced by alphavirus infection, particularly atypical and chronic manifestations, is mediated by the immune system rather than directly by the virus. This review discusses the current understanding of the immunopathogenesis of the arthritogenic and neurotropic alphaviruses accumulated through both natural infection of humans and experimental infection of animals, particularly mice. As treatment following alphavirus infection is currently limited to supportive care, understanding the contribution of the immune system to the disease process is critical to developing safe and effective therapies.
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PMID:Immunopathogenesis of alphaviruses. 3271 33