Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C1175175 (SARS)
 19,188 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), isolated from humans infected during the peak of epidemic, encodes two accessory proteins termed as 8a and 8b. Interestingly, the SARS-CoV isolated from animals contains an extra 29-nucleotide in this region such that these proteins are fused to become a single protein, 8ab. Here, we compared the cellular properties of the 8a, 8b and 8ab proteins by examining their cellular localizations and their abilities to interact with other SARS-CoV proteins. These results may suggest that the conformations of 8a and 8b are different from 8ab although nearly all the amino acids in 8a and 8b are found in 8ab. In addition, the expression of the structural protein, envelope (E), was down-regulated by 8b but not 8a or 8ab. Consequently, E was not detectable in SARS-CoV-infected cells that were expressing high levels of 8b. These findings suggest that 8b may modulate viral replication and/or pathogenesis.
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PMID:The human severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) 8b protein is distinct from its counterpart in animal SARS-CoV and down-regulates the expression of the envelope protein in infected cells. 1687 44

An efficient strategy for immobilizing proteins on a gold surface was developed by employing the gold binding polypeptide (GBP) as a fusion partner. Using the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) envelope protein (SCVme), and core streptavidin (cSA) of Streptomyces avidinii as model proteins, specific immobilization of the GBP-fusion proteins onto the gold nanoparticles and generation of protein nanopatterns on the bare gold surface were demonstrated. The GBP-fused SCVme bound to gold nanoparticles successfully interacted with its antibody and showed changes in absorbance and color, allowing efficient diagnosis of SARS-CoV. The fusion proteins could be successfully immobilized on the gold surface by nanopatterning and microcontact printing as examined by atomic force microscopy and surface plasmon resonance analysis. The poly(dimethylsiloxane) microfluidic channels were created on the gold surface and were used for antigen-antibody and DNA-DNA interaction studies. Specific immobilization of GBP-EGFP fusion protein and its interaction with the antibody in the microchannels could be demonstrated. By immobilizing the DNA probe through the use of GBP-fused cSA, specific hybridization of the target DNA prepared from Salmonella could also be achieved. The GBP-fusion method allows immobilization of proteins onto the gold surface without surface modification and in bioactive forms suitable for studying protein-protein, DNA-DNA, and other biomolecular interaction studies. Furthermore, these studies can be carried out in a microfluidic system, which allows high-throughput analysis of biomolecular interactions.
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PMID:Protein nanopatterns and biosensors using gold binding polypeptide as a fusion partner. 1703 21

Development of effective vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is still a priority in prevention of re-emergence of SARS. Our previous studies have shown that the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV spike (S) protein elicits highly potent neutralizing antibody responses in the immunized animals. But it is unknown whether RBD can also induce protective immunity in an animal model, a key aspect for vaccine development. In this study, BALB/c mice were vaccinated intramuscularly (i.m.) with 10microg of RBD-Fc (RBD fused with human IgG1 Fc) and boosted twice at 3-week intervals and one more time at 12th month. Humoral immune responses of vaccinated mice were investigated for up to 12 months at a 1-month interval and the neutralizing titers of produced antibodies were reported at months 0, 3, 6 and 12 post-vaccination. Mice were challenged with the homologous strain of SARS-CoV 5 days after the last boost, and sacrificed 5 days after the challenge. Mouse lung tissues were collected for detection of viral load, virus replication and histopathological effects. Our results showed that RBD-Fc vaccination induced high titer of S-specific antibodies with long-term and potent SARS-CoV neutralizing activity. Four of five vaccinated mice were protected from subsequent SARS-CoV challenge because no significant virus replication, and no obvious histopathological changes were found in the lung tissues of the vaccinated mice challenged with SARS-CoV. Only one vaccinated mouse had mild alveolar damage in the lung tissues. In contrast, high copies of SARS-CoV RNA and virus replication were detected, and pathological changes were observed in the lung tissues of the control mice. In conclusion, our findings suggest that RBD, which can induce protective antibodies to SARS-CoV, may be further developed as a safe and effective SARS subunit vaccine.
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PMID:Receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV spike protein induces long-term protective immunity in an animal model. 1709 15

The baculovirus surface display technique has provided an ideal tool to display foreign proteins with natural conformation, functions, and immunogenicity. In this work, we explored the application of this technique on SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) spike (S) protein, and further analyzed the immunogenicity of displayed S protein. The entire ectodomain of S protein was fused between the gp64 signal peptide and the VSV-G membrane anchor and successfully displayed on the baculovirus surface. Subcutaneous injection with purified S-displayed baculoviruses without adjuvant elicited highly effective production of specific and neutralizing antibodies against S protein in mice. These results confirmed a successful surface display of S protein on baculoviruse, and suggested a potential role of S-displayed baculoviruses as a novel live virus-based vaccine candidate for SARS-CoV.
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PMID:Baculovirus surface display of SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) spike protein and immunogenicity of the displayed protein in mice models. 1718 68

Production of hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein requires the cleavages of polyprotein by signal peptidase and signal peptide peptidase (SPP). Cleavage of signal peptide at the C-terminus of HCV core protein by SPP was characterized in this study. The spko mutant (mutate a.a. 189-193 from ASAYQ to PPFPF) is more efficient than the A/F mutant (mutate a.a 189 and 191 from A to F) in blocking the cleavage of signal peptide by signal peptidase. The cleavage efficiency of SPP is inversely proportional to the length of C-terminal extension of the signal peptide: the longer the extension, the less efficiency the cleavage is. Thus, reducing the length of C-terminal extension of signal peptide by signal peptidase cleavage could facilitate further cleavage by SPP. The recombinant core protein fused with signal peptide from the C-terminus of p7 protein, but not those from the C-termini of E1 and E2, could be cleaved by SPP. Therefore, the sequence of the signal peptide is important but not the sole determinant for its cleavage by SPP. Replacement of the HCV core protein E.R.-associated domain (a.a. 120-150) with the E.R.-associated domain (a.a.1-50) of SARS-CoV membrane protein results in the failure of cleavage of this recombinant protein by SPP, though this protein still is E.R.-associated. This result suggests that not only E.R.-association but also specific protein sequence is important for the HCV core protein signal peptide cleavage by SPP. Thus, our results suggest that both sequences of the signal peptide and the E.R.-associated domain are important for the signal peptide cleavage of HCV core protein by SPP.
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PMID:Characterization of the cleavage of signal peptide at the C-terminus of hepatitis C virus core protein by signal peptide peptidase. 1723 79

By using a series of overlapping synthetic peptides covering 98% of the amino acid sequence of the nucleocapsid protein (NP) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), four helper T-cell (Th) epitopes (NP11, residues 11 to 25; NP51, residues 51 to 65; NP61, residues 61 to 75; and NP111, residues 111 to 125) in C57BL mice (H-2(b)), four (NP21, residues 21 to 35; NP91, residues 91 to 105; NP331, residues 331 to 345; and NP351, residues 351 to 365) in C3H mice (H-2(k)), and two (NP81, residues 81 to 95; and NP351, residues 351 to 365) in BALB/c mice (H-2(d)) have been identified. All of these peptides were able to stimulate the proliferation of NP-specific T-cell lines or freshly isolated lymph node cells from mice immunized with recombinant NP. Immunization of mice with synthetic peptides containing appropriate Th epitopes elicited strong cellular immunity in vivo, as evidenced by delayed-type hypersensitivity. Priming with the helper peptides (e.g., NP111 and NP351) significantly accelerated the immune response induced by recombinant NP, as determined by the production of NP-specific antibodies. When fused with a conserved neutralizing epitope (SP1143-1157) from the spike protein of SARS-CoV, NP111 and NP351 assisted in the production of high-titer neutralizing antibodies in vivo. These data provide useful insights regarding immunity against SARS-CoV and have the potential to help guide the design of peptide-based vaccines.
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PMID:Identification and characterization of dominant helper T-cell epitopes in the nucleocapsid protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. 1739 74

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) first appeared in Southern China in November 2002, and then quickly spread to 33 countries on five continents along international air travel routes. Although the SARS epidemic has been contained, there is a clear need for a safe and effective vaccine should an outbreak of a SARS-CoV infection reappear in human population. In this study, we tested four DNA-vaccine constructs: (1) pLL70, containing cDNA for the SARS-CoV spike (S) gene; (2) pcDNA-SS, containing codon-optimized S gene for SARS-CoV S protein (residues 12-1255) fused with a leader sequence derived from the human CD5 gene; (3) pcDNA-St, containing the gene encoding the N-portion of the codon-optimized S gene (residues 12-532) with the CD5 leader sequence; (4) pcDNA-St-VP22C, containing the gene encoding the N-portion of the codon-optimized S protein with the CD5 leader sequence fused with the C-terminal 138 amino acids of the bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) major tegument protein VP22. Each of these plasmids was intradermally administered to C57BL/6 mice in three separate immunizations. Analysis of humoral and cellular immune responses in immunized mice demonstrated that pcDNA-SS and pcDNA-St-VP22C are the most immunogenic SARS vaccine candidates.
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PMID:Optimization of a DNA vaccine against SARS. 1766 98

Site-specific proteases are the most popular kind of enzymes for removing the fusion tags from fused target proteins. Nuclear inclusion protein a (NIa) proteases obtained from the family Potyviridae have become promising due to their high activities and stringencies of sequences recognition. NIa proteases from tobacco etch virus (TEV) and tomato vein mottling virus (TVMV) have been shown to process recombinant proteins successfully in vitro. In this report, recombinant PPV (plum pox virus) NIa protease was employed to process fusion proteins with artificial cleavage site in vitro. Characteristics such as catalytic ability and affecting factors (salt, temperature, protease inhibitors, detergents, and denaturing reagents) were investigated. Recombinant PPV NIa protease expressed and purified from Escherichia coli demonstrated efficient and specific processing of recombinant GFP and SARS-CoV nucleocapsid protein, with site F (N V V V H Q black triangle down A) for PPV NIa protease artificially inserted between the fusion tags and the target proteins. Its catalytic capability is similar to those of TVMV and TEV NIa protease. Recombinant PPV NIa protease reached its maximal proteolytic activity at approximately 30 degrees C. Salt concentration and only one of the tested protease inhibitors had minor influences on the proteolytic activity of PPV NIa protease. Recombinant PPV NIa protease was resistant to self-lysis for at least five days.
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PMID:Specific and efficient cleavage of fusion proteins by recombinant plum pox virus NIa protease. 1802 78

SARS-CoV M gene fragment was cloned and expressed as a recombinant protein fused with a V5 tag at the C-terminus in Vero E6 cells. In addition to un-glycosylated and glycosylated proteins, one product with smaller size initiated in-frame from the third Met residues probably through ribosomal re-initiation was also detected. Translation initiated in-frame from the third Met is unusual since the sequence around the first Met of SARS-CoV M protein contains the optimal consensus Kozak sequence. The function of this smaller translated product awaits further investigation. Similar to other N-glycosylated proteins, glycosylation of SARS-CoV M protein was occurred co-translationally in the presence of microsomes. The SARS-CoV M protein is predicted as a triple-spanning membrane protein lack of a conventional signal peptide. The second and third trans-membrane regions (a.a. 46-68 and 78-100) are predicted to be the primary type helices, which will be able to penetrate into membrane by themselves, while the first trans-membrane region (a.a. 14-36) is predicted to be the secondary type helix, which is considered to be stabilized by the interaction with other trans-membrane segments. As expected, the second and third trans-membrane regions were able to insert a cytoplasmic protein into the endoplasmic reticulum membrane more efficiently than the first one. These results should be important for the study of SARS-CoV morphogenesis.
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PMID:Expression and membrane integration of SARS-CoV M protein. 1839 1

Conjugation or deconjugation of ubiquitin (Ub) or ubiquitin-like proteins (UBLs) to or from cellular proteins is a multifaceted and universal means of regulating cellular physiology, controlling the lifetime, localization, and activity of many critical proteins. Deconjugation of Ub or UBL from proteins is performed by a class of proteases called isopeptidases. Herein is described a readily quantifiable novel isopeptidase assay platform consisting of Ub or UBL fused to the reporter enzyme phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)). Isopeptidase activity releases PLA(2), which cleaves its substrate, generating a signal that is linear with deubiquitylase (DUB) concentration and is able to discriminate DUB, deSUMOylase, deNEDDylase, and deISGylase activities. The power and sensitivity of the UBL-PLA(2) assay are demonstrated by its ability to differentiate the contrasting deISGylase and DUB activities of two coronavirus proteases: severe acute respiratory syndrome papain-like protease (SARS-CoV PLpro) and NL63 CoV papain-like protease 2 (PLP2). Furthermore, direct comparisons with the current Ub-7-amino-4-methylcoumarin (Ub-AMC) assay demonstrated that the Ub-PLA(2) assay is an effective tool for characterizing modulators of isopeptidase activity. This observation was expanded by profiling the inhibitory activity of the nonselective isopeptidase inhibitor NSC 632839 against DUBs and deSUMOylases. Taken together, these studies illustrate the utility of the reporter-based approach to measuring isopeptidase activity.
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PMID:Characterization of ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like-protein isopeptidase activities. 1842 14


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