Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus (VEEV), of the Togaviridae family and Alphavirus genus, is the causative agent of potentially fatal viral encephalitis. The virus is transmitted to humans via the bite of infected Culex mosquitoes that have fed on infected equines. VEEV is an emerging pathogen and with no tangible large scale vaccine available, has the potential to cause epidemics. The virally encoded capsid protein is responsible for causing cytopathic effect at least partially due to inducing a transcriptional shutoff in infected cells. A nuclear localization sequence within the capsid protein allows nuclear import of capsid and blocking of the nuclear pores thereby inhibiting the import and export of cellular proteins. Other nuclear localized viral proteins are known to induce alterations of the cell cycle in order to create favorable conditions for viral replication. Understanding how VEEV manipulates the cell cycle will provide possible intracellular targets for future antiviral strategies. In this study we show that VEEV infected cells have a delayed cell cycle progression following serum starvation. Western blot analysis showed decreased Cyclin E and A2 levels at 16 and 24 hours post infection (hpi). Phosphorylation of Rb remained low at 16 and 24hpi in infected cells, further confirming the cell cycle delay in infected cells. UV inactivated VEEV did not induce this delay in return to cell cycle, indicating that replication competent VEEV is needed for the induction of this delay. Cdk4/6 and Cdk1 inhibitor treated cells showed significant decreases in VEEV replication. Hydroxyurea, nocodazole and thymidine synchronized cells showed significant decreases in viral replication as well. The results of our stud...
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...gnaling pathway, but also by increasing levels of p21 and decreasing levels of Cyclin D1 (Jiang et al., 2013). Influenza viral titers were higher in G0/G1 synchronized cells than in unsynchronized and G2/M synchronized cells indicating that the G0/G1 phase was favorable for progeny virus production (Jiang et al., 2013). The NS1 viral protein is produced at high levels in infected cells and contains two NLS signals and one NES signal (Hale et al., 2008) The NLS and NES signals allow NS1 to be actively transported in and out of the nucleus mediated by cellular importin-α (Hale et al., 2008). The M1 virus, a similarly sized (11.7kb) mosquito borne equine amplified alphavirus, induces a S phase arrest in infected cells and decreases the levels of Cyclin D1 and Cdk4, but a specific viral protein cannot be implicated in the induced S phase arrest (Hu et al., 2009).
A previous study, looked at by the researchers, stated that nuclear localization signals are what allow the RNA to enter the nucleus (Wu W, Pante N. 2009). This persuaded them to ask the question of whether or not there was a nuclear localization signal within a viral protein of HCRSV. The localization of P23 was then tested using a transient expression method. The results of their experiment showed that there was a strong signal detected in the nucleus of the Kenaf leaf samples. This proved that P23 was in fact localized in the nucleus and that a nuclear localization signal is present in P23 (Gao R, Liu P, Wong SM. 2012). It was also found that P23 has the ability to bind to carrier proteins that come into the nucleus. This showed that even if P23 was not localized in the nucleus, it could still enter. The mode of entry into the nucleus was discovered to by α-importin (Gao R, Liu P, Wong SM. 2012) . This was discovered by experimenting with a probe of anti-importin α antibody. α-importin was only detected in the protein extract of P23 in the nucleus of the HCRSV-infected Kenaf sample (Gao R, Liu P, Wong SM. 2012). Researchers concluded from their results of the experiments that α-importin, P23, and HCRSV RNA form a complex that enters the nucleus to begin replication of the
What is zika or where does it come from? Many people wonder about zika and how it began. Zika is a mosquito from the Aedes species. When you are diagnosed with zika some of the common symptoms are, a fever, a rash, pain in the joints, and red eyes. The symptoms of zika usually last a few days to a week, but thing about zika is that it’s not an infection that you would know you have been infected with, but zika is very effective for pregnant women. If you're pregnant and have zika then your baby will be born with microcephaly. Microcephaly is a disease that makes the baby have a smaller head than normal. The zika virus was first discovered in 1947 in Uganda.
Like other negative-stranded RNA viruses, the G protein of rabies virus binds to the host cell membranes and penetrates into the host cytoplasm by pinocytosis. The virions are composed of cytoplasmic vesicles, fuse to cytoplasmic membrane and release RNP into the cytoplasm. The core starts primary transcription of the five complementary monocistronic messenger RNAs by using the virion-associated RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Each mRNA is translated to an individual viral protein. After synthesis and replication of the genomic RNA, the full length, positive-stranded RNA is completed and becomes the template for the next negative-stranded RNA. In the assembly process, the N-P-L complex encapsulates negative-stranded genomic RNA to be made up of RNP core and the M protein consists of a capsule or matrix that su...
The human immune system is an amazing system that is constantly on the alert protecting us from
The virus is primarily spherical shaped and roughly 200nm in size, surrounded by a host-cell derived membrane. Its genome is minus-sense single-stranded RNA 16-18 kb in length. It contains matrix protein inside the envelope, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, fusion protein, nucleocapsid protein, and L and P proteins to form the RNA polymerase. The host-cell receptors on the outside are hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. The virus is allowed to enter the cell when the hemagglutinin/ neuraminidase glycoproteins fuse with the sialic acid on the surface of the host cell, and the capsid enters the cytoplasm. The infected cells express the fusion protein from the virus, and this links the host cells together to create syncitia.
Mosquitoes, fever and even death may be some of the things that come to mind when we're asked to think about West Nile Virus. Many of us would consider mosquitoes a small trade-off for what the summertime provides, but what if there were more at risk than a bump above your skin and an itch? In a not so distant past West Nile Virus ascended into news broadcasts all throughout the country and alarming it's residents. Today however, that all seems to be an afterthought. The intentions today are to cover the first found cases of West Nile Virus, the symptoms of West Nile Virus, and finally West Nile Virus' impact on the United States. Through the research here, the hope is that we can all have a better understanding of how West Nile Virus works.
The diseases, meningitis and encephalitis, cause various problems in the brain and should be avoided at all costs. Various preventative measures can be taken to avoid them. When one does contract one of the diseases, treatments are available to help cure them, but the treatments do not have a 100 percent success rate. Because of its viral and bacterial tendencies, antibiotics are used at times to attack the diseases as are various vaccines to help prevent contraction of the diseases.
It's very helpful when doctors, especially ones as well educated as Dr. Sergio Cortes, explain imminent health threats in plain, everyday language that everyone can easily understand. Getting information out to the public regarding the Zika virus is vital; the article Find Out More About Zika Virus With Sergio Cortes, from his personal blog, gives people the tools they need to lessen their chances of contracting the virus. Since Zika is now definitely linked to microcephaly, a birth defect affecting infant’s development, it is imperative that pregnant women avoid contracting the Zika virus. The virus is not contagious; people cannot catch it from another person who has the virus, however, when a mosquito that stings a person who has the Zika
Zika virus is scary to many expectant mothers. To ease your mind and protect your baby, Nashville Fertility Center offers recommendations to prevent the virus.
“This knowledge will help us design drugs that mimic the viral effects on these proteins to either activate a host’s immune response or shut it down,” said Dr. Michael Gale, associate ...
First, the internalization of the virus was determined. Three stages were identified for the internalization to occur. These stages are as follows: Stage I- actin dependent movement on the cell surface. Stage II- Unidirectional movement toward the nucleus by use of microtubules. At this stage the virus is inside the cell and headed toward the lysosome. Internalization was found to occur at about 190 seconds. Stage III- Bidirectional movement within the cell and is dependent on microtubules as well. It was determined through experimentation that microtubule movement only occurs once internalization of the virus has
West Nile or WNV is a virus that is most commonly spread to people by mosquito bites. The first cases were recognized in and the Middle East, India, Australia, Africa, some parts of Asia, and Europe. It was not known to be in North America till around 1999. People can get infected with West Nile virus by getting bit by an infected mosquito. The mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds. An infected mosquito can give the virus to humans and animals.
How many people in the world have had Zika Virus? Zika Virus was first found in Uganda, East Africa in 1947. It was first identified in monkeys, then in 1952 it was identified in humans. Zika is a mosquito-borne illness spread by the Aedes mosquito. Zika can last for about two-seven days. Zika is a mild virus and no one can die from it. In Brazil there was a major outbreak that lasted from 2015-2016. Zika has lasted for a very long time. There have been major outbreaks. When someone has the symptoms of Zika virus they are not very severe like any other disease.
Herpesviral encephalitis is encephalitis due to herpes simplex virus. Herpes simplex encephalitis is a viral infection of the human central nervous system. It is estimated to affect at least 1 in 500,000 individuals per century and some studies suggest an incidence rate of 5.9 cases per 100,000 live births. The majority of cases of herpes encephalitis are caused by herpes simplex virus-1, the same virus that causes cold sores. 57% of American adults are infected with HSV-1, which is spread through droplets, casual contact, and sometimes sexual contact, though most infected people never have cold sores. About 10% of cases of herpes encephalitis are due to HSV-2, which is typically spread through sexual contact. About
Norovirus is one of the leading causes, if not the leading cause of gastroenteritis worldwide (6).