Publications by authors named "Briestenska K"

Article Synopsis
  • Cyclin-dependent kinase 8 (CDK8) helps control how viruses, especially the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), grow in our cells by affecting important processes in their life cycles.
  • Scientists tested some drugs that stop CDK8 to see if they could help fight HCMV, and they found that these drugs made the virus grow much less in cell cultures.
  • The research showed that CDK8 is crucial for HCMV's later stages of growth, and using CDK8 inhibitors together with other treatments could work really well against the virus.
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Oseltamivir phosphate (OS) is currently the most frequently used influenza antiviral drug. It moderates the course of influenza virus type A (IAV) infection, however, its impact on the induction of virus-neutralizing antibodies (VNAbs) is not understood in details. Here, we examined the influence of low (10 mg/kg) or high (60 mg/kg) doses of OS on the viral titer in lungs of BALB/c mice infected with 0.

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A severe course of acute respiratory disease caused by influenza A virus (IAV) infection is often linked with subsequent bacterial superinfection, which is difficult to cure. Thus, synergistic influenza-bacterial co-infection represents a serious medical problem. The pathogenic changes in the infected host are accelerated as a consequence of IAV infection, reflecting its impact on the host immune response.

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Ecology and epidemiology of murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68) have been intensively studied since the isolation of the virus from murid rodents in 1976. This virus was detected in various mammalian species that share the biotope with rodent reservoirs of MHV-68. However, a survey of MHV-68 in birds has not so far been performed.

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In vivo bioluminescence imaging (BLI) offers a unique opportunity to analyze ongoing bacterial infections qualitatively and quantitatively in intact animals over time, leading to a reduction in the number of animals needed for a study. Since accurate determination of the bacterial burden plays an essential role in microbiological research, the present study aimed to evaluate the ability to quantify bacteria by non-invasive BLI technique in comparison to standard spread plate method and reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). For this purpose, BALB/c mice were intranasally infected with 1 × 10 CFU of bioluminescent Streptococcus pneumoniae A66.

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New methodologies based on the principle of "sewage epidemiology" have been successfully applied before in the detection of illegal drugs. The study describes the idea of early detection of a virus, e.g.

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Aquatic birds are the main reservoir of influenza A viruses (IAVs). These viruses can infect humans repeatedly and cause acute respiratory disease with potential of spread in the form of epidemics. In addition, avian influenza viruses that overcome the interspecies barrier and adapt to humans can cause a world-wide pandemic with severe consequences to human health.

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The aim of this work was to give an overview of murid herpesvirus 4 (MuHV-4) (synonyms: murine gammaherpesvirus 68, mouse herpesvirus strain 68), the first model for the study of human and animal oncogenic gammaherpesviruses. Based on our results confirming similarity of murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68) to another gammaherpesvirus, human oncogenic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), we were able to interpret some processes observed in the course of MHV-68 infection in analogy to EBV infection. In particular, that were the processes occurring during MHV-68-induced persistent infection in mice accompanied by tumor formation and leukemia following immunosuppression.

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Cytokinins are naturally occurring substances that act as plant growth regulators promoting plant growth and development, including shoot initiation and branching, and also affecting apical dominance and leaf senescence. Aromatic cytokinin 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) has been widely used in micropropagation systems and biotechnology. However, its 9-glucoside (BAP9G) accumulates in explants, causing root inhibition and growth heterogenity.

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Murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68) provides a valuable tool to screen novel therapeutic strategies against oncogenic gammaherpesviruses. The development and characterization of antiviral agents usually depend on appropriate screening assays. The aim of this study was to develop rapid and sensitive method for testing antiviral compounds against gammaherpesviruses.

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The oncogenic gammaherpesviruses, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV), are etiologically associated with a variety of human cancers, including Burkitt's lymphoma (BL), Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), and primary effusion lymphoma (PEL). Recently, we demonstrated KSHV infection of B- and endothelial cells to significantly upregulate the expression of interferon induced transmembrane protein 1 (IFITM1) which in turn enhances virus entry. This is an extension of the above study.

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We demonstrated the positive effect of Isoprinosine treatment on persistent infection of Balb/c mice with murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68). Increased number of leukocytes, increased percentage of neutrophils, elevated levels of virus-neutralizing (VN) antibodies, reduced number of atypical lymphocytes and reduced virus titers were detected in the examined organs after a 14-day treatment. The positive effect of Isoprinosine therapy vanished after 120-150 days.

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Based on our previous results, which confirmed the role of latent gammaherpesvirus infection in alteration of immune homeostasis, we studied the influence of simultaneous infection with gammaherpes and influenza viruses on selected parameters of innate immunity, particularly on the subpopulations of peripheral blood cell leukocytes. The aim was to analyze changes of differential blood cell count of BALB/c mice persistently infected with murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68) and subsequently co-infected with influenza A virus (IAV), in comparison to mice infected with MHV-68 or with IAV only. Our results showed that ongoing gammaherpesvirus latency in mice caused a decreased number of leukocytes after acute infection with IAV in comparison to a single acute IAV infection.

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Copper(II) complexes with fluoroquinolones in the presence of the nitrogen donor heterocyclic ligands 1,10-phenanthroline have been considered in detail. The phenanthroline moiety was introduced into the ligand environment with the aim to determine whether the nuclease activity is feasible. All suitable X-ray structures of the complexes under study reveal a distorted square pyramidal coordination geometry for Cu(II) atom.

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