Molecular Detection of Parvovirus in Manchurian Chipmunks (Tamias sibiricus asiaticus) Captured in Korea.

Cross-species transmission of viral diseases alarms our global community for its potential of novel pandemic events. Of various viral pathogens noted recently, parvoviruses have posed public health threats not only to humans but also to wild animals. To investigate the prevalence of parvoviruses in wild Manchurian chipmunks, here we detected genetic fragments of the nonstructural protein of parvovirus by polymerase chain reaction in wild Manchurian chipmunk specimens captured in the central and southern regions of South Korea and compared their sequence homology with references.

The Immune Correlates of Vaccine.

Zoonotic transmission of from rodent reservoirs to humans has been the cause of severe fatalities. Human infections are reported worldwide, but vaccines have been approved only in China and Korea. vaccine development has been pursued with no sense of urgency due to the relative paucity of cases in countries outside China and Korea.

Human infection with Seoul orthohantavirus in Korea, 2019.

Of various rodent-borne hantaviruses, Seoul orthohantavirus (SEOV) causes haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), as does Hantaan orthohantavirus (HTNV). Given global-scale of cases of human infection with SEOV, it is of great clinical importance to distinguish SEOV from other HFRS-causing hantaviruses. In May 2019, a middle-aged patient who had lived in a suburban area of Chungcheong Province, Republic of Korea and enjoyed outdoor activities was transferred to Asan Medical Center in Seoul, Republic of Korea with HFRS; his symptoms included high fever and generalized myalgia.

Adaptive mutations of neuraminidase stalk truncation and deglycosylation confer enhanced pathogenicity of influenza A viruses.

It has been noticed that neuraminidase (NA) stalk truncation has arisen from evolutionary adaptation of avian influenza A viruses (IAVs) from wild aquatic birds to domestic poultry. We identified this molecular alteration after the adaptation of a 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus (pH1N1) in BALB/c mice. The mouse-adapted pH1N1 lost its eight consecutive amino acids including one potential N-linked glycosite from the NA stalk region.

Evolutionary relationships of the hexon and penton base genes of novel squirrel adenovirus.

Squirrel adenovirus (SqAdV) was reported previously. However, only partial sequences of its hexon and polymerase genes have been revealed. For the first time, we report the full-length genome of SqAdV including the complete hexon and penton base genes.

Phylogenetic relationships of the HA and NA genes between vaccine and seasonal influenza A(H3N2) strains in Korea.

Seasonal influenza is caused by two influenza A subtype (H1N1 and H3N2) and two influenza B lineage (Victoria and Yamagata) viruses. Of these antigenically distinct viruses, the H3N2 virus was consistently detected in substantial proportions in Korea during the 2010/11-2013/14 seasons when compared to the other viruses and appeared responsible for the influenza-like illness rate peak during the first half of the 2011/12 season. To further scrutinize possible causes for this, we investigated the evolutionary and serological relationships between the vaccine and Korean H3N2 strains during the 2011/12 season for the main antigenic determinants of influenza viruses, the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes.

Detecting hepatitis B virus in surgical smoke emitted during laparoscopic surgery.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission is known to occur through direct contact with infected blood. There has been some suspicion that the virus can also be detected in aerosol form. However, this has never been directly shown.

Reassortment compatibility between PB1, PB2, and HA genes of the two influenza B virus lineages in mammalian cells.

In addition to influenza A subtypes, two distinct lineages of influenza B virus also cause seasonal epidemics to humans. Recently, Dudas et al. have done evolutionary analyses of reassortment patterns of the virus and suggested genetic lineage relationship between PB1, PB2, and HA genes.

Genome-Wide Analysis of Human Metapneumovirus Evolution.

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) has been described as an important etiologic agent of upper and lower respiratory tract infections, especially in young children and the elderly. Most of school-aged children might be introduced to HMPVs, and exacerbation with other viral or bacterial super-infection is common. However, our understanding of the molecular evolution of HMPVs remains limited.

Combination effects of peramivir and favipiravir against oseltamivir-resistant 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) infection in mice.

Antiviral drugs are being used for therapeutic purposes against influenza illness in humans. However, antiviral-resistant variants often nullify the effectiveness of antivirals. Combined medications, as seen in the treatment of cancers and other infectious diseases, have been suggested as an option for the control of antiviral-resistant influenza viruses.

Genetic analysis of human parainfluenza viruses circulating in Korea, 2006.

Human parainfluenza viruses (HPIV) are important causes of respiratory tract infections in young children. To characterize the molecular epidemiology of an HPIV outbreak occurring in Korea during 2006, genetic analysis of 269 cell culture isolates from HPIV-infected children, was conducted using nested reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR). HPIV-1 was detected in 70.

Involvement of caspase-2 activation in aurora kinase inhibitor-induced cell death in axin-expressing L929 cells.

Axin is a multifunctional protein that participates in many cellular events including Wnt signaling and cell fate determination. Aurora kinase inhibitor (AKI)-induced cell death and cell membrane rupture is facilitated in L929 cells expressing axin (L-axin cells) through the activation of poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP). We observed that caspase-2 activity is required for AKI-induced cell death.

Clinical and molecular epidemiological features of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in Korea over a 10-year period.

Background: Laboratory diagnosis of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), an infectious disease caused by rodent-borne hantaviruses in Asia and Europe, depends primarily on serological methods. Since the advent of such serodiagnostic tests, few reports are available about the clinical and molecular epidemiological features of HFRS.

Objectives: To investigate the epidemioclinical features of HFRS patients treated at a tertiary-care teaching hospital in Seoul over a 10-year period.

Axin expression enhances herpes simplex virus type 1 replication by inhibiting virus-mediated cell death in L929 cells.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) replicates in various cell types and induces early cell death, which limits viral replication in certain cell types. Axin is a scaffolding protein that regulates Wnt signalling and participates in various cellular events, including cellular proliferation and cell death. The effects of axin expression on HSV-1 infection were investigated based on our initial observation that Wnt3a treatment or axin knockdown reduced HSV-1 replication.

Axin expression reduces staurosporine-induced mitochondria-mediated cell death in HeLa cells.

Cytoplasmic axin expression frequently produces punctuate structures in cells, but the nature of axin puncta has not been fully elucidated. In an effort to analyze cytoplasmic axin puncta, we established HeLa cells expressing axin in a doxycycline-inducible manner (HeLa-Axin). We observed that axin accumulated in an aggregate-like pattern in perinuclear areas and appeared to be associated with mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER), but not lysosomes.

Comparison of innate immune responses to pathogenic and putative non-pathogenic hantaviruses in vitro.

Hantaviruses are human pathogens that cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome or hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome. The mechanisms accounting for the differences in virulence between pathogenic and non-pathogenic hantaviruses are not well known. We have examined the pathogenesis of different hantavirus groups by comparing the innate immune responses induced in the host cell following infection by pathogenic (Sin Nombre, Hantaan, and Seoul virus) and putative non-pathogenic (Prospect Hill, Tula, and Thottapalayam virus) hantaviruses.

Axin1 expression facilitates cell death induced by aurora kinase inhibition through PARP activation.

Axin, a negative regulator of Wnt signaling, participates in apoptosis, and Axin1 localizes to centrosomes and mitotic spindles, which requires Aurora kinase activity. In this study, Aurora inhibition of Axin1-expressing cells (L-Axin) produced polyploid cells, which died within 48 h posttreatment, whereas Axin2-expressing cells (L-Axin2) survived the same period. These cell death events showed apoptotic signs, such as chromatin condensation and increased sub-G1 populations, as well as cell membrane rupture.

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in 4 US soldiers, South Korea, 2005.

Four US soldiers acquired hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome while training near the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea, in 2005. Hantaan virus sequences were amplified by reverse transcription-PCR from patient serum samples and from lung tissues of striped field mice (Apodemus agrarius) captured at training sites. Epidemiologic investigations specified the ecology of possible sites of patient infection.

Loss of the 29-kilodalton outer membrane protein in the presence of OXA-51-like enzymes in Acinetobacter baumannii is associated with decreased imipenem susceptibility.

Carbapenem resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii is increasing these days. We investigated the roles of outer membrane proteins and efflux pumps in carbapenem resistance of A. baumannii which showed no carbapenemase activity in modified Hodge test.

Serological surveillance of scrub typhus, murine typhus, and leptospirosis in small mammals captured at firing points 10 and 60, Gyeonggi province, Republic of Korea, 2001-2005.

Soldiers from the Republic of Korea and the United States conducting peacetime military operations at various training sites and multiple range complexes located near the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea are exposed to rodents and their potentially disease-carrying ectoparasites. These diseases include scrub typhus, murine typhus, and leptospirosis. Many of the training sites are rural or semi-rural, surrounded or co-located with various forms of agriculture, and are infested with rodents and insectivores (as well as their ectoparasites), which are commonly found in association with unmanaged tall grasses, scrub, and crawling vegetation habitats.

Characterization of Imjin virus, a newly isolated hantavirus from the Ussuri white-toothed shrew (Crocidura lasiura).

Until recently, the single known exception to the rodent-hantavirus association was Thottapalayam virus (TPMV), a long-unclassified virus isolated from the Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus). Robust gene amplification techniques have now uncovered several genetically distinct hantaviruses from shrews in widely separated geographic regions. Here, we report the characterization of a newly identified hantavirus, designated Imjin virus (MJNV), isolated from the lung tissues of Ussuri white-toothed shrews of the species Crocidura lasiura (order Soricomorpha, family Soricidae, subfamily Crocidurinae) captured near the demilitarized zone in the Republic of Korea during 2004 and 2005.

Axin localizes to mitotic spindles and centrosomes in mitotic cells.

Wnt signaling plays critical roles in cell proliferation and carcinogenesis. In addition, numerous recent studies have shown that various Wnt signaling components are involved in mitosis and chromosomal instability. However, the role of Axin, a negative regulator of Wnt signaling, in mitosis has remained unclear.

Ecological surveillance of small mammals at Firing Points 10 and 60, Gyeonggi Province, Republic of Korea, 2001-2005.

Throughout Korea, small mammals are hosts to a number of disease-causing agents that pose a health threat to U.S. and Korean military forces while they conduct field-training exercises.

Novel mutations in the VKORC1 gene of wild rats and mice--a response to 50 years of selection pressure by warfarin?

Background: Coumarin derivatives have been in world-wide use for rodent pest control for more than 50 years. Due to their retarded action as inhibitors of blood coagulation by repression of the vitamin K reductase (VKOR) activity, they are the rodenticides of choice against several species. Resistance to these compounds has been reported for rodent populations from many countries around the world and poses a considerable problem for efficacy of pest control.

Newfound hantavirus in Chinese mole shrew, Vietnam.

Sequence analysis of the full-length medium segment and the partial small and large segments of a hantavirus, detected by reverse transcription-PCR in lung tissues of the Chinese mole shrew (Anourosorex squamipes) captured in Cao Bang Province, Vietnam, in December 2006, indicated that it is genetically distinct from rodentborne hantaviruses.