Replication-Deficient Particles: New Insights into the Next Generation of Bluetongue Virus Vaccines.

Unlabelled: Bluetongue virus (BTV) is endemic in many parts of the world, often causing severe hemorrhagic disease in livestock. To date, at least 27 different serotypes have been recognized. Vaccination against all serotypes is necessary to protect susceptible animals and to prevent onward spread of the virus by insect vectors.

Antiviral activity of (+)-rutamarin against Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus by inhibition of the catalytic activity of human topoisomerase II.

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is an etiological agent of several AIDS-associated malignancies, including Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), and multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD). Its lytic replication cycle has been proven to be critical for the pathogenesis of KSHV-associated diseases. In KS lesions, lytic viral replication, production of virion particles, and reinfection of endothelial cells are essential to sustain the population of infected cells that otherwise would be quickly lost as spindle cells divide.

Potent antiviral activity of topoisomerase I and II inhibitors against Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus.

The lytic DNA replication of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) initiates at an origin (ori-Lyt) and requires trans-acting elements, both viral and cellular. We recently demonstrated that several host cellular proteins, including topoisomerases I and II (Topo I and II), are involved in KSHV lytic DNA replication (Y. Wang, H.

Role of annexin A2 in cellular entry of rabbit vesivirus.

The mechanisms of calicivirus attachment and internalization are not well understood, mainly due to the lack of a reliable cell-culture system for most of its members. In this study, rabbit vesivirus (RaV) virions were shown to bind annexin A2 (ANXA2) in a membrane protein fraction from HEK293T cells, using a virus overlay protein-binding assay and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight analysis. A monoclonal anti-ANXA2 antibody and small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of ANXA2 expression in HEK293T cells reduced virus infection significantly, further supporting the role of ANXA2 in RaV attachment and/or internalization.

Inhibition of norovirus replication by morpholino oligomers targeting the 5'-end of the genome.

Noroviruses are an important cause of non-bacterial epidemic gastroenteritis, but no specific antiviral therapies are available. We investigated the inhibitory effect of phosphorodiamidiate morpholino oligomers (PMOs) targeted against norovirus sequences. A panel of peptide-conjugated PMOs (PPMOs) specific for the murine norovirus (MNV) genome was developed, and two PPMO compounds directed against the first AUG of the ORF1 coding sequence near the 5'-end of the genome proved effective in inhibiting MNV replication in cells.

Structural and functional analysis of virus factories purified from Rabbit vesivirus-infected Vero cells.

Rabbit vesivirus infection induces membrane modifications and accumulation of vesicular structures in the cytoplasm of infected Vero cells. Crude RaV replication complexes (RCs) have been purified and their structural and functional properties have been characterized. We show that calnexin, an ER-resident protein, RaV non-structural proteins 2AB-, 2C-, 3A-, 3B- and 3CD-like as well as viral RNAs co-localize within membranous structures which are able to replicate the endogenous RNA templates.

Isolation and characterization of a new Vesivirus from rabbits.

This report describes the isolation, cDNA cloning, complete genome nucleotide sequence, and partial characterization of a new cultivable calicivirus isolated from juvenile feeder European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) showing symptoms of diarrhea. Absence of neutralization by type-specific neutralizing antibodies for 40 caliciviruses and phylogenetic sequence comparisons of the open reading frame 1-encoded polyprotein with those of other caliciviruses demonstrate that this new calicivirus is a putative novel member of the Vesivirus genus which is closely related to the marine calicivirus subgroup. According to its putative classification, this new virus has been named rabbit vesivirus.