Anti-nucleolin aptamer, iSN04, inhibits the inflammatory responses in C2C12 myoblasts by modulating the β-catenin/NF-κB signaling pathway.

A myogenetic oligodeoxynucleotide, iSN04, is the 18-base single-stranded DNA that acts as an anti-nucleolin aptamer. iSN04 has been reported to restore myogenic differentiation by suppressing inflammatory responses in myoblasts isolated from patients with diabetes or healthy myoblasts exposed to cancer-releasing factors. Thus, iSN04 is expected to be a nucleic acid drug for the muscle wasting associated with chronic diseases.

Studies on virus kinetics using infectious fluorescence-tagged hepatitis C virus cell culture.

Aim:   Studies of the complete hepatitis C virus (HCV) life cycle have become possible with the development of a HCV-JFH1 cell culture system.

Methods:   In this study, we constructed two fluorescence protein-tagged recombinant JFH1 virus clones, JFH1-EYFP and JFH1-AsRed, as well as two corresponding clones with adaptive mutations, JFH1-EYFP mutant and JFH1-AsRed mutant, that and were as effective as JFH1 in producing infectious virus particles, and investigated their viral infection life cycles.

Results:   After infection of the fluorescence-tagged mutant viruses, infected cells increased exponentially.

Comparison of HCV-associated gene expression and cell signaling pathways in cells with or without HCV replicon and in replicon-cured cells.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication is affected by several host factors. Here, we screened host genes and molecular pathways that are involved in HCV replication by comprehensive analyses using two genotypes of HCV replicon-expressing cells, their cured cells and naïve Huh7 cells.

Methods: Huh7 cell lines that stably expressed HCV genotype 1b or 2a replicon were used.

Antiviral effects of the interferon-induced protein guanylate binding protein 1 and its interaction with the hepatitis C virus NS5B protein.

Unlabelled: Interferons (IFNs) and the interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) play a central role in antiviral responses against hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We have reported previously that ISGs, including guanylate binding protein 1 (GBP-1), interferon alpha inducible protein (IFI)-6-16, and IFI-27, inhibit HCV subgenomic replication. In this study we investigated the effects of these ISGs against HCV in cell culture and their direct molecular interaction with viral proteins.

Two flavonoids extracts from Glycyrrhizae radix inhibit in vitro hepatitis C virus replication.

Aim: Traditional herbal medicines have been used for several thousand years in China and other Asian countries. In this study we screened herbal drugs and their purified compounds, using the Feo replicon system, to determine their effects on in vitro HCV replication.

Methods: We screened herbal drugs and their purified extracts for the activities to suppress hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication using an HCV replicon system that expressed chimeric firefly luciferase reporter and neomycin phosphotransferase (Feo) genes.