Binding of a Pocket Factor to Hepatitis B Virus Capsids Changes the Rotamer Conformation of Phenylalanine 97.

(1) Background: During maturation of the Hepatitis B virus, a viral polymerase inside the capsid transcribes a pre-genomic RNA into a partly double stranded DNA-genome. This is followed by envelopment with surface proteins inserted into a membrane. Envelopment is hypothetically regulated by a structural signal that reports the maturation state of the genome.

DL-Methadone as an Enhancer of Chemotherapeutic Drugs in Head and Neck Cancer Cell Lines.

Background/aim: The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of DL-methadone on enhancing the action of the chemotherapeutic drugs cisplatin, doxorubicin, 5-fluoruracil (5-FU) and paclitaxel on head and neck squamous carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines.

Materials And Methods: The chemotherapeutic drugs were applied alone or in combination with DL-methadone and cytotoxicity was analyzed by XTT assays. Expression of the μ-opioid receptor and the drug transporter p-glycoprotein were analyzed by qRT-PCR.