Screening assay for oxidative stress in a feline astrocyte cell line, G355-5.

An often-suggested mechanism of virus induced neuronal damage is oxidative stress. Astrocytes have an important role in controlling oxidative stress of the Central Nervous System (CNS). Astrocytes help maintain a homeostatic environment for neurons as well as protecting neurons from Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS).

Methamphetamine and lentivirus interactions: reciprocal enhancement of central nervous system disease.

Use of methamphetamine is increasingly a significant factor for the spread of human immunodeficiency virus type 1, for in certain populations, there is a convergence of methamphetamine abuse with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection. Methamphetamine and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 are both individually neuropathogenic, and the neuropathology caused by these two agents occurs in overlapping brain regions. However, the biological interaction of methamphetamine with lentiviruses remains unknown.

Escalating morphine exposures followed by withdrawal in feline immunodeficiency virus-infected cats: a model for HIV infection in chronic opiate abusers.

Opiate abuse is a risk factor for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Because the direct effects of opiates on HIV infection are difficult to determine epidemiologically, animal models of lentivirus infection are relied upon to study the effects of opiates in the absence of confounding factors. Morphine, the predominant metabolite of heroin, is used in most experimental systems examining heroin abuse.

A malaria vaccine candidate based on a hepatitis B virus core platform.

Objective: The recent success of a Plasmodium falciparum malaria vaccine consisting of circumsporozoite (CS) protein (CSP) T and B cell epitopes has rekindled interest in the development of a pre-erythrocytic vaccine. Our goal was to design an efficient delivery system for known neutralizing epitopes.

Methods: Well-characterized CSP-specific neutralizing B cell epitopes and a 'universal' T cell epitope were combined with a particulate carrier platform, the hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg), to produce a novel pre-erythrocytic vaccine candidate.

Effects of 1,8-diaminooctane on the FIV Rev regulatory system.

Proper function of the Rev regulatory system is essential for the replication of lentiviruses, including feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Specifically, Rev affects the overall stability of viral mRNAs that encode necessary structural and enzymatic proteins. In turn, the eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF-5A) is indispensable for Rev function and is the only known protein whose biologically active form requires the unique amino acid, hypusine.

Inhibition of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) replication by DNA binding polyamides.

Two DNA minor-groove binding polyamides 1 and 2 were designed and synthesized and evaluated for inhibition of FIV-34TF10 replication. Both 1 and 2 decreased the replication of FIV-34TF10 by 75% by acting at the level of the virus but outside of the LTR or env region.