Alterative effects of an oral alginate extract on experimental rabbit osteoarthritis.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease that causes disabilities in elderly. However, few agents with high efficacy and low side effects have been developed to treat OA. In this study, we evaluated the effects of the alginate extract named CTX in OA cell and rabbit models.

Epstein-Barr virus Rta-mediated transactivation of p21 and 14-3-3σ arrests cells at the G1/S transition by reducing cyclin E/CDK2 activity.

Many herpesviral immediate-early proteins promote their robust lytic phase replications by hijacking the cell cycle machinery. Previously, lytic replication of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) was found to be concurrent with host cell cycle arrest. In this study, we showed that ectopic expression of EBV immediate-early protein Rta in HEp-2 cells resulted in increased G1/S population, hypophosphorylation of pRb and decreased incorporation of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine.

N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine induces and cooperates with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-1,3-acetate/sodium butyrate to enhance Epstein-Barr virus reactivation and genome instability in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells.

Seroepidemiological studies implicate a correlation between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation and the development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Moreover, N-nitroso compounds are known chemical carcinogens in preserved foodstuffs and cigarettes and have been implicated as risk factors contributing to the development of NPC. Here, NPC cell lines latently infected with EBV, NA and HA, and the corresponding EBV-negative NPC cell lines, NPC-TW01 and HONE-1, were used as the model system in this study.

Role of the TSG101 gene in Epstein-Barr virus late gene transcription.

Rta, an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-encoded immediate-early protein, governs the reactivation of the viral lytic program by transactivating a cascade of lytic gene expression. Cellular transcription factors such as Sp1, ATF2, E2F, and Akt have been demonstrated to mediate Rta transactivation of lytic genes. We report herein that Rta associates with another potent transcription factor, tumor susceptibility gene 101 (TSG101), to promote the activation of EBV late genes.

Genome-wide transcription program and expression of the Rta responsive gene of Epstein-Barr virus.

Infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) usually leads to a latent state in B lymphocytes. The virus can be reactivated through two viral transactivators, Zta and Rta, leading to a cascade of gene expression. An EBV DNA array was generated to analyze the pattern of transcription of the entire EBV genome under various conditions.

Characterization of three essential residues in the conserved ATP-binding region of Epstein-Barr virus thymidine kinase.

The thymidine kinase encoded by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV TK) is an important target for antiviral therapy and the treatment of EBV-associated malignancies. Through computer-assisted alignment with other human herpesviral TK proteins, EBV TK was shown to contain a conserved ATP-binding motif as for the other TK enzymes. To investigate functional roles of three highly conserved residues (G294, K297, T298) within this region, site-directed mutagenesis was employed to generate various mutants.

Reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus can be triggered by an Rta protein mutated at the nuclear localization signal.

Rta, an immediate-early protein of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), is a transcriptional activator that induces lytic gene expression and triggers virus reactivation. Being located predominantly in the nucleus, Rta can exert its transactivation function through either direct DNA binding or certain indirect mechanisms mediated by cellular signalling and other transcriptional factors. This study examined whether the subcellular localization of Rta was critical for the induction of target genes.

Induction of Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein 1 by a lytic transactivator Rta.

Latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a transforming protein that affects multiple cell signaling pathways and contributes to EBV-associated oncogenesis. LMP1 can be expressed in some states of EBV latency, and significant induction of full-length LMP1 is also observed frequently during virus reactivation into the lytic cycle. It is still unknown how LMP1 expression is regulated during the lytic stage and whether any EBV lytic protein is involved in the induction of LMP1.

Identification and characterization of the conserved nucleoside-binding sites in the Epstein-Barr virus thymidine kinase.

Thymidine kinase (TK), encoded by EBV (Epstein-Barr virus), is an attractive target for antiviral therapy and provides a novel approach to the treatment of EBV-associated malignancies. Despite the extensive use of nucleoside analogues for the treatment of viral infections and cancer, the structure-function relationship of EBV TK has been addressed rarely. In the absence of any structural information, we sought to identify and elucidate the functional roles of amino acids in the nucleoside-binding site using site-directed mutagenesis.

Site-directed mutagenesis in a conserved motif of Epstein-Barr virus DNase that is homologous to the catalytic centre of type II restriction endonucleases.

Sequence alignment of human herpesvirus DNases revealed that they share several conserved regions. One of these, the conserved motif D203..

Characterization of integration patterns and flanking cellular sequences of hepatitis B virus in childhood hepatocellular carcinomas.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA integration into host chromosomes is detected in more than 80% of HBV-related hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC), yet its significance in tumor development remains obscure. In this study, we re-examined the integration pattern of HBV in childhood HCC tissues, which has less environmental confounding factors than adult HCC. The HBV junctions and flanking cellular sequences were amplified from five childhood HCC patients by the inverse polymerase chain reaction (IPCR) method using primers located near HBV direct repeats (DR) 1 and 2.

Expression of Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein 1 and B-cell leukemia-lymphoma 2 gene in nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues.

Co-expression of B-cell leukemia-lymphoma 2 gene (Bcl-2) and Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues were tested using immunohistochemical methods. Results showed that there were 32% (14/44) and 68% (30/44) LMP-1 and Bcl-2-positive cases, respectively. Among the LMP-1-positive tissues, 8 (57%) of 14 specimens were also Bcl-2-positive.

Resistance to tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced apoptosis in human T-lymphotropic virus type I-infected T cell lines.

Induction of apoptosis of virus-infected cells is an important host cell defense mechanism. It is well documented that T cells may undergo apoptosis due to interactions between Fas and Fas ligand (FasL). In addition, signals that induce apoptosis in T cells can result from interaction of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha with TNF receptors (TNFRs).