Low Bone Mineral Density in Hemophiliacs.

Objective: To review the current knowledge on bone health in patients with hemophilia A and the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms.

Data Sources: Original research articles, meta-analyses, and scientific reviews.

Data Synthesis: Already in childhood, patients with hemophilia A are prone to low bone mineral density, leading to osteopenia and/or osteoporosis.

vWDI is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner with incomplete penetrance, in the Kromfohrländer breed.

Background: Von Willebrand disorder type I (vWDI) is known as an inherited bleeding disorder in different dog breeds following an autosomal recessive inheritance. The Kromfohrländer is a rare dog breed with an increased incidence of unclear bleeding episodes and prolonged coagulation time during/after surgery or injuries, indicating a defect in one or more critical proteins of the coagulation cascade.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether the c.

Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) blocks influenza virus propagation via its NF-kappaB-inhibiting activity.

Influenza is still one of the major plagues worldwide. The statistical likeliness of a new pandemic outbreak highlights the urgent need for new and amply available antiviral drugs. We and others have shown that influenza virus misuses the cellular IKK/NF-kappaB signalling pathway for efficient replication suggesting that this module may be a suitable target for antiviral intervention.

Rac1 and PAK1 are upstream of IKK-epsilon and TBK-1 in the viral activation of interferon regulatory factor-3.

The anti-viral type I interferon (IFN) response is initiated by the immediate induction of IFN beta, which is mainly controlled by the IFN-regulatory factor-3 (IRF-3). The signaling pathways mediating viral IRF-3 activation are only poorly defined. We show that the Rho GTPase Rac1 is activated upon virus infection and controls IRF-3 phosphorylation and activity.

NF-kappaB-dependent induction of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and Fas/FasL is crucial for efficient influenza virus propagation.

Activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB is a hallmark of infections by viral pathogens including influenza viruses. Because gene expression of many proinflammatory and antiviral cytokines is controlled by this factor, the concept emerged that NF-kappaB and its upstream regulator IkappaB kinase are essential components of the innate antiviral immune response to infectious pathogens. In contrast to this common view we report here that NF-kappaB activity promotes efficient influenza virus production.

MEK inhibition impairs influenza B virus propagation without emergence of resistant variants.

Influenza A and B viruses are still a major worldwide threat. We demonstrate that influenza B virus infection induces signaling via the Raf/MEK/ERK cascade, a process required for efficient virus production. Expression of dominant-negative Raf and ERK mutants or treatment with a MEK inhibitor (U0126) strongly impaired viral propagation, while selective activation of the pathway resulted in increased virus titers.

Caspase 3 activation is essential for efficient influenza virus propagation.

Apoptosis is a hallmark event observed upon infection with many viral pathogens, including influenza A virus. The apoptotic process is executed by a proteolytic system consisting of a family of cysteinyl proteases, termed caspases. Since the consequences of apoptosis induction and caspase activation for the outcome of an influenza virus infection are not clear, we have addressed this issue by interfering with expression or function of a major virus-induced apoptosis effector, caspase 3.

The sialate-4-O-acetylesterases of coronaviruses related to mouse hepatitis virus: a proposal to reorganize group 2 Coronaviridae.

Group 2 coronaviruses are characterized within the order Nidovirales by a unique genome organization. A characteristic feature of group 2 coronaviruses is the presence of a gene encoding the haemagglutinin-esterase (HE) protein, which is absent in coronaviruses of groups 1 and 3. At least three coronavirus strains within group 2 expressed a structural protein with sialate-4-O-acetylesterase activity, distinguishing them from other members of group 2, which encode an enzyme specific for 5-N-acetyl-9-O-acetylneuraminic acid.