Comparison of the Genetic Organization, Expression Strategies and Oncogenic Potential of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2

Human T cell leukemia virus types 1 and 2 (HTLV-1 and HTLV-2) are genetically related complex retroviruses that are capableof immortalizing human T-cells in vitro and establish life-long persistent infections in vivo. In spite of these apparent similarities,HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 exhibit a significantly different pathogenic potential. HTLV-1 is recognized as the causative agent of adult Tcell eukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) and tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-1-associatedmyelopathy (TSP/HAM). In contrast,HTLV- 2 has not been causally linked to human malignancy, although it may increase the risk of developing inflammatory neuropathies and infectious diseases. The present paper is focused on the studies aimed at defining the viral genetic determinants of the pathobiology of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 through a comparison of the expression strategies and functional properties of the different gene products of the two viruses

Geomagnetic survey of Italy. Repeat station network and magnetic maps: a short report

Starting in 1977, two geomagnetic project were undertaken in the frame of the >of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche(Project>of the National Research Council);1)a new national network of repeat stations for total field F, horizontal component H, vertical component Z, declination D.2)a 2nd order network of stations for F,Z,H to produce geomagnetic maps of Italy. The two projects were carried out by a > made up of Operating Units from Institutions to which the authors belong. The field work ended in 1981. The Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica coordinated the operations for both projects. This paper is intended to give a short report to the international scientific community on this work which has so far only appeared in the Italian literature.Published365-3681A. Geomagnetismo e PaleomagnetismoN/A or not JC

Surfactant protein D inhibits HIV-1 infection of target cells via interference with gp120-CD4 interaction and modulates pro-inflammatory cytokine production

© 2014 Pandit et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Surfactant Protein SP-D, a member of the collectin family, is a pattern recognition protein, secreted by mucosal epithelial cells and has an important role in innate immunity against various pathogens. In this study, we confirm that native human SP-D and a recombinant fragment of human SP-D (rhSP-D) bind to gp120 of HIV-1 and significantly inhibit viral replication in vitro in a calcium and dose-dependent manner. We show, for the first time, that SP-D and rhSP-D act as potent inhibitors of HIV-1 entry in to target cells and block the interaction between CD4 and gp120 in a dose-dependent manner. The rhSP-D-mediated inhibition of viral replication was examined using three clinical isolates of HIV-1 and three target cells: Jurkat T cells, U937 monocytic cells and PBMCs. HIV-1 induced cytokine storm in the three target cells was significantly suppressed by rhSP-D. Phosphorylation of key kinases p38, Erk1/2 and AKT, which contribute to HIV-1 induced immune activation, was significantly reduced in vitro in the presence of rhSP-D. Notably, anti-HIV-1 activity of rhSP-D was retained in the presence of biological fluids such as cervico-vaginal lavage and seminal plasma. Our study illustrates the multi-faceted role of human SPD against HIV-1 and potential of rhSP-D for immunotherapy to inhibit viral entry and immune activation in acute HIV infection. © 2014 Pandit et al.The work (Project no. 2011-16850) was supported by Medical Innovation Fund of Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India (www.icmr.nic.in/)

Geomagnetic survey of Italy at 1979.0 Repeat station network and magnetic maps

attached an anomaly map for FA national network of 106 repeat stations for total field F, horizontal component H, vertical component Z and declination D has been undertaken in the frame of the 'Progetto Finalizzato Geodinamica' of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. From the observed magnetic elements the repeat station values were referred to 1979.0 and five normal fields in the form of a 2nd order polynomial in latitude and longitude were computed: GDN for the whole Italian area, GDN-N for the northern Italy, GDN_C for central Italy, GDN-S for the southern Italy and GDN-Sn for Sardinia. From comparisons made on F between GDN and two planetary reference fields it has concluded that for total field the polynomial form can be well considered as representative of the main field in the Italian area. A 2nd order network of 2500 stations for F, Z, H, has been undertaken to produce geomagnetic maps of Italy. An anomaly map for F referred to the GDN normal field has been drawn. The main features of anomalies configuration are described.Published1-171A. Geomagnetismo e PaleomagnetismoN/A or not JC

Membrane-Anchored HIV-1 N-Heptad Repeat Peptides Are Highly Potent Cell Fusion Inhibitors via an Altered Mode of Action

Peptide inhibitors derived from HIV-gp41 envelope protein play a pivotal role in deciphering the molecular mechanism of HIV-cell fusion. According to accepted models, N-heptad repeat (NHR) peptides can bind two targets in an intermediate fusion conformation, thereby inhibiting progression of the fusion process. In both cases the orientation towards the endogenous intermediate conformation should be important. To test this, we anchored NHR to the cell membrane by conjugating fatty acids with increasing lengths to the N- or C-terminus of N36, as well as to two known N36 mutants; one that cannot bind C-heptad repeat (CHR) but can bind NHR (N36 MUTe,g), and the second cannot bind to either NHR or CHR (N36 MUTa,d). Importantly, the IC50 increased up to 100-fold in a lipopeptide-dependent manner. However, no preferred directionality was observed for the wild type derived lipopeptides, suggesting a planar orientation of the peptides as well as the endogenous NHR region on the cell membrane. Furthermore, based on: (i) specialized analysis of the inhibition curves, (ii) the finding that N36 conjugates reside more on the target cells that occupy the receptors, and (iii) the finding that N36 MUTe,g acts as a monomer both in its soluble form and when anchored to the cell membrane, we suggest that anchoring N36 to the cell changes the inhibitory mode from a trimer which can target both the endogenous NHR and CHR regions, to mainly monomeric lipopetides that target primarily the internal NHR. Besides shedding light on the mode of action of HIV-cell fusion, the similarity between functional regions in the envelopes of other viruses suggests a new approach for developing potent HIV-1 inhibitors

Conference highlights of the 15th international conference on human retrovirology: HTLV and related retroviruses, 4-8 june 2011, Leuven, Gembloux, Belgium

The June 2011 15th International Conference on Human Retrovirology: HTLV and Related Viruses marks approximately 30 years since the discovery of HTLV-1. As anticipated, a large number of abstracts were submitted and presented by scientists, new and old to the field of retrovirology, from all five continents. The aim of this review is to distribute the scientific highlights of the presentations as analysed and represented by experts in specific fields of epidemiology, clinical research, immunology, animal models, molecular and cellular biology, and virology

Quark Matter in a Strong Magnetic Background

In this chapter, we discuss several aspects of the theory of strong interactions in presence of a strong magnetic background. In particular, we summarize our results on the effect of the magnetic background on chiral symmetry restoration and deconfinement at finite temperature. Moreover, we compute the magnetic susceptibility of the chiral condensate and the quark polarization at zero temperature. Our theoretical framework is given by chiral models: the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL), the Polyakov improved NJL (or PNJL) and the Quark-Meson (QM) models. We also compare our results with the ones obtained by other groups.Comment: 34 pages, survey. To appear in Lect. Notes Phys. "Strongly interacting matter in magnetic fields" (Springer), edited by D. Kharzeev, K. Landsteiner, A. Schmitt, H.-U. Ye

Oncogenic pathways and the electron transport chain: a dangeROS liaison

Driver mutations in oncogenic pathways, rewiring of cellular metabolism and altered ROS homoeostasis are intimately connected hallmarks of cancer. Electrons derived from different metabolic processes are channelled into the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) to fuel the oxidative phosphorylation process. Electrons leaking from the ETC can prematurely react with oxygen, resulting in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Several signalling pathways are affected by ROS, which act as second messengers controlling cell proliferation and survival. On the other hand, oncogenic pathways hijack the ETC, enhancing its ROS-producing capacity by increasing electron flow or by impinging on the structure and organisation of the ETC. In this review, we focus on the ETC as a source of ROS and its modulation by oncogenic pathways, which generates a vicious cycle that resets ROS levels to a higher homoeostatic set point, sustaining the cancer cell phenotype