>Starke< oder >schwache< Nachhaltigkeit?: Theologisch-ethische Überlegungen zur ökologischen Grundkomponente des Sustainability-Leitbilds

Worldwide implementation of the centrat concept sustainable development has given rise to very different interpretations, some extending to central issues within the field of ecological ethics. This is especially true of the two economic approaches termed >Strongweakweakstrong< sustainability theory merits interdisciplinary consideration through a theologically oriented ethics of sustainable developmen

Cellular Restriction Factors of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus

Lentiviruses are known for their narrow cell- and species-tropisms, which are determined by cellular proteins whose absence or presence either support viral replication (dependency factors, cofactors) or inhibit viral replication (restriction factors). Similar to Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), the cat lentivirus Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is sensitive to recently discovered cellular restriction factors from non-host species that are able to stop viruses from replicating. Of particular importance are the cellular proteins APOBEC3, TRIM5α and tetherin/BST-2. In general, lentiviruses counteract or escape their species’ own variant of the restriction factor, but are targeted by the orthologous proteins of distantly related species. Most of the knowledge regarding lentiviral restriction factors has been obtained in the HIV-1 system; however, much less is known about their effects on other lentiviruses. We describe here the molecular mechanisms that explain how FIV maintains its replication in feline cells, but is largely prevented from cross-species infections by cellular restriction factors

Systems-Biology Approaches to Discover Anti-Viral Effectors of the Human Innate Immune Response

Virus infections elicit an immediate innate response involving antiviral factors. The activities of some of these factors are, in turn, blocked by viral countermeasures. The ensuing battle between the host and the viruses is crucial for determining whether the virus establishes a foothold and/or induces adaptive immune responses. A comprehensive systems-level understanding of the repertoire of anti-viral effectors in the context of these immediate virus-host responses would provide significant advantages in devising novel strategies to interfere with the initial establishment of infections. Recent efforts to identify cellular factors in a comprehensive and unbiased manner, using genome-wide siRNA screens and other systems biology “omics” methodologies, have revealed several potential anti-viral effectors for viruses like Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), Hepatitis C virus (HCV), West Nile virus (WNV), and influenza virus. This review describes the discovery of novel viral restriction factors and discusses how the integration of different methods in systems biology can be used to more comprehensively identify the intimate interactions of viruses and the cellular innate resistance

Ansätze zu einer neuen Sicht der praktischen Philosophie Kants bei katholischen Autoren der Gegenwart. Zugleich ein Beitrag zum Vergleich der Naturrechtslehre bei Thomas von Aquin und Kant

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Nachhaltige Entwicklung im Schatten der Globalisierung

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Umweltschutz zwischen individualethischer Verantwortung, personalzwischenmenschlichem Anspruch und strukturalen (legislatorischen) Maßnahmen

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EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STATUS OF EXTENDED SPECTRUM BETALACTAMASE PRODUCING Klebsiella pneumoniae IN SUB-SAHARIAN AFRICA (MALI) IN INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION

Oral Communication presented at the ";Forum des Jeunes Chercheurs";, Brest (France) 2011

Die somatische Gentherapie in der Diskussion. Ethischer Kommentar zu zentralen Argumentationsmustern

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Umweltkrise – Folge und Erbe des Christentums? Historisch-systematische Überlegungen zu einer umstrittenen These im Vorfeld ökologischer Ethik

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Feline immunodeficiency virus Vif N-Terminal residues selectively counteract feline APOBEC3s

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) Vif protein counteracts feline APOBEC3s (FcaA3s) restriction factors by inducing their proteasomal degradation. The functional domains in FIV Vif for interaction with FcaA3s are poorly understood. Here, we have identified several motifs in FIV Vif that are important for selective degradation of different FcaA3s. Cats (Felis catus) express three types of A3s: single-domain A3Z2, single-domain A3Z3, and double-domain A3Z2Z3. We proposed that FIV Vif would selectively interact with the Z2 and the Z3 A3s. Indeed, we identified two N-terminal Vif motifs (12LF13 and 18GG19) that specifically interacted with the FcaA3Z2 protein but not with A3Z3. In contrast, the exclusive degradation of FcaA3Z3 was regulated by a region of three residues (M24, L25, and I27). Only a FIV Vif carrying a combination of mutations from both interaction sites lost the capacity to degrade and counteract FcaA3Z2Z3. However, alterations in the specific A3s interaction sites did not affect the cellular localization of the FIV Vif protein and binding to feline A3s. Pulldown experiments demonstrated that the A3 binding region localized to FIV Vif residues 50 to 80, outside the specific A3 interaction domain. Finally, we found that the Vif sites specific to individual A3s are conserved in several FIV lineages of domestic cat and nondomestic cats, while being absent in the FIV Vif of pumas. Our data support a complex model of multiple Vif-A3 interactions in which the specific region for selective A3 counteraction is discrete from a general A3 binding domain