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Persistent infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is associated with the development of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. To examine the oncogenic potential of the HCV core gene product, primary rat embryo fibroblasts (REFs) were transfected with the core gene in the presence or absence of the H-ras oncogene. In contrast to a previous report (R. B. Ray, L. M. Lagging, K. Meyer, and R. Ray, J. Virol. 70:4438-4443, 1996), HCV core proteins from two different genotypes (type 1a and type

Tumor suppressor protein p53 is a potent transcriptional activator and regulates cell growth negatively. To characterize the transcriptional activation domain (TAD) of p53, various point mutants were constructed in the context of Gal4 DNA binding domain and tested for their transactivation ability. Our results demonstrated that the positionally conserved hydrophobic residues shared with herpes simplex virus VP16 and other transactivators are essential for transactivation. Also, the negatively ch

CTL play a major role in the clearance of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) during experimental pulmonary infection. The fusion (F) glycoprotein of RSV is a protective Ag that elicits CTL and Ab response against RSV infection in BALB/c mice. We used the strategy of screening a panel of overlapping synthetic peptides corresponding to the RSV F protein and identified an immunodominant H-2K(d)-restricted epitope (F(85-93); KYKNAVTEL) recognized by CD8(+) T cells from BALB/c mice. We enumerated the

Adenovirus was originally used as a vector for gene therapy. In recent years, with the development of the next-generation vectors with increased safety and high immunogenicity to transgene products, its utility as a vaccine vector has continued to increase. Adenovirus-based vaccines are currently being tested not only to prevent various infectious diseases but also to be applied as cancer vaccines. In this review, I discuss the innate and adaptive aspects of the immunological characteristics of

Cholera toxin (CT) is a potent vaccine adjuvant, which promotes mucosal immunity to protein antigen given by nasal route. It has been suggested that CT promotes T helper type 2 (Th2) response and suppresses Th1 response. We here report the induction of Th17-dominated responses in mice by intranasal delivery of CT. This dramatic Th17-driving effect of CT, which was dependent on the B subunit, was observed even in Th1 or Th2-favored conditions of respiratory virus infection. These dominating Th17

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes an acute and severe lower respiratory illness as well as vomiting, diarrhea, and renal failure. Because no licensed MERS-CoV vaccines are currently available, preventive and therapeutic measures are urgently needed. The surface spike (S) glycoprotein of MERS-CoV, which binds to the cellular receptor dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4), is considered as a major target for MERS-CoV vaccine development. Here, we designed recombinant replicati

Antigenic and costimulatory signals trigger a developmental program by which naive CD8 T cells differentiate into effector and memory cells. However, initial cytokine signals that regulate the generation of effector and memory CD8 T cells are not well understood. In this study, we show that IL-12 priming during in vitro antigenic stimulation results in the significant increase of both primary and memory CD8 T cell population in mice after adoptive transfer of activated cells. The effect of IL-12

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of lower respiratory infection in young children and the elderly. Studies of mice suggest that RSV suppresses the effector activity of CD8 T cells and the development of pulmonary CD8 T cell memory, in which the impaired effector activity could be recovered by in vitro IL-2 treatment. To investigate the effect of in vivo IL-2 expression on RSV immunity, mice were infected with RSV followed by administration of replication-defective adenovirus ex

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of severe lower respiratory tract disease in infancy and early childhood. Despite its importance as a pathogen, there is no licensed vaccine to prevent RSV infection. The G glycoprotein of RSV, a major attachment protein, is a potentially important target for protective antiviral immune responses and has been shown to exhibit chemotactic activity through CX3C mimicry. Here, we show that sublingual or intranasal immunization of a purified G prote

Influenza vaccines that target the highly variable surface glycoproteins hemagglutinin and neuraminidase cause inconvenience of having vaccination every year. For this reason, development of universal vaccines targeting conserved viral components is needed. In this study, we generated recombinant adenovirus (rAd) vaccine encoding nucleoprotein (NP) of A/PR/8/34 influenza virus, designated rAd/NP. BALB/c mice were immunized intranasally or sublingually with rAd/NP vaccine and subsequently challen

Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is a major cause of upper and lower respiratory tract illness in infants and young children worldwide. Despite its importance as a respiratory pathogen, there is currently no licensed vaccine for prophylaxis of HRSV infection. There are several hurdles complicating the development of a RSV vaccine: 1) incomplete immunity to natural RSV infection leading to frequent re-infection, 2) immature immune system and maternal antibodies of newborn infants who are

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common cause of lower respiratory tract illness in infants, young children, and the elderly. The G glycoprotein plays a role in host cell attachment and also modulates the host immune response, thereby inducing disease pathogenesis. We generated two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs; 5H6 and 3A5) against G protein core fragment (Gcf), which consisted of amino acid residues 131 to 230 from RSV A2 G protein. Epitope mapping study revealed that 5H6 specifically bind

The Bel1 protein of human foamy virus is a 300-amino-acid nuclear regulatory protein which transactivates the gene expression directed by the homologous long terminal repeat and the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 long terminal repeat. While previous reports suggested that the single basic domain of Bel1 from residues 211 to 222 and/or 209 to 226 is necessary and sufficient for efficient nuclear localization (L. K. Venkatesh, C. Yang, P. A. Theodorakis, and G. Chinnandurai, J. Virol. 67:161-