Virus Weekly articles from April 2003

Virus Weekly archives from April 2003

Antiviral therapy found to prevent blindness, other effects of eye shingles.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Mayo Clinic has found that for patients with eye shingles, oral antiviral drugs are critical to prevent long-term consequences in the eye. Untreated, 10% of eye shingles patients experience a...

Pseudocowpox virus contains a homolog of vascular endothelial growth factor.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pseudocowpox virus contains a homolog of vascular endothelial growth factor. "We have identified a gene encoding a homolog of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the Pseudocowpox virus...

Hepatitis B infection has no impact on hepatitis C response to interferon.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Patients with chronic hepatitis C who carry antibodies to hepatitis B virus core antigen are not likely to show a diminished response to interferon based...

Nonpenetrative sexual contract could be a source of HPV in female virgins.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nonpenetrative sexual contract could be a source of human papillomavirus in virgins. "Incidence data on human papillomavirus (HPV) infection are limited, and risk factors for transmission are...

Capsid protein elements control adeno-associated virus type 1 tropism.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Capsid protein elements control adeno-associated virus type 1 tropism. According to a study from the United States, "muscle is an attractive target for gene delivery because of its mass and because...

Echovirus 11 genogroup D viruses can spread rapidly.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Sequence analysis of the enterovirus echovirus 11 genogroup D indicated that the virus can spread rapidly over a wide geographic area. According to a study from the United States, "Echovirus 11...

Promising HIV drug completes successful clinical trial.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Sarawak MediChem Pharmaceuticals has completed a 48-subject clinical trial of Calanolide A in combination therapy for HIV. This clinical trial evaluated the therapy's effect on pharmacokinetic...

Trizivir inferior to two other treatments, according to NIAID clinical advisory.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Division of AIDS (DAIDS) of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has issued a clinical advisory to HIV/AIDS health care providers regarding interim results from the...

Coinfecting viruses don't change the kinetics of acute HBV infection.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Coinfecting viruses don't change the kinetics of acute HBV infection. "The kinetics of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and its surface antigen (HBsAg) during acute hepatitis has not yet been studied...

A bifunctional ligand protein modifies adenoviral tropism.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A bifunctional ligand protein modifies adenoviral tropism. According to a study from the United States, "in order to target recombinant adenovirus (AdV), we have developed a new strategy using a...

CMV disease can mimic an acute B-precursor lymphoblastic leukemia.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CMV disease can mimic an acute B-precursor lymphoblastic leukemia. "Hematogones (B-lymphocyte progenitor-precursor cells) are normal bone marrow constituents which are morphologically distinct...

Peptide fusion improves the efficacy of thymidine kinase suicide gene therapy.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Peptide fusion improves the efficacy of thymidine kinase suicide gene therapy. According to recent research from Italy, "suicide gene therapy using herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) thymidine...

Common cell lines were analyzed cytogenetically for all aberrations.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Common cell lines were analyzed cytogenetically for all aberrations. According to a study from the United States, "We applied a combination of molecular cytogenetic methods, including comparative...

Alternate pathways regulate the life cycle of hepatitis B virus.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Alternate pathways regulate the life cycle of hepatitis B virus. "Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infects humans and certain nonhuman primates. Viral clearance and acute disease are associated with a...

Hepatitis C virus NS2 protein inhibits cellular and hepatitis B gene expression.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hepatitis C virus NS2 protein inhibits cellular and hepatitis B gene expression. "The mechanisms leading to viral persistence and hepatocarcinogenesis in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are not...

Dendritic cells and NK cells have interdependent regulatory interactions.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Dendritic cells and NK cells have interdependent regulatory interactions. According to recent research from Australia, "Ly49H+NK1.1+ natural killer (NK) cells are essential for the control of murine...

Adeno-associated virus extends gene transfection in hemophilia models.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Adeno-associated virus extends gene transfection in hemophilia models. "The goal of our work has been to establish an experimental basis for gene transfer as a method of treating hemophilia, an...

Protein exchanges with hepatitis A virus cover different mechanisms.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Protein exchanges with hepatitis A virus cover different mechanisms. "Proteins interacting with RNA structures at the 3' non-translated region (3'NTR) of picornaviruses are probably important...

The nuclear receptors HNF4 alpha and COUP-TF1 regulate HBV genes differently.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The nuclear receptors HNF4 alpha and COUP-TF1 regulate HBV genes differently. "To study the effects of the nuclear receptors (NRs) HNF4alpha and COUP-TF1 on the life cycle of hepatitis B virus...

Herpes simplex viruses would be useful for exploring hepatitis C NS5A protein.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Herpes simplex viruses would be useful for exploring hepatitis C NS5A protein. According to recent research from Greece, "two herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) recombinant viruses carrying the hepatitis...

Significant hepatitis C interactions may occur in nonaqueous environments.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Significant hepatitis C interactions may occur in nonaqueous environments. According to a study from France, "the first crystal structure of a complex between a hepatitis C virus (HCV) core...

Display of HPV-16 E6-memory T-helper cells shows infection leads to immunity.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Display of HPV-16 E6-memory T-helper cells shows infection leads to immunity. According to recent research from the Netherlands, "Genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is common and the...

Researchers test vaccine in hopes of cutting cervical cancer rate.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) are joining the effort to test a vaccine that they hope will keep women from contracting human papillomavirus (HPV), a common infection that...

Mannose-binding lectin gene mutations influence hepatitis B outcome.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Mutations in the mannose-binding lectin (MBL) gene can influence the outcome of hepatitis B. According to a study from Germany, MBL "is a constituent of the human innate immune system which may...

Real-time amplification suitable for herpesvirus detection.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Real-time amplification assays are suitable for diagnosing herpesvirus infections. In a recent study from the Netherlands, "procedures using real-time technique were developed to demonstrate the...

Spanish influenza mortality was higher in the Lap population in 1918-1919.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Spanish influenza mortality was higher in the Lap population in 1918-1919. "Previous studies into Spanish Influenza mortality have reported that indigenous populations were the prime victims. The...

Inflammation accelerates memory T cell migration to nonlymphoid tissues.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Inflammation accelerates memory T cell migration to nonlymphoid tissues. "Previous studies have shown that heterologous viral infections have a significant impact on preexisting memory T cell...

Intravenous reovirus therapy presents feasible alternative in cancer treatment.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Intravenous reovirus therapy presents feasible alternative in cancer treatment. According to recent research from Canada, "The human reovirus is an oncolytic virus that specifically targets cancer...

HHV-6 has role in activating autoimmune reactivity to myelin basic protein.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- HHV-6 has role in activating autoimmune reactivity to myelin basic protein. "Viral infections are thought to play an important role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) potentially through...

EBV+ cells suffered apoptosis after doxorubicin/BIM2001 combination.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- EBV+ cells suffered apoptosis after doxorubicin/BIM2001 combination treatment. According to recent research from France, "Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) associated nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPC) are much...

The TT virus has been detected in children with acute respiratory disease.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The TT virus has been detected in the nasal passages of children with acute respiratory disease. "The natural history and pathogenic potential of the recently identified TT virus (TTV) are...

Glowing bacteria show how an antiflu-virus drug may prevent bacterial pneumonia.
April 1, 2003... 2003 APR 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have shown in mice how the potentially deadly cooperation between influenza virus and bacterial pneumonia infections can be foiled, even if...

Possible link to Epstein-Barr found.(Epstein-Barr virus infections linked to multiple sclerosis)
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- There may be an association between having had infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and development of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new research. Infection with Epstein-Barr virus has...

Deceptive strategy shields HIV from destruction.(how human immunodeficiency virus protects itself from human immune system)
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers and their colleagues have discovered one way in which the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) wins its cat-and-mouse game with the body's immune system. ...

Researchers use nanotech decoys for viruses.(University of California, Davis researchers are using nanotechnology to prevent HIV virus replication)
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Using nanotechnology to stop HIV viruses from entering cells is the ultimate aim of a new project at the University of California, Davis. The researchers hope to create tiny particles that can...

DEN-3 serotype linked to outbreaks.(DEN-3 dengue virus serotyp associated with severe outbreaks of dengue fever)
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The DEN-3 dengue virus serotype is associated with severe dengue fever outbreaks. According to a recent study from the United States, "dengue virus circulation and association with epidemics and...

gE/gI expressed in epithelial cells interferes with cell-to-cell spread.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- gE/gI expressed in epithelial cells interferes with cell-to-cell spread. According to a study from the United States, "The herpes simplex virus (HSV) glycoprotein heterodimer gE/gI plays an...

Ocular injection of pseudotyped adenoviral vectors could prevent blindness.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ocular injection of pseudotyped adenoviral vectors could prevent blindness. According to a study from the United States, "strategies for retargeting adenoviral (Ad) vectors have been developed, but...

Medical Services International ships kits to Vietnam, West Africa.(sends samples of VScan Rapid Test Kits for HIV 1 and 2)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Medical Services International, Inc., (MSITF) announced that it has received a request from the Social Republic of Vietnam, Ministry of Health for samples of the VScan Rapid Test Kits for HIV 1 and 2 to...

Gamma irradiation induces Epstein-Barr virus reactivation.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gamma irradiation induces Epstein-Barr virus reactivation. "Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a member of the gamma-herpesvirus family, is involved in the development of several diseases, and the infection...

Mofarotene is effective alone or in combination with 2-methoxyestradiol.(treatment for Burkitt lymphoma)
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Mofarotene is effective alone or in combination with 2-methoxyestradiol. According to a study from Italy, "In the search for retinoids active against Burkitt lymphoma (BL), we found that the...

HPV16-associated, MHC class I+ tumors more susceptible than class I- to therapy.(research on chemoimmunotherapy for cancer)
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chemoimmunotherapy was more effective in mice carrying HPV16-associated, MHC class I+ tumors than in those carrying and class I- tumors. According to recent research from Czech Republic, "The...

Local interleukin-2 therapy inhibits proliferation of HPV-associated tumor.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Local interleukin-2 therapy inhibits proliferation of HPV-associated tumor. According to a study from Cuba, "Previous studies have shown inhibition of cervical cancer cell growth by treatment with...

The E2/E6 gene ratio in papillomavirus-16 cancer can help diagnose stage.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The E2/E6 gene ratio in papillomavirus-16 cancer can help diagnose stage. According to a study from Poland, "Integration of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA into host genome occurs early in cancer...

Ethnicity plays a role in T-cell response to hepatitis C virus.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - African-Americans have a more robust antiviral T-cell response to hepatitis C virus than Caucasian Americans, although that T-cell response is dysfunctional,...

EBV not shown to be associated with breast and hepatocellular carcinoma.(Epstein-Barr virus)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- EBV was not shown to be associated with breast and hepatocellular carcinoma. "The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with several human tumors including lymphoid and epithelial malignancies,"...

Cellular restriction factors can prevent retrovirus infection.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cellular restriction factors in human and non-human primate cells can prevent infection by a wide range of retroviruses, including HIV. "The mouse gene Fv1 encodes a saturable restriction factor...

Virus-specific T cells originate in the lymph nodes during lamivudine therapy.(Brief Article)
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Virus-specific CD8 T cells originate in the lymph nodes during lamivudine therapy. "Lamivudine treatment in chronic hepatitis B leads to the reconstitution of virus-specific T cells in the...

Researchers have devised HCV replicons that thrive in cell culture.(hepatitis c virus)
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have devised HCV replicons that thrive in cell culture. According to recent research from the United States, "hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype I (subtypes la and 1b) is responsible for...

Nebraska outbreak called country's largest.(outbreak of hepatitis C)
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An outbreak of hepatitis C at a Fremont, Nebraska, clinic is the largest in the country involving this strain and possibly in the world, an official from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and...

Pegasys a more tolerable treatment, study reveals.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Two weeks after initiating treatment with Pegasys, a new study has found that hepatitis C patients experienced significantly less fatigue, pain, physical, and emotional limitations and had improved...

IL-12 combined with BEN vs HSV-1 after thermal injury has therapeutic effect.(Interleukin-12, benzoylmesaconine, herpes simplex virus type I )
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- IL-12 combined with BEN vs HSV-1 after thermal injury has therapeutic effect. According to a study from the United States, "IL-12 is an inducer of type 1T cell responses, which are essential in host...

Seizure disorders have virological and immunological aspects.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Seizure disorders have virological and immunological aspects. "The brain is a symptom-producing organ, and one of the symptoms due to a basic brain dysfunction is epilepsy. The pathophysiologic...

The U100 gene product, gQ, is complexed on the viral envelope with gH-gL.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U100 gene product, gQ, is complexed on the viral envelope with gH-gL. "The human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) variant A U100 gene encodes the third component of the glycoprotein H (gH) and glycoprotein...

Midges that carry disease identified near lake between Argentina and Paraguay.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Biting midges known to carry disease have been identified in the area of the Yacyreta Dam Lake between Argentina and Paraguay. According to a study from Argentina, "The Culicoides communities have...

IgA response greater with intranasal than intramuscular vaccine delivery.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Intranasal delivery of an influenza vaccine stimulated a greater IgA response than did intramuscular delivery vaccine delivery in elderly residents of a nursing home. "Intramuscular (IM) influenza...

Countries must cooperate to protect infants against measles.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Countries must cooperate to provide wide vaccine coverage in order to protect infants against measles. According to a study from Australia and Papua New Guinea, "Measles is the most frequent cause...

Antiviral CD8+ T cells have continuous accumulation over time.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antiviral CD8+ T cells have continuous accumulation over time. "CD8+ T lymphocytes play an important role in the control of intracellular pathogens during both acute and persistent infections. This...

Early dissemination rates of F-MuLV variants correlate with late pathogenesis.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Early dissemination rates of Friend murine leukemia virus variants correlate with late pathogenesis. According to recent research from Norway, "Early dissemination rates of Friend murine leukemia...

Researchers learn how single layer of particles can pack on spherical surface.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a discovery that is likely to impact fields as diverse as medicine and nanomanufacturing, researchers have determined how nature arranges charged particles in a thin layer around a sphere. The...

NIH grant provided for drug to protect people at risk from smallpox vaccine.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Elusys Therapeutics, Inc., has received $1.2 million from the U.S. National Institutes for Health (NIH) to support its development of a drug to protect people at risk of serious complications from the...

ACAM2000 completes phase I trial.(Brief Article)
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Acambis, plc, (ACAM) announced that it has completed a phase I trial of its smallpox vaccine, ACAM2000. The trial assessed the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of ACAM2000 in adult subjects...

Local immune, systemic cytokine responses are related to postherpetic neuralgia.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Local immune, systemic cytokine responses are related to postherpetic neuralgia. According to a study from Scotland, "Varicella zoster virus (VZV) causes varicella (chickenpox) as the primary...

Relapsing disease caused by herpes simplex reactivation is a risk.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Relapsing disease caused by herpes simplex reactivation is a risk. According to recent research from Japan, "This case is reported to raise awareness of herpes simplex encephalitis as a persisting...

The mK3 protein of one herpesvirus targets host MHC-1 assembly machinery.(Brief Article)
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The mK3 protein of one herpesvirus targets host MHC-1 assembly machinery. According to a study from the United States, "Many viral proteins modulate class I expression; yet in general, their...

AIDS drug fails NIH trials.(Brief Article)
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline Plc's (GSK) AIDS drug therapy, Trizivir, the first pill to combine three HIV drugs (Ziagen, AZT and 3TC) into one twice-a-day pill, doesn't protect patients...

Lck mediates the cross-linkage of hepatitis C virus envelope protein E2.
April 8, 2003... 2003 APR 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Lck mediates the cross-linkage of hepatitis C virus envelope protein E2. "Binding of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) envelope protein E2 to CD81 provides a costimulatory signal for human T cells. This...

NS1-mediated G[subscript]1 arrest required for apoptosis of erythroid progenitor cells.
April 15, 2003... 2003 APR 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NS1-mediated G[subscript]1 arrest required for apoptosis of erythroid progenitor cells upon parvovirus infection. "Human parvovirus B19 infects predominantly erythroid precursor cells, leading to...

Researchers model evolution of virus.
April 15, 2003... 2003 APR 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- As health agencies around the world race to pinpoint the cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), researchers are reporting success in developing a new theoretical model that shows how the...

Tat/TAR RNA not needed for viral promoter function.
April 15, 2003... 2003 APR 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- HIV Tat/TAR RNA is not necessary for viral promoter activity. "P-TEFb, cyclin T1 + CDK9, is needed for the expression of cellular promoters and primate lentiviral long terminal repeats (LTRs),"...

PCR used for simultaneous detection, differentiation of North American serotypes.
April 15, 2003... 2003 APR 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Multiplex PCR could be used for simultaneous detection and differentiation of North American serotypes of hemorrhagic disease viruses. According to a study from Sudan, "Differentiation of North...

Norwalk-like virus in Dutch cattle unlikely to infect humans.
April 15, 2003... 2003 APR 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Dutch cattle have a high rate of infection with Norwalk-like viruses, but are unlikely to cause outbreaks in humans. "'Norwalk-like viruses' (NLVs) are the most common cause of acute non-bacterial...

Human herpesviruses 6 and 7 reactivate often following transplantation.(Brief Article)
April 15, 2003... 2003 APR 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Human herpesviruses 6 and 7 reactivate often following transplantation. According to recent research from Japan, "Human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) and human herpesvirus-7 (HHV-7) are ubiquitous in the...

UAB develops assay that could lead to HIV vaccine.
April 15, 2003... 2003 APR 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Tranzyme, Inc., a drug discovery and development company, announced that researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have developed a novel assay that may lead to an AIDS vaccine...

Cells generated against Epstein-Barr virus LMP1 antigen may fight some cancers.
April 15, 2003... 2003 APR 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cells generated against Epstein-Barr virus LMP1 antigen may fight some cancers. "The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-encoded LMP1 protein is expressed in EBV-positive Hodgkin disease and is a potential...

m166 needed for MCMV virulence in killing SCID mice and for optimal viral growth.
April 15, 2003... 2003 APR 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- m166 needed for murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) virulence in killing severe combined immunodeficiency disorders (SCID) mice and for optimal viral growth. "We have recently generated a pool of murine...

Improved molecular beacons show promise for cancer detection, rapid viral diagnosis.
April 15, 2003... 2003 APR 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Diagnosing cancer may one day involve introducing "molecular beacons" into the body and then watching for specific optical or magnetic signals as the nanometer-scale structures latch onto the unique...

The matrix protein VP40 interacts with host cellular factors Tsg101 and Nedd4.
April 15, 2003... 2003 APR 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The matrix protein VP40 interacts with host cellular factors Tsg101 and Nedd4. "The Ebola virus matrix protein VP40 is a major viral structural protein and plays a central role in virus assembly...

Acyclovir and glucocorticoid combined therapy reduces long-term MRI anomalies.
April 15, 2003... 2003 APR 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Acyclovir and glucocorticoid combined therapy reduces long-term MRI anomalies in patients with herpes simplex virus encephalitis. "Despite early antiviral treatment, herpes simplex virus...

Genome sequences of three South African HIV type 1 subtype C isolates characterized.
April 15, 2003... 2003 APR 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The near-full length genome sequences of three South African human immunodeficiency virus (H(V) type 1 subtype C isolates have been characterized. G.M. Hunt and colleagues at the University of...

Rhesus rhadinovirus not linked to simian AIDS-related lymphoma.
April 15, 2003... 2003 APR 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Rhesus rhadinovirus (RRV) does not appear to play a role in the development of simian AIDS-related lymphoma. In a recent study from the United States, RRV infection "was quantified in peripheral...

Mesothelial cell human herpesvirus 8 infection linked to pleural effusions.
April 15, 2003... 2003 APR 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pleural effusions in HIV patients may be caused by mesothelial cell infection with the virus responsible for Kaposi sarcoma. According to a study from the United States, "recurrent pleural...

Viral proteins inhibit IL-2-induced Jak/STAT signaling by CD4 cells.
April 15, 2003... 2003 APR 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Jak/STAT signaling by CD4 cells is impaired during HIV infection, and may underlie the immune anergy seen in patients with acute disease. HIV infection "leads to a profound T cell dysfunction well...

Stampidine safe and effective in animals.
April 15, 2003... 2003 APR 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The novel antiretroviral agent stampidine is safe and effective in animals, researchers in the United States report. Fatih M. Uckun and colleagues working...