Biomedical subjects

Hermann Müller

Publications and source records attributed to Hermann Müller.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

Persistence of Borna disease virus in naturally infected sheep.

To get an insight into Borna disease virus (BDV) epidemiology, an isolated flock of approximately 25 sheep within the region of Southeast Germany to which the disease is endemic was investigated over a 3-year observation period. BDV-specific antibodies and RNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were detected in 12.5 (year 1), 11.5 (year 2), and 19.4% (year 3) and 1.6 (year 1), 0 (year 2), and 14.9% (year 3) of the animals, respectively. BDV persisted in asymptomatic sheep for up to 2 years. Significantly higher numbers of antibody-positive animals were detected seasonally in spring and early summer, the times when usually most of the clinical cases of Borna disease occur. In spring of the third year, numbers of antibody-positive and viral-RNA-positive animals increased significantly despite their having no obvious clinical symptoms. The removal of all antibody- and RNA-positive animals from the flock did not reduce the prevalence of BDV infections in the following year. During a 3-month observation period of three antibody-positive animals, viral RNA was repeatedly detected by reverse transcription-PCR in nasal secretions, saliva, and conjunctival fluids. Sequence analysis revealed clustered nucleotide exchanges among sheep BDV p24 genomes, which differed at five positions from the clustered nucleotide exchanges seen in horse BDV p24 genomes.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Avian polyomavirus agnoprotein 1a is incorporated into the virus particle as a fourth structural protein, VP4.

Agnoproteins, encoded by the 5'-region of the late bicistronic mRNA of some polyomaviruses, are small proteins with largely unknown functions. In avian polyomavirus (APV)-infected cells, mRNAs of seven putative agnoproteins have been observed. Recently, it has been shown that agnoprotein 1a and its truncated variant agnoprotein 1b, encoded by the predominant mRNA species, are essential for APV replication. Here, the presence of agnoprotein 1a is demonstrated in the nucleus of APV-infected cells and in purified APV particles. Interaction between agnoprotein 1a and the major structural protein, VP1, was demonstrated by co-immunoprecipitation experiments using lysates of recombinant baculovirus-infected insect cells. With proteins expressed in E. coli, binding to double-stranded DNA in a sequence-unspecific manner was shown for agnoprotein 1a, whereas agnoprotein 1b failed to bind. A leucine zipper-like motif present in agnoprotein 1a is considered to be involved in DNA binding. Due to the absence of any structural or functional homologies between APV agnoprotein 1a and the agnoproteins of mammalian polyomaviruses, it is suggested that this protein should be renamed VP4, indicating its function as a fourth structural protein of APV.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2001

Apoptosis is induced by infectious bursal disease virus replication in productively infected cells as well as in antigen-negative cells in their vicinity.

The kinetics of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) replication and induction of apoptosis were investigated in vitro and in vivo. After infection of chicken embryo (CE) cells with IBDV strain Cu-1, the proportion of apoptotic cells increased from 5.8% at 4 h post-infection (p.i.) to 64.5% at 48 h p.i. The proportion of apoptotic cells correlated with IBDV replication. UV-inactivated IBDV particles did not induce apoptosis. Double labelling revealed that, early after infection, the majority of antigen-expressing cells were not apoptotic; double-labelled cells appeared more frequently at later times. Remarkably, apoptotic cells were frequently located in the vicinity of antigen-expressing cells. This indicated that an apoptosis-inducing factor(s) might be released by cells that replicate IBDV. Since interferon (IFN) production has been demonstrated after IBDV infection, IFN was considered to be one of several factors. However, supernatants of infected CE cells in which virus infectivity had been neutralized were not sufficient to induce apoptosis. Similar results were observed in the infected bursae of Fabricius: early after infection, most of the cells either showed virus antigens or were apoptotic. Again, double-labelled cells appeared more frequently late after infection. This suggests that indirect mechanisms might also be involved in the induction of apoptosis in vivo, contributing to the rapid depletion of cells in the IBDV-infected bursa.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Biology of influenza viruses].

An attempt is made to present out of a multitude of available data those that will allow an insight into the biology of the influenza viruses, in order to contribute to the understanding of the present situation of influenza virus infections and the risk of pandemic influenza. This short overview is based on several reviews presented by others, some own reviews and statements, as well as some recent publications in scientific journals.

Animals↗