Biomedical subjects

V C Emery

Publications and source records attributed to V C Emery.

95 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

PubMed1989

The design and use of specific genetic probes to identify closely related bunyaviruses and to determine the genotype of their recombinants.

Viruses that are very closely related to each other at the genetic and gene product level can prove difficult to distinguish, although they may differ in phenotype (for example in their virulence or vector preferences). A chimeric genetic probe has been developed and tested to distinguish the S RNAs of two closely related bunyaviruses, snowshoe hare and La Crosse viruses. The technique is applicable to other RNA species of these two bunyaviruses.

Blotting, Northern↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Prophylaxis for CMV should not now replace pre-emptive therapy in solid organ transplantation.

Pre-emptive therapy (PET) initiated on the basis of HCMV positivity in the blood using sensitive methods such as PCR, nucleic acid sequence based amplification or antigenaemia offers several advantages for the management of HCMV infection. These include the ability to target antiviral drug therapy to those most at risk of future disease, minimising drug exposure and maximising cost-benefit. In addition, allowing limited replication to occur also provides immune stimulation which will be important for future control of HCMV replication. In contrast, prophylaxis is a high-cost strategy which exposes all patients to potentially toxic drugs, does not facilitate immune priming and leads to the development of late HCMV infection and disease in high-risk patients.

Antiviral Agents↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The use of baculoviruses as expression vectors.

The use of recombinant baculoviruses as high level expression systems is becoming more and more popular. This review aims to provide a summary of the impact of this expression system in biochemistry and biotechnology, highlighting important advances that have been made utilizing the system. The potential of newly developed multiple baculovirus expression systems to enable the reconstruction of complex biological molecules and processes is also reviewed.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Natural history of untreated cytomegalovirus retinitis.

Cytomegalovirus infection is common in patients with AIDS, and often causes retinitis. Treatment is rarely curative, but the progression of retinitis is delayed. The untreated course of cytomegalovirus retinitis in AIDS is unknown. We report a 35-year-old man with retinitis who refused treatment. Retinitis resulted in blindness within 6 months. Measurement of cytomegalovirus genomes showed an increasing viral load in blood and urine.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The development of multiple expression vectors for high level synthesis of eukaryotic proteins: expression of LCMV-N and AcNPV polyhedrin protein by a recombinant baculovirus.

A copy of the polyhedrin gene promoter of Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcNPV), in association with the coding region of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus N protein (LCMV-N) and the relevant polyhedrin transcription termination signals, has been cloned into the unique EcoRV site of a plasmid representing an EcoRI derived fragment of the AcNPV genome. The cloning site is upstream (but in the opposite orientation) of the natural AcNPV polyhedrin gene. The derived pAcVC2 transfer vector has, therefore, both the normal polyhedrin gene and the LCMV-N gene each with its own copy of the polyhedrin transcriptional machinery. Co-transfection of Spodoptera frugiperda insect cells with the pAcVC2 plasmid together with infectious polyhedrin-negative AcNPV DNA resulted in the isolation of recombinant viruses that made polyhedrin protein as well as LCMV-N protein. Electron microscopy demonstrated the presence of occluded virus particles in the nucleus of the recombinant virus infected cells and aggregates of LCMV-N protein in the cytoplasm of the same cells. Unlike polyhedra-negative AcNPV recombinants, the occluded recombinants were potent infectious agents for the caterpillar Trichoplusia ni. The implications of these data are discussed in relation to the design of multiple eukaryotic expression vectors and recombinant baculovirus insecticides.

Cells, Cultured↗