Journal of neurovirology
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Journal of neurovirology · Jan 2005
ReviewHuman immunodeficiency virus infection and pediatric bacterial meningitis in developing countries.
Over a million children are infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); most of whom live in the developing world. Bacterial meningitis is a serious infection of childhood that is 10 times more common in resource-constrained settings than well-resourced countries, and the outcome is worse. This paper reviews the relationship of bacterial meningitis to HIV infection and also the effect of HIV status on antibiotic sensitivity to common causes of childhood meningitis. The combined effects on outcome and long-term sequelae of meningitis are discussed and illustrated with results from Malawi and Southern Africa.
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Toscana virus (Bunyaviridae family, Phlebovirus genus) is a sandfly fever virus responsible for human neurological infections. Sandfly viruses are transmitted by insect vectors (Phlebotomus species) and the infection is present in climatic areas that allow the life cycle of the vector. ⋯ Infection diagnosis is carried out by molecular assays and immunoenzymatic tests, which are rapid and sensitive. Recent studies have investigated the antigenic properties of the viral proteins (nucleoprotein N and surface glycoproteins G1 and G2), to better understand their immunogentic role.
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Journal of neurovirology · Dec 2002
ReviewInsulin-like growth factor I receptor signaling system in JC virus T antigen-induced primitive neuroectodermal tumors--medulloblastomas.
Medulloblastomas represent about 25% of all pediatric intracranial neoplasms. These highly malignant tumors arise from the cerebellum, affecting mainly children between ages 5 and 15. Although the etiology of medulloblastomas has not yet been elucidated, several reports suggest that both the cellular protein insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and the early protein of the human polyomavirus JC (JCV T antigen) may contribute to the development of these tumors. ⋯ Importantly, IRS-1 is translocated to the nucleus in the presence of the JCV T antigen. Nuclear IRS-1 was detected in T antigen-positive cell lines and in T antigen-positive biopsies from patients diagnosed with medulloblastoma. The IRS-1 domain responsible for a direct JCV T antigen binding was localized within the N-terminal portion of IRS-1 molecule and the competition for IRS-1 T antigen binding by a dominant-negative mutant of IRS-1 inhibited growth and survival of JCV T antigen-transformed cells in anchorage-independent culture condition.
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Journal of neurovirology · Oct 2002
Comparative StudyFunctional CXCR4 receptor development parallels sensitivity to HIV-1 gp120 in cultured rat astroglial cells but not in cultured rat cortical neurons.
The alpha chemokine receptor CXCR4 is used as the major coreceptor for the cell entry of T-cell-tropic human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) isolates. Activation of this coreceptor by its natural ligand SDF1alpha is associated with an intracellular Ca(2+) increase. Because the HIV-1 glycoprotein 120 (gp120) is shedded from the surface of HIV-1-infected cells and is regarded as an injurious molecule in the pathogenesis of HIV-1-associated encephalopathy (HIVE), we investigated the effects of gp120 on the intracellular Ca(2+) regulation of astrocytes and neurons. ⋯ Parallel with the development of the SDF1alpha response, cells became sensitive to direct application of gp120 (1.25 microg/ml), which, similarly to SDF1alpha, elicited a transient intracellular Ca(2+) increase. However, short-term incubation with gp120 for 60 to 120 min induced a reduction of glutamate- or ATP-evoked intracellular Ca(2+) responses only in astrocytes and not in neurons, although functional CXCR4 receptors were expressed in both cell types. Therefore, our data strongly suggest that the CXCR4 receptor-mediated intracellular signaling pathway of gp120 differs in astrocytes and neurons.