In eukaryotic cells, the nuclear genome and its transcriptional apparatus is separated from the site of protein synthesis by the nuclear envelope. Thus, a constant flow of proteins and nucleic acids has to cross the nuclear envelope in both directions. This transport in and out of the nucleus is mediated by nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) and occurs in an energy and signal-dependent manner. Thus, nucleocytoplasmic translocation of macro- molecules across the nuclear envelope appears to be a highly specific and regulated process. Viruses that replicate their genome in the cell nucleus are...
In eukaryotic cells, the nuclear genome and its transcriptional apparatus is separated from the site of protein synthesis by the nuclear envelope. Thu...
For the first time a compilation of chapters that depict the biological bases underlying the development of lentiviral vectors, the techniques involved in the manufacture of this new gene delivery tool, and its most promising applications.
For the first time a compilation of chapters that depict the biological bases underlying the development of lentiviral vectors, the techniques involve...
In spite of the protection of the CNS there are situations where immune responses occur due to different disease processes. While antigen-specific cells of the adaptive immune response are not normally functional in the CNS tissue, CNS resident cells respond to infection or insult. One mechanisms is through the induction of apoptosis in virus infected neurons, which may be protective or pathogenic depending on the extent of cell death.
In spite of the protection of the CNS there are situations where immune responses occur due to different disease processes. While antigen-specific cel...
The aberrant replication pathway of foamy viruses distinguishes them from all other retroviruses. Many details have been accumulated over the past ten or so years. Most of the findings on foamy viruses were obtained by research on a single virus isolate previously called "human foamy virus," which appeared to be the first to be investigated on a molecular level. However, to the editor's knowledge, genuine human foamy viruses do not exist, but several trans-species transmissions of different simian foamy viruses from monkeys and apes to human hosts.
The aberrant replication pathway of foamy viruses distinguishes them from all other retroviruses. Many details have been accumulated over the past ...
Over the last half of century interferon (IFN), originally discovered as an antiviral protein, has developed from an inhibitor of viral replication to a major force in the antiviral response. Initially studied only by few virologists, IFN was generally considered as a poorly defined protein of limited importance. The development of molecular techniques lead to the identification of a family of IFN genes and has shown an unexpected complexity of type I IFN genes and their expression. Presently, some aspects of the of the pathogen mediated induction of IFN gene expression are understood at...
Over the last half of century interferon (IFN), originally discovered as an antiviral protein, has developed from an inhibitor of viral replication...
Throughout the biological world, bacteria thrive predominantly in surface-attached, matrix-enclosed, multicellular communities or biofilms, as opposed to isolated planktonic cells. This choice of lifestyle is not trivial, as it involves major shifts in the use of genetic information and cellular energy, and has profound consequences for bacterial physiology and survival. Growth within a biofilm can thwart immune function and antibiotic therapy and thereby complicate the treatment of infectious diseases, especially chronic and foreign device-associated infections. Modern studies of many...
Throughout the biological world, bacteria thrive predominantly in surface-attached, matrix-enclosed, multicellular communities or biofilms, as opposed...
There is increasing evidence that the CD1 system has been conserved throughout mammalian evolution and is capable of presenting structurally diverse diacyglycerol, sphingolipid, polyisoprenol and lipopeptide antigens. This volume provides a comprehensive discussion of these basic aspects of CD1 biology and summarizes the most recent research into the role of CD1 in infectious, autoimmune, allergic and neoplastic disease.
There is increasing evidence that the CD1 system has been conserved throughout mammalian evolution and is capable of presenting structurally divers...
Nanotechnology is a collective term describing a broad range of relatively novel topics. Scale is the main unifying theme, with nanotechnology being concerned with matter on the nanometer scale. A quintessential tenet of nanotechnology is the precise self-assembly of nanometer-sized components into ordered devices. Nanotechnology seeks to mimic what nature has achieved, with precision at the nanometer level down to the atomic level. Nanobiotechnology, a division of nanotechnology, involves the exploitation of biomaterials, devices or methodologies in the nanoscale. In recent years a set of b-...
Nanotechnology is a collective term describing a broad range of relatively novel topics. Scale is the main unifying theme, with nanotechnology being c...
Eleven years ago the circular DNA of a novel single-stranded virus has been cloned and partially characterized by Nishizawa and Okamoto and their colleagues. According to the initials of the patient from whom the isolate originated, the virus was named TT virus. This name has been subsequently changed by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) into Torque teno virus, permitting the further use of the abbreviation TTV. Although initially suspected to play a role in non A -E hepatitis, subsequent studies failed to support this notion.
Within a remarkably short period...
Eleven years ago the circular DNA of a novel single-stranded virus has been cloned and partially characterized by Nishizawa and Okamoto and their c...
The term humanized mouse in this text refers to a mouse in which human tissues and cells have been transplanted and show the same biological function as they do in the human body. That is, the physiological properties and functions of tra- planted human tissues and cells can be analyzed in the mouse instead of using a living human body. It should therefore be possible to study the pathophysiology and treatment of human diseases in mice with good reproducibility. Thus, the hum- ized mouse can be used as a potent tool in both basic and clinical research in the future. The development of...
The term humanized mouse in this text refers to a mouse in which human tissues and cells have been transplanted and show the same biological function ...
