Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Apolipoprotein E But Not B Is Required For The Formation Of Infectious Hepatitis C Virus Particles, Jieyun Jiang, Guangxiang Luo

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Our previous studies have found that hepatitis C virus (HCV) particles are enriched in apolipoprotein E (apoE) and that apoE is required for HCV infectivity and production. Studies by others, however, suggested that both microsomal transfer protein (MTP) and apoB are important for HCV production. To define the roles of apoB and apoE in the HCV life cycle, we developed a single-cycle HCV growth assay to determine the correlation of HCV assembly with apoB and apoE expression, as well as the influence of MTP inhibitors on the formation of HCV particles. The small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated knockdown of apoE expression …

Dna Instability In Replicating Huntington's Disease Lymphoblasts, Milena Cannella, Vittorio Maglione, Tiziana Martino, Giuseppe Ragona, Luigi Frati, Guo-Min Li, Ferdinando Squitieri

Toxicology and Cancer Biology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The expanded CAG repeat in the Huntington's disease (HD) gene may display tissue-specific variability (e.g. triplet mosaicism) in repeat length, the longest mutations involving mitotic (germ and glial cells) and postmitotic (neurons) cells. What contributes to the triplet mutability underlying the development of HD nevertheless remains unknown. We investigated whether, besides the increased DNA instability documented in postmitotic neurons, possible environmental and genetic mechanisms, related to cell replication, may concur to determine CAG repeat mutability. To test this hypothesis we used, as a model, cultured HD patients' lymphoblasts with various CAG repeat lengths.

RESULTS: Although most lymphoblastoid cell lines …