Phosphatidylinositol 4-Kinase III Alpha Governs Cytoskeletal Organization for Invasiveness of Liver Cancer Cells.

Background & Aims: High expression of phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase III alpha (PI4KIIIα) correlates with poor survival rates in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. In addition, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections activate PI4KIIIα and contribute to hepatocellular carcinoma progression. We aimed at mechanistically understanding the impact of PI4KIIIα on the progression of liver cancer and the potential contribution of HCV in this process.

Murine Norovirus: Additional Protocols for Basic and Antiviral Studies.

Murine norovirus (MNV) is a positive-sense, plus-stranded RNA virus in the Caliciviridae family. Viruses in this family replicate in the intestine and are transmitted by the fecal-oral route. MNV is related to the human noroviruses, which cause the majority of nonbacterial gastroenteritis worldwide.

NMR Experiments Shed New Light on Glycan Recognition by Human and Murine Norovirus Capsid Proteins.

Glycan-protein interactions are highly specific yet transient, rendering glycans ideal recognition signals in a variety of biological processes. In human norovirus (HuNoV) infection, histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) play an essential but poorly understood role. For murine norovirus infection (MNV), sialylated glycolipids or glycoproteins appear to be important.

Conserved motifs in the hypervariable domain of chikungunya virus nsP3 required for transmission by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

Background: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a re-emerging arthropod-borne (arbo)virus that causes chikungunya fever in humans and is predominantly transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The CHIKV replication machinery consists of four non-structural proteins (nsP1-4) that additionally require the presence of a number of host proteins for replication of the viral RNA. NsP3 is essential for CHIKV replication and has a conserved macro, central and C-terminal hypervariable domain (HVD).

Open Sesame: New Keys to Unlocking the Gate to Norovirus Infection.

Three recent papers highlight the impact of an entry receptor on murine norovirus pathogenesis. CD300lf was shown to be the first proteinaceous entry receptor for a norovirus, specialized intestinal epithelial cells constitute the reservoir for persistence, and a new link between the receptor and a lipid biosynthetic enzyme was revealed.

Toolkit for visualization of the cellular structure and organelles in Aspergillus niger.

Aspergillus niger is a filamentous fungus that is extensively used in industrial fermentations for protein expression and the production of organic acids. Inherent biosynthetic capabilities, such as the capacity to secrete these biomolecules in high amounts, make A. niger an attractive production host.