Infection of the mouse trigeminal ganglia (TG) is the most commonly used model for the study of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) latency. Its popularity is caused, at least in part, by the perception that latent infection can be studied in this system in the absence of spontaneous viral reactivation. However, this perception has never been rigorously tested. To carefully study this issue, the eyes of Swiss-Webster mice were inoculated with HSV-1 (KOS), and 37-47 days later the TG were dissected, serial-sectioned, and probed for HSV-1 ICP4, thymidine kinase, glycoprotein C, and latency-associated transcript RNA by in situ hybridization. Serial sections of additional latently infected TG were probed with HSV-1-specific polyclonal antisera. Analysis of thousands of probed sections revealed abundant expression of viral transcripts, viral protein, and viral DNA replication in about 1 neuron per 10 TG tested. These same neurons were surrounded by a focal white cell infiltrate, indicating the presence of an antigenic stimulus. We conclude that productive cycle viral genes are abundantly expressed in rare neurons of latently infected murine TG and that these events are promptly recognized by an active local immune response. In the absence of detectable infectious virus in these ganglia, we propose the term ''spontaneous molecular reactivation'' to describe this ongoing process.H erpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infections of the skin or eye lead to invasion of the trigeminal ganglia (TG), where the virus follows one of two pathways (1-3). In some infected neurons, the virus replicates and destroys the cell. This lytic cycle path involves regulated viral gene expression in which immediate-early genes are required for the efficient expression of early and late genes. In other neurons, a latent infection is established in which lytic cycle genes are not expressed and infectious virus is not produced. Latent infection of neurons is characterized by the expression of the latency-associated transcripts (LAT), which are encoded in a single region of the HSV-1 genome and which accumulate to high levels in the nucleus of the host cell (4-10). In situ hybridization (ISH) studies of latently infected sensory ganglia have revealed numerous neurons expressing LAT but no other viral RNAs (4, 5, 7, 9-15). Thus, for many years a latent neuron has been defined in molecular terms as a neuron that is positive for LAT and negative for other viral RNAs.In humans, HSV-1 intermittently reactivates from the latent state, with peripheral shedding of infectious virus. Shedding of infectious virus is similarly observed in rabbit ocular models of HSV infection, both spontaneously and in response to local or systemic stimuli (16,17). In contrast, latent HSV-1 infection in the mouse seems to be more tightly regulated, and attempts to identify infectious virus or viral antigen in murine sensory ganglia after resolution of primary infection (indicative of a spontaneous reactivation localized to the sensory ganglion) have been unsuccessful (2,7,9,...

Iron maldistribution has been implicated in multiple diseases, including the anemia of inflammation (AI), atherosclerosis, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders. Iron metabolism is controlled by hepcidin, a 25-amino acid peptide. Hepcidin is induced by inflammation, causes iron to be sequestered, and thus, potentially contributes to AI. Human hepcidin (hHepc) overexpression in mice caused an iron-deficient phenotype, including stunted growth, hair loss, and iron-deficient erythropoiesis. It also caused resistance to supraphysiologic levels of erythropoiesis-stimulating agent, supporting the hypothesis that hepcidin may influence response to treatment in AI. To explore the role of hepcidin in inflammatory anemia, a mouse AI model was developed with heat-killed Brucella abortus treatment. Suppression of hepcidin mRNA was a successful anemia treatment in this model. High-affinity antibodies specific for hHepc were generated, and hHepc knock-in mice were produced to enable antibody testing. Antibody treatment neutralized hHepc in vitro and in vivo and facilitated anemia treatment in hHepc knock-in mice with AI. These data indicate that antihepcidin antibodies may be an effective treatment for patients with inflammatory anemia. The ability to manipulate iron metabolism in vivo may also allow investigation of the role of iron in a number of other pathologic conditions. (Blood. 2010;115(17):3616-3624)

No abstract

Despite the prevalence of KRAS mutations in human cancers, there remain no targeted therapies for treatment. The serine-threonine kinase STK33 has been proposed to be required for the survival of mutant KRAS-dependent cell lines, suggesting that small molecule kinase inhibitors of STK33 may be useful to treat KRAS-dependent tumors. In this study, we investigated the role of STK33 in mutant KRAS human cancer cells using RNA interference, dominant mutant overexpression, and small molecule inhibitors. As expected, KRAS downregulation decreased the survival of KRAS-dependent cells. In contrast, STK33 downregulation or dominant mutant overexpression had no effect on KRAS signaling or survival of these cells. Similarly, a synthetic lethal siRNA screen conducted in a broad panel of KRAS wild-type or mutant cells identified KRAS but not STK33 as essential for survival. We also obtained similar negative results using small molecule inhibitors of the STK33 kinase identified by high-throughput screening. Taken together, our findings refute earlier proposals that STK33 inhibition may be a useful therapeutic approach to target human KRAS mutant tumors. Cancer Res; 71(17); 5818-26. Ó2011 AACR.