exon0 (orf141) of Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) is a highly conserved baculovirus gene that codes for a predicted 261-amino-acid protein. Located in the C-terminal region of EXON0 are a predicted leucine-rich coiled-coil domain and a RING finger motif. The 5 114 nucleotides of exon0 form part of ie0, which is a spliced gene expressed at very early times postinfection, but transcriptional analysis revealed that exon0 is transcribed as a late gene. To determine the role of exon0 in the baculovirus life cycle, we used AcMNPV bacmids and generated exon0 knockout viruses (Ac-exon0-KO) by recombination in Escherichia coli. Ac-exon0-KO progressed through the very late phases in Sf9 cells, as evidenced by the development of occlusion bodies in the nuclei of the transfected or infected cells. However, production of budded virus (BV) in Ac-exon0-KO-infected cells was reduced at least 3 orders of magnitude in comparison to that in wild-type virus infection. Microscopy revealed that Ac-exon0-KO was restricted primarily to the cells initially infected, exhibiting a single-cell infection phenotype. Slot blot assays and Western blot analysis indicated that exon0 deletion did not affect the onset or levels of viral DNA replication or the expression of IE1, IE0, and GP64 prior to BV release. These results demonstrate that exon0 is required for efficient production of BV in the AcMNPV life cycle but does not affect late occlusion-derived virus.

Video tracking systems have been used widely to analyze Drosophila melanogaster movement and detect various abnormalities in locomotive behavior. While these systems can provide a wealth of behavioral information, the cost and complexity of these systems can be prohibitive for many labs. We have developed a low-cost assay for measuring locomotive behavior and seizure movement in D. melanogaster. The system uses a web-cam to capture images that can be processed using a combination of inexpensive and free software to track the distance moved, the average velocity of movement and the duration of movement during a specified time-span. To demonstrate the utility of this system, we examined a group of D. melanogaster mutants, the Bang-sensitive (BS) paralytics, which are 3-10 times more susceptible to seizure-like activity (SLA) than wild type flies. Using this novel system, we were able to detect that the BS mutant bang senseless (bss) exhibits lower levels of exploratory locomotion in a novel environment than wild type flies. In addition, the system was used to identify that the drug metformin, which is commonly used to treat type II diabetes, reduces the intensity of SLA in the BS mutants.

IE1 is a potent transcriptional transactivator of the baculovirus Orgyia pseudotsugata multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (OpMNPV) and has been shown to be essential for viral DNA replication. IE1 contains an acidic activation domain (AAD) at the N terminus that is essential for transcriptional transactivation, but its role in viral DNA replication is unknown. In this study the role of the IE1 AAD in DNA replication is investigated. We have determined that deletion of the AAD eliminates the ability of IE1 to support DNA replication, showing that the AAD is essential for DNA replication as well as transcriptional transactivation. Replacement of the AAD with the archetype domain from herpesvirus VP16 and the evolutionarily related domain from Autographa californica MNPV (AcMNPV) IE1 produces chimeric proteins that are potent transactivators. Surprisingly, however, these chimeric proteins were unable to support DNA replication, indicating that there is a host-or virus-specific replication subdomain in the AAD that was not functionally replaced by the VP16 or AcMNPV AAD. Using N-and C-terminal deletion mutants, the region of the AAD that was essential for DNA replication was mapped to amino acids 1 to 65. AAD deletion mutants also showed that an IE1 that is functional for transcriptional transactivation is not required for viral DNA replication. The IE1 AAD therefore contains an essential replication domain that is separable from the transcriptional activation domains. Our results suggest that IE1 specifically interacts with a component of the viral replication complex, supporting the view that it acts as a nucleating factor by binding to the viral replication origins.The baculovirus Orgyia pseudotsugata multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (OpMNPV) has a genome of 131,990 bp and encodes approximately 150 genes of 50 amino acids (aa) or larger (5). Using transient-replication assays, it has been shown that six genes, lef-1, lef-2, lef-3, dnapol, p143, and ie1, are essential for replication and that three genes, ie2, p34, and iap-1, are stimulatory (4). Based on studies with OpMNPV and the related viruses Autographa californica MNPV (AcMNPV) and Bombyx mori NPV, data suggest that lef-1 encodes a possible primase and interacts directly with lef-2, which has an unknown function (14). lef-3 encodes a single-stranded DNA binding (SSB) protein, forms homotrimers, and is essential for transport of P143 into the nucleus (1, 15, 56). P143 is a possible helicase, and dnapol is a DNA polymerase (2). IE1 is a primary transcriptional transactivator known to activate early-and lategene expression during baculovirus infections (19, 54). The role of IE1 in baculovirus replication has been hypothesized to be transactivation of other replication genes, or it may play a role as an origin binding protein (OBP). However, Rapp et al.(45) expressed all late expression factors under control of the heat shock promoter and showed that IE1 transcriptional transactivation may not be required for replication. The stimulatory genes IE2 and P34 (PE38 in AcMN...

There are a wide variety of extracellular matrices that can be used for regenerative purposes. Placental tissue‐based matrices are quickly becoming an attractive option given the availability of the tissue source and the wide variety of bioactive molecules knows to exist in unprocessed placental tissues. As fresh placental tissues are seldom an option at the point of care, we examined both the composition and bioactivity of a commercially packaged flowable placental connective tissue matrix (FPTM) (BioECM®, Skye Biologics, Inc.) that was preserved by the proprietary HydraTek® process. The FPTM contained significant amounts of collagen and various growth factors such as bFGF, EGF, PDGF, KGF, and PIGF. In addition, it contained high levels of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP‐1 and 2) and molecules known to modulate the immune response including TGF‐β and IL‐4. In terms of its bioactivity, the FPTM displayed the ability (1) to suppress INF‐γ secretion in activated T‐cells nearly fourfold over control media, (2) to inhibit methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Staphylococcus saprophyticus proliferation, (3) to increase the migration of adipose‐derived stem cells (ASCs) nearly threefold over control media and (4) to adhere to ASCs in culture. When ASCs were exposed to FPTM in culture, the cells maintained healthy morphology and showed no significant changes in the expression of five genes involved in tissue growth and repair as compared to culture in standard growth media. © 2018 The Authors Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 106B: 2731–2740, 2018.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed a crucial need for rapid, straightforward collection and testing of biological samples. Serological antibody assays can analyze patient blood samples to confirm immune response following mRNA vaccine administration or to verify past exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. While blood tests provide vital information for clinical analysis and epidemiology, sample collection is not trivial; this process requires a visit to the doctor’s office, a professionally trained phlebotomist to draw several milliliters of blood, processing to yield plasma or serum, and necessitates appropriate cold chain storage to preserve the specimen. A novel whole blood collection kit (truCOLLECT) allows for a lancet-based, decentralized capillary blood collection of metered low volumes and eliminates the need for refrigerated transport and storage through the process of active desiccation. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike (total and neutralizing) and nucleocapsid protein antibody titers in plasma samples obtained via venipuncture were compared to antibodies extracted from desiccated whole blood using Adaptive Focused Acoustics (AFA). Paired plasma versus desiccated blood extracts yields Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.98; 95% CI [0.96, 0.99] for anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike protein antibodies, 0.97; 95% CI [0.95, 0.99] for neutralizing antibodies, and 0.97; 95% CI [0.94, 0.99] for anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein antibodies. These data suggest that serology testing using desiccated and stabilized whole blood samples can be a convenient and cost-effective alternative to phlebotomy.