Murine norovirus (MNV) is a positive-sense, plus-stranded RNA virus in the Caliciviridae family. It is the most common pathogen in biomedical research colonies. MNV is also related to the human noroviruses, which cause the majority of nonbacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. Like the human noroviruses, MNV is an enteric virus that replicates in the intestine and is transmitted by the fecal-oral route. MNV replicates in murine macrophages and dendritic cells in cells in culture and in the murine host. This virus is often used to study mechanisms in norovirus biology, because human noroviruses are refractory to growth in cell culture. MNV combines the availability of a cell culture and reverse genetics system with the ability to study infection in the native host. Herein, we describe a panel of techniques that are commonly used to study MNV biology. Curr.

Porphyrias are caused by pathological accumulation of porphyrins and their precursors, with liver damage and cancer risk, photosensitivity, and neurovisceral involvement. Fluorescent porphyrins bind proteins reversibly and lead, in the presence of oxygen, to protein oxidation and aggregation with consequent cellular damage. Genetic porphyrias comprise eight diseases caused by defects in the heme biosynthetic pathway that lead to accumulation of heme precursors. Consequences of porphyria include photosensitivity, liver damage and increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma, and neurovisceral involvement, including seizures. Fluorescent porphyrins that include protoporphyrin-IX, uroporphyrin and coproporphyrin, are photo-reactive; they absorb light energy and are excited to high-energy singlet and triplet states. Decay of the porphyrin excited to ground state releases energy and generates singlet oxygen. Porphyrin-induced oxidative stress is thought to be the major mechanism of porphyrin-mediated tissue damage. Although this explains the acute photosensitivity in most porphyrias, lightinduced porphyrin-mediated oxidative stress does not account for the effect of porphyrins on internal organs. Recent findings demonstrate the unique role of fluorescent porphyrins in causing subcellular compartment-selective protein aggregation. Porphyrin-mediated protein aggregation associates with nuclear deformation, cytoplasmic vacuole formation and endoplasmic reticulum dilation. Porphyrin-triggered proteotoxicity is compounded by inhibition of the proteasome due to aggregation of some of its subunits. The ensuing disruption in proteostasis also manifests in cell cycle arrest coupled with aggregation of cell proliferation-related proteins, including PCNA, cdk4 and cyclin B1. Porphyrins bind to native proteins and, in presence of light and oxygen, oxidize several amino acids, particularly methionine. Noncovalent interaction of oxidized proteins with porphyrins leads to formation of protein aggregates. In internal organs, particularly the liver, light-independent porphyrin-mediated protein aggregation occurs after secondary triggers of oxidative stress. Thus, porphyrin-induced protein aggregation provides a novel mechanism for external and internal tissue damage in porphyrias that involve fluorescent porphyrin accumulation.

Murine norovirus (MNV) is the only member of the Norovirus genus that efficiently grows in tissue culture 1,2 . Cell lysis and cytopathic effect (CPE) are observed during MNV-1 infection of murine dendritic cells or macrophages 1 . This property of MNV-1 can be used to quantify the number of infectious particles in a given sample by performing a plaque assay 1 . The plaque assay relies on the ability of MNV-1 to lyse cells and to form holes in a confluent cell monolayer, which are called plaques 3 .Multiple techniques can be used to detect viral infections in tissue culture, harvested tissue, clinical, and environmental samples, but not all measure the number of infectious particles (e.g. qRT-PCR). One way to quantify infectious viral particles is to perform a plaque assay 3 , which will be described in detail below. A variation on the MNV plaque assay is the fluorescent focus assay, where MNV antigen is immunostained in cell monolayers 4 . This assay can be faster, since viral antigen expression precedes plaque formation. It is also useful for titrating viruses unable to form plaques. However, the fluorescent focus assay requires additional resources beyond those of the plaque assay, such as antibodies and a microscope to count focus-forming units. Infectious MNV can also be quantified by determining the 50% Tissue Culture Infective Dose (TCID 50 ) 3 . This assay measures the amount of virus required to produce CPE in 50% of inoculated tissue culture cells by endpoint titration 5 . However, its limit of detection is higher compared to a plaque assay 4 .In this article, we describe a plaque assay protocol that can be used to effectively determine the number of infectious MNV particles present in biological or environmental samples 1,4,6 . This method is based on the preparation of 10-fold serial dilutions of MNV-containing samples, which are used to inoculate a monolayer of permissive cells (RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells). Virus is allowed to attach to the cell monolayer for a given period of time and then aspirated before covering cells with a mixture of agarose and cell culture media. The agar enables the spread of viral progeny to neighboring cells while limiting spread to distantly located cells. Consequently, infected cells are lysed and form holes in the monolayer known as plaques. Upon sufficient spread of virus, plaques become visible following staining of cells with dyes, like neutral red, methylene blue, or crystal violet. At low dilutions, each plaque originates from one infectious viral particle and its progeny, which spread to neighboring cells. Thus, counting the number of plaques allows one to calculate plaque-forming units (PFU) present in the undiluted sample 3 .

The nuclear lamina is a multi-protein lattice composed of A- and B-type lamins and their associated proteins. This protein lattice associates with heterochromatin and integral inner nuclear membrane proteins, providing links among the genome, nucleoskeleton, and cytoskeleton. In the 1990s, mutations in EMD and LMNA were linked to Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy. Since then, the number of diseases attributed to nuclear lamina defects, including laminopathies and other disorders, has increased to include more than 20 distinct genetic syndromes. Studies of patients and mouse genetic models have pointed to important roles for lamins and their associated proteins in the function of gastrointestinal organs, including liver and pancreas. We review the interactions and functions of the lamina in relation to the nuclear envelope and genome, the ways in which its dysfunction is thought to contribute to human disease, and possible avenues for targeted therapies.

Noroviruses are the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis around the world. An individual living in the United States is estimated to develop norovirus infection five times in his or her lifetime. Despite this, there is currently no antiviral or vaccine to combat the infection, in large part because of the historical lack of cell culture and small animal models. However, the last few years of norovirus research were marked by a number of ground-breaking advances that have overcome technical barriers and uncovered novel aspects of norovirus biology. Foremost among them was the development of two different in vitro culture systems for human noroviruses. Underappreciated was the notion that noroviruses infect cells of the immune system as well as epithelial cells within the gastrointestinal tract and that human norovirus infection of enterocytes requires or is promoted by the presence of bile acids. Furthermore, two proteinaceous receptors are now recognized for murine norovirus, marking the first discovery of a functional receptor for any norovirus. Recent work further points to a role for certain bacteria, including those found in the gut microbiome, as potential modulators of norovirus infection in the host, emphasizing the importance of interactions with organisms from other kingdoms of life for viral pathogenesis. Lastly, we will highlight the adaptation of drop-based microfluidics to norovirus research, as this technology has the potential to reveal novel insights into virus evolution. This review aims to summarize these new findings while also including possible future directions.

Porcine enteric caliciviruses (PEC) belong to the genera Norovirus and Sapovirus within the family Caliciviridae. They are enteric pathogens and are considered potential zoonotic agents. In this study, the circulation of PEC was evaluated by RT-PCR of stool samples and intestinal contents of pigs raised in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Both porcine norovirus (PoNoV) and porcine sapovirus (PoSaV) were detected. The PoNoV strains were classified as genogroup II, genotypes 11, 18 and 19. The PoSaV strains were classified as genogroups III and VII, though some strains could not be classified into any established genogroup, potentially representing a new one. PEC were detected mainly in animals without clinical signs of gastroenteritis.

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Noroviruses are enteric pathogens causing significant morbidity, mortality and economic losses worldwide. Secretory immunoglobulins (SIg) are a first line of mucosal defense against enteric pathogens. They are secreted into the intestinal lumen via the polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR), where they bind to antigens. However, whether natural SIg protect against norovirus infection remains unknown. To determine if natural SIg alter murine norovirus (MNV) pathogenesis, we infected pIgR knockout (KO) mice, which lack SIg in mucosal secretions. Acute MNV infection was significantly reduced in pIgR KO mice compared to controls, despite increased MNV target cells in the Peyer's patch. Natural SIg did not alter MNV binding to, or crossing, of the follicle-associated epithelium (FAE) into the lymphoid follicle. Instead, naïve pIgR KO mice have enhanced levels of the antiviral inflammatory molecules interferon gamma (IFNɣ) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the ileum compared to controls. Strikingly, depletion of the intestinal microbiota in pIgR KO and control mice resulted in comparable IFNɣ and iNOS levels, as well as MNV infectious titers. IFNɣ treatment of WT mice and neutralization of IFNɣ in pIgR KO mice reduced MNV titers, implicating this antiviral cytokine in the phenotype. Reduced gastrointestinal infection in pIgR KO mice was also observed with another enteric virus, reovirus. Collectively, our findings suggest that natural SIg are not protective during enteric virus infection, but rather that SIg promote enteric viral infection through alterations in microbial immune responses.