Activin A is a cytokine whose multiple functions have yet to be fully determined. In this study, the role of proinflammatory cytokines in regulatory control of activin A production was shown in synoviocytes and chondrocytes. Additional facets of functional inflammation-related activities of activin A were also determined. Results showed that activin A concentrations in the synovial fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and gout were elevated relative to those in patients with osteoarthritis. Further studies showed that production of activin A by synoviocytes and chondrocytes in culture was stimulated by cytokines such as IL-1, transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), and IL-8, consistent with previous studies in regard to the control of activin A production in marrow stromal cells and monocytes by cytokines, glucocorticoids and retinoic acid. In addition, the relationship of activin A to IL-6-induced biological activities was investigated. Three major IL-6 activities involved in inflammatory responses were found to be suppressed by activin A. In a dose-dependent manner, activin A efficiently suppressed IL-6-induced proliferation of 7TD1 B lymphoid cells, phagocytic activity of monocytic M1 cells, and fibrinogen production in HepG2. Therefore, it is likely that activin A serves as a suppressor for IL-6, dampening inflammatory responses, and has the potential to perform some previously unrecognized roles in inflammation.

No abstract

Syncytial (syn) mutants of herpes simplex virus cause cell fusion. Many syn mutations map to the synl locus, which has been identified with the gK (UL53) gene. In this work, the gK genes of eight syn mutants derived from the KOS strain were sequenced to identify residues and, possibly, domains important for the fusion activity of mutant gK. DNA sequencing showed that six mutants (syn3O, syn3l, syn32, synlO2, synlO3, and synlO5) had single missense mutations in the gK gene. Two of these, syn3l and syn32, had identical mutations that caused the introduction of a potential site for N-linked glycosylation. syn3l gK was analyzed by in vitro translation and found to utilize the novel glycosylation site. Two other mutants, syn8 and syn33, had three mutations each, resulting in three amino acid substitutions in syn8 and two substitutions in syn33. Of the 10 gK syn mutant sequences known, 8 have mutations in the N-terminal domain of gK, suggesting that this domain, which

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) glycoprotein C (gC-1) elicits a largely serotype-specific immune response directed against previously described determinants designated antigenic sites I and II. To more precisely define these two immunodominant antigenic regions of gC-1 and to determine whether the homologous HSV-2 glycoprotein (gC-2) has similarly situated antigenic determinants, viral recombinants

Gene expression studies require analysis of RNA, but isolation of total RNA from very small samples by traditional methods can be difficult and inefficient. The Absolutely RNA microprep kit provides a convenient method for isolating total RNA from small numbers of cells such as those harvested by laser capture microdissection (LCM). The protocol includes binding of RNA to a solid support, thus eliminating the need for organic extraction and alcohol precipitation. DNase digestion on the solid support reduces or eliminates DNA contamination and minimizes RNA handling. Efficient washing removes contaminants, and elution in a small volume of buffer results in high-purity RNA at a concentration appropriate for demanding applications such as RT-PCR. RNA isolated from as few as 200 laser capture microdissected brain tumor cells resulted in detection of low, medium, and highly expressed genes by conventional and real-time RT-PCR.