Recent field isolates of measles virus (MV) obtained by using B95-8 cells have been reported not to agglutinate African green monkey red blood cells (AGM-RBC). Vero cell-adapted, plaque-forming strains derived from three field isolates at the third passage in Vero cell cultures (T8Ve-3, T11Ve-3 and N13Ve-3) also exhibited markedly decreased binding activity, as determined by infectivity-absorption and haemadsorption tests. On the other hand, binding activity of the respective strains at the twentieth passage

No abstract

The incidence of breast cancer in female-to-male (FTM) transsexuals who received mastectomy and sex reassignment surgery is very rare. In fact, there is only one previous medical report of such a case. We experienced a case of an FTM transsexual who developed breast cancer 12 years after mastectomy and hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Because he had been continuously receiving testosterone during the last 15 years and because histopathological examination revealed positive estrogen receptor and androgen receptor expression, we suggest that exogenous testosterone may have initiated the development of breast cancer via two distinct pathways. We describe the clinical course and condition of the patient and recommend that medical personnel consider the possibility of hormone-related cancer in FTM transsexuals receiving cross-sex hormones.

A molecular epidemiological study was performed to investigate the prevalence of GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) infection among various populations in Surabaya, Indonesia. The prevalence of GBV-C/HGV RNA, determined by reverse transcription-PCR for a portion of the NS3 region of the viral genome, was 2.7% (4 of 150) among randomly collected blood donor sera, which were all negative for both hepatitis B virus surface antigen and antibodies against hepatitis C virus (HCV). On the other hand, the prevalence among anti-HCV-positive blood donors was 17.8% (13 of 73), with the ratio being significantly higher than that observed with the anti-HCV-negative blood donors (P < 0.001). A high prevalence of GBV-C/HGV infection was also observed among patients with chronic liver disease, such as chronic hepatitis (5.7%), liver cirrhosis (11.5%), and hepatocellular carcinoma (7.0%), and patients on maintenance hemodialysis (29.0%). No correlation was observed between GBV-C/HGV viremia and serum alanine aminotransferase levels in the populations tested, suggesting the possibility that GBV-C/HGV does not cause apparent liver injury. Phylogenetic analysis of sequences of a portion of the 5′ untranslated region and the E1 region of the viral genome identified, in addition to a previously reported then novel group of GBV-C/HGV variants (group 4), another novel group of variants (group 5). This result suggests that GBV-C/HGV can be classified into at least five genetic groups. GBV-C/HGV isolates of group 4 and group 5 were each shown to comprise approximately 40% of the total Indonesian isolates.

No abstract

No abstract

Measles virus (MV) causes a common disease that accounts for about 10% of childhood mortality due to infectious diseases worldwide (5, 29). A major pathogenic factor of MV is its ability to suppress host cellular immune response, which can lead to severe secondary infections (6, 15). Monocytes and macrophages are major in vivo targets for MV in measles patients (10). These cells serve as a first line defense in the innate immune system against microbial pathogens (12,26,27). Interactions between MV and monocytes and macrophages therefore play a pivotal role in measles pathogenesis and host defense against MV. Immature human myelomonocytic cells support MV replication efficiently and produce infectious virus (16). By contrast, MV replication in monocytes and differentiated macrophages is highly restricted (16,35,37). The block in MV replication in those cells appears to be at both posttranscription and posttranslation levels (16). The mechanisms by which monocytes and macrophages suppress MV replication have not been characterized.We recently established a system for studying the interactions between MV and mouse macrophages. Human complement regulatory protein CD46, a receptor for laboratoryadapted MV (9, 30), was expressed in RAW264.7 mouse macrophages. As expected, expression of human CD46 facilitated MV entry into mouse macrophages. Surprisingly, MV protein synthesis and virus production were more severely restricted in mouse macrophages expressing human CD46 than in CD46-negative mouse macrophages (20). Subsequently, we showed that mouse macrophages expressing human CD46 produced higher levels of nitric oxide (NO) than CD46-negative mouse macrophages when infected by MV in the presence of gamma interferon (IFN-␥) (17). Interestingly, deleting the CD46 cytoplasmic domains markedly attenuated NO production in mouse macrophages and rendered these cells highly susceptible to MV infection (17). NO has potent antimicrobial activities against a wide range of DNA and RNA viruses (32). These results raise the possibility that CD46 can augment antiviral functions in macrophages. To gain further insight into this phenomenon, we examined the IFN-␣/␤ response in mouse macrophages expressing human CD46 upon MV infection, since IFN-␣/␤ is important for antiviral defense against a wide range of viruses, including MV (22,36).In this study, we show that mouse macrophages expressing human CD46 produce IFN-␣/␤ upon MV infection. Blocking IFN-␣/␤ action by neutralizing antibodies against IFN-␣/␤ reverses the inhibition on MV protein synthesis and intensifies viral cytopathic effects (CPE). These antibodies also abrogate the augmenting effect of MV on NO production in mouse macrophages expressing human CD46. Deleting the CD46 cytoplasmic domains greatly attenuates production of IFN-␣/␤ from mouse macrophages upon MV infection but does not prevent these cells from acquiring an antiviral state when treated with culture fluid from MV-infected mouse macrophages bearing intact human CD46. These results provide evidence that human CD46...

By using reverse transcription and PCR for NS3 and 5'-untranslated regions (5'UTR) of the viral genome, prevalence of GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) infection in Chiang Mai, Thailand, was studied. High prevalence of GBV-C/HGV infection was observed among intravenous drug users (32%) and hemodialyzed patients (25%). The prevalence was also considerably high among patients with chronic liver disease, such as chronic hepatitis (9%), liver cirrhosis (12%) and hepatocellular carcinoma (10%). On the other hand, the prevalence among healthy blood donors (1%) was significantly lower than that of the above high-risk groups. GBV-C/HGV RNA positivity was significantly higher in individuals with antibodies against hepatitis C virus (24%) than in those without (5%). Phylogenetic analysis of the 5'UTR sequences classified Thai GBV-C/HGV isolates into three groups; (i) a group of isolates that are commonly found in the United States and Europe, (ii) a group of isolates that are commonly found in Asia, and (iii) a group of novel sequence variants.