Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) is one of the few antiviral drugs available for treatment of influenza. Use of the drug has increased substantially because of the emergence of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic strain, against which no vaccine is yet available. A recent study has shown that low levels of oseltamivir can be detected in the aquatic environment. …
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dick Despommier On episode #39 of the podcast “This Week in Virology”, Vincent and Dick discuss virus structure and answer listener questions. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV039.mp3″] Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #39 (37 MB .mp3, 53 minutes) Subscribe to TWiV in iTunes, by the RSS feed, or by email Links …
The immune response to viral infection comprises innate and adaptive defenses. The innate response, which we have discussed previously, functions continuously in a normal host without exposure to any virus. Most viral infections are controlled by the innate immune system. However, if viral replication outpaces innate defenses, the adaptive response must be mobilized. The adaptive …
During the earliest stages of a virus infection, cytokines are produced when innate immune defenses are activated. The rapid release of cytokines at the site of infection initiates new responses with far-reaching consequences that include inflammation. One of the earliest cytokines produced is tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), which is synthesized by activated monocytes and …
Mutation is an important source of RNA virus diversity that is made possible by the error-prone nature of RNA synthesis. Viruses with segmented genomes, such as influenza virus, have another mechanism for generating diversity: reassortment. When an influenza virus infects a cell, the individual RNA segments enter the nucleus. There they are copied many times …
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Glenn Rall On episode #38 of the podcast “This Week in Virology”, Vincent and Glenn Rall chat about koi herpesvirus, H1N1 influenza vaccine produced in insect cells, attack by a rabid raccoon, and measles. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV038.mp3″] Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #38 (63 MB .mp3, 91 minutes) …
