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) …
The RNA genome of influenza viruses is segmented . The virions of influenza A and B viruses contain 8 different RNAs, while those of influenza C viruses contain 7. How is the correct number of RNA segments inserted into newly synthesized virus particles? During influenza virus assembly, viral RNAs and viral proteins €“ called a …
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published their weekly analysis of influenza activity for the week of 7-13 June 2009. They conclude that …influenza activity decreased in the United States, however, there were still higher levels of influenza-like illness than is normal for this time of year. During week 23, 38.7% of specimens …
This week’s pop quiz involves analysis of an AFP news article entitled “US company makes first batch of swine flu vaccine“. The article reports that Protein Sciences has been awarded a contract from the US Department of Health and Human Services to produce a vaccine by synthesizing the viral HA protein in insect cells. Here …
