Pili of Neisseria gonorrhoeae are phase-variable surface structures that mediate adherence to host target cells. Each pilus is composed of thousands of major pilus subunits, pilins, pilus-associated protein PilC, and possibly other components. Piliated and nonpiliated gonococcal clones may secrete a soluble smaller pilin (S-pilin) that is cleaved after amino acid 39 of the mature pilin protein....

BACKGROUND and objectives: In this study, we investigated how enteric plexuses protect themselves from complement mediated attack. For this purpose, the expression patterns of membrane bound complement regulatory proteins (mCRP) and their association with C3 deposition was determined. In addition, mCRP expression patterns of enteric plexuses were compared with those in the central nervous syste...

Although treatment of medulloblastoma has improved, at least 30% of patients with this tumor die of progressive disease. Unfortunately, many of the children who survive suffer long-term treatment-related morbidity. Previous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of using oncolytic viruses to eradicate brain tumors. The objective of this study was to test the efficacy of measles virus in treatin...

Measles virus (MV) infects 40 million persons and kills one million per year primarily by suppressing the immune system and afflicting the central nervous system (CNS). The lack of a suitable small animal model has impeded progress of understanding how MV causes disease and the development of novel therapies and improved vaccines. We tested a transgenic mouse line in which expression of the MV ...

Measles has a host range restricted to humans and monkeys in captivity. Fresh measles virus (MV) isolates replicate readily in several human and simian B-cell lines but need a period of adaptation to other types of cells. The identification of CD46 and CD150 (SLAM) as cellular receptors for MV has helped to clarify certain aspects of the immunobiology of MV infections. We have examined the prop...

Measles is one of the most contagious viral diseases, and remains a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide. The measles virus (MV), a member of the family Paramyxoviridae, enters cells through a cellular receptor, the signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM), CD46 or nectin-4. Entry is mediated by two MV envelope glycoproteins, the hemagglutinin (H) and the fusion (F)...

Measles virus (MV) is a member of the Morbillivirus genus in the Paramyxoviridae family. Human signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM) acts as a cellular receptor for MV. SLAM is expressed on immature thymocytes, activated lymphocytes, macrophages and mature dendritic cells. This distribution of SLAM is in accord with lymphotropism and immunosuppressive nature of MV. Canine distemper an...

Human CD46, or membrane cofactor protein, is a regulator of complement activation and is used as a cellular receptor by measles virus. Using a series of 13 single point mutants, the region of short consensus repeat (SCR) 2 domain involved in the regulation of complement activation was mapped to residues E84, N94, Y98, E102, E103, I104 and E108. Molecular modelling localized all residues, with t...

CD55, CD59, CD46, and CD35 are proteins with complement regulatory (Creg) properties that ensure cell and tissue integrity when this system is activated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Creg expression on peripheral blood cells from SLE patients and its association with cytopenia and disease activity. Flow cytometric analyses were performed on blood cells from 100 SLE patients and 61 ...