BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Gene therapy may show promise for stroke patients, but invasive techniques such as intraventricular or intracerebral injection of therapeutic genes may have limited applicability. The purpose of this study is to develop systemic gene therapy using macrophages infiltrating the infarct to deliver and express the gene. METHODS After permanent middle cerebral artery occlusi...

The BZLF1 gene of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which encodes a transcription factor, Zta, is transcribed into monocistronic and bicistronic mRNAs from two different promoters during the immediate-early stage of the EBV lytic cycle. It is generally accepted that the Zta protein translated from the monocistronic mRNA profoundly influences the activation of the EBV lytic cycle. In this study, we cons...

In addition to the cap-dependent mechanism, eukaryotic initiation of translation can occur by a cap-independent mechanism which directs ribosomes to defined start codons enabled by internal ribosome entry site (IRES) elements. IRES elements from poliovirus and encephalomyocarditis virus are often used to construct bi- or oligocistronic expression vectors to co-express various genes from one mRN...

PURPOSE To examine whether adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector-mediated overexpression of growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43) has protective or deleterious effects on retinal ganglion cell (RGC) survival in laser-induced chronic intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation injury. METHODS Adult Fischer 344 rats received unilateral intravitreal injection of either normal saline, AAV-green fluorescen...

The binding of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) to its receptor (uPAR) initiates a proteolytic cascade facilitating the activation of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), which in turn degrades the extracellular matrix. These processes have an established role in tumor invasion and metastasis. Our previous work revealed an inverse association between glioma invasion and the expression of uP...

The binding of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) to its receptor (uPAR) initiates a proteolytic cascade facilitating the activation of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), which in turn degrades the extracellular matrix. These processes have an established role in tumor invasion and metastasis. Our previous work revealed an inverse association between glioma invasion and the expression of uP...