Fulminant hepatitis due to human adenovirus.

PURPOSE: To describe the demographics, clinical manifestations, treatment and outcomes of patients with human adenovirus (HAdV) hepatitis. METHODS: A case of fulminant HAdV hepatitis in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia receiving rituximab and fludarabine is described. We conducted a comprehensive review of the English-language literature through May, 2012 in search of definite cases of HAdV hepatitis. RESULTS: Eighty-nine cases were reviewed. Forty-three (48 %) were liver transplant recipients, 19 (21 %) were bone marrow transplant recipients, 11 (12 %) had received chemotherapy, five (6 %) had severe combined immunodeficiency, four (4 %) were HIV infected, two had heart transplantation, and two were kidney transplant recipients. Ninety percent (46/51) of patients presented within 6 months following transplantation. Fever was the most common initial symptom. Abdominal CT scan revealed hypodense lesions in eight of nine patients. Diagnosis was made by liver biopsy in 43 (48 %), and on autopsy in 46 (52 %). The HAdV was isolated at other sites in 54 cases. Only 24 of 89 patients (27 %) survived: 16 whose immunosuppression was reduced, six with liver re-transplantation, and two who received cidofovir and intravenous immunoglobulin. CONCLUSION: HAdV hepatitis can manifest as a fulminant illness in immunocompromised hosts. Definitive diagnosis requires liver biopsy. Early consideration of a viral etiology, reduction in immunosuppression, and liver transplantation can be potentially life-saving.

Carbohydrate-binding protein 35: molecular cloning and expression of a recombinant polypeptide with lectin activity in Escherichia coli.

Affinity-purified antibodies directed against carbohydrate-binding protein 35 (CBP35), a galactose-specific lectin, were used to screen a lambda gt 11 expression library derived from mRNA of 3T3 fibroblasts. This screening yielded several putative clones containing cDNA for CBP35, one of which was characterized in terms of its expression of a fusion protein containing beta-galactosidase and CBP35 sequences. Limited proteolysis of lysates containing the fusion protein, followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting with anti-CBP35, yielded a peptide mapping pattern comparable to that obtained from parallel treatment of authentic CBP35. Such a limited proteolysis followed by affinity chromatography on a Sepharose column coupled with galactose also yielded a 30-kDa polypeptide that exhibited carbohydrate-binding activity. This polypeptide can be immunoblotted with anti-CBP35, but not with antibodies directed against beta-galactosidase. These results indicate that we have identified a cDNA clone for CBP35 that yields a recombinant polypeptide with lectin activity produced in Escherichia coli. Using this cDNA clone as a probe, Northern-blot analysis showed an increased expression of the CBP35 gene when quiescent 3T3 cells were activated by the addition of serum growth factors.

A role for Ia antigens in thymocyte binding by macrophages.

To investigate the membrane structures involved in cellular interactions between thymocytes and macrophages, the relative ability of different murine macrophage populations to spontaneously bind thymocytes was compared. Macrophages derived from the spleen or thymus bound three to four times the number of thymocytes than macrophages from peripheral blood, peritoneum, or bone marrow. This reflects differences both in the number of macrophages binding thymocytes and in the number of thymocytes bound per macrophage. The extent of binding seems to positively correlate with the number of Ia-positive macrophages contained in these populations, as based on previously published values. This was confirmed by showing that elimination of splenic Ia-positive macrophages with anti-Ia and complement treatment dramatically reduced thymocyte binding. In addition, mouse peritoneal washout macrophages incubated for several days with supernatant fluid from concanavalin A-stimulated spleen cells, which induce Ia-antigen expression, exhibited a marked increase in the number of macrophages that bound thymocytes and the number of thymocytes bound per macrophage. To determine if Ia antigens were directly involved in binding, spleen, thymus, or Ia-induced peritoneal macrophages were treated with a monoclonal anti-Ia antibody prior to the addition of thymocytes. Treatment with anti-Ia reduced binding by around 50%, whereas treatment with anti-H-2D antibody had no effect. Monoclonal anti-I-A and anti-I-E antibody treatments of macrophages both inhibited thymocyte binding to similar extents, and treatment of macrophages with both reagents together reduced thymocyte binding by 80%. These results indicate that thymocyte binding is in part dependent on macrophage Ia expression.

Carbohydrate-binding protein 35. Levels of transcription and mRNA accumulation in quiescent and proliferating cells.

In previous studies, we observed proliferation-dependent expression and nuclear localization of the lectin, designated carbohydrate-binding protein 35 (CBP35), in 3T3 fibroblasts at the polypeptide level by Western blot and immunofluorescence analysis. In the present study, we have compared the expression of the CBP35 gene in quiescent and proliferative 3T3 cells at the levels of (a) accumulated mRNA by Northern blotting and (b) nuclear transcription by run-off assays. When serum-starved, quiescent cultures of 3T3 cells were stimulated by the addition of serum, there was an increase in the nuclear transcription of the CBP35 gene and in the accumulation of its mRNA early (1-3 h) in the activation process, well before the first wave of DNA synthesis. These increases were not dependent on de novo protein synthesis inasmuch as they occurred even in the presence of cycloheximide. There was also an elevated transcription rate and mRNA level in transformed cells when compared to their normal counterparts. Finally, the expression of CBP35 was compared between sparse, proliferating cultures of 3T3 cells and density-inhibited confluent monolayers of the same cells. Although the rate of transcription of the CBP35 gene was approximately the same in the two cultures, there was a higher level of CBP35 mRNA in the dense cells. Thus, it appears that post-transcriptional mechanisms may be involved in the accumulation of mRNA.

Carbohydrate-binding protein 35. I. Properties of the recombinant polypeptide and the individuality of the domains.

The cDNA clone for carbohydrate-binding protein 35 (CBP35) was engineered into the bacterial expression vector pIN III ompA2, which directs the secretion of the expressed protein into the periplasmic space. Recombinant CBP35 was purified from this system, at a level of approximately 50 mg/liter of bacterial culture. Digestion of recombinant CBP35 with collagenase D, followed by purification using saccharide-specific affinity chromatography yielded a M(r) approximately 16,000 polypeptide, corresponding to the COOH-terminal domain (residues 118-264) of the CBP35 polypeptide. This indicates that the COOH-terminal half of CBP35 contains the carbohydrate recognition domain, consistent with its sequence homology to other S-type lectins. The NH2-terminal domain (residues 1-137) was derived by site-directed mutagenesis of the cDNA, in which stop codons are inserted in place of Gly138 and Gly139, and expression of the mutant cDNA in the same pIN III ompA2 system. The purified NH2-terminal domain failed to bind to saccharide-specific affinity resins. Differential scanning calorimetry of rCBP35 and its individual domains yielded transition temperatures of approximately 39 and approximately 56 degrees C for the NH2- and COOH-terminal domains, respectively. Lactose binding by the COOH-terminal domain shifted the transition temperature to 65 degrees C, whereas sucrose failed to yield the same effect. These results suggest that the individual domains of the CBP35 polypeptide are folded independently.

Carbohydrate-binding protein 35. II. Analysis of the interaction of the recombinant polypeptide with saccharides.

The carbohydrate binding specificity of recombinant carbohydrate-binding protein 35 (rCBP35) has been investigated by quantitative precipitation using a series of glycoproteins and carbohydrate-protein conjugates and by inhibition of precipitation using well defined carbohydrate haptens. Synthetic glycoconjugates and glycoproteins containing terminal nonreducing galactosyl units in beta-linkage were capable of forming a precipitate with rCBP35. If the glycoprotein or glycoconjugate contained terminal Neu5Ac, or galactose in alpha-linkage, precipitate formation was not observed. We also found that murine laminin, which contains polylactosamine structures, reacted more strongly than did bovine fetuin. Using carbohydrate-bovine serum albumin (BSA) glycoconjugates, we found that the tetrasaccharide Gal beta 1, 4GlcNAc beta 1, 3Gal beta 1,4-GlcNAc-BSA reacted more strongly than the disaccharide Gal beta 1, 4GlcNAc-BSA conjugate, suggesting that the binding site accommodates carbohydrate ligands greater in size than a disaccharide. Equilibrium dialysis experiments using [3H]lactose showed that rCBP35 binds 1 mol (n = 0.84) of lactose/30,000 g atoms of protein, with an affinity constant of 2.07 x 10(4) M-1. The binding site on the polypeptide appears to contain four subsites that recognize the sequence Gal beta 1,4GlcNAc beta 1, Gal beta 1,X-. All disaccharides tested that contain a nonreducing beta-galactosyl unit behaved as inhibitors of precipitation at approximately the same concentration, suggesting that the reducing position of the tetrasaccharide does not play an important role in the specific binding to the fourth subsite. The reducing sugar may serve to hold the saccharide in a tunnel like binding pocket since methyl-beta-D-galactoside itself is an extremely poor inhibitor.

The acceptor substrate specificity of porcine submaxillary UDP-GalNAc:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase is dependent on the amino acid sequences adjacent to serine and threonine residues.

The acceptor substrate specificity of a pure polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase has been examined with synthetic polypeptides with sequences identical, or similar to those found in porcine mucin or human erythropoietin. The sequences adjacent to either threonine or serine markedly influence the formation of GalNAc-O-Thr and GalNAc-O-Ser. Examination of the mucin-like peptide VLGXXAV, where X is Thr, Ser, or Ala, shows only Thr-containing peptides to be acceptors. The best substrate is formed when XX is TT. Peptides with XX as either AT or TA are less effective and those with XX as either ST or TS are much less effective acceptors. The amino acids adjacent to serine in the peptide formed by residues 121-131 in human erythropoietin, PPDAASAAPLR, also markedly influence the formation of GalNAc-O-Ser. Thus, PPDASSSAPLR and PPDVVSVVPLR are about 5- and 30-fold, respectively, less active than the erythropoietin peptide. The peptide PPDGGSGGPLR is inactive. The shorter peptide DAASAAPL is also about 5-fold less active than the full-length peptide, but the peptide AASAA is inactive. These studies indicate that one transferase can form both GalNAc-O-Ser and GalNAc-O-Thr residues when the sequences adjacent to the glycosylated residue are of the proper kind. Thus, in contrast to earlier suggestions, there is no evidence that different transferases form GalNAc-O-Ser and GalNAc-O-Thr. Examination of tissue homogenates from various tissues confirms this conclusion.

Carbohydrate-binding protein 35. Isoelectric points of the polypeptide and a phosphorylated derivative.

Purified carbohydrate-binding protein 35 (CBP35) and extracts of mouse cells containing CBP35 were analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Such an analysis on recombinant CBP35, obtained by expression of a cDNA clone in Escherichia coli, yielded a pI value of 8.7. When extracts of mouse 3T3 cells were subjected to two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting, two spots were observed, corresponding to pI values of 8.7 and 8.2. The pI 8.2 species represents post-translational modification of the CBP35 polypeptide (pI 8.7) by the addition of a single phosphate group. This conclusion is based on the finding that purified CBP35 contained a pI 8.2 species that was labeled with 32PO4 and could be converted to the unlabeled pI 8.7 species by alkaline phosphatase treatment. The phosphorylated (pI 8.2) form of CBP35 is found in both the cytosolic and nuclear fractions, whereas the unphosphorylated (pI 8.7) species is found exclusively in the nuclei. Quiescent populations of 3T3 fibroblasts (confluent monolayers or serum-starved sparse cultures) are characterized by the predominance of phosphorylated CBP35. Stimulation of the same cells into the proliferative state resulted in an increase in the amount of the phosphorylated species; more dramatic, however, is the elevation of the level of the unphosphorylated form, which is barely detectable in quiescent cells.