Metabolomics reveals the potential metabolic mechanism of infliximab against DSS-induced acute and chronic ulcerative colitis.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is often accompanied by metabolic imbalance, and infliximab (IFX) can alleviate IBD symptoms, but its metabolic mechanisms remain unclear. To investigate the relationship between IBD, metabolism, and IFX, an acute and chronic ulcerative colitis (UC) model induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) was established. Plasma samples were analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry, followed by multivariate statistical analysis. The results showed that IFX could alleviate colonic shortening and reduce colonic pathological damage in acute and chronic mouse colitis, improve acute and chronic UC, and ameliorate metabolic disturbances. Among the 104 elevated metabolites and 170 decreased metabolites, these metabolites mainly belonged to amino acids, glucose, and purines. The changes in these metabolites were mainly associated with drug metabolism-other enzymes, riboflavin metabolism, phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, phosphonate and phosphinate metabolism, and phenylalanine metabolism. In summary, this study provides a valuable approach to explore the metabolic mechanisms of IFX in treating acute and chronic UC from a metabolomics perspective.

Expression, Purification, and Antiserum Production of the Truncated UL31 Protein of Herpes Simplex Virus 1.

BACKGROUND: The UL31 protein of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) plays an important role in the HSV-1 replication, however, its pinpoint functions in the life cycle of the virus have yet to be adequately elucidated. OBJECTIVES: An antiserum specific for detecting HSV-1 UL31 was prepared as the foundation for future research on the role of UL31 in the course of HSV-1 infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Recombinant protein of UL31 was expressed in Escherichia coli, which was then purified and employed to raise the level of antiserum in mice. Subsequently, western blot and immunofluorescence assay (IFA) were utilized to detect the specific antiserum. RESULTS: The recombinant UL31 protein consisting of N-terminal 27 aa of UL31 was fused to EYFP and His-tag. It was expressed, purified, and applied to the preparation of the antiserum. Western blot analysis and IFA demonstrated that this antiserum could detect both the recombinant UL31 and the native UL31. CONCLUSIONS: Our results manifest that this antiserum could be conducive to further investigations concerning the roles of UL31 in the HSV-1 infection.

Molecular Characterization of the Epstein-Barr Virus BGLF2 Gene, its Expression, and Subcellular Localization.

BACKGROUND: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a universal herpes virus which can cause a life-long and largely asymptomatic infection in the human population. However, the exact pathogenesis of the EBV infection is not well known. OBJECTIVE: A comprehensive bioinformatics prediction was carried out for investigating the molecular properties of the BGLF2 and to afford a foundation for future research of the role and instrument of BGLF2 in the course of EBV infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 1011-base-pair sequence of BGLF2 gene from the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) Akata strain genome was amplified using polymerase chain reaction and was further characterized by cloning, sequencing, and subcellular localization in the COS-7 cells. RESULTS: The bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that EBV BGLF2 gene encodes a putative BGLF2 polypeptide which contains a conservative Herpes_UL16 domain. It was established that the polypeptide shows a close relationship with the Herpes UL16 tegument protein family and is extremely conserved among its homologues proteins encoded by UL16 genes. Multiple sequence alignments of the nucleic acid and amino acid sequence showed that the gene product of EBV BGLF2 contains a comparatively higher homology with the BGLF2-like proteins of the subfamily Gammaherpesvirinae than that of other subfamilies of the herpes virus. Moreover, the phylogenetic analyses suggested that EBV BGLF2 has a close genetic relationship with the member of Gammaherpesvirinae; in particular with the members of Cercopithecine herpesvirus 15 and Callitrichine herpesvirus 3. An antigen epitope analysis indicated that BGLF2 contains several potential B-cell epitopes. In addition, the secondary structure, as well as the three dimensional structure prediction suggests that BGLF2 consists of the both α-helix and ß-strand. Besides, the subcellular localization prediction revealed that BGLF2 localizes in both nucleus and cytoplasm. CONCLUSIONS: Illustrating the relevance of the molecular properties and genetic evolution of EBV, BGLF2 will offer the perspectives for further study on the role and mechanism of the BGLF2 in course of EBV infection. These works will also conduct our understanding of the EBV at the molecular level as well as enriching the herpesvirus database.