Group A Rotavirus Associated with Encephalitis in Red Fox.

In 2011, a group A rotavirus was isolated from the brain of a fox with encephalitis and neurologic signs, detected by rabies surveillance in Italy. Intracerebral inoculation of fox brain homogenates into mice was fatal. Genome sequencing revealed a heterologous rotavirus of avian origin, which could provide a model for investigating rotavirus neurovirulence.

Detection of coronaviruses in bats of various species in Italy.

Bats are natural reservoirs for many mammalian coronaviruses, which have received renewed interest after the discovery of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) CoV in humans. This study describes the identification and molecular characterization of alphacoronaviruses and betacoronaviruses in bats in Italy, from 2010 to 2012. Sixty-nine faecal samples and 126 carcasses were tested using pan-coronavirus RT-PCR. Coronavirus RNAs were detected in seven faecal samples and nine carcasses. A phylogenetic analysis of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase sequence fragments aided in identifying two alphacoronaviruses from Kuhl's pipistrelle (Pipistrellus kuhlii), three clade 2b betacoronaviruses from lesser horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus hipposideros), and 10 clade 2c betacoronaviruses from Kuhl's pipistrelle, common noctule (Nyctalus noctula), and Savi's pipistrelle (Hypsugo savii). This study fills a substantive gap in the knowledge on bat-CoV ecology in Italy, and extends the current knowledge on clade 2c betacoronaviruses with new sequences obtained from bats that have not been previously described as hosts of these viruses.

MicroRNA-23b mediates urokinase and c-met downmodulation and a decreased migration of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and c-met play a major role in cancer invasion and metastasis. Evidence has suggested that uPA and c-met overexpression may be coordinated in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the present study, to understand whether the expression of these genes might be coregulated by specific microRNAs (miRs) in human cells, we predicted that Homo sapiens microRNA-23b could recognize two sites in the 3'-UTR of uPA and four sites in the c-met 3'-UTR by the algorithm pictar. The miR-23b expression analysis in human tumor and normal cells revealed an inverse trend with uPA and c-met expression, indicating that uPA and c-met negative regulation might depend on miR-23b expression. Transfection of miR-23b molecules in HCC cells (SKHep1C3) led to inhibition of protein expression of the target genes and caused a decrease in cell migration and proliferation capabilities. Furthermore, anti-miR-23b transfection in human normal AB2 dermal fibroblasts upregulated the expression of endogenous uPA and c-met. Cotransfection experiments in HCC cells of the miR-23b with pGL4.71 Renilla luciferase reporter gene constructs, containing the putative uPA and c-met 3'-UTR target sites, and with the pGL3 firefly luciferase-expressing vector showed a decrease in the relative luciferase activity. This would indicate that miR-23b can recognize target sites in the 3'-UTR of uPA and of c-met mRNAs and translationally repress the expression of uPA and c-met in HCC cells. The evidence obtained shows that overexpression of miR-23b leads to uPA and c-met downregulation and to decreased migration and proliferation abilities of HCC cells.