Inhibition of infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus in cell cultures with peptide-conjugated morpholino oligomers.

Delivery of phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (PMO) into fish cells in vitro and tissues in vivo was examined. Uptake was evaluated by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry after treating cultured cells or live rainbow trout with 3' fluorescein-tagged PMO. Arginine-rich peptide conjugated to the 5' end of the PMO markedly enhanced cellular uptake in culture by 8- to 20-fold compared with non-peptide-conjugated PMO as determined by flow cytometry. Enhanced uptake of PMO conjugated to peptide was also observed in tissues of fish treated by immersion. The efficacy of PMO as inhibitors of infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) replication was determined in vitro. Peptide-conjugated PMOs targeting sequences within the IHNV genomic RNA (negative polarity) or antigenomic RNA (positive polarity) significantly inhibited replication in a dose-dependent and sequence-specific manner. A PMO complementary to sequence near the 5' end of IHNV genomic RNA was the most effective, diminishing titre by 97%, as measured by plaque assay and Western blot. These data demonstrate that replication of a negative-stranded non-segmented RNA virus can be inhibited by antisense compounds that target positive polarity viral RNA, or by a compound that targets negative polarity viral RNA.

DNA vaccines encoding viral glycoproteins induce nonspecific immunity and Mx protein synthesis in fish.

Protective immunity by vaccination with plasmid DNA encoding a viral glycoprotein (G) has long been assumed to result from the induction of a specific immune response. We report here that the initial protection may be due to the induction of alpha/beta interferon, with long-term protection due to a specific response to the encoded viral G. DNA vaccines encoding the Gs of three serologically unrelated fish rhabdoviruses were used to vaccinate rainbow trout against a lethal challenge with infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV). All three vaccines, each encoding the G gene of either IHNV (IHNV-G), snakehead rhabdovirus (SHRV) (SHRV-G), or spring viremia of carp virus (SVCV) (SVCV-G), elicited protective immunity against IHNV. Vaccinated fish were challenged at 30 or 70 days postvaccination with lethal doses of IHNV. At 30 days postvaccination, only 5% of fish that had received any of the G vaccines died, whereas more than 50% of the control fish succumbed to virus challenge. When fish were vaccinated and challenged at 70 days postvaccination, only 12% of the IHNV-G-vaccinated fish died compared to 68% for the SHRV-G- and 76% for the SVCV-G-vaccinated fish. Assays for trout Mx protein, an indicator of alpha/beta interferon induction, showed that only fish vaccinated with a G-containing plasmid produced high levels of Mx protein in the kidneys and liver. Interestingly, at day 7 after virus challenge, all of the fish vaccinated with the IHNV-G plasmid were negative for Mx, but the SHRV-G- and SVCV-G-vaccinated fish still showed detectable levels of Mx. These results suggest that DNA vaccines in fish induce an early, nonspecific antiviral protection mediated by an alpha/beta interferon and, later, a specific immune response.

Accumulation of Group 3 Late Embryogenesis Abundant Proteins in Zea mays Embryos : Roles of Abscisic Acid and the Viviparous-1 Gene Product.

Several different types of proteins that are modulated by abscisic acid (ABA) accumulate in developing embryos of maize (Zea mays L.). Some of these proteins are specific to the developing seed, such as the storage globulin, GLB1, whereas others are involved in general responses to water deficit. Here we describe a maize protein family of this second type, a Group 3 late embryogenesis abundant (MLG3). Like other proteins of this class, MLG3 polypeptides are ABA-responsive. They are found in maturing seeds and in dehydrating plant tissues. Antigenically related proteins are found in other cereals. To distinguish the regulation of developmentally programmed ABA responses from those that are environmentally induced, we compared the ontological pattern and accumulation requirements of MLG3 polypeptides with those we previously described for GLB1. GLB1 accumulation begins early in the maturation phase and specifically requires high levels of ABA and the participation of the Viviparous-1 (Vp1) gene product. Vp1 is required for other ABA-modulated events in maize seed development as well. In experiments using vp1 mutants and mutants deficient in ABA synthesis (vp5 mutation), we show that MLG3 accumulation also is dependent upon ABA, but it shows striking differences from GLB1. MLG3 accumulates much later in embryogenesis, coincident with the onset of dehydration. In contrast to GLB1, MLG3 proteins can be induced by de novo ABA synthesis in response to culturing in high osmoticum. Unlike GLB1, MLG3 has no specific requirement for the Vp1 gene product.

Vitamin A in the urine of carnivores.

Vitamin A levels (retinol equivalents) in the urine of canines were between 423 ng/ml (dog) and 6304 ng/ml (silver fox). Neither vitamin A nor vitamin E was found in the urine of herbivores, omnivorous and rodents. No vitamin A but low levels of vitamin E were detected in cats. Vitamin A in the urine was present as retinol and retinyl esters (basically retinyl palmitate/oleate). The total excretion of vitamin A represented 15 to 63% of the daily uptake in dogs, while less than 4% of vitamin E was excreted. Results after precipitation and ultracentrifugation indicate that similar carrier proteins may exist for retinol, retinyl esters and alpha-tocopherol in the urine. The biological significance of this phenomenon is discussed with regard to the high concentrations of retinyl esters in the blood plasma of carnivores bound to lipoproteins.