TWiV 891: LLOV in the time of Ebola
Elke, Adam, and Gabor join TWiV to discuss their work on Lloviu virus, a filovirus, including recovery of infectious virus from a DNA copy of the genome and from Schreiber's bats in Hungary. (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - April 21, 2022 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology ebola virus filovirus host range Lloviu virus Schreiber's bats spillover viral viruses zoonosis Source Type: blogs
More filoviruses in bats
The family of viruses known as the Filoviridae (filo, from the Latin for thread) is well known for the ebolaviruses, which cause the hemorrhagic disease that regularly erupts in Africa. As Earth’s virome is slowly revealed, other filoviruses are discovered. The first filovirus discovered was Marburg virus, first described in 1967 in Germany when grieve […] (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - February 1, 2019 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information ebolavirus filovirus hemorrhagic fever Mengla virus minigenote spillover viral viruses Source Type: blogs
TWiV 415: Ebola pipettors and the philosopher ’ s clone
Jeremy Luban, Aaron Lin, and Ted Diehl join the TWiV team to discuss their work on identifying a single amino acid change in the Ebola virus glycoprotein from the West African outbreak that increases infectivity in human cells.
You can find TWiV #415 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below.
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Source: virology blog - November 13, 2016 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology adaptation amino acid ebola virus filovirus glycoprotein mutation NPC1 spillover viral viruses zoonosis Source Type: blogs
Increased infectivity of Ebola virus glycoprotein from West Africa
When viruses cross species, serial transmission may lead to the selection for mutations that confer improved replication or transmission in the new host. Identifying such mutations in human viruses is extremely difficult: we cannot conduct the appropriate experiments in humans, and often do not have viral isolates spanning the time from spillover through prolonged circulation. The 2013-2016 outbreak of Ebola virus in West Africa is unique because viral genome sequences were obtained early and throughout the epidemic. The results of two new studies (link to paper one, link to paper two) suggest that some of the observ...
Source: virology blog - November 3, 2016 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Commentary Information adaptation ebola virus filovirus glycoprotein outbreak pseudotype spillover viral viruses zoonosis Source Type: blogs
TWiV 394: Cards in a hand
Vincent and Alan speak with Erica Ollmann Saphire about her career and her work on understanding the functions of proteins of Ebolaviruses, Marburg virus, and other hemorrhagic fever viruses, at ASM Microbe 2016 in Boston, MA.
You can find TWiV #394 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen or watch the video below.
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Source: virology blog - June 19, 2016 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology cryoEM ebolavirus filovirus marburg virus protein protein structure structural biology viral viruses X-ray structure Source Type: blogs
A promising Ebolavirus antiviral compound
A small molecule antiviral compound has been shown to protect rhesus monkeys against lethal Ebolavirus disease, even when given up to three days after virus inoculation.
The compound, called GS-5734, is a nucleoside analog. After uptake into cells, GS-5734 is converted to a nucleoside triphosphate (illustrated, bottom panel) which is incorporated by the viral RNA dependent RNA polymerase as it copies the viral genome. However, the nucleoside is chemically different from ATP (illustrated, top) and no further nucleotides can be incorporated into the growing RNA strand. RNA synthesis ceases, blocking production of infect...
Source: virology blog - March 3, 2016 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information antiviral compound chain terminator ebolavirus nucleoside analog RNA polymerase rna synthesis viruses Source Type: blogs
TWiEVO 5: Looking at straw colored fruit bats through a straw
On episode #5 of the science show This Week in Evolution, Sara Sawyer and Kartik Chandran join Nels and Vincent to talk about how the filovirus receptor NPC1 regulates Ebolavirus susceptibility in bats.
You can find TWiEVO #5 at microbe.tv/twievo, or you can listen below.
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Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - February 20, 2016 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Evolution bat ebolavirus filovirus host-virus conflict NPC1 positive selection receptor viral virology virus entry viruses Source Type: blogs
Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 113
Just when you thought your brain could unwind on a Friday, you realise that it would rather be challenged with some good old fashioned medical trivia…introducing Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 113
Question 1
What did Valsalva (1666-1723) note as “..leaving the tongue tingling unpleasantly for the better part of the day“
+ Reveal the Funtabulous Answer
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Gangrenous pus
He also noted that it did “not taste good“.
The things we do for science…. [Reference]
Question 2
What does the acron...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - August 21, 2015 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Niall Hamilton Tags: Frivolous Friday Five berry sign FFFF filovirus GOMER hippocratic oath house of god malignant thyromegaly valsalva Source Type: blogs
Lassa virus origin and evolution
I have a soft spot in my heart for Lassa virus: a non-fictional account of its discovery in Africa in 1969 inspired me to become a virologist. Hence papers on this virus always catch my attention, such as one describing its origin and evolution.
Lassa virus, a member of the Arenavirus family, is very different from Ebolavirus (a filovirus), but both are zoonotic pathogens that may cause hemorrhagic fever. It is responsible for tens of thousands of hospitalizations, and thousands of deaths each year, mainly in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, and Nigeria. Most human Lassa virus outbreaks are caused by multiple exposure...
Source: virology blog - August 13, 2015 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information arenavirus ebolavirus evolution genome sequence hemorrhagic fever Lassa virus Mastomys natalensis nigeria reservoir Sierra Leone viral zoonosis Source Type: blogs
An Ebolavirus vaccine in Africa
An Ebolavirus vaccine has shown promising results in a clinical trial in Guinea. This vaccine has been in development since 2004 and was made possible by advances in basic virology of the past 40 years.
The ability to produce the Ebolavirus vaccine, called rVSV-EBOV, originates in the 1970s with the discovery of the enzyme reverse ilnscriptase, the development of recombinant DNA technology, and the ability to rapidly and accurately determine the sequence of nucleic acids. These advances came together in 1981 when it was shown that cloned DNA copies of RNA viral genomes (a bacteriophage, a retrovirus, and poliovirus), ...
Source: virology blog - August 7, 2015 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information cluster-randomized trial Ebola ebolavirus Guinea live attenuated vaccine phase III trial rhabdovirus ring vaccination rVSV-EBOV vector vesicular stomatitis virus viral Source Type: blogs
TWiV 309: Ebola email
On episode #309 of the science show This Week in Virology, the TWiVocytes answer questions about Ebola virus, including mode of transmission, quarantine, incubation period, immunity, and much more.
You can find TWiV #309 at www.twiv.tv. (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - November 2, 2014 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology aerosol asymptomatic body fluids contact ebola virus ebolavirus filovirus hemorrhagic fever incubation period PCR quarantine semen sexual transmission viral Source Type: blogs
Ebola Virus Family is 16 to 23 Million Years Old
Scientists say the ebola virus family, called filovirus, is at least 16 to 23 million years old.
Read more on sciencespacerobots.com (Source: HealthNewsBlog.com)
Source: HealthNewsBlog.com - October 27, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: ebola filovirus Source Type: blogs
Ebola virus arrives in New York City
This morning I received this email from President Lee Bollinger:
Dear fellow members of the Columbia community:
As you may have seen in the media, Dr. Craig Spencer is being treated for Ebola at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan. Dr. Spencer, an emergency department physician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, recently returned from a humanitarian mission with Doctors Without Borders to one of the outbreak areas in Western Africa. We admire and appreciate all of those willing to do this vital and selfless public health work around the globe.
It’s critical to bear in mind what our public health and i...
Source: virology blog - October 24, 2014 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information columbia university Ebola ebolavirus filovirus hemorrhagic fever New York City viral Source Type: blogs
Experimental Drug Shown to Be Effective in Marburg Virus Disease Similar to Ebola
Reports published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine have shown that an experimental drug being manufactured by Tekmira pharmaceuticals was very effective in halting the disease process of the Marburg virus in monkeys.
Marburg virus is an RNA virus very similar to Ebola that causes a hemorrhagic illness that is almost always fatal. Thomas W. Geisbert and colleagues have shown that a drug using RNA interference was able to save all monkeys infected with Marburg virus while none of the monkeys who did not receive the drug survived.
The post Experimental Drug Shown to Be Effective in Marburg Virus Disease Sim...
Source: Inside Surgery - August 20, 2014 Category: Surgery Authors: Editor Tags: Infectious Disease Medical News Wire Ebola experimental drug filovirus Marburg RNA interference tekmira Thomas Geisbert Source Type: blogs
Ebola and Marburg Viruses: Molecular and Cellular Biology
Ebola and Marburg Viruses: Molecular and Cellular Biology Publisher: Horizon Bioscience Editor: Hans-Dieter Klenk and Heinz Feldmann ISBN: 978-1-904933-49-6 (ebook) ebook Ebola and Marburg viruses cause severe haemorrhagic fevers. Much research has been performed in recent years on the molecular and genetic properties of these viruses and in particular has focused on molecular structure, replication and virus-host interactions. This book presents a comprehensive review of research on these highly virulent viruses. Topics covered include the genomics and molecular biology of filoviruses, pathogenesis, replication, epidemio...
Source: Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. - August 19, 2014 Category: Microbiology Source Type: blogs
