Reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI), reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNI), and cytokines are frequent companions at sites of acute inflammation. Previous work has established a clear link between the production of cytokines and the subsequent generation of ROI and RNI. However, more recent data indicates that ROI and RNI not only serve as end-stage effector molecules of pathogen destruction and tissue injury, but also as initiators of acute inflammation. Specifically, ROI and RNI will upregulate cytokine gene expression since antioxidants inhibit interleukin 8 (IL-8) production and do not decrease production of other cytokines. Treatment with hydroxyl radical scavengers such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) will decrease the production of IL-8 in stimulated human whole blood, fibroblasts, type II epithelial cells, and hepatoma cells, but not other cytokines. Addition of exogenous ROI will increase IL-8 production in these same cells. Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase will decrease production of IL-8, whereas addition of nitric oxide (NO)-generating compounds will increase production of IL-8. The hydroxyl radical appears to be the final common pathway of cell activation for IL-8 synthesis, since DMSO will inhibit the NO-driven production of IL-8. Our data indicate that ROI and RNI can serve as intracellular second messengers to induce IL-8 gene expression.

Viral variants of different phenotypes are present in the central nervous system (CNS) and lymphoid tissues of carrier mice infected at birth with the Armstrong strain of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. The CNS isolates are similar to the parental virus and cause acute infections in adult mice, whereas the lymphoid isolates cause chronic infections associated with suppressed T-cell responses. In this study, we provide a molecular basis for this organ-specific selection and identify a single amino acid change in the viral glycoprotein that correlates with the tissue specific selection and the persistent and immunosuppressive phenotype of the variants. This phenylalanine (F)-to-leucine (L) change at position 260 of the viral glycoprotein was seen in the vast majority (43 of 47) of the lymphoid isolates, and variants with L at this residue were selected in spleens of persistently infected mice. In striking contrast, isolates with the parental sequence (F at residue 260) predominated (48 of 59 isolates) in the CNS of the same carrier mice. Complete nucleotide sequence analysis of the major structural genes of several independently derived (from different mice) spleen isolates showed that these variants were >99.8% identical to the parental virus. In fact, the only common change among these spleen isolates was the F-*L mutation at residue 260 of the glycoprotein. These results show that an RNA virus can exhibit minimal genetic drift during chronic infection in its natural host, and yet a single or few mutations can result in the organ-specific selection of variants that are markedly different from the parental virus.

pastoris fermentation optimization: energy state and testing a growth-associated model " (2006). Papers in Microbiology. 74.

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