Para verificar a permissividade de células de origem hematopoiéticas à infecção por HAdV-41, foram infectados PBMC e IEL de voluntários. Os ensaios foram comparados com células HEK-293 infectadas. Foram analisadas as expressões dos genes virais E1A, E1B (55K), E3 (14K), VARNA, hexon e fibra curta (FC) e do gene celular GAPDH. O mRNA foi detectado por RT-PCR em tempo real e a produção de proteínas foi visualizada por IFI. Em HEK-293, a transcrição dos genes E1A, E1B e E3 iniciou-se às 11h p.i, hexon,às 13h pi.,VARNA e FC às 14h p.i. Em PBMC a transcrição de E1A, E1B e VARNA iniciou-se 17h p.i e a expressão dos genes hexon e fibra curta foi detectada 18h p.i e 20 h p.i. respectivamente. O nível de expressão dos genes virais em HEK-293 foi quase 200 vezes maior em relação à PBMC. Os IELs também mostraram-se permissivos à infecção pelo HAdV-41 como mostrado pela expressão dos genes virais. Essa é a primeira evidência de que este vírus possa infectar tais células. Os resultados obtidos ajudam a elucidar os mecanismos de interação do vírus com a célula-hospedeira. / In order to verify the permissiveness of hematopoietic cells to HAdV-41 infection, PBMC and IEL from volunteers were infected. The infection assays were compared with infected HEK -293 cells. We analysed the E1A, E1B (55K), E3 (14K), VARNA, hexon and short fiber (SF) viral gene expression and GAPDH cellular gene expression. The mRNA were detected by real time PCR and the viral protein synthesis were detected by IIF. In HEK-293 cells E1A, E1B and E3 gene expression were detected 11h p.i Hexon gene expression was detected at 13h p.i, while VARNA and SF were detected 14h p.i In PBMC, E1A, E1B and VARNA gene expression were detected 17h p.i and the hexon and SF were detected 18h p.i and 20h p.i, respectively. The viral gene expression level in infected HEK-293 cells was 200 fold higher than infected PBMC. The IEL also were permissive to HAdV-41 infection showed by viral gene expressions. This is the first evidence that HAdV-41 is able to infect these cells types. These results helps to understand the virus-cell interaction mechanisms.

Para verificar a permissividade de células de origem hematopoiéticas à infecção por HAdV-41, foram infectados PBMC e IEL de voluntários. Os ensaios foram comparados com células HEK-293 infectadas. Foram analisadas as expressões dos genes virais E1A, E1B (55K), E3 (14K), VARNA, hexon e fibra curta (FC) e do gene celular GAPDH. O mRNA foi detectado por RT-PCR em tempo real e a produção de proteínas foi visualizada por IFI. Em HEK-293, a transcrição dos genes E1A, E1B e E3 iniciou-se às 11h p.i, hexon,às 13h pi.,VARNA e FC às 14h p.i. Em PBMC a transcrição de E1A, E1B e VARNA iniciou-se 17h p.i e a expressão dos genes hexon e fibra curta foi detectada 18h p.i e 20 h p.i. respectivamente. O nível de expressão dos genes virais em HEK-293 foi quase 200 vezes maior em relação à PBMC. Os IELs também mostraram-se permissivos à infecção pelo HAdV-41 como mostrado pela expressão dos genes virais. Essa é a primeira evidência de que este vírus possa infectar tais células. Os resultados obtidos ajudam a elucidar os mecanismos de interação do vírus com a célula-hospedeira. / In order to verify the permissiveness of hematopoietic cells to HAdV-41 infection, PBMC and IEL from volunteers were infected. The infection assays were compared with infected HEK -293 cells. We analysed the E1A, E1B (55K), E3 (14K), VARNA, hexon and short fiber (SF) viral gene expression and GAPDH cellular gene expression. The mRNA were detected by real time PCR and the viral protein synthesis were detected by IIF. In HEK-293 cells E1A, E1B and E3 gene expression were detected 11h p.i Hexon gene expression was detected at 13h p.i, while VARNA and SF were detected 14h p.i In PBMC, E1A, E1B and VARNA gene expression were detected 17h p.i and the hexon and SF were detected 18h p.i and 20h p.i, respectively. The viral gene expression level in infected HEK-293 cells was 200 fold higher than infected PBMC. The IEL also were permissive to HAdV-41 infection showed by viral gene expressions. This is the first evidence that HAdV-41 is able to infect these cells types. These results helps to understand the virus-cell interaction mechanisms.

Prions are the causative agents of a group of lethal, neurodegenerative conditions that include sheep scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and human Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Prions are derived from the conversion of a normal, primarily alpha-helical, cellular prion protein (PrPC), to an infectious, beta sheet-rich conformer (PrPSc). Many unresolved issues surround the process of PrP conversion, and we know very little about cellular responses to these unique pathogens. Our lack of knowledge relates, in part, to the difficulty of infecting cells in vitro with prions. While expression of PrPC is an absolute requirement for prion propagation, I show here that not all cells that express PrPC are capable of propagating PrPSc. The goal of this thesis is to understand the role that host factors play in sustaining prion infection and to develop systems in which the cellular response to prion infection can be assessed. We hypothesize that cellular permissiveness to prion infectivity is co-dependent on unidentified additional cellular factors. To study the role of PrPC expression in susceptibility to prion infectivity, and identify these cofactors in cell culture, we utilized cells which fail to express endogenous PrPC, but become susceptible to prions following stable expression of PrPC. Following transfection of a species specific PrP expression construct and isolation of single cell clones, we assessed PrP expression and susceptibility to prion infectivity by measuring accumulation of protease resistant PrPSc. Differential gene expression studies suggest significant transcriptional differences between susceptible and resistant clones. Using three independent gene expression databases our analyses suggest that the resistant transcriptional profile favors cell division/cycle and chromosomal regulation pathways, while the sensitive transcriptional profile is involved in protein homeostasis and quality control. The results of these studies will not only lead to a greater understanding of PrP cell biology and the mechanisms of prion pathogenesis, but should ultimately lead to sensitive and expedient methods for detecting and characterizing prion infectivity from a wide range of sources.