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H Tsiang

Publications and source records attributed to H Tsiang.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Inhibition of rabies virus transcription in rat cortical neurons with the dissociative anesthetic ketamine.

In a previous study (B. P. Lockhart, H. Tsiang, P. E. Ceccaldi, and S. Guillemer, Antiviral Chem. Chemother. 2:9-15, 1991), we demonstrated an antiviral effect of the general anesthetic ketamine for rabies virus in neuronal cultures and in rat brain. This report describes an attempt to determine at what level ketamine acts on the rabies virus cycle in rat cortical neuron cultures. Immunofluorescence and [35S]methionine labelling of infected neurons showed that ketamine (1 to 1.5 mM) inhibited viral nucleoprotein and glycoprotein syntheses. Northern (RNA) blots of total RNA from drug-treated neurons, hybridized with 32P-labelled oligonucleotide probes for rabies virus nucleoprotein, matrix protein, and glycoprotein genes, showed a marked reduction (5- to 11-fold) in the levels of rabies virus mRNAs, relative to those in untreated neurons. No significant change in the levels of cellular beta-actin mRNA were detected in ketamine-treated cells. A similar antiviral effect was observed with MK-801; however, no inhibition of rabies virus synthesis was observed with the general anesthetic chloral hydrate. The antiviral effect was not complete; a time-dependent recovery of viral transcription and rabies virus protein synthesis was observed, but no infectious virus was released into the culture supernatant. The lack of any modification of cellular protein or mRNA synthesis by ketamine suggests an antiviral mechanism acting at the level of rabies virus genome transcription.

Animals

Sleep alterations in experimental street rabies virus infection occur in the absence of major EEG abnormalities.

Brain electrical activity and sleep organization were investigated in chronically implanted mice during street rabies virus infection. Continuous EEG recordings showed no gross electrical abnormalities until a few hours before the fatal issue. In contrast, alterations of sleep stages were observed at an early stage during the course of rabies virus infection, at a time when clinical signs were absent. Quantification by spectral analysis showed that the main feature was the early decrease of REM-sleep stages and the increase of the duration of waking stages. Neuromuscular disorders which could occur early were also observed during the disease. Comparison of these data with those obtained from fixed rabies virus infection shows that in the latter the EEG recordings demonstrated early alterations and a progressive deterioration with disappearance of both sleep and waking stages, which were replaced by a pathological sleep stage. In order to evaluate the potential role of the host-specific immune response in promoting brain electrophysiological alterations, EEG recordings and spectral analysis were also performed in cyclophosphamide-treated mice. Street rabies virus-infected and immunosuppressed mice showed identical physiopathological changes as those observed in immunocompetent mice. The implication of these viral-induced electrophysiological alterations in the context of the pathogenic mechanisms of rabies virus is discussed.

Animals

Rabies virus infection and transport in human sensory dorsal root ganglia neurons.

Cultured human sensory neurons are directly susceptible to CVS rabies virus infection and produce virus yields of 10(5) p.f.u./ml; infection can persist for more than 20 days without any sign of c.p.e. The use of a compartmentalized two-chamber culture system, with access to either the cell soma or neuritic extensions, permitted the study of viral retrograde transport, which occurs at between 50 and 100 mm/day. Neurons of human origin were more susceptible to virus infection than rat neurons and the axonal transport of rabies virus was more efficient. Electron microscopy allowed virus transport and infection of human dorsal root ganglia neurons to be observed.

Axons

Actin-independent maturation of rabies virus in neuronal cultures.

This study outlines the effects of a modification of the actin-based cytoskeleton on the maturation of rabies virus in human neuroblastoma cell and primary rat cortical neuron cultures. In a Ca(2+)-depleted or an EGTA-containing medium, disruption of microfilaments did not affect intracellular viral nucleoprotein synthesis, as demonstrated by dual-immunofluorescence microscopy, and caused no change in the extracellular titre of rabies virus. Furthermore, the continuous presence of the anti-calmodulin drugs trifluoperazine (1 to 20 microM) and chlorpromazine (1 to 30 microM), or the L-type Ca2+ channel antagonist nifedepine (1 to 10 microM) or the Ca(2+)-specific ionophore A23187 (0.05 to 1.0 microM), did not modify the extracellular titre of rabies virus significantly over a 48 h period. The inference from these studies is that the maturation of rabies virus is independent of the integrity of the microfilament structures and calmodulin-dependent processes of neuronal cells.

Actins

Inhibition of rabies virus infection in cultured rat cortical neurons by an N-methyl-D-aspartate noncompetitive antagonist, MK-801.

A noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist, MK-801 (0.5 to 2.0 mM), inhibits rabies virus infection in rat primary cortical neurons, whereas the competitive NMDA antagonist AP5 has no effect. The results suggest that MK-801-mediated inhibition of rabies virus replication, although selective, is not operating through the high-affinity binding site mechanism.

2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate

Continuous delivery of colchicine in the rat brain with osmotic pumps for inhibition of rabies virus transport.

Rabies virus is a neurotropic agent which spreads in the CNS via axonal transport. Previous studies had shown that this axonal transport through the brain could be inhibited by stereotaxic administration of colchicine; however, this inhibition was reversible. We describe here a method to enhance the duration of this colchicine-mediated inhibition by delivering the drug continuously in the rat brain with osmotic pumps.

Animals

Inhibition of the transport of rabies virus in the central nervous system.

The effect of colchicine, an inhibitor of axonal transport, on the spread of rabies virus in the central nervous system was investigated using Wistar rats. Colchicine was inoculated into the striatum at various times before and after inoculation of rabies virus into the same site. Rats were killed at various times after viral inoculation and the spread of rabies virus was monitored by rabies immunofluorescence of selected areas of brain. The most effective inhibitory effect was obtained by colchicine treatment applied two days before virus inoculation. Under these conditions, no fluorescent foci could be detected until day 3 post-infection whereas control rats exhibited infected cells as soon as two days post-infection. This inhibitory effect is reversible and the general consequence seems to be a delay in the rate of viral spread. However, five days after the virus challenge, some major brain areas were still partially preserved from infection (striatum, frontal cortex, pyriform cortex). Ten days after colchicine treatment, the microtubules have recovered their capacity to transport the virus. At the onset of paralysis, the general pattern of infection in brain sections from colchicine-treated rats was not significantly different from that of control rats. This inhibitory effect on the transport of rabies virus can be prolonged by administration of additional colchicine.

Animals

The anterograde transport of rabies virus in rat sensory dorsal root ganglia neurons.

We have previously described the capacity of neurites extending from cultured rat sensory dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons to transport rabies virus through axoplasm in the retrograde direction. Here we report the infection of cultured neurons derived from the DRG and the subsequent anterograde transport of rabies virus from the infected cell somas through the extending neurites to its release into the culture supernatant. Viral transport was monitored by titration of the virus yield in the external compartment. Both early and late transport mechanisms of rabies virions were identified. The first one occurred a few hours post-infection and was undetectable 6 h later, before the initiation of viral replication. The velocity of this first wave of infective virions was in the range of 100 to 400 mm/day. The early viral transport was probably the result of a direct translocation of infective virions from the somatic site of entry to the neuritic extensions and subsequent release into the culture medium without replication in the cellular perikaryon. The second virus transport peak was detected 48 h post-infection. In this case, the virions detected in the neuritic compartment were presumably the progeny of the inoculated virus which had replicated in the perikaryon before the viral transport occurs. Using a four-compartment culture device we were able to demonstrate, simultaneously, retrograde and anterograde transport of the virus. The presence of antirabies serum in contact with the exposed neurites did not inhibit either the retrograde or the anterograde transport mechanisms. The viral release from the neuritic extensions after the fast anterograde transport was evaluated to be in the range of 150 to 300 infectious virions per bundle of neurites per day.

Animals

Rabies virus infection of cultured rat sensory neurons.

The axonal transport of rabies virus (challenge virus strain of fixed virus) was studied in differentiated rat embryonic dorsal root ganglion cells. In addition, we observed the attachment of rabies virus to neuronal extensions and virus production by infected neurons. A compartmentalized cell culture system was used, allowing infection and manipulation of neuronal extensions without exposing the neural soma to the virus. The cultures consisted of 60% large neuronal cells whose extensions exhibited neurofilament structures. Rabies virus demonstrated high binding affinity to unmyelinated neurites, as suggested by assays of virus adsorption and immunofluorescence studies. The rate of axoplasmic transport of virus was 12 to 24 mm/day, including the time required for internalization of the virus into neurites. The virus transport could be blocked by cytochalasin B, vinblastine, and colchicine, none of which negatively affected the production of virus in cells once the infection was established. It was concluded that, for the retrograde transfer of rabies virus by neurites from the periphery to the neuronal soma, the integrity of tubulin- and actin-containing structures is essential. The rat sensory neurons were characterized as permissive, moderately susceptible, but low producers of rabies virus. These neurons were capable of harboring rabies virus for long periods of time and able to release virus into the culture medium without showing any morphological alterations. The involvement of sensory neurons in rabies virus pathogenesis, both in viral transport and as a site for persistent viral infection, is discussed.

Adhesiveness

Axonal transport of rabies virus in the central nervous system of the rat.

Stereotaxic inoculation of rabies virus into specific nuclei in the central nervous system has been used for the investigation of the central neural transport mechanisms of viral information. The infection was monitored by specific fluorescence and peroxidase studies and the titration of viral infectivity in dissected brain areas. Twenty-four hours after inoculation into the striatum, cortex, or substantia nigra, infected neurons were detected only in cells from areas and nuclei which were related to the site of inoculation. The distribution of infected neurons showed that retrograde axoplasmic flow plays a determining role in the transport of rabies virus 24 hours after delivery of virus to specific target nuclei. Local destruction of neurons by kainic acid at the site of viral inoculation did not prevent the uptake and subsequent retrograde axonal transport of virus. There was an overall correlation between the major neural connections of the inoculated areas (e.g. the striatum) and the infected areas 24 hours later (e.g. the substantia nigra).

Animals

Neutralization of interferon produced early during rabies virus infection in mice.

Inoculation of mice (strain C3H/He) with a purified preparation of fixed rabies virus led to the production of interferon with two different peaks of activity detectable in the plasma: an early peak 24 h after inoculation followed by another peak on the 7th day after infection. The level of splenic 2-5A synthetase was enhanced in parallel with the pattern of interferon activity. Neutralization of the first peak of interferon activity by anti-mouse alpha/beta interferon globulin blocked the induction of splenic 2-5A synthetase and modified the development of disease. Infected mice given anti-interferon globulin had a significantly shorter morbidity period than normally infected mice. These results suggest that interferon produced early after virus inoculation plays a role in the onset of rabies disease.

Animals

Evidence for an intraaxonal transport of fixed and street rabies virus.

Colchicine was used to inhibit axonal transport and to demonstrate that rabies virus spread from the peripheral inoculation site to the CNS by the retrograde axoplasmic flow. Colchicine was applied by the mean of elastomer implants around the sciatic nerve of young rats in order to obtain higher local concentrations of the drug. This procedure avoided the systemic effects of colchicine encountered with the usual treatment. To confirm the efficiency of the axoplasmic flow inhibition by colchicine, 125I-tetanus toxin was used as a marker. Uptake of colchicine by the sciatic nerve was monitored by the use of 3H-labelled colchicine. Interruption of the retrograde axoplasmic flow resulted in prevention of fixed and street rabies virus propagation. Moreover, the centrifugal spread of rabies could be inhibited using this experimental procedure.

Animals

Kinetics of different specific immunological parameters after rabies vaccination in mice.

A significant protection to an intracerebral challenge of 70 mean lethal doses of a standard live rabies virus strain was obtained in BCG-pretreated mice or in normal mice which had been immunized with a single subcutaneous injection of a beta-propiolactone-inactivated rabies vaccine. Concomitantly, levels of delayed-type hypersensitivity (measured in vivo by the footpad test) and serum-neutralizing activity were evaluated at various times after immunization. All immune criteria were significantly augmented in the BCG-pretreated, rabies-immune mice as compared to normal, rabies-immune mice. However, peak levels of protection, delayed-type hypersensitivity, and serum-neutralizing activity did not occur at the same times. For instance, in the BCG-pretreated, rabies-immune mice, delayed-type hypersensitivity peaked on day 7, protection peaked on day 21, and serum-neutralizing activity peaked on day 60. In BCG-pretreated mice, which did not receive the rabies vaccine, positive delayed-type hypersensitivity, some protection, and serum neutralizing activity were observed 4 to 5 weeks after BCG pretreatment. The possible relationships between specific and nonspecific immunity provoked by rabies virus antigens, tissue culture cell-associated antigens (derived from the bovine fetal kidney cells in which the rabies virus was grown, and BCG are discussed.

Animals

Inhibition of rabies virus in vitro by the ammonium-5-tungsto-2-antimoniate.

In vitro multiplication of rabies virus was inhibited by a condensed mineral ion, ammonium-5-tungsto-2-antimoniate (HPA 23). The inhibitory effect was evaluated by two different methods, plaque reduction and one step virus growth. Plaquing showed 50% inhibition with 4.5 microgram/ml of HPA 23 and complete inhibition with 12.5 microgram/ml. A reduction of two logs in virus yield was obtained in BHK21C13S cells in suspension treated with 50 microgram/ml of HPA 23. Inhibition also occurred when treatment with HPA 23 was started 18 to 24 h after infection in the plaque assay but no effect was seen when HPA 23 was added 48 h after virus inoculation. All these inhibitory effects of HPA 23 on rabies virus multiplication were observed at non cytotoxic doses. Therefore HPA 23 contrasts with other antiviral drugs which do not inhibit rabies virus multiplication without affecting the viability of cells.

Antimony

Delayed-type hypersensitivity to rabies virus in mice: assay of active or passive sensitization by the footpad test.

With a purified beta-propiolactone-inactivated rabies virus, a significant increase in footpad swelling was elicited in normal or in BCG-pretreated mice after immunization with varying doses of rabies vaccine. These footpad reactions were shown to peak at 24 h and to be associated with an infiltration of newly formed blood monocytes demonstrated by histology and [125I]deoxyuridine labeling. A relationship between the lymphoproliferation and the degree of sensitization is described, and the susceptibility to cyclophosphamide treatment is also examined. Adoptive transfer of specific reactivity to normal recipient mice with immune lymphoid cells, but not with immune serum, was demonstrated, and the results represent another argument for a cell-mediated immunological mechanism.

Animals

Zonal centrifuge purification of human rabies vaccine obtained on bovine fetal kidney cells. Biological results.

An inactivated human rabies vaccine prepared on bovine fetal kidney cells is concentrated and purified by zonal centrifugation. The peak of rabies particles is monitored by hemagglutination. Immunogenicity of the purified particles was evaluated by titration of specific antibodies from vaccinated animals. Protective activity of the vaccine was assayed on guinea pigs challenged with street rabies. Biological results were compared with those obtained with other tissue culture vaccines.

Animals