ABSTRACT
Objective The sequence characteristics and polymorphism of the UL141 gene may help find the pathogenesis of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection.This study was to charac-terize the sequences of HCMV UL141 in low-passage clinical isolates in Guangzhou . Methods We collected urine samples from 10 in-fants with clinically confirmed HCMV infection in the Guangzhou are-a, isolated low-passage clinical virus strains and identified them by multiplex PCR.We performed amplification, cloning, identification and sequencing of the HCMV UL141 gene and searched the GenBank for its homologous sequences followed by sequence analysis . Results The HCMV UL141 gene was found to have 2 open reading frames( ORF) , UL141a and UL141b, composed of 315 and 1017 nucleotides and included in the GenBank with the sequence numbers of DQ180372 and DQ180371, respectively.The full length of the UL141 gene in the low-passage HCMV clinical strain (D3) was 1277 bp, the coding protein consisting of 338 amino acid residues , and the full lengths of the ORFs UL 141a and UL141b were 315 bp and 1017 bp, respectively, with relatively conservative DNA sequences .Mutations were identified in 46 sites with base substitution but no insertion or deletion .The modification sites in all the isolated strains were relatively conservative after translation of the HCMV UL 141 coding protein.The isoelectric points of the UL141 protein were 8.36-8.68 for all the clinical isolates. Conclusion Polymorphism exists in the UL141 gene and its amino acid sequences of the HCMV low-passage clinical strains isolated from infants in Guangzhou , which has shed some light on the function of the ULl 41 protein and pathogenesis of HCMV infection .
ABSTRACT
Objective The sequence characteristics and polymorphism of the UL141 gene may help find the pathogenesis of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection.This study was to charac-terize the sequences of HCMV UL141 in low-passage clinical isolates in Guangzhou . Methods We collected urine samples from 10 in-fants with clinically confirmed HCMV infection in the Guangzhou are-a, isolated low-passage clinical virus strains and identified them by multiplex PCR.We performed amplification, cloning, identification and sequencing of the HCMV UL141 gene and searched the GenBank for its homologous sequences followed by sequence analysis . Results The HCMV UL141 gene was found to have 2 open reading frames( ORF) , UL141a and UL141b, composed of 315 and 1017 nucleotides and included in the GenBank with the sequence numbers of DQ180372 and DQ180371, respectively.The full length of the UL141 gene in the low-passage HCMV clinical strain (D3) was 1277 bp, the coding protein consisting of 338 amino acid residues , and the full lengths of the ORFs UL 141a and UL141b were 315 bp and 1017 bp, respectively, with relatively conservative DNA sequences .Mutations were identified in 46 sites with base substitution but no insertion or deletion .The modification sites in all the isolated strains were relatively conservative after translation of the HCMV UL 141 coding protein.The isoelectric points of the UL141 protein were 8.36-8.68 for all the clinical isolates. Conclusion Polymorphism exists in the UL141 gene and its amino acid sequences of the HCMV low-passage clinical strains isolated from infants in Guangzhou , which has shed some light on the function of the ULl 41 protein and pathogenesis of HCMV infection .
ABSTRACT
Transcription of human cytomegalovirus UL/b′ region has been studied extensively for some genes. In this study, transcripts of the UL140 and UL141, two of the UL/b′ genes, were identified in late RNAs of three HCMV isolates using Northern blot hybridization, cDNA library screening and RACE-PCR. At least three transcripts with length of 2800, 2400 and 1700 nt, as well as a group of transcripts of about 1000–1300 nt, were found in this gene region with an accordant 3′ ends. Among the transcripts, two initiated upstream of the start code of the UL140 gene and contained the UL140 and UL141 open reading frame (ORF), one initiated in the middle of the UL140 gene, and could encode short ORFs upstream of the UL141 ORF. A group of transcripts initiated upstream or downstream of the start code of the UL141 gene, and could encode ‘nested’ ORFs, including the UL141 ORF. These ‘nested’ ORFs possess different initiation sites but the same termination site as that of the UL141 ORF.