RESUMO
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) pose major public health concerns worldwide. HCV is clearly associated with the occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma, and recently HIV infection has also been linked to the development of a multitude of cancers. Previously, we identified a novel nucleoside analog transcriptional inhibitor ARC (4-amino-6-hydrazino-7-beta-D-ribofuranosyl-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]-pyrimidine-5-carboxamide) that exhibited proapoptotic and antiangiogenic properties in vitro. Here, we evaluated the effect of ARC on HIV-1 transcription and HCV replication. Using reporter assays, we found that ARC inhibited HIV-1 Tat-based transactivation in different cell systems. Also, using hepatoma cells that harbor subgenomic and full-length replicons of HCV, we found that ARC inhibited HCV replication. Together, our data indicate that ARC could be a promising candidate for the development of antiviral therapeutics against HIV and HCV.
Assuntos
Antivirais/farmacologia , HIV-1/efeitos dos fármacos , Hepacivirus/efeitos dos fármacos , Nucleosídeos/farmacologia , Pirimidinas/farmacologia , Transcrição Gênica/efeitos dos fármacos , Animais , Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Proliferação de Células/efeitos dos fármacos , Genes Reporter , Humanos , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase Via Transcriptase ReversaRESUMO
Peptide scanning (PEPSCAN) was used to determine linear antigenic determinants of horseradish peroxidase isoenzyme C (HRPC). For this purpose, we synthesized 303 overlapping hexapeptide fragments (with a step of one amino acid residue) of the protein primary structure and studied their interactions with anti-HRPC polyclonal antisera by ELISA. Experiments with various titers of antisera allowed us to determine linear antigenic determinants of HRPC; several such determinants were spatially located in regular elements of the secondary structure (alpha-helices) found both inside and outside the protein globule. A fraction of epitopes were located in loops and folds of the HRPC peptide chain with irregular shapes. These epitopes contained several functionally important residues: Arg 38, which is part of the active site of the enzyme, as well as Phe 142 and Phe 143, which form a channel allowing aromatic substrates to reach the active site. Amino acid residues that form calcium-binding sites or occur in the vicinity of disulfide bonds are not involved in these epitopes.
