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Nearly one third of cervical spine metastasis has a primary breast malignancy. Patients with cervical metastasis have higher mortality due to advanced stage of the malignancy. Treatment is palliative to relieve pain, prevent pathological fracture, improve mobility and function, and prolong survival. We describe a 40-year-old woman with a history of breast cancer who presented with neck and shoulder pain of 1 week duration with no neurological deficit. Following clinical examination, radiographs taken of the cervical spine was normal. Radiographs repeated 3 weeks later revealed a large lytic lesion of the odontoid occupying 70-80% of the peg. Further investigation including magnetic resonance imaging and bone scan showed no further spinal lesions. She underwent cyclical radiotherapy with complete resolution of the odontoid peg lesion and clinically was asymptomatic at 2 years. Metastatic lesions of the odontoid are atypical, and this case reinforces the necessity of early detection to evade disastrous consequences.

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We report a case of chronic relapsing osteomyelitis caused by Salmonella Stanley in a beta-thalassaemia trait patient who is otherwise normal. The importance of obtaining definitive bacteriological diagnosis and timely intervention to treat bone infection effectively is emphasised here.

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The objective was to evaluate the efficacy of xenografts to improve the outcomes in elderly patients with tibial plateau fractures. Nineteen cases with a mean age of 74 years were followed prospectively from 1998 to 2003. Six patients each belonged to Schatzker types III, IV and V and one patient belonged to type II. Open reduction with fixation and xenograft impaction was carried out. Clinical and radiological union was assessed including infection rate, incorporation of the xenograft and average collapse of the fracture. The average union time was 20 weeks. No patient had wound infection and all had excellent incorporation of the xenograft with union. The average collapse was 4 mm on follow-up. This series shows the use of only an xenograft in acute fixation of these fractures with favourable outcome. Furthermore, it reduces operative time, bleeding and associated co-morbidities, which is of more significance in an elderly age group.

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In vitro transcripts of full-length cDNA clones of the Johnsongrass strain of Johnsongrass mosaic potyvirus (JGMV-Jg) were infectious on maize and sorghum when inoculated by mechanical or by biolistic bombardment. Two of the cDNA clones with spontaneous mutations in the coat protein were not infectious. Sequence differences between infectious and non-infectious transcripts revealed that alteration of inferred amino sequences, near or in the N-terminus of the coat protein, profoundly affected the infectivity of transcripts. Transcripts of chimeric full-length cDNA of JGMV-Jg, containing coat protein sequences from the Krish-infecting strain of JGMV, were infectious in Krish resistant sorghums.

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The morphology of an Australian strain of Johnsongrass mosaic potyvirus (JGMV Krish-infecting strain), capable of infecting sorghums carrying the Krish potyvirus resistance gene, was investigated and the base sequence of the coat protein region determined. Under the electron microscope the virus was indistinguishable from the wild type prevalent in Australia, JGMV-Jg. However, there were some significant changes in the inferred amino acid sequence in both the N-terminus and the core regions of the coat protein. Some of these amino acid changes may be responsible for breaking the resistance of sorghums carrying the Krish virus resistance gene. In the discussion mention is made of a preliminary result with a mutated in vitro transcript which supports this suggestion.

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Presentation of subunit vaccines in a highly ordered aggregate form can result in enhanced immune responses. Coat protein (CP) monomers of a potyvirus (Johnsongrass mosaic virus) when produced in heterologous host expression systems (Escherichia coli, yeast and insect cells) self-polymerized to produce potyvirus-like particles (PVLPs). The N- and C-terminal regions of potyvirus CP are surface-exposed and are not required for assembly. Hybrid CP monomers containing short peptides fused to their N- and/or C-termini, or large target antigens fused to the N-terminus or replacing most of the N- or C-terminal exposed regions retained the ability to assemble into hybrid PVLPs. Such chimeric PVLPs were highly immunogenic in mice and rabbits even in the absence of any adjuvant. Potyvirus CP is highly versatile in accommodating peptides or large antigens and is able to present antigens exposed on the surface of virus-like particles. This, combined with the efficiency of high level bacterial and insect cell expression systems, makes PVLPs an attractive non-pathogenic and non-replicative vaccine carrier.

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Comparisons of genome and polyprotein sequences of hepatitis C virus (HCV) isolates world-wide has led to the identification of nine major genotypes and many subtypes. This classification is based on either complete genome/polyprotein sequences or sequence data from the 5' noncoding region, core, E1, NS3 or NS5B genes. The relative merit of different gene segments as taxonomic markers and the validity of the resulting assignments is not clear at this stage. To resolve the taxonomy of HCV genotypes and subtypes, we have compared the complete genome and polyprotein sequences of 19 HCV isolates available in the databases as well as sequences of individual genes and gene products of these isolates. Based on the correlation between sequence relationships and taxonomic assignments of other RNA viruses, we show that the nine major genotypes of HCV represent nine distinct virus species and their subtypes subspecies. Our sequence comparison of the 5' noncoding regions and the individual gene products suggests that E2, NS2, NS5B, E1, NS4A, NS4B and NS5A (in that order) are the most appropriate regions for the discrimination between species, subspecies and strains of HCV. The 5' noncoding, core and NS3 regions are less effective in distinguishing between species, subspecies and strains. Based on a comparison of the polymerase sequence identities of HCVs, pestiviruses and flaviviruses as well as the recent information on the size and morphology of HCV virions, we propose that HCVs, pestiviruses and flaviviruses should be classified into three separate families, named Hepciviridae, Pestiviridae and Flaviviridae, respectively rather than three genera of the Flaviviridae as currently classified. We also propose "Hepcivirus" as the genus name for HCVs.

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High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) profiles of tryptic peptides and partial amino acid sequence analysis have been employed to establish the taxonomic status of the Moroccan isolate of cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus (CABMV). Some previous reports have suggested CABMV to be very closely related to blackeye cowpea mosaic virus (B1CMV) while other reports have concluded that this relationship is distant. In this report a tryptic digest of the coat protein of CABMV-Morocco was compared with those of the coat proteins of B1CMV-Type, B1CMV-W, the mild mottle strain of peanut stripe virus (PStV-MM) and the NY15 strain of bean common mosaic virus (BCMV-NY15), all of which are now recognised as strains of BCMV. The comparisons also included the NL-3 strain of bean necrosis mosaic virus (BNMV-NL3), which had previously been classified as a strain of BCMV. The HPLC peptide profiles indicated that CABMV-Morocco was distinct from BCMV and BNMV. Amino acid sequence analysis of peptides accounting for more than half of the coat protein confirmed that CABMV-Morocco was not a strain of BNMV or BCMV but was a distinct member of the BCMV subset of viruses that previously has been shown to include BCMV, BNMV, soybean mosaic virus, zucchini yellow mosaic virus, passionfruit woodiness virus and South African Passiflora virus (SAPV). Comparison of the partial sequence data with these and other published sequences revealed that the coat protein of CABMV-Morocco is very similar to that of SAPV suggesting that they are strains of the same virus. Since CABMV was described over 25 years earlier than SAPV, the name CABMV should take precedence and SAPV should be renamed CABMV-SAP, the South African Passiflora strain of CABMV.

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The 1,035 nucleotides at the 3'end of the I strain of pea mosaic potyvirus (PMV-I) genomic RNA, encoding the coat protein, have been cloned and sequenced. A comparison of the derived coat protein sequence with those of the bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV) strains, CS, S, D and GDD, indicates that PMV-I is a strain of BYMV. Sequence comparisons and hybridisation studies using the 3'-noncoding region support this classification. The nucleotide and protein sequence data also suggest that PMV-I and BYMV-CS form one subset of BYMV strains while the other three strains form another.

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Mouse monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against the Australian B strain of clover yellow vein (ClYVV-B) and the JG strain of Johnsongrass mosaic (JGMV) potyviruses were produced, characterised and the epitopes with which they reacted were deduced. Using intact particles of ClYVV a total of ten MAbs were obtained which reacted strongly with ClYVV-B in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blots. Four of these MAbs (1, 2, 4, and 13) were found to be ClYVV-specific, as they reacted with all five ClYVV strains from Australia and the U.S.A. but not with 11 strains of bean yellow mosaic (BYMV), pea mosaic (PMV), and white lupin mosaic (WLMV) viruses which, together with ClYVV, form the BYMV subgroup of potyvirses. These MAbs failed to react with eight other potyvirus species, including six which infect legumes like the viruses in the BYMV subgroup. The ClYVV MAb 10 was found to be BYMV subgroup-specific. It reacted strongly with 15 of the 16 strains of viruses in the subgroup and gave no reaction with eight other potyviruses. The other five ClYVV MAbs reacted with varying degrees of specificity with the BYMV subgroup viruses and also with other potyviruses. Eight of the ClYVV MAbs (1, 2, 4, 5, 13, 17, 21, and 22) reacted with the intact coat proteins only and not with the truncated (minus amino terminus) coat protein of ClYVV suggesting that the epitopes for these MAbs are located in the surface-exposed, amino-terminal region of the ClYVV coat protein. Comparison of published coat protein sequences of BYMV and ClYVV isolates indicated that the epitopes for the four ClYVV-specific MAbs may be in the amino-terminal region spanning amino acid residues 18 to 30, whereas those for the other four MAbs may be located in the first 17 amino-terminal amino acid residue region. The epitopes that reacted with BYMV subgroup-specific MAb 10 and MAb 30 which reacted with 20 of the 24 potyvirus isolates, are probably located in the core region of ClYVV coat protein as these MAbs reacted with the intact as well as truncated coat protein of ClYVV. Analysis, in Western blot immunoassay, of 17 MAbs raised against virions of JGMV revealed that only two MAbs (1-25 and 4-30) were JGMV-specific, whereas others displayed varying degrees of specificity to different potyviruses.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

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The relationship of the Morocco isolate of watermelon mosaic virus (WMV) to WMV2, soybean mosaic virus (a virus closely related to WMV2) and the W strain of papaya ringspot virus (PRSV-W), formerly WMV1, was examined by comparing tryptic peptide profiles using high performance liquid chromatography. The profiles indicated that the coat protein sequence of WMV-Morocco differed substantially from those of the other potyviruses. This conclusion was supported by sequence data from five tryptic peptides from the coat protein of WMV-Morocco, which showed only 61-68% identity to equivalent sequences in PRSV-W, WMV2 and zucchini yellow mosaic, another potyvirus infecting cucurbits. Based on the above data, and on known correlations between coat protein sequence similarities and potyvirus relationship, it is concluded that WMV-Morocco should be regarded as a distinct potyvirus.

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Hydrophilic peptides generated from enzymic fragmentation of proteins are difficult to purify because they are either weakly bound or unretained by the reversed phase C18 columns favoured for liquid chromatographic separation of peptide mixtures. To overcome this difficulty, peptides that were not bound or only weakly bound by a C18 RP column were reacted with phenyl isothiocyanate (PITC), as used in the initial step in Edman sequencing. The hydrophobic phenylthiocarbamyl (PTC) peptide derivatives produced by the reaction were rechromatographed on the same column. Peptides generated by tryptic digestion of equine cytochrome C were used as a model system to test whether a complete set of peptide fragments could be purified by this method using just one column and solvent system. All the expected hydrophobic tryptic peptides bound to the RP column and were resolved by elution with acetonitrile, but no hydrophilic peptides were recovered as pure fractions. The column breakthrough fraction was reacted with PITC and rechromatographed on the same column, producing a profile consisting of 19 bound peaks. Further rechromatography of some of the fractions at different column temperatures enabled all six of the expected hydrophilic peptides to be purified and identified. The technique has also been applied to the sequence determination of coat protein from peanut stripe potyvirus protein, eight hydrophilic tryptic peptides being recovered and identified as PTC derivatives.

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The N-terminal region of the coat proteins of five strains (Isis, Brisbane, Sabi, Bundaberg, and BC) of sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) isolated from four different plant species (sugarcane, sabi grass, wild sorghum, and blue couch grass) have been compared with the previously published data for SCMV-SC and SCMV-MDB, isolated from sugarcane and maize, respectively. The region, beginning at residue 11 and ending 16 residues beyond the second trypsin cleavage site of the coat protein, varied in size from 68 amino acid residues (Bundaberg) to 115 residues (BC) and contained repeat sequence motifs. Comparisons of the sequence identity and the nature of the repeats in the seven sequences showed that there were five different sequence patterns. These could be grouped further into three subsets which appeared to correlate with the host range of the strains. SCMV-Brisbane, SC, and Isis, isolated from sugarcane, showed almost identical sequence patterns and formed one subset. The other four strains had different sequence patterns and could be grouped further into a Sabi and Bundaberg subset (isolated from sabi grass), and a BC and MDB subset.

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The complete nucleotide sequence of the RNA genome of Johnsongrass mosaic virus (JGMV), which infects monocotyledonous plant species, has been determined from cloned viral cDNAs. The JGMV genomic RNA is 9,766 nucleotides in length, excluding the poly (A) tail, and contains a large open reading frame that codes for a polyprotein of 3,052 amino acids. The open reading frame is flanked by a 5' untranslated region of 135 and a 3' untranslated region of 475 nucleotides. A comparison of the JGMV polyprotein with the sequences of other members of the Potyvirus genus allowed the delineation of putative proteolytic cleavage sites. This comparison also showed that JGMV has a genome organization that is similar to other members of the genus Potyvirus. As with other potyviruses, the JGMV P1 and P3 proteins were found to be the most variable and the NIb protein the most conserved when compared with the corresponding proteins of other potyviruses. JGMV differed from other members of the genus Potyvirus in the amino acid at the -1 position of the putative cleavage sites of the NIa proteinase. The putative cleavage site for P3/CI, CI/NIa, NIa/NIb, and NIa-VPg/NIa-Pro in the JGMV polyprotein each contained a glutamate at the -1 position which is glutamine in most other potyviruses. Glutamate at the -1 position has also been observed at the CI/NIa-VPg junction of pea seed borne mosaic virus and turnip mosaic virus and at the NIb/CP junction of papaya ringspot virus polyproteins.

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The interrelationship of a number of potyviruses infecting legumes has been investigated by comparing molecular properties of their coat proteins. Comparison of the coat proteins by the techniques of amino acid analysis and PAGE was inadequate to distinguish strains from distinct potyviruses. However, high-performance liquid chromatographic peptide profiles of tryptic digests of coat proteins of these legume-infecting potyviruses enabled such assignments to be made. These data indicate that amino acid sequences of coat proteins of azuki bean mosaic virus, the Type and W strains of blackeye cowpea mosaic virus, three isolates (74, PM, PN) of a potyvirus obtained from soybean in Taiwan, and the Blotch and Mild Mottle strains of peanut stripe virus (PStV) may be very similar to the known sequence of PStV Stripe coat protein. In contrast, peptide profiles of coat proteins from soybean mosaic virus, clover yellow vein virus, bean yellow mosaic virus, potato virus Y, and tobacco etch virus were dissimilar to each other and to the profile of PStV Stripe, suggesting that their coat protein sequences were also quite different. Based on observations of the coat protein structure of many potyviruses, the results suggest that the potyvirus isolates with similar coat proteins are strains of the same potyvirus.

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Nucleic acid hybridization with the 3' non-coding region of the potyvirus genome as the probe was shown to be a relatively simple means of distinguishing between distinct potyviruses and their strains. Comparisons of the nucleotide sequences of potyvirus genomes (ignoring gaps) showed that the degree of identity between equivalent genes of strains was greater than 96%, while between distinct potyviruses the identity ranged from 42% to 65%, suggesting that any extended sequence could be considered representative of the whole genome and be suitable as a diagnostic probe. The comparisons however, also revealed that some parts of the genome, but not the 3' non-coding region, had local regions of high sequence identity that could lead to cross-hybridization between distinct potyviruses. For this reason, and because its location immediately upstream of the poly(A) tail makes it the most accessible region for the purpose of cloning and sequencing, the 3' non-coding sequence should be most suitable for use as a diagnostic probe. Successful hybridizations (using radiolabeled, polymerase chain reaction-amplified 3' non-coding sequences) have been achieved by probing recombinant clones, purified potyviral RNA, partially purified total RNA from infected plants, and a crude extract of infected plant tissue. The method has been used to support the proposals that watermelon mosaic virus 2 and soybean mosaic virus-N are both strains of the same virus, and to discriminate between several isolates previously believed to be strains of sugarcane mosaic virus. The method should have wide application as a means of differentiating distinct potyviruses from strains.

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The coat protein (CP) of strain SC of sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV-SC) was expressed transiently in sugarcane protoplasts after electroporation with one of two plasmids encoding the CP gene. The CP gene was fused with either the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter or the synthetic monocotyledon promoter "Emu". The coat protein gene was also inducibly expressed in Escherichia coli when fused to the trc promoter. The protein expressed in both systems had the same electrophoretic mobility and antigenic specificity as purified SCMV-SC coat protein. Transient expression of the 35S-CP gene in protoplasts could only be demonstrated in Western blots developed with the chemiluminescence enzyme substrate luminol.

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The sequences of the 3' 1019 nucleotides of the genome of an atypical strain of bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV-S) and of the 3' 1018 nucleotides of the clover yellow vein virus (CYVV-B) genome have been determined. These sequences contain the complete coding region of the viral coat protein followed by a 3' non-coding region of 173 and 178 nucleotides for BYMV-S and CYVV-B, respectively. When the deduced amino acid sequences of the coat protein coding regions were compared, a sequence identity of 77% was found between the two viruses, and optimal alignment of the 3' untranslated regions of BYMV-S and CYVV-B gave a 65% identity. However, the degree of homology of the amino acid sequences of coat proteins of BYMV-S with the published sequences for three other strains of BYMV ranged from 88% to 94%, while the sequence homology of the 3' untranslated regions between the four strains of BYMV ranged between 86% and 95%. Amplified DNA probes corresponding to the 3' non-coding regions of BYMV-S and CYVV-B showed strong hybridization only with the strains of their respective viruses and not with strains of other potyviruses, including pea mosaic virus (PMV). The relatively low sequence identities between the BYMV-S and CYVV-B coat proteins and their 3' non-coding regions, together with the hybridization results, indicate that BYMV, CYVV, and PMV are distinct potyviruses.

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The deduced coat protein sequence of the K strain of passionfruit woodiness virus differed significantly, particularly in the N terminus, from the sequences of the TB, M, and S strains of the virus. An antiserum that reacted strongly with the TB, M, and S strains reacted very poorly with the K strain.

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The feasibility of applying molecular phylogenetic methods of analysis to aligned coat-protein sequences and other molecular data derived from coat proteins or genomic sequences of members of the proposed taxonomic family of Potyviridae, is discussed. We show that comparative sequence analysis of whole coat-protein sequences may be used reliably to differentiate between sequences of closely related strains, and to show groupings of more distantly related viruses; that coat proteins of putative Potyviridae cluster according to the proposed generic divisions, and, even if some are only very distantly related, the members of the family form a cluster distinct from coat proteins of other filamentous and rod-shaped viruses. Taxonomic revisions based on perceived evolutionary relationships, and the lack of feasibility of erecting higher taxa for these viruses, are discussed.

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