As an enveloped virus buds, the nascent viral capsid becomes wrapped in a plasma membrane-derived... more As an enveloped virus buds, the nascent viral capsid becomes wrapped in a plasma membrane-derived lipid envelope, and a membrane fission event is thus necessary to separate the virion from the host cell. This membrane fission event is well characterised in the case of enveloped RNA viruses, where it is promoted by late assembly domains (L-domains) present at the level of specific viral structural proteins. Research conducted over the past 10 years has demonstrated that L-domains represent docking sites for cellular proteins essential for the biogenesis of a cellular organelle, the multivesicular body (MVB). In this way, enveloped RNA viruses hijack the MVB components to the cellular site where the budding is executed. This review will focus on the cellular machinery exploited by enveloped RNA viruses in order to be released from infected cells. The role of ubiquitin and lipids in viral budding will also be discussed.
Human and avian influenza A viruses, associated with seasonal epidemics and occasionally with pan... more Human and avian influenza A viruses, associated with seasonal epidemics and occasionally with pandemics, have a high impact on public health. The development of new antivirals to counteract the emergence of drug resistant influenza virus variants is a main concern. The aim of this study was to develop systems for the efficient and stable expression of small therapeutic RNAs into influenza virus infected cells in order to get further insights on the efficacy of nucleic acid-based antiviral strategies. To this end, lentiviral vectors expressing either microRNAs or antisense-RNAs targeting the 5' end of the PA, PB1 and PB2 influenza virus genomic sequences were generated. Derivative recombinant lentiviral particles were employed to transduce the influenza virus highly susceptible human alveolar basal epithelial A549 cells. The expression of both RNA molecules led to a reduction up to 3 logs of the viral titer when transduced A549 cells were challenged with different human and avian subtypes of influenza type A virus. Importantly, no inhibition of influenza type B virus was observed. Overall our data support the development of nucleic acid-based antiviral strategies to control human and avian influenza A virus infection.
This paper reports the multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of 57 C. jejuni and C. coli isolates fro... more This paper reports the multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of 57 C. jejuni and C. coli isolates from humans and chickens in Italy and the identification of 17 new sequence types (STs). A high genetic diversity was detected among C. jejuni/C. coli and human/chicken isolates, with a predominance of clonal complexes CC21 and CC828. Although human STs were not the same as those found in chickens, 3 CCs overlapped between human and chicken isolates. Genotyping of Campylobacter strains by MLST should be encouraged in order to implement surveillance and con- trol of infection in humans and in animal reservoirs in Italy.
The 9th annual meeting of the Italian Society for Virology (SIV) comprised seven plenary sessions... more The 9th annual meeting of the Italian Society for Virology (SIV) comprised seven plenary sessions focused on: General virology and viral genetics; Virus-Host interaction and pathogenesis; Viral oncology; Emerging viruses and zoonotic, foodborne, and environmental pathways of transmission; Viral immunology and vaccines; Medical virology and antiviral therapy; Viral biotechnologies and gene therapy. Moreover, four hot topics were discussed in special lectures: the Pioneer in human virology lecture regarding the control of viral epidemics with particular emphasis on the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the Pioneer in plant virology lecture focused on cell responses to plant virus infection, a Keynote lecture on the epidemiology and genetic diversity of Crimea-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus, and the G.B. Rossi lecture on the molecular basis and clinical implications of human cytomegalovirus tropism for endothelial/epithelial cells. The meeting had an attendance of about 160 virologists. A summary of the plenary lectures and oral selected presentations is reported.
As an enveloped virus buds, the nascent viral capsid becomes wrapped in a plasma membrane-derived... more As an enveloped virus buds, the nascent viral capsid becomes wrapped in a plasma membrane-derived lipid envelope, and a membrane fission event is thus necessary to separate the virion from the host cell. This membrane fission event is well characterised in the case of enveloped RNA viruses, where it is promoted by late assembly domains (L-domains) present at the level of specific viral structural proteins. Research conducted over the past 10 years has demonstrated that L-domains represent docking sites for cellular proteins essential for the biogenesis of a cellular organelle, the multivesicular body (MVB). In this way, enveloped RNA viruses hijack the MVB components to the cellular site where the budding is executed. This review will focus on the cellular machinery exploited by enveloped RNA viruses in order to be released from infected cells. The role of ubiquitin and lipids in viral budding will also be discussed.
Human and avian influenza A viruses, associated with seasonal epidemics and occasionally with pan... more Human and avian influenza A viruses, associated with seasonal epidemics and occasionally with pandemics, have a high impact on public health. The development of new antivirals to counteract the emergence of drug resistant influenza virus variants is a main concern. The aim of this study was to develop systems for the efficient and stable expression of small therapeutic RNAs into influenza virus infected cells in order to get further insights on the efficacy of nucleic acid-based antiviral strategies. To this end, lentiviral vectors expressing either microRNAs or antisense-RNAs targeting the 5' end of the PA, PB1 and PB2 influenza virus genomic sequences were generated. Derivative recombinant lentiviral particles were employed to transduce the influenza virus highly susceptible human alveolar basal epithelial A549 cells. The expression of both RNA molecules led to a reduction up to 3 logs of the viral titer when transduced A549 cells were challenged with different human and avian subtypes of influenza type A virus. Importantly, no inhibition of influenza type B virus was observed. Overall our data support the development of nucleic acid-based antiviral strategies to control human and avian influenza A virus infection.
This paper reports the multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of 57 C. jejuni and C. coli isolates fro... more This paper reports the multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of 57 C. jejuni and C. coli isolates from humans and chickens in Italy and the identification of 17 new sequence types (STs). A high genetic diversity was detected among C. jejuni/C. coli and human/chicken isolates, with a predominance of clonal complexes CC21 and CC828. Although human STs were not the same as those found in chickens, 3 CCs overlapped between human and chicken isolates. Genotyping of Campylobacter strains by MLST should be encouraged in order to implement surveillance and con- trol of infection in humans and in animal reservoirs in Italy.
The 9th annual meeting of the Italian Society for Virology (SIV) comprised seven plenary sessions... more The 9th annual meeting of the Italian Society for Virology (SIV) comprised seven plenary sessions focused on: General virology and viral genetics; Virus-Host interaction and pathogenesis; Viral oncology; Emerging viruses and zoonotic, foodborne, and environmental pathways of transmission; Viral immunology and vaccines; Medical virology and antiviral therapy; Viral biotechnologies and gene therapy. Moreover, four hot topics were discussed in special lectures: the Pioneer in human virology lecture regarding the control of viral epidemics with particular emphasis on the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the Pioneer in plant virology lecture focused on cell responses to plant virus infection, a Keynote lecture on the epidemiology and genetic diversity of Crimea-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus, and the G.B. Rossi lecture on the molecular basis and clinical implications of human cytomegalovirus tropism for endothelial/epithelial cells. The meeting had an attendance of about 160 virologists. A summary of the plenary lectures and oral selected presentations is reported.
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Papers by Cristiano Salata