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Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a disease characterized by expression ofAn RT-LAMP primer set was designed to detect three types ofPlasmid DNA was amplified by RT-LAMP, for which the reaction time was4 h shorter and the lower detection limit was higher than for nested RT-PCR. Six of 7 samples tested positive by both methods.We developed an RT-LAMP assay for simple and rapid

For patients with reactivation of human cytomegalovirus (CMV), a highly sensitive and accurate CMV quantification system is essential to monitor viral load.We constructed a real-time detection PCR (RTD-PCR) system for CMV DNA and evaluated its linearity, lower detection limit, dynamic range and accuracy using two CMV standards. We used 219 clinical samples derived from 101 patients to compare the system with the pp65 antigen test.The 95% detection limit was determined to be 556 IU/mL (95% CI, 440-797 IU/mL), and the quantification range was between 10We constructed the RTD-PCR system which enables accurate evaluation of CMV reactivation by monitoring of viral load in immunosuppressed or immunocompromised patients.

The 2-5A system is one of the major pathways for antiviral and antitumor functions that can be induced by interferons (IFNs). The 2-5A system is modulated by 5'-triphosphorylated, 2',5'-phosphodiester-linked oligoadenylates (2-5A), which are synthesized by 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetases (2',5'-OASs), inactivated by 5'-phosphatase and completely degraded by 2'-phosphodiesterase (2'-PDE). Generated 2-5A activates 2-5A-dependent endoribonuclease, RNase L, which induces RNA degradation in cells and finally apoptosis. Although 2',5'-OASs and RNase L have been molecularly cloned and studied well, the identification of 2'-PDE has remained elusive. Here, we describe the first identification of 2'-PDE, the third key enzyme of the 2-5A system. We found a putative 2'-PDE band on SDS-PAGE by successive six-step chromatographies from ammonium sulfate precipitates of bovine liver and identified a partial amino acid sequence of the human 2'-PDE by mass spectrometry. Based on the full-length sequence of the human 2'-PDE obtained by in silico expressed sequence tag assembly, the gene was cloned by reverse transcription-PCR. The recombinant human 2'-PDE expressed in mammalian cells certainly cleaved the 2',5'-phosphodiester bond of 2-5A trimer and 2-5A analogs. Because no sequences with high homology to this human 2'-PDE were found, the human 2'-PDE was considered to be a unique enzyme without isoform. Suppression of 2'-PDE by a small interfering RNA and a 2'-PDE inhibitor resulted in significant reduction of viral replication, whereas overexpression of 2'-PDE protected cells from IFN-induced antiproliferative activity. These observations identify 2'-PDE as a key regulator of the 2-5A system and as a potential novel target for antiviral and antitumor treatments.