355 results about "Defective virus" patented technology

This invention relates to genetically engineered Newcastle disease viruses and viral vectors which express heterologous genes or mutated Newcastle disease viral genes or a combination of viral genes derived from different strains of Newcastle disease virus. The invention relates to the construction and use of recombinant negative strand NDV viral RNA templates which may be used with viral RNA-directed RNA polymerase to express heterologous gene products in appropriate host cells and / or to rescue the heterologous gene in virus particles. In a specific embodiment of the invention, the heterologous gene product is a peptide or protein derived from the genome of a human immunodeficiency virus. The RNA templates of the present invention may be prepared by transcription of appropriate DNA sequences using any DNA-directed RNA polymerase such as bacteriophage T7, T3, SP6 polymerase, or eukaryotic polymerase I.

Compounds of formula I:wherein a, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 and R6 are defined herein, are useful as inhibitors of HIV replication.

Disclosed herein are compositions and methods for imaging nerve cells. The composition comprises a fluorescent dye; and a viral component selected from a neurotropic, replication-defective virus, a viral protein of a neurotropic virus, and a capsid of a neurotropic virus. Although the fluorescent dye in itself cannot penetrate nerve cells, the fluorescent dye is bound to the viral component to form a dye / viral component complex that is capable of penetrating nerve cells.

Methods are provided for screening natural and synthetic anti-HIV agents using recombinant cells that are rendered susceptible to productive infection of various strains, subtypes or clades of HIV from both laboratory and clinical isolates. The method comprises: taking a culture of recombinant cells in which at least one of the recombinant cells comprises a reporter sequence comprising a reporter gene whose expression is regulated by a protein specific to HIV, and a heterologous sequence which encodes CD4 and one or more additional cell surface receptors, wherein the heterologous sequence expresses CD4 and the one or more additional cell surface receptors at elevated levels as compared to the cell in the absence of expression by the heterologous sequence such that productive infection of the recombinant cell by HIV is achieved, which is defined by HIV viral replication and the infection of non-infected cells in the culture of the recombinant cells; contacting the cell culture with a sample containing HIV; adding a tester agent to the cell culture; and detecting a change in a level of expression of the reporter gene in the cells in the culture.

Compounds of formula I:wherein R4, R6 and R7 are defined herein, are useful as inhibitors of HIV replication.