(C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Archaea often live in extreme, harsh environments such as acidic hot springs and hypersaline waters. To date, only two icosahedrally symmetric, membrane-containing archaeal viruses, SH1 and Sulfolobus turreted icosahedral virus (STIV), have been described in detail. We report the sequence and three-dimensional structure of a third such virus isolated from a hyperthermoacidophilic

crenarchaeon, Sulfolobus strain G4ST-2. Characterization Talazoparib cell line of this new isolate revealed it to be similar to STIV on the levels of genome and structural organization. The genome organization indicates that these two viruses have diverged from a common ancestor. Interestingly, the prominent surface turrets of the two viruses are strikingly different. By sequencing and mass spectrometry, we mapped several large insertions and deletions in the known structural proteins that could account for these differences and

showed that both viruses can infect the same host. A combination of genomic and proteomic analyses revealed important new insights into the structural organization of these viruses and added to our limited 8-Bromo-cAMP nmr knowledge of archaeal virus life cycles and host-cell interactions.”
“Serotonin (5-HT) syndrome is a potentially fatal condition associated with various combinations of serotonergic drugs. Hyperthermia is the most serious symptom PF-02341066 in vivo of this syndrome. Hyperthermia in 5-HT syndrome is reportedly the result of activation of 5-HT(2A) receptors. Mirtazapine is a novel antidepressant and a potent 5-HT(2) receptor antagonistic. Although mirtazapine has been reported to cause 5-HT syndrome, the pharmacological profile of mirtazapine suggests that it improves

hyperthermia in 5-HT syndrome. In the present study, we evaluated whether mirtazapine attenuates hyperthermia in a rat model of 5-HT syndrome. This model was induced by administration of tranylcypromine, a nonselective monoamine oxidase inhibitor, and fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Upon injection of these two drugs, the rectal temperature of the rats increased to over 40 degrees C. Pre- and post-administration of mirtazapine abolishes hyperthermia in this model of 5-HT syndrome. Post-administration of ritanserin, a 5-HT(2A) receptor antagonist, completely inhibited hyperthermia and pre-administration of WAY100635, a 5-HT(1A) receptor antagonist, significantly attenuated the ability of mirtazapine to abolish hyperthermia. The results of the present study suggest that mirtazapine inhibits hyperthermia in an animal model of 5-HT syndrome by blocking the activation of 5-HT(2A) receptors, and that it partly inhibits hyperthermia by activating the 5-HT(1A) receptors. The present study indicates that mirtazapine is unlikely to cause 5-HT syndrome and may be a useful drug for treating this condition. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.