Volume 18, Number 9—September 2012
Dispatch
Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus Virophage Seroconversion in Travelers Returning from Laos
Figure

Figure. . . Two-dimensional (2-D) gel electrophoresis with silver stain results (on left) and Western blot results (on right) for 3 serum samples from patients who had visited Laos. The proteins were resolved by using 10% sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (Protean II xi chamber; Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA). After migration, the gels were processed either by a silver-staining method compatible with mass spectrometry (4) or by transfer onto nitrocellulose membranes in a semidry blotting apparatus (Semi-Phor unit; Hoefer Scientific Instruments, San Francisco, CA, USA). The membranes were probed with horseradish peroxidase–conjugated goat anti-human secondary antibodies (Southern Biotech, Birmingham, AL, USA), and detection was achieved by enhanced chemiluminescence (ECL; GE Healthcare, Vélizy, France). APM, Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus; ORF, open reading frame; A. castellani, Acanthamoeba castellani.
References
- La Scola B, Audic S, Robert C, Jungang L, De Lamballerie X, Drancourt M, A giant virus in amoebae. Science. 2003;299:2033. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
- La Scola B, Desnues C, Pagnier I, Robert C, Barrassi L, Fournous G, The virophage as a unique parasite of the giant mimivirus. Nature. 2008;455:100–4. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
- Raoult D, La Scola B, Birtles R. The discovery and characterization of mimivirus, the largest known virus and putative pneumonia agent. Clin Infect Dis. 2007;45:95–102. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
- Nesterenko MV, Tilley M, Upton SJ. A simple modification of Blum's silver strain method allows for 30 minutes detection of proteins in polyacrylamide gels. J Biochem Biophys Methods. 1994;28:239–42. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
- La Scola B, Mezi L, Weiller PJ, Raoult D. Isolation of Legionella anisa using an amoebal coculture procedure. J Clin Microbiol. 2001;39:365–6. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
- Sun S, Chen J, Li W, Altintas I, Lin A, Peltier S, Community cyberinfrastructure for Advanced Microbial Ecology Research and Analysis: the CAMERA resource. Nucleic Acids Res. 2011;39:D546–51. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
- Sripa B, Kaewkes S, Intapan PM, Maleewong W, Brindley PJ. Food-borne trematodiases in Southeast Asia: epidemiology, pathology, clinical manifestation and control. Adv Parasitol. 2010;72:305–50. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
- Pelletier N, Raoult D, La Scola B. Specific recognition of the major capsid protein of Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus by sera of patients infected by Francisella tularensis. FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2009;297:117–23. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
- La Scola B, Campocasso A, N'Dong R, Fournous G, Barrassi L, Flaudrops C, Tentative characterization of new environmental giant viruses by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Intervirology. 2010;53:344–53. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
- Yau S, Lauro FM, DeMaere MZ, Brown MV, Thomas T, Raftery MJ, Virophage control of antarctic algal host–virus dynamics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011;108:6163–8. Epub 2011 Mar 28. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
- Fischer MG, Suttle CA. A virophage at the origin of large DNA transposons. Science. 2011;332:231–4.
- Lamoth F, Greub G. Amoebal pathogens as emerging causal agents of pneumonia. FEMS Microbiol Rev. 2010;34:260–80. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
- Colson P, Raoult D. Is Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus an emerging causative agent of pneumonia? In: Scheld WM, Grayson ML, Hughes J, editors. Emerging infections 9. Washington (DC):ASM Press; 2010. p. 52–72.
- Vincent A, La Scola B, Papazian L. Advances in mimivirus pathogenicity. Intervirology. 2010;53:304–9. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
- Stenzel DJ, Boreham PF. Virus-like particles in Blastocystis sp. from simian faecal material. Int J Parasitol. 1997;27:345–8. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
1These authors contributed equally to this article.