Rasa Petraityte-burneikiene - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Rasa Petraityte-burneikiene

Journal of Neuroimmunology, 2020

Antibody indices to Measles, Mumps, Varicella Zoster (MRZ) are of diagnostic value in multiple sc... more Antibody indices to Measles, Mumps, Varicella Zoster (MRZ) are of diagnostic value in multiple sclerosis (MS). Here, we have investigated, if this panel could be extended to increase diagnostic value. Samples from relapsing-remitting (RR) MS and optic neuritis (ON) patients were tested for reactivity to antigens from Epstein-Barr, Varicella Zoster, Measles, Mumps and Rubella (EMMRZ) viruses. Increased IgG levels in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were found in RRMS patients, along with a significant correlation between serum and CSF. The sensitivity of the EMMRZ panel was increased approximately 40% compared to the MRZ panel, suggesting that the EMMRZ panel may be useful in MS and ON diagnostics.

Infection, Genetics and Evolution, Jun 1, 2021

Introduction: Anaemia is common in haemodialysis patients and treating it with erythropoiesis-sti... more Introduction: Anaemia is common in haemodialysis patients and treating it with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) is complex due to many factors. Objectives: To assess the usefulness of the anaemia control model (ACM) in the treatment of anaemia in haemodialysis. Methods: ACM is a software that predicts the optimal dose of darbepoetin and iron sucrose to achieve target haemoglobin (Hb) and ferritin levels, and makes prescription suggestions. Study conducted in dialysis clinics lasting 18 months with two intervention phases (IPs) with ACM (IP1, n: 213; IP2, n: 218) separated by a control phase (CP, n: 219). The primary outcome was the percentage of Hb in range and the median dose of ESAs, and the secondary outcomes were transfusion, hospitalisation and cardiovascular events. Clinical and patient analyses were performed. Hb variability was assessed by the standard deviation (SD) of the Hb. We also analysed the patients with most of the suggestions confirmed (ACM compliant group). Results: ACM increased the percentage of Hb in range: 80.9% in IP2, compared with 72.7% in the CP and reduced the intake of darbepoetin (IP1: 20 [70]; CP 30 [80] g, p = 0.032) with less Hb fluctuation (0.91 ± 0.49 in the CP to 0.82 ± 0.37 g/dl in IP2, p < 0.05), improving in the ACM compliant group. The secondary outcomes decreased with the use of ACM. Conclusions: ACM helps to obtain better anaemia results in haemodialysis patients, minimising the risks of treatment with ESAs and reducing costs.

Virus Research, 2021

This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

BMC Veterinary Research, Sep 15, 2015

Background: Schmallenberg virus (SBV), discovered in continental Europe in late 2011, causes mild... more Background: Schmallenberg virus (SBV), discovered in continental Europe in late 2011, causes mild clinical signs in adult ruminants, including diarrhoea and reduced milk yield. However, fetal infection can lead to severe malformation in newborn offspring. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) are commercially available for detection of SBV-specific antibodies in bovine sera and milk. Here we describe the development and evaluation of an indirect ELISA based on a yeast derived recombinant SBV nucleocapsid protein (N) for the detection of SBV-specific antibodies in bovine saliva. Development of a non-invasive test to detect antibodies in individual bovine saliva samples could potentially provide a test suitable for calves and adult cattle. The aim of this study was to investigate the agreement between the levels of antibodies (IgG) measured in milk and sera, and the level of antibodies (IgG and IgA) in saliva, in comparison with the antibody levels detected in sera and milk with commercially available test. Results: Serum, milk and saliva samples from 58 cows were collected from three dairy herds in Lithuania and tested for the presence of SBV-specific antibodies. The presence of IgG antibodies was tested in parallel serum and milk samples, while the presence of IgA and IgG antibodies was tested in saliva samples. The presence of SBV-specific IgG and IgA in saliva was tested using an indirect ELISA based on a yeast-derived recombinant N protein. The presence of SBV-specific IgG in milk and sera was tested in parallel using a commercial recombinant protein based test. The sensitivities of the newly developed tests were as follows: 96 % for the IgG serum assay and 94 % for the IgG milk assay and 85 % and 98 % for IgG and IgA in saliva tests, when compared with data generated by a commercial IgG assay. Conclusions: Data from testing the saliva IgG and IgA and also the milk and serum IgG with indirect SBV-specific ELISAs showed close agreement with the commercial serum and milk IgG assay data. The level of IgG in saliva was notably lower in comparison to IgA. The newly developed method exhibits the potential to serve as an easily transferable tool for epidemiological studies.

Viruses, Feb 7, 2023

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Virus Genes, Oct 1, 2019

Vole-associated hantaviruses occur in the Old and New World. Tula orthohantavirus (TULV) is widel... more Vole-associated hantaviruses occur in the Old and New World. Tula orthohantavirus (TULV) is widely distributed throughout the European continent in its reservoir, the common vole (Microtus arvalis), but the virus was also frequently detected in field voles (Microtus agrestis) and other vole species. TULV and common voles are absent from Great Britain. However, field voles there harbor Tatenale and Kielder hantaviruses. Here we screened 126 field voles and 13 common voles from Brandenburg, Germany, for hantavirus infections. One common vole and four field voles were anti-TULV antibody and/or TULV RNA positive. In one additional, seropositive field vole a novel hantavirus sequence was detected. The partial S and L segment nucleotide sequences were only 61.1% and 75.6% identical to sympatrically occurring TULV sequences, but showed highest similarity of approximately 80% to British Tatenale and Kielder hantaviruses. Subsequent determination of the entire nucleocapsid (N), glycoprotein (GPC), and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase encoding sequences and determination of the pairwise evolutionary distance (PED) value for the concatenated N and GPC amino acid sequences confirmed a novel orthohantavirus species, tentatively named Traemmersee orthohantavirus. The identification of this novel hantavirus in a field vole from eastern Germany underlines the necessity of a large-scale, broad geographical hantavirus screening of voles to understand evolutionary processes of virus-host associations and host switches.

Viruses, Feb 14, 2023

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Jun 1, 2021

To generate a hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3 (HEV-3)-specific monoclonal antibody (mAb), the ... more To generate a hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3 (HEV-3)-specific monoclonal antibody (mAb), the Escherichia coli-expressed carboxy-terminal part of its capsid protein was used to immunise BALB/c mice. The immunisation resulted in the induction of HEV-specific antibodies of high titre. The mAb G117-AA4 of IgG1 isotype was obtained showing a strong reactivity with the homologous E. coli, but also yeast-expressed capsid protein of HEV-3. The mAb strongly cross-reacted with ratHEV capsid protein derivatives produced in both expression systems and weaker with an E. coli-expressed batHEV capsid protein fragment. In addition, the mAb reacted with capsid protein derivatives of genotypes HEV-2 and HEV-4 and common vole hepatitis E virus (cvHEV), produced by the cell-free synthesis in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) and Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf21) cell lysates. Western blot and line blot reactivity of the mAb with capsid protein derivatives of HEV-1 to HEV-4, cvHEV, ratHEV and batHEV suggested a linear epitope. Use of truncated derivatives of ratHEV capsid protein in ELISA, Western blot, and a Pepscan analysis allowed to map the epitope within a partially surface-exposed region with the amino acid sequence LYTSV. The mAb was also shown to bind to human patient-derived HEV-3 from infected cell culture and to hare HEV-3 and camel HEV-7 capsid proteins from transfected cells by immunofluorescence assay. The novel mAb may serve as a useful tool for further investigations on the pathogenesis of HEV infections and might be used for diagnostic purposes. Key points • The antibody showed cross-reactivity with capsid proteins of different hepeviruses. • The linear epitope of the antibody was mapped in a partially surface-exposed region. • The antibody detected native HEV-3 antigen in infected mammalian cells.

Journal of Biotechnology, Jun 1, 2023

Materials Science: An Indian Journal, Jan 12, 2019

Statement of the Problem: Current vaccines against infectious diseases have primarily relied on a... more Statement of the Problem: Current vaccines against infectious diseases have primarily relied on attenuated or inactivated pathogens. However, virus like particles (VLP) are used as vaccine platforms which are more favorable for their perfect defined structures; induction of strong immune response and also suitable for surface decoration by inserted foreign epitopes. While many icosahedral VLPs are synthesized in bacteria and the disadvantages such as lack of post-translational modifications are needed for eukaryotic proteins and contamination of purified VLPs with bacterial endotoxins are encountered. While icosahedral VLP platforms have been studied in detail but rod-shaped VLPs have been mostly forgotten. Until now, there is no information regarding the generation of tailed bacteriophage nanotubes in yeast. Aim: The research aims to generate nanotubes using yeast expressed bacteriophage tail proteins and determine their tolerance for genetic introduction of foreign epitopes. Methodology: DNA sequences coding tail proteins of bacteriophages NBD2, FV3 as well as RaK2 were cloned into yeast protein expression vectors. Synthesis of phage proteins was confirmed by protein electrophoresis and rod-shaped structures were analyzed by electron microscopy. Findings: Our work has focused on developing an alternative epitope presenting rod-shaped platform which could be used for biomedical applications. To our knowledge, it is the first attempt to produce bacteriophage originated nanotubes in yeast cells which determines their tolerance for genetically incorporated foreign epitopes. Yeast protein synthesis system allowed efficient generation of long and flexible nanotubes originated from NBD2 tailed bacteriophage as well as tubes with different morphology from RaK2 and FV3 phages. Conclusion & Significance: This work intends to show the suitability of yeast protein synthesis system to generate high yields of nanotubes that originate from tailed bacteriophages. The novel strategy presented here could provide safer vaccine candidates compared to the VLPs synthesized in bacteria.

Viruses

Hantaviruses are emerging pathogens with a worldwide distribution that can cause life-threatening... more Hantaviruses are emerging pathogens with a worldwide distribution that can cause life-threatening diseases in humans. Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against hantavirus nucleocapsid (N) proteins are important tools in virus diagnostics, epidemiological studies and basic research studies on virus replication and pathogenesis. Here, we extend the collection of previously generated MAbs raised against a segment of Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV) N protein harbored on virus-like particles (VLPs) and MAbs against N proteins of Sin Nombre orthohantavirus/Andes orthohantavirus by generating nine novel MAbs against N proteins of Dobrava-Belgrade orthohantavirus (DOBV), Tula orthohantavirus (TULV), Thottapalayam thottimvirus (TPMV) and PUUV. In order to have a wide collection of well-described hantavirus-specific MAbs, the cross-reactivity of novel and previously generated MAbs was determined against N proteins of 15 rodent- and shrew-borne hantaviruses by different immunological methods. We fou...

Comparison of the reference sera reactivity with various antigens using IgG ELISA. Positive, weak... more Comparison of the reference sera reactivity with various antigens using IgG ELISA. Positive, weak positive and negative bovine reference sera [18] were tested. Columns represent antibody response against SBV N antigen purified under native conditions (black colums), 6His-SBV N purified under denaturing conditions [16] (grey columns) and control hantavirus Andes N antigen [19] (white columns). The OD values are expressed as obtained in arbitrary units. Bars indicate average values plus standard deviation. (PDF 187 kb)

SEE PROFILE All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate,... more SEE PROFILE All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against viral glycoproteins have important diagnostic and therapeuti... more Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against viral glycoproteins have important diagnostic and therapeutic applications. In most cases, the MAbs specific to viral glycoproteins are raised against intact virus particles. The biosynthesis of viral glycoproteins in heterologous expression systems such as bacteria, yeast, insect or mammalian cells is often problematic due to their low expression level, improper folding and limited stability. To generate MAbs against hantavirus glycoprotein Gc, we have used initially a recombinant yeast-expressed full-length Puumala virus (PUUV) Gc protein. However, this approach was unsuccessful. As an alternative recombinant antigen, chimeric virus-like particles (VLPs) harboring a segment of PUUV Gc glycoprotein were generated in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A 99 amino acid (aa)-long segment of Gc protein was inserted into the major capsid protein VP1 of hamster polyomavirus at previously defined positions: either site #1 (aa 80-89) or site #4 (aa 280-289). The chimeric proteins were found to self-assemble to VLPs as

Virus Research, 2020

Virus-based nanoparticles constitute a promising platform for the creation of efficient vaccines ... more Virus-based nanoparticles constitute a promising platform for the creation of efficient vaccines and nanomaterials. Previously we demonstrated, that the recombinant tail tube protein gp39 of vB_EcoS_NBD2 bacteriophage self-assembles into extremely long (from 0.1 to >3.95 μm), flexible, and stable polytubes when produced in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To develop a tubular platform for multivalent display of foreign antigens, yeast-derived recombinant tail tube protein gp39 was chosen as a scaffold. The carboxy-terminal fusions of gp39 with various antigens up to 238 amino acids in length resulted in different synthesis efficiency and self-assembly capacity. Recombinant gp39 fused with green fluorescent protein (eGFP) comprising 238 amino acid residues was capable to self-assemble into short fluorescent polytubes with retained eGFP functional activity. By demonstrating the display of active foreign antigens on the exterior surface of polytubes, these structures may provide a promising tool for diverse applications in nanotechnology.

Infection, Genetics and Evolution, 2020