HBV infects its hosts at minimal inoculation doses and replicates exclusively in hepatocytes. The viral determinants for the pronounced species specificity and the high efficacy to address hepatocytes in vivo are unknown. Previous findings showed that N-terminally myristoylated peptides constituting a receptor binding Etomoxir price domain of the HBV large envelope (L)-protein block HBV entry in vitro and in vivo. Here we investigate the ability of such peptidic receptor ligands to target the liver. Injection of radioactively labeled HBVpreS-lipopeptides resulted in rapid accumulation in livers of mice, rats, and dogs but not cynomolgus monkeys.

Without lipid moiety the peptide was excreted by renal filtration, find more indicating its possible retention through the lipid by serum factors. Organ distribution studies of 26 HBVpreS peptide variants revealed a correlation of HBV infection inhibition activity and the ability to target mouse livers. Together with complementary studies using primary

hepatocytes of different species, we hypothesize that HBV hepatotropism is mediated through specific binding of the myristoylated N-terminal preS1-domain of the HBV L-protein to a hepatocyte specific receptor. Moreover, the restricted infectivity of HBV to human primates is not generally determined by the absence of this binding receptor in nonsusceptible hosts (e. g., mice) but related to postbinding step(s) (e. g., membrane fusion). Conclusion: HBVpreS-lipopeptides target to the liver. This observation has important clinical implications regarding the pharmacokinetic properties of Myrcludex B, the first entry inhibitor for HBV/HDV. In addition, this provides

the basis for the application of the peptides as vehicles for hepatocyte-specific drug targeting.”
“Elasmobranchs are thought to possess an acute sense of smell, but the relationship between the anatomy of their olfactory organs and their sensory ecology is poorly understood. Moreover, the ecological diversity of elasmobranchs as a group indicates that there Raf inhibition might be considerable interspecific variation in the importance of the olfactory sense. Wobbegong sharks, with their sedentary lifestyle and ambush predatory technique, probably utilize their senses differently than other shark species, making it difficult to generalize about their olfactory capabilities and olfaction-dependent behaviors. In this study, the number of olfactory lamellae and the surface area of the olfactory epithelium were measured as a means of assessing relative olfactory sensitivity in four species of wobbegong shark (the Western wobbegong, Orectolobus hutchinsi; the spotted wobbegong, O. maculatus; the ornate wobbegong, O. ornatus; and the dwarf spotted wobbegong, O. parvimaculatus). We also present a phylogenetic comparative analysis between wobbegongs and other elasmobranchs for which published data on olfactory morphology are available.