Physical polymer matrices based on affinity interactions between peptides and polysaccharides

A rapidly forming polymer matrix with affinity-based controlled release properties was developed based upon interactions between heparin-binding peptides and heparin. Dynamic mechanical testing of 10% (w/v) compositions consisting of a 3:1 molar ratio of poly(ethylene glycol)-co-peptide (approximately 18,000 g/mol) to heparin (approximately 18,000 g/mol) revealed a viscoelastic profile similar to that of concentrated, large molecular weight polymer solutions and melts. In addition, the biopolymer mixtures recovered quickly following thermal denaturation and mechanical insult. These gel-like materials were able to sequester exogenous heparin-binding peptides and could release these peptides over several days at rates dependent on relative heparin affinity. The initial release rates ranged from 3.3% per hour for a peptide with low heparin affinity to 0.025% per hour for a peptide with strong heparin affinity. By altering the affinity of peptides to heparin, a series of peptides can be developed to yield a range of release profiles useful for controlled in vivo delivery of therapeutics.     

Developing a Workflow to Identify Inconsistencies in Volunteered Geographic Information: A Phenological Case Study

Recent improvements in online information communication and mobile location-aware technologies have led to the production of large volumes of volunteered geographic information. Widespread, large-scale efforts by volunteers to collect data can inform and drive scientific advances in diverse fields, including ecology and climatology. Traditional workflows to check the quality of such volunteered information can be costly and time consuming as they heavily rely on human interventions. However, identifying factors that can influence data quality, such as inconsistency, is crucial when these data are used in modeling and decision-making frameworks. Recently developed workflows use simple statistical approaches that assume that the majority of the information is consistent. However, this assumption is not generalizable, and ignores underlying geographic and environmental contextual variability that may explain apparent inconsistencies. Here we describe an automated workflow to check inconsistency based on the availability of contextual environmental information for sampling locations. The workflow consists of three steps: (1) dimensionality reduction to facilitate further analysis and interpretation of results, (2) model-based clustering to group observations according to their contextual conditions, and (3) identification of inconsistent observations within each cluster. The workflow was applied to volunteered observations of flowering in common and cloned lilac plants (Syringa vulgaris and Syringa x chinensis) in the United States for the period 1980 to 2013. About 97% of the observations for both common and cloned lilacs were flagged as consistent, indicating that volunteers provided reliable information for this case study. Relative to the original dataset, the exclusion of inconsistent observations changed the apparent rate of change in lilac bloom dates by two days per decade, indicating the importance of inconsistency checking as a key step in data quality assessment for volunteered geographic information. Initiatives that leverage volunteered geographic information can adapt this workflow to improve the quality of their datasets and the robustness of their scientific analyses.     

A Phase I Trial of DFMO Targeting Polyamine Addiction in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Neuroblastoma

BackgroundNeuroblastoma (NB) is the most common cancer in infancy and most frequent cause of death from extracranial solid tumors in children. Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) expression is an independent indicator of poor prognosis in NB patients. This study investigated safety, response, pharmacokinetics, genetic and metabolic factors associated with ODC in a clinical trial of the ODC inhibitor difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) ± etoposide for patients with relapsed or refractory NB.ConclusionsDFMO doses of 500-1500mg/m2/day are safe and well tolerated in children with relapsed NB. Children with the minor T allele at rs2302616 of the ODC gene with relapsed or refractory NB had higher levels of urinary polyamine markers and responded better to therapy containing DFMO, compared to those with the major G allele at this locus. These findings suggest that this patient subset may display dependence on polyamines and be uniquely susceptible to therapies targeting this pathway.

Trial Registration

Clinicaltrials.gov NCT#01059071     

Identification of a New Hesperornithiform from the Cretaceous Niobrara Chalk and Implications for Ecologic Diversity among Early Diving Birds

The Smoky Hill Member of the Niobrara Chalk in Kansas (USA) has yielded the remains of numerous members of the Hesperornithiformes, toothed diving birds from the late Early to Late Cretaceous. This study presents a new taxon of hesperornithiform from the Smoky Hill Member, Fumicollis hoffmani, the holotype of which is among the more complete hesperornithiform skeletons. Fumicollis has a unique combination of primitive (e.g. proximal and distal ends of femur not expanded, elongate pre-acetabular ilium, small and pyramidal patella) and derived (e.g. dorsal ridge on metatarsal IV, plantarly-projected curve in the distal shaft of phalanx III:1) hesperornithiform characters, suggesting it was more specialized than small hesperornithiforms like Baptornis advenus but not as highly derived as the larger Hesperornis regalis. The identification of Fumicollis highlights once again the significant diversity of hesperornithiforms that existed in the Late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway. This diversity points to the existence of a complex ecosystem, perhaps with a high degree of niche partitioning, as indicated by the varying degrees of diving specializations among these birds.     

Three Novel Herpesviruses of Endangered Clemmys and Glyptemys Turtles

The rich diversity of the world’s reptiles is at risk due to significant population declines of broad taxonomic and geographic scope. Significant factors attributed to these declines include habitat loss, pollution, unsustainable collection and infectious disease. To investigate the presence and significance of a potential pathogen on populations of critically endangered bog turtles (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) as well sympatric endangered wood (G. insculpta) and endangered spotted (Clemmys guttata) turtles in the northeastern United States, choanal and cloacal swabs collected from 230 turtles from 19 sites in 5 states were screened for herpesvirus by polymerase chain reaction. We found a high incidence of herpesvirus infection in bog turtles (51.5%; 105/204) and smaller numbers of positive wood (5) and spotted (1) turtles. Sequence and phylogenetic analysis revealed three previously uncharacterized alphaherpesviruses. Glyptemys herpesvirus 1 was the predominant herpesvirus detected and was found exclusively in bog turtles in all states sampled. Glyptemys herpesvirus 2 was found only in wood turtles. Emydid herpesvirus 2 was found in a small number of bog turtles and a single spotted turtle from one state. Based on these findings, Glyptemys herpesvirus 1 appears to be a common infection in the study population, whereas Glyptemys herpesvirus 2 and Emydid herpesvirus 2 were not as frequently detected. Emydid herpesvirus 2 was the only virus detected in more than one species. Herpesviruses are most often associated with subclinical or mild infections in their natural hosts, and no sampled turtles showed overt signs of disease at sampling. However, infection of host-adapted viruses in closely related species can result in significant disease. The pathogenic potential of these viruses, particularly Emydid herpesvirus 2, in sympatric chelonians warrants additional study in order to better understand the relationship of these viruses with their endangered hosts.     

Characterization of a novel organelle in Toxoplasma gondii with similar composition and function to the plant vacuole

Toxoplasma gondii belongs to the phylum Apicomplexa and is an important cause of congenital disease and infection in immunocompromised patients. Like most apicomplexans, T. gondii possesses several plant‐like features, such as the chloroplast‐like organelle, the apicoplast. We describe and characterize a novel organelle in T. gondii tachyzoites, which is visible by light microscopy and possesses a broad similarity to the plant vacuole. Electron tomography shows the interaction of this vacuole with other organelles. The presence of a plant‐like vacuolar proton pyrophosphatase (TgVP1), a vacuolar proton ATPase, a cathepsin L‐like protease (TgCPL), an aquaporin (TgAQP1), as well as Ca²⁺/H⁺ and Na⁺/H⁺ exchange activities, supports similarity to the plant vacuole. Biochemical characterization of TgVP1 in enriched fractions shows a functional similarity to the respective plant enzyme. The organelle is a Ca²⁺ store and appears to have protective effects against salt stress potentially linked to its sodium transport activity. In intracellular parasites, the organelle fragments, with some markers colocalizing with the late endosomal marker, Rab7, suggesting its involvement with the endocytic pathway. Studies on the characterization of this novel organelle will be relevant to the identification of novel targets for chemotherapy against T. gondii and other apicomplexan parasites as well.     

Plasmodium pyruvate dehydrogenase activity is only essential for the parasite's progression from liver infection to blood infection

Plasmodium parasites possess a single pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) enzyme complex that is localized to the plastid‐like organelle known as the apicoplast. Unlike most eukaryotes, Plasmodium parasites lack a mitochondrial PDH. The PDH complex catalyses the conversion of pyruvate to acetyl‐CoA, an important precursor for the tricarboxylic acid cycle and type II fatty acid synthesis (FAS II). In this study, using a rodent malaria model, we show that the PDH E1α and E3 subunits colocalize with the FAS II enzyme FabI in the apicoplast of liver stages but are not significantly expressed in blood stages. Deletion of the E1α or E3 subunit genes of Plasmodium yoelii PDH caused no defect in blood stage development, mosquito stage development or early liver stage development. However, the gene deletions completely blocked the ability of the e1α^‐ and e3^‐ parasites to form exo‐erythrocytic merozoites during late liver stage development, thus preventing the initiation of a blood stage infection. This phenotype is similar to that observed for deletions of genes involved in FAS II elongation. The data strongly support the hypothesis that the sole role of PDH is to provide acetyl‐CoA for FAS II.