Histochemical study on the innervation of the heart of Pteropus giganteus.

Histochemical study of the innervation of the heart of the Indian flying fox Pteropus giganteus has been made using Coupland and Holmes' technique for cholinesterase. Distribution of nerve plexuses in the heart wall has been described. Nerve cells, nerve endings and various types of synapses have been reported. Specialized muscle fibres are found to contain less nerve fibres and conduction of the impulse of contraction is reported to take place through muscle fibres.     

Triple-FRET Technique for Energy Transfer Between Conjugated Polymer and TAMRA Dye with Possible Applications in Medical Diagnostics

Three-component Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) has been used to obtain efficient FRET between the cationic conjugated polymer (CCP) as donor and 5-carboxy tetramethylrhodamine (TAMRA) dye as acceptor, by using an intermediate donor, fluorescein. In spite of the fact that there is enough overlap between the emission spectra of CCP and absorption spectra of TAMRA, the efficiency of FRET between CCP and TAMRA is poor. The reason for this is that while the Förster critical distance is not very sensitive to the overlap, the FRET efficiency is extremely sensitive to it. However, it is observed that the FRET efficiency between CCP and TAMRA improves considerably when fluorescein is introduced in the solution. The triple FRET so obtained can be used for deoxyribonucleic acid sequence detection in medical diagnostics because the fluorescence emission from TAMRA is pH-insensitive.     

Indirect effect of IGF2 intron3 g.3072G>A mutation on prolificacy in sows

A QTL located in the paternally expressed insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) gene is known to increase muscle growth and reduce fat deposition in pigs. This makes the QTL in IGF2 a good marker for use in pig breeding programmes. However, care has to be taken as it is postulated that increased leanness and lowered fat deposition may have a negative effect on the prolificacy and longevity of sows. Selection of sire and dam lines for different alleles of the mutation in the paternally imprinted IGF2 gene could actually provide a solution to this problem. Therefore, in this study, the effect of the IGF2 QTL on prolificacy-related traits in sows was investigated. It was found that the paternal IGF2 wild-type allele was associated with higher reproduction performance in the sow. Moreover, it was also examined whether the difference in prolificacy in sows could be a consequence of differential IGF2 expression in the ovarian follicles of the sow or whether it is mainly a secondary effect caused by differences in fatness traits. Therefore, IGF2 expression was measured in follicles of different sizes from sows with different genotypes for the paternal IGF2 allele. It was observed that, however, while the size of the follicles was associated with follicular IGF2 expression level, the IGF2 genotype was not. It could be concluded that the difference in prolificacy of sows with a different paternal IGF2 genotype could be a secondary effect, resulting from differences in fat deposition.     

Inhibition of C-reactive protein induced expression of matrix metalloproteinases by atorvastatin in THP-1 cells

The role of CRP as a mediator in atherosclerosis and inflammation is being investigated worldwide. In the present study, the effect of CRP on matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-1, 2, 9, and their tissue inhibitor (TIMP-1) gene expression in THP-1 monocytic cell line was investigated. Specific mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinase (ERK, p38, and JNK) inhibitors were used to elucidate the signaling pathways involved. Effect of atorvastatin was determined in the presence of CRP on the expression of genes. Time and dose-dependent experiments were performed in the presence of CRP. The results showed that the treatment of THP-1 cells with 100 μg of CRP/ml/10⁶ cells for 24 h enhanced the expression of MMPs and TIMP-1 genes significantly. CRP upregulated the expression of these genes via FcγRII and utilized ERK signaling pathway to transduce signals. Atorvastatin was able to significantly attenuate CRP-induced MMPs expression and augmented TIMP-1 gene expression significantly. In conclusion, CRP is not only a risk marker for vascular events, but also directly involved in the mechanisms leading to remodeling and destabilization of atherosclerotic plaque. Also, atorvastatin serves as potential therapeutic modality to curb these harmful events.     

Manufacturing a chimpanzee adenovirus-vectored SARS-CoV-2 vaccine to meet global needs

Manufacturing has been the key factor limiting rollout of vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring rapid development and large-scale implementation of novel manufacturing technologies. ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222, Vaxzevria) is an efficacious vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, based upon an adenovirus vector. We describe the development of a process for the production of this vaccine and others based upon the same platform, including novel features to facilitate very large-scale production. We discuss the process economics and the “distributed manufacturing” approach we have taken to provide the vaccine at globally-relevant scale and with international security of supply. Together, these approaches have enabled the largest viral vector manufacturing campaign to date, providing a substantial proportion of global COVID-19 vaccine supply at low cost.