Ghrelin Receptor (GHS-R1A) Antagonism Suppresses Both Alcohol Consumption and the Alcohol Deprivation Effect in Rats following Long-Term Voluntary Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol dependence is a heterogeneous disorder where several signalling systems play important roles. Recent studies implicate that the gut-brain hormone ghrelin, an orexigenic peptide, is a potential mediator of alcohol related behaviours. Ghrelin increases whereas a ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1A) antagonist decreases alcohol consumption as well as operant self-administration of alcohol in rodents that have consumed alcohol for twelve weeks. In the present study we aimed at investigating the effect of acute and repeated treatment with the GHS-R1A antagonist JMV2959 on alcohol intake in a group of rats following voluntarily alcohol consumption for two, five and eight months. After approximately ten months of voluntary alcohol consumption the expression of the GHS-R1A gene (Ghsr) as well as the degree of methylation of a CpG island found in Ghsr was examined in reward related brain areas. In a separate group of rats, we examined the effect of the JMV2959 on alcohol relapse using the alcohol deprivation paradigm. Acute JMV2959 treatment was found to decrease alcohol intake and the effect was more pronounced after five, compared to two months of alcohol exposure. In addition, repeated JMV2959 treatment decreased alcohol intake without inducing tolerance or rebound increase in alcohol intake after the treatment. The GHS-R1A antagonist prevented the alcohol deprivation effect in rats. There was a significant down-regulation of the Ghsr expression in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in high- compared to low-alcohol consuming rats after approximately ten months of voluntary alcohol consumption. Further analysis revealed a negative correlation between Ghsr expression in the VTA and alcohol intake. No differences in methylation degree were found between high- compared to low-alcohol consuming rats. These findings support previous studies showing that the ghrelin signalling system may constitute a potential target for development of novel treatment strategies for alcohol dependence.     

Analysis of Immune Response Markers in Jorge Lobo's Disease Lesions Suggests the Occurrence of Mixed T Helper Responses with the Dominance of Regulatory T Cell Activity

Jorge Lobo’s disease (JLD) is a chronic infection that affects the skin and subcutaneous tissues. Its etiologic agent is the fungus Lacazia loboi. Lesions are classified as localized, multifocal, or disseminated, depending on their location. Early diagnosis and the surgical removal of lesions are the best therapeutic options currently available for JLD. The few studies that evaluate the immunological response of JLD patients show a predominance of Th2 response, as well as a high frequency of TGF-β and IL-10 positive cells in the lesions; however, the overall immunological status of the lesions in terms of their T cell phenotype has yet to be determined. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the pattern of Th1, Th2, Th17 and regulatory T cell (Treg) markers mRNA in JLD patients by means of real-time PCR. Biopsies of JLD lesions (N = 102) were classified according to their clinical and histopathological features and then analyzed using real-time PCR in order to determine the expression levels of TGF-β1, FoxP3, CTLA4, IKZF2, IL-10, T-bet, IFN-γ, GATA3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, IL-33, RORC, IL-17A, IL-17F, and IL-22 and to compare these levels to those of healthy control skin (N = 12). The results showed an increased expression of FoxP3, CTLA4, TGF-β1, IL-10, T-bet, IL-17F, and IL-17A in lesions, while GATA3 and IL-4 levels were found to be lower in diseased skin than in the control group. When the clinical forms were compared, TGF-β1 was found to be highly expressed in patients with a single localized lesion while IL-5 and IL-17A levels were higher in patients with multiple/disseminated lesions. These results demonstrate the occurrence of mixed T helper responses and suggest the dominance of regulatory T cell activity, which could inhibit Th-dependent protective responses to intracellular fungi such as L. loboi. Therefore, Tregs may play a key role in JLD pathogenesis.     

Nitrate reduction by Pseudomonas spp.: antagonism by fermentative bacteria

The reduction of nitrate by Pseudomonas denitrificans in a culture medium containing glycerol, yeast extract and 700 mg/1 NO₃–N, was antagonized by Aeromonas hydrophila, Escherichia coli and Enterobacter aerogenes. Nitrate reduction by Ps. denitrificans in mixed culture with a fermentative heterotroph was inhibited when 100–150 mg/1 NO₂–N had accumulated in the medium. The number of Ps. denitrificans declined concomitantly with the appearance of NO₂ in the culture medium, but there was only a slight increase in the numbers of fermentative hetero-trophs. The fermentative heterotrophs did not antagonize nitrate reduction by Ps. denitrificans , when the culture medium contained 140 mg/1 NO₃–N. When mixtures of equal parts of Ps. denitrificans and Esch. coli cultures were added to autoclaved river water relatively high concentrations of NO₂ were produced from the nitrate present in the water.     

Energy landscapes shape microbial communities in hydrothermal systems on the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge

Methods developed in geochemical modelling combined with recent advances in molecular microbial ecology provide new opportunities to explore how microbial communities are shaped by their chemical surroundings. Here, we present a framework for analyses of how chemical energy availability shape chemotrophic microbial communities in hydrothermal systems through an investigation of two geochemically different basalt-hosted hydrothermal systems on the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge: the Soria Moria Vent field (SMVF) and the Loki''s Castle Vent Field (LCVF). Chemical energy landscapes were evaluated through modelling of the Gibbs energy from selected redox reactions under different mixing ratios between seawater and hydrothermal fluids. Our models indicate that the sediment-influenced LCVF has a much higher potential for both anaerobic and aerobic methane oxidation, as well as aerobic ammonium and hydrogen oxidation, than the SMVF. The modelled energy landscapes were used to develop microbial community composition models, which were compared with community compositions in environmental samples inside or on the exterior of hydrothermal chimneys, as assessed by pyrosequencing of partial 16S rRNA genes. We show that modelled microbial communities based solely on thermodynamic considerations can have a high predictive power and provide a framework for analyses of the link between energy availability and microbial community composition.     

Venous Thrombosis Risk after Cast Immobilization of the Lower Extremity: Derivation and Validation of a Clinical Prediction Score,L-TRiP(cast), in Three Population-Based Case–Control Studies

Background

Guidelines and clinical practice vary considerably with respect to thrombosis prophylaxis during plaster cast immobilization of the lower extremity. Identifying patients at high risk for the development of venous thromboembolism (VTE) would provide a basis for considering individual thromboprophylaxis use and planning treatment studies.The aims of this study were (1) to investigate the predictive value of genetic and environmental risk factors, levels of coagulation factors, and other biomarkers for the occurrence of VTE after cast immobilization of the lower extremity and (2) to develop a clinical prediction tool for the prediction of VTE in plaster cast patients.

Methods and Findings

We used data from a large population-based case–control study (MEGA study, 4,446 cases with VTE, 6,118 controls without) designed to identify risk factors for a first VTE. Cases were recruited from six anticoagulation clinics in the Netherlands between 1999 and 2004; controls were their partners or individuals identified via random digit dialing. Identification of predictor variables to be included in the model was based on reported associations in the literature or on a relative risk (odds ratio) > 1.2 and p ≤ 0.25 in the univariate analysis of all participants. Using multivariate logistic regression, a full prediction model was created. In addition to the full model (all variables), a restricted model (minimum number of predictors with a maximum predictive value) and a clinical model (environmental risk factors only, no blood draw or assays required) were created. To determine the discriminatory power in patients with cast immobilization (n = 230), the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated by means of a receiver operating characteristic. Validation was performed in two other case–control studies of the etiology of VTE: (1) the THE-VTE study, a two-center, population-based case–control study (conducted in Leiden, the Netherlands, and Cambridge, United Kingdom) with 784 cases and 523 controls included between March 2003 and December 2008 and (2) the Milan study, a population-based case–control study with 2,117 cases and 2,088 controls selected between December 1993 and December 2010 at the Thrombosis Center, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda–Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.The full model consisted of 32 predictors, including three genetic factors and six biomarkers. For this model, an AUC of 0.85 (95% CI 0.77–0.92) was found in individuals with plaster cast immobilization of the lower extremity. The AUC for the restricted model (containing 11 predictors, including two genetic factors and one biomarker) was 0.84 (95% CI 0.77–0.92). The clinical model (consisting of 14 environmental predictors) resulted in an AUC of 0.77 (95% CI 0.66–0.87). The clinical model was converted into a risk score, the L-TRiP(cast) score (Leiden–Thrombosis Risk Prediction for patients with cast immobilization score), which showed an AUC of 0.76 (95% CI 0.66–0.86). Validation in the THE-VTE study data resulted in an AUC of 0.77 (95% CI 0.58–0.96) for the L-TRiP(cast) score. Validation in the Milan study resulted in an AUC of 0.93 (95% CI 0.86–1.00) for the full model, an AUC of 0.92 (95% CI 0.76–0.87) for the restricted model, and an AUC of 0.96 (95% CI 0.92–0.99) for the clinical model. The L-TRiP(cast) score resulted in an AUC of 0.95 (95% CI 0.91–0.99).Major limitations of this study were that information on thromboprophylaxis was not available for patients who had plaster cast immobilization of the lower extremity and that blood was drawn 3 mo after the thrombotic event.

Conclusions

These results show that information on environmental risk factors, coagulation factors, and genetic determinants in patients with plaster casts leads to high accuracy in the prediction of VTE risk. In daily practice, the clinical model may be the preferred model as its factors are most easy to determine, while the model still has good predictive performance. These results may provide guidance for thromboprophylaxis and form the basis for a management study.     

Adaptive Potential of Hybridization among Malaria Vectors: Introgression at the Immune Locus TEP1 between Anopheles coluzzii and A. gambiae in ‘Far-West’ Africa

“Far-West” Africa is known to be a secondary contact zone between the two major malaria vectors Anopheles coluzzii and A. gambiae. We investigated gene-flow and potentially adaptive introgression between these species along a west-to-east transect in Guinea Bissau, the putative core of this hybrid zone. To evaluate the extent and direction of gene flow, we genotyped site 702 in Intron-1 of the para Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel gene, a species-diagnostic nucleotide position throughout most of A. coluzzii and A. gambiae sympatric range. We also analyzed polymorphism in the thioester-binding domain (TED) of the innate immunity-linked thioester-containing protein 1 (TEP1) to investigate whether elevated hybridization might facilitate the exchange of variants linked to adaptive immunity and Plasmodium refractoriness. Our results confirm asymmetric introgression of genetic material from A. coluzzii to A. gambiae and disruption of linkage between the centromeric "genomic islands" of inter-specific divergence. We report that A. gambiae from the Guinean hybrid zone possesses an introgressed TEP1 resistant allelic class, found exclusively in A. coluzzii elsewhere and apparently swept to fixation in West Africa (i.e. Mali and Burkina Faso). However, no detectable fixation of this allele was found in Guinea Bissau, which may suggest that ecological pressures driving segregation between the two species in larval habitats in this region may be different from those experienced in northern and more arid parts of the species’ range. Finally, our results also suggest a genetic subdivision between coastal and inland A. gambiae Guinean populations and provide clues on the importance of ecological factors in intra-specific differentiation processes.     

Diversity of Aquatic Pseudomonas Species and Their Activity against the Fish Pathogenic Oomycete Saprolegnia

Emerging fungal and oomycete pathogens are increasingly threatening animals and plants globally. Amongst oomycetes, Saprolegnia species adversely affect wild and cultivated populations of amphibians and fish, leading to substantial reductions in biodiversity and food productivity. With the ban of several chemical control measures, new sustainable methods are needed to mitigate Saprolegnia infections in aquaculture. Here, PhyloChip-based community analyses showed that the Pseudomonadales, particularly Pseudomonas species, represent one of the largest bacterial orders associated with salmon eggs from a commercial hatchery. Among the Pseudomonas species isolated from salmon eggs, significantly more biosurfactant producers were retrieved from healthy salmon eggs than from Saprolegnia-infected eggs. Subsequent in vivo activity bioassays showed that Pseudomonas isolate H6 significantly reduced salmon egg mortality caused by Saprolegnia diclina. Live colony mass spectrometry showed that strain H6 produces a viscosin-like lipopeptide surfactant. This biosurfactant inhibited growth of Saprolegnia in vitro, but no significant protection of salmon eggs against Saprolegniosis was observed. These results indicate that live inocula of aquatic Pseudomonas strains, instead of their bioactive compound, can provide new (micro)biological and sustainable means to mitigate oomycete diseases in aquaculture.     

Top2 and Sgs1-Top3 Act Redundantly to Ensure rDNA Replication Termination

Faithful DNA replication with correct termination is essential for genome stability and transmission of genetic information. Here we have investigated the potential roles of Topoisomerase II (Top2) and the RecQ helicase Sgs1 during late stages of replication. We find that cells lacking Top2 and Sgs1 (or Top3) display two different characteristics during late S/G2 phase, checkpoint activation and accumulation of asymmetric X-structures, which are both independent of homologous recombination. Our data demonstrate that checkpoint activation is caused by a DNA structure formed at the strongest rDNA replication fork barrier (RFB) during replication termination, and consistently, checkpoint activation is dependent on the RFB binding protein, Fob1. In contrast, asymmetric X-structures are formed independent of Fob1 at less strong rDNA replication fork barriers. However, both checkpoint activation and formation of asymmetric X-structures are sensitive to conditions, which facilitate fork merging and progression of replication forks through replication fork barriers. Our data are consistent with a redundant role of Top2 and Sgs1 together with Top3 (Sgs1-Top3) in replication fork merging at rDNA barriers. At RFB either Top2 or Sgs1-Top3 is essential to prevent formation of a checkpoint activating DNA structure during termination, but at less strong rDNA barriers absence of the enzymes merely delays replication fork merging, causing an accumulation of asymmetric termination structures, which are solved over time.