Intraocular tumor antigen drains specifically to submandibular lymph nodes, resulting in an abortive cytotoxic T cell reaction

Ocular immune privilege is considered essential in the protection against sight-threatening immune responses, as illustrated by the ability of the ocular environment to permit the growth of tumors that are rejected when implanted at other sites. Although several studies indicate that soluble Ag can drain directly into the spleen when injected into the anterior chamber, the primary site of intraocular tumor Ag presentation to tumor-specific CTLs has not been studied. To gain a better understanding of the mechanism involved in ocular immune privilege, we examined to which lymphoid organs anterior chamber tumor Ags primarily drain. Our data show that intraocular tumor Ag drains exclusively to the submandibular lymph nodes, resulting in activation of tumor-specific CTLs, whereas no Ag drainage was found in spleen. However, these tumor-specific CTLs do not distribute systemically and, as a consequence, intraocular tumor growth is unhampered. A similar lack of CTL efficacy has been observed in mice bearing s.c. tumors, which is converted to a systemic tumoricidal CTL response by administration of agonistic anti-CD40 mAb. In contrast, systemic anti-CD40 treatment of eye tumor-bearing mice did not result in mobilizing tumor-specific CTLs or tumor eradication. Together, these results show that intraocular tumor Ag drains to regional lymph nodes for activation of tumor-specific CTLs. However, the induced tumor-specific immunity is insufficient for tumor clearance, even combined with otherwise highly effective immune intervention protocols.     

人微小病毒3个主要蛋白基因真核表达载体的构建

目的:分别克隆人细小病毒B19三个主要蛋白VP1、VP2、NS1全长基因,构建真核表达载体。方法:利用PCR和分子克隆技术,分别将B19病毒vp1、vp2、ns1基因全长片段扩增后,构建带荧光标签的真核表达载体;在人体细胞中表达并通过荧光、RT-PCR和Western Blot、测序等方法鉴定。结果:成功构建了包含B19病毒vp1、vp2、ns1全长基因,并在人体细胞中表达了VP1、VP2、NS1蛋白。结论:人微小病毒B19三个主要蛋白基因得到克隆和表达,为进行相关的研究奠定了基础。     

SUMMARY OF GREEN PLANT PHYLOGENY AND CLASSIFICATION

Abstract— A cladogram of green plants involving all major extant groups of green algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes, and seed plants is presented. It is partly based on contributions by B. Mishler and S. Churchill, H. Wagner, and P. Crane. The relationships of green plants to other green organisms ( Prochloron , euglenophytes) are discussed. The characters and subclades of the cladogram are briefly discussed, with an attempt to indicate weak points. The possibility of including some major extinct groups is considered. A cladistic classification consistent with the cladogram is presented. Grades are abandoned as taxa and major clades like the division Chlorophyta (green algae excluding micro-monadophytes and charophytes sensu Mattox and Stewart), the division Streptophyta (charophytes + embryophytes), the subdivision Embryophytina (land plants or embryophytes), the superclass Tracheidatae (tracheophytes), and the class Spermatopsida (seed plants) are recognized.     

Fish community changes after minimum flow increase: testing quantitative predictions in the Rhône River at Pierre-Bénite, France

1. Many aspects of the flow regime influence the structure of stream communities, among which the minimum discharge left in rivers has received particular attention. However, instream habitat models predicting the ecological impacts of discharge management often lack biological validation and spatial generality, particularly for large rivers with many fish species. 2. The minimum flow at Pierre‐Bénite, a reach of the Rhône river bypassed by artificial channels, was increased from 10 to 100 m³ s^?1 in August 2000 (natural mean discharge 1030 m³ s^?1), resulting in a fivefold increase in average velocity at minimum flow. Fish were electrofished in several habitat units on 12 surveys between 1995 and 2004. 3. Principal components analysis revealed a significant change in the relative abundance of fish species. The relative abundance of species preferring fast‐flowing and/or deep microhabitats increased from two‐ to fourfold after minimum flow increase. A change in community structure confirmed independent quantitative predictions of an instream habitat model. This change was significantly linked to minimum flow increase, but not to any other environmental variables describing high flows or temperature at key periods of fish life cycle. The rapidity of the fish response compared with the lifespan of individual species can be explained by a differential response of specific size classes. 4. The fish community at Pierre‐Bénite is in a transitional stage and only continued monitoring will indicate if the observed shift in community structure is perennial. We expect that our case study will be compared with other predictive tests of the impacts of flow restoration in large rivers, in the Rhône catchment and elsewhere.