Inflammatory epithelial changes and nonviral cervicovaginal pathogens

To assess the relationship between inflammatory epithelial changes (IECs) and cervicovaginal infection, 249 women with cytologic diagnoses of IEC were studied. The findings showed a Chlamydia infection in 15.7% of the cases, Monilia in 38.1%, Trichomonas in 1.6% and a lateral vaginal wall pH of greater than 5.5 in 29.7%. These results were compared with those for 211 controls drawn from the same population; women with abnormal cytologic reports were excluded from the control group. The controls had a prevalence of yeast and trichomoniasis no different from that of the IEC group. In contrast, the prevalence of chlamydial infection (7.6%) and pH greater than 5.5 (10.7%) were significantly lower in the controls than in the IEC cases. Chlamydia was found in 30.2% of 43 women with an atypical transformation zone, equally distributed between women whose biopsies were normal and those whose biopsies showed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. The traditional guidelines of treating cases with cytologic diagnoses of IEC prior to obtaining a repeat smear may need reevaluation in the light of these findings.     

The role of the cysteine-rich region of the β2 integrin subunit in the leukocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1, αLβ2, CD11a/CD18) heterodimer formation and ligand binding

The cysteine-rich region (CRR) of the β2 integrin subunit was replaced by that of β1 to give the chimera β2NV1. β2NV1 can combine with αL to form a variant leukocyte-function-associated antigen (LFA)-1 on COS cell surface, suggesting that the specificity of the β2 interaction with αL does not lie in the CRR. Unlike those expressing wild-type LFA-1, COS cells expressing αLβ2NV1 are constitutively active in intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 adhesion. These results suggest that activation of LFA-1 involves the release of an intramolecular constraint, which is maintained, in part, by the authentic β2 CRR.     

Hepatic protein kinase C: translocation stimulated by prolactin and partial hepatectomy

Prolactin stimulates a hepatotrophic response similar to that caused by phorbol esters or partial hepatectomy in rats. Since phorbol esters, which activate protein kinase C, mimic prolactin action in liver, the relationship between prolactin administration and subsequent hepatic protein kinase C translocation was assessed. Prolactin administration rapidly stimulated a 4-fold elevation of membrane protein kinase C activity. The effect of prolactin on hepatic protein kinase C was specific for lactogenic hormones but could be duplicated by phorbol esters. Further, an increase in serum prolactin was demonstrated subsequent to partial hepatectomy and preceding hepatic protein kinase C translocation. Therefore, translocation of hepatic protein kinase C appears important for hepatic proliferation in response to prolactin administration and to partial hepatectomy.     

Cloning of genes that suppress an Escherichia coli K-12 alanine auxotroph when present in multicopy plasmids.

To facilitate molecular analyses of a previously uncharacterized gene involved in alanine synthesis, attempts were made to clone the wild-type allele of this gene, alaA, with a mini-Mu plasmid element used for in vivo cloning. Seventy-six independent Ala+ plasmids were isolated and characterized. Physiological, enzymological, and restriction endonuclease analyses indicated that three different genes, none of them alaA, were cloned. These genes were avtA+, which encodes the alanine-valine transaminase (transaminase C); tyrB+, which encodes the tyrosine-repressible transaminase (transaminase D); and a previously undescribed gene, called alaB, which encodes an alanine-glutamate transaminase.     

Deep-sea squat lobster biogeography (Munidopsidae: Leiogalathea) unveils Tethyan vicariance and evolutionary patterns shared by shallow-water relatives

The ecology, abundance and diversity of galatheoid squat lobsters make them an ideal group to study deep-sea diversification processes. Here, we reconstructed the evolutionary and biogeographic history of Leiogalathea, a genus of circum-tropical deep-sea squat lobsters, in order to compare patterns and processes that have affected shallow-water and deep-sea squat lobster species. We first built a multilocus phylogeny and a calibrated species tree with a relaxed clock using StarBEAST2 to reconstruct evolutionary relationships and divergence times among Leiogalathea species. We used BioGeoBEARS and a DEC model, implemented in RevBayes, to reconstruct ancestral distribution ranges and the biogeographic history of the genus. Our results showed that Leiogalathea is monophyletic and comprises four main lineages; morphological homogeneity is common within and between clades, except in one; the reconstructed ancestral range of the genus is in the Atlantic and Indian oceans (Tethys). They also revealed the divergence of the Atlantic species around 25 million years ago (Ma), intense cladogenesis 15–25 Ma and low levels of speciation over the last 5 million years (Myr). The four Leiogalathea lineages showed similar patterns of speciation: allopatric speciation followed by range expansion and subsequent stasis. Leiogalathea started diversifying during the Oligocene, likely in the Tethyan. The Atlantic lineage then split from its Indo-Pacific sister group due to vicariance driven by closure of the Tethys Seaway. The Atlantic lineage is less speciose compared with the Indo-Pacific lineages, with the Tropical Southwestern Pacific being the current centre of diversity. Leiogalathea diversification coincided with cladogenetic peaks in shallow-water genera, indicating that historical biogeographic events similarly shaped the diversification and distribution of both deep-sea and shallow-water squat lobsters.