Synthetic conformational antigen which simulates the extracellular part of the M2-muscarinic receptor: interaction with blood sera of patients suffering from idiopathic arrhythmias

Fragments corresponding to the 83–98 sequence of the first extracellular loop and to the 168–192 and 171–182 sequences of the second extracellular loop of the M2-muscarinic receptor (antibodies to this receptor could be markers of early symptoms of heart disorders) were synthesized by solid phase method using the Fmoc-SPPS strategy. A new conformational antigen with the natural location of the disulfide bridge was prepared by selective formation of disulfide bond between the corresponding cysteine residues in the synthe-sized peptides and characterized. The comparative analysis of reactivity of the synthesized peptides towards sera from patients which had no organic heart disease was performed. A new conformational antigen was effectively bound to the sera from patients with idiopathic arrhythmias, but without symptoms of organic heart disease.     

Cognitive Dysfunction Precedes the Onset of Motor Symptoms in the MitoPark Mouse Model of Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder primarily characterized by progressive loss of dopamine neurons, leading to loss of motor coordination. However, PD is associated with a high rate of non-motor neuropsychiatric comorbities that often develop before the onset of movement symptoms. The MitoPark transgenic mouse model is the first to recapitulate the cardinal clinical features, namely progressive neurodegeneration and death of neurons, loss of motor function and therapeutic response to L-DOPA. To investigate whether MitoPark mice exhibit early onset of cognitive impairment, a non-motor neuropsychiatric comorbidity, we measured performance on a spatial learning and memory task before (∼8 weeks) or after (∼20 weeks) the onset of locomotor decline in MitoPark mice or in littermate controls. Consistent with previous studies, we established that a progressive loss of spontaneous locomotor activity began at 12 weeks of age, which was followed by progressive loss of body weight beginning at 16–20 weeks. Spatial learning and memory was measured using the Barnes Maze. By 20 weeks of age, MitoPark mice displayed a substantial reduction in overall locomotor activity that impaired their ability to perform the task. However, in the 8-week-old mice, locomotor activity was no different between genotypes, yet MitoPark mice took longer, traveled further and committed more errors than same age control mice, while learning to successfully navigate the maze. The modest between-day learning deficit of MitoPark mice was characterized by impaired within-day learning during the first two days of testing. No difference was observed between genotypes during probe trials conducted one or twelve days after the final acquisition test. Additionally, 8-week-old MitoPark mice exhibited impaired novel object recognition when compared to control mice. Together, these data establish that mild cognitive impairment precedes the loss of motor function in a novel rodent model of PD, which may provide unique opportunities for therapeutic development.     

Staphylococcus aureus SH1000 and 8325‐4: comparative genome sequences of key laboratory strains in staphylococcal research

Aims: To provide comparative genome sequence data for two related model strains of Staphylococcus aureus (SH1000 and 8325‐4) that are used extensively in laboratory research. Methods and Results: Comparative genome sequencing was used to identify genetic differences between Staph. aureus SH1000 and the fully genome‐sequenced ancestral strain, Staph. aureus NCTC 8325. PCR amplification and DNA sequencing were employed to determine which of the genetic polymorphisms identified were also present in Staph. aureus 8325‐4, a direct derivative of 8325 and the parent strain of SH1000. Aside from known genetic differences between these strains, Staph. aureus SH1000 harboured 15 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms compared with 8325 (of which 12 were also found in 8325‐4), and a 63‐bp deletion upstream of the spa gene not present in either 8325 or 8325‐4. Conclusions: Staphylococcus aureus SH1000 and 8325‐4 contain a number of genetic polymorphisms relative to the progenitor strain of the lineage (8325) and to each other. Significance and Impact of the Study: The comparative genome sequences of SH1000 and 8325‐4 presented here define the genotypes of two key strains in staphylococcal laboratory research and reveal genetic polymorphisms that may impact their phenotypic properties.     

Lipidomic analysis reveals prostanoid profiles in human term pregnant myometrium

Prostanoids modulate the activity of human pregnant myometrium and their functional role can be appreciated through characterisation of prostanoid receptors and tissue concentration of prostanoids. We have applied a lipidomic approach to elucidate the profile of prostanoids in human non-labouring and labouring myometrium. We have identified a total of nineteen prostanoids including prostacyclin, thromboxanes, prostaglandins and dihydro-prostaglandins. Prostacyclin was the predominant prostanoid in both non-labouring and labouring myometria, with PGD₂ and PGF_2α being the second most abundant. Although the total amount of prostanoids was increased in the labouring tissue, PGE₂ and 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-PGE₂ were the only prostanoids to increase significantly at early and late labour (p≤0.001). Our data suggest that PGF_2α plays an important role in parturition, whilst the increase in PGE₂ could occur to facilitate cervical dilation and relaxation of the lower myometrium during labour. Although the elevation in TXA₂ was less marked than expected, in terms of translation to function even a relatively small increase in the level of this potent spasmogen may have significant effects.     

Design and rationale of ischaemia-driven complete revascularisation versus usual care in patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction and multivessel coronary disease: the South Limburg Myocardial Infarction (SLIM) trial

Netherlands Heart Journal - To compare ischaemia-driven complete coronary revascularisation by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with usual care in patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial...     

Nusinersen treatment and cerebrospinal fluid neurofilaments: An explorative study on Spinal Muscular Atrophy type 3 patients

The antisense oligonucleotide Nusinersen has been recently licensed to treat spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Since SMA type 3 is characterized by variable phenotype and milder progression, biomarkers of early treatment response are urgently needed. We investigated the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentration of neurofilaments in SMA type 3 patients treated with Nusinersen as a potential biomarker of treatment efficacy. The concentration of phosphorylated neurofilaments heavy chain (pNfH) and light chain (NfL) in the CSF of SMA type 3 patients was evaluated before and after six months since the first Nusinersen administration, performed with commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Clinical evaluation of SMA patients was performed with standardized motor function scales. Baseline neurofilament levels in patients were comparable to controls, but significantly decreased after six months of treatment, while motor functions were only marginally ameliorated. No significant correlation was observed between the change in motor functions and that of neurofilaments over time. The reduction of neurofilament levels suggests a possible early biochemical effect of treatment on axonal degeneration, which may precede changes in motor performance. Our study mandates further investigations to assess neurofilaments as a marker of treatment response.     

Synthesis of Nitrogen Oxides in a Subthreshold Microwave Discharge in Air and in Air Mixtures with Methane

Plasma Physics Reports - A subthreshold discharge excited by a microwave beam in air at pressures close to atmospheric is studied as a plasmachemical method of nitrogen oxide (NOx) production. It...