Frequencies of pyrethroid resistance-associated mutations of Vssc1 and CYP6D1 in field populations of Musca domestica L. in Turkey

House flies were collected from 16 different provinces in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions of Turkey, and the frequencies of pyrethroid resistance-associated mutations in Vssc1 and CYP6D1 in these field-collected populations were studied. Although there is no organized resistance management program for house fly control in Turkey, it is known that different groups of insecticides, including pyrethroids, are used. The frequencies of both Vssc1 and CYP6D1 alleles were weighted toward the susceptibles, with Vssc1-susceptible alleles having higher frequencies in both regions (0.75 in Aegean and 0.69 in Mediterranean populations) than CYP6D1-susceptible alleles (0.65 in Aegean and 0.56 in Mediterranean populations). The frequencies of kdr-his alleles were higher than the frequencies of kdr alleles in these populations. While the frequencies of kdr-his alleles were close to each other in the Aegean (0.23) and Mediterranean (0.17) populations, the frequencies of kdr alleles remarkably differed in these two regions, with values of 0.02 and 0.14, respectively. In contrast to Europe, Asia, and the U.S.A., no super-kdr allele was detected in the samples from both regions. We identified six and eight different Vssc1+CYP6D1 genotype classes in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions, respectively. The three most common genotype classes in the regions were susceptible Vssc1 with heterozygous CYP6D1v1 (29%), sus/kdr-his1 with heterozygous CYP6D1v1 (23%), and susceptible Vssc1 with CYP6D1 (22%). The total frequencies of these three most common genotype classes (approximately 75%) obtained in our study were very close to the value obtained in Florida in a previous study, which was related by the similarity of temperature patterns between Florida and the corresponding regions of Turkey. This may reflect the lack of overwintering fitness cost associated with resistance alleles in both climates.     

Genome structural variation discovery and genotyping

Comparisons of human genomes show that more base pairs are altered as a result of structural variation - including copy number variation - than as a result of point mutations. Here we review advances and challenges in the discovery and genotyping of structural variation. The recent application of massively parallel sequencing methods has complemented microarray-based methods and has led to an exponential increase in the discovery of smaller structural-variation events. Some global discovery biases remain, but the integration of experimental and computational approaches is proving fruitful for accurate characterization of the copy, content and structure of variable regions. We argue that the long-term goal should be routine, cost-effective and high quality de novo assembly of human genomes to comprehensively assess all classes of structural variation.     

Induction of CD4(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(+) regulatory T cells during human hookworm infection modulates antigen-mediated lymphocyte proliferation

Hookworm infection is considered one of the most important poverty-promoting neglected tropical diseases, infecting 576 to 740 million people worldwide, especially in the tropics and subtropics. These blood-feeding nematodes have a remarkable ability to downmodulate the host immune response, protecting themselves from elimination and minimizing severe host pathology. While several mechanisms may be involved in the immunomodulation by parasitic infection, experimental evidences have pointed toward the possible involvement of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in downregulating effector T-cell responses upon chronic infection. However, the role of Tregs cells in human hookworm infection is still poorly understood and has not been addressed yet. In the current study we observed an augmentation of circulating CD4(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(+) regulatory T cells in hookworm-infected individuals compared with healthy non-infected donors. We have also demonstrated that infected individuals present higher levels of circulating Treg cells expressing CTLA-4, GITR, IL-10, TGF-β and IL-17. Moreover, we showed that hookworm crude antigen stimulation reduces the number of CD4(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(+) T regulatory cells co-expressing IL-17 in infected individuals. Finally, PBMCs from infected individuals pulsed with excreted/secreted products or hookworm crude antigens presented an impaired cellular proliferation, which was partially augmented by the depletion of Treg cells. Our results suggest that Treg cells may play an important role in hookworm-induced immunosuppression, contributing to the longevity of hookworm survival in infected people.     

185例儿童急性白血病流式细胞术免疫分型研究

目的:探讨儿童急性白血病流式细胞术免疫分型的意义。方法:采用流式细胞术三色荧光标记技术和CD45/SSC双参数散点图设门,检测185例儿童急性白血病的免疫表型,对抗原表达情况进行分析。结果:流式细胞术免疫分型和FAB分型的符合率为89.19%。185例儿童急性白血病中,ALL为121例,占AL的65.41%,B-ALL为113例,主要表达B系的CD19(99.12%)、CD22(98.13%)、CD79a(96.19%)、CD10(86.73%)。T-ALL占8例;主要表达CD5(100%)、CD7(100%)、cCD3(100%)、CD8(87.5%)。AML为47例,占25.41%,主要表达CD33(93.62%)、CD15(78.72%)、CD64(76.6%)、MPO(76.6%)、CD13(74.47%)。在B-ALL,AML,T-ALL中,敏感性最高的抗体分别是CD19,CD33,CD5和CD7,特异性最强的抗体分别是CD79a,MPO,cCD3。AMLL为17例,占9.19%,其中B/M为9例,T/B为5例,T/M为3例。My十-ALL为54例,占ALL的44.63%,表达的髓系抗原为CD13、CD15、CD33、CD64。Ly+-AML为18例,占AML的38.30%,表达的淋系抗原为CD19、CD4、CD7。系列非相关抗原CD34的表达率为67.57%,HLA-DR的表达率为85.41%,CD38的表达率为80.59%,TdT的表达率为62.59%。结论:流式细胞术免疫分型在白血病分型中起重要作用,是FAB分型的补充和修正,提高了儿童急性白血病诊断的准确率有必要进一步加强流式细胞术免疫分型的标准化工作。     

兔后交叉韧带断裂后外侧胫骨平台退变的组织学研究

目的:探讨兔后交叉韧带(Posterior cruciate ligament,PCL)断裂对外侧胫骨平台组织学的影响。方法:48只家兔膝关节随机配对为实验侧和对照侧造模,造模后第4、8、16、24周各随机处死12只,行外侧胫骨平台大体观察、HE染色、免疫组化检测基质金属蛋白酶13(matrix metalloproteinase-13,MMP-13)、基质金属蛋白酶抑制剂1(Tisse inhibitor-1 of matrix metalloproteinase1,TIMP-1)表达。结果:①大体观察,随时间延长,实验组外侧胫骨平台软骨出现磨损,呈灰黄色,弹性差,骨赘形成。②组织学观察,随时间延长,胫骨平台软骨纤维化,细胞排列紊乱,簇聚细胞出现频率增加。③实验组MMP-13、TIMP-1表达均高于对照组,有显著性差异,P<0.05。④实验组MMP-13、TIMP-1表达阳性率第4、8、16周逐渐升高,24周下降,各组比较有显著性差异,P<0.05。结论:①兔膝关节PCL断裂会引起外侧胫骨平台软骨退行性变,且该退变随着时间的推移逐渐加重。②MMP-13与TIMP-1在PCL断裂膝关节外侧胫骨平台中的表达呈现先高后低的变化规律,造成MMP-13与TIMP-1的失衡,加速软骨退变。③MMP-13与TIMP-1表达增高提示MMP-13与TIMP-1可能参与了PCL断裂后外侧胫骨平台软骨的退变过程。     

Kinases and glutathione transferases: selective and sensitive targeting

Kinases, representing almost 500 proteins in the human genome, are responsible for catalyzing the phosphorylation reaction of amino acid residues at their targets. As the largest family of kinases, the protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) have roles in controlling the essential cellular activities, and their deregulation is generally related to pathologic conditions. The recent efforts on identifying their signal transducer or mediator role in cellular signaling revealed the interaction of PTKs with numerous enzymes of different classes, such as Ser/Thr kinases (STKs), glutathione transferases (GSTs), and receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). In either regulation or enhancing the signaling, PTKs are determined in close interaction with these enzymes, under specific cellular conditions, such as oxidative stress and inflammation. In this concept, intensive research on thiol metabolizing enzymes recently showed their involvement in the physiologic functions in cellular signaling besides their well known traditional role in antioxidant defense. The shared signaling components between PTK and GST family enzymes will be discussed in depth in this research review to evaluate the results of recent studies important in drug targeting for therapeutic intervention, such as cell viability, migration, differentiation and proliferation.     

GM-CSF and IL-2 as adjuvant enhance the immune effect of protein vaccine against foot-and-mouth disease

Background

The West Nile virus (WNV) capsid (C) protein is one of the three viral structural proteins, encapsidates the viral RNA to form the nucleocapsid, and is necessary for nuclear and nucleolar localization. The antigenic sites on C protein that are targeted by humoral immune responses have not been studied thoroughly, and well-defined B-cell epitopes on the WNV C protein have not been reported.

Results

In this study, we generated a WNV C protein-specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) and defined the linear epitope recognized by the mAb by screening a 12-mer peptide library using phage-display technology. The mAb, designated as 6D3, recognized the phages displaying a consensus motif consisting of the amino acid sequence KKPGGPG, which is identical to an amino acid sequence present in WNV C protein. Further fine mapping was conducted using truncated peptides expressed as MBP-fusion proteins. We found that the KKPGGPG motif is the minimal determinant of the linear epitope recognized by the mAb 6D3. Western blot (WB) analysis demonstrated that the KKPGGPG epitope could be recognized by antibodies contained in WNV- and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV)-positive equine serum, but was not recognized by Dengue virus 1-4 (DENV1-4)-positive mice serum. Furthermore, we found that the epitope recognized by 6D3 is highly conserved among the JEV serocomplex of the Family Flaviviridae.

Conclusion

The KKPGGPG epitope is a JEV serocomplex-specific linear B-cell epitope recognized by the 6D3 mAb generated in this study. The 6D3 mAb may serve as a novel reagent in development of diagnostic tests for JEV serocomplex infection. Further, the identification of the B-cell epitope that is highly conserved among the JEV serocomplex may support the rationale design of vaccines against viruses of the JEV serocomplex.     

Characterization and modulation by drugs of sheep liver microsomal flavin monooxygenase activity

The flavin monooxygenases (FMO) catalyse the NADPH and oxygen-dependent oxidation of a wide range of nucleophilic nitrogen-, sulfur-, phosphorus-, and selenium heteroatom-containing chemicals, drugs, and agricultural agents. In the present study, sheep liver microsomal FMO activity was determined by measuring the S-oxidation rate of methimazole and the average specific activity obtained from different microsomal preparations was found to be 3.8 +/- 1.5 nmol methimazole oxidized min(-1) mg(-1) microsomal protein (mean +/- SE, n = 7). The presence of 0.1% Triton X-100 in the reaction mixture caused an increase of specific sheep liver microsomal FMO activity towards methimazole to 6.1 +/- 1.4 nmol methimazole oxidized min(-1) mg(-1) microsomal protein (mean +/- SE, n = 6). Metabolism of imipramine and chlorpromazine was measured by following the oxidation of cofactor NADPH spectrophotometrically at 340 nm. Sheep liver microsomal FMO activity towards imipramine and chlorpromazine was found to be 10.7 and 12.3 nmol NADPH oxidized min(-1) mg(-1) microsomal protein, respectively. Characterization of sheep liver enzyme was carried out using methimazole as substrate and the maximum FMO enzyme activity was detected at 37 degrees C and at pH 8.0. The apparent K(m) value of sheep liver microsomal FMO for methimazole was 0.118 mM. Effects of the detergents Triton X-100, Cholate, and Emulgen 913, on FMO activity were determined and FMO activity was found to increase with the addition of detergents to the reaction medium. Sheep liver microsomal FMO-catalysed methimazole oxidation was inhibited by imipramine and chlorpromazine when these drugs were used at high concentrations. Western blot-immunochemical analysis revealed the presence of FMO3 in sheep liver microsomes.