Species-Specific Peptide Ligands for the Detection of Bacillus anthracis Spores

Currently available detectors for spores of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, are inadequate for frontline use and general monitoring. There is a critical need for simple, rugged, and inexpensive detectors capable of accurate and direct identification of B. anthracis spores. Necessary components in such detectors are stable ligands that bind tightly and specifically to target spores. By screening a phage display peptide library, we identified a family of peptides, with the consensus sequence TYPXPXR, that bind selectively to B. anthracis spores. We extended this work by identifying a peptide variant, ATYPLPIR, with enhanced ability to bind to B. anthracis spores and an additional peptide, SLLPGLP, that preferentially binds to spores of species phylogenetically similar to, but distinct from, B. anthracis. These two peptides were used in tandem in simple assays to rapidly and unambiguously identify B. anthracis spores. We envision that these peptides can be used as sensors in economical and portable B. anthracis spore detectors that are essentially free of false-positive signals due to other environmental Bacillus spores.     

Antinociceptive effects of intrathecal endomorphin-1 and -2 in rats

Endomorphin-1 and endomorphin-2 were recently postulated to be endogenous mu-opioid receptor agonists. We have investigated the antinociceptive and antihyperalgesic effects of intrathecally administered endomorphins in cumulative doses (0.1-100 microg) on acute and inflammatory pain sensations in awake rats. In the tail-flick test, both peptides caused a dose-dependent short-lasting antinociception, except at the highest dose, which caused motor impairment also. The dose-response curves revealed the development of acute tolerance (tachyphylaxis) to endomorphin. Similarly in the carrageenan-injected paw, the endomorphins (10 microg) exerted transient antinociceptive effects. These are the first data to demonstrate decreased responsivity in models of both acute and inflammatory pain after intrathecal administration of endomorphin-1 and -2 in awake rats.     

Creativity meets neuroscience: experimental tasks for the neuroscientific study of creative thinking

The psychometric assessment of different facets of creative abilities as well as the availability of experimental tasks for the neuroscientific study of creative thinking has replaced the view of creativity as an unsearchable trait. In this article we provide a brief overview of contemporary methodologies used for the operationalization of creative thinking in a neuroscientific context. Empirical studies are reported which measured brain activity (by means of EEG, fMRI, NIRS or PET) during the performance of different experimental tasks. These tasks, along with creative idea generation tasks used in our laboratory, constitute useful tools in uncovering possible brain correlates of creative thinking. Nevertheless, much more work is needed in order to establish reliable and valid measures of creative thinking, in particular measures of novelty or originality of creative insights.     

Species spectrum of flea beetles (Phyllotreta spp., Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) attracted to allyl isothiocyanate-baited traps

In field tests in Hungary, Slovenia and Bulgaria, in allyl isothiocyanate-baited traps significantly more beetles of Phyllotreta cruciferae, Ph. vittula, Ph. undulata, Ph. nigripes, Ph. nodicornis, Ph. balcanica, Ph. atra, Ph. procera, Ph. ochripes, Ph. diademata and Psylliodes chrysocephalus (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Halticinae) were captured than in unbaited control traps. With the exception of Ph. cruciferae, this is the first report on significant field attraction by allyl isothiocyanate for these species. The species spectrum captured included six important agricultural pests. At all sites a great portion of the catch (ranging from ca 30 to 98%) was Ph. cruciferae, irrespective of the plant culture. The second most abundant species present at most sites was Ph. vittula. The present results are very promising from the point of view of applicability of allyl isothiocyanate in Europe as a bait in cabbage flea beetle traps for detection and monitoring.     

Mobility of the Yersinia High-Pathogenicity Island (HPI): transfer mechanisms of pathogenicity islands (PAIS) revisited (a review)

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) plays a key role in the evolution of bacterial pathogens. The exchange of genetic material supplies prokaryotes with several fitness traits enhancing their adaptive response to environmental changes. Pathogenicity islands (PAIs) represent an important and in most cases already immobilized subset of the different vehicles for HGT. Encoding several virulence factors PAls represent a major contribution to bacterial pathogenicity. Nonetheless, the transfer mechanisms of PAIs still remain elusive. We summarise the currently available data regarding the major ways of genetic mobilisation with a focus on the transfer of the Yersinia High-Pathogenicity Island (HPI).     

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor in Nodding syndrome

Nodding syndrome (NS) is a catastrophic and enigmatic childhood epilepsy, accompanied by multiple neurological impairments and neuroinflammation. Of all the infectious, environmental and psychological factors associated with NS, the major culprit is Onchocerca Volvulus (Ov)–a parasitic worm transmitted to human by blackflies. NS seems to be an ’Autoimmune Epilepsy’ in light of the recent findings of deleterious autoimmune antibodies to Glutamate receptors and to Leiomodin-I in NS patients. Moreover, we recently found immunogenetic fingerprints in HLA peptide-binding grooves associate with protection or susceptibility to NS. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is an immune-regulatory cytokine playing a central role in modulating innate and adaptive immunity. MIF is also involved in various pathologies: infectious, autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases, epilepsy and others. Herein, two functional polymorphisms in the MIF gene, a −794 CATT_5–8 microsatellite repeat and a −173 G/C single-nucleotide polymorphism, were assessed in 49 NS patients and 51 healthy controls from South Sudan. We also measured MIF plasma levels in established NS patients and healthy controls. We discovered that the frequency of the high-expression MIF -173C containing genotype was significantly lower in NS patients compared to healthy controls. Interestingly however, MIF plasma levels were significantly elevated in NS patients than in healthy controls. We further demonstrated that the HLA protective and susceptibility associations are dominant over the MIF association with NS. Our findings suggest that MIF might have a dual role in NS. Genetically controlled high-expression MIF genotype is associated with disease protection. However, elevated MIF in the plasma may contribute to the detrimental autoimmunity, neuroinflammation and epilepsy.