New approaches to disease mapping in admixed populations

Admixed populations such as African Americans and Hispanic Americans are often medically underserved and bear a disproportionately high burden of disease. Owing to the diversity of their genomes, these populations have both advantages and disadvantages for genetic studies of complex phenotypes. Advances in statistical methodologies that can infer genetic contributions from ancestral populations may yield new insights into the aetiology of disease and may contribute to the applicability of genomic medicine to these admixed population groups.     

Development of a PCR-based assay for rapid detection of class IIa bacteriocin genes

Aims: We have developed a PCR‐based assay using custom designed panel of primers which allows rapid detection of class IIa bacteriocin‐coding genes. To demonstrate the applicability of the developed assay, the method was applied on 40 metagenomic DNA preparations isolated from native microbiota of Polish artisanal cheeses produced in the Tatra Mountains. Methods and Results: The developed assay was designed on the basis of a large scale alignment of class IIa bacteriocin‐coding genes. A panel of seven primer pairs with confirmed ability to detect class IIa bacteriocin‐coding sequences was obtained. The following study has revealed a superb bacteriocinogenic potential of all forty analysed cheese samples. Conclusions: The majority of obtained sequences were lactic acid bacteria (LAB) related, although some sequences showed significant similarity to bacteriocin‐coding sequences present in non‐LAB bacteriocin producers. The results suggest that several potentially new bacteriocin‐coding sequences were found. Significance and Impact of the Study: The developed assay can be extremely helpful in establishing whether isolates from the environment of interest have a potential of synthesizing antilisterial class IIa bacteriocins. Application of the approach may represent a useful tool contributing to ecological studies looking for valuable probiotic, bacteriocinogenic microbiota developing in foods.     

A New Species of Chelipoda Macquart,with a Key to the Species from China (Diptera: Empididae)

Chelipoda nigraristata sp. n., a new aquatic dance fly of the subfamily Hemerodromiinae (Diptera, Empididae) is described from China. Relationships with other described species are discussed. A key to the species of the genus Chelipoda from China is presented for the first time.     

Peripheral disruption of the Grb10 gene enhances insulin signaling and sensitivity in vivo

Grb10 is a pleckstrin homology and Src homology 2 domain-containing protein that interacts with a number of phosphorylated receptor tyrosine kinases, including the insulin receptor. In mice, Grb10 gene expression is imprinted with maternal expression in all tissues except the brain. While the interaction between Grb10 and the insulin receptor has been extensively investigated in cultured cells, whether this adaptor protein plays a positive or negative role in insulin signaling and action remains controversial. In order to investigate the in vivo role of Grb10 in insulin signaling and action in the periphery, we generated Grb10 knockout mice by the gene trap technique and analyzed mice with maternal inheritance of the knockout allele. Disruption of Grb10 gene expression in peripheral tissues had no significant effect on fasting glucose and insulin levels. On the other hand, peripheral-tissue-specific knockout of Grb10 led to significant overgrowth of the mice, consistent with a role for endogenous Grb10 as a growth suppressor. Loss of Grb10 expression in insulin target tissues, such as skeletal muscle and fat, resulted in enhanced insulin-stimulated Akt and mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation. Hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp studies revealed that disruption of Grb10 gene expression in peripheral tissues led to increased insulin sensitivity. Taken together, our results provide strong evidence that Grb10 is a negative regulator of insulin signaling and action in vivo.     

Altered Fronto-Temporal Functional Connectivity in Individuals at Ultra-High-Risk of Developing Psychosis

Background

The superior temporal gyrus (STG) is one of the key regions implicated in psychosis, given that abnormalities in this region are associated with an increased risk of conversion from an at-risk mental state to psychosis. However, inconsistent results regarding the functional connectivity strength of the STG have been reported, and the regional heterogeneous characteristics of the STG should be considered.

Methods

To investigate the distinctive functional connection of each subregion in the STG, we parcellated the STG of each hemisphere into three regions: the planum temporale, Heschl’s gyrus, and planum polare. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was obtained from 22 first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients, 41 individuals at ultra-high-risk for psychosis (UHR), and 47 demographically matched healthy controls.

Results

Significant group differences (in seed-based connectivity) were demonstrated in the left planum temporale and from both the right and left Heschl’s gyrus seeds. From the left planum temporale seed, the FEP and UHR groups exhibited increased connectivity to the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In contrast, the FEP and UHR groups demonstrated decreased connectivity from the bilateral Heschl’s gyrus seeds to the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. The enhanced connectivity between the left planum temporale and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was positively correlated with positive symptom severity in individuals at UHR (r = .34, p = .03).

Conclusions

These findings corroborate the fronto-temporal connectivity disruption hypothesis in schizophrenia by providing evidence supporting the altered fronto-temporal intrinsic functional connection at earlier stages of psychosis. Our data indicate that subregion-specific aberrant fronto-temporal interactions exist in the STG at the early stage of psychosis, thus suggesting that these aberrancies are the neural underpinning of proneness to psychosis.     

Acute exposure to 50 Hz magnetic field does not affect hematologic or immunologic functions in healthy young men: A circadian study

Some epidemiological studies report a relationship between magnetic field exposure and such human diseases as leukemia and immune system disturbances. The few published studies on animals do not demonstrate field exposure-related alterations in hematologic and immune systems. The data presented here are part of a broader study designed to investigate the possible effects of acute exposure to a 50 Hz linearly polarized magnetic field (10 μT) on hematologic and immunologic functions. Thirty-two young men (20–30 years old) were divided into two groups (control group, i.e., sham-exposed, 16 subjects; exposed group, 16 subjects). All subjects participated in two 24 h experiments to evaluate the effects of both continuous and intermittent (1 h “off” and 1 h with the field switched “on” and “off” every 15 s) exposure to linearly polarized magnetic fields. The subjects were exposed to the magnetic field (generated by three Helmholtz coils per bed) from 23:00 to 08:00 while lying down. Blood samples were collected during each session at 3 h intervals from 11:00 to 20:00 and hourly from 22:00 to 08:00. No significant differences were observed between sham-exposed (control) and exposed men for hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, red blood cells, platelets, total leukocytes, monocytes, lymphocytes, eosinophils, or neutrophils. Immunologic variables [CD3, CD4, CD8, natural killer (NK) cells and B cells] were unaltered. To our knowledge, this study is the first to document the effects of a 50 Hz magnetic field on the circadian rhythm of human hematologic and immune functions, and it suggests that acute exposure to either a continuous or an intermittent 50 Hz linearly polarized magnetic field of 10 μT, at least under the conditions of our experiment, does not affect either these functions or their circadian rhythms in healthy young men. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Bystander cell proliferation is modulated by the number of adjacent cells that were exposed to ionizing radiation.

BACKGROUND: Direct cell-to-cell contact appears to be a prerequisite for the proliferative response of bystander WB-F344 cells co-cultured with irradiated cells; however, neither gap junctional intercellular communication nor long-range factors released into the medium appear to be involved (Cytometry 2003;56A:71-80). The present work investigated whether the proliferative bystander response depends on the number of irradiated cells (cells exposed to external gamma-rays or cells exposed to short-range beta-particles emitted by DNA-incorporated (3)H-thymidine) that are adjacent to unirradiated bystander cells. METHODS: Subconfluent monolayers of rat liver epithelial cells (WB-F344) were incubated in the presence of (methyl-(3)H)thymidine at a concentration of 5.8 kBq/ml for 18 h. Radiolabeled cells containing 0.7 x 10(-3) Bq/cell (absorbed dose: 0.14 Gy) were plated together with unlabeled cells in proportions of 6% and 94%, 12% and 88%, 25% and 75%, 50% and 50%, and 75% and 25%, respectively, keeping constant the total number of plated cells. In a parallel experiment, cells acutely exposed to 5 Gy of (137)Cs gamma-rays were plated with unirradiated cells in the same proportions. In both experiments, cells were co-cultured for 24 h followed by a flow cytometric study of their proliferation. The two cell populations in the co-cultures were distinguished by staining one population with carboxyfluorescein diacetate, succinimidyl ester, which metabolizes intracellularly. RESULTS: Increasing the fraction of irradiated cells relative to unirradiated bystander cells led to an increase in proliferation of bystander cells. Specifically, in co-cultures in which irradiated cells were initially mixed with unirradiated cells in proportions of 50% and 50% and of 75% and 25%, respectively, bystander cells showed a statistically significant increase of their proliferation compared with the controls. CONCLUSIONS: The proliferative response of WB-F344 bystander cells is modulated by the number of adjacent cells that are exposed to ionizing radiation from external gamma-rays or intracellularly emitted (3)H beta-particles.     

Yeast N(alpha)-terminal acetyltransferases are associated with ribosomes

N-terminal acetylation is one of the most common modifications, occurring on the vast majority of eukaryotic proteins. Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains three major NATs, designated NatA, NatB, and NatC, with each having catalytic subunits Ard1p, Nat3p, and Mak3p, respectively. Gautschi et al. (Gautschi et al. [2003] Mol Cell Biol 23: 7403) previously demonstrated with peptide crosslinking experiments that NatA is bound to ribosomes. In our studies, biochemical fractionation in linear sucrose density gradients revealed that all of the NATs are associated with mono- and polyribosome fractions. However only a minor portion of Nat3p colocalized with the polyribosomes. Disruption of the polyribosomes did not cause dissociation of the NATs from ribosomal subparticles. The NAT auxiliary subunits, Nat1p and Mdm20p, apparently are required for efficient binding of the corresponding catalytic subunits to the ribosomes. Deletions of the genes corresponding to auxiliary subunits significantly diminish the protein levels of the catalytic subunits, especially Nat3p, while deletions of the catalytic subunits produced less effect on the stability of Nat1p and Mdm20p. Also two ribosomal proteins, Rpl25p and Rpl35p, were identified in a TAP-affinity purified NatA sample. Moreover, Ard1p copurifies with Rpl35p-TAP. We suggest that these two ribosomal proteins, which are in close proximity to the ribosomal exit tunnel, may play a role in NatA attachment to the ribosome.     

Continuous transformation of benzaldehyde to benzyl alcohol by Rhodotorula mucilaginosa immobilized in an ultrafiltration cell

Microbiological transformation of benzaldehyde accomplished by the fungus Rhodotorula mucilaginosa immobilized in the ultrafiltration cell was studied. A polysulfone membrane formed on a sintered PVC support was used for the separation of the transformation product from the cellular material. Kinetic investigations have led to results which are typical of continuously fed stirred tank reactors (CFSTR)-the value of the maximum reaction rate (V(max)) and apparent Michaelis constant (K'(m)) are practically independent of the substrate retention time (calculated in terms of the flow intensity value). A strong relationship was found to occur between V(max) and biomass concentration in the reactor. Study of the apparent enzyme stability shows that the decrease in the biocatalyst activity is chiefly caused by penetration of the cells through the membrane. The experimental results were approximated in terms of the adopted mathematical model. Based on this model, the half-lives (t(1/2)) of enzyme activities were determined. The t(1/2) value varies from 35 to 82 days and depends both on the permeate flux through the membrane and on the separation properties of the membrane.