Evaluation of Two Types of Infectious Mononucleosis Antigen Slides by the Indirect Fluorescent-Antibody Technique

The efficiency of two types of antigen slides was compared by using the indirect fluorescent-antibody technique. Fifty sera from infectious mononucleosis patients were tested concurrently on the two sets of slides for antibody to Epstein-Barr virus. The indirect fluorescent-antibody serum titer readings from the epoxy slides were either equal to or twofold higher than those from the cover slip slides.     

Ionic and synaptic mechanisms underlying a brainstem oscillator: An in vitro study of the pacemaker nucleus of Apteronotus

1. In an in vitro preparation of the medullary pacemaker nucleus of Apteronotus, the consequences of a variety of ionic and pharmacological manipulations upon both ongoing activity and synaptic modulation of the nucleus were assessed. 2. Spontaneous rhythmicity in the pacemaker nucleus was found to be Na+-, K+-, and Ca(2+)-dependent. The extreme sensitivity to 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) relative to other treatments suggested that the K+ A-current is a critical element in the oscillations. 3. Elevated K+ or 4-AP were titrated to concentrations that suppressed spontaneous oscillations, but allowed modulatory, 'chirp' epsps to persist. The transition to elevated K+ revealed oscillatory properties in some neurons in the form of epsp-induced ringing 4. Threshold concentrations of 4-AP sufficient to halt oscillations, caused epsps to become larger and complex, increased input resistance, and enhanced the effects of current injection on epsp amplitude. A greater degree of voltage-sensitivity was also seen in later components of the complex epsp. 5. Several treatments presumed to increase Ca2+ caused desynchronization of firing and revealed diverging intrinsic frequencies among cells.     

Evidence for the existence of a stable association between nascent DNA and the nuclear membrane of HeLa cells.

Nascent DNA-nuclear membrane complexes isolated from HeLa cells and solubilized in a sodium dodecyl sulfate-urea solution were examined by gel electrophoresis, column chromatography, isopycnic centrifugation, and by extraction with chloroform/methanol. Radioactivity attributable to [3H]DNA co-migrated with three protein peaks during electrophoresis. This radioactivity was eliminated by prior treatment with DNAase. In addition, all of the radioactivity attributable to nascent DNA eluted with a specific protein on Sepharose 4B columns. This DNA - protein complex banded at a density of 1.58 gm/cm3 in sucrose-CsCl gradients. Treatment with DNAase, phospholipase A and C, and dilute alkali disrupted the complex. Moreover, 93% of the radioactivity attributable to protein and 70% of that attributable to DNA could be extracted from the complex with a chloroform/methanol solution. The results suggest that nascent DNA may be in a stable association with a proteolipid moiety of the nuclear membrane.     

马铃薯糖转运蛋白基因的克隆及表达分析

植物SWEET基因家族是一类糖转运蛋白,在植物的生理活动和生长发育过程中发挥着重要功能。为了解马铃薯SWEET基因的相关信息,探究其在马铃薯不同组织以及在生物胁迫与非生物胁迫下的表达特性。该研究采用同源克隆技术从马铃薯‘青薯9号’中克隆了StSWEET5基因(GenBank登录号为MN295671),其CDS序列长度为717 bp,编码238个氨基酸。系统进化树分析结果表明,StSWEET5与番茄的氨基酸序列相似性最高(97.06%)。qRT-PCR分析表明:StSWEET5基因在马铃薯各组织(根、茎、叶、花、块茎、匍匐茎)中均有表达,且在花中的表达显著高于其他组织;糖胁迫下,StSWEET5基因在根、茎、叶中均有表达,尤其在根中的表达差异最为显著(P0.05)。在晚疫病菌(Phytophthora infestans)诱导后36 h时,表达量达到最高,随后急剧下调。推测StSWEET5基因参与了马铃薯糖胁迫以及响应了晚疫病诱导的过程。     

Altered biomechanical properties of carotid arteries in two mouse models of muscular dystrophy.

Muscular dystrophy is characterized by skeletal muscle weakness and wasting, but little is known about possible alterations to the vasculature. Many muscular dystrophies are caused by a defective dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC), which plays an important role in mechanotransduction and maintenance of structural integrity in muscle cells. The DGC is a group of membrane-associated proteins, including dystrophin and sarcoglycan-delta, that helps connect the cytoskeleton of muscle cells to the extracellular matrix. In this paper, mice lacking genes encoding dystrophin (mdx) or sarcoglycan-delta (sgcd-/-) were studied to detect possible alterations to vascular wall mechanics. Pressure-diameter and axial force-length tests were performed on common carotid arteries from mdx, sgcd-/-, and wild-type mice in active (basal) and passive smooth muscle states, and functional responses to three vasoactive compounds were determined at constant pressure and length. Apparent biomechanical differences included the following: mdx and sgcd-/- arteries had decreased distensibilities in pressure-diameter tests, with mdx arteries exhibiting elevated circumferential stresses, and mdx and sgcd-/- arteries generated elevated axial loads and stresses in axial force-length tests. Interestingly, however, mdx and sgcd-/- arteries also had significantly lower in vivo axial stretches than did the wild type. Accounting for this possible adaptation largely eliminated the apparent differences in circumferential and axial stiffness, thus suggesting that loss of DGC proteins may induce adaptive biomechanical changes that can maintain overall wall mechanics in response to normal loads. Nevertheless, there remains a need to understand better possible vascular adaptations in response to sustained altered loads in patients with muscular dystrophy.     

Evaluation of the prevalence and economic burden of adverse drug reactions presenting to the medical emergency department of a tertiary referral centre: a prospective study

Background  

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are now recognized as an important cause of hospital admissions, with a proportion ranging from 0.9–7.9%. They also constitute a significant economic burden. We thus aimed at determining the prevalence and the economic burden of ADRs presenting to Medical Emergency Department (ED) of a tertiary referral center in India     

Calcium Regulation of Hemorrhagic Fever Virus Budding: Mechanistic Implications for Host-Oriented Therapeutic Intervention

Hemorrhagic fever viruses, including the filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg) and arenaviruses (Lassa and Junín viruses), are serious human pathogens for which there are currently no FDA approved therapeutics or vaccines. Importantly, transmission of these viruses, and specifically late steps of budding, critically depend upon host cell machinery. Consequently, strategies which target these mechanisms represent potential targets for broad spectrum host oriented therapeutics. An important cellular signal implicated previously in EBOV budding is calcium. Indeed, host cell calcium signals are increasingly being recognized to play a role in steps of entry, replication, and transmission for a range of viruses, but if and how filoviruses and arenaviruses mobilize calcium and the precise stage of virus transmission regulated by calcium have not been defined. Here we demonstrate that expression of matrix proteins from both filoviruses and arenaviruses triggers an increase in host cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ concentration by a mechanism that requires host Orai1 channels. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Orai1 regulates both VLP and infectious filovirus and arenavirus production and spread. Notably, suppression of the protein that triggers Orai activation (Stromal Interaction Molecule 1, STIM1) and genetic inactivation or pharmacological blockade of Orai1 channels inhibits VLP and infectious virus egress. These findings are highly significant as they expand our understanding of host mechanisms that may broadly control enveloped RNA virus budding, and they establish Orai and STIM1 as novel targets for broad-spectrum host-oriented therapeutics to combat these emerging BSL-4 pathogens and potentially other enveloped RNA viruses that bud via similar mechanisms.     

疣柄牛肝菌属一中国新记录种

报道了采自内蒙古呼伦贝尔市的中国疣柄牛肝菌属1个新记录种,即假褐疣柄牛肝菌Leccinum pseudoscabrum(Kallenb.)utara.。主要特征为菌肉伤后变红到紫褐色,再到黑褐色,基部菌丝体手触后呈紫褐色;具泡状菌丝,呈栅栏状。比较和讨论了该种与相近种在伤后不同的变色反应及菌丝形态。研究标本存放于吉林农业大学菌物标本馆(HMJAU)。     

Structure of an antibody in complex with its mucin domain linear epitope that is protective against Ebola virus

Antibody 14G7 is protective against lethal Ebola virus challenge and recognizes a distinct linear epitope in the prominent mucin-like domain of the Ebola virus glycoprotein GP. The structure of 14G7 in complex with its linear peptide epitope has now been determined to 2.8 Å. The structure shows that this GP sequence forms a tandem β-hairpin structure that binds deeply into a cleft in the antibody-combining site. A key threonine at the apex of one turn is critical for antibody interaction and is conserved among all Ebola viruses. This work provides further insight into the mechanism of protection by antibodies that target the protruding, highly accessible mucin-like domain of Ebola virus and the structural framework for understanding and characterizing candidate immunotherapeutics.