Neural Mechanisms Underlying Breathing Complexity

Breathing is maintained and controlled by a network of automatic neurons in the brainstem that generate respiratory rhythm and receive regulatory inputs. Breathing complexity therefore arises from respiratory central pattern generators modulated by peripheral and supra-spinal inputs. Very little is known on the brainstem neural substrates underlying breathing complexity in humans. We used both experimental and theoretical approaches to decipher these mechanisms in healthy humans and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is the most frequent chronic lung disease in the general population mainly due to tobacco smoke. In patients, airflow obstruction associated with hyperinflation and respiratory muscles weakness are key factors contributing to load-capacity imbalance and hence increased respiratory drive. Unexpectedly, we found that the patients breathed with a higher level of complexity during inspiration and expiration than controls. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we scanned the brain of the participants to analyze the activity of two small regions involved in respiratory rhythmogenesis, the rostral ventro-lateral (VL) medulla (pre-Bötzinger complex) and the caudal VL pons (parafacial group). fMRI revealed in controls higher activity of the VL medulla suggesting active inspiration, while in patients higher activity of the VL pons suggesting active expiration. COPD patients reactivate the parafacial to sustain ventilation. These findings may be involved in the onset of respiratory failure when the neural network becomes overwhelmed by respiratory overload We show that central neural activity correlates with airflow complexity in healthy subjects and COPD patients, at rest and during inspiratory loading. We finally used a theoretical approach of respiratory rhythmogenesis that reproduces the kernel activity of neurons involved in the automatic breathing. The model reveals how a chaotic activity in neurons can contribute to chaos in airflow and reproduces key experimental fMRI findings.     

Is individual consistency in body mass and reproductive decisions linked to individual specialization in foraging behavior in a long‐lived seabird?

Individual specialization in diet or foraging behavior within apparently generalist populations has been described for many species, especially in polar and temperate marine environments, where resource distribution is relatively predictable. It is unclear, however, whether and how increased environmental variability – and thus reduced predictability of resources – due to global climate change will affect individual specialization. We determined the within‐ and among‐individual components of the trophic niche and the within‐individual repeatability of δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N in feathers and red blood cells of individual female southern rockhopper penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome) across 7 years. We also investigated the effect of environmental variables (Southern Annular Mode, Southern Oscillation Index, and local sea surface temperature anomaly) on the isotopic values, as well as the link between stable isotopes and female body mass, clutch initiation dates, and total clutch mass. We observed consistent red blood cell δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values within individuals among years, suggesting a moderate degree of within‐individual specialization in C and N during the prebreeding period. However, the total niche width was reduced and individual specialization not present during the premolt period. Despite significant interannual differences in isotope values of C and N and environmental conditions, none of the environmental variables were linked to stable isotope values and thus able to explain phenotypic plasticity. Furthermore, neither the within‐individual nor among‐individual effects of stable isotopes were found to be related to female body mass, clutch initiation date, or total clutch mass. In conclusion, our results emphasize that the degree of specialization within generalist populations can vary over the course of 1 year, even when being consistent within the same season across years. We were unable to confirm that environmental variability counteracts individual specialization in foraging behavior, as phenotypic plasticity in δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N was not linked to any of the environmental variables studied.     

Modulation of tissue-specific immune response to cardiac myosin can prolong survival of allogeneic heart transplants

The role of immune response to tissue-specific Ags in transplant rejection is poorly defined. We have previously reported that transplantation of cardiac allografts triggers a CD4(+) Th1 cell response to cardiac myosin (CM), a major contractile protein of the heart, and that pretransplant activation of proinflammatory CM-specific T cells accelerates rejection. In this study, we show that administration of CM together with IFA (CM/IFA) can prevent acute rejection of an allogeneic heart transplant. Prolongation of cardiac graft survival is associated with activation of CM- and allo-specific T cells secreting type 2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5) and reduction of the frequency of proinflammatory IFN-gamma-secreting (type 1) alloreactive T cells. Blocking of IL-4 cytokine with Abs abrogates the prolongation. CM/IFA treatment prevents acute rejection of MHC class I-mismatched, but not fully mismatched grafts. However, if donor heart is devoid of MHC class II expression, CM-IFA administration delays rejection of fully allogeneic cardiac transplants. This finding suggests that the effect of CM modulation depends on the type (direct vs indirect) and strength of recipient's CD4(+) T cell alloresponse. Our results underscore the important role of host immunity to tissue-specific Ags in the rejection of an allograft. This study demonstrates that modulation of the immune response to a tissue-specific Ag can significantly prolong cardiac allograft survival, an observation that may have important implications for the development of novel selective immune therapies in transplantation.     

Increased Expression of a Phloem Membrane Protein Encoded by NHL26 Alters Phloem Export and Sugar Partitioning in Arabidopsis

The complex process of phloem sugar transport involves symplasmic and apoplasmic events. We characterized Arabidopsis thaliana lines ectopically expressing a phloem-specific gene encoding NDR1/HIN1-like26 (NHL26), a putative membrane protein. NHL26 overexpressor plants grew more slowly than wild-type plants, accumulated high levels of carbohydrates in mature leaves, and had a higher shoot biomass, contrasting with slower root growth and a lower seed yield. Similar effects were observed when NHL26 was overexpressed in companion cells, under the control of a companion cell–specific promoter. The soluble sugar content of the phloem sap and sink organs was lower than that in the wild type, providing evidence of a sugar export defect. This was confirmed in a phloem-export assay with the symplastic tracer carboxyfluorescein diacetate. Leaf sugar accumulation was accompanied by higher organic acid, amino acid, and protein contents, whereas analysis of the metabolite profile of phloem sap exudate revealed no change in amino acid or organic acid content, indicating a specific effect on sugar export. NHL26 was found to be located in the phloem plasmodesmata and the endoplasmic reticulum. These findings reveal that NHL26 accumulation affects either the permeability of plasmodesmata or sugar signaling in companion cells, with a specific effect on sugar export.     

Retention in Care of HIV-Infected Children from HIV Test to Start of Antiretroviral Therapy: Systematic Review

Background

In adults it is well documented that there are substantial losses to the programme between HIV testing and start of antiretroviral therapy (ART). The magnitude and reasons for loss to follow-up and death between HIV diagnosis and start of ART in children are not well defined.

Methods

We searched the PubMed and EMBASE databases for studies on children followed between HIV diagnosis and start of ART in low-income settings. We examined the proportion of children with a CD4 cell count/percentage after after being diagnosed with HIV infection, the number of treatment-eligible children starting ART and predictors of loss to programme. Data were extracted in duplicate.

Results

Eight studies from sub-Saharan Africa and two studies from Asia with a total of 10,741 children were included. Median age ranged from 2.2 to 6.5 years. Between 78.0 and 97.0% of HIV-infected children subsequently had a CD4 cell count/percentage measured, 63.2 to 90.7% of children with an eligibility assessment met the eligibility criteria for the particular setting and time and 39.5 to 99.4% of the eligible children started ART. Three studies reported an association between low CD4 count/percentage and ART initiation while no association was reported for gender. Only two studies reported on pre-ART mortality and found rates of 13 and 6 per 100 person-years.

Conclusion

Most children who presented for HIV care met eligibility criteria for ART. There is an urgent need for strategies to improve the access to and retention to care of HIV-infected children in resource-limited settings.     

Chromosomal initiation in Bacillus subtilis may involve two closely linked origins

Summary When the dnaB37 initiation mutant of Bacillus subtilis is returned to a permissive temperature following a period at 45° C, a synchronous round of DNA replication immediately ensues. Using this system we have been able to analyse the first fragments to be replicated while avoiding the use of thymine starvation or inhibitors of DNA replication. Such treatments are necessary to achieve even modest synchrony in germinating spores. Our results showed that the first fragment to be replicated was a 4kb BamHI-SalI restriction fragment, BS6. In contrast, when the analysis was performed out in the presence of novobiocin, an inhibitor of DNA gyrase, replication from BS6 was inhibited and the first fragment to be replicated was BS5, a 5.6 kb fragment located 1.7 kb to the right of BS 6. Replication from both putative origins was suppressed by rifamycin and was dependent upon dnaB. The results are discussed in relation to previous attempts to identify the first replicating fragment in germinating spores. We also discuss the possibility that B. subtilis contains two origins and suggest that either can act as the primary origin under certain conditions, or alternatively that both origins may act in concert in normal bidirectional replication, each site being required for the leading strand in each direction.     

The neutralizing activity of anti-hepatitis C virus antibodies is modulated by specific glycans on the E2 envelope protein

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) envelope glycoproteins are highly glycosylated, with up to 5 and 11 N-linked glycans on E1 and E2, respectively. Most of the glycosylation sites on HCV envelope glycoproteins are conserved, and some of the glycans associated with these proteins have been shown to play an essential role in protein folding and HCV entry. Such a high level of glycosylation suggests that these glycans can limit the immunogenicity of HCV envelope proteins and restrict the binding of some antibodies to their epitopes. Here, we investigated whether these glycans can modulate the neutralizing activity of anti-HCV antibodies. HCV pseudoparticles (HCVpp) bearing wild-type glycoproteins or mutants at individual glycosylation sites were evaluated for their sensitivity to neutralization by antibodies from the sera of infected patients and anti-E2 monoclonal antibodies. While we did not find any evidence that N-linked glycans of E1 contribute to the masking of neutralizing epitopes, our data demonstrate that at least three glycans on E2 (denoted E2N1, E2N6, and E2N11) reduce the sensitivity of HCVpp to antibody neutralization. Importantly, these three glycans also reduced the access of CD81 to its E2 binding site, as shown by using a soluble form of the extracellular loop of CD81 in inhibition of entry. These data suggest that glycans E2N1, E2N6, and E2N11 are close to the binding site of CD81 and modulate both CD81 and neutralizing antibody binding to E2. In conclusion, this work indicates that HCV glycans contribute to the evasion of HCV from the humoral immune response.