<Emphasis Type="Italic">Chlamydia pneumoniae</Emphasis> induces aponecrosis in human aortic smooth muscle cells

Background  

The intracellular bacterium Chlamydia pneumoniae is suspected to play a role in formation and progression of atherosclerosis. Many studies investigated cell death initiation versus inhibition by Chlamydia pneumoniae in established cell lines but nothing is known in primary human aortic smooth muscle cells, a cell type among others known to be involved in the formation of the atherosclerotic plaque. Type of cell death was analyzed by various methods in primary aortic smooth muscle cells after infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae to investigate a possible pathogenic link in atherosclerosis.     

Ambrosia johnstoniorum (Asteraceae), a new species of ragweed from the Chihuahuan Desert

Ambrosia johnstoniorum is described from two collections of I. M. Johnston from central Coahuila. The taxon has a distinctive assortment of characteristics and appears most closely related toAmbrosia nivea (Robins. & Fern.) Payne of northern Chihuahua.     

Clinical features of simian acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (SAIDS) in rhesus monkeys

A syndrome of acquired immunodeficiency has been identified in a group of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) which died at the California Primate Research Center. Clinical evaluation of these animals revealed that 50% or more had lymphadenopathy, weight loss, and diarrhea. At least 30% had splenomegaly, fever, cutaneous abscesses and/or arthritis/myositis. Two animals had fibrosarcomas. Anemia was seen in 19 animals, lymphopenia in 14, granulocytopenia in four and thrombocytopenia in three. Hepatitis was diagnosed histopathologically in 13. Electrophoresis revealed hypoproteinemia, hypoalbuminemia and hypogammaglobulinemia. Numerous bacterial, protozoal, and viral agents were identified including cytomegalovirus and leukocyte-associated herpesvirus. Pathologic lesions included severe post-reactive depletion of lymphocytes in germinal centers and paracortical regions of lymph nodes. Clinical and pathologic changes indicate an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome which has some similarities to AIDS in humans. This disease in monkeys may provide a model for studying that disease.     

Virus detection in monkeys with diarrhea: the association of adenoviruses with diarrhea and the possible role of rotaviruses.

To explore the role of viruses in the etiology of diarrhea in colony-reared monkeys, direct electron microscopy, the fluorescent virus precipitin test and cell culture inoculation were used to examine the stools of monkeys with and without diarrhea. The animals were predominantly rhesus with a few macaques of other species, and included infants, juveniles and adults. Adenoviruses were isolated from a higher proportion of specimens from rhesus monkeys with diarrhea (73% of specimens from infants and 78% of specimens from juveniles and adults) than from control monkeys without diarrhea (22% of specimens from infants and 26% of specimens from juveniles and adults). SV 20 was the most frequently isolated simian adenovirus type; SV 17 and SV 32 also were recovered. Noncultivable adenoviruses detectable only by electron microscopy were not seen. Although adenovirus excretion was associated with diarrhea, the causal role of adenoviruses was difficult to assess. When serial specimens from animals with chronic or intermittent episodes of diarrhea were examined, sequential infections with different viruses were found to be common. Rotaviruses were detected by electron microscopy and isolated in cell cultures from two infant rhesus monkeys with diarrhea. However, the low detection rate, together with negative serologic data on 40% of infant monkeys with diarrhea, suggested that rotaviruses were not the major cause of gastroenteritis in the monkeys under study.     

Whole genome sequencing and evolutionary analysis of human respiratory syncytial virus A and B from Milwaukee, WI 1998-2010

Background

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is the leading cause of lower respiratory-tract infections in infants and young children worldwide. Despite this, only six complete genome sequences of original strains have been previously published, the most recent of which dates back 35 and 26 years for RSV group A and group B respectively.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We present a semi-automated sequencing method allowing for the sequencing of four RSV whole genomes simultaneously. We were able to sequence the complete coding sequences of 13 RSV A and 4 RSV B strains from Milwaukee collected from 1998–2010. Another 12 RSV A and 5 RSV B strains sequenced in this study cover the majority of the genome. All RSV A and RSV B sequences were analyzed by neighbor-joining, maximum parsimony and Bayesian phylogeny methods. Genetic diversity was high among RSV A viruses in Milwaukee including the circulation of multiple genotypes (GA1, GA2, GA5, GA7) with GA2 persisting throughout the 13 years of the study. However, RSV B genomes showed little variation with all belonging to the BA genotype. For RSV A, the same evolutionary patterns and clades were seen consistently across the whole genome including all intergenic, coding, and non-coding regions sequences.

Conclusions/Significance

The sequencing strategy presented in this work allows for RSV A and B genomes to be sequenced simultaneously in two working days and with a low cost. We have significantly increased the amount of genomic data that is available for both RSV A and B, providing the basic molecular characteristics of RSV strains circulating in Milwaukee over the last 13 years. This information can be used for comparative analysis with strains circulating in other communities around the world which should also help with the development of new strategies for control of RSV, specifically vaccine development and improvement of RSV diagnostics.     

Parasites of fishes in the recently inundated ephemeral Lake Liambezi,Namibia

Lake Liambezi forms the periodic connection between the upper Zambezi, Kwando and Okavango rivers. A full parasitological assessment was conducted on 86 fish, representing 14 species in six families sampled in August 2011. Parasite diversity was low and dominated by species with complex life cycles involving intermediate hosts. Most prevalent were larval nematodes (Contracaecum sp.) infecting 12 and Trypanasoma sp. infecting nine of the 14 host species. The intra-erythrocytic parasite Babesiosoma mariae was found in the blood of Coptodon rendalli and Oreochromis andersonii with prevalence of 50% and 60%, respectively. The host-specific monogenean Annulotrema hepseti was recorded only from H. cuvieri with a prevalence of 100%. Notable absences were the copepod and branchiuran parasites that have direct lifecycles and usually occur in high prevalence and abundance in the region. Because parasites with direct life cycles can only be transported into the lake on the host fish, their absence suggests limited immigration of infected fishes into the lake. This suggests that internal recruitment dominates over immigration in the fish population dynamics in Lake Liambezi.     

Treatment of pulmonary acariasis in rhesus macaques with ivermectin

Rhesus monkeys were treated for pulmonary acariasis with single injections of ivermectin (200 micrograms/kg). Monkeys were killed and complete necropsies performed. Control monkeys had numerous live mites, while treated monkeys had only dead, frequently fragmented mites. Histopathologically, inflammatory lesions were most severe in control monkeys and monkeys killed one week after treatment. Inflammatory changes progressively decreased with increasing time post treatment.