The pathogenetic role of anticardiolipin antibodies (aCLs) in patients with neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus
(NPSLE) without cerebral infarcts remains elusive. Magnetization transfer imaging (MTI) has proved to be a sensitive tool
for detecting diffuse microscopic brain damage in NPSLE patients. In this study we examined the correlation between grey and
white matter magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) parameters and the presence of IgM and IgG aCLs and lupus anticoagulant in
18 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and a history of NPSLE but without cerebral infarcts on conventional magnetic
resonance imaging. Lower grey matter mean MTR (P < 0.05), white matter mean MTR (P < 0.05), white matter peak location (P < 0.05) and grey matter peak location (trend toward statistical significance) were observed in IgM aCL-positive patients
than in IgM aCL-negative patients. No significant differences were found in MTR histogram parameters with respect to IgG aCL
and lupus anticoagulant status, nor with respect to anti-dsDNA or anti-ENA (extractable nuclear antigen) status. This is the
first report of an association between the presence of aCLs and cerebral damage in grey and white matter in NPSLE. Our findings
suggest that aCLs are associated with diffuse brain involvement in NPSLE patients. 相似文献
Tyrosine kinases are important regulators of synaptic strength. Here, we describe a key component of the synaptic vesicle release machinery, Munc18‐1, as a phosphorylation target for neuronal Src family kinases (SFKs). Phosphomimetic Y473D mutation of a SFK phosphorylation site previously identified by brain phospho‐proteomics abolished the stimulatory effect of Munc18‐1 on SNARE complex formation (“SNARE‐templating”) and membrane fusion in vitro. Furthermore, priming but not docking of synaptic vesicles was disrupted in hippocampal munc18‐1‐null neurons expressing Munc18‐1Y473D. Synaptic transmission was temporarily restored by high‐frequency stimulation, as well as by a Munc18‐1 mutation that results in helix 12 extension, a critical conformational step in vesicle priming. On the other hand, expression of non‐phosphorylatable Munc18‐1 supported normal synaptic transmission. We propose that SFK‐dependent Munc18‐1 phosphorylation may constitute a potent, previously unknown mechanism to shut down synaptic transmission, via direct occlusion of a Synaptobrevin/VAMP2 binding groove and subsequent hindrance of conformational changes in domain 3a responsible for vesicle priming. This would strongly interfere with the essential post‐docking SNARE‐templating role of Munc18‐1, resulting in a largely abolished pool of releasable synaptic vesicles. 相似文献
The relative efficiencies of different protein-coding genes of the
mitochondrial genome and different tree-building methods in recovering a
known vertebrate phylogeny (two whale species, cow, rat, mouse, opossum,
chicken, frog, and three bony fish species) was evaluated. The
tree-building methods examined were the neighbor joining (NJ), minimum
evolution (ME), maximum parsimony (MP), and maximum likelihood (ML), and
both nucleotide sequences and deduced amino acid sequences were analyzed.
Generally speaking, amino acid sequences were better than nucleotide
sequences in obtaining the true tree (topology) or trees close to the true
tree. However, when only first and second codon positions data were used,
nucleotide sequences produced reasonably good trees. Among the 13 genes
examined, Nd5 produced the true tree in all tree-building methods or
algorithms for both amino acid and nucleotide sequence data. Genes Cytb and
Nd4 also produced the correct tree in most tree-building algorithms when
amino acid sequence data were used. By contrast, Co2, Nd1, and Nd41 showed
a poor performance. In general, large genes produced better results, and
when the entire set of genes was used, all tree-building methods generated
the true tree. In each tree-building method, several distance measures or
algorithms were used, but all these distance measures or algorithms
produced essentially the same results. The ME method, in which many
different topologies are examined, was no better than the NJ method, which
generates a single final tree. Similarly, an ML method, in which many
topologies are examined, was no better than the ML star decomposition
algorithm that generates a single final tree. In ML the best substitution
model chosen by using the Akaike information criterion produced no better
results than simpler substitution models. These results question the
utility of the currently used optimization principles in phylogenetic
construction. Relatively simple methods such as the NJ and ML star
decomposition algorithms seem to produce as good results as those obtained
by more sophisticated methods. The efficiencies of the NJ, ME, MP, and ML
methods in obtaining the correct tree were nearly the same when amino acid
sequence data were used. The most important factor in constructing reliable
phylogenetic trees seems to be the number of amino acids or nucleotides
used.
相似文献
Only relatively recently have researchers turned to molecular methods for
nematode phylogeny reconstruction. Thus, we lack the extensive literature
on evolutionary patterns and phylogenetic usefulness of different DNA
regions for nematodes that exists for other taxa. Here, we examine the
usefulness of mtDNA for nematode phylogeny reconstruction and provide data
that can be used for a priori character weighting or for parameter
specification in models of sequence evolution. We estimated the
substitution pattern for the mitochondrial ND4 gene from intraspecific
comparisons in four species of parasitic nematodes from the family
Trichostrongylidae (38-50 sequences per species). The resulting pattern
suggests a strong mutational bias toward A and T, and a lower
transition/transversion ratio than is typically observed in other taxa. We
also present information on the relative rates of substitution at first,
second, and third codon positions and on relative rates of saturation of
different types of substitutions in comparisons ranging from intraspecific
to interordinal. Silent sites saturate extremely quickly, presumably owing
to the substitution bias and, perhaps, to an accelerated mutation rate.
Results emphasize the importance of using only the most closely related
sequences in order to infer patterns of substitution accurately for
nematodes or for other taxa having strongly composition-biased DNA. ND4
also shows high amino acid polymorphism at both the intra- and
interspecific levels, and in higher level comparisons, there is evidence of
saturation at variable amino acid sites. In general, we recommend using
mtDNA coding genes only for phylogenetics of relatively closely related
nematode species and, even then, using only nonsynonymous substitutions and
the more conserved mitochondrial genes (e.g., cytochrome oxidases). On the
other hand, the high substitution rate in genes such as ND4 should make
them excellent for population genetics studies, identifying cryptic
species, and resolving relationships among closely related congeners when
other markers show insufficient variation.
相似文献
Biotransformations have gained extensive importance in practical use as a support for chemical synthesis or in the conversion of natural products. Biotransformations may present an enlargement, a sequential degradation or a specific modification of synthetic or natural compounds. The tools for biotransformations are principally mammalian, plant or microbial cells and their cell-free enzymes. In technical practice the biocatalysts are so far limited to the use of microorganisms and some cell-free enzymes of low cost. Although numerous microbial or enzymatical reactions were already developed for industrial processes, the capacities of biotransformations offer a broad field of inexhaustible possibilities for the future.
The elucidation of factors that trigger the development of transient wheezing in early childhood may be an important step toward understanding the pathogenesis of asthma and other allergic diseases later in life. Transient wheezing has been mainly attributed to viral infections, although sensitisation to aeroallergens and food allergens may occur at an early age. In developing countries, intestinal helminthic infections have also been associated with allergy or atopy-related disorders.
Objective
The aim of this study was to explore the association of Trichuris trichiura and Ascaris lumbricoides infections with wheezing and atopy in early childhood.
Study design
A cross-sectional study using a Portuguese-language ISAAC phase I questionnaire, adapted for preschool-aged children, nested in a cohort study of childhood diarrhoea, was conducted on 682 children. Two faecal samples per child were examined for the presence of intestinal helminthic infection. IgE antibodies against three allergenic preparations (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Blomia tropicalis and common child food), as well as against A. lumbricoides antigens, were measured in a sub-sample of these children, whose parents allowed the procedure. Atopy was defined by the presence of levels of serum IgE antibodies ≥0.35 kU/L against at least one of the three tested allergenic preparations.
Results
Active T. trichiura infection but not A. lumbricoides infection was positively associated with wheezing in the total studied children population [adjusted OR = 2.60; CI = 1.54;4.38] and in the atopic children sub-population [adjusted OR = 3.07; CI = 1.00;9.43]. The association with atopy was also positive and statistically significant only in the brute analysis [OR = 2.13; CI = 1.03;4.40]. Anti-A. lumbricoides IgE antibodies, but not current A. lumbricoides infection, were positively associated with wheezing in atopic children [adjusted OR = 2.01; CI = 1.00;4.50] and in non-atopic children [adjusted OR = 3.07; CI = 1.13;8.35] and it was also associated with atopy [adjusted OR = 7.29; CI = 3.90; 13.4]. On the other hands, reports of wheezing were not significantly associated with atopy.
Conclusions
These data corroborate previous studies showing that wheezing is predominantly associated with infection in early childhood and shows that anti-A. lumbricoides IgE antibodies, but not active Ascaris infections, are associated with wheezing and atopy. Additionally, the data demonstrate that T. trichiura infection may play a role in the pathogenesis of atopic wheezing in early childhood. 相似文献