HIV/AIDS in Asia： The Shape of Epidemics and Their Molecular Epidemiology

The Asia-Pacific region is a home to 60% of the population in the world and to approximately one quarter of people with HIV/AIDS. Close to a million of people has been infected and a half million people died of AIDS annually in Asia,becoming the second largest epicenter of global AIDS epidemic. Molecular epidemiology has been useful tool to track a course of HIV spread. In-depth knowledge from the studies on molecular epidemiology elucidates the dynamics of HIV spread and the interrelationship of epidemics in the different regions in Asia.     

Identification of Novel HLA-A*24:02-Restricted Epitope Derived from a Homeobox Protein Expressed in Hematological Malignancies

The homeobox protein, PEPP2 (RHOXF2), has been suggested as a cancer/testis (CT) antigen based on its expression pattern. However, the peptide epitope of PEPP2 that is recognized by cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) is unknown. In this study, we revealed that PEPP2 gene was highly expressed in myeloid leukemia cells and some other hematological malignancies. This gene was also expressed in leukemic stem-like cells. We next identified the first reported epitope peptide (PEPP2^271-279). The CTLs induced by PEPP2^271-279 recognized PEPP2-positive target cells in an HLA-A*24:02-restricted manner. We also found that a demethylating agent, 5-aza-2’-deoxycytidine, could enhance PEPP2 expression in leukemia cells but not in blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors. The cytotoxic activity of anti-PEPP2 CTL against leukemic cells treated with 5-aza-2’-deoxycytidine was higher than that directed against untreated cells. These results suggest a clinical rationale that combined treatment with this novel antigen-specific immunotherapy together with demethylating agents might be effective in therapy-resistant myeloid leukemia patients.     

Polymorphism Located between CPT1B and CHKB,and HLA-DRB1*1501-DQB1*0602 Haplotype Confer Susceptibility to CNS Hypersomnias (Essential Hypersomnia)

Background

SNP rs5770917 located between CPT1B and CHKB, and HLA-DRB1*1501-DQB1*0602 haplotype were previously identified as susceptibility loci for narcolepsy with cataplexy. This study was conducted in order to investigate whether these genetic markers are associated with Japanese CNS hypersomnias (essential hypersomnia: EHS) other than narcolepsy with cataplexy.

Principal Findings

EHS was significantly associated with SNP rs5770917 (P_allele = 3.6×10⁻³; OR = 1.56; 95% c.i.: 1.12–2.15) and HLA-DRB1*1501-DQB1*0602 haplotype (P _positivity = 9.2×10⁻¹¹; OR = 3.97; 95% c.i.: 2.55–6.19). No interaction between the two markers (SNP rs5770917 and HLA-DRB1*1501-DQB1*0602 haplotype) was observed in EHS.

Conclusion

CPT1B, CHKB and HLA are candidates for susceptibility to CNS hypersomnias (EHS), as well as narcolepsy with cataplexy.     

Carbonic anhydorase isoenzyme I (CA-I) concentration in feces and urine as a temporary marker of occult blood in beagle dogs.

This study was undertaken to investigate whether the concentration of carbonic anhydorase isoenzyme I (CA-I) in canine feces and urine is useful as a temporary marker of occult blood. Concentrations of CA-I were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Fecal CA-I concentrations in 113 healthy beagle dogs (50 male and 63 female) of various ages ranged from 4.3 to 16.7 ng/g feces (mean; 7.0 +/- 2.9 ng/g feces). One milliliter of blood from 3 healthy beagle dogs was found to contain 1,047, 1,062 and 1,150 microg CA-I. The fecal CA-I concentrations of dogs receiving intragastric infusions of autologous blood (10 ml) were very low. However, the fecal CA-I concentrations of dogs receiving infusion of autologous blood (5 ml) into the ascending colon were very high. Detection of fecal CA-I would be useful for identifying dogs with hemorrhaging of the large intestine. Of 55 urinary samples collected from healthy beagle dogs by catheter, chemical tests for occult blood were negative in 44, but CA-I concentrations ranged from 1.8 to 12.6 ng/ml (mean; 6.9 +/- 5.4 ng/ml) by ELISA. The CA-I concentrations of the other 11 samples, which tested positive for occult blood on chemical testing, ranged from 41.2 to 525.0 ng/ml by ELISA. Although CA-I is not a specific marker of erythrocytes, CA-I may be used to detect occult blood in canine feces and urine until a specific immunological test kit using antibody for Hb is developed.     

Interpreting expression profiles of cancers by genome-wide survey of breadth of expression in normal tissues

A critical and difficult part of studying cancer with DNA microarrays is data interpretation. Besides the need for data analysis algorithms, integration of additional information about genes might be useful. We performed genome-wide expression profiling of 36 types of normal human tissues and identified 2503 tissue-specific genes. We then systematically studied the expression of these genes in cancers by reanalyzing a large collection of published DNA microarray datasets. We observed that the expression level of liver-specific genes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) correlates with the clinically defined degree of tumor differentiation. Through unsupervised clustering of tissue-specific genes differentially expressed in tumors, we extracted expression patterns that are characteristic of individual cell types, uncovering differences in cell lineage among tumor subtypes. We were able to detect the expression signature of hepatocytes in HCC, neuron cells in medulloblastoma, glia cells in glioma, basal and luminal epithelial cells in breast tumors, and various cell types in lung cancer samples. We also demonstrated that tissue-specific expression signatures are useful in locating the origin of metastatic tumors. Our study shows that integration of each gene's breadth of expression (BOE) in normal tissues is important for biological interpretation of the expression profiles of cancers in terms of tumor differentiation, cell lineage, and metastasis.     

Dynamic discrete model of flashing light effect in photosynthesis of microalgae

For a photobioreactor for mass-culturing microalgae, it is known that flashing light effect enhances the efficiency of photosynthesis. A dynamic model for photosynthesis was developed to elucidate this effect. A particular feature of the model is that discrete RuBP particles circulate in the Calvin cycle and their speeds in the cycle are determined by the amount of ATP generated in the photon reception process. This can realise the light saturation under continuous light and the flashing light effect under fluctuating illumination. Laboratory experiments were conducted to obtain model parameters by curve-fitting for Chaetoceros calcitrans. The present model demonstrates the light flashing effect moderately well and elucidates its mechanism reasonably.     

Calcium carbonate prevents Botryococcus braunii growth inhibition caused by medium acidification

Journal of Applied Phycology - Microalgae, Botryococcus braunii in particular, have received increasing interest owing to their potential as biofuel sources. Although the fertilizer components...