Airway cellularity, lipid laden macrophages and microbiology of gastric juice and airways in children with reflux oesophagitis

Background and methods

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is a recently discovered respiratory virus associated with bronchiolitis, pneumonia, croup and exacerbations of asthma. Since respiratory viruses are frequently detected in patients with acute exacerbations of COPD (AE-COPD) it was our aim to investigate the frequency of hMPV detection in a prospective cohort of hospitalized patients with AE-COPD compared to patients with stable COPD and to smokers without by means of quantitative real-time RT-PCR.

Results

We analysed nasal lavage and induced sputum of 130 patients with AE-COPD, 65 patients with stable COPD and 34 smokers without COPD. HMPV was detected in 3/130 (2.3%) AE-COPD patients with a mean of 6.5 × 10⁵ viral copies/ml in nasal lavage and 1.88 × 10⁵ viral copies/ml in induced sputum. It was not found in patients with stable COPD or smokers without COPD.

Conclusion

HMPV is only found in a very small number of patients with AE-COPD. However it should be considered as a further possible viral trigger of AE-COPD because asymptomatic carriage is unlikely.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis</Emphasis> ETO1 specifically interacts with and negatively regulates type 2 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthases

Background  

In Arabidopsis, ETO1 (ETHYLENE-OVERPRODUCER1) is a negative regulator of ethylene evolution by interacting with AtACS5, an isoform of the rate-limiting enzyme, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthases (ACC synthase or ACS), in ethylene biosynthetic pathway. ETO1 directly inhibits the enzymatic activity of AtACS5. In addition, a specific interaction between ETO1 and AtCUL3, a constituent of a new type of E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, suggests the molecular mechanism in promoting AtACS5 degradation by the proteasome-dependent pathway. Because orthologous sequences to ETO1 are found in many plant species including tomato, we transformed tomato with Arabidopsis ETO1 to evaluate its ability to suppress ethylene production in tomato fruits.     

Clinical features and predictors for disease natural progression in adults with Pompe disease: a nationwide prospective observational study

Background

Due partly to physicians’ unawareness, many adults with Pompe disease are diagnosed with great delay. Besides, it is not well known which factors influence the rate of disease progression, and thus disease outcome. We delineated the specific clinical features of Pompe disease in adults, and mapped out the distribution and severity of muscle weakness, and the sequence of involvement of the individual muscle groups. Furthermore, we defined the natural disease course and identified prognostic factors for disease progression.

Methods

We conducted a single-center, prospective, observational study. Muscle strength (manual muscle testing, and hand-held dynamometry), muscle function (quick motor function test), and pulmonary function (forced vital capacity in sitting and supine positions) were assessed every 3–6 months and analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA.

Results

Between October 2004 and August 2009, 94 patients aged between 25 and 75 years were included in the study. Although skeletal muscle weakness was typically distributed in a limb-girdle pattern, many patients had unfamiliar features such as ptosis (23%), bulbar weakness (28%), and scapular winging (33%). During follow-up (average 1.6 years, range 0.5-4.2 years), skeletal muscle strength deteriorated significantly (mean declines of ?1.3% point/year for manual muscle testing and of ?2.6% points/year for hand-held dynamometry; both p<0.001). Longer disease duration (>15 years) and pulmonary involvement (forced vital capacity in sitting position <80%) at study entry predicted faster decline. On average, forced vital capacity in supine position deteriorated by 1.3% points per year (p=0.02). Decline in pulmonary function was consistent across subgroups. Ten percent of patients declined unexpectedly fast.

Conclusions

Recognizing patterns of common and less familiar characteristics in adults with Pompe disease facilitates timely diagnosis. Longer disease duration and reduced pulmonary function stand out as predictors of rapid disease progression, and aid in deciding whether to initiate enzyme replacement therapy, or when.

     

Self-assembling diblock copolymers of poly[N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide] and a beta-sheet peptide

The self-assembly of hybrid diblock copolymers composed of poly(HPMA) and beta-sheet peptide P11 (CH(3)CO-QQRFQWQFEQQ-NH(2)) blocks was investigated. Copolymers were synthesized via thiol-maleimide coupling reaction, by conjugation of semitelechelic poly(HPMA)-SH with maleimide-modified beta-sheet peptide. As expected, CD and CR binding studies showed that the peptide block imposed its beta-sheet structural arrangement on the structure of diblock copolymers. TEM and AFM proved that peptide and these copolymers had the ability to self-assemble into fibrils.