Genetic risk factors for insidious equine recurrent uveitis in Appaloosa horses

Appaloosa horses are predisposed to equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), an immune‐mediated disease characterized by recurring inflammation of the uveal tract in the eye, which is the leading cause of blindness in horses. Nine genetic markers from the ECA1 region responsible for the spotted coat color of Appaloosa horses, and 13 microsatellites spanning the equine major histocompatibility complex (ELA) on ECA20, were evaluated for association with ERU in a group of 53 Appaloosa ERU cases and 43 healthy Appaloosa controls. Three markers were significantly associated (corrected P‐value <0.05): a SNP within intron 11 of the TRPM1 gene on ECA1, an ELA class I microsatellite located near the boundary of the ELA class III and class II regions and an ELA class II microsatellite located in intron 1 of the DRA gene. Association between these three genetic markers and the ERU phenotype was confirmed in a second population of 24 insidious ERU Appaloosa cases and 16 Appaloosa controls. The relative odds of being an ERU case for each allele of these three markers were estimated by fitting a logistic mixed model with each of the associated markers independently and with all three markers simultaneously. The risk model using these markers classified ~80% of ERU cases and 75% of controls in the second population as moderate or high risk, and low risk respectively. Future studies to refine the associations at ECA1 and ELA loci and identify functional variants could uncover alleles conferring susceptibility to ERU in Appaloosa horses.     

Fasting protects against the side effects of irinotecan but preserves its anti-tumor effect in Apc15lox mutant mice

Irinotecan is a widely used topoisomerase-I-inhibitor with a very narrow therapeutic window because of its severe toxicity. In the current study we have examined the effects of fasting prior to irinotecan treatment on toxicity and anti-tumor activity. FabplCre;Apc^15lox/+ mice, which spontaneously develop intestinal tumors, of 27 weeks of age were randomized into 3-day fasted and ad libitum fed groups, followed by treatment with a flat-fixed high dose of irinotecan or vehicle. Side-effects were recorded until 11 days after the start of the experiment. Tumor size, and markers for cell-cycle activity, proliferation, angiogenesis, and senescence were measured. Fasted mice were protected against the side-effects of irinotecan treatment. Ad libitum fed mice developed visible signs of discomfort including weight loss, lower activity, ruffled coat, hunched-back posture, diarrhea, and leukopenia. Irinotecan reduced tumor size in fasted and ad libitum fed groups similarly compared to untreated controls (2.4 ± 0.67 mm and 2.4 ± 0.82 mm versus 3.0 ± 1.05 mm and 2.8 ± 1.08 mm respectively, P < 0.001). Immunohistochemical analysis showed reduced proliferation, a reduced number of vascular endothelial cells, and increased levels of senescence in tumors of both irinotecan treated groups. In conclusion, 3 days of fasting protects against the toxic side-effects of irinotecan in a clinically relevant mouse model of spontaneously developing colorectal cancer without affecting its anti-tumor activity. These results support fasting as a powerful way to improve treatment of colorectal carcinoma patients.     

Dendritic cell surface calreticulin is a receptor for NY-ESO-1: direct interactions between tumor-associated antigen and the innate immune system

How the immune system recognizes endogenously arising tumors and elicits adaptive immune responses against nonmutated tumor-associated Ags is poorly understood. In search of intrinsic factors contributing to the immunogenicity of the tumor-associated Ag NY-ESO-1, we found that the NY-ESO-1 protein binds to the surface of immature dendritic cells (DC), macrophages, and monocytes, but not to that of B cells or T cells. Using immunoprecipitation coupled with tandem mass spectrometry, we isolated DC surface calreticulin as the receptor for NY-ESO-1. Calreticulin Abs blocked NY-ESO-1 binding on immature DC and its cross-presentation to CD8+ T cells in vitro. Calreticulin/NY-ESO-1 interactions provide a direct link between NY-ESO-1, the innate immune system, and, potentially, the adaptive immune response against NY-ESO-1.     

Stimulation of cell motility and expression of late markers of differentiation in human oral keratinocytes by Candida albicans

A hallmark of the mucosa of immunocompromized hosts in oral candidiasis is a hyperkeratinized region heavily colonized with fungi at the surface of the terminally differentiated epithelium. To gain insight into the processes important for promoting mucosal invasion by fungi, we characterized the response of keratinocytes to the presence of Candida albicans. Indirect immunofluorescence and kymographic analyses revealed a multifaceted keratinocyte response of OKF6/TERT‐2 cells to C. albicans that consisted of: cytoskeletal reorganization within 3 h, motility and cell expansion with formation of E‐cadherin‐mediated cell–cell adhesions within 6 h, increased expression of late differentiation markers and decreased expression of calprotectin. The initial expansive phase was followed by dissolution of cell–cell adhesions and a decrease in cell size accompanied by loss of E‐cadherin. The keratinocyte response depended on soluble factors associated with hyphal growth as demonstrated using the efg1Δ/efg1Δ, cap1Δ/cap1Δ, als3Δ/als3Δ, hwp1Δ/hwp1Δand sap4–6Δ/sap4–6Δ mutants and was not observed in the presence of the non‐pathogenic yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These studies show the potential for C. albicans to manipulate the stratified epithelial cells to a state of differentiation that is more permissive of fungal colonization of oral tissue, which is likely to play an important role in the pathogenesis of candidiasis.     

Map Misclassification Can Cause Large Errors in Landscape Pattern Indices: Examples from Habitat Fragmentation

Although habitat fragmentation is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity worldwide, virtually no attention has been paid to the quantification of error in fragmentation statistics. Landscape pattern indices (LPIs), such as mean patch size and number of patches, are routinely used to quantify fragmentation and are often calculated using remote-sensing imagery that has been classified into different land-cover classes. No classified map is ever completely correct, so we asked if different maps with similar misclassification rates could result in widely different errors in pattern indices. We simulated landscapes with varying proportions of habitat and clumpiness (autocorrelation) and then simulated classification errors on the same maps. We simulated higher misclassification at patch edges (as is often observed), and then used a smoothing algorithm routinely used on images to correct salt-and-pepper classification error. We determined how well classification errors (and smoothing) corresponded to errors seen in four pattern indices. Maps with low misclassification rates often yielded errors in LPIs of much larger magnitude and substantial variability. Although smoothing usually improved classification error, it sometimes increased LPI error and reversed the direction of error in LPIs introduced by misclassification. Our results show that classification error is not always a good predictor of errors in LPIs, and some types of image postprocessing (for example, smoothing) might result in the underestimation of habitat fragmentation. Furthermore, our results suggest that there is potential for large errors in nearly every landscape pattern analysis ever published, because virtually none quantify the errors in LPIs themselves.     

In vitro and in vivo complementation of the Helicobacter pylori arginase mutant using an intergenic chromosomal site

BACKGROUND: Gene complementation strategies are important in validating the roles of genes in specific phenotypes. Complementation systems in Helicobacter pylori include shuttle vectors, which transform H. pylori at relatively low frequencies, and chromosomally based approaches. Chromosomal complementation strategies are susceptible to polar effects and disruption of other H. pylori genes, leading to unwanted pleiotropic effects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A new complementation strategy was developed for H. pylori by utilizing a suicide plasmid vector that contains fragments of an H. pylori intergenic region (hp0203-hp0204), a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase cassette (cat), and a multiple-cloning site. Genes of interest could be cloned into the intergenic plasmid and the genes integrated into H. pylori by homologous recombination into the intergenic chromosomal region without disrupting any annotated H. pylori gene. The complementation system was validated using the gene encoding arginase (rocF). RESULTS: A rocF mutant unable to hydrolyze or consume l-arginine regained these functions by complementation with the wild-type rocF gene. Complemented strains also had restored arginase protein as determined by Western blot analysis. The complementation system could be successfully applied to multiple H. pylori strains. The intergenic region varied in length and sequence across 17 H. pylori strains, but the flanking-3' ends of the hp0203 and hp0204 coding regions were highly conserved. Inserting a cat cassette and wild-type rocF into the intergenic region did not alter the ability of strain SS1 to colonize mice. CONCLUSIONS: This complementation strategy should greatly facilitate genetic experiments in H. pylori.