Adiponectin oligomerization state and adiponectin receptors airway expression in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Adiponectin (Acrp30) shows several beneficial properties and circulates as different oligomers. The role of Acrp30 in lung is not fully clear, but a link with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been highlighted. In this study, we analyzed the anthropometrical and biochemical features and evaluated total Acrp30 levels of a COPD cohort without metabolic complications compared to healthy controls. In addition, being the oligomerization state critical for its biological activities, we characterized the pattern of Acrp30 circulating oligomers focusing on the high molecular weight (HMW) oligomers to verify whether it correlates to COPD. Finally, we investigated AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 expression in lung from COPD. Interestingly, we found for the first time that the oligomerization state of Acrp30 is altered in COPD; particularly, we observed that the higher levels of Acrp30 are associated with a significant and specific increase of HMW. In addition, we demonstrated the presence of AdipoRs with a lower expression of AdipoR2 compared to AdipoR1. In conclusion, we demonstrated that in COPD, the higher levels of Acrp30 are associated with the significantly increase of HMW representing the most biologically active forms. The important role of Acrp30 in pathophysiological conditions of lung is supported also by the modulation of AdipoRs with the down regulation of AdipoR2. The low expression of AdipoR2 could suggest a specific role of this receptor, mainly implicated in Acrp30 effects on inflammation and oxidative stress. Thus, total Acrp30, HMW and its receptors could be considered critical targets to improve diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for lung diseases.     

Human fetal tau protein isoform: possibilities for Alzheimer's disease treatment

While early 1990s reports showed the phosphorylation pattern of fetal tau protein to be similar to that of tau in paired helical filaments (PHF) in Alzheimer's disease (AD), neither the molecular mechanisms of the transient developmental hyperphosphorylation of tau nor reactivation of the fetal plasticity due to re-expression of fetal protein kinases in the aging and AD human brain have been sufficiently investigated. Here, we summarize the current knowledge on fetal tau, adding new data on the specific patterns of tau protein and mRNA expression in the developing human brain as well as on change in tau phosphorylation in the perforant pathway after entorhinal cortex lesion in mice. As fetal tau isoform does not form PHF even in a highly phosphorylated state, understanding its expression and post-translational modifications represents an important avenue for future research towards the development of AD treatment and prevention.     

Can Carbon and Phosphorous Amendments Increase Native Forbs in a Restoration Process? A Case Study in the Northern Tall‐grass Prairie (U.S.A.)

In the northern Great Plains (United States), sites with less than 20% of native species are difficult to restore. We have experimented with a restoration method that shows some promise. It consists of systematically installing simulated small‐scale patches (8.0 m² in size) over 25% of an old field and then seeding these patches with native species. The working hypothesis is that these patches will generate a constant source of propagules which in time will lead to increases in native species diversity within the surrounding grass matrix. The objective of this paper was to determine whether soil amendments should be used to facilitate the establishment and persistence of native species (primarily forbs) within these patches. We seeded the patches with a mixture of native grass and forb species and applied four soil treatments: P fertilization, C additions, C + P, and a control (no amendments). Results for the first 5 years were as follows: (1) seeded forb richness was mostly unaffected by soil amendments; (2) seeded and nonseeded forb biomass and density were substantially reduced by C additions, whereas they were unaffected or increased under P additions; (3) both seeded and non‐native grass biomass substantially increased with C additions; and (4) there was an inverse relationship between native seeded forbs and non‐native grass biomass. Our conclusions are that: (1) P amendments are a potential tool for enhancing native seeded forb biomass in simulated small‐scale disturbance patches; and (2) C additions, although enhancing seeded grass biomass do not reduce the biomass of non‐native grasses.     

Fungemia in hospitals of the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina

BackgroundThe incidence of fungi like pathogens in hospitals varies by regions.ObjectivesOur goal was not only to record the incidence and etiology of fungaemia, but also the change during the 4 years analysed, to determine the time of detection in automated blood culture and by lysis-centrifugation, and finally to assess the gender, age and underlying disease of the patients with fungaemia.MethodsAn observational multicentre study of fungaemia was conducted in hospitals in the Mycology Network of Buenos Aires.ResultsA total of 190,920 blood cultures were processed: 182,050 automated blood culture and 8,870 lysis-centrifugation. Fungi were recovered in 1,020 episodes. The overall incidence of fungaemia was 1.72/1,000 admissions; 683 episodes were due to Candida (68%), and 325 (32%) to other fungi: 214 Cryptococcus, 105 Histoplasma, 7 Rhodotorula, 5 Trichosporon, 2 Pichia, 2 Acremonium, one Saccharomyces and one Fusarium. The incidence of candidaemia was 1.15/1,000 admissions with a wide variation between centres (0.35 to 2.65). Most Candida isolates (97%) were detected in the first 2 days of incubation. Candida albicans was recovered in 43% of the episodes. In fungaemia other than candidaemia, the predominant fungi were Cryptococcus and Histoplasma capsulatum.ConclusionsThe incidence remained stable during the study period. Fungaemia by Candida were predominant. C. albicans was involved in less than a half of the episodes. The recovery of Cryptoccocus and H. capsulatum is strongly associated with HIV patients.     

Liver Retransplantation in Adults: The Largest Multicenter Italian Study

This study is the largest Italian survey on liver retransplantations (RET). Data report on 167 adult patients who received 2 grafts, 16 who received 3 grafts, and one who received 4 grafts over a 11 yr period.There was no statistically significant difference in graft survival after the first or the second RET (52, 40, and 29% vs 44, 36, and 18% at 1,5,and 10 yr, respectively: Log-Rank test, p = 0.30).Survivals at 1, 5, and 10 years of patients who underwent 2 (n = 151) or 3 (n = 15) RETs, were 65, 48,and 39% vs 59, 44, and 30%, respectively (p = 0.59).Multivariate analysis of survival showed that only the type of graft (whole vs reduced) was associated with a statistically significant difference (HR = 3.77, Wald test p = 0. 05); the donor age appeared to be a relevant factor as well, although the difference was not statistically significant (HR = 1.91, Wald test p = 0.08).Though late RETs have better results on long term survival relative to early RETs, no statistically significant difference can be found in early results, till three years after RET.Considering late first RETs (interval>30 days from previous transplantation) with whole grafts the difference in graft survival in RETs due to HCV recurrence (n = 17) was not significantly different from RETs due to other causes (n = 53) (65–58 and 31% vs 66–57 and 28% respectively at 1–5 and 10 years, p = 0.66).     

Availability of Volunteer-Led Home-Based Care System and Baseline Factors as Predictors of Clinical Outcomes in HIV-Infected Patients in Rural Zambia

Background

We assessed the impact of home-based care (HBC) for HIV+ patients, comparing outcomes between two groups of Zambians receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) who lived in villages with and without HBC teams.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study using medical charts from Macha Mission Hospital, a hospital providing HIV care in Zambia''s rural Southern Province. Date of birth, date of ART initiation, place of residence, sex, body mass index (BMI), CD4+ cell count, and hemoglobin (Hgb) were abstracted. Logistic regression was used to test our hypothesis that HBC was associated with treatment outcomes.

Results

Of 655 patients, 523 (80%) were eligible and included in the study. There were 428 patients (82%) with favorable outcomes (alive and on ART) and 95 patients (18%) with unfavorable outcomes (died, lost to follow-up, or stopped treatment). A minority of the 523 eligible patients (n = 84, 16%) lived in villages with HBC available. Living in a village with HBC was not significantly associated with treatment outcomes; 80% of patients in a village with HBC had favorable outcomes, compared to 82% of patients in a village without HBC (P = 0.6 by χ²). In bivariable analysis, lower BMI (P<0.001), low CD4+ cell count (P = 0.02), low Hgb concentration (P = 0.02), and older age at ART initiation (P = 0.047) were associated with unfavorable outcomes. In multivariable analysis, low BMI remained associated with unfavorable outcomes (P<0.001).

Conclusions

We did not find that living in a village with HBC available was associated with improved treatment outcomes. We speculate that the ART clinic''s rigorous treatment preparation before ART initiation and continuous adherence counseling during ART create a motivated group of patients whose outcomes did not improve with additional HBC support. An alternative explanation is that the quality of the HBC program is suboptimal.     

Human Endogenous Retrovirus Expression Is Inversely Associated with Chronic Immune Activation in HIV-1 Infection

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERV) are remnants of ancestral retroviral infections integrated into the germ line, and constitute approximately 8% of the genome. Several autoimmune disorders, malignancies, and infectious diseases such as HIV-1 are associated with higher HERV expression. The degree to which HERV expression in vivo results in persistent inflammation is not known. We studied the association of immune activation and HERV-K expression in 20 subjects with chronic, untreated progressive HIV-1 infection and 10 HIV-1 negative controls. The mean HERV-K gag and env RNA expression level in the HIV-1 infected cohort was higher than in the control group (p = 0.0003), and was negatively correlated with the frequency of activated CD38+HLA-DR+CD4+ T cells (Rho = −0.61; p = 0.01) and activated CD38+HLA-DR+CD8+ T cells (Rho  = −0.51; p = 0.03). Although HIV-infected persons had higher levels of HERV-K RNA expression (as expected), the level of RNA expression was negatively associated with level of T cell activation. The mechanism for this unexpected association remains to be defined.