Sternal osteomyelitis and scrofuloderma due to BCG vaccination

BCG vaccine has been used for nearly 100 years in the prevention of tuberculosis. The case of a 13 month-old girl vaccinated as a newborn with BCG is described as presenting a sternal mass with associated periostic erosion. The mass was resected, and histopathological examination revealed a chronic inflammatory reaction with caseous granulomas, and extension to bone and skin. PCR amplifications using specific primers for Mycobacterium tuberculosis on paraffin-embedded tissue were negative. BCG vaccination at birth, the histological appearance and the absence of M. tuberculosis DNA in the resected tissue indicated that osteomyelitis and scrofuloderma were a consequence of BCG. Osteomyelitis is a rarely occurring adverse effect of BCG vaccination, more commonly seen in immunosuppressed patients. In the patient described above, no symptoms of immunodeficiency were seen, however.     

Tuning immune tolerance with vasoactive intestinal peptide: a new therapeutic approach for immune disorders

The induction of immune tolerance is essential for the maintenance of immune homeostasis and to limit the occurrence of exacerbated inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. Multiple mechanisms act together to ensure self-tolerance, including central clonal deletion, cytokine deviation and induction of regulatory T cells. Identifying the factors that regulate these processes is crucial for the development of new therapies of autoimmune diseases and transplantation. The vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is a well-characterized endogenous anti-inflammatory neuropeptide with therapeutic potential for a variety of immune disorders. Here, we examine the latest research findings, which indicate that VIP participates in maintaining immune tolerance in two distinct ways: by regulating the balance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory factors, and by inducing the emergence of regulatory T cells with suppressive activity against autoreactive T-cell effectors.     

The utility of otolith microstructure in determining the timing and position of the first annulus in juvenile Antarctic toothfish (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Dissostichus mawsoni</Emphasis>) from the South Shetland Islands

Juvenile Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) collected off the South Shetland Islands (CCAMLR Subarea 48.1) were aged by counting the presumed daily increments in the sagittal otoliths. The timing and position of the first annulus was examined for each individual fish from 10 to 13 cm TL. Under reflected light at low magnification, the otolith sections exhibited a wide opaque nucleus, with no evidence of deposition of the first translucent zone. The average measurement of ventral and dorsal radii of these sections were, respectively, 603 and 768 μm, consistently less than the measurements done in previously estimated 1 year old fish caught in the same area. All specimens aged in the present study were approximately 1 year old fish, with an age range between 365 and 431 days, suggesting a significant underestimation of age in the previous studies. The value of ageing precision indices calculated was relatively low, supporting the reliability of the reading technique applied. Two checks were easily identified in the core of all otolith sections, interpreted tentatively as hatching and first exogenous feeding checks. Back-calculating from the time of capture, the hatching period of D. mawsoni was estimated to occur throughout the summer season, from November to February. In conclusion, the delay in timing of deposition of the first translucent zone, which occurs in the second winter from hatching, should be taken into account in future studies on ageing Antarctic toothfish, as well as in the stock assessment models based on length at age data.     

Feeding habits of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bathydraco marri</Emphasis> (Pisces,Notothenioidei, Bathydraconidae) from the Ross Sea,Antarctica

In comparison with other bathydraconids, all species of the genus Bathydraco are poorly known from an ecological perspective. The diet of juvenile Bathydraco marri Norman, 1938 was studied for the first time in specimens collected in the southwestern Ross Sea during summer 1998. Fish were collected in a single otter trawl catch at 330–340 m depth. The stomach content analysis showed that this species fed exclusively on crustaceans. Overall, 20 prey taxa were identified to genus or species level. Mysids, amphipods and copepods were the most important prey in decreasing order of importance. Other prey, such as Euphausia superba, isopods and tanaids were eaten occasionally and in very small amounts. A multivariate analysis was applied to feeding data to assess ontogenetic or sex-related changes in diet. No difference was detected between sexes, whereas diet of small and large fish differed in some degree. An ontogenetic shift from small and pelagic crustaceans such as copepods to benthic–benthopelagic prey such as amphipods and mysids was observed. Relating present results with published data on physiological characteristics of B. marri, it was possible to infer their feeding behaviour and mode of life. Like other bathydraconids, this species appeared to be an inactive and sluggish fish, which relied on more or less motile benthic or epibenthic prey adopting a “sit and wait” feeding strategy. On the other hand, smaller fish seem to be more active, feeding also on pelagic prey such as copepods that can be seasonally abundant, thus reducing the intraspecific competition for food.     

Comparative Biochemical and Functional Analysis of Viral and Human Secreted Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) Decoy Receptors

The blockade of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) by etanercept, a soluble version of the human TNF receptor 2 (hTNFR2), is a well established strategy to inhibit adverse TNF-mediated inflammatory responses in the clinic. A similar strategy is employed by poxviruses, encoding four viral TNF decoy receptor homologues (vTNFRs) named cytokine response modifier B (CrmB), CrmC, CrmD, and CrmE. These vTNFRs are differentially expressed by poxviral species, suggesting distinct immunomodulatory properties. Whereas the human variola virus and mouse ectromelia virus encode one vTNFR, the broad host range cowpox virus encodes all vTNFRs. We report the first comprehensive study of the functional and binding properties of these four vTNFRs, providing an explanation for their expression profile among different poxviruses. In addition, the vTNFRs activities were compared with the hTNFR2 used in the clinic. Interestingly, CrmB from variola virus, the causative agent of smallpox, is the most potent TNFR of those tested here including hTNFR2. Furthermore, we demonstrate a new immunomodulatory activity of vTNFRs, showing that CrmB and CrmD also inhibit the activity of lymphotoxin β. Similarly, we report for the first time that the hTNFR2 blocks the biological activity of lymphotoxin β. The characterization of vTNFRs optimized during virus-host evolution to modulate the host immune response provides relevant information about their potential role in pathogenesis and may be used to improve anti-inflammatory therapies based on soluble decoy TNFRs.     

Some reproductive traits of the Tristan klipfish, Bovichtus diacanthus (Carmichael 1819) (Notothenioidei: Bovichtidae) from Tristan da Cunha (South Atlantic)

The reproductive biology of the Tristan klipfish, Bovichtus diacanthus, was investigated by macroscopic and histological analyses of the gonads. Fish samples were collected in tide pools at Tristan da Cunha in July 2004. Most specimens of both sexes were developing, or sexually mature, with a gonadosomatic index (GSI) of 7.0–9.2% in females and 0.2–0.6% in males. Histologically, testes showed a random distribution of spermatogonia along the lobules, a condition defined as the unrestricted spermatogonial type. Ripe males exhibited lobules with all spermatogenic stages of development from spermatogonia to spermatozoa. In mature females, the ovarian follicles consisted of three main cohorts of oocytes of different sizes; the smaller one represented by previtellogenic oocytes of 15–150 μm and the other two by yolked oocytes measuring, respectively, 300–1000 and 800–1500 μm. The overlap between the stock of advanced yolked oocytes and the early yolked oocytes was low, decreasing progressively with final maturation. As a result, B. diacanthus was considered a batch spawner, with a spawning season extending from July to August onward. Batch fecundity, based on the most advanced yolked oocytes, was 2,047–8,317 mature oocytes/female, whereas the relative fecundity was 77–141 mature oocytes/g. In the light of the phyletically basal position of bovichtids in the suborder, the reproductive traits of B. diacanthus were compared with those previously described in other Antarctic and non-Antarctic notothenioids.     

Ronderosia ommexechoides: a new species of Brazilian dichroplini (Orthoptera: Acrididae, Melanoplinae)

A new species of the genus Ronderosia Cigliano 1997 is described. Color illustrations of the female and male, drawings of female and male external genitalia as well as drawings of its phallic structures and photographs of the chromosomes are included.     

Molecular architecture of a multifunctional MCM complex

DNA replication is strictly regulated through a sequence of steps that involve many macromolecular protein complexes. One of them is the replicative helicase, which is required for initiation and elongation phases. A MCM helicase found as a prophage in the genome of Bacillus cereus is fused with a primase domain constituting an integrative arrangement of two essential activities for replication. We have isolated this helicase-primase complex (BcMCM) showing that it can bind DNA and displays not only helicase and primase but also DNA polymerase activity. Using single-particle electron microscopy and 3D reconstruction, we obtained structures of BcMCM using ATPγS or ADP in the absence and presence of DNA. The complex depicts the typical hexameric ring shape. The dissection of the unwinding mechanism using site-directed mutagenesis in the Walker A, Walker B, arginine finger and the helicase channels, suggests that the BcMCM complex unwinds DNA following the extrusion model similarly to the E1 helicase from papillomavirus.