Augmentation of Autoantibodies by Helicobacter pylori in Parkinson’s Disease Patients May Be Linked to Greater Severity

Parkinson''s disease (PD) is the second most common chronic and progressive neurodegenerative disorder. Its etiology remains elusive and at present only symptomatic treatments exists. Helicobacter pylori chronically colonizes the gastric mucosa of more than half of the global human population. Interestingly, H. pylori positivity has been found to be associated with greater of PD motor severity. In order to investigate the underlying cause of this association, the Sengenics Immunome protein array, which enables simultaneous screening for autoantibodies against 1636 human proteins, was used to screen the serum of 30 H. pylori-seropositive PD patients (case) and 30 age- and gender-matched H. pylori-seronegative PD patients (control) in this study. In total, 13 significant autoantibodies were identified and ranked, with 8 up-regulated and 5 down-regulated in the case group. Among autoantibodies found to be elevated in H. pylori-seropositive PD were included antibodies that recognize Nuclear factor I subtype A (NFIA), Platelet-derived growth factor B (PDGFB) and Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4A3 (eIFA3). The presence of elevated autoantibodies against proteins essential for normal neurological functions suggest that immunomodulatory properties of H. pylori may explain the association between H. pylori positivity and greater PD motor severity.     

Long-Term Secondary Care Costs of Endometrial Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study Nested within the United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS)

BackgroundThere is limited evidence on the costs of Endometrial Cancer (EC) by stage of disease. We estimated the long-term secondary care costs of EC according to stage at diagnosis in an English population-based cohort.MethodsWomen participating in UKCTOCS and diagnosed with EC following enrolment (2001–2005) and prior to 31^st Dec 2009 were identified to have EC through multiple sources. Survival was calculated through data linkage to death registry. Costs estimates were derived from hospital records accessed from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) with additional patient level covariates derived from case notes and patient questionnaires. Missing and censored data was imputed using Multiple Imputation. Regression analysis of cost and survival was undertaken.Results491 of 641 women with EC were included. Five year total costs were strongly dependent on stage, ranging from £9,475 (diagnosis at stage IA/IB) to £26,080 (diagnosis at stage III). Stage, grade and BMI were the strongest predictors of costs. The majority of costs for stage I/II EC were incurred in the first six months after diagnosis while for stage III / IV considerable costs accrued after the first six months.ConclusionsIn addition to survival advantages, there are significant cost savings if patients with EC are detected earlier.     

Characterization of Bacteria by Particle Beam Mass Spectrometry

A technique is described for detecting and characterizing bacteria on a single-particle basis by mass spectrometry. The method involves generation of a particle beam of single whole cells which are rapidly volatilized and ionized in vacuum in the ion source of a quadrupole mass spectrometer. The particle beam can be generated, with minimal sample handling, from a naturally occurring aerosol or from a solution of bacteria that can be dispersed as an aerosol. The mass spectrum is generated by successively measuring the average intensities of different mass peaks. The average intensity is obtained by measuring the ion intensity distribution at the particular mass (m/e) for ion pulses from more than 1,000 bacteria particles. Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, and Pseudomonas putida samples were analyzed to test the capability of the instrument for differentiating among species of bacteria. Significant ion-intensity information was produced over the m/e range of 50 to 300, an improvement over previous pyrolysis-mass spectrometry results. The complex mass spectra contained a few unique peaks which could be used for the differentiation of the bacteria. A statistical analysis of the variations in peak intensities among the three bacteria provided a quantitative measure of the reproducibility of the instrument and its ability to differentiate among bacteria. The technique could lead to a new rapid method for the analysis of microorganisms and could be used for the detection of airborne pathogens on a continuous, real-time basis.     

Pre-synaptic dopaminergic compensation after moderate nigrostriatal damage in non-human primates

Despite a dramatic loss of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease, clinical symptoms only arise with 70–80% reduction of striatal dopamine. The mechanisms responsible for this functional compensation are currently under debate. Although initial studies showed an enhanced pre-synaptic dopaminergic function with nigrostriatal degeneration, more recent work suggests that functional compensation is not dopamine-mediated. To address this issue, we used cyclic voltammetry to directly measure endogenous dopamine release from striatal slices of control monkeys and animals with a moderate or severe MPTP-induced dopaminergic lesion. The moderately lesioned monkeys were asymptomatic, while the severely lesioned animals were parkinsonian. In monkeys with a moderate lesion, a 300% increase was obtained in endogenous striatal dopamine release. In contrast, in striatal slices from severely lesioned animals, a small % of evoked dopamine signals were similar in amplitude to control while the greater majority were undetectable. These findings suggest that pre-synaptic dopaminergic compensation develops in residual dopaminergic terminals with moderate lesioning, but that this response is lost with severe nigrostriatal damage. Such an interpretation is supported by the results of dopamine turnover studies. This enhanced pre-synaptic dopaminergic activity may be important in maintaining normal motor function during the initial stages of Parkinson's disease.     

HIV envelope-CXCR4 signaling activates cofilin to overcome cortical actin restriction in resting CD4 T cells

Binding of the HIV envelope to the chemokine coreceptors triggers membrane fusion and signal transduction. The fusion process has been well characterized, yet the role of coreceptor signaling remains elusive. Here, we describe a critical function of the chemokine coreceptor signaling in facilitating HIV infection of resting CD4 T cells. We find that static cortical actin in resting T cells represents a restriction and that HIV utilizes the Galphai-dependent signaling from the chemokine coreceptor CXCR4 to activate a cellular actin-depolymerizing factor, cofilin, to overcome this restriction. HIV envelope-mediated cofilin activation and actin dynamics are important for a postentry process that leads to viral nuclear localization. Inhibition of HIV-mediated actin rearrangement markedly diminishes viral latent infection of resting T cells. Conversely, induction of active cofilin greatly facilitates it. These findings shed light on viral exploitation of cellular machinery in resting T cells, where chemokine receptor signaling becomes obligatory.     

Factors affecting the use of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase as a marker for Brassica genetic transformation

The CAT gene which codes for the enzyme chloramphenicol acetyltransferase was found to be ineffective as a reporter gene in cells and tissues of Brassica species. High levels of endogenous CAT activity were found to be widespread among this genus and did not appear to be distributed in a tissue- or cell-specific manner. Moreover, the presence of an inhibitor of CAT activity was discovered in Brassica napus and Brassica juncea. This inhibitor appeared to act selectively on bacterial CAT in transgenic plants. These findings provided an explanation for difficulties experienced in the detection of transgenic CAT activity in B. napus.     

Modulation of cadmium-induced oxidative stress in Ceratophyllum demersum by zinc involves ascorbate-glutathione cycle and glutathione metabolism.

To understand the interaction between Zn, an essential micronutrient and Cd, a non-essential element, Cd-10 microM and Zn supplemented (10, 50, 100, and 200 microM) Cd 10 microM treated Ceratophyllum demersum L. (Coontail), a free floating freshwater macrophyte was chosen for the study. Cadmium at 10 microM concentration decreased thiol content, enhanced oxidation of ascorbate (AsA) and glutathione (GSH) to dehydroascorbate (DHA) and glutathione disulfide (GSSG), respectively, a clear indication of oxidative stress. Zinc supplementation to Cd (10 microM) treated plants effectively restored thiols, inhibited oxidation of AsA and GSH maintaining the redox molecules in reduced form. Cd-10 microM slightly induced ascorbate peroxidase (APX, E.C. 1.11.1.11) but inhibited monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR, E.C. 1.6.5.4), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR, E.C. 1.8.5.1) and glutathione reductase (GR, E.C. 1.6.4.2), enzymes of ascorbate-glutathione cycle (AGC). Zn supplementation restored and enhanced the functional activity of all the AGC enzymes (APX, MDHAR, DHAR and GR). Gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (gamma-GCS, E.C. 6.3.2.2) was not affected by Cd as well as Zn, but Zn supplements increased glutathione-S-transferase (GST, E.C. 2.5.1.18) activity to a greater extent than Cd and simultaneously restored glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX, E.C. 1.11.1.9) activity impaired by Cd toxicity. Zn-alone treatments did not change above investigated parameters. These results clearly indicate the protective role of Zn in modulating the redox status of the plant system through the antioxidant pathway AGC and GSH metabolic enzymes for combating Cd induced oxidative stress.