New class I and II HLA alleles strongly associated with opposite patterns of progression to AIDS.

The genetics of resistance to infection by HIV-1 cohort consists of 200 slow and 75 rapid progressors to AIDS corresponding to the extremes of HIV disease outcome of 20,000 Caucasians of European descent. A comprehensive analysis of HLA class I and class II genes in this highly informative cohort has identified HLA alleles associated with fast or slow progression, including several not described previously. A quantitative analysis shows an overall HLA influence independent of and equal in magnitude (for the protective effect) to the effect of the CCR5-Delta32 mutation. Among HLA class I genes, A29 (p = 0.001) and B22 (p < 0.0001) are significantly associated with rapid progression, whereas B14 (p = 0.001) and C8 (p = 0.004) are significantly associated with nonprogression. The class I alleles B27, B57, C14 (protective), and C16, as well as B35 (susceptible), are also influential, but their effects are less robust. Influence of class II alleles was only observed for DR11. These results confirm the influence of the immune system on disease progression and may have implications on peptide-based vaccine development.     

Tomoscintigraphy for detecting gastrointestinal and medullary thyroid cancers: first clinical results using radiolabelled monoclonal antibodies against carcinoembryonic antigen.

Transaxial tomoscintigraphy (or single-photon emission computerised tomography) was used to detect secondary deposits of carcinoma in 17 patients who had been injected with iodine-131-labelled monoclonal antibodies against carcinoembryonic antigen. Of 17 tumor sites studied by tomoscintigraphy 16 were detected (sensitivity 94%); five sites had a volume smaller than 10 cm3. Tomoscintigraphy also detected three unknown tumour deposits later confirmed by surgery or radiology. In contrast, when 21 tumour sites in the same patients were studied by rectilinear scintigraphy, only nine tumour sites were detected (sensitivity 43%), of which eight had a volume larger than 50 cm3.     

The use of stable isotopes to trace small-scale movements by small fish species

Valuable biological information can be obtained by monitoring the movement of organisms. However, the choice of monitoring method becomes highly restricted when following small organisms (<100 mm), especially in aquatic ecosystems. Stable isotopes are being increasingly used in this respect but rarely at the local spatial scale, i.e. 10–1000 s of metres. We sought to identify movement of small fishes between a main river channel and its tributary. Little overlap in isotope baseline was detected between the two channels despite some temporal variability in δ¹⁵N of baseline indicator organisms in the main river. The individuals of two small cyprinid fish species (Leuciscus souffia and Alburnoides bipunctatus) of all the size classes (40–100 mm) caught within the tributary showed considerable heterogeneity in δ¹⁵N values. Classification and discriminant analysis on isotope-derived data distinguished two significantly different groups. Moreover, this result was supported by further sampling of fish caught in the main river (in May and December 2006). Alternative hypotheses, such as dietary differences, biological factors, temporal shifts and spatial differences in diet, did not explain δ¹⁵N variability. This application of stable isotopes at a relatively small spatial and temporal scales further demonstrates its potential as a tool for ecologists.     

Synthesis of a 3-methyluridine phosphoramidite to investigate the role of methylation in a ribosomal RNA hairpin.

The synthesis of a 5'-O-BzH-2'-O-ACE-protected-3-methyluridine phosphoramidite is reported [BzH, benzhydryloxy-bis(trimethylsilyloxy)silyl; ACE, bis(2-acetoxyethoxy)methyl]. The phosphoramidite was employed in solid-phase RNA synthesis to generate a series of RNA hairpins containing single or multiple modifications, including the common nucleoside pseudouridine. Three 19-nucleotide hairpin RNAs that represent the 1920-loop region (G(1906)-C(1924)) of Escherichia coli 23S ribosomal RNA were generated. Modifications were present at positions 1911, 1915, and 1917. The stabilities and structures of the three RNAs were examined by using thermal melting, circular dichroism, and NMR spectroscopy     

Characterization of transducin from bovine retinal rod outer segments. Participation of the amino-terminal region of T alpha in subunit interaction

The GTP-induced dissociation of T alpha from T beta gamma initiates the release of transducin from photolyzed rhodopsin and the subsequent activation of the cGMP phosphodiesterase. In this study, site-specific proteolysis and immunoprecipitation were used to map the domain of T alpha that interacts with T beta gamma. We found that Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease rapidly removes a small fragment from T alpha under native conditions, resulting in the formation of a single 38-kDa polypeptide (T alpha'). Under the same conditions, T beta gamma remains intact. A 4.5-fold decrease in the rate of T alpha cleavage by S. aureus protease was observed in the presence of T beta gamma, suggesting T beta gamma binding blocks the protease-sensitive site on T alpha. Amino acid sequence analysis indicated that T alpha' is derived from the cleavage of T alpha at Glu-21. The ability of T alpha' to interact with and activate the retinal phosphodiesterase is not diminished. However, T alpha' is unable to participate in T beta gamma-dependent activities such as the light-stimulated binding of guanine nucleotides, binding to photoexcited rhodopsin, and ADP-ribosylation catalyzed by pertussis toxin. Moreover, the anti-T alpha monoclonal antibody TF16 was able to precipitate T beta gamma in the presence of T alpha, but not with either T alpha' or T alpha-guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate). We conclude that the amino-terminal region of T alpha participates in T beta gamma interaction and discuss our results with respect to the known structure and function of transducin.     

Determining the kinetics of membrane pores from patch clamp data without measuring the open and closed times

We present a new and very time saving way to determine kinetic rate constants from patch clamp data by using the correlation functions utilized in analyzing experiments with photon correlations.     

Neurotransmitters in the intestine of the Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua

The effects of the putative neurotransmitters acetylcholine, adrenaline, adenosine, ATP, bombesin, 5-hydroxytryptamine, met-enkephalin, neurotensin, somatostatin, substance P and VIP have been investigated in the perfused intestine of the cod, Gadus morhua. The presence and distribution of the different types of nerves was investigated with immunohistochemistry and Falck-Hillarp fluorescence histochemistry. A spontaneous rhythmic activity of the perfused preparations usually occurred within a few minutes from the start of the experiment. This activity was diminished or abolished by addition of atropine, methysergide or tetrodotoxin to the perfusion fluid. Acetylcholine, 5-hydroxytryptamine or substance P caused a contraction of the intestinal wall. The response to acetylcholine was blocked by atropine but not by tetrodotoxin, while the response to 5-hydroxytryptamine was blocked by methysergide and usually also by tetrodotoxin. This indicates that the effect of acetylcholine is direct on the muscle cells, while the effect of 5-hydroxytryptamine may be at least partly via a second neuron. All adrenergic agonists (adrenaline, isoprenaline and phenylephrine) had a dominating inhibitory effect on the intestine. Experiments with antagonists showed that the inhibition is due to stimulation of both alpha-adrenoceptors and beta-adrenoceptors. ATP, adenosine and somatostatin also caused a relaxation of the intestinal wall, often followed by a contraction. Met-enkephalin produced variable responses, either a relaxation, a contraction or both. Bombesin caused a weak inhibition, if anything. Neurotensin and VIP did not visibly affect the intestinal motility. 5-HT-, substance P- and VIP-like immunoreactivity and catecholamine fluorescence were observed in the myenteric plexus, submucosa and muscle layers in all parts of the intestine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)