Allergic Airway Disease in Mice Alters T and B Cell Responses during an Acute Respiratory Poxvirus Infection

Pulmonary viral infections can exacerbate or trigger the development of allergic airway diseases via multiple mechanisms depending upon the infectious agent. Respiratory vaccinia virus transmission is well established, yet the effects of allergic airway disease on the host response to intra-pulmonary vaccinia virus infection remain poorly defined. As shown here BALB/c mice with preexisting airway disease infected with vaccinia virus developed more severe pulmonary inflammation, higher lung virus titers and greater weight loss compared with mice inoculated with virus alone. This enhanced viremia was observed despite increased pulmonary recruitment of CD8⁺ T effectors, greater IFNγ production in the lung, and high serum levels of anti-viral antibodies. Notably, flow cytometric analyses of lung CD8⁺ T cells revealed a shift in the hierarchy of immunodominant viral epitopes in virus inoculated mice with allergic airway disease compared to mice treated with virus only. Pulmonary IL-10 production by T cells and antigen presenting cells was detected following virus inoculation of animals and increased dramatically in allergic mice exposed to virus. IL-10 modulation of host responses to this respiratory virus infection was greatly influenced by the localized pulmonary microenvironment. Thus, blocking IL-10 signaling in virus-infected mice with allergic airway disease enhanced pulmonary CD4⁺ T cell production of IFNγ and increased serum anti-viral IgG1 levels. In contrast, pulmonary IFNγ and virus-specific IgG1 levels were reduced in vaccinia virus-treated mice with IL-10 receptor blockade. These observations demonstrate that pre-existing allergic lung disease alters the quality and magnitude of immune responses to respiratory poxviruses through an IL-10-dependent mechanism.     

Evaluation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Volvariella volvacea</Emphasis> Strains for Yield and Diseases/Insect-Pests Resistance Using Composted Substrate of Paddy Straw and Cotton Mill Wastes

Out of the 3 parent strains and 4 single spore isolates of Volvariella volvacea evaluated, strain, OE-274 gave earliest yield in 11.25–11.50 days post-spawning in all 4 trials. The yield varied in different strains in different trials and it was highest in strain, OE-272 in trial 1, SSI, OE-55-08 in trial 2, and strain, OE-274 in trial 3 and 4. In overall average, highest yield was in strain, OE-272, closely followed by strain, OE-274. The number of fruiting bodies per q substrate also varied in different strains in different trials. Highest numbers were in strain, OE-272, SSIs, OE-55-08 and OE-12-22, and strain, OE-210 in trial 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Highest fruiting body wt was in strain, OE-274 in all 4 trials. The yield during different weeks of cropping varied in different strains but invariably it was highest in first week, which accounted for 60–70% of the total yield. The fruiting bodies of strain, OE-274 were of bigger size, brownish, toughest and with least tendency of veil opening, while that of strain, OE-272 and SSI, OE-55-08 were whitish to grayish-white, oblong, medium size, delicate and lesser tendency of veil opening. The strain, OE-274 and SSI, OE-55-08 exhibited higher resistance against the growth of competitor moulds and infestations of insect-pests, while strain, OE-272 exhibited highest susceptibility to insect-pests infestation.     

Chemistry of costunolide and biological activity of the derived lactones

Costunolide and its derived C-16 germacranolides on oxidation with selenium dioxide-t-butyl hydroperoxide afforded two melampolides, an aldehydolactone and the corresponding hydroxylactone, in each case. Structures were assigned to these melampolides on the basis of spectral data and chemical correlation. The aldehydolactones were significantly more active root promotors than their parent lactones. Costunolide and related germacranolides underwent cyclization on treatment with iodine and pyridinium chlorochromate to afford interesting products. (?)-β-Frullanolide has been synthesized and shown to be biologically more active when compared with its parent trans-lactone.     

Phenolics during early development of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Betula pubescens</Emphasis> seedlings: inhibition of phenylalanine ammonia lyase

We studied phenolic metabolism and plant growth in birch seedlings at the beginning of their development by inhibiting phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), which is the first committed step in phenylpropanoid metabolism. Betula pubescens (Ehrh.) seeds were germinated in inhibitor-free media and the seedlings were transferred to hydroponic culture at the cotyledon stage. They were 6 days old at the start of the experiment, which lasted for 3 weeks. PAL activity was inhibited by three different concentrations of 2-aminoindane-2-phosphonic acid monohydrate (AIP) in the growing media. At the end of 3 weeks, phenolics in all plant parts (roots, stem, cotyledons, first, second and third true leaves) were determined. AIP inhibited strongly the accumulation of phenolic acids, salidroside, rhododendrins, ellagitannins and their precursors, flavan-3-ols, and soluble condensed tannins. The accumulation of lignin and flavonol glycoside derivatives was moderately inhibited. The accumulation of flavonol glycosides, such as quercetin glycosides and kaempferol glycosides, was not generally inhibited, even in leaves that emerged during the experiment, while the accumulation of insoluble condensed tannins was inhibited only slightly and not in all plant parts. This suggests that flavonol glycosides, which may have a UV-B protective role, and insoluble condensed tannins, which may have structural functions, are prioritized in seedling development. Inhibition of PAL with AIP decreased seedling growth and possible reasons for this are discussed. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Restoration of secondary metabolism in birch seedlings relieved from PAL-inhibitor

Phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) plays a key role in phenylpropanoid metabolism, catalyzing the deamination of phenylalanine (Phe) to form trans-cinnamic acid. Inhibitors of PAL have been used to study the physiological role of the different compounds derived from trans-cinnamic acid, and to test theories about a trade-off between growth and defence in plants. In a previous study with birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.) seedlings, the PAL inhibitor 2-aminoindane-2-phosphonic acid monohydrate (AIP) caused an accumulation of Phe and a strong decrease in the quantity of simple phenolics, soluble condensed tannins and growth, whereas flavonol glycosides were generally not affected. The present study demonstrates restoration of secondary metabolism in the previously AIP treated birch seedlings. Our results indicate that Phe accumulated during PAL inhibition could be partly used to increase the content of the phenolic acids, flavan-3-ols and to some extent the soluble condensed tannins. Seedling growth also increased when the supply of PAL inhibitor ceased. We thereby show that the inhibition of PAL by AIP in vivo is reversible, at least for moderate AIP concentrations and the rate of restoration is dependent on the inhibitor concentration.     

MspI Allelic Pattern of Bovine Growth Hormone Gene in Indian Zebu Cattle (Bos indicus) Breeds

The MspI allelic variation in intron III of the bovine growth hormone (bGH) gene was explored using PCR-RFLP in 750 animals belonging to 17 well-recognized breeds of Indian zebu cattle (Bos indicus) reared in different geographic locations of the country. Restriction digestion analysis of a 329-bp PCR fragment of the bGH intron III region with MspI restriction enzyme revealed two alleles (MspI− and MspI+) and two genotypes (−/− and +/−) across the 17 cattle breeds studied. The allelic frequency varied from 0.67 to 0.94 for MspI (−) and from 0.06 to 0.33 for MspI (+) across the 17 breeds, with a combined average frequency of 0.87 and 0.13, respectively. No animal with +/+ genotype was detected across the samples analyzed. The chi-square test showed that the difference in MspI allelic frequency was not significant (p > 0.05), regardless of the geographic origin, coat color, or utility of the cattle breed. The high MspI (−) allele frequencies obtained for Indian zebu cattle in this study are in sharp contrast to those reported for taurine breeds from northern Europe, Mediterranean countries, and America. Findings of this study further substantiate the hypothesis that the MspI (−) allele has an Indian origin.     

Description of a New and Two Known Species of the Free-living Nematode Paroigolaimella Paramonov, 1952 (Diplogastridae) from India

This paper describes a new and two known species of Paroigolaimella collected from India. Paroigolaimella helalii n. sp. is characterized by having conspicuous sexual dimorphism in the stoma and pharynx, ovaries with a sphincter separating the mature oocyte from developing ones, a vagina leading to a strong ovijector, a pore-like vulva with cuticular flap; males with slender strongly arcuate spicules with dilated capitula; the gubernaculum slender with expanded plate-like distal end and nine pairs of genital papillae, and four to five pairs of copulatory muscle bands. P. coprophila (Sudhaus and Rehfeld, 1990) Sudhaus and Fürst von Lieven, 2003 collected from leaf litter from a farmyard has been redescribed with reassessment of its distinguishing characters from P. bernensis. P. bodamica (Micoletzky, 1922) n. comb. has been described and its status has been discussed with context to P. bernensis.