Sleep deprivation sensitizes human craniofacial muscles

It is unknown whether and how sleep deprivation influences craniofacial muscle sensitivity in healthy humans. We investigated whether total sleep deprivation (TSD) and one night of recovery sleep (RS) can alter mechanical pain sensitivity in temporal and masseter muscles. Fifteen healthy volunteers participated in three consecutive sessions. Pressure pain thresholds were measured on the temporal and masseter muscles. Both temporal and masseter muscles became sensitized after 24?h of TSD. RS reversed the muscle sensitization.     

Occurrence of mites and fungi in the homes of patients with allergic manifestations

This survey was carried out to evaluate mites and moulds concentrations in the homes of patients with allergic manifestations and positive skin-test for mites and/or fungi. The home environments of 277 patients were evaluated by questionnaire, by sampling of airborne fungal spores and by determining the occurrence of mites and moulds in dust samples. Among the 277 patients examined, 83% reacted positively to house dust mites. The fungal allergen most frequently responsible for skin positivity was Alternaria tenuis. The prevalent airborne fungi were Cladosporium, Penicillium and Alternaria, followed by Aspergillus and Aureobasidium. The other genera were found in less than 50% of the homes. The presence of domestic mites in dust was documented in more than 85% of the homes sampled. The occurrence of fungi in dust was generally higher than in the air. The most common genera recovered were Penicillium, Candida, Aspergillus, Aureobasidium, Alternaria and Cladosporium. The homes investigated were divided into two groups, damp and dry, on the basis of the reported presence of wet or damp spots on inside surfaces and moulds growing inside the home. Our results showed that the concentration of mites and moulds in dust was significantly higher (p < 0.01) in damp homes as compared to dry ones.In general, a good agreement between skin positivity and presence of the same allergens in patients' home environment was observed for mites and, among fungi, for Alternaria, Cladosporium and Aspergillus. Our results seem to confirm that the study of mycoaeroflora and the quantification of mites and moulds in dust samples of allergic patients' homes could lead to more precise diagnoses and therefore to better prophylactic and therapeutic programs for each individual patient.     

Effect of natural selection on the duplicated lysyl oxidase gene in Atlantic salmon

We examined the polymorphism of the lysyl oxidase (LOX) locus, involved in the initiation of muscle collagen cross-linking, in three populations of Atlantic salmon with different life histories and growth rates and compared it with a closely related species (rainbow trout). Up to four alleles were observed per individual, probably as a consequence of the tetraploid origin of the salmonid genome. We found high polymorphism in the LOX locus (16 alleles expressed in total and several low frequency private alleles) in two natural Atlantic salmon populations and extremely reduced diversity in a farmed population (3 alleles) with low density of collagen crosslinks. We also assessed the relative role of selection in maintaining LOX genetic variability in Atlantic salmon. Results from several neutrality tests suggest that selection is playing a role in shaping diversity at the LOX locus. Positive selection was inferred by three different likelihood phylogeny-based methods and one selected site, identified by all three different methods (PAML, FEL and REL) was located within the “copper-talon” characteristic of LOX proteins. We suggest that the retention of four alleles in the salmon LOX locus could be related to its multiple functions.     

Evaluation of the presence of aspartic proteases from Centaurea calcitrapa during seed germination

Aspartic proteinases are present in a variety of organisms including plants. Common features of aspartic proteases include an active site cleft that contains two catalytic aspartic residues, acid pH optima for enzymatic activity, inhibition by pepstatin A. Plant aspartic proteinases occur in seeds and may be involved in the processing of storage proteins. Many of them have been purified and characterized. The presence of aspartic proteases in seeds of Centaurea calcitrapa during germination was investigated by measuring the activity on enzyme extracts. The aspartic proteases are present mainly in the beginning of seed germination suggesting that they could initiate the degradation of protein reserves in germinating seeds.

These proteases were purified by salt precipitation followed by anion-exchange chromatography. Purified aspartic proteases have an optimal pH between 3.5 and 4.5, using FTC-hemoglobin as substrate and an optimal temperature at 52 °C. The ability of seed extracts for milk clotting was tested and the clotting time that was achieved is in the same range found for flower extracts appropriated for special cheeses in which weak clotting agents are required.     

After Being Challenged by a Video Game Problem,Sleep Increases the Chance to Solve It

In the past years many studies have demonstrated the role of sleep on memory consolidation. It is known that sleeping after learning a declarative or non-declarative task, is better than remaining awake. Furthermore, there are reports of a possible role for dreams in consolidation of declarative memories. Other studies have reported the effect of naps on memory consolidation. With similar protocols, another set of studies indicated that sleep has a role in creativity and problem-solving. Here we hypothesised that sleep can increase the likelihood of solving problems. After struggling to solve a video game problem, subjects who took a nap (n = 14) were almost twice as likely to solve it when compared to the wake control group (n = 15). It is interesting to note that, in the nap group 9 out 14 subjects engaged in slow-wave sleep (SWS) and all solved the problem. Surprisingly, we did not find a significant involvement of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep in this task. Slow-wave sleep is believed to be crucial for the transfer of memory-related information to the neocortex and implement intentions. Sleep can benefit problem-solving through the generalisation of newly encoded information and abstraction of the gist. In conclusion, our results indicate that sleep, even a nap, can potentiate the solution of problems that involve logical reasoning. Thus, sleep''s function seems to go beyond memory consolidation to include managing of everyday-life events.     

Th1 and Th17 Responses to Helicobacter pylori in Bangladeshi Infants,Children and Adults

Both Th1 and Th17 cells are important components of the immune response to Helicobacter pylori (Hp) in adults, but less is known about T cell responses to Hp during early childhood, when the infection is often acquired. We investigated Th1 and Th17 type responses to Hp in adults, children and infants in Bangladesh, where Hp is highly endemic. IL-17 and IFN-γ mRNA levels in gastric biopsies from Hp-infected Bangladeshi adults were analyzed and compared to levels in infected and uninfected Swedish controls. Since biopsies could not be collected from infants and children, cytokine responses in Bangladeshi infants (6–12 months), children (3–5 years) and adults (>19 years) were instead compared by stimulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with a Hp membrane preparation (MP) and analyzing culture supernatants by ELISA and cytometric bead array. We found significantly higher expression of IL-17 and IFN-γ mRNA in gastric mucosa of Hp-infected Bangladeshi and Swedish adults compared to uninfected Swedish controls. PBMCs from all age groups produced IL-17 and IFN-γ after MP stimulation, but little Th2 cytokines. IL-17 and IFN-γ were primarily produced by CD4⁺ T cells, since CD4⁺ T cell depleted PBMCs produced reduced amounts of these cytokines. Infant cells produced significantly more IL-17, but similar levels of IFN-γ, compared to adult cells after MP stimulation. In contrast, polyclonal stimulation induced lower levels IL-17 and IFN-γ in infant compared to adult PBMCs and CD4⁺ T cells. The strong IL-17 production in infants after MP stimulation was paralleled by significantly higher production of the IL-17 promoting cytokine IL-1β from infant compared to adult PBMCs and monocytes. In conclusion, these results show that T cells can produce high levels of IL-17 and IFN-γ in response to Hp from an early age and indicate a potential role for IL-1β in promoting Th17 responses to Hp during infancy.     

Constitutional and somatic deletions of the Williams-Beuren syndrome critical region in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Here, we report and investigate the genomic alterations of two novel cases of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) in children with Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS), a multisystem disorder caused by 7q11.23 hemizygous deletion. Additionally, we report the case of a child with NHL and a somatic 7q11.23 deletion. Although the WBS critical region has not yet been identified as a susceptibility locus in NHL, it harbors a number of genes involved in DNA repair. The high proportion of pediatric NHL reported in WBS is intriguing. Therefore, the role of haploinsufficiency of genes located at 7q11.23 in lymphomagenesis deserves to be investigated.     

The functional significance of absence: the chromosomal segment harboring Tp53 is absent from the T55 rat radiation hybrid mapping panel

The T55 rat radiation hybrid (RH) mapping panel has been reported to retain the entire rat genome at retention frequencies between 22% and 37%. However, we found that a small segment of rat chromosome 10 harboring at least four different genes, including Tp53, was completely absent from the panel (retention frequency = 0%). Two other markers located in the vicinity exhibited much reduced retention (2-6%). RH clones are generated by transferring highly fragmented DNA into a recipient cell. There might be a strong selection against the transfer and retention of chromosome segments harboring an intact Tp53, as the action of this gene might prevent proliferation and establishment of the RH clone. Our finding further suggests that unexpected low retention or absence of chromosome segments in an RH panel may represent indications that the segments harbor genes with important functions in cell proliferation control.     

Progesterone synthesis by human placental mitochondria is sensitive to PKA inhibition by H89

The transfer of cholesterol to mitochondria, which might involve the phosphorylation of proteins, is the rate-limiting step in human placental steroidogenesis. Protein kinase A (PKA) activity and its role in progesterone synthesis by human placental mitochondria were assessed in this study. The results showed that PKA and phosphotyrosine phosphatase D1 are associated with syncytiotrophoblast mitochondrial membrane by an anchoring kinase cAMP protein-121. The 32P-labeled of four major proteins was analyzed. The specific inhibitor of PKA, H89, decreased progesterone synthesis in mitochondria while in mitochondrial steroidogenic contact sites protein-phosphorylation was diminished, suggesting that PKA plays a role in placental hormone synthesis. In isolated mitochondria, PKA activity was unaffected by the addition of cAMP suggesting a constant activity of this kinase in the syncytiotrophoblast. The presence of PKA and phosphotyrosine phosphatase D1 anchored to mitochondria by an anchoring kinase cAMP protein-121 indicated that syncytiotrophoblast mitochondria contain a full phosphorylation/dephosphorylation system.