Osteoarchaeological evidence for leprosy from western Central Asia

Published reports of palaeopathological analyses of skeletal collections from Central Asia are, to date, scarce. During the macroscopic examination of skeletal remains dating to the early first millennium AD from the Ustyurt Plateau, Uzbekistan, diagnostic features suggestive of leprosy were found on one individual from Devkesken 6. This adult female exhibited rhinomaxillary changes indicative of leprosy: resorption of the anterior nasal spine, rounding and widening of the nasal aperture, erosion of the alveolar margin, loss of a maxillary incisor, and inflammatory changes in the hard palate. While it is unclear whether the bones of the hands and the feet from this individual were absent as a result of collection strategy or poor preservation, lesions affecting the tibia and fibula were recorded, and the ways in which they may be related to a diagnosis of leprosy are discussed. This is the first skeletal evidence of leprosy from Central Asia and raises questions not only about the spread of the disease in the past, but also about the living conditions of what traditionally were thought of as nomadic peoples.     

Alloreactive T cell responses and acute rejection of single class II MHC-disparate heart allografts are under strict regulation by CD4+ CD25+ T cells

Skin but not vascularized cardiac allografts from B6.H-2bm12 mice are acutely rejected by C57BL/6 recipients in response to the single class II MHC disparity. The underlying mechanisms preventing acute rejection of B6.H-2bm12 heart allografts by C57BL/6 recipients were investigated. B6.H-2bm12 heart allografts induced low levels of alloreactive effector T cell priming in C57BL/6 recipients, and this priming was accompanied by low-level cellular infiltration into the allograft that quickly resolved. Recipients with long-term-surviving heart allografts were unable to reject B6.H-2bm12 skin allografts, suggesting potential down-regulatory mechanisms induced by the cardiac allografts. Depletion of CD25+ cells from C57BL/6 recipients resulted in 15-fold increases in alloreactive T cell priming and in acute rejection of B6.H-2bm12 heart grafts. Similarly, reconstitution of B6.Rag(-/-) recipients with wild-type C57BL/6 splenocytes resulted in acute rejection of B6.H-2bm12 heart grafts only if CD25+ cells were depleted. These results indicate that acute rejection of single class II MHC-disparate B6.H-2bm12 heart allografts by C57BL/6 recipients is inhibited by the emergence of CD25+ regulatory cells that restrict the clonal expansion of alloreactive T cells.     

Endoglin (cd105) and S100A13 as markers of active angiogenesis in endometriosis

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the expression of the neo-angiogenic marker endoglin and its localization in tissues of normal and endometriotic patients as well as to compare it with one new angiogenic marker candidate - S100A13. Human recombinant S100A13 and endoglin 35mer synthetic peptide of the intracellular domain were used for the production of rabbit polyclonal antisera. The antisera were characterized for specificity, using immunoenzyme assay (ELISA), Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections from normal endometrium, adenomyosis, ovarian endometriosis, eutopic endometrium from different endometriotic specimens were tested by immunohistochemistry. No endoglin specific staining was observed on the microvessels of the normal endometrium. In adenomyosis and ovarian endometriosis, the expression pattern was different - endoglin was expressed in all microvessels, with an even stronger expression in the myometrial compartment. Weak endoglin-positive staining was detected in the microvessels of eutopic endometrium specimens from different endometriosis cases. In comparison to endoglin, S100A13 exhibited a moderate expression in endometrial glands of normal endometrium, but strong expression in endometriotic specimens. No S100A13 extensive staining of the microvessels was observed in normal endometrium, while in endometriosis, it exhibited very intense staining in microvascular endothelia and less intense in the perivascular area of middle to large-sized vessels. This study for the first time shows over-expression of S100A13 in endometriosis. These data show that the expression of endoglin and S100A13 corresponds to the activation of the endothelial cells in the process of endometriotic angiogenesis, suggesting a beneficial role for these two molecules as markers for actively progressing endometriotic process.     

In silico structural,functional and phylogenetic analysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Klebsiella</Emphasis> phytases

Phytic acid or phytate (myo-inositol hexakisphosphate) is the principal storage indigestible form of phosphorus in different crops. It is considered as an antinutrient in human as well as animal (including fish, poultry, pig, chicken etc.) diet due to its chelating behavior of certain essential divalent minerals (Fe²⁺, Mg²⁺, Zn²⁺, Ca²⁺ etc.). The unabsorbed, indigested form of phosphorus also causes phosphate pollution in the soil by animal wastes. Phytate degrading enzymes like phytases (myo-inositol hexakisphosphate phosphohydrolase) in this regard can be very useful and also economically feasible to reduce the risk of phosphate pollution and increase the nutrient value in animal feeds at the same time. The Klebsiella phytases are suitable to use in the food industries of plant origin for their excellent thermal stability and high pH tolerance. From the present in silico investigation, it was found that Klebsiella phytases were 46–47 kDa molecular weight protein of histidine phosphatase superfamily having thermostability and alkalinity nature. This thermostability can be achieved due to possession of higher percentage of α helices and β sheets at the same time; the presence of higher aliphatic indices (range in between 88 and 91) etc. Interestingly, a strong correlation was found to be pertinent from phylogenetic studies of proteins with their cDNA among both species and strain level. Hence, the present study would be beneficial for future researchers (3D model available in Protein Model Database with acc. no.: PM0080562) to meet the demand of agricultural and industrial production of bacterial phytases particularly for agricultural farming.     

Electrophysiological and psychophysical quantification of temporal summation in the human nociceptive system

Animal experiments have shown that the nociceptive reflex can be used as an indicator of central temporal integration in the nociceptive system. The aim of the present study on humans was to investigate whether the nociceptive reflex, evoked by repetitive strong electrical sural nerve stimuli, increased when summation was reported by the volunteers. The reflexes were recorded from the biceps femoris and rectus femoris muscles in eight volunteers following a series of stimulations at 0.1, 1, 2, and 3 Hz. Each series consisted of five consecutive stimuli. Using 0.1- and 1-Hz stimulation, the reflex was not facilitated in the course of the five consecutive stimuli. Following 2- and 3-Hz stimulation, the reflex size (root mean square amplitude) increased significantly during the course of the fifth stimulus. This reflex facilitation was followed by a significant increase (summation) in the pain magnitude when compared with 1- and 0.1-Hz stimulation. Furthermore, the threshold for psychophysical summation could be determined. This threshold (stimulus intensity) decreased when the stimulus frequency (1–5 Hz) of the five consecutive stimuli was increased. The nociceptive reflex and the psychophysical summation threshold might be used to clarify and quantify aspects of temporal summation within the human nociceptive system.     

Drug-Driven Phenotypic Convergence Supports Rational Treatment Strategies of Chronic Infections

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Host plant choice in the comma butterfly-larval choosiness may ameliorate effects of indiscriminate oviposition

In most phytophagous insects, the larval diet strongly affects future fitness and in species that do not feed on plant parts as adults, larval diet is the main source of nitrogen. In many of these insect-host plant systems, the immature larvae are considered to be fully dependent on the choice of the mothers, who, in turn, possess a highly developed host recognition system. This circumstance allows for a potential mother-offspring conflict, resulting in the female maximizing her fecundity at the expense of larval performance on suboptimal hosts. In two experiments, we aimed to investigate this relationship in the polyphagous comma butterfly, Polygonia c-album, by comparing the relative acceptance of low- and medium-ranked hosts between females and neonate larvae both within individuals between life stages, and between mothers and their offspring. The study shows a variation between females in oviposition acceptance of low-ranked hosts, and that the degree of acceptance in the mothers correlates with the probability of acceptance of the same host in the larvae. We also found a negative relationship between stages within individuals as there was a higher acceptance of lower ranked hosts in females who had abandoned said host as a larva. Notably, however, neonate larvae of the comma butterfly did not unconditionally accept to feed from the least favorable host species even when it was the only food source. Our results suggest the possibility that the disadvantages associated with a generalist oviposition strategy can be decreased by larval participation in host plant choice.