Health and chemical burdens of fish species from polluted and hyper-eutrophic freshwater ecosystems in South Africa

Three aquatic ecosystems in South Africa, the Hartbeespoort, Klipvoor and Bospoort Dams, are classified as hyper-eutrophic, because of high nutrient loads and chemical pollution. Water and two fish species, Clarias gariepinus and Cyprinus carpio, were collected from these dams to assess the impact of eutrophication and chemical pollutants on their health status. Water and muscle samples were analysed for organic and inorganic chemicals. Condition factor was determined and a necropsy performed to note any macroscopic abnormalities. A histology-based fish health assessment was done on the liver, kidney, gills and gonads. A number of fish from the three dams exhibited livers with fatty change and focal discoloration, skin lesions and parasites within the visceral cavity. The prevalence and severity of histopathology in the liver resulted in higher liver index values than the index values for kidneys and gills. Aluminium, silicon and chromium were detected in the water and muscle tissue. The DDT metabolite p,p’-DDE was present in both species, as well as in fish from the reference site, Marico-Bosveld Dam. Only C. gariepinus from Hartbeespoort Dam had p,p’-DDD levels higher than 5 µg g^?1 per edible portion. Water from hyper-eutrophic dams adversely affects the health of freshwater fish.     

Systems analysis of primary Sjögren's syndrome pathogenesis in salivary glands identifies shared pathways in human and a mouse model

Bone tissue has an exceptional quality to regenerate to native tissue in response to injury. However, the fracture repair process requires mechanical stability or a viable biological microenvironment or both to ensure successful healing to native tissue. An improved understanding of the molecular and cellular events that occur during bone repair and remodeling has led to the development of biologic agents that can augment the biological microenvironment and enhance bone repair. Orthobiologics, including stem cells, osteoinductive growth factors, osteoconductive matrices, and anabolic agents, are available clinically for accelerating fracture repair and treatment of compromised bone repair situations like delayed unions and nonunions. Preclinical and clinical studies using biologic agents like recombinant bone morphogenetic proteins have demonstrated an efficacy similar or better than that of autologous bone graft in acute fracture healing. A lack of standardized outcome measures for comparison of biologic agents in clinical fracture repair trials, frequent off-label use, and a limited understanding of the biological activity of these agents at the bone repair site have limited their efficacy in clinical applications.     

Assembly and function of a spore coat-associated transglutaminase of Bacillus subtilis

The assembly of a multiprotein coat around the Bacillus subtilis spore confers resistance to lytic enzymes and noxious chemicals and ensures normal germination. Part of the coat is cross-linked and resistant to solubilization. The coat contains epsilon-(gamma-glutamyl)lysyl cross-links, and the expression of the gene (tgl) for a spore-associated transglutaminase was shown before to be required for the cross-linking of coat protein GerQ. Here, we have investigated the assembly and function of Tgl. We found that Tgl associates, albeit at somewhat reduced levels, with the coats of mutants that are unable to assemble the outer coat (cotE), that are missing the inner coat and with a greatly altered outer coat (gerE), or that are lacking discernible inner and outer coat structures (cotE gerE double mutant). This suggests that Tgl is present at various levels within the coat lattice. The assembly of Tgl occurs independently of its own activity, as a single amino acid substitution of a cysteine to an alanine (C116A) at the active site of Tgl does not affect its accumulation or assembly. However, like a tgl insertional mutation, the tglC116A allele causes increased extractability of polypeptides of about 40, 28, and 16 kDa in addition to GerQ (20 kDa) and affects the structural integrity of the coat. We show that most Tgl is assembled onto the spore surface soon after its synthesis in the mother cell under sigma(K) control but that the complete insolubilization of at least two of the Tgl-controlled polypeptides occurs several hours later. We also show that a multicopy allele of tgl causes increased assembly of Tgl and affects the assembly, structure, and functional properties of the coat.     

Expression of collier in the premandibular segment of myriapods: support for the traditional Atelocerata concept or a case of convergence?

Background  

A recent study on expression and function of the ortholog of the Drosophila collier (col) gene in various arthropods including insects, crustaceans and chelicerates suggested a de novo function of col in the development of the appendage-less intercalary segment of insects. However, this assumption was made on the background of the now widely-accepted Pancrustacea hypothesis that hexapods represent an in-group of the crustaceans. It was therefore assumed that the expression of col in myriapods would reflect the ancestral state like in crustaceans and chelicerates, i.e. absence from the premandibular/intercalary segment and hence no function in its formation.     

Baseline predictors of response and discontinuation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha blocking therapy in ankylosing spondylitis: a prospective longitudinal observational cohort study

Introduction  

Identifying ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients who are likely to benefit from tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) blocking therapy is important, especially in view of the costs and potential side effects of these agents. Recently, the AS Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) has been developed to assess both subjective and objective aspects of AS disease activity. However, data about the predictive value of the ASDAS with respect to clinical response to TNF-α blocking therapy are lacking. The aim of the present study was to identify baseline predictors of response and discontinuation of TNF-α blocking therapy in AS patients in daily clinical practice.     

Association of genetic variants rs641153 (CFB), rs2230199 (C3), and rs1410996 (CFH) with age-related macular degeneration in a Brazilian population

This study aimed to investigate the association among genetic variants of the complement pathway CFB R32Q (rs641153), C3 R102G (rs2230199), and CFH (rs1410996) with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in a sample of the Brazilian population. In a case-control study, 484 AMD patients were classified according to the clinical age-related maculopathy grading system (CARMS) and compared to 479 unrelated controls. The genetic variants rs1410996 of complement H (CFH), rs641153 of complement factor B (CFB), and rs2230199 of complement 3 (C3) were evaluated through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and direct sequencing. The associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and AMD, adjusted by age, were assessed by using logistic regression models. A statistically significant association was observed between AMD risk and rs2230199 variant with an OR of 2.01 (P  = 0.0002) for CG individuals compared to CC individuals. Regarding the comparison of advanced AMD versus the control group, the OR was 2.12 (P = 0.0036) for GG versus AA genotypes for rs1410996 variant. Similarly, the OR for rs2230199 polymorphism was 2.3034 (P  = 5.47^e-05) when comparing CG individuals to CC carriers. In contrast, the rs641153 variant showed a significant protective effect against advanced AMD for GA versus GG genotype (OR = 0.4406; P  = 0.0019). When comparing wet AMD versus controls, a significant association was detected for rs1410996 variant (OR = 2.16; P  = 0.0039) comparing carriers of the homozygous GG versus AA genotype, as well as in the comparisons of GG (OR = 3.0713; P  = 0.0046) and CG genotypes (OR = 2.2249; P  = 0.0002) versus CC genotype for rs2230199 variant, respectively. The rs641153 variant granted a significant protective effect against wet AMD for GA versus GG genotypes (OR = 0.4601; P  = 0.0044). Our study confirmed the risk association between rs2230199 and rs1410996 variants and AMD, and the protective role against AMD for rs641153 variant.