T-independent but not T-dependent antigens maintain surface Ig of lymphocytes.

The effect of T-independent (TIA) and T-dependent (IDA) antigens on the surface Ig of 24-hr cultured rabbit spleen cells was investigated by two techniques: the proportion of cells bearing surface Ig was determined by direct rosette formation with anti-light chain allotype-coated erythrocytes; the total amount of surface Ig was estimated by labeling the cells with anti-allotype ¹²⁵I-labeled Fab fragments. The addition of TIA resulted in the maintenance of the proportion of Ig-bearing cells almost to the initial level, an effect which could not be obtained with any of the TDA tested. The same type of effect was observed when the total amount of surface Ig was measured, i.e., there was a slight reduction (about 24%) in the amount of surface Ig in cultures to which TIAs were added and an almost sixfold reduction (about 70%) in cultures to which TDA, Con A, or no antigen was added. Some but not all of the TIA were able to induce [³H]TdR incorporation in 3-day spleen-cell cultures. We concluded that the common feature of TIA is the ability to stimulate the turnover of B-cell surface Ig, a feature that can be used for an easy screening of TIA.     

Functional Effects of Adiponectin on Endothelial Progenitor Cells

Adiponectin is an adipokine whose plasma levels are inversely correlated to metabolic syndrome components. Adiponectin protects against atherosclerosis and decreases risks in myocardial infarction. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are a heterogeneous population of circulating cells involved in vascular repair and neovascularization. EPCs number is reduced in patients with cardiovascular disease. We hypothesize that the positive effects of adiponectin against atherosclerosis are explained in part by its interactions with EPCs. Cells were obtained from healthy volunteers' blood by mononuclear cell isolation and plating on collagen‐coated dishes. Three sub‐populations of EPCs were identified and characterized using flow cytometry. EPCs' expression of adiponectin receptors, AdipoR1, and AdipoR2 was evaluated by quantitative PCR. The effects of recombinant adiponectin on EPCs' susceptibility to apoptosis were assessed. Finally, expression of neutrophil elastase by EPCs and activity of this enzyme on adiponectin processing were assessed. Quantitative PCR analysis of EPCs mRNAs showed that AdipoR1 mRNA is expressed at higher levels than AdipoR2. Expression of AdipoR1 protein was confirmed by western blot. Adiponectin significantly increased survival of two sub‐populations of EPCs in conditions of serum deprivation. Such effect could not be demonstrated in the third EPCs sub‐population. We also demonstrated that EPCs, particularly one sub‐population, express neutrophil elastase. Neutrophil elastase activity was confirmed in EPCs' conditioned media. Adiponectin protects some EPCs sub‐populations against apoptosis and therefore could modulate EPCs ability to induce repair of vascular damage. Neutrophil elastase activity of EPCs could locally modulate adiponectin activity by its involvement in the generation of the globular form of adiponectin.     

Galectin-1-Induced Autophagy Facilitates Cisplatin Resistance of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers in Taiwan. Although chemotherapy is the primary treatment for HCC patients, drug resistance often leads to clinical failure. Galectin-1 is a beta-galactoside binding lectin which is up-regulated in HCC patients and promotes tumor growth by mediating cancer cell adhesion, migration and proliferation, but its role in chemoresistance of HCC is poorly understood. In this study we found that galectin-1 is able to lead to chemoresistance against cisplatin treatment, and subsequent inhibition has reversed the effect of cell death in HCC cells. Moreover, galectin-1 was found to induce autophagic flux in HCC cells. Inhibition of autophagy by inhibitors or knockdown of Atg5 cancels galectin-1-induced cisplatin resistance in HCC cells. Increase of mitophagy triggered by galectin-1 was found to reduce the mitochondrial potential loss and apoptosis induced by cisplatin treatment. Finally, using an in situ hepatoma mouse model, we clearly demonstrated that inhibition of galectin-1 by thiodigalactoside could significantly augment the anti-HCC effect of cisplatin. Taken together, our findings offer a new insight into the chemoresistance galectin-1 causes against cisplatin treatment, and points to a potential approach to improve the efficacy of cisplatin in the treatment of HCC patients.     

On the classification of Calligonum juochiangense and C. pumilum (Polygonaceae)

After observing specimens of Calligonum pumilum Losinsk. and C. juochiangense Y. X. Liou in both the field and in herbarium collections, it was found that the morphological characters of these two species are quite different, especially with respect of the twisted direction of fruit ribs, number of bristle rows along each rib, rigidity and degree of interweaving of bristles, as well as their geographic distribution. Therefore, it is concluded that C. pumilum and C. juochiangense should be accepted as two independent species.     

Prenatal diagnosis of Pallister-Killian syndrome and literature review

Pallister-Killian syndrome (PKS) is a rare sporadic genetic disorder usually caused by mosaicism of an extra isochromosome of 12p (i(12p)). This retrospective study analysed the prenatal ultrasound manifestations and molecular and cytogenetic results of five PKS foetuses. Samples of amniotic fluid and/or cord blood, skin biopsy and placenta were collected. Conventional karyotyping and single nucleotide polymorphism array (SNP array) were performed on all the amniotic fluid or cord blood samples. Copy number variants sequencing (CNV-seq) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were also used for the validation for one foetus. All the five foetuses were from pregnancies with advanced parental age. Two foetuses involved structural abnormalities and one foetus had only soft markers, all of which included increased nuchal translucency. The rest two foetuses had normal ultrasounds in the second trimester, which has rarely been reported before. The karyotype revealed typical i(12p) in four cases and a small supernumerary marker chromosome consisting of 12p and 20p in the remaining one case. The proportion of cells with i(12p) ranged from 0 to 100% in cultural cells, while SNP array results suggested 2−4 copies of 12p. For one foetus, metaphase FISH showed normal results, but the interphase FISH suggested cell lines with two, three and four copies of 12p in the amniotic fluid. Advanced parental age may be an important risk factor for PKS, and there were no typical ultrasound manifestations related to PKS. A combination of karyotype analysis and molecular diagnosis is an effective method for the diagnosis of PKS.     

Farms,pastures and woodlands: the fine‐scale distribution of Palearctic Culicoides spp. biting midges along an agro‐ecological gradient

The spatial epidemiology of Bluetongue virus (BTV) at the landscape level relates to the fine‐scale distribution and dispersal capacities of its vectors, midges belonging to the genus Culicoides Latreille (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Although many previous researches have carried out Culicoides sampling on farms, little is known of the fine‐scale distribution of Culicoides in the landscape immediately surrounding farms. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of Culicoides populations at increasing distances from typical dairy farms in north‐west Europe, through the use of eight Onderstepoort‐type black‐light traps positioned along linear transects departing from farms, going through pastures and entering woodlands. A total of 16 902 Culicoides were collected in autumn 2008 and spring 2009. The majority were females, of which more than 97% were recognized as potential vectors. In pastures, we found decreasing numbers of female Culicoides as a function of the distance to the farm. This pattern was modelled by leptokurtic models, with parameters depending on season and species. By contrast, the low number of male Culicoides caught were homogeneously distributed along the transects. When transects entered woodlands, we found a higher abundance of Culicoides than expected considering the distance of the sampling sites to the farm, although this varied according to species.