Assessment of the antiviral properties of recombinant porcine SP-D against various influenza A viruses in vitro

The emergence of influenza viruses resistant to existing classes of antiviral drugs raises concern and there is a need for novel antiviral agents that could be used therapeutically or prophylacticaly. Surfactant protein D (SP-D) belongs to the family of C-type lectins which are important effector molecules of the innate immune system with activity against bacteria and viruses, including influenza viruses. In the present study we evaluated the potential of recombinant porcine SP-D as an antiviral agent against influenza A viruses (IAVs) in vitro. To determine the range of antiviral activity, thirty IAVs of the subtypes H1N1, H3N2 and H5N1 that originated from birds, pigs and humans were selected and tested for their sensitivity to recombinant SP-D. Using these viruses it was shown by hemagglutination inhibition assay, that recombinant porcine SP-D was more potent than recombinant human SP-D and that especially higher order oligomeric forms of SP-D had the strongest antiviral activity. Porcine SP-D was active against a broad range of IAV strains and neutralized a variety of H1N1 and H3N2 IAVs, including 2009 pandemic H1N1 viruses. Using tissue sections of ferret and human trachea, we demonstrated that recombinant porcine SP-D prevented attachment of human seasonal H1N1 and H3N2 virus to receptors on epithelial cells of the upper respiratory tract. It was concluded that recombinant porcine SP-D holds promise as a novel antiviral agent against influenza and further development and evaluation in vivo seems warranted.     

Spatial variation in the fatty acid composition of elaiosomes in an ant-dispersed plant: Differences within and between individuals and populations

Euphorbia characias is a common myrmecochorous plant of the western Mediterranean Basin whose seeds are dispersed by ants following fruit explosion. The variation in elaiosomes’ fatty acid composition of this species was studied at three hierarchical levels (sub-individual, individual and population) in four populations from the Iberian Peninsula. We found that differences in fruit location on the inflorescence do not seem to influence the fatty acid composition of elaiosomes, providing to each propagule an equal chance of being dispersed. However, significant differences in elaiosome fatty acid composition between individuals and populations were found for most of the compounds identified. The content of oleic acid, a key mediator in the ant–seed interaction, differed widely between populations, probably reflecting geographic variations in co-adaptation between plants and their dispersers. The finding that the fatty acid composition of E. characias elaiosomes is distinct from that of the seed itself, but very similar to that of elaiosomes from unrelated species, reinforces the idea of convergent evolution in the chemical composition of these structures.     

Phylogenetic analysis of the north‐east Atlantic and Mediterranean species of the genus Stenosoma (Isopoda,Valvifera, Idoteidae)

Xavier, R., Santos, A. M., Harris, D. J., Sezgin, M., Machado, M., Branco, M. (2012). Phylogenetic analysis of the north‐east Atlantic and Mediterranean species of the genus Stenosoma (Isopoda, Valvifera, Idoteidae). —Zoologica Scripta, 41, 386–399. The marine isopod genus Stenosoma is widespread in the northern hemisphere. However, 12 of its 14 known species are found within the Mediterranean basin and adjacent regions of the north‐east Atlantic and the Black Sea. Such a high level of diversity confined to a limited region of a much larger circumglobal distribution suggests that the Mediterranean region may have played a crucial role in the evolutionary history of this genus. In the present work, the phylogeny of the genus Stenosoma was investigated on the basis of DNA sequencing data from one nuclear (28SrRNA) and two mitochondrial (COI, ND4) gene fragments obtained for nine of 12 Atlantic–Mediterranean species. Divergence time estimates point to a Tethyan origin of Stenosoma and suggest that the speciation events from which stem most of the extant species took place well before the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Stenosoma spinosum and Stenosoma appendiculatum are the only exceptions, as they apparently arose within the Mediterranean during the Pleistocene. Phylogenetic reconstruction agrees with current taxonomic status of most species. However, Stenosoma capito clustered in two distinct and well‐supported clades, one composed of eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea specimens and the other by western Mediterranean and Atlantic ones. Such polyphyly suggests the existence of a previously unrecognized species, Stenosoma sp., which so far has been confounded with S. capito.     

Chemical structures of a galactose-rich glycoprotein of Leishmania tarentolae

1. Aqueous phenol treatment of water extracted disrupted cells of Leishmania tarentolae (LV-414) provided a glycoprotein mixture which was purified by gel filtration chromatography, and Concanavalin A-Sepharose column. 2. The bound fraction on Concanavalin A-Sepharose column (protein 74%, and carbohydrate, 26%) had [alpha]D + 9 degrees and contained mannose (18%), galactose (60%), and glucose (22%), and some of the galactose residues were resistant to periodate oxidation. 3. Treatment of the phenol extract with hot aqueous NaBH4 containing NaOH gave a preparation having mannose (12%), galactose (82%), and glucose (6%). 4. Methylation analysis showed the presence of a mainly linear structure with non-reducing end-units of mannopyranose (6%), 3-O-substituted galactopyranosyl (64%), 2-O- (11%), and 6-O- (5%) substituted mannopyranosyl, and 4-O- (9%), and 4,6-di-O- (3%) substituted glycopyranosyl units. 5. The specific rotation of the preparation, +20 degrees, indicated beta-linked galactopyranosyl units.     

Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) in Brazilian Samples of Different Age Groups: Findings from Confirmatory Factor Analysis

The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) is internationally accepted as a key tool for the assessment of childhood abuse and neglect experiences. However, there are relative few psychometric studies available and some authors have proposed two different factor solutions. We examined the dimensional structure and internal consistency of the Brazilian version of the CTQ. A total of 1,925 participants from eight different clinical and non-clinical samples including adolescents, adults and elders were considered in this study. First, we performed Confirmatory Factor Analysis to investigate the goodness of fit of the two proposed competitive factor structure models for the CTQ. We also investigated the internal consistency of all factors. Second, multi-group analyses were used to investigate measurement invariance and population heterogeneity across age groups and sex. Our findings revealed that the alternative factor structure as opposed to the original factor structure was the most appropriate model within adolescents and adults Brazilian samples. We provide further evidence for the validity and reliability of the CTQ within the Brazilian samples and report that the alternative model showed an improvement in fit indexes and may be a better alternative over the original model.     

Fluorescent non-imidazole histamine H3 receptor ligands with nanomolar affinities

Omega-piperidinoalkanamine derivatives with fluorescent moieties (2-cyanoisoindol-1-yl, 7-nitrobenzofurazan-4-yl) have been synthesized starting from piperidine in three steps. The compounds display moderate to good histamine hH(3) receptor affinities with K(i) values ranging from 178 to 11nM. The new compounds may act as tools for identification and understanding of the binding site on the histamine H(3) receptor.