Th1/Th2/Th17/Treg cytokines in Guillain–Barré syndrome and experimental autoimmune neuritis

Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is an immune-mediated acute inflammatory disorder in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) of humans characterized by inflammatory infiltration and damage to myelin and axon. Experimental autoimmune neuritis (EAN) is a useful animal model for GBS. Although GBS and EAN have been widely studied, the pathophysiological basis of GBS/EAN remains largely unknown. Immunocompetent cells together with cytokines produced by various cells contribute to the inflammatory process of EAN by acting as mediators or effectors. Both GBS and EAN have hitherto been attributed to T helper (Th)1 cells-mediated disorders, however, some changes in GBS and EAN could not be explained by the pathogenic role of Th1 cells and a disturbance of the Th1/Th2 balance, which has previously been considered to be important for the homeostatic maintenance of the immune responses and to explain the adaptive immunity and autoimmune diseases. The Th1/Th2 paradigm in autoimmune diseases has been greatly challenged in recent years, with the identification of a particular T cell subset Th17 cells. Studies on the associations between Th17 cells/cytokines and GBS/EAN are reviewed. But some of them occasionally yield conflicting results, indicating an intricate network of cytokines in immune response.     

Expression of a family 10 xylanase gene from Aspergillus usamii E001 in Pichia pastoris and characterization of the recombinant enzyme

A cDNA gene (Auxyn10A), which encodes a mesophilic family 10 xylanase from Aspergillus usamii E001 (abbreviated to AuXyn10A), was amplified and inserted into the XhoI and NotI sites of pPIC9K^M vector constructed from a parent pPIC9K. The recombinant expression vector, designated pPIC9K^M-Auxyn10A, was transformed into Pichia pastoris GS115. All P. pastoris transformants were spread on a MD plate, and then inoculated on geneticin G418-containing YPD plates for screening multiple copies of integration of the Auxyn10A. One transformant expressing the highest recombinant AuXyn10A (reAuXyn10A) activity of 368.6 U/ml, numbered as P. pastoris GSX10A4-14, was selected by flask expression test. SDS-PAGE assay demonstrated that the reAuXyn10A was extracellularly expressed with an apparent M.W. of 39.8 kDa. The purified reAuXyn10A displayed the maximum activity at pH 5.5 and 50 °C. It was highly stable at a broad pH range of 4.5–8.5, and at a temperature of 45 °C. Its activity was not significantly affected by EDTA and several metal ions except Mn²⁺, which caused a strong inhibition. The K _m and V _max, towards birchwood xylan at pH 5.5 and 50 °C, were 2.25 mg/ml and 6,267 U/mg, respectively. TLC analysis verified that the AuXyn10A is an endo-β-1,4-d-xylanase, which yielded a major product of xylotriose and a small amount of xylose, xylotetraose, and xylopentose from birchwood xylan, but no xylobiose.     

Outsourcing computation of modular exponentiations in cloud computing

Cloud computing is an emerging computing paradigm in which IT resources and capacities are provided as services over the Internet. Promising as it is, this paradigm also brings forth new challenges for security when users want to securely outsource the computation of cryptographic operations to the untrusted cloud servers. As we know, modular exponentiation is one of the basic operations among most of current cryptosystems. In this paper, we present the generic secure outsourcing schemes enabling users to securely outsource the computations of exponentiations to the untrusted cloud servers. With our techniques, a batch of exponentiations (e.g. t exponentiations) can be efficiently computed by the user with only O(n+t) multiplications, where n is the number of bits of the exponent. Compared with the state-of-the-art algorithm, the proposed schemes are superior in both efficiency and verifiability. Furthermore, there are not any complicated pre-computations on the user side. Finally, the schemes are proved to be secure under the Subset Sum Problem.     

Software Service Signature (S3) for authentication in cloud computing

Cloud computing provides many kinds of application services for cloud users, but security problems have caused great impact on Software as a Service (SaaS). As a commercial model, SaaS is related among different participants who could be malicious or dishonest. This paper presents a Software Service Signature (S³) to deal with several security issues in SaaS and keep the interests and rights of all participants in safety. Our design is based on ID-based proxy signatures from pairings. The analysis shows that the proposed scheme can effectively strengthen the security through authentication in cloud computing.     

A New Coronary Retroinfusion Technique in theRat Infarct Model: Transjugular Cardiac Vein Catheterization

Cell delivery via the retrograde coronary route boasts less vessel embolism, myocardial injury, and arrhythmogenicity when compared with those via antegrade coronary administration or myocardial injection. However, conventional insertion into the coronary sinus and consequent bleeding complication prevent its application in small animals. To overcome the complication of bleeding, we described a modified coronary retroinfusion technique via the jugular vein route in rats with myocardial infarction (MI). A flexible wire with a bent end was inserted into the left internal jugular vein and advanced slowly along the left superior vena cava. Under direct vision, the wire was run into the left cardiac vein by rotating the wire and changing the position of its tip. A fine tube was then advanced along the wire to the left cardiac vein. This modified technique showed less lethal hemorrhage than the conventional technique. Retroinfusion via transjugular catheter enabled efficient fluid or cell dissemination to the majority areas of the free wall of the left ventricle, covering the infarcted anterior wall. In conclusion, transjugular cardiac vein catheterization may make retrocoronary infusion a more safe and practical route for delivering cell, drug, and gene therapy into the infarcted myocardium of rats.     

Responses of serum chemokines to dramatic changes of air pollution levels,a panel study

Abstract

Background: Despite the in vitro and in vivo evidence, studies are limited in evaluating whether chemokines are potential inflammatory mediators in response to air pollution exposure in humans.

Methods: We conducted a panel study coinciding with the Beijing Olympics, when temporary air pollution controls were implemented. We measured a suite of serum chemokines among healthy adults before, during and after the Olympics, respectively. Linear mixed-effect models were used to evaluate changes in chemokine levels over the three time periods.

Results: In response to the 50% drop in air pollution levels during the games, levels of RANTES, MCP-2, and TARC decreased by 25.8%, 20.9% and 35.3%, respectively (p?<?0.001) from pre-Olympics, and then increased by 45.8%, 34.9% and 61.5%, respectively (p?<?0.001) after the games when air pollution levels went up again. Similar patterns were observed in subgroup analyses by sex, age, smoking and body mass index. GRO-α and IL-8 decreased significantly during the games (22.5% and 30.4%), and increased non-significantly after the games. Eotaxin-1 only increased significantly from during- to post-games.

Conclusions: The strongest associations with air pollution levels were observed among RANTES, TARC and MCP-2. Those chemokines may play important roles in the air pollution-induced inflammatory pathway.     

A new two-phase kinetic model of sporulation of Clonostachys rosea in a new solid-state fermentation reactor

A new two-phase kinetic model of sporulation of Clonostachys rosea in a new solid-state fermentation (SSF) reactor was proposed. The model including exponential and logistic models was applied to study the simultaneous effect of temperature, initial moisture content, medium thickness and surface porosity of the plastic membrane on C. rosea sporulation. The model fits experimental data very well and allows accurate predictions of spore production. The maximum spore production achieved 3.360 × 10¹⁰ (spores/gDM), about 10 times greater than that in traditional SSF reactor(data not shown). The new reactor can provide two times sporulation surface area. Moisture content can be adjusted by changing the surface porosity to meet the spore production. Two mixings carried out during fermentation makes medium loose and results in a mass of new sporulation surface area. Therefore, the new SSF reactor would have great potential for application in bulk spore production of fungal biocontrol agents.     

Efficient secretion of lipase r27RCL in Pichia pastoris by enhancing the disulfide bond formation pathway in the endoplasmic reticulum

The lipase r27RCL from Rhizopus chinensis CCTCC M201021 was heterologously expressed in Pichia pastoris GS115 by simultaneous co-expression with two secretion factors ERO1p and PDI involved in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Compared to the expression of the lipase alone (12,500 U/ml), co-expression with these two proteins resulted in the production of larger total quantities of enzymes. The largest increase was seen when the combined ERO1p/PDI system was co-expressed, resulting in approximately 30 % higher enzyme yields (16,200 U/ml) than in the absence of co-expressed secretion factors. The extracellular protein concentration of the recombinant strain Co XY RCL-5 reached 9.39 g/l in the 7-l fermentor. Simultaneously, the fermentation time was also shortened by about 8 h compared to that of the control. The substrate-specific consumption rate (Qs) and the product-specific production rate (Qp) were both investigated in this research. In conclusion, the space–time yield was improved by co-expression with ERO1p and PDI. This is a potential strategy for high level expression of other heterologous proteins in P. pastoris.     

Mapping and validation of a gene for soybean aphid resistance in PI 567537

The soybean aphid (Aphis glycines Matsumura) is a major pest on soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] in North America. Aphid resistance has been found on plant introduction (PI) 567537, but its genetic characterization is unknown. The objectives of this study were to identify the resistance genes in PI 567537 using molecular markers and validate them in a different genetic background. A mapping population of 86 F4 lines from a cross between PI 567537 and a susceptible parent E00003 was investigated for aphid resistance in both greenhouse and field trials. A genomic region associated with the aphid resistance in PI 567537 was revealed on chromosome 16 (linkage group J) with molecular markers. This locus was coincidently located in the same region as Rag3 and explained most of the phenotypic variation, ranging from 87.4 % in the greenhouse trial to 78.9 % in the field trial. This resistance gene was further confirmed in an F2 population derived from a cross of PI 567537 × Skylla. The segregation of the F2 population indicated that the aphid resistance in PI 567537 was most likely controlled by a single dominant gene, which was the one we mapped in the F4-derived population. This gene was designated Rag3b since it is located in the same region as Rag3. The mapping of the aphid resistance gene in PI 567537 could be useful in marker-assisted selection when employing PI 567537 as an aphid resistance source.