The specificity of immune priming in silkworm,Bombyx mori,is mediated by the phagocytic ability of granular cells

In the past decade, the phenomenon of immune priming was documented in many invertebrates in a large number of studies; however, in most of these studies, behavioral evidence was used to identify the immune priming. The underlying mechanism and the degree of specificity of the priming response remain unclear. We studied the mechanism of immune priming in the larvae of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, and analyzed the specificity of the priming response using two closely related Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria (Photorhabdus luminescens TT01 and P. luminescens H06) and one Gram-positive pathogenic bacterium (Bacillus thuringiensis HD-1). Primed with heat-killed bacteria, the B. mori larvae were more likely to survive subsequent homologous exposure (the identical bacteria used in the priming and in the subsequent challenge) than heterologous (different bacteria used in the priming and subsequent exposure) exposure to live bacteria. This result indicated that the B. mori larvae possessed a strong immune priming response and revealed a degree of specificity to TT01, H06 and HD-1 bacteria. The degree of enhanced immune protection was positively correlated with the level of phagocytic ability of the granular cells and the antibacterial activity of the cell-free hemolymph. Moreover, the granular cells of the immune-primed larvae increased the phagocytosis of a previously encountered bacterial strain compared with other bacteria. Thus, the enhanced immune protection of the B. mori larvae after priming was mediated by the phagocytic ability of the granular cells and the antibacterial activity of the hemolymph; the specificity of the priming response was primarily attributed to the phagocytosis of bacteria by the granular cells.     

孟鲁司特联合舒利迭对哮喘急性发作期患者疗效及免疫功能的影响

目的探讨孟鲁司特联合舒利迭对哮喘急性发作期患者疗效及免疫功能的影响。方法 2012年1月至2014年1月选取在本院收治的120例哮喘急性发作期患者为研究对象,根据随机数字表将患者分为观察组及对照组各60例,对照组给予舒利迭雾化吸入治疗,50 mg/250 mg,2次/d,观察组在对照组基础上口服孟鲁司特,10 mg/次,1次/d,疗程为2周。对比分析两组患者治疗效果及治疗前后肺功能及免疫功能的变化。结果观察组总有效率为96.67%,对照组总有效率为76.67%,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。观察组患者治疗后第1秒呼吸气体的容积(FEV1)、用力呼吸的肺活量(FVC)及FVC占预计值百分比(FVC%)改善优于对照组(P0.05)。观察组治疗后白细胞介素4(IL-4)、免疫球蛋白(Ig E)水平、IL-4/INF-γ显著低于对照组,而干扰素(IFN-γ)与对照组相比差异无统计学意义。结论孟鲁司特联合舒利迭能有效改善哮喘急性发作期患者肺功能及免疫功能,提高哮喘患者治疗效果。     

苯扎溴铵与艾叶水提物的协同杀菌效果

采用悬液定量杀菌试验,对苯扎溴铵与艾叶水提物的协同杀菌效果进行了实验室研究。研究发现,0.1%苯扎溴铵与艾叶水提物混合溶液对金黄色葡萄球菌、大肠埃希菌、枯草芽胞杆菌、白假丝酵母菌和黑曲霉均呈现出显著的协同杀菌作用。结果表明,苯扎溴铵与艾叶水提物具有良好的协同杀菌效果。     

Effects of Rhinoncomimus latipes on the growth and reproduction of Persicaria perfoliata,an invasive plant in North America

Native to Asia, mile-a-minute Persicaria perfoliata, is an invasive weed in North America, and the weevil Rhinoncomimus latipes is a host-specific insect agent which occurs widely in China. We conducted a common garden experiment to compare P. perfoliata plant responses of native and invasive populations to herbivory by the weevils from different origins. We found weevils from Hunan, Hubei and Heilongjiang Provinces had strong, moderate and weak ability to suppress host plant, respectively. Weevils from Hunan and Hubei Provinces had stronger impact on the growth of both native and invasive plant populations than the weevil from Heilongjiang Province. The losses in seed output of invasive plants were also significantly greater than natives in the weevil treatments. Our results suggested that the weevil population from Hunan Province may be the most suitable for the control of mile-a-minute, while the population from Heilongjiang Province may be the least suitable due to climate matching.     

Tuberculosis vaccines: beyond bacille Calmette-Guerin

Tuberculosis (TB) disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) remains one of the leading infectious causes of death and disease throughout the world. The only licensed vaccine, Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) confers highly variable protection against pulmonary disease. An effective vaccination regimen would be the most efficient way to control the epidemic. However, BCG does confer consistent and reliable protection against disseminated disease in childhood, and most TB vaccine strategies being developed incorporate BCG to retain this protection. Cellular immunity is necessary for protection against TB and all the new vaccines in development are focused on inducing a strong and durable cellular immune response. There are two main strategies being pursued in TB vaccine development. The first is to replace BCG with an improved whole organism mycobacterial priming vaccine, which is either a recombinant BCG or an attenuated strain of M. tb. The second is to develop a subunit boosting vaccine, which is designed to be administered after BCG vaccination, and to enhance the protective efficacy of BCG. This article reviews the leading candidate vaccines in development and considers the current challenges in the field with regard to efficacy testing.     

In vitro efficacy of 7-benzylamino-1-isoquinolinamines against Plasmodium falciparum related to the efficacy of chalcones

A series of 1,7-diaminoisoquinolinamines, that are expected to mediate antimalarial activity by the same mechanism employed by the chalcones, were produced. Six 7-benzylamino-1-isoquinolinamines were found to be submicromolar inhibitors in vitro of drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum, with the best possessing activity comparable to chloroquine. Despite being developed from a lead that is a DHFR inhibitor, these compounds do not mediate their antimalarial effects by inhibition of DHFR.