Between‐year variation of MHC allele frequencies in great reed warblers: selection or drift?

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are extremely polymorphic and this variation is assumed to be maintained by balancing selection. Cyclic interactions between pathogens and their hosts could generate such selection, and specific MHC alleles or heterozygosity at certain MHC loci have been shown to confer resistance against particular pathogens. Here we compare the temporal variation in allele frequencies of 23 MHC class I alleles with that of 23 neutral microsatellite markers in adult great reed warblers (a passerine bird) in nine successive cohorts. Overall, the MHC alleles showed a significantly higher variation in allele frequencies between cohorts than the microsatellite alleles, using a multi-variate genetic analysis (amova). The frequency of two specific MHC alleles, A3e (P = 0.046) and B4b (P = 0.0018), varied more between cohorts than expected from random, whereas none of the microsatellite alleles showed fluctuations exceeding the expectation from stochastic variation. These results imply that the variation in MHC allele frequencies between cohorts is not a result of demographic events, but rather an effect of selection favouring different MHC alleles in different years.     

Sterol composition of Pneumocystis jirovecii with blocked 14alpha-demethylase activity

Several drugs that interact with membrane sterols or inhibit their syntheses are effective in clearing a number of fungal infections. The AIDS-associated lung infection caused by Pneumocystis jirovecii is not cleared by many of these therapies. Pneumocystis normally synthesizes distinct C28 and C29 24-alkylsterols, but ergosterol, the major fungal sterol, is not among them. Two distinct sterol compositional phenotypes were previously observed in P. jirovecii. One was characterized by delta7 C28 and C29 24-alkylsterols with only low proportions of higher molecular mass components. In contrast, the other type was dominated by high C31 and C32 24-alkylsterols, especially pneumocysterol. In the present study, 28 molecular species were elucidated by nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of a human lung specimen containing P. jirovecii representing the latter sterol profile phenotype. Fifteen of the 28 had the methyl group at C-14 of the sterol nucleus and these represented 96% of the total sterol mass in the specimen (excluding cholesterol). These results strongly suggest that sterol 14alpha-demethylase was blocked in these organisms. Twenty-four of the 28 were 24-alkylsterols, indicating that methylation of the C-24 position of the sterol side chain by S-adenosyl-L-methionine:sterol C-24 methyl transferase was fully functional.     

Comparative genomics of Pneumocystis carinii with other protists: implications for life style

Three protistan genomes were analyzed for differential genetic traits that may be associated with biological adaptations to their unique life styles. The microsporidian, Encephalitozoon cuniculi, an obligate intracellular parasite; the ascomycetes, Pneumocystis carinii, considered an opportunistic pathogen; and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a model organism exhibiting a free-living life style, were used in comparisons of genomic architecture, reproductive strategies, and metabolic capacity predicted by the presence of signature genes. Genome size, gene number, and metabolic function decreased as the organisms became more dependent on their hosts. In contrast, gene density and the percentage of genes dedicated to cell growth and division were substantially increased in the genome of E. cuniculi. The obligate life style was associated with reductions in gene number, genome size, and reduced metabolic capacity while the free-living life style was coincident with gene duplications and duplication of large portions of the genome. The genomic characteristics and metabolic capacity of P. carinii were usually intermediate between those of the other two protistan genomes, but unique characteristics such as the presence of a single rDNA locus may indicate that these organisms could be in the process of becoming more host dependent.     

Differences between Brachiola (Nosema) algerae isolates of human and insect origin when tested using an in vitro spore germination assay and a cultured cell infection assay

Brachiola (Nosema) algerae is a microsporidian species generally believed to be an intracellular parasite of insects, especially mosquitoes. However, both mosquito and human isolates have been shown to infect mammalian cells. The present study was undertaken to determine if spores of two insect and two human isolates of B. algerae cultured at 30 degrees C and 37 degrees C differed in their ability to germinate and infect cultured green monkey kidney cells at these two temperatures. Spores from all four isolates exhibited an optimum pH of 9.5 for germination. Mercury (Hg2+) inhibited germination of all isolates equally. Germination of spores from all four isolates was significantly greater when the parasite was cultured at 30 degrees C than when cultured at 37 degrees C. However, spores from the insect isolates cultivated at 30 degrees C or 37 degrees C infected significantly fewer mammalian cells at 37 degrees C than did spores from the human isolates under the same conditions. Thus, there is no correlation between the effects of temperature on the germination and the infectivity of an isolate. In addition, while exposure of B. algerae to 37 degrees C has been reported to cause spore dysmorphism, we failed to observe any consistent ultrastructural changes that explained the greater infectivity of the human isolates at 37 degrees C.     

Measurement of Cellular Immunity in Human Coccidioidomycosis

Measurement of cellular immune response in human coccidioidomycosis, a disease of the Western Hemisphere caused by the soil-dwelling fungus Coccidioides, began more than 75 years ago. Numerous studies have shown that measurement of coccidioidal cellular immunity is a useful epidemiologic and clinical tool. The first widely used coccidioidal skin-test reagent, coccidioidin, was derived from a filtrate of cultured mycelia of Coccidioides by Smith and colleagues in the 1940's. It remained the standard until the 1970's, when spherulin, obtained from the spherule form of the fungus, was found to be more sensitive. Both reagents are specific indicators of coccidioidal cellular immunity. Since then, other coccidioidal antigens have been identified and in vitro tests of cellular immunity have been shown to yield comparable results to skin testing. In vitro assays have also begun to open a window on the specific immunologic events of coccidioidal cellular immunity. Persistent expression of coccidioidal cellular immune response appears to augur an improved clinical outcome. Despite this, a study of a coccidioidal vaccine failed to demonstrate efficacy. Current and future studies are focused on modulating the coccidioidal immune response in vitro and in vivo and on developing an improved vaccine.     

Human 20alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase: crystallographic and site-directed mutagenesis studies lead to the identification of an alternative binding site for C21-steroids

Human 20alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (h20alpha-HSD; AKR1C1) catalyzes the transformation of progesterone (Prog) into 20alpha-hydroxy-progesterone (20alpha-OHProg). Although h20alpha-HSD shares 98% sequence identity with human type 3 3alpha-HSD (h3alpha-HSD3, AKR1C2), these two enzymes differ greatly in their activities. In order to explain these differences, we have solved the crystal structure of h20alpha-HSD in a ternary complex with NADP(+) and 20alpha-OHProg at 1.59A resolution. The steroid is stabilized by numerous hydrophobic interactions and a hydrogen bond between its O20 and the N(epsilon ) atom of His222. This new interaction prevents the formation of a hydrogen bond with the cofactor, as seen in h3alpha-HSD3 ternary complexes. By combining structural, direct mutagenesis and kinetic studies, we found that the H(222)I substitution decreases the K(m) value for the cofactor 95-fold. With these results, we hypothesize that the rotation of the lateral chain of His222 could be a mediating step between the transformation of Prog and the release of the cofactor. Moreover, crystal structure analysis and direct mutagenesis experiments lead us to identify a new residue involved in the binding of Prog. Indeed, the R(304)L substitution leads to a 65-fold decrease in the K(m) value for Prog reduction. We thus propose that Prog is maintained in a new steroid-binding site composed mainly of residues found in the carboxy-terminal region of the protein.     

Acidosis has opposite effects on neuronal survival during hypoxia and reoxygenation

To study the effect of extracellular acidosis on apoptosis and necrosis during ischemia and reoxygenation, we exposed human post-mitotic NT2-N neurones to oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) followed by reoxygenation. In some experiments, pH of the cell medium was lowered to 5.9 during either OGD or reoxygenation or both. Staurosporine, used as a positive control for apoptosis, caused Poly(ADP-ribose)-polymerase (PARP) cleavage and nuclear fragmentation, but no PARP cleavage and little fragmentation were seen after OGD. Low molecular weight DNA fragments were found after staurosporine treatment, but not after OGD. No protective effect of caspase inhibitors was seen after 3 h of OGD and 21 h of reoxygenation, but after 45 h of reoxygenation caspase inhibition induced a modest improvement in 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) cleavage. While acidosis during OGD accompanied by neutral medium during reoxygenation protected the neurones (MTT: 228 +/- 117% of neutral medium, p < 0.001), acidosis during reoxygenation only was detrimental (MTT: 38 +/- 25%, p < 0.01). We conclude that apoptotic mechanisms play a minor role after OGD in NT2-N neurones. The effect of acidosis on neuronal survival depends on the timing of acidosis, as acidosis was protective during OGD and detrimental during reoxygenation.     

Peptidase activities of the 20/26S proteasome and a novel protease in human brain

Many neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by ubiquitin-positive protein aggregates or inclusion bodies. Ubiquitin-conjugated proteins are degraded by the 20/26S proteasome, and reduced proteasome peptidase activities in brain homogenates have been reported in pathologic lesions of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. However, it is unknown whether crude extracts of human brain contain other proteases having peptidase activities. We found a novel protease of molecular weight of approximately 105 kDa in normal human brain, which exhibited trypsin-like (T-L) and chymotrypsin-like (ChT-L) activities (corresponding to 52% and 21% of the total activities in crude extracts) but not peptidyl glutamyl peptide hydrolase activity. Both T-L and ChT-L activities of this protease were partially inhibited by proteasome inhibitors (MG132, lactacystin) and, in contrast to those of the proteasome, also by sodium dodecyl sulfate. A simple method to obtain a brain fraction specific to the 20/26S proteasome was developed. Our human brain data suggest that T-L and ChT-L activity levels of the proteasome reported previously may include those of the 105 kDa protease, an enzyme of as yet unknown biological significance, and that it is necessary to separate the proteasome from this protease to evaluate the actual status of the ubiquitin-proteasome system in neurodegenerative disorders.