Variations in enzyme activity in stomach and pancreatic tissue and digesta in piglets around weaning

A study was performed to investigate the effect of weaning at 4 weeks of age on the activity of digestive enzymes in the stomach and pancreatic tissue and in digesta from 3 days prior to weaning to 9 days postweaning in 64 piglets. In stomach tissue the activity of pepsin and gastric lipase was determined. Pepsin activity declined abruptly after weaning but 5 days postweaning the weaning level was regained and in the gastric contents no change in pepsin activity was observed. Weaning did not influence the activity of gastric lipase. The activity of eight enzymes and a cofactor was measured in pancreatic tissue. The effect of weaning on the enzyme activity was highly significant for all enzymes except elastase. The activity of all enzymes remained at the weaning level during day 1–2 postweaning followed by a reduction of the activity. The activity of trypsin, carboxypeptidase A, amylase and lipase exhibited minimum activity 5 days postweaning. Trypsin activity increased to the preweaning level on day 7–9 whereas the activity of the others increased but did not reach the preweaning level. The activity of chymotrypsin, carboxypeptidase B and carboxyl ester hydrolase decreased during the entire experimental period. In digesta no effect of weaning was observed on the activity of amylase and trypsin. The activity of chymotrypsin was reduced after weaning in the proximal third of the small intestine and lipase and carboxyl ester hydrolase activity was reduced in the middle and distal parts of the small intestine after weaning. The present study shows that the activities of the digestive enzymes in the pancreatic tissue are affected by weaning. Even though the pancreatic secretion cannot be judged from these results they show that the enzymes respond differently to weaning. In general the activity of the digestive enzymes in pancreatic tissue is low on day 5 postweaning which in interaction with other factors may increase the risk of developing postweaning diarrhoea.     

Packing density and structural heterogeneity of insulin amyloid fibrils measured by AFM nanoindentation

A nanoindentation approach based on atomic force microscopy was applied to test the elastic properties of insulin amyloid fibrils. Fibrils exhibited a nearly elastic response to the compressive load. The results, corrected for the finite sample thickness effect, reveal that the fibril Young's modulus is considerably lower than the modulus of protein crystals, suggesting lower packing density in amyloid fibrils. Variation in elasticity among and within fibrils has been studied, showing that the Young's moduli of insulin fibrils have a relatively wide distribution of values, ranging from 5 to 50 MPa. Amyloid fibrils with higher modulus were found to be more wear-resistant during AFM scanning. The measured distribution of elasticity values of different fibrils together with wear-resistance tests indicates structural heterogeneity among fibrils, whereas the structure of individual fibrils appears to be homogeneous. The relative simplicity of the method used in this study can facilitate rapid collection of quantitative information related to the packing density and heterogeneity of fibrils formed by different proteins.     

Effects of multiple-bond ruptures on kinetic parameters extracted from force spectroscopy measurements: revisiting biotin-streptavidin interactions

Force spectroscopy measurements of the rupture of the molecular bond between biotin and streptavidin often results in a wide distribution of rupture forces. We attribute the long tail of high rupture forces to the nearly simultaneous rupture of more than one molecular bond. To decrease the number of possible bonds, we employed hydrophilic polymeric tethers to attach biotin molecules to the atomic force microscope probe. It is shown that the measured distributions of rupture forces still contain high forces that cannot be described by the forced dissociation from a deep potential well. We employed a recently developed analytical model of simultaneous rupture of two bonds connected by polymer tethers with uneven length to fit the measured distributions. The resulting kinetic parameters agree with the energy landscape predicted by molecular dynamics simulations. It is demonstrated that when more than one molecular bond might rupture during the pulling measurements there is a noise-limited range of probe velocities where the kinetic parameters measured by force spectroscopy correspond to the true energy landscape. Outside this range of velocities, the kinetic parameters extracted by using the standard most probable force approach might be interpreted as artificial energy barriers that are not present in the actual energy landscape. Factors that affect the range of useful velocities are discussed.     

Assembly,Tuning and Use of an Apertureless Near Field Infrared Microscope for Protein Imaging

This paper aims to instruct the reader in the assembly and operation of an infrared near-field microscope for imaging beyond the diffraction limit. The apertureless near-field microscope is a light scattering-type instrument that provides infrared spectra at circa 20 nm resolution. A complete list of components and a step-by-step protocol for use is provided. Common errors in assembly and instrument tuning are discussed. A representative data set that shows the secondary structure of an amyloid fibril is presented.     

The ITGAV rs3738919 variant and susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis in four Caucasian sample sets

Introduction

Angiogenesis is an important process in the development of destructive synovial pannus in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The ITGAV +gene encodes a cell cycle-associated antigen, integrin ανβ 3, which plays a role in RA angiogenesis. Previously, two independent studies identified an association between the major allele of the ITGAV single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs3738919 and RA. We therefore tested this association in an independent study using New Zealand (NZ) and Oxford (UK) RA case control samples.

Methods

We compared genotype frequencies in 740 NZ Caucasian RA patients and 553 controls genotyped for rs3738919, using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. A TaqMan genotyping SNP assay was used to type 713 Caucasian RA patients and 515 control samples from Oxford for the rs3738919 variant. Association of rs3738919 with RA was tested in these two sample sets using the chi-square goodness-of-fit test. The Mantel-Haenszel test was used to perform a meta-analysis, combining the genetic results from four independent Caucasian case control cohorts, consisting of 3,527 cases and 4,126 controls. Haplotype analysis was also performed using SNPs rs3911238, rs10174098 and rs3738919 in the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, NZ and Oxford case control samples.

Results

We found no evidence for association between ITGAV and RA in either the NZ or Oxford sample set (odds ratio [OR] = 0.88, P_allelic = 0.11 and OR = 1.18, P_allelic = 0.07, respectively). Inclusion of these data in a meta-analysis (random effects) of four independent cohorts (3,527 cases and 4,126 controls) weakens support for the hypothesis that rs3738919 plays a role in the development of RA (OR_combined = 0.92, 95% confidence interval 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.29). No consistent haplotype associations were evident.

Conclusions

Association of ITGAV SNP rs7378919 with RA was not replicated in NZ or Oxford case control sample sets. Meta-analysis of these and previously published data lends limited support for a role for the ITGAV in RA in Caucasians of European ancestry.     

Kinetics of the Multistep Rupture of Fibrin ‘A-a’ Polymerization Interactions Measured Using Atomic Force Microscopy

Fibrin, the structural scaffold of blood clots, spontaneously polymerizes through the formation of ‘A-a’ knob-hole bonds. When subjected to external force, the dissociation of this bond is accompanied by two to four abrupt changes in molecular dimension observable as rupture events in a force curve. Herein, the configuration, molecular extension, and kinetic parameters of each rupture event are examined. The increases in contour length indicate that the D region of fibrinogen can lengthen by ∼50% of the length of a fibrin monomer before rupture of the ‘A-a’ interaction. The dependence of the dissociation rate on applied force was obtained using probability distributions of rupture forces collected at different pull-off velocities. These distributions were fit using a model in which the effects of the shape of the binding potential are used to quantify the kinetic parameters of forced dissociation. We found that the weak initial rupture (i.e., event 1) was not well approximated by these models. The ruptured bonds comprising the strongest ruptures, events 2 and 3, had kinetic parameters similar to those commonly found for the mechanical unfolding of globular proteins. The bonds ruptured in event 4 were well described by these analyses, but were more loosely bound than the bonds in events 2 and 3. We propose that the first event represents the rupture of an unknown interaction parallel to the ‘A-a’ bond, events 2 and 3 represent unfolding of structures in the D region of fibrinogen, and event 4 is the rupture of the ‘A-a’ knob-hole bond weakened by prior structural unfolding. Comparison of the activation energy obtained via force spectroscopy measurements with the thermodynamic free energy of ‘A-a’ bond dissociation indicates that the ‘A-a’ bond may be more resistant to rupture by applied force than to rupture by thermal dissociation.     

Quantification of angiogenesis in estrogen receptor-positive and negative breast carcinoma

Background

The objective of this study was to evaluate angiogenesis according to CD34 antigen expression in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive and negative breast carcinomas.

Methods

This study comprised 64 cases of infiltrating ductal carcinoma in postmenopausal women divided into two groups: Group A: ER-positive, n = 35; and Group B: ER-negative, n = 29. The anti-CD34 monoclonal antibody was used as a marker for endothelial cells. Microvessel count was carried out in 10 fields per slide using a 40× objective lens (magnification 400×). Statistical analysis of the data was performed using Student's t-test (p < 0.05).

Results

The mean number of vessels stained with the anti-CD34 antibody in the estrogen receptor-positive and negative tumors was 23.51 ± 1.15 and 40.24 ± 0.42, respectively. The number of microvessels was significantly greater in the estrogen receptor-negative tumors (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

ER-negative tumors have significantly greater CD34 antigen expression compared to ER-positive tumors.

     

Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns,emm type distribution and genetic diversity of Streptococcus pyogenes recovered in Brazil

Streptococcus pyogenes is responsible for a variety of infectious diseases and immunological complications. In this study, 91 isolates of S. pyogenes recovered from oropharynx secretions were submitted to antimicrobial susceptibility testing, emm typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis. All isolates were susceptible to ceftriaxone, levofloxacin, penicillin G and vancomycin. Resistance to erythromycin and clindamycin was 15.4%, which is higher than previous reports from this area, while 20.9% of the isolates were not susceptible to tetracycline. The macrolide resistance phenotypes were cMLSB (10) and iMLSB (4). The ermB gene was predominant, followed by the ermA gene. Thirty-two emm types and subtypes were found, but five (emm1, emm4, emm12, emm22, emm81) were detected in 48% of the isolates. Three new emm subtypes were identified (emm1.74, emm58.14, emm76.7). There was a strong association between emm type and PFGE clustering. A variety of PFGE profiles as well as emm types were found among tetracycline and erythromycin-resistant isolates, demonstrating that antimicrobial resistant strains do not result from the expansion of one or a few clones. This study provides epidemiological data that contribute to the development of suitable strategies for the prevention and treatment of such infections in a poorly studied area.     

Only one independent genetic association with rheumatoid arthritis within the KIAA1109-TENR-IL2-IL21 locus in Caucasian sample sets: confirmation of association of rs6822844 with rheumatoid arthritis at a genome-wide level of significance

Introduction

To investigate whether accelerated hand bone mineral density (BMD) loss is associated with progressive joint damage in hands and feet in the first year of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and whether it is an independent predictor of subsequent progressive total joint damage after 4 years.

Methods

In 256 recent-onset RA patients, baseline and 1-year hand BMD was measured in metacarpals 2-4 by digital X-ray radiogrammetry. Joint damage in hands and feet were scored in random order according to the Sharp-van der Heijde method at baseline and yearly up to 4 years.

Results

68% of the patients had accelerated hand BMD loss (>-0.003 g/cm²) in the first year of RA. Hand BMD loss was associated with progressive joint damage after 1 year both in hands and feet with odds ratios (OR) (95% confidence intervals [CI]) of 5.3 (1.3-20.9) and 3.1 (1.0-9.7). In univariate analysis, hand BMD loss in the first year was a predictor of subsequent progressive total joint damage after 4 years with an OR (95% CI) of 3.1 (1.3-7.6). Multivariate analysis showed that only progressive joint damage in the first year and anti-citrullinated protein antibody positivity were independent predictors of long-term progressive joint damage.

Conclusions

In the first year of RA, accelerated hand BMD loss is associated with progressive joint damage in both hands and feet. Hand BMD loss in the first year of recent-onset RA predicts subsequent progressive total joint damage, however not independent of progressive joint damage in the first year.     

Single-molecule force spectroscopy of the aplysia cell adhesion molecule reveals two homophilic bonds

Aplysia californica neurons comprise a powerful model system for quantitative analysis of cellular and biophysical properties that are essential for neuronal development and function. The Aplysia cell adhesion molecule (apCAM), a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily of cell adhesion molecules, is present in the growth cone plasma membrane and involved in neurite growth, synapse formation, and synaptic plasticity. apCAM has been considered to be the Aplysia homolog of the vertebrate neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM); however, whether apCAM exhibits similar binding properties and neuronal functions has not been fully established because of the lack of detailed binding data for the extracellular portion of apCAM. In this work, we used the atomic force microscope to perform single-molecule force spectroscopy of the extracellular region of apCAM and show for the first time (to our knowledge) that apCAM, like NCAM, is indeed a homophilic cell adhesion molecule. Furthermore, like NCAM, apCAM exhibits two distinct bonds in the trans configuration, although the kinetic and structural parameters of the apCAM bonds are quite different from those of NCAM. In summary, these single-molecule analyses further indicate that apCAM and NCAM are species homologs likely performing similar functions.