DNA restriction-site polymorphisms associated with the alpha 1-antitrypsin gene.

Restriction-site variation in and around the alpha 1-antitrypsin gene has been studied using two genomic probes. With use of restriction enzymes SstI, MspI, and AvaII, three polymorphic sites have been described with a 4.6-kb probe in the 5' portion of the gene. With use of a 6.5-kb probe, polymorphisms in the coding and 3' regions of the gene have been detected with AvaII, MaeIII, and TaqI. All of these polymorphisms are of sufficiently high frequency to be useful in genetic mapping studies. The polymorphisms with AvaII and MaeIII (6.5-kb probe) are particularly useful for prenatal diagnosis. PI types and M subtypes tend to be associated with specific DNA haplotypes; there are two different types of DNA haplotypes associated with PI M1. The extent of linkage disequilibrium differs throughout the region of the alpha 1-antitrypsin gene.     

Machado-Joseph Disease in Pedigrees of Azorean descent is Linked to Chromosome 14

A locus for Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) has recently been mapped to a 30-cM region of chromosome 14q in five pedigrees of Japanese descent. MJD is a clinically pleomorphic neurodegenerative disease that was originally described in subjects of Azorean descent. In light of the nonallelic heterogeneity in other inherited spinocere-bellar ataxias, we were interested to determine if the MJD phenotype in Japanese and Azorean pedigrees arose from mutations at the same locus. We provide evidence that MJD in five pedigrees of Azorean descent is also linked to chromosome 14q in an 18-cM region between the markers D14S67 and AACT (multipoint lod score +7.00 near D14S81). We also report molecular evidence for homozy-gosity at the MJD locus in an MJD-affected subject with severe, early-onset symptoms. These observations confirm the initial report of linkage of MJD to chromosome 14; suggest that MJD in Japanese and Azorean subjects may represent allelic or identical mutations at the same locus; and provide one possible explanation (MJD gene dosage) for the observed phenotypic heterogeneity in this disease.     

Physical mapping of four serpin genes: alpha 1-antitrypsin, alpha 1-antichymotrypsin, corticosteroid-binding globulin, and protein C inhibitor, within a 280-kb region on chromosome I4q32.1.

Alpha 1-antitrypsin (alpha 1AT; protease inhibitor [PI] locus), alpha 1-antichymotrypsin (alpha 1ACT; AACT locus), corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG; CBG locus), and protein C inhibitor (PCI; PCI locus) are members of the serine protease inhibitor (serpin) superfamily. A noncoding PI-like (PIL) gene has been located 12 kb 3' of the PI gene. The PI, PIL, and AACT loci have been localized to 14q32.1, the CBG locus has been localized to 14q31-14q32.1, and PCI has been mapped to chromosome 14. Genetic linkage analysis suggests tight linkage between PI and AACT. We have used pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to generate a physical map linking these five serpin genes. The order of the genetic loci is AACT/PCI-PI-PIL-CBG, with a maximum distance of about 220 kb between the AACT/PCI and PI genes. These genes form a PI cluster at 14q32.1, similar to that of the homologous genes on murine chromosome l2. The close proximity of these genes has implications for disease-association studies.     

Differential response of cycling and noncycling cells to inducers of DNA synthesis and mitosis

The objective of this study was to determine whether cells in G(0) phase are functionally distinct from those in G(1) with regard to their ability to respond to the inducers of DNA synthesis and to retard the cell cycle traverse of the G(2) component after fusion. Synchronized populations of HeLa cells in G(1) and human diploid fibroblasts in G(1) and G(0) phases were separately fused using UV-inactivated Sendai virus with HeLa cells prelabeled with [(3)H]ThdR and synchronized in S or G(2) phases. The kinetics of initiation of DNA synthesis in the nuclei of G(0) and G(1) cells residing in G(0)/S and G(1)/S dikaryons, respectively, were studied as a function of time after fusion. In the G(0)/G(2) and G(1)/G(2) fusions, the rate of entry into mitosis of the heterophasic binucleate cells was monitored in the presence of Colcemid. The effects of protein synthesis inhibition in the G(1) cells, and the UV irradiation of G(0) cells before fusion, on the rate of entry of the G(2) component into mitosis were also studied. The results of this study indicate that DNA synthesis can be induced in G(0)nuclei after fusion between G(0)- and S-phase cells, but G(0) nuclei are much slower than G(1) nuclei in responding to the inducers of DNA synthesis because the chromatin of G(0) cells is more condensed than it is in G(1) cells. A more interesting observation resulting from this study is that G(0) cells is more condensed than it is in G(1) cells. A more interesting observation resulting from this study is that G(0) cells differ from G(1) cells with regard to their effects on the cell cycle progression of the G(2) nucleus into mitosis. This difference between G(0) and G(1) cells appears to depend on certain factors, probably nonhistone proteins, present in G(1) cells but absent in G(0) cells. These factors can be induced in G(0) cells by UV irradiation and inhibited in G(1) cells by cycloheximide treatment.     

Exercise training in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus: a controlled randomized trial

Introduction

Exercise training has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy to counteract physical dysfunction in adult systemic lupus erythematosus. However, no longitudinal studies have evaluated the effects of an exercise training program in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (C-SLE) patients. The objective was to evaluate the safety and the efficacy of a supervised aerobic training program in improving the cardiorespiratory capacity in C-SLE patients.

Methods

Nineteen physically inactive C-SLE patients were randomly assigned into two groups: trained (TR, n = 10, supervised moderate-intensity aerobic exercise program) and non-trained (NT, n = 9). Gender-, body mass index (BMI)- and age-matched healthy children were recruited as controls (C, n = 10) for baseline (PRE) measurements only. C-SLE patients were assessed at PRE and after 12 weeks of training (POST). Main measurements included exercise tolerance and cardiorespiratory measurements in response to a maximal exercise (that is, peak VO₂, chronotropic reserve (CR), and the heart rate recovery (ΔHRR) (that is, the difference between HR at peak exercise and at both the first (ΔHRR1) and second (ΔHRR2) minutes of recovery after exercise).

Results

The C-SLE NT patients did not present changes in any of the cardiorespiratory parameters at POST (P > 0.05). In contrast, the exercise training program was effective in promoting significant increases in time-to-exhaustion (P = 0.01; ES = 1.07), peak speed (P = 0.01; ES = 1.08), peak VO₂ (P = 0.04; ES = 0.86), CR (P = 0.06; ES = 0.83), and in ΔHRR1 and ΔHRR2 (P = 0.003; ES = 1.29 and P = 0.0008; ES = 1.36, respectively) in the C-SLE TR when compared with the NT group. Moreover, cardiorespiratory parameters were comparable between C-SLE TR patients and C subjects after the exercise training intervention, as evidenced by the ANOVA analysis (P > 0.05, TR vs. C). SLEDAI-2K scores remained stable throughout the study.

Conclusion

A 3-month aerobic exercise training was safe and capable of ameliorating the cardiorespiratory capacity and the autonomic function in C-SLE patients.

Trial registration

NCT01515163.     

Successful Human Infection with P. falciparum Using Three Aseptic Anopheles stephensi Mosquitoes: A New Model for Controlled Human Malaria Infection

Controlled human malaria infection (CHMI) is a powerful method for assessing the efficacy of anti-malaria vaccines and drugs targeting pre-erythrocytic and erythrocytic stages of the parasite. CHMI has heretofore required the bites of 5 Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) sporozoite (SPZ)-infected mosquitoes to reliably induce Pf malaria. We reported that CHMI using the bites of 3 PfSPZ-infected mosquitoes reared aseptically in compliance with current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) was successful in 6 participants. Here, we report results from a subsequent CHMI study using 3 PfSPZ-infected mosquitoes reared aseptically to validate the initial clinical trial. We also compare results of safety, tolerability, and transmission dynamics in participants undergoing CHMI using 3 PfSPZ-infected mosquitoes reared aseptically to published studies of CHMI using 5 mosquitoes. Nineteen adults aged 18–40 years were bitten by 3 Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes infected with the chloroquine-sensitive NF54 strain of Pf. All 19 participants developed malaria (100%); 12 of 19 (63%) on Day 11. The mean pre-patent period was 258.3 hours (range 210.5–333.8). The geometric mean parasitemia at first diagnosis by microscopy was 9.5 parasites/µL (range 2–44). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) detected parasites an average of 79.8 hours (range 43.8–116.7) before microscopy. The mosquitoes had a geometric mean of 37,894 PfSPZ/mosquito (range 3,500–152,200). Exposure to the bites of 3 aseptically-raised, PfSPZ-infected mosquitoes is a safe, effective procedure for CHMI in malaria-naïve adults. The aseptic model should be considered as a new standard for CHMI trials in non-endemic areas. Microscopy is the gold standard used for the diagnosis of Pf malaria after CHMI, but qPCR identifies parasites earlier. If qPCR continues to be shown to be highly specific, and can be made to be practical, rapid, and standardized, it should be considered as an alternative for diagnosis.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT00744133","term_id":"NCT00744133"}}NCT00744133 {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT00744133","term_id":"NCT00744133"}}NCT00744133     

A comparative survey of the hydrolytic enzymes of ectoparasitic and free-living mites

Extracts of ectoparasitic mites of birds (Dermanyssus gallinae), sheep (Psoroptes ovis) and plants (Tetranychus urticae) and of free-living mites (Acarus siro) contained acid and alkaline phosphatase, C4 and C8 esterases, lipase, leucine and valine aminopeptidases and a range of glycosidase activities. Dermanyssus gallinae and P. ovis, species highly adapted to an animal parasitic lifestyle, had very similar profiles and contained low activities of glycosidases. In contrast, the polyphagous species A. siro contained moderate to high activities of every glycosidase examined, whereas the phytophagous species, T. urticae, displayed high activities of only beta-galactosidase and beta-glucuronidase. All extracts hydrolysed haemoglobin with optima below pH6, and this hydrolysis was associated with an aspartic proteinase and variable cysteine proteinase activity dependent on species. Inhibitor-labelling with biotinyl-Phe-Ala-FMK revealed the presence of cysteine proteinases with molecular masses of 25-33.5kDa. Each mite species contains the enzymes necessary to complete digestion of the diet in the intracellular lysosomal compartment. The absolute and relative activities of each enzyme varied, and are discussed according to phylogeny and dietary habit.     

Survival Rate and Enzyme Activities ofLactobacillus acidophilusFollowing Frozen Storage

The ability of two strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus, CRL 640 and CRL 800, to survive and retain their biological activities under frozen storage was determined. Freezing and thawing, as well as frozen storage, damaged the cell membrane, rendering the microorganisms sensitive to sodium chloride and bile salts. Both lactic acid production and proteolytic activity were depressed after 21 days at -20 degreesC, whereas beta-galactosidase activity per cell unit was increased. Cell injury was partially overcome after repair in a salt-rich medium. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.