Synthetic peptide vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease. I. Duration of the immune response and priming in guinea-pigs, rabbits and mice

The immunogenicity of two aphthovirus-specific synthetic peptides was investigated. One peptide copied the sequence of amino acids 141 to 160 from the capsid VP1 of the aphthovirus strains O1 BFS 1860 and O1 Kaufbeuren (O peptide), the other copied the equivalent sequence from aphthovirus strain A24 Cruzeiro (A peptide). Peptide coupled to keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH) stimulated a long-lasting immune response in guinea-pigs and rabbits. Significant levels of antibody were detectable at least one year after vaccination, although the reactivity of the antibody depended on the species and the peptide used. In some circumstances the peptides were able to prime the immune system such that a subsequent dose of peptide boosted antibody production. This effect, also, was dependent on the species of experimental animal and on the peptide used, an observation which has important implications for the use of such peptides as vaccines.     

Diterpenoids from Caesalpinia pulcherrima

Three new furanoditerpenoids of the caesalpin-type have been isolated from the roots of Caesalpinia pulcherrima. The structures of these compounds, vouacapen-5α-ol, 6β-cinnamoyl-7β-hydroxy-vouacapen-5α-ol and 8,9,11,14-didehydrovouacapen-5α-ol, were elucidated through interpretation of their spectral data. Sitosterol was also obtained.     

Onderwijs in het Nationaal Programma Ouderenzorg

The Netherlands Organisation of Health Research and Development started in 2008 the Dutch National Care for the Elderly Programme (in Dutch abbreviated as NPO) with the aim to improve the quality of life for the frail older people through better quality of care (health, social, community) which is tailored to the needs and wants of older people. The delivery of good care is related with competent professional behaviour which is inextricably linked to the education of professionals. This article presents an overview of 32 educational programmes developed within the NPO. Within the NPO different educational programmes were developed on relevant themes to improve elderly care. However, the programmes focused mainly on professionals in health care, especially those working in primary care. For nurses and nursing assistants and more or less for physicians also different educational programmes were developed. Educational programmes for paramedics or professionals working in social care, housing or in the municipalities were scarce. This is also the case for specific themes in elderly care like loneliness or (domestic) violence. Moreover, none of the experiments focused on older people or informal care givers. Although 22 of the 32 projects developed educational programmes for different groups, multi – or interdisciplinary education is rare in these programmes. Based on the overview we advise the development of more educational programmes on: target groups which were less or not addressed in the NPO, like professionals in social care and paramedics; multi- or interdisciplinary collaboration; and themes, like loneliness in older people and elder abuse.     

The anabolic action of intermittent parathyroid hormone on cortical bone depends partly on its ability to induce nitric oxide‐mediated vasorelaxation in BALB/c mice

There is strong evidence that vasodilatory nitric oxide (NO) donors have anabolic effects on bone in humans. Parathyroid hormone (PTH), the only osteoanabolic drug currently approved, is also a vasodilator. We investigated whether the NO synthase inhibitor L‐NAME might alter the effect of PTH on bone by blocking its vasodilatory effect. BALB/c mice received 28 daily injections of PTH[1–34] (80 µg/kg/day) or L‐NAME (30 mg/kg/day), alone or in combination. Hindlimb blood perfusion was measured by laser Doppler imaging. Bone architecture, turnover and mechanical properties in the femur were analysed respectively by micro‐CT, histomorphometry and three‐point bending. PTH increased hindlimb blood flow by >30% within 10 min of injection (P < 0.001). Co‐treatment with L‐NAME blocked the action of PTH on blood flow, whereas L‐NAME alone had no effect. PTH treatment increased femoral cortical bone volume and formation rate by 20% and 110%, respectively (P < 0.001). PTH had no effect on trabecular bone volume in the femoral metaphysis although trabecular thickness and number were increased and decreased by 25%, respectively. Co‐treatment with L‐NAME restricted the PTH‐stimulated increase in cortical bone formation but had no clear‐cut effects in trabecular bone. Co‐treatment with L‐NAME did not affect the mechanical strength in femurs induced by iPTH. These results suggest that NO‐mediated vasorelaxation plays partly a role in the anabolic action of PTH on cortical bone. © 2016 The Authors. Cell Biochemistry and Function published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exploiting the natural diversity in adenovirus tropism for therapy and prevention of disease

Since targeting of recombinant adenovirus vectors to defined cell types in vivo is a major challenge in gene therapy and vaccinology, we explored the natural diversity in human adenovirus tissue tropism. Hereto, we constructed a library of Ad5 vectors carrying fibers from other human serotypes. From this library, we identified vectors that efficiently infect human cells that are important for diverse gene therapy approaches and for induction of immunity. For several medical applications (prenatal diagnosis, artificial bone, vaccination, and cardiovascular disease), we demonstrate the applicability of these novel vectors. In addition, screening cell types derived from different species revealed that cellular receptors for human subgroup B adenoviruses are not conserved between rodents and primates. These results provide a rationale for utilizing elements of human adenovirus serotypes to generate chimeric vectors that improve our knowledge concerning adenovirus biology and widen the therapeutic window for vaccination and many different gene transfer applications.