Hydrogen-induced tolerance against osmotic stress in alfalfa seedlings involves ABA signaling

Plant and Soil - Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic metal in soils and its accumulation in plants poses severe problems to agricultural production and human health. Most of research has focused on the Cd...     

Comparison of HIV-1 nef and gag Variations and Host HLA Characteristics as Determinants of Disease Progression among HIV-1 Vertically Infected Kenyan Children

Objectives

Disease progression varies among HIV-1-infected individuals. The present study aimed to explore possible viral and host factors affecting disease progression in HIV-1-infected children.

Methods

Since 2000, 102 HIV-1 vertically-infected children have been followed-up in Kenya. Here we studied 29 children (15 male/14 female) who started antiretroviral treatment at <5 years of age (rapid progressors; RP), and 32 (17 male/15 female) who started at >10 years of age (slow progressors; SP). Sequence variations in the HIV-1 gag and nef genes and the HLA class I-related epitopes were compared between the two groups.

Results

Based on nef sequences, HIV-1 subtypes A1/D were detected in 62.5%/12.5% of RP and 66.7%/20% of SP, with no significant difference in subtype distribution between groups (p = 0.8). In the ten Nef functional domains, only the PxxP₃ region showed significantly greater variation in RP (33.3%) than SP (7.7%, p = 0.048). Gag sequences did not significantly differ between groups. The reportedly protective HLA-A alleles, A*74:01, A*32:01 and A*26, were more commonly observed in SP (50.0%) than RP (11.1%, p = 0.010), whereas the reportedly disease-susceptible HLA-B*45:01 was more common in RP (33.3%) than SP (7.4%, p = 0.045). Compared to RP, SP showed a significantly higher median number of predicted HLA-B-related 12-mer epitopes in Nef (3 vs. 2, p = 0.037), HLA-B-related 11-mer epitopes in Gag (2 vs. 1, p = 0.029), and HLA-A-related 9-mer epitopes in Gag (4 vs. 1, p = 0.051). SP also had fewer HLA-C-related epitopes in Nef (median 4 vs. 5, p = 0.046) and HLA-C-related 11-mer epitopes in Gag (median 1 vs. 1.5, p = 0.044) than RP.

Conclusions

Compared to rapid progressors, slow progressors had more protective HLA-A alleles and more HLA-B-related epitopes in both the Nef and Gag proteins. These results suggest that the host factor HLA plays a stronger role in disease progression than the Nef and Gag sequence variations in HIV-1-infected Kenyan children.     

Holoendemic Malaria Exposure Is Associated with Altered Epstein-Barr Virus-Specific CD8+ T-Cell Differentiation

Coinfection with Plasmodium falciparum malaria and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a major risk factor for endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL), still one of the most prevalent pediatric cancers in equatorial Africa. Although malaria infection has been associated with immunosuppression, the precise mechanisms that contribute to EBV-associated lymphomagenesis remain unclear. In this study, we used polychromatic flow cytometry to characterize CD8⁺ T-cell subsets specific for EBV-derived lytic (BMFL1 and BRLF1) and latent (LMP1, LMP2, and EBNA3C) antigens in individuals with divergent malaria exposure. No malaria-associated differences in EBV-specific CD8⁺ T-cell frequencies were observed. However, based on a multidimensional analysis of CD45RO, CD27, CCR7, CD127, CD57, and PD-1 expression, we found that individuals living in regions with intense and perennial (holoendemic) malaria transmission harbored more differentiated EBV-specific CD8⁺ T-cell populations that contained fewer central memory cells than individuals living in regions with little or no (hypoendemic) malaria. This profile shift was most marked for EBV-specific CD8⁺ T-cell populations that targeted latent antigens. Importantly, malaria exposure did not skew the phenotypic properties of either cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific CD8⁺ T cells or the global CD8⁺ memory T-cell pool. These observations define a malaria-associated aberration localized to the EBV-specific CD8⁺ T-cell compartment that illuminates the etiology of eBL.     

The Dynamics of Naturally Acquired Immunity to Plasmodium falciparum Infection

Severe malaria occurs predominantly in young children and immunity to clinical disease is associated with cumulative exposure in holoendemic settings. The relative contribution of immunity against various stages of the parasite life cycle that results in controlling infection and limiting disease is not well understood. Here we analyse the dynamics of Plasmodium falciparum malaria infection after treatment in a cohort of 197 healthy study participants of different ages in order to model naturally acquired immunity. We find that both delayed time-to-infection and reductions in asymptomatic parasitaemias in older age groups can be explained by immunity that reduces the growth of blood stage as opposed to liver stage parasites. We found that this mechanism would require at least two components – a rapidly acting strain-specific component, as well as a slowly acquired cross-reactive or general immunity to all strains. Analysis and modelling of malaria infection dynamics and naturally acquired immunity with age provides important insights into what mechanisms of immune control may be harnessed by malaria vaccine strategists.     

Recurrent Plasmodium falciparum malaria infections in Kenyan children diminish T-cell immunity to Epstein Barr virus lytic but not latent antigens

Plasmodium falciparum malaria (Pf-malaria) and Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) infections coexist in children at risk for endemic Burkitt's lymphoma (eBL); yet studies have only glimpsed the cumulative effect of Pf-malaria on EBV-specific immunity. Using pooled EBV lytic and latent CD8+ T-cell epitope-peptides, IFN-γ ELISPOT responses were surveyed three times among children (10 months to 15 years) in Kenya from 2002-2004. Prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated in association with Pf-malaria exposure, defined at the district-level (Kisumu: holoendemic; Nandi: hypoendemic) and the individual-level. We observed a 46% decrease in positive EBV lytic antigen IFN-γ responses among 5-9 year olds residing in Kisumu compared to Nandi (PR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.30-0.99). Individual-level analysis in Kisumu revealed further impairment of EBV lytic antigen responses among 5-9 year olds consistently infected with Pf-malaria compared to those never infected. There were no observed district- or individual-level differences between Pf-malaria exposure and EBV latent antigen IFN-γ response. The gradual decrease of EBV lytic antigen but not latent antigen IFN-γ responses after primary infection suggests a specific loss in immunological control over the lytic cycle in children residing in malaria holoendemic areas, further refining our understanding of eBL etiology.     

Determination of the hydroxycinnamate profile of 12 members of the Asteraceae family

The hydroxycinnamates of the leaves of 12 plants of the Astreraceae family, Achillea millefolium, Arnica montana, Artemesia dracunculus, Cichorium intybus, Cnicus benedictus, Cynara scolymus, Echinops humilis, Inula helenium, Lactuca sativa, Petasites hybridus, Solidago virgaurea, and Tanacetum parthenium were investigated qualitatively by LC-MSⁿ. Thirty-nine chlorogenic acids were detected and all characterized to regioisomeric level on the basis of their fragmentation pattern in the tandem MS spectra, most of them for the first time from these sources with two of them previously not reported in nature. Both chlorogenic acids based on trans and cis-cinnamic acid substituents were identified. Assignment to the level of individual regioisomers was possible for seven caffeoylquinic acids (1-7), 11 dicaffeoylquinic acids (17-27), six feruloylquinic acids (9-14), two p-coumaroylquinic acids (15-16), two caffeoyl-feruloylquinic acids (28 and 29), four caffeoyl-p-coumaroylquinic acids (30-33), three dicaffeoyl-succinoylquinic acids (34-36), two dicaffeoyl-methoxyoxaloylquinic acids (37 and 38), and one tricaffeoylquinic acid (39). Furthermore, one caffeoylshikimic acid (40), one caffeoyltartaric acid (41), three dicaffeoyltartaric acids (42-44), and three caffeoyl-feruloyltartaric acids (45-47) were detected and shown to possess characteristic tandem MS spectra and were tentatively assigned on the basis of their retention time and previously developed hierarchical keys.     

Age-related differences in naturally acquired T cell memory to Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein 1

Naturally acquired immunity to Plasmodium falciparum malaria in malaria holoendemic areas is characterized by the gradual, age-related development of protection against high-density parasitemia and clinical malaria. Animal studies, and less commonly, observations of humans with malaria, suggest that T-cell responses are important in the development and maintenance of this immunity, which is mediated primarily by antibodies that slow repeated cycles of merozoites through erythrocytes. To advance our rather limited knowledge on human T-cell immunity to blood stage malaria infection, we evaluated CD4 and CD8 T-cell effector memory subset responses to the 42 kDa C-terminal fragment of Merozoite Surface Protein 1 (MSP1₄₂), a malaria vaccine candidate, by 49 healthy 0.5 to ≥18 year old residents of a holoendemic area in western Kenya. The proportion of individuals with peripheral blood mononuclear cell MSP1₄₂ driven IFN-γ ELISPOT responses increased from 20% (2/20) among 0.5–1 year old children to 90% (9/10) of adults ≥18 years (P = 0.01); parallel increases in the magnitude of IFN-γ responses were observed across all age groups (0.5, 1, 2, 5 and ≥18 years, P = 0.001). Less than 1% of total CD4 and CD8 T-cells from both children and adults produced IFN-γ in response to MSP1₄₂. However, adults had higher proportions of MSP1₄₂ driven IFN-γ secreting CD4 and CD8 effector memory (CD45RA⁻ CD62L⁻) T-cells than children (CD4: 50.9% vs. 28.8%, P = 0.036; CD8: 52.1% vs. 18.3%, respectively P = 0.009). In contrast, MSP1₄₂ driven IFN-γ secreting naïve-like, transitional (CD45RA⁺ CD62L⁺) CD4 and CD8 cells were the predominant T-cell subset among children with significantly fewer of these cells in adults (CD4: 34.9% vs. 5.1%, P = 0.002; CD8: 47.0% vs. 20.5%, respectively, P = 0.030). These data support the concept that meaningful age-related differences exist in the quality of T-cell immunity to malaria antigens such as MSP1.     

Interferon-gamma responses to Plasmodium falciparum liver-stage antigen-1 and merozoite-surface protein-1 increase with age in children in a malaria holoendemic area of western Kenya

BACKGROUND: In areas of high-level, year-round malaria transmission, morbidity and mortality due to malaria decrease after the first two to three years of life. This reduction may be related to the development of cellular immunity to specific antigens expressed in the different life-cycle stages of Plasmodium falciparum. METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted to evaluate T cell cytokine responses to the P. falciparum pre-erythrocytic antigen liver-stage antigen-1 (LSA-1) and the blood-stage antigen merozoite-surface protein-1 (MSP-1) in children under five years of age residing in a malaria holoendemic region of western Kenya. Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) responses to the LSA-1 T3 peptide (aa 1813-1835) and the MSP-1 aa20-39 peptide were tested in 48 children. RESULTS: The proportion of children producing IFN-gamma to LSA-1 and to MSP-1 increased with age: in the 0-12, 13-24, 25-36 and 37-48 month age groups, zero, 11.1, 36.4 and 40% of children had IFN-gamma responses to LSA-1 (p = 0.019), and 10, 10, 27.7 and 40% of children had IFN-gamma responses to MSP-1 (p = 0.07), respectively. In contrast, the proportion of children producing IL-10 to LSA-1 and MSP-1 was similar in all age groups. CONCLUSION: The data suggest that development of IFN-gamma responses to LSA-1 and MSP-1 requires increased age and/or repeated exposure, whereas IL-10 responses to these antigens may occur at any age and with limited exposure. The data also demonstrate that by the age of 4 years, children in a malaria holoendemic area develop frequencies of IFN-gamma responses to LSA-1 and MSP-1 similar to those seen in adults in the area.