Ring chromosome 11. A case report and review of the literature

A female infant with severe growth-weight retardation and with a ring chromosome 11, associated with trisomy X in 15% of metaphases, has been reported. A literature review of cases of r(11) shows that the clinical features of these patients, although showing different frequencies, are similar to those of the del(11q) syndrome. It has been suggested that the variability of the mental retardation in r(11) patients is attributable to the unstability of the ring and to the different break points in these two chromosomal rearrangements. The origin of the r(11) was also addressed by studying fragile sites of the parents at 11p15 and 11q25.     

Preliminary evidence of endotoxic activity of Bilophila wadsworthia

In this study we describe two properties of the Gram-negative bacterium Bilophila wadsworthia, namely the ability to clot Limulus lysate and the capacity to induce the production of tissue factor-like procoagulant activity by human mononuclear cells in vitro. Although exhibited at a lower degree when compared with those of typical Gram-negative bacteria or Gram-negative endotoxin those activities may account in part for Bilophila's pathogenicity. The capacity indeed to induce fibrin formation through the interaction with mononuclear cells suggests one mechanism by which the microorganism might cause abscess formation in the host. Moreover, since this activity is dependent on the number of Bilophila interacting with mononuclear cells, we hypothesize that this biological activity is closely influenced by growth environment.     

Epimeletic behavior in a free-ranging female Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus)

acta ethologica - Here, we describe the epimeletic behavior of an adult Risso’s dolphin towards a deceased newborn calf of the same species across several days with photographs, acoustic...     

Mycological analysis of the sands of a box for children's play

Ecologic and hygienic interests led us to analyze the mycoflora of the sands of a sand box for children's play in Turin.Along with traditional methods, we have also employed selective techniques suitable for the isolation of cellulolytic and keratinolytic fungi.A total of 89 species were isolated. As supported by the literature references, the presence of most species is justified by the exogenous supply of vegetal residues, hairs, feathers and excrements. A good deal of species, moreover, are either well known agents of mycoses or have been isolated from various animal and human lesions; thus these sands do not represent the ideal environment for children's play.Work n. 253 performed under the auspices of the Centro di Studio sulla Micologia del Terreno del C.N.R. at the Istituto Botanico dell'Università di Torino.     

Differential activation of hybrid genes containing herpes simplex virus immediate-early or delayed-early promoters after superinfection of stable DNA-transfected cell lines

We compared the levels of gene expression obtained after herpes simplex virus (HSV) superinfection of cell lines containing integrated human beta-interferon (IFN) or chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) genes under the control of HSV immediate-early (IE) or delayed-early class promoters. DNA-transfected mouse Ltk+ cell lines harboring coselected IE175-IFN or thymidine kinase (TK)-IFN hybrid genes gave only low basal expression of human IFN. However, infection of both cell types with HSV type 1 or HSV type 2 produced abundant synthesis of IFN-specific RNA and biologically active IFN protein product. The IE175-IFN cell lines consistently gave 20- to 150-fold increases in IFN titers, and several TK-IFN cell lines yielded 100- to 500-fold induction. In the IE175-IFN cells, expression of IFN RNA also increased up to 200-fold and was detectable within 30 to 60 min after virus infection. Qualitatively similar results were obtained with hybrid G418-resistant Ltk- or Vero cell lines containing coselected IE175-CAT and TK-CAT constructs, except that there was relatively high basal expression of IE175-CAT. All three sets of IE cell lines (but not the delayed-early cell lines) responded to virus infection both in the presence of cycloheximide and with mutants defective in IE gene expression, demonstrating specific trans-activation by the pre-IE virion factor. In contrast, activation in the TK hybrid cell types required viral gene expression and the presence of a functional IE175 gene product. Up to 30-fold amplification in the copy number of the resident IFN or CAT DNA sequences also occurred within 20 h after HSV infection in IE175 hybrid cells but not in TK hybrid cells. Amplification was abolished either by treatment with phosphonacetate or by superinfection with a ts mutant unable to synthesize viral DNA, demonstrating specific HSV activation of the viral DNA replication origin (oriS) present in the IE hybrid constructs.     

Control of cell volume in the J774 macrophage by microtubule disassembly and cyclic AMP

We have explored the possibilities that cell volume is regulated by the status of microtubule assembly and cyclic AMP metabolism and may be coordinated with shape change. Treatment of J774.2 mouse macrophages with colchicine caused rapid microtubule disassembly and was associated with a striking increase (from 15-20 to more than 90 percent) in the proportion of cells with a large protuberance at one pole. This provided a simple experimental system in which shape changes occurred in virtually an entire cell population in suspension. Parallel changes in cell volume could then be quantified by isotope dilution techniques. We found that the shape change caused by colchicine was accompanied by a decrease in cell volume of approximately 20 percent. Nocodozole, but not lumicolchicine, caused identical changes in both cell shape and cell volume. The volume loss was not due to cell lysis nor to inhibition of pinocytosis. The mechanism of volume loss was also examined. Colchicine induced a small but reproducible increase in activity of the ouabain-sensitive Na(+), K(+)-dependent ATPase. However, inhibition of this enzyme/transport system by ouabain did not change cell volume nor did it block the colchicines-induced decrease in volume. One the other hand, SITS (4’acetamido, 4-isothiocyano 2,2’ disulfonic acid stilbene), an inhibitor of anion transport, inhibited the effects of colchicines, thus suggesting a role for an anion transport system in cell volume regulation. Because colchicine is known to activate adenylate cyclase in several systems and because cell shape changes are often induced by hormones that elevate cyclic AMP, we also examined the effects of cyclic AMP on cell volume. Agents that act to increase syclic AMP (cholera toxin, which activates adenylate cyclase; IBMX, and inhibitor of phosphodiesterase; and dibutyryl cyclic AMP) all caused a volume decrease comparable to that of colchicine. To define the effective metabolic pathway, we studied two mutants of J774.2, one deficient in adenylate cyclase and the other exhibiting markedly reduced activity of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. Cholera toxin did not produce a volume change in either mutant. Cyclic AMP produced a decrease in the cyclase-deficient line comparable to that in wild type, but did not cause a volume change in the kinase- deficient line. This analysis established separate roles for cyclic AMP and colchicine. The volume decrease induced by cyclic AMP requires the action of a cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. Colchicine, on the other hand, induced a comparable volume change in both mutants and wild type, and thus does not require the kinase.     

Malaria and urbanization in sub-Saharan Africa

There are already 40 cities in Africa with over 1 million inhabitants and the United Nations Environmental Programme estimates that by 2025 over 800 million people will live in urban areas. Recognizing that malaria control can improve the health of the vulnerable and remove a major obstacle to their economic development, the Malaria Knowledge Programme of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Systemwide Initiative on Malaria and Agriculture convened a multi-sectoral technical consultation on urban malaria in Pretoria, South Africa from 2nd to 4th December, 2004. The aim of the meeting was to identify strategies for the assessment and control of urban malaria. This commentary reflects the discussions held during the meeting and aims to inform researchers and policy makers of the potential for containing and reversing the emerging problem of urban malaria.     

Assessment of therapeutic responses to gametocytocidal drugs in Plasmodium falciparum malaria

Background

Effective mating between laboratory-reared males and wild females is paramount to the success of vector control strategies aiming to decrease disease transmission via the release of sterile or genetically modified male mosquitoes. However mosquito colonization and laboratory maintenance have the potential to negatively affect male genotypic and phenotypic quality through inbreeding and selection, which in turn can decrease male mating competitiveness in the field. To date, very little is known about the impact of those evolutionary forces on the reproductive biology of mosquito colonies and how they ultimately affect male reproductive fitness.

Methods

Here several male reproductive physiological traits likely to be affected by inbreeding and selection following colonization and laboratory rearing were examined. Sperm length, and accessory gland and testes size were compared in male progeny from field-collected females and laboratory strains of Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto colonized from one to over 25 years ago. These traits were also compared in the parental and sequentially derived, genetically modified strains produced using a two-phase genetic transformation system. Finally, genetic crosses were performed between strains in order to distinguish the effects of inbreeding and selection on reproductive traits.

Results

Sperm length was found to steadily decrease with the age of mosquito colonies but was recovered in refreshed strains and crosses between inbred strains therefore incriminating inbreeding costs. In contrast, testes size progressively increased with colony age, whilst accessory gland size quickly decreased in males from colonies of all ages. The lack of heterosis in response to crossing and strain refreshing in the latter two reproductive traits suggests selection for insectary conditions.

Conclusions

These results show that inbreeding and selection differentially affect reproductive traits in laboratory strains overtime and that heterotic ‘supermales’ could be used to rescue some male reproductive characteristics. Further experiments are needed to establish the exact relationship between sperm length, accessory gland and testes size, and male reproductive success in the laboratory and field settings.     

Variation in heat shock proteins within tropical and desert species of poeciliid fishes

The 70-kilodalton heat shock protein (hsp70) family of molecular chaperones, which contains both stress-inducible and normally abundant constitutive members, is highly conserved across distantly related taxa. Analysis of this protein family in individuals from an outbred population of tropical topminnows, Poeciliopsis gracilis, showed that while constitutive hsp70 family members showed no variation in protein isoforms, inducibly synthesized hsp70 was polymorphic. Several species of Poeciliopsis adapted to desert environments exhibited lower levels of inducible hsp70 polymorphism than the tropical species, but constitutive forms were identical to those in P. gracilis, as they were in the confamilial species Gambusia affinis. These differences suggest that inducible and constitutive members of this family are under different evolutionary constraints and may indicate differences in their function within the cell. Also, northern desert species of Poeciliopsis synthesize a subset of the inducible hsp70 isoforms seen in tropical species. This distribution supports the theory that ancestral tropical fish migrated northward and colonized desert streams; the subsequent decrease in variation of inducible hsp70 may have been due to genetic drift or a consequence of adaptation to the desert environment. Higher levels of variability were found when the 30- kilodalton heat shock protein (hsp30) family was analyzed within different strains of two desert species of Poeciliopsis and also in wild-caught individuals of Gambusia affinis. In both cases the distribution of hsp30 isoform diversity was similar to that seen previously with allozyme polymorphisms.