In 2016, an outbreak of anthrax killing thousands of reindeer and affecting dozens of humans occurred on the Yamal peninsula, Northwest Siberia, after 70 years of epidemiological situation without outbreaks. The trigger of the outbreak has been ascribed to the activation of spores due to permafrost thaw that was accelerated during the summer heat wave. The focus of our study is on the dynamics of local environmental factors in connection with the observed anthrax revival. We show that permafrost was thawing rapidly for already 6 years before the outbreak. During 2011–2016, relatively warm years were followed by cold years with a thick snow cover, preventing freezing of the soil. Furthermore, the spread of anthrax was likely intensified by an extremely dry summer of 2016. Concurrent with the long-term decreasing trend in the regional annual precipitation, the rainfall in July 2016 was less than 10% of its 30-year mean value. We conclude that epidemiological situation of anthrax in the previously contaminated Arctic regions requires monitoring of climatic factors such as warming and precipitation extremes.
In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), genetic susceptibility together with environmental factors disturbs gut homeostasis producing chronic inflammation. The two main IBD subtypes are Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD). We present the to-date largest microarray gene expression study on IBD encompassing both inflamed and un-inflamed colonic tissue. A meta-analysis including all available, comparable data was used to explore important aspects of IBD inflammation, thereby validating consistent gene expression patterns.
Methods
Colon pinch biopsies from IBD patients were analysed using Illumina whole genome gene expression technology. Differential expression (DE) was identified using LIMMA linear model in the R statistical computing environment. Results were enriched for gene ontology (GO) categories. Sets of genes encoding antimicrobial proteins (AMP) and proteins involved in T helper (Th) cell differentiation were used in the interpretation of the results. All available data sets were analysed using the same methods, and results were compared on a global and focused level as t-scores.
Results
Gene expression in inflamed mucosa from UC and CD are remarkably similar. The meta-analysis confirmed this. The patterns of AMP and Th cell-related gene expression were also very similar, except for IL23A which was consistently higher expressed in UC than in CD. Un-inflamed tissue from patients demonstrated minimal differences from healthy controls.
Conclusions
There is no difference in the Th subgroup involvement between UC and CD. Th1/Th17 related expression, with little Th2 differentiation, dominated both diseases. The different IL23A expression between UC and CD suggests an IBD subtype specific role. AMPs, previously little studied, are strongly overexpressed in IBD. The presented meta-analysis provides a sound background for further research on IBD pathobiology. 相似文献
Lipid contents were studied in tissue and nuclei isolated from neurons and glia of neocortex of rats under conditions of normothermia
and in the state of artificial hypobiosis caused by hypothermia-hypoxia-hypercapnia. Compared to the neocortex tissue, both
nuclear fractions were fivefold impoverished in phospholipids and cholesterol and strongly enriched with mono- and diglycerides
and fatty acids. The nuclear fractions from neurons and glia contained similar amounts of phospholipids, and only the cardiolipin
content in the neuronal nuclei was lower than in the glial nuclei. The state of artificial hypobiosis in rats led to an increase
in the cholesterol/phospholipids ratio (mol/mol) in the nuclei from the neurons and glia; amounts of cholesterol and sphingomyelin
in the nuclei from the glia were increased. The increases in the cholesterol and sphingomyelin contents and in the cholesterol/phospholipids
ratio suggest an involvement of lipid-dependent signaling systems of the nuclei in the functional response of mammalian neocortex
cells to artificial hypobiosis. 相似文献
This paper presents a study of the influence of isoproterenol (1 μM) on the force of isometric contractions (0.1–1.0 Hz; 30
± 1°C; 1.8 mM Ca2+) of papillary muscles of the right ventricle in the heart of a ground squirrel during summer activity (n = 5) and hibernation season (activity between hibernation bouts, n = 4; torpor, n = 4; and arousal, n = 5). It is shown that isoproterenol increases the force of contraction (a positive inotropic effect) by 20 ± 3% and 61 ±
7% at stimulation frequencies of 0.4 and 1.0 Hz, respectively. In animals of hibernating period the isoproterenol-induced
increase in the force of contraction is rather brief (within 3 min after onset of the influence) and is accompanied by a 30–50%
decrease in the force from the control level (a negative inotropic effect) at stimulation frequencies from 0.3 to 0.8 Hz.
The positive isoproterenol inotropic effect in active summer ground squirrels is associated with a decrease in a relative
value of the pause potentiating effect (a qualitative indicator of calcium content in sarcoplasmic reticulum), and the negative
inotropic effect, with its increase. In all groups of animals under examination the isoproterenol inotropic effect (regardless
of its direction) is accompanied by the acceleration of the temporal parameters of the contraction—relaxation cycle. The dependence
of isoproterenol effects in the heart of hibernating animals on both seasonal changes in calcium homeostasis and the activity
of the sympathetic nervous system is under discussion. 相似文献
(22R,23R)-22,23-dihydroxystigmast-4-en-3-one, (22R,23R)-22,23-dihydroxystigmast-4-en-3,6-dione, (22R,23R)-3beta,5alpha,6beta,22,23-pentahydroxystigmastane, (22R,23R)-5alpha,6alpha-oxido-3beta,22,23-trihydroxystigmastane, (22R,23R)-5beta,6beta-oxido-3beta,22,23-trihydroxystigmastane, and (22R,23R)-3beta,6beta,22,23-tetrahydroxystigmast-4-ene were synthesized. Their cytotoxicities were comparatively studied using the MCF-7 line of carcinoma cells of human mammary gland and cells of human hepatoma of the Hep G2 line. 相似文献
The requirement for large amounts of good quality DNA for whole-genome applications prohibits their use for small, laser capture micro-dissected (LCM), and/or rare clinical samples, which are also often formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE). Whole-genome amplification of DNA from these samples could, potentially, overcome these limitations. However, little is known about the artefacts introduced by amplification of FFPE-derived DNA with regard to genotyping, and subsequent copy number and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) analyses. Using a ligation adaptor amplification method, we present data from a total of 22 Affymetrix SNP 6.0 experiments, using matched paired amplified and non-amplified DNA from 10 LCM FFPE normal and dysplastic oral epithelial tissues, and an internal method control. An average of 76.5% of SNPs were called in both matched amplified and non-amplified DNA samples, and concordance was a promising 82.4%. Paired analysis for copy number, LOH, and both combined, showed that copy number changes were reduced in amplified DNA, but were 99.5% concordant when detected, amplifications were the changes most likely to be 'missed', only 30% of non-amplified LOH changes were identified in amplified pairs, and when copy number and LOH are combined ~50% of gene changes detected in the unamplified DNA were also detected in the amplified DNA and within these changes, 86.5% were concordant for both copy number and LOH status. However, there are also changes introduced as ~20% of changes in the amplified DNA are not detected in the non-amplified DNA. An integrative network biology approach revealed that changes in amplified DNA of dysplastic oral epithelium localize to topologically critical regions of the human protein-protein interaction network, suggesting their functional implication in the pathobiology of this disease. Taken together, our results support the use of amplification of FFPE-derived DNA, provided sufficient samples are used to increase power and compensate for increased error rates. 相似文献
Glass sponges of the class Hexactinellida are a group of the most ancient multicellular animals, whose fossil remnants from the early Proterozoic have been registered. In order to demineralize the skeletal structures of the glass sponge Hyalonema sieboldi, we have used for the first time a strategy of slow leaching of the silicon-bearing component, based on the usage of alkaline solutions of sodium hydroxide, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and an anionic biosurfactant of a rhamnolipid nature. The obtained data unequivocally corroborate the presence of a fibrillar protein matrix functioning as a basis for silicon biomineralization in the basal spicules of H. sieboldi. Also, it has been found for the first time that the protein matrix is constructed of a collagenous protein. The technical approach proposed here might appear important for the study of the structural organization of skeletons in other silicon-bearing animals and, in an applied aspect, to work out new biomaterials for implantology and biocomposites, in order to use the latter as bioactive additives. 相似文献
3β-Acetoxy-20-oxomethylpregn-5-ene and 3β-acetoxy-20-hydroxymethylpregn-5-ene were synthesized from (22R, 23R)-sitost-5-ene-3β,22,23-triol in 66% overall yields. 相似文献