Identification of Tumor Antigens in the HLA Peptidome of Patient-derived Xenograft Tumors in Mouse

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Highlights

• •Sufficient tumor tissues are often unavailable large HLA peptidome discovery.
• •Using patient derived xenograft (PDX) tumors can overcome this limitation.
• •The large PDX HLA peptidomes expand significantly those of the original biopsies.
• •The HLA peptidomes of the PDX tumors included many tumor antigens.

     

Total Internal Reflection Accounts for the Bright Color of the Saharan Silver Ant

The Saharan silver ant Cataglyphis bombycina is one of the terrestrial living organisms best adapted to tolerate high temperatures. It has recently been shown that the hairs covering the ant’s dorsal body part are responsible for its silvery appearance. The hairs have a triangular cross-section with two corrugated surfaces allowing a high optical reflection in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) range of the spectrum while maximizing heat emissivity in the mid-infrared (MIR). Those two effects account for remarkable thermoregulatory properties, enabling the ant to maintain a lower thermal steady state and to cope with the high temperature of its natural habitat. In this paper, we further investigate how geometrical optical and high reflection properties account for the bright silver color of C. bombycina. Using optical ray-tracing models and attenuated total reflection (ATR) experiments, we show that, for a large range of incidence angles, total internal reflection (TIR) conditions are satisfied on the basal face of each hair for light entering and exiting through its upper faces. The reflection properties of the hairs are further enhanced by the presence of the corrugated surface, giving them an almost total specular reflectance for most incidence angles. We also show that hairs provide an almost 10-fold increase in light reflection, and we confirm experimentally that they are responsible for a lower internal body temperature under incident sunlight. Overall, this study improves our understanding of the optical mechanisms responsible for the silver color of C. bombycina and the remarkable thermoregulatory properties of the hair coat covering the ant’s body.     

Synthesis of a (desSer1 Ile29 Leu89) chicken cystatin gene, expression in E. coli as fusion protein and its isolation

A synthetic gene coding for the cysteine proteinase inhibitor (desSer1 Ile29 Leu89) chicken cystatin was cloned and expressed in E. coli. The gene was assembled from 12 oligonucleotides and inserted into vector pUC 8. Expression as fusion protein was performed in a temperature-inducible E. coli system. The expression product was synthesized as 20% of total E. coli protein. The fusion protein was purified, the chicken cystatin homologue was split off with CNBr and the N-terminal sequence confirmed up to position 37. The properties of the purified material correspond to those of natural chicken cystatin. The recombinant cystatin variant binds anti-chicken cystatin IgG, is inhibitorily active and displays Ki values with papain and with cathepsin B similar to those determined for natural chicken cystatin.     

Mathematical modelling of immunity to malaria

A comparison of two epidemiological models of immunity to malaria shows that different characterizations of immunity boosted by exposure to infection generate qualitatively different results. Attempts to control disease by reducing transmission or increasing the recovery rate can produce an increase in prevalence in the compartmental model with discrete epidemiological states. However, the parasite density always decreases in response to disease control in the model with continuous epidemiological variables. Each model accounts for some epidemiological patterns. The increase in prevalence seen in the compartmental model is in accord with observed effects of variation in transmission. Parasite suppression in areas of antimalarial drug use is consistent with the effect of an increased recovery rate in the density model. Future work should combine the two approaches, perhaps by using the compartmental model over the low to moderate range of infection rates and switching to the density model at high infection rates. In any case, the validation of models needs to take account of the usage of antimalarial drugs as well as the intensity of transmission.     

Effect of various nonionic surfactants on growth of Escherichia coli

Rose, Michael J., Jr. (Veterans Administration Hospital, Washington, D.C.), Stephen A. Aron, and Bernard W. Janicki. Effect of various nonionic surfactants on growth of Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol. 91:1863-1868. 1966.-Escherichia coli cultivated in media containing 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, or 4.0% concentrations of surface-active polyoxyethylene derivatives of formaldehyde polymers of octyl phenol (Triton WR-1339; Macrocyclon) or of sorbitan mono-fatty acid esters (Tween 20, 40, 60, and 80) exhibited significantly retarded growth only at the highest concentration. To determine the mechanism of bacteriostasis, certain derivatives and compounds related to the surfactants were investigated. Experiments with compounds related to the Triton-type agents demonstrated that incorporation of monomeric substances (Triton X-205, X-305, Igepal CA-730, or Dowfax 9N20) into the medium at a concentration of 4.0% did not inhibit the growth of E. coli. It was concluded that the formaldehyde polymer was essential for growth inhibition by the polyoxyethylene derivatives of octyl phenol. The inhibitory activity of the Tween compounds, in contrast, appeared to result from the unesterified fatty acids which contaminate the commercial preparations. Polyol (60), the sorbitan polyoxyethylene derivative of Tween 60 and the basic structural unit of all the Tween-type compounds, and a Tween 80 preparation which was purified by extraction of the unesterified oleic acid, were not inhibitory. Moreover, the amount of free oleic acid present as a contaminant of Tween 80 was found to be sufficient to cause significant growth inhibition. These results and the observation that E. coli does not appear to hydrolyze the esterified fatty acid of Tween 80 led to the conclusion that growth inhibition obtained with various Tween compounds probaby is a function of their respective fatty acid contaminants.     

Queen-worker conflict over sex ratio: A comparison of primary and secondary sex ratios in the Argentine ant,Iridomyrmex humilis

We compare the primary sex ratio (proportion of haploid eggs laid by queens) and the secondary sex ratio (proportion of male pupae produced) in the Argentine ant Iridomyrmex humilis with the aim of investigating whether workers control the secondary sex ratio by selectively eliminating male brood. The proportion of haploid eggs produced by queens was close to 0.5 in late winter, decreased to less than 0.3 in spring and summer, and increased again to a value close to 0.5 in fall. Laboratory experiments indicate that temperture is a proximate factor influencing the primary sex ratio with a higher proportion of haploid eggs being laid at colder temperatures. Production of queen pupae ceased in mid-June, about three weeks before that of male pupae. After this time only worker pupae were produced. During the period of production of sexuals, the proportion of male pupae ranged from 0.30 to 0.38. Outside this period no males were reared although haploid eggs were produced all the year round by queens. Workers thus exert a control on the secondary sex ratio by eliminating a proportion of the male brood during the period of sexual production and eliminating all the males during the remainder of the cycle. These data are consistent with workers preferring a more female-biased sex ratio than queens. The evolutionary significance of the production of male eggs by queens all the year round is as yet unclear. It may be a mechanism allowing queen replacement in the case of the death of the queens in the colony.     

Persistent influences of birth date on dominance, growth and reproductive success in bison

Long-term influences of birth date were examined in bison (Bison bison) over a nine-year period. Variation in birth date was related to differences in individual quality in both juveniles and adults. Earlier-born animals of both sexes were socially dominant to their later-born peers. Earlier-born females showed greater long-term fecundity. Long-term growth patterns also varied with birth date, earlier-born animals being larger. In females the relationship between body weight and birth date was significant as late as the eighth year of life, whereas in males effects on growth were weaker. For mothers, late parturition imposed immediate costs, increasing the likelihood of subsequent reproductive failure. There was no evidence that calving date varied with maternal condition, except that old females bore their last calves unusually late. These findings suggest that, in seasonally breeding ungulates, the benefits of early birth persist well into adulthood and have fitness consequences.