Decreased serum levels of platelet-endothelial adhesion molecule (PECAM-1) in subjects with high-functioning autism: a negative correlation with head circumference at birth.

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence suggests that the immune system plays a role in the pathophysiology of autism, and that the adhesion molecules play an important role in the process of inflammation. This study was undertaken to determine whether serum levels of the adhesion molecules in subjects with high-functioning autism are altered as compared with those of normal controls. METHODS: Seventeen male subjects with high-functioning autism and 22 male age-matched unrelated healthy control subjects were enrolled. Serum levels of the soluble forms of platelet-endothelial adhesion molecule (PECAM-1), intracellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1) were measured. RESULTS: Levels of PECAM-1, but not ICAM-1, in the subjects with autism were significantly lower than those of control subjects. VCAM-1 showed a weak trend for a lowered level. There was a negative correlation between serum levels of PECAM-1 and head circumference at birth in the autistic subjects. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that PECAM-1 plays a role in the pathophysiology of high-functioning autism.     

Omicron targets upper airways in pediatrics,elderly and unvaccinated population

Omicron, a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 variant, has spread around the globe, causing dramatic increases in infection rates. Viral mutant antigens were responsible for the strong infectivity, fast replication, and high reinfection rates reported from all ages. Omicron causes clinical symptoms mostly related to the upper respiratory tract with minimal symptoms from the lower respiratory tract besides an urgent presentation of cases that resembled a fatal illness, epiglottitis. Not to mention the long coronavirus disease 2019, which rises exponentially in the Omicrons era. Apparently, the disease has a less aggressive course than earlier variants with lower death rates; however, the infection is not trivial. Severe infection was raised among pediatrics, unvaccinated, and the elderly. Complete vaccine protection is urgently needed to protect the most vulnerable community members. Additionally, self-protective strategies such as wearing a mask and safe social distancing cannot be omitted.     

Evaluation of a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay for determination of Treponema pallidum antibodies

Evaluation of a Chemiluminescent Microparticle Immunoassay (CMIA) for determination of anti-Treponema pallidum (TP) antibodies, "ARCHITECT TPAb", was performed. This assay was confirmed to be a reliable anti-TP assay as it showed very good fundamental performance on reproducibility (intra-assay CV: less than 4%), assay specificity (100%, 500/500) and assay sensitivity (100%, 121/121). Since this assay showed very good dilution linearity for samples within the range of 0.59-8.38 S/CO, quantification of the immunoreactivity of anti-TP was attempted. The correction formula for quantification was successfully validated with 8 specimens. The quantified anti-TP, CMIA-QT, calculated by multiplying together the assay's corrected S/CO within the range of 0.59 - 8.38 and the sample dilution factors, showed a strong correlation with the titer of TP particle agglutination (TPPA). The clinical utility of CMIA-QT was evaluated with stored specimens from 5 primary, 5 secondary, and 5 neural syphilis patients. The clinical utility of CMIA-QT was confirmed in the same manner as that of TPPA.     

A novel biological role of tachykinins as an up-regulator of oocyte growth: identification of an evolutionary origin of tachykininergic functions in the ovary of the ascidian, Ciona intestinalis

Tachykinins (TKs) and their receptors have been shown to be expressed in the mammalian ovary. However, the biological roles of ovarian TKs have yet to be verified. Ci-TK-I and Ci-TK-R, characterized from the protochordate (ascidian), Ciona intestinalis, are prototypes of vertebrate TKs and their receptors. In the present study, we show a novel biological function of TKs as an inducible factor for oocyte growth using C. intestinalis as a model organism. Immunostaining demonstrated the specific expression of Ci-TK-R in test cells residing in oocytes at the vitellogenic stage. DNA microarray and real-time PCR revealed that Ci-TK-I induced gene expression of several proteases, including cathepsin D, chymotrypsin, and carboxy-peptidase B1, in the ovary. The enzymatic activities of these proteases in the ovary were also shown to be enhanced by Ci-TK-I. Of particular significance is that the treatment of Ciona oocytes with Ci-TK-I resulted in progression of growth from the vitellogenic stage to the post-vitellogenic stage. The Ci-TK-I-induced oocyte growth was blocked by a TK antagonist or by protease inhibitors. These results led to the conclusion that Ci-TK-I enhances growth of the vitellogenic oocytes via up-regulation of gene expression and enzymatic activities of the proteases. This is the first clarification of the biological roles of TKs in the ovary and the underlying essential molecular mechanism. Furthermore, considering the phylogenetic position of ascidians as basal chordates, we suggest that the novel TK-regulated oocyte growth is an "evolutionary origin" of the tachykininergic functions in the ovary.     

Murine splenocyte migration inhibition assay I. Detection of differential responses to murine leukemia P388 and its adriamycin-resistant subline P388/ADR

A direct splenocyte migration inhibition assay system was used to evaluate cellular sensitization in BDF1 mice carrying intraperitoneal transplants of the lymphocytic leukemia, P388, and its adriamycin-resistant subline, P388/ADR. The individual splenocyte populations, PS and PAD (from the mice bearing P388 tumor and its subline, respectively), were tested against the 3 M KCl extracts, S-Ag and R-Ag (of P388 and P388/ADR tumor cells, respectively). The results indicated a gradual development of cellular sensitization against P388 tumors but not P388/ADR tumors. The migration of only PS cells was inhibited by extracts of both the syngeneic tumors in a dose-dependent manner. An extract of an allogeneic tumor, S-180, did not alter the migration of PS cells. The nonresponsive PAD cells, when mixed with the responsive PS cells at a ratio of 1:9, abrogated the latters' response to both the antigens. Such suppression was tumor-related and detected in the spleen 2 days after P388/ADR transplantation. Addition of normal murine splenocytes or P388/ADR tumor cells did not prevent PS cells from responding to the tumor extracts. These results indicated the presence of suppressor cells in the spleens of mice with P388/ADR tumors.