Expanding the Universe of Cytokines and Pattern Recognition Receptors: Galectins and Glycans in Innate Immunity

Effective immunity relies on the recognition of pathogens and tumors by innate immune cells through diverse pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that lead to initiation of signaling processes and secretion of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Galectins, a family of endogenous lectins widely expressed in infected and neoplastic tissues have emerged as part of the portfolio of soluble mediators and pattern recognition receptors responsible for eliciting and controlling innate immunity. These highly conserved glycan-binding proteins can control immune cell processes through binding to specific glycan structures on pathogens and tumors or by acting intracellularly via modulation of selective signaling pathways. Recent findings demonstrate that various galectin family members influence the fate and physiology of different innate immune cells including polymorphonuclear neutrophils, mast cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells. Moreover, several pathogens may actually utilize galectins as a mechanism of host invasion. In this review, we aim to highlight and integrate recent discoveries that have led to our current understanding of the role of galectins in host–pathogen interactions and innate immunity. Challenges for the future will embrace the rational manipulation of galectin–glycan interactions to instruct and shape innate immunity during microbial infections, inflammation, and cancer.     

CT-scan imaging of iron marked chorda tympani nerve: anatomical study and educational perspectives

The chorda tympani nerve (CTN) is the last collateral branch of the facial nerve in its third intraosseous portion just over the stylomastoid foramen. After a curved course against the medial aspect of the tympanum where it is likely to be injured in middle ear surgery, CTN reaches the lingual nerve in the infratemporal fossa. Knowledge of CTN topographic anatomy is not easily achieved by the students because of the deep location of this thin structure. The aim of this study was to assess the spatial relationships of the CTN in the infratemporal fossa. Therefore, ten nerves were dissected in five fresh cadavers. All the nerves were catheterized with a 3/0 wire. After a meticulous repositioning of surrounding structures, standard X-ray and CT scan examinations were performed with multiplanar acquisitions and three-dimensional surface rendering reconstructions. Ventral projection of the CTN corresponded to the middle of the maxillary sinus. Lateral landmark was the mandibular condyle. The CTN was present and unique in all the dissections. The average length of the nerve, as measured on CT scans, was 31.8 mm (29–34, standard deviation of 1.62); the anastomosis of the CTN to the lingual nerve was located at a mean 24.9 mm below the skull base (24–27, standard deviation of 0.99), approximately in the same horizontal plane as the lower part of the mandibular notch. The acute angle opened dorsally and cranially between CTN and LN measured mean 63.2° (60–65, standard deviation of 1.67). Three-dimensional volumetric reconstructions using surface rendering technique provided realistic educational support at the students’ disposal.     

Differential host determinants contribute to the pathogenesis of 2009 pandemic H1N1 and human H5N1 influenza A viruses in experimental mouse models

Influenza viruses are responsible for high morbidities in humans and may, eventually, cause pandemics. Herein, we compared the pathogenesis and host innate immune responses of a seasonal H1N1, two 2009 pandemic H1N1, and a human H5N1 influenza virus in experimental BALB/c and C57BL/6J mouse models. We found that both 2009 pandemic H1N1 isolates studied (A/Hamburg/05/09 and A/Hamburg/NY1580/09) were low pathogenic in BALB/c mice [log mouse lethal dose 50 (MLD(50)) >6 plaque-forming units (PFU)] but displayed remarkable differences in virulence in C57BL/6J mice. A/Hamburg/NY1580/09 was more virulent (logMLD(50) = 3.5 PFU) than A/Hamburg/05/09 (logMLD(50) = 5.2 PFU) in C57BL/6J mice. In contrast, the H5N1 influenza virus was more virulent in BALB/c mice (logMLD(50) = 0.3 PFU) than in C57BL/6J mice (logMLD(50) = 1.8 PFU). Seasonal H1N1 influenza revealed marginal pathogenicity in BALB/c or C57BL/6J mice (logMLD(50) >6 PFU). Enhanced susceptibility of C57BL/6J mice to pandemic H1N1 correlated with a depressed cytokine response. In contrast, enhanced H5N1 virulence in BALB/c mice correlated with an elevated proinflammatory cytokine response. These findings highlight that host determinants responsible for the pathogenesis of 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza viruses are different from those contributing to H5N1 pathogenesis. Our results show, for the first time to our knowledge, that the C57BL/6J mouse strain is more appropriate for the evaluation and identification of intrinsic pathogenicity markers of 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza viruses that are "masked" in BALB/c mice.     

Some psychological and emotional aspects of retirement in physicians: a first approach

Retirement is a time of life marked by many social prejudices. However, links of retirement to depression do not have any scientific evidence. Retired physicians do not suffer more psychiatric disorders than those who continue working. It is worth pointing that retirement is part of the decline of life, so no wonder the fear and rejection generated. Retirement can also be seen as a rite of passage or transition. Rites of passage are events that mark the most important transitions in human life, such as birth, initiation into adulthood, marriage and death. In the medical profession, the end of high school, obtaining professional qualifications and completion of a specialty, mark the different stages of the physician's career. Most research that has studied the quality of life of retired physicians agrees that most doctors are satisfied with their new condition. Similarly, retired doctors who said they were dissatisfied with their new situation, this was not because they had left the profession, but because they were in poor health or had no family or economic stability. The present study aims at providing an overview of occupational retirement from the individual and ontological point of view.     

Sketching the first 45 years of the journal Psychophysiology (1964-2008): a co-word-based analysis

This article presents a keyword-based bibliometric study of the thematic evolution of the journal Psychophysiology since its first publication in 1964 until 2008. Bibliometric maps showing the most relevant associations among the main topics treated by the journal are provided separately for the periods 1964-1978, 1979-1988, 1989-1998, and 1999-2008. These maps offer insight into the conceptual structure of psychophysiology as a research discipline and help to visualize the division of the field into several interconnected subfields. Bibliometric maps created by co-word analysis can be used by both experts and novices to understand the current state of the art of a scientific field and to predict where future research could lead.