Antigenic and immunogenic investigation of B-cell epitopes in the nucleocapsid protein of peste des petits ruminants virus

Attempts were made to identify and map epitopes on the nucleocapsid (N) protein of peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) (Nigeria75/1 strain) using seven monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and deletion mutants. At least four antigenic domains (A-I, A-II, C-I, and C-II) were identified using the MAbs. Domains A-I (MAb 33-4) and A-II (MAbs 38-4, P-3H12, and P-13A9) were determined to be located on the amino-terminal half (amino acids [aa] 1 to 262), and domains C-I (P-14C6) and C-II (P-9H10 and P-11A6) were within the carboxy-terminal region (aa 448 to 521). Nonreciprocal competition between A-II MAbs and MAbs to C-I and C-II domains was observed, indicating that they may be exposed on the surface of the N protein and spatially overlap each other. Blocking or competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay studies using PPRV serum antibodies revealed that epitopes on the domains A-II and C-II were immunodominant, whereas those on the domains A-I and C-I were not. The competition between MAb and rinderpest virus (RPV) serum antibodies raised against RPV strain LATC was found in two epitopes (P-3H12 and P-13A9) on the domain A-II, indicating that these epitopes may cause cross-reactivity between PPRV and RPV. Identification of immunodominant but PPRV-specific epitopes and domains will provide the foundation in designing an N-protein-based diagnostic immunoassay for PPRV.     

Anti-HIV-1 seroreactivity and HIV transmission route[R1]. The HEC/FIOCRUZ AIDS Clinical Research Group.

BACKGROUND: Antibody binding assays carried out by our group have consistently indicated a higher reactivity of sera from male HIV-1 infected individuals. This study was carried out in order to analyze the importance of gender, route of transmission, disease progression and HIV-1 genotype in seroreactivity assays. STUDY DESIGN: Specificity of antibody binding was studied in plasma of 247 HIV-1 seropositive individuals belonging to patient groups of pregnant women, injecting drug users (IDUs) and recent seroconvertors, resident in Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Recognition of synthetic peptides corresponding to antigenically important epitopes in the envelope of HIV-1 (gp41 immunodominant epitope, V3 loop, V2 loop and gp41 735-752 epitope) was determined. RESULTS: The immunodominant gp41 peptide (amino acids 594-613, HIV-1 MN sequence) was recognized by 85% of all plasma tested. Reactivity with the gp41 735-752 peptide and gp120 V2 loop peptides was low but quite variable, being generally more often specific to a Brazilian V2 peptide used than to the HIV-1 MN derived V2 peptide. The overall recognition of the different V3 peptides tested varied from 41 to 76%. Patients with more advanced disease showed a more frequent reactivity with the peptides studied than did asymptomatic patients. Statistically significant differences in peptide recognition were observed by multiple logistic analyses comparing plasma derived from individuals infected by blood or sexual HIV transmission, adjusting for disease progression and gender. Plasma from individuals infected by sexual transmission showed lower peptide recognition than did plasma from individuals infected through HIV positive blood. Association attempts between seroreactivity and genotype indicated that plasma derived from patients infected with HIV-1 of the F subtype showed highest recognition of heterologous V3 peptides, as well as a slightly more frequent recognition of the non-V3 peptides tested. Recognition of homologous peptides was generally higher than recognition of heterologous peptides. Differences were most pronounced between the prototypical HIV-1 B subtype and the Brazilian B" variant of this subtype but almost non-existent between the HIV-1 B and F subtypes. CONCLUSIONS: Individual gender was shown to be a confounder when investigating the relationships of peptide reaction to HIV-1 route of transmission through multivariate statistical methods: patients infected by blood transmission (IDU) present higher frequency of peptide recognition than individuals infected by sexual HIV-1 transmission. Plasma from individuals infected with the B" variant (GWG) of B subtype HIV-1 showed lower heterologous peptide recognition than that from HIV-1 B (GPG) or F infected individuals.     

Multiple pathways to tumor immunity and concomitant autoimmunity

Summary: The immune repertoire contains T cells and B cells that can recognize autologous cancer cells. This repertoire is directed against self, and in some cases altered self (mutations). Priming immune responses against self antigens can be difficult. Strategies are presented using altered self to elicit immunity against self in poorly immunogenic tumor models. Mechanisms underlying immunity to self antigens on cancer cells show that the immune system can use diverse strategies for cancer immunity, in both the immunization and the effector phases. CD4⁺ T cells are typically, but not always, required for immunization. The effector phase of tumor immunity can involve cytotoxic T cells, macrophages with activating Fc receptors, and/or killer domain molecules. This diversity in the effector phase is observed even when immunizing with conserved paralogs. A consequence of tumor immunity is potentially autoimmunity, which may be undesirable. Autoimmunity uses similar mechanisms as tumor immunity, but tumor immunity and autoimmunity can uncouple. These studies open up strategies for active immunization against cancer.     

The effects of school-based intervention programs on aggressive behavior: a meta-analysis

Research on the effectiveness of school-based programs for preventing or reducing aggressive behavior was synthesized with a meta-analysis. Changes in aggressive behavior between pretest and posttest were analyzed for developmental patterns and characteristics associated with differential effects. Control groups showed little change in aggressive behavior, but there were significant reductions among intervention groups. Most studies were conducted on demonstration programs; the few studies of routine practice programs showed much smaller effects. Among demonstration programs, positive outcomes were associated with a variety of study, subject, and intervention characteristics. Most notably, higher risk youth showed greater reductions in aggressive behavior, poorly implemented programs produced smaller effects, and different types of programs were generally similar in their effectiveness, other things equal.     

Noradrenergic neuronal development is impaired by mutation of the proneural HASH-1 gene in congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (Ondine's curse)

Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS, Ondine's curse) is a rare disorder of the chemical control of breathing. It is frequently associated with a broad spectrum of dysautonomic symptoms, suggesting the involvement of genes widely expressed in the autonomic nervous system. In particular, the HASH-1-PHOX2A-PHOX2B developmental cascade was proposed as a candidate pathway because it controls the development of neurons with a definitive or transient noradrenergic phenotype, upstream from the RET receptor tyrosine kinase and tyrosine hydroxylase. We recently showed that PHOX2B is the major CCHS locus, whose mutation accounts for 60% of cases. We also studied the proneural HASH-1 gene and identified a heterozygous nucleotide substitution in three CCHS patients. To analyze the functional consequences of HASH-1 mutations, we developed an in vitro model of noradrenergic differentiation in neuronal progenitors derived from the mouse vagal neural crest, reproducing in vitro the HASH-PHOX-RET pathway. All HASH-1 mutant alleles impaired noradrenergic neuronal development, when overexpressed from adenoviral constructs. Thus, HASH-1 mutations may contribute to the CCHS phenotype in rare cases, consistent with the view that the abnormal chemical control of breathing observed in CCHS patients is due to the impairment of noradrenergic neurons during early steps of brainstem development.     

Abeta-degrading endopeptidase,neprilysin, in mouse brain: synaptic and axonal localization inversely correlating with Abeta pathology

Metabolism of amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta) is closely associated with the pathology and etiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Since neprilysin is the only rate-limiting catabolic peptidase proven by reverse genetics to participate in Abeta metabolism in vivo, we performed detailed immunohistochemical analysis of neprilysin in mouse brain using neprilysin-deficient mice as a negative control. The aim was to assess, at both the cellular and subcellular levels, where Abeta undergoes neprilysin-dependent degradation in the brain and how neprilysin localization relates to Abeta pathology in amyloid precursor protein (APP)-transgenic mice. In hippocampus, neprilysin was present in the stratum pyramidale and stratum lacunosum-moleculare of the CA1-3 fields and the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus. Confocal double immunofluorescence analyses revealed the subcellular localization of neprilysin along axons and at synapses. This observation suggests that after synthesis in the soma, neprilysin, a type II membrane-associated protein, is axonally transported to the terminals, where Abeta degradation is likely to take place. Among various cell types, GABAergic and metabotropic glutamate 2/3 receptor-positive neurons but not catecholaminergic or cholinergic neurons, expressed neprilysin in hippocampus and neocortex, implying the presence of a cell type-specific mechanism that regulates neprilysin gene expression. As expected, Abeta deposition correlated inversely with neprilysin expression in TgCRND8 APP-transgenic mice. These observations not only support the notion that neprilysin functions as a major Abeta-degrading enzyme in the brain but also suggest that down-regulation of neprilysin activity, which may be caused by aging, is likely to elevate local concentrations of Abeta at and around neuronal synapses.     

DNA damage in cytologically normal urothelial cells of patients with a history of urothelial cell carcinoma

In order to determine if patients with a history of previous urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC) but with current normal urinary cytology have DNA damage in urothelial cells, the single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay was conducted with cells obtained by urinary bladder washings from 44 patients (28 with a history of previous UCC). Increased DNA damage was observed in cytologically "normal" urothelial cells of patients with a history of UCC when compared with referents with no similar history and after correcting the data for smoking status and age (P < 0.018). Increased DNA damage also correlated with the highest tumor grade, irrespective of time or course of the disease after clinical intervention (Kendall tau correlation, 0.37, P = 0.016). Moreover, aneuploidy, as assessed by DNA content ratio (DCR; 75th/25th percentile of total DNA fluorescence of 50 comets/patient) was unaltered by smoking status, but increased with UCC grade: 1.39 +/- 0.12 (median +/- 95% confidence interval; referents); 1.43 +/- 0.11 (Grade I UCC; P = 0.264, against referents); 1.49 +/- 0.16 (Grade II UCC; P = 0.057); 1.57 +/- 0.16 (Grade III UCC; P = 0.003). Micronucleated urothelial cells (MNC) were also scored on Giemsa-stained routine cytological smears and were found not to correlate with DNA damage or DCR. MNC frequencies were higher for patients with a history of UCC and/or smoking than referents with neither history, but there was no statistical difference between groups. Taken together, these results suggest that the normal-appearing urothelium of patients resected for UCC still harbor genetically unstable cells.     

Family-based and case-control studies reveal no association of lipocalin-type prostaglandin D2 synthase with schizophrenia.

Several observations point to the involvement of disturbed lipid biology in schizophrenia. Reduced response to niacin flushing test, which involves vasodilatation induced by prostaglandin D2 (PGD2), is among the evidences, together with decreased CSF levels of lipocalin-type prostaglandin D2 synthase (PTGDS), the enzyme responsible for the synthesis of PGD2 in the brain. Since PTGDS is also a carrier for lipophilic molecules such as retinoids and thyroid hormones, altered PTGDS levels might influence both PGD2-mediated signaling, and vitamin A and thyroid hormone availability. To test whether genetic variants of PTGDS are involved in the etiology of schizophrenia, we searched for variants in the coding and regulatory regions of the gene. We identified four previously described polymorphisms. Using two case-control samples from Portugal and Brazil, none of the polymorphisms tested was associated with the disease. In addition, no transmission distortion was observed in an independent parents-offspring sample from the Azorean Islands. Our data do not support the involvement of the PTGDS gene in the etiology of schizophrenia.