Effect of Rehabilitation Program on Endocrinological Parameters in Patients with COPD and in Healthy Subjects

Background: Skeletal muscle wasting commonly occurs in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and has been associated with the presence of systemic inflammation and endocrinological disturbance. The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of rehabilitation program on the balance of anabolic versus catabolic hormone in patients with COPD and in healthy subjects. Methods: Nineteen patients with COPD and 16 age-matched healthy subjects undertooked exercise training 3 days/week for 8 weeks. Before and after the training program the concentration of growth hormone (GH), Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1), Insulin-like Growth Factor-Binding Protein 3 (IGF-BP3), testosterone and cortisol in serum were determined. The exercise measurements included a 6-Minute Walking Test (6MWT). Results: After 8 weeks, there was no significant change in lung function in patients with COPD and healthy subjects. Growth hormone, Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 and Insulin-like Growth Factor-Binding Protein 3 increased significantly after rehabilitation training (p < 0.01). The rehabilitation program improves the testosterone/cortisol ratio (T/C ratio) in both groups. There is a significant improvement in the 6-Minute Walking distance (6MWD) in both groups (p < 0.01). Dyspnea and heart rate at rest and at the peak of the 6-Minute Walking Test (6MWT) decreased significantly after training program (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Pulmonary rehabilitation induces an improvement of the anabolic process and reduces proteine distruction by the modifications in endocrinological factors regulating skeletal muscle in patients with COPD.     

Disease etiology and diagnosis by TCR repertoire analysis goes viral

The importance of T‐cell receptor (TCR) repertoire diversity is highlighted in murine models of immunodeficiency and in many human pathologies. However, the true extent of TCR diversity and how this diversity varies in health and disease is poorly understood. In a previous issue of the European Journal of Immunology, Lossius et al. [Eur. J. Immunol. 2014. 44: 3439–3452] dissected the composition of the TCR repertoire in the context of multiple sclerosis (MS) using high‐throughput sequencing of TCR‐β chains in cerebrospinal fluid samples and blood. The authors demonstrated that the TCR repertoire of the CSF was largely distinct from the blood and enriched in EBV‐reactive CD8⁺ T cells in MS patients. Studies of this kind have long been hindered by technical limitations and remain scarce in the literature. However, TCR sequencing methodologies are progressing apace and will undoubtedly shed light on the genetic basis of T‐cell responses and the ontogeny of T‐cell‐mediated diseases, such as MS.     

Identification of the lactococcal exonuclease/recombinase and its modulation by the putative Chi sequence

Studies of RecBCD–Chi interactions in Escherichia coli have served as a model to understand recombination events in bacteria. However, the existence of similar interactions has not been demonstrated in bacteria unrelated to E. coli. We developed an in vivo model to examine components of dsDNA break repair in various microorganisms. Here, we identify the major exonuclease in Lactococcus lactis, a Gram-positive organism evolutionarily distant from E. coli, and provide evidence for exonuclease–Chi interactions. Insertional mutants of L. lactis, screened as exonuclease-deficient, affected a single locus and resulted in UV sensitivity and recombination deficiency. The cloned lactococcal genes (called rexAB) restored UV resistance, recombination proficiency, and the capacity to degrade linear DNA, to an E. coli recBCD mutant. In this context, DNA degradation is specifically blocked by the putative lactococcal Chi site (5′-GCGCGTG-3′), but not by the E. coli Chi (5′-GCTGGTGG-3′) site. RexAB-mediated recombination was shown to be stimulated ≈27-fold by lactococcal Chi. Our results reveal that RexAB fulfills the biological roles of RecBCD and indicate that its activity is modulated by a short DNA sequence. We speculate that exonuclease/recombinase enzymes whose activities are modulated by short DNA sequences are widespread among bacteria.     

Swept Source OCT dans le suivi d’une effusion uvéale posttrabéculectomie chez une patiente nanophtalme

Uveal effusion syndrome describes serous detachments of the choroid and ciliary body with exudative retinal detachment. It is a complication following glaucoma filtering surgeries such as trabeculectomy especially in nanophthalmic eyes.We report a rare case of a 42-year-old-woman, with nanophtalmos, who developed posterior serous retinal detachment and uveal effusions after trabeculectomy for chronic angle closure glaucoma.The patient was put on oral steroids with good clinical outcome. Anterior Segment OCT allowed monitoring of iridocorneal angle and anterior chamber depth, Swept Source OCT was useful for monitoring retinal reattachment and choroidal thickness.