Molecular characterization of a new tospovirus infecting soybean

A new, widespread disease was recently observed in soybean in the United States. The disease, named Soybean vein necrosis, is manifested by intraveinal chlorosis and necrosis, and has been found in almost all of the 50 fields visited over a period of 3 years in the midwest and midsouth part of the United States. A virus was isolated from symptomatic material, and detection protocols were developed. More than 150 symptomatic specimens collected from seven US States were tested, and all were found positive for the virus unlike 75 asymptomatic samples, revealing the absolute association between virus and disease. Protein pairwise comparisons coupled with phylogenetic analyses indicate that the virus is a new member of the genus Tospovirus.     

Smoking and genital human papilloma virus infection in women attending cervical cancer screening in Greece

AIM: To investigate whether smoking is associated with human papilloma virus (HPV) infection. METHODS: HPV infection is considered to be a necessary condition for cervical cancer development. The study population included 1291 women, aged 25-55 years, attending cervical cancer screening. All women had a Papanicolaou (Pap) test, with liquid-based cytology (Thinprep^®), an HPV-DNA test and an evaluation of smoking habits. The COBAS^® 4800 system was used for HPV-DNA testing, enabling identification of the following high-risk HPV (hrHPV)-types: each of HPVs 16 and 18 separately, and HPVs 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66 and 68 as a cocktail. The evaluation of smoking habits was assessed using the smoking intensity index (SII), a variable formed as the product of cigarettes consumed per day by the days (years × 365) that a woman was a smoker, divided by 1000. RESULTS: There were 136 smokers among 238 women tested positive for hrHPV-types (HPVs 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66 and/or 68), and 463 smokers among 1053 hrHPV-negative women (OR = 1.7, P < 0.001). This association was attributed to the youngest age group of women, aged 25-34 years (OR = 2.3, P < 0.001), while there was no association in other age groups. The intensity of smoking (increasing SII) showed no statistically significant association with hrHPV infection. Cervical infection with HPV 16 and/or HPV 18 was also not associated with age or smoking habits. Finally, no association was found between Pap test status and smoking habits or smoking intensity. CONCLUSION: Smoking appears to be associated with hrHPV infection of the uterine cervix, particularly in younger women. Further studies should investigate whether this association is based on causality and evaluate the role of other possible co-factors.     

Metastatic neoplasms of the ovaries: a clinicopathological study of 97 cases

Objective  

To present the clinicopathological features of metastatic ovarian neoplasms with emphasis in the diagnostic challenge.     

Serum inhibin B and anti-Müllerian hormone are not superior to follicle-stimulating hormone as predictors of the presence of sperm in testicular fine-needle aspiration in men with azoospermia

OBJECTIVE: To compare FSH, inhibin B (INHB), and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) as predictors of the recovery of sperm in testicular fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNA) performed in men with azoospermia. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, clinical study. SETTING: Academic Unit of Reproductive Endocrinology. PATIENT(S): Fifty-one men with azoospermia and 31 controls. INTERVENTION(S): Testicular FNA. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Serum FSH, INHB, and AMH levels. RESULT(S): Clinical diagnoses in men with azoospermia were idiopathic nonobstructive azoospermia (n = 34, 67%), cryptorchidism (n = 4, 8%), varicocele (n = 3, 6%), and other diagnoses (n = 10, 16%). In pairwise comparison of receiver operating characteristic curves, none of FSH (area under curve 0.716), INHB (0.610), AMH (0.565), or volume of the larger testis (0.693) was proved to be superior to the others as predictor of sperm retrieval during an FNA procedure. Similarly, in a logistic regression analysis, none of FSH, AMH, INHB, or volume of the larger testis could predict presence of sperm in FNA. CONCLUSION(S): Serum INHB and AMH, as well as their combination, are not superior to FSH as predictors of the presence of sperm in testicular FNA in men with azoospermia and should not be used for this purpose.     

Investigation of the genotoxic effect of pesticides on greenhouse workers' lymphocytes

In the present study, the genotoxic effects of commonly applied pesticides were evaluated using the alkaline comet assay (pH > 13). The amount of DNA damage (% DNA in tail) in peripheral lymphocytes of 49 male agricultural workers from Southern Poland were measured and compared to 50 men from the same area who had no previous occupational exposure to pesticides. No statistically significant differences in basal DNA damage were found between the study groups. In addition, exposure of peripheral blood lymphocytes to hydrogen peroxide (100 and 150 μM) or γ‐irradiation (2.5 or 4.2 Gy) led to a similar degree of additional DNA damage and subsequent repair (for 2 hr) for all studied populations. In conclusion, our results indicate that the greenhouse workers who participated in this study had no detectable increased DNA damage or alteration in their cellular response to DNA damage in comparison to our control population. Environ. Mol. Mutagen., 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Novel mutation of the PRNP gene of a clinical CJD case

Background  

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), a group of neurodegenerative diseases, are thought to be caused by an abnormal isoform of a naturally occurring protein known as cellular prion protein, PrP^C. The abnormal form of prion protein, PrP^Sc accumulates in the brain of affected individuals. Both isoforms are encoded by the same prion protein gene (PRNP), and the structural changes occur post-translationally. Certain mutations in the PRNP gene result in genetic TSEs or increased susceptibility to TSEs.     

Regulation of myeloperoxidase‐specific T cell responses during disease remission in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody–associated vasculitis: The role of Treg cells and tryptophan degradation

Objective

T lymphocytes have been implicated in the pathogenesis of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody–associated vasculitis (AAV). Patients with myeloperoxidase (MPO) antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) experience relapses less frequently than those with proteinase 3 ANCA, suggesting greater immune regulation. This study was undertaken to investigate MPO‐specific T cell reactivity during disease remission and the factors regulating their responsiveness.

Methods

MPO‐specific T cells were quantified by enzyme‐linked immunospot assay with additional Treg cell depletion or exogenous interleukin‐2. Serum tryptophan and its metabolites were measured. In vivo blockade of indoleamine 2,3‐dioxygenase (IDO) was performed, and its effect on MPO reactivity was assessed.

Results

During disease remission, MPO‐specific interferon‐γ–producing T cell frequencies were comparable with those found in healthy controls and significantly lower than those found in patients with acute disease. CD4+CD25+ regulatory cells did not play a role in maintaining these low MPO‐specific T cell frequencies, since depletion of Treg cells did not augment MPO‐specific responses, and FoxP3 levels were diminished in patients compared with controls. Treg cell function, however, was comparable in patients and controls, suggesting numerical rather than functional deficiency. We found diminished serum tryptophan levels and elevated levels of its metabolite kynurenine in patients with MPO AAV as compared with controls. To confirm the effect of tryptophan degradation on MPO responses in vivo, we inhibited degradation in MPO‐immunized WKY rats and found greater immune responsiveness to MPO and a tendency to more severe glomerulonephritis.

Conclusion

Our findings indicate that MPO‐specific T cell frequencies are regulated during disease remission in association with tryptophan degradation. The tryptophan regulatory pathway is induced during active disease and persists during disease remission.