Mitochondrial Damage in the Trabecular Meshwork Occurs Only in Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma and in Pseudoexfoliative Glaucoma

Open-angle glaucoma appears to be induced by the malfunction of the trabecular meshwork cells due to injury induced by oxidative damage and mitochondrial impairment. Here, we report that, in fact, we have detected mitochondrial damage only in primary open-angle glaucoma and pseudo-exfoliation glaucoma, among several glaucoma types compared.Mitochondrial damage was evaluated by analyzing the common mitochondrial DNA deletion by real-time PCR in trabecular meshwork specimens collected at surgery from glaucomatous patients and controls. Glaucomatous patients included 38 patients affected by various glaucoma types: primary open-angle, pigmented, juvenile, congenital, pseudoexfoliative, acute, neovascular, and chronic closed-angle glaucoma. As control samples, we used 16 specimens collected from glaucoma-free corneal donors. Only primary open-angle glaucoma (3.0-fold) and pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (6.3-fold) showed significant increases in the amount of mitochondrial DNA deletion. In all other cases, deletion was similar to controls.despite the fact that the trabecular meshwork is the most important tissue in the physiopathology of aqueous humor outflow in all glaucoma types, the present study provides new information regarding basic physiopathology of this tissue: only in primary open-angle and pseudoexfoliative glaucomas oxidative damage arising from mitochondrial failure play a role in the functional decay of trabecular meshwork

Intestinal lesions in dogs with acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome associated with netF-positive Clostridium perfringens type A

Acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome (AHDS), formerly named canine hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, is one of the most common causes of acute hemorrhagic diarrhea in dogs, and is characterized by acute onset of diarrhea, vomiting, and hemoconcentration. To date, histologic examinations have been limited to postmortem specimens of only a few dogs with AHDS. Thus, the aim of our study was to describe in detail the distribution, character, and grade of microscopic lesions, and to investigate the etiology of AHDS. Our study comprised 10 dogs with AHDS and 9 control dogs of various breeds, age, and sex. Endoscopic biopsies of the gastrointestinal tract were taken and examined histologically (H&E, Giemsa), immunohistochemically (Clostridium spp., parvovirus), and bacteriologically. The main findings were acute necrotizing and neutrophilic enterocolitis (9 of 10) with histologic detection of clostridia-like, gram-positive bacteria on the necrotic mucosal surface (9 of 10). Clostridium perfringens isolated from the duodenum was identified as type A (5 of 5) by multiplex PCR (5 of 5). In addition, each of the 5 genotyped isolates encoded the pore-forming toxin netF. Clostridium spp. (not C. perfringens) were cultured from duodenal biopsies in 2 of 9 control dogs. These findings suggest that the pore-forming netF toxin is responsible for the necrotizing lesions in the intestines of a significant proportion of dogs with AHDS. Given that the stomach was not involved in the process, the term acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome seems more appropriate than the frequently used term hemorrhagic gastroenteritis

Habitat-Mediated Facilitation and Counteracting Ecosystem Engineering Interactively Influence Ecosystem Responses to Disturbance

Recovery of an ecosystem following disturbance can be severely hampered or even shift altogether when a point disturbance exceeds a certain spatial threshold. Such scale-dependent dynamics may be caused by preemptive competition, but may also result from diminished self-facilitation due to weakened ecosystem engineering. Moreover, disturbance can facilitate colonization by engineering species that alter abiotic conditions in ways that exacerbate stress on the original species. Consequently, establishment of such counteracting engineers might reduce the spatial threshold for the disturbance, by effectively slowing recovery and increasing the risk for ecosystem shifts to alternative states. We tested these predictions in an intertidal mudflat characterized by a two-state mosaic of hummocks (humps exposed during low tide) dominated by the sediment-stabilizing seagrass Zostera noltii) and hollows (low-tide waterlogged depressions dominated by the bioturbating lugworm Arenicola marina). In contrast to expectations, seagrass recolonized both natural and experimental clearings via lateral expansion and seemed unaffected by both clearing size and lugworm addition. Near the end of the growth season, however, an additional disturbance (most likely waterfowl grazing and/or strong hydrodynamics) selectively impacted recolonizing seagrass in the largest (1 m2) clearings (regardless of lugworm addition), and in those medium (0.25 m2) clearings where lugworms had been added nearly five months earlier. Further analyses showed that the risk for the disturbance increased with hollow size, with a threshold of 0.24 m2. Hollows of that size were caused by seagrass removal alone in the largest clearings, and by a weaker seagrass removal effect exacerbated by lugworm bioturbation in the medium clearings. Consequently, a sufficiently large disturbance increased the vulnerability of recolonizing seagrass to additional disturbance by weakening seagrass engineering effects (sediment stabilization). Meanwhile, the counteracting ecosystem engineering (lugworm bioturbation) reduced that threshold size. Therefore, scale-dependent interactions between habitat-mediated facilitation, competition and disturbance seem to maintain the spatial two-state mosaic in this ecosystem

Differences in Immunoglobulin Light Chain Species Found in Urinary Exosomes in Light Chain Amyloidosis (AL)

Renal involvement is a frequent consequence of plasma cell dyscrasias. The most common entities are light chain amyloidosis, monoclonal immunoglobulin deposition disease and myeloma cast nephropathy. Despite a common origin, each condition has its own unique histologic and pathophysiologic characteristic which requires a renal biopsy to distinguish. Recent studies have shown urinary exosomes containing kidney-derived membrane and cytosolic proteins that can be used to probe the proteomics of the entire urinary system from the glomerulus to the bladder. In this study, we analyzed urine exosomes to determine the differences between exosomes from patients with light chain amyloidosis, multiple myeloma, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, and non-paraproteinemia related kidney disease controls. In patients with light chain amyloidosis, multiple myeloma and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, immunoreactive proteins corresponding to monomeric light chains were found in exosomes by western blot. In all of the amyloidosis samples with active disease, high molecular weight immunoreactive species corresponding to a decamer were found which were not found in exosomes from the other diseases or in amyloidosis exosomes from patients in remission. Few or no light chains monomeric bands were found in non-paraproteinemia related kidney disease controls. Our results showed that urinary exosomes may have tremendous potential in furthering our understanding of the pathophysiology and diagnosis of plasma cell dyscrasia related kidney diseases

Small molecule sensitization to TRAIL is mediated via nuclear localization, phosphorylation and inhibition of chaperone activity of Hsp27

10.1038/cddis.2013.413Cell Death and Disease410

Socio-demographic determinants of coinfections by HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses in central Italian prisoners

BACKGROUND: The coinfections HIV/HCV/HBV are an important health issue in penitentiary communities. The aim of the study was to examine HIV, HBV and HCV coinfections determinants amongst prisoners in the jails of Southern Lazio (Central Italy), in the period 1995-2000. METHODS: Diagnosis of seropositivities for HIV, HBV and HCV was made using ELISA method. A multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to verify the influence of socio-demographic factors on the HIV/HBV/HCV coinfections. RESULTS: HIV/HCV, HBV/HCV and HIV/HBV coinfections were detected in 42 (4%), 203 (17.9%) and 31 (2.9%) inmates, respectively. These coinfections are significantly associated with the status of drug addiction (OR = 16.02; p = 0.012; OR = 4.15; p < 0.001; OR = 23.57; p = 0.002), smoking habits (OR = 3.73; p = 0.033; OR = 1.42; p = 0.088; OR = 4.25; p = 0.053) and Italian nationality (OR = 7.05; p = 0.009; OR = 2.31; p < 0.001; OR = 4.61; p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of HIV, HBV and HCV seropositivity in jails suggests that information and education programs for inmates could be useful to reduce the spread of such infections

Description of Hymenolepis microstoma (Nottingham strain): a classical tapeworm model for research in the genomic era

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Hymenolepis microstoma </it>(Dujardin, 1845) Blanchard, 1891, the mouse bile duct tapeworm, is a rodent/beetle-hosted laboratory model that has been used in research and teaching since its domestication in the 1950s. Recent characterization of its genome has prompted us to describe the specific strain that underpins these data, anchoring its identity and bringing the 150+ year-old original description up-to-date.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Morphometric and ultrastructural analyses were carried out on laboratory-reared specimens of the 'Nottingham' strain of <it>Hymenolepis microstoma </it>used for genome characterization. A contemporary description of the species is provided including detailed illustration of adult anatomy and elucidation of its taxonomy and the history of the specific laboratory isolate.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our work acts to anchor the specific strain from which the <it>H. microstoma </it>genome has been characterized and provides an anatomical reference for researchers needing to employ a model tapeworm system that enables easy access to all stages of the life cycle. We review its classification, life history and development, and briefly discuss the genome and other model systems being employed at the beginning of a genomic era in cestodology.</p

Anaerobic digestion and gasification of seaweed

The potential of algal biomass as a source of liquid and gaseous biofuels is a highly topical theme, with over 70 years of sometimes intensive research and considerable financial investment. A wide range of unit operations can be combined to produce algal biofuel, but as yet there is no successful commercial system producing such biofuel. This suggests that there are major technical and engineering difficulties to be resolved before economically viable algal biofuel production can be achieved. Both gasification and anaerobic digestion have been suggested as promising methods for exploiting bioenergy from biomass, and two major projects have been funded in the UK on the gasification and anaerobic digestion of seaweed, MacroBioCrude and SeaGas. This chapter discusses the use of gasification and anaerobic digestion of seaweed for the production of biofuel

Pooled analysis of WHO Surgical Safety Checklist use and mortality after emergency laparotomy

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist has fostered safe practice for 10 years, yet its place in emergency surgery has not been assessed on a global scale. The aim of this study was to evaluate reported checklist use in emergency settings and examine the relationship with perioperative mortality in patients who had emergency laparotomy. Methods In two multinational cohort studies, adults undergoing emergency laparotomy were compared with those having elective gastrointestinal surgery. Relationships between reported checklist use and mortality were determined using multivariable logistic regression and bootstrapped simulation. Results Of 12 296 patients included from 76 countries, 4843 underwent emergency laparotomy. After adjusting for patient and disease factors, checklist use before emergency laparotomy was more common in countries with a high Human Development Index (HDI) (2455 of 2741, 89.6 per cent) compared with that in countries with a middle (753 of 1242, 60.6 per cent; odds ratio (OR) 0.17, 95 per cent c.i. 0.14 to 0.21, P <0001) or low (363 of 860, 422 per cent; OR 008, 007 to 010, P <0.001) HDI. Checklist use was less common in elective surgery than for emergency laparotomy in high-HDI countries (risk difference -94 (95 per cent c.i. -11.9 to -6.9) per cent; P <0001), but the relationship was reversed in low-HDI countries (+121 (+7.0 to +173) per cent; P <0001). In multivariable models, checklist use was associated with a lower 30-day perioperative mortality (OR 0.60, 0.50 to 073; P <0.001). The greatest absolute benefit was seen for emergency surgery in low- and middle-HDI countries. Conclusion Checklist use in emergency laparotomy was associated with a significantly lower perioperative mortality rate. Checklist use in low-HDI countries was half that in high-HDI countries.Peer reviewe