Loss of chloroplast protease SPPA function alters high light acclimation processes in Arabidopsis thaliana L. (Heynh.)

SPPA1 is a protease in the plastids of plants, located in non-appressed thylakoid regions. In this study, T-DNA insertion mutants of the single-copy SPPA1 gene in Arabidopsis thaliana (At1g73990) were examined. Mutation of SPPA1 had no effect on the growth and development of plants under moderate, non-stressful conditions. It also did not affect the quantum efficiency of photosynthesis as measured by dark-adapted Fv/Fm and light-adapted ΦPSII. Chloroplasts from sppA mutants were indistinguishable from the wild type. Loss of SPPA appears to affect photoprotective mechanisms during high light acclimation: mutant plants maintained a higher level of non-photochemical quenching of Photosystem II chlorophyll (NPQ) than the wild type, while wild-type plants accumulated more anthocyanin than the mutants. The quantum efficiency of Photosystem II was the same in all genotypes grown under low light, but was higher in wild type than mutants during high light acclimation. Further, the mutants retained the stress-related Early Light Inducible Protein (ELIP) longer than wild-type leaves during the early recovery period after acute high light plus cold treatment. These results suggest that SPPA1 may function during high light acclimation in the plastid, but is non-essential for growth and development under non-stress conditions

The City and War: The Case of Tel Aviv-Jaffa

In wartime cities become prime objects for attack and sustain different levels of destruction. The increase since the 1990s in the number and scale of violent conflicts has resulted in growing awareness of the devastating aspect of war in urban areas, which now enjoys the coinage “urbicide”. It is by far and large the outcome of the shift from research focused on the history and spatiality of armed conflicts, to a moralist-oriented approach based on the political economies and socio-cultural geographies of militarism. Yet, as portrayed in the case of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, it limits the analysis of the variety of effects of war which vary widely due to location, intensity of fighting and prevailing social, cultural and economic realities

Increased Expression of Ephrins on Immune Cells of Patients with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Affects Oligodendrocyte Differentiation

The effect of the inflammatory response on regenerative processes in the brain is complex. This complexity is even greater when the cause of the tissue damage is an autoimmune response. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated disease in which demyelination foci are formed in the central nervous system. The degree of repair through oligodendrocyte regeneration and remyelination is insufficient. Ephrins are membrane-bound ligands activating tyrosine kinase signaling proteins that are known to have an inhibitory effect on oligodendrocyte regeneration. In this study, we examined the expression of ephrins on immune cells of 43 patients with relapsing-remitting (RR) MS compared to 27 matched healthy controls (HC). We found an increased expression of ephrin-A2, -A3 and -B3, especially on T cell subpopulations. We also showed overexpression of ephrins on immune cells of patients with RR-MS that increases the forward signaling pathway and that expression of ephrins on immune cells has an inhibitory effect on the differentiation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) in vitro. Our study findings support the concept that the immune activity of T cells in patients with RR-MS has an inhibitory effect on the differentiation capacity of OPCs through the expression and forward signaling of ephrins

Longitudinal Adherence to Diabetes Quality Indicators and Cardiac Disease: A Nationwide Population‐Based Historical Cohort Study of Patients With Pharmacologically Treated Diabetes

Background Evidence of the cardiovascular benefits of adherence to quality indicators in diabetes care over a period of years is lacking. Methods and Results We conducted a population‐based, historical cohort study of 105 656 people aged 45 to 80 with pharmacologically treated diabetes and who were free of cardiac disease in 2010. Data were retrieved from electronic medical records of the 4 Israeli health maintenance organizations. The association between level of adherence to national quality indicators (2006–2010: adherence assessment) and incidence of cardiac outcome; ischemic heart disease or heart failure (2011–2016: outcome assessment) was estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. During 529 551 person‐years of follow‐up, 19 246 patients experienced cardiac disease. An inverse dose–response association between the level of adherence and risk of cardiac morbidity was shown for most of the quality indicators. The associations were modified by age, with stronger associations among younger patients (<65 years). Low adherence to low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol testing (≤2 years) during the first 5 years was associated with 41% increased risk of cardiac morbidity among younger patients. Patients who had uncontrolled low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol in all first 5 years had hazard ratios of 1.60 (95% CI, 1.49–1.72) and 1.23 (95% CI, 1.14–1.32), among patients aged <65 and ≥65 years, respectively, compared with those who achieved target level. Patients who failed to achieve target levels of glycated hemoglobin or blood pressure had an increased risk (hazard ratios, 1.50–1.69) for cardiac outcomes. Conclusions Longitudinal adherence to quality indicators in diabetes care is associated with reduced risk of cardiac morbidity. Implementation of programs that measure and enhance quality of care may improve the health outcomes of people with diabetes

Associations of myeloid cells with cellular and humoral responses following vaccinations in patients with neuroimmunological diseases

Abstract Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are widely used in neuroimmunological diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Although these treatments are known to predispose patients to infections and affect their responses to vaccination, little is known about the impact of DMTs on the myeloid cell compartment. In this study, we use mass cytometry to examine DMT-associated changes in the innate immune system in untreated and treated patients with MS (n = 39) or NMOSD (n = 23). We also investigated the association between changes in myeloid cell phenotypes and longitudinal responsiveness to homologous primary, secondary, and tertiary SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinations. Multiple DMT-associated myeloid cell clusters, in particular CD64+HLADRlow granulocytes, showed significant correlations with B and T cell responses induced by vaccination. Our findings suggest the potential role of myeloid cells in cellular and humoral responses following vaccination in DMT-treated patients with neuroimmunological diseases