The effect of <i>Cj1411c</i> gene deletion on CPS production.

<p>Alcian blue stained CPS of <i>C. jejuni</i> 81-176 wild type (lane 2) was compared with the CPS extracted <i>C. jejuni</i> 81-176 Δ<i>Cj1411c</i> (lane 3) and <i>C. jejuni</i> 81-176 Δ<i>Cj1411c</i>::<i>Cj1411c</i> (lane 4).</p

CYP1411c spectral change following incubation with the inner membrane fraction.

<p>IMP o/n 1-5 represent successive spectral recordings following incubation of purified CYP1411c protein with <i>C. jejuni</i> 81-176 inner membrane proteins. Spectra were recorded at 1 min intervals.</p

CYP1411c cellular localization.

<p>(A) Anti-P450 immunoblotting on bacterial fractions (cytosolic fraction, Cyt; inner membrane protein, IMP and outer membrane protein fraction, OMP). Recombinant CYP1411c protein (purified) was used as a positive control. Fractions were validated with an antibody recognizing the cytosolic Fur protein (B) and the outer membrane protein CadF (C).</p

Virulence and serum resitance.

<p>(a) adhesion to HCT-8 cells, (b) invasion of HCT-8 cells of <i>C. jejuni</i> 81-176 wild type, <i>C. jejuni</i> 81-176 Δ<i>Cj1411c</i> and <i>C. jejuni</i> 81-176 Δ<i>Cj1411c</i>::<i>Cj1411c</i>. (c) serum resistance - the survival rate is defined as the number of <i>C. jejuni</i> 81-176 colonies isolated following exposure to human serum divided by the number of colonies surviving in heat inactivated serum, expressed as a percentage. Statistical significance (Student’s <i>t</i> test) relative to the level of wild type strain is indicated. *P=0.001. The experiments were done in triplicate and on three separate occasions. The error bars represent standard deviations for six separate wells.</p

qRT-PCR analysis of <i>Cj1411c</i> gene expression during infection.

<p><i>Cj1411c</i> expression analysis in <i>C. jejuni</i> 81-176 following infection of HCT-8 cells. The gene expression level for 1.5h in RPMI was set to 1 as the basal level. All other levels are expressed as fold change over the basal gene expression. Error bars represent ±S.D. of 3 independent experiments. The corresponding protein expression levels assessed by Western blot with the anti-P450 antibody are shown.</p

Mucosal atrophy predicts poorer outcomes in pediatric ulcerative colitis - a national inception cohort study

Background: Outcomes in pediatric ulcerative colitis (UC) are heterogeneous and predictors of disease course eagerly sought. Mucosal atrophy (MA) is characterized by histological abnormalities of colonic intestinal glands. Objective: To determine the prevalence of MA in a national inception cohort of pediatric UC and its impact on outcomes. Methods: Irish children Results: Of 251 pediatric patients with UC (mean age 11.8 years, 55% male), 38 (15%) had MA on diagnostic biopsy. Baseline characteristics were similar between groups with/without MA and there was no difference in steroid-free remission or rates of moderate-severe UC at 1 year. Patients with MA had higher use of steroids (29% vs 15%, P = 0.04) and immunomodulators (40% vs 21%, P = 0.04) at 6 months, higher biologic use at 1 year (34% vs 16%, P = 0.03), earlier first relapse (mean ± SD 29.4 ± 26.1 vs 46.7 ± 43.4 weeks after diagnosis, P = 0.02), and higher colectomy rates by 2 years (21% vs 8%, P = 0.01). Conclusions: Children with MA at diagnosis had higher colectomy rates despite earlier treatment escalation and similar baseline severity scores. We identify MA as a promising new prognostic marker in children with newly diagnosed UC.</p