Prediction of preterm birth with and without preeclampsia using mid-pregnancy immune and growth-related molecular factors and maternal characteristics.

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate if mid-pregnancy immune and growth-related molecular factors predict preterm birth (PTB) with and without (±) preeclampsia. STUDY DESIGN:Included were 400 women with singleton deliveries in California in 2009-2010 (200 PTB and 200 term) divided into training and testing samples at a 2:1 ratio. Sixty-three markers were tested in 15-20 serum samples using multiplex technology. Linear discriminate analysis was used to create a discriminate function. Model performance was assessed using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). RESULTS:Twenty-five serum biomarkers along with maternal age <34 years and poverty status identified >80% of women with PTB ± preeclampsia with best performance in women with preterm preeclampsia (AUC = 0.889, 95% confidence interval (0.822-0.959) training; 0.883 (0.804-0.963) testing). CONCLUSION:Together with maternal age and poverty status, mid-pregnancy immune and growth factors reliably identified most women who went on to have a PTB ± preeclampsia

Effective Treatment of Respiratory Alphaherpesvirus Infection Using RNA Interference

BACKGROUND: Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1), a member of the Alphaherpesvirinae, is spread via nasal secretions and causes respiratory disease, neurological disorders and abortions. The virus is a significant equine pathogen, but current EHV-1 vaccines are only partially protective and effective metaphylactic and therapeutic agents are not available. Small interfering RNAs (siRNA's), delivered intranasally, could prove a valuable alternative for infection control. siRNA's against two essential EHV-1 genes, encoding the viral helicase (Ori) and glycoprotein B, were evaluated for their potential to decrease EHV-1 infection in a mouse model. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FNDINGS: siRNA therapy in vitro significantly reduced virus production and plaque size. Viral titers were reduced 80-fold with 37.5 pmol of a single siRNA or with as little as 6.25 pmol of each siRNA when used in combination. siRNA therapy in vivo significantly reduced viral replication and clinical signs. Intranasal treatment did not require a transport vehicle and proved effective when given up to 12 h before or after infection. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: siRNA treatment has potential for both prevention and early treatment of EHV-1 infections

Cerebellar Development and Neurogenesis in Zebrafish

Cerebellar organization and function have been studied in numerous species of fish. Fish models such as goldfish and weakly electric fish have led to important findings about the cerebellar architecture, cerebellar circuit physiology and brain evolution. However, most of the studied fish models are not well suited for developmental and genetic studies of the cerebellum. The rapid transparent ex utero development in zebrafish allows direct access and precise visualization of all the major events in cerebellar development. The superficial position of the cerebellar primordium and cerebellum further facilitates in vivo imaging of cerebellar structures and developmental events at single cell resolution. Furthermore, zebrafish is amenable to high-throughput screening techniques and forward genetics because of its fecundity and easy keeping. Forward genetics screens in zebrafish have resulted in several isolated cerebellar mutants and substantially contributed to the understanding of the genetic networks involved in hindbrain development (Bae et al. 2009; Brand et al. 1996). Recent developments in genetic tools, including the use of site specific recombinases, efficient transgenesis, inducible gene expression systems, and the targeted genome lesioning technologies TALEN and Cas9/CRISPR has opened up new avenues to manipulate and edit the genome of zebrafish (Hans et al. 2009; Scott 2009; Housden et al. 2016; Li et al. 2016)}. These tools enable the use of genome-wide genetic approaches, such as enhancer/exon traps and cell specific temporal control of gene expression in zebrafish. Several seminal papers have used these technologies to successfully elucidate mechanisms involved in the morphogenesis, neurogenesis and cell migration in the cerebellum (Bae et al. 2009; Chaplin et al. ; Hans et al. 2009; Volkmann et al. ; Volkmann et al. 2008). In addition, the use of genetically encoded sensors and probes that allows detection and manipulation of neuronal activity using optical methods have open up new means to study the physiology and function of the cerebellum (Simmich et al. 2012; Matsui et al. 2014). Taken together, these features have allowed zebrafish to emerge as a complete model for studies of molecular, cellular and physiological mechanisms involved in cerebellar development and function at both cell and circuit level