Molecular identification of Cordylobia anthropophaga Blanchard (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larvae collected from dogs (Canis familiaris) in Jos South, Plateau State, Nigeria

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.-- et al.Myiasis-causing larvae were extracted from dogs attending veterinary clinics in Plateau State, Nigeria and subjected to molecular analysis involving polymerase chain reaction amplification of the 28S rRNA gene of blowflies, cloning and sequencing techniques. All larvae were confirmed as Cordylobia anthropophaga Blanchard (Diptera: Calliphoridae) after the initial morphological identification. This is the first molecular identification of any myiasis-causing fly species in Nigeria and may serve as a reliable alternative to morphological identification where samples are not well preserved or difficult to identify to species level.We thank at the Instituto de Investigacion en Recursos Cinegiticos, IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ciudad Real, Spain for providing the facilities to carry out this research.Peer Reviewe

El aceite de oliva extra virgen y su fracción polifenólica previenen la respuesta inflamatoria y el daño articular en un modelo de artritis experimental en murino

The consumption of EVOO in Mediterranean countries has shown beneficial effects. A wide range of evidence indicates that the phenolic compounds present in EVOO are endowed with anti-inflammatory properties. In this work, we evaluated the effects of dietary EVOO and treatment with its phenolic extract (PE) in a model of RA, the collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice. On day 0, DBA-1/J mice were immunized with bovine collagen type II (CII). On day 21, the mice received a booster injection. We have demonstrated that EVOO and its PE decreases joint edema, cell migration, cartilage degradation and bone erosion. Our data indicate that dietary EVOO and PE treatment inhibit JNK, p38 and signal transducer and STAT-3. In addition, both EVOO and PE decrease NF-κB translocation leading to the down-regulation of the arthritic process. These results support the interest of natural diet components in the development of therapeutic products for arthritic conditions.El consumo de Aceite de oliva virgen extra (AOVE) en los países mediterráneos ha demostrado tener efectos beneficiosos. Una amplia gama de pruebas indica que los compuestos fenólicos presentes en el AOVE tienen propiedades anti-inflamatorias. En este trabajo, se evaluaron los efectos de AOVE y el tratamiento en dieta de su fracción polifenólica (FP) en un modelo de la artritis reumatoide inducida por colágeno (CIA) en ratones. En el día 0, los ratones DBA-1/J se inmunizaron con colágeno bovino tipo II (CII). En el día 21, los ratones recibieron una inyección de refuerzo. Hemos demostrado que el AOVE y su FP disminuyen conjuntamente el edema, la migración celular, la degradación del cartílago y erosión ósea. Nuestros datos indican que la dieta con AOVE y el tratamiento con FP inhiben JNK, p38 y el transductor de señal y activador de la transcripción 3 (STAT-3). Además, tanto el AOVE como la FP disminuyen la translocación NF-κB que conduce a la mejora del proceso artrítico. Estos resultados apoyan el interés de una dieta con componentes naturales y el desarrollo de productos terapéuticos para desordenes artríticos

Extra-virgin olive oil and its phenolic extract prevent inflammatory response and joint damage in murine experimental arthritis

The consumption of EVOO in Mediterranean countries has shown beneficial effects. A wide range of evidence indicates that the phenolic compounds present in EVOO are endowed with anti-inflammatory properties. In this work, we evaluated the effects of dietary EVOO and treatment with its phenolic extract (PE) in a model of RA, the collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice. On day 0, DBA-1/J mice were immunized with bovine collagen type II (CII). On day 21, the mice received a booster injection. We have demonstrated that EVOO and its PE decreases joint edema, cell migration, cartilage degradation and bone erosion. Our data indicate that dietary EVOO and PE treatment inhibit JNK, p38 and signal transducer and STAT-3. In addition, both EVOO and PE decrease NF-κB translocation leading to the down-regulation of the arthritic process. These results support the interest of natural diet components in the development of therapeutic products for arthritic conditions

Osteoarthritis treatment with a novel nutraceutical acetylated ligstroside aglycone, a chemically modified extra-virgin olive oil polyphenol

Recent studies have shown that dietary patterns confer protection from certain chronic diseases related to oxidative stress, the immune system and chronic low-grade inflammatory diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory potential and the capacity to attenuate cartilage degradation using extra-virgin olive oil–derived polyphenols for the treatment of osteoarthritis. Results show that both nutraceuticals ligstroside aglycone and acetylated ligstroside aglycone showed an anti-inflammatory profile. Acetylated ligstroside aglycone significantly reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory genes including NOS2 and MMP13 at both RNA and protein levels; decreased nitric oxide release; and, importantly, reduced proteoglycan loss in human osteoarthritis cartilage explants. Our study demonstrated that a new synthetic acetylated ligstroside aglycone derivative offers enhanced anti-inflammatory profile than the natural nutraceutical compound in osteoarthritis. These results substantiate the role of nutraceuticals in osteoarthritis with implications for therapeutic intervention and our understanding of osteoarthritis pathophysiology.España, MINECO (CTQ2016-78703-P)España, Junta de Andalucía (FQM134

Reciprocal regulation of NF-kB (Relish) and subolesin in the tick vector, Ixodes scapularis

[Background]: Tick Subolesin and its ortholog in insects and vertebrates, Akirin, have been suggested to play a role in the immune response through regulation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB)-dependent and independent gene expression via interaction with intermediate proteins that interact with NF-kB and other regulatory proteins, bind DNA or remodel chromatin to regulate gene expression. The objective of this study was to characterize the structure and regulation of subolesin in Ixodes scapularis. I. scapularis is a vector of emerging pathogens such as Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti that cause in humans Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and babesiosis, respectively. The genome of I. scapularis was recently sequenced, and this tick serves as a model organism for the study of vector-host-pathogen interactions. However, basic biological questions such as gene organization and regulation are largely unknown in ticks and other arthropod vectors. [Principal Findings]: The results presented here provide evidence that subolesin/akirin are evolutionarily conserved at several levels (primary sequence, gene organization and function), thus supporting their crucial biological function in metazoans. These results showed that NF-kB (Relish) is involved in the regulation of subolesin expression in ticks, suggesting that as in other organisms, different NF-kB integral subunits and/or unknown interacting proteins regulate the specificity of the NF-kB-mediated gene expression. These results suggested a regulatory network involving cross-regulation between NF-kB (Relish) and Subolesin and Subolesin auto-regulation with possible implications in tick immune response to bacterial infection. [Significance]: These results advance our understanding of gene organization and regulation in I. scapularis and have important implications for arthropod vectors genetics and immunology highlighting the possible role of NF-kB and Subolesin/Akirin in vector-pathogen interactions and for designing new strategies for the control of vector infestations and pathogen transmission.This research was supported by grants BFU2008-01244/BMC and BFU2011-23896 to JF, the Oklahoma Agricultural Experimental Grant 1669 and the Walter R. Sitlington Endowed Chair for Food Animal Research to KMK, and the EU FP7 ANTIGONE project number 278976. V. Naranjo was funded by the European Social Fund and the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha (Program FSE 2007-2013), Spain. N. Ayllón was funded by Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (MEC), Spain.Peer Reviewe

Germline Genetic Findings Which May Impact Therapeutic Decisions in Families with a Presumed Predisposition for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer

In this study, we aim to gain insight in the germline mutation spectrum of ATM, BARD1, BRIP1, ERCC4, PALB2, RAD51C and RAD51D in breast and ovarian cancer families from Spain. We have selected 180 index cases in whom a germline mutation in BRCA1 and BRCA2 was previously ruled out. The importance of disease-causing variants in these genes lies in the fact that they may have possible therapeutic implications according to clinical guidelines. All variants were assessed by combined annotation dependent depletion (CADD) for scoring their deleteriousness. In addition, we used the cancer genome interpreter to explore the implications of some variants in drug response. Finally, we compiled and evaluated the family history to assess whether carrying a pathogenic mutation was associated with age at diagnosis, tumour diversity of the pedigree and total number of cancer cases in the family. Eight unequivocal pathogenic mutations were found and another fourteen were prioritized as possible causal variants. Some of these molecular results could contribute to cancer diagnosis, treatment selection and prevention. We found a statistically significant association between tumour diversity in the family and carrying a variant with a high score predicting pathogenicity (p = 0.0003)

Tonsils of the soft palate do not mediate the response of pigs to oral vaccination with heat-inactivated Mycobacterium bovis

Mycobacterium bovis causes animal tuberculosis (TB) in cattle, humans, and other mammalian species, including pigs. The goal of this study was to experimentally assess the responses of pigs with and without a history of tonsillectomy to oral vaccination with heat-inactivated M. bovis and challenge with a virulent M. bovis field strain, to compare pig and wild boar responses using the same vaccination model as previously used in the Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa), to evaluate the use of several enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and lateral flow tests for in vivo TB diagnosis in pigs, and to verify if these tests are influenced by oral vaccination with inactivated M. bovis. At necropsy, the lesion and culture scores were 20% to 43% higher in the controls than those in the vaccinated pigs. Massive M. bovis growth from thoracic tissue samples was observed in 4 out of 9 controls but in none of the 10 vaccinated pigs. No effect of the presence or absence of tonsils was observed on these scores, suggesting that tonsils are not involved in the protective response to this vaccine in pigs. The serum antibody levels increased significantly only after challenge. At necropsy, the estimated sensitivities of the ELISAs and dual path platform (DPP) assays ranged from 89% to 94%. In the oral mucosa, no differences in gene expression were observed in the control group between the pigs with and without tonsils. In the vaccinated group, the mRNA levels for chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 7 (CCR7), interferon beta (IFN-β), and methylmalonyl coenzyme A mutase (MUT) were higher in pigs with tonsils. Complement component 3 mRNA levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) increased with vaccination and decreased after M. bovis challenge. This information is relevant for pig production in regions that are endemic for M. bovis and for TB vaccine research.This study is a contribution to EU FP7 grant 613779 WildTBVac and to MINECO Plan Nacional grant AGL2011-30041 and FEDER.Peer Reviewe