Hantavirus Prevalence in the IX Region of Chile

An epidemiologic and seroprevalence survey was conducted (n=830) to assess proportion of persons exposed to hantavirus in IX Region Chile, which accounts for 25% of reported cases of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome. This region has three geographic areas with different disease incidences and a high proportion of aboriginals. Serum samples were tested for immunoglobulin (Ig) G antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay against Sin Nombre virus N antigen by strip immunoblot assay against Sin Nombre, Puumala, Río Mamoré, and Seoul N antigens. Samples from six patients were positive for IgG antibodies reactive with Andes virus; all patients lived in the Andes Mountains. Foresting was also associated with seropositivity; but not sex, age, race, rodent exposure, or farming activities. Exposure to hantavirus varies in different communities of IX Region. Absence of history of pneumonia or hospital admission in persons with specific IgG antibodies suggests that infection is clinically inapparent

Putative psychosis genes in the prefrontal cortex: combined analysis of gene expression microarrays

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Recent studies have shown similarities between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in phenotypes and in genotypes, and those studies have contributed to an ongoing re-evaluation of the traditional dichotomy between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder with psychotic features may be closely related to schizophrenia and therefore, psychosis may be an alternative phenotype compared to the traditional diagnosis categories.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We performed a cross-study analysis of 7 gene expression microarrays that include both psychosis and non-psychosis subjects. These studies include over 400 microarray samples (163 individual subjects) on 3 different Affymetrix microarray platforms.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that 110 transcripts are differentially regulated (p < 0.001) in psychosis after adjusting for confounding variables with a multiple regression model. Using a quantitative PCR, we validated a set of genes such as up-regulated metallothioneins (MT1E, MT1F, MT1H, MT1K, MT1X, MT2A and MT3) and down-regulated neuropeptides (SST, TAC1 and NPY) in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of psychosis patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study demonstrates the advantages of cross-study analysis in detecting consensus changes in gene expression across multiple microarray studies. Differential gene expression between individuals with and without psychosis suggests that psychosis may be a useful phenotypic variable to complement the traditional diagnosis categories.</p

Quantitative PCR validation of mitochondrial genes.

<p>A scatter plot with a line of best fit demonstrates that each gene in the PFC shows either increase or decrease in expression across age (qv <0.05). X-axis: Age (log 2 scale). Y-axis: Gene expression (log 2 scale). Subjects were color-coded as red: neonate (0–3 months), green: infant (3–12 months), blue: toddler (1–5 years), light blue: school age (6–13 years), pink: teenage (14–19 years), yellow: young adult (20–30 years), and grey: adult (31–50 years). A: <i>MAOB</i> (monoamine oxidase B), B: <i>NDUFV1</i> [NADH dehydrogenase (ubiquinone) flavoprotein 1, 51 kDa], C: <i>SLC25A14</i> (mitochondrial uncoupling protein 5), D: <i>TUBB3</i> (tubulin beta-3 chain).</p

Enriched biological pathways in the genes showing age-dependent changes in the PFC and the CN of normal individuals.

<p>Functional annotation analyses (Gene Ontology) were performed using 2 sets of genes (genes changing expression in the PFC and genes changing expression in the CN). Count: number of genes included in each category, Fold: fold enrichment, FDR: false discovery rate-adjusted p-values based on the Benjamini-Hochberg method <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0049183#pone.0049183-Benjamini1" target="_blank">[84]</a>.</p

Developmental expression pattern of the genes associated with mitochondrial function in the PFC.

<p>A majority of the mitochondrial genes (91%) show increased expression (green to red), while only 9% of the genes show decreased expression (red to green) during postnatal development. Genes that encode different subunits of the same protein are shown on the right side. X-axis: Age (years). Y-axis: Gene symbols. In this pseudo-color heat map, increasing red intensities indicate genes with high expression levels, and increasing green intensities indicate genes with low expression levels across age. Color bar scale: hybridization intensity (log base 2) from 2.41 to 11.72.</p