Confirmation of ovulation from urinary progesterone analysis: assessment of two automated assay platforms

Urinary concentrations of the major progesterone (P4) metabolite pregnanediol-3-glucuronide (PDG) are used to confirm ovulation. We aimed to determine whether automated immunoassay of urinary P4 was as efficacious as PDG to confirm ovulation. Daily urine samples from 20 cycles in 14 healthy women in whom ovulation was dated by ultrasound, and serial weekly samples from 21 women in whom ovulation was unknown were analysed. Daily samples were assayed by two automated P4 immunoassays (Roche Cobas and Abbott Architect) and PDG ELISA. Serial samples were assayed for P4 by Architect and PDG by ELISA. In women with detailed monitoring of ovulation, median (95% CI) luteal phase increase was greatest for PDG, 427% (261–661), 278% (187–354) for P4 Architect and least for P4 Cobas, 146% (130–191), p 0.92). In serial samples classified as (an)ovulatory by PDG, P4 Architect gave ROC AUC 0.95 (95% CI 0.89 to 1.01), with sensitivity and specificity for confirmation of ovulation of 0.90 and 0.91 at a cutoff of 1.67 μmol/mol. Automated P4 may potentially be as efficacious as PDG ELISA but research from a range of clinical settings is required

Tomato: a crop species amenable to improvement by cellular and molecular methods

Tomato is a crop plant with a relatively small DNA content per haploid genome and a well developed genetics. Plant regeneration from explants and protoplasts is feasable which led to the development of efficient transformation procedures. In view of the current data, the isolation of useful mutants at the cellular level probably will be of limited value in the genetic improvement of tomato. Protoplast fusion may lead to novel combinations of organelle and nuclear DNA (cybrids), whereas this technique also provides a means of introducing genetic information from alien species into tomato. Important developments have come from molecular approaches. Following the construction of an RFLP map, these RFLP markers can be used in tomato to tag quantitative traits bred in from related species. Both RFLP's and transposons are in the process of being used to clone desired genes for which no gene products are known. Cloned genes can be introduced and potentially improve specific properties of tomato especially those controlled by single genes. Recent results suggest that, in principle, phenotypic mutants can be created for cloned and characterized genes and will prove their value in further improving the cultivated tomato.

Comparison of Methods to Correct Survival Estimates and Survival Regression Analysis on a Large HIV African Cohort

The evaluation of HIV treatment programs is generally based on an estimation of survival among patients receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART). In large HIV programs, loss to follow-up (LFU) rates remain high despite active patient tracing, which is likely to bias survival estimates and survival regression analyses

Toxicity Associated with Stavudine Dose Reduction from 40 to 30 mg in First-Line Antiretroviral Therapy

To compare the incidence and timing of toxicity associated with the use of a reduced dose of stavudine from 40 to 30 mg in first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV treatment and to investigate associated risk factors

Gender Differences in Immune Reconstitution: A Multicentric Cohort Analysis in Sub-Saharan Africa

In sub-Saharan Africa, men living with HIV often start ART at more advanced stages of disease and have higher early mortality than women. We investigated gender difference in long-term immune reconstitution

α,β-D-Constrained Nucleic Acids Are Strong Terminators of Thermostable DNA Polymerases in Polymerase Chain Reaction

(SC5′, RP) α,β-D- Constrained Nucleic Acids (CNA) are dinucleotide building blocks that can feature either B-type torsional angle values or non-canonical values, depending on their 5′C and P absolute stereochemistry. These CNA are modified neither on the nucleobase nor on the sugar structure and therefore represent a new class of nucleotide with specific chemical and structural characteristics. They promote marked bending in a single stranded DNA so as to preorganize it into a loop-like structure, and they have been shown to induce rigidity within oligonucleotides. Following their synthesis, studies performed on CNA have only focused on the constraints that this family of nucleotides introduced into DNA. On the assumption that bending in a DNA template may produce a terminator structure, we investigated whether CNA could be used as a new strong terminator of polymerization in PCR. We therefore assessed the efficiency of CNA as a terminator in PCR, using triethylene glycol phosphate units as a control. Analyses were performed by denaturing gel electrophoresis and several PCR products were further analysed by sequencing. The results showed that the incorporation of only one CNA was always skipped by the polymerases tested. On the other hand, two CNA units always stopped proofreading polymerases, such as Pfu DNA polymerase, as expected for a strong replication terminator. Non-proofreading enzymes, e.g. Taq DNA polymerase, did not recognize this modification as a strong terminator although it was predominantly stopped by this structure. In conclusion, this first functional use of CNA units shows that these modified nucleotides can be used as novel polymerization terminators of proofreading polymerases. Furthermore, our results lead us to propose that CNA and their derivatives could be useful tools for investigating the behaviour of different classes of polymerases

Tsukushi Modulates Xnr2, FGF and BMP Signaling: Regulation of Xenopus Germ Layer Formation

Cell-cell communication is essential in tissue patterning. In early amphibian development, mesoderm is formed in the blastula-stage embryo through inductive interactions in which vegetal cells act on overlying equatorial cells. Members of the TGF-beta family such as activin B, Vg1, derrière and Xenopus nodal-related proteins (Xnrs) are candidate mesoderm inducing factors, with further activity to induce endoderm of the vegetal region. TGF-beta-like ligands, including BMP, are also responsible for patterning of germ layers. In addition, FGF signaling is essential for mesoderm formation whereas FGF signal inhibition has been implicated in endoderm induction. Clearly, several signaling pathways are coordinated to produce an appropriate developmental output; although intracellular crosstalk is known to integrate multiple pathways, relatively little is known about extracellular coordination

UNC45A deficiency causes microvillus inclusion disease–like phenotype by impairing myosin VB–dependent apical trafficking

International audienceVariants in the UNC45A cochaperone have been recently associated with a syndrome combining diarrhea, cholestasis, deafness, and bone fragility. Yet the mechanism underlying intestinal failure in UNC45A deficiency remains unclear. Here, biallelic variants in UNC45A were identified by next-generation sequencing in 6 patients with congenital diarrhea. Corroborating in silico prediction, variants either abolished UNC45A expression or altered protein conformation. Myosin VB was identified by mass spectrometry as client of the UNC45A chaperone and was found misfolded in UNC45A(KO) Caco-2 cells. In keeping with impaired myosin VB function, UNC45A(KO) Caco-2 cells showed abnormal epithelial morphogenesis that was restored by full-length UNC45A, but not by mutant alleles. Patients and UNC45A(KO) 3D organoids displayed altered luminal development and microvillus inclusions, while 2D cultures revealed Rab11 and apical transporter mislocalization as well as sparse and disorganized microvilli. All those features resembled the subcellular abnormalities observed in duodenal biopsies from patients with microvillus inclusion disease. Finally, microvillus inclusions and shortened microvilli were evidenced in enterocytes from unc45a-deficient zebrafish. Taken together, our results provide evidence that UNC45A plays an essential role in epithelial morphogenesis through its cochaperone function of myosin VB and that UNC45A loss causes a variant of microvillus inclusion disease