Inflammatory Pathways in Parkinson's Disease; A BNE Microarray Study

The aetiology of Parkinson's disease (PD) is yet to be fully understood but it is becoming more and more evident that neuronal cell death may be multifactorial in essence. The main focus of PD research is to better understand substantia nigra homeostasis disruption, particularly in relation to the wide-spread deposition of the aberrant protein α-synuclein. Microarray technology contributed towards PD research with several studies to date and one gene, ALDH1A1 (Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family, member A1), consistently reappeared across studies including the present study, highlighting dopamine (DA) metabolism dysfunction resulting in oxidative stress and most probably leading to neuronal cell death. Neuronal cell death leads to increased inflammation through the activation of astrocytes and microglia. Using our dataset, we aimed to isolate some of these pathways so to offer potential novel neuroprotective therapeutic avenues. To that effect our study has focused on the upregulation of P2X7 (purinergic receptor P2X, ligand-gated ion channel, 7) receptor pathway (microglial activation) and on the NOS3 (nitric oxide synthase 3) pathway (angiogenesis). In summary, although the exact initiator of striatal DA neuronal cell death remains to be determined, based on our analysis, this event does not remain without consequence. Extracellular ATP and reactive astrocytes appear to be responsible for the activation of microglia which in turn release proinflammatory cytokines contributing further to the parkinsonian condition. In addition to tackling oxidative stress pathways we also suggest to reduce microglial and endothelial activation to support neuronal outgrowth

B cell–adaptive immune profile in emphysema-predominant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Cigarette smoke, the major risk factor for COPD in developed countries, causes pulmonary inflammation that persists long after smoking cessation, suggesting self-perpetuating adaptive immune responses similar to those that occur in autoimmune diseases. Increases in the number and size of B cell–rich lymphoid follicles (LFs) have been shown in patients in severe stages of COPD (4), and increased B-cell products (autoantibodies) have been observed in the blood and lungs of patients with COPD (5, 6). Oligoclonal rearrangement of the immunoglobulin genes has been observed in B cells isolated from COPD LFs, suggesting that a specific antigenic stimulation drives B-cell proliferation. Consistently, we have shown that in the COPD lung, there is an overexpression of BAFF (B-cell activation factor of the TNF family), which is a key regulator of B-cell homeostasis in several autoimmune diseases (7) and is involved in the growth of LFs in COPD. However, a network analysis of lung transcriptomics showed that a prominent B-cell molecular signature characterized emphysema preferentially but was absent in AD independently of the degree of airflow limitation (8). In the current study, we investigated the correlation between B-cell responses in lung tissue from patients with COPD and healthy smokers, and the extent of emphysema versus airflow limitation

Hyaluronic acid hydrogels reinforced with laser spun bioactive glass micro- and nanofibres doped with lithium

The repair of articular cartilage lesions in weight-bearing joints remains as a significant challenge due to the low regenerative capacity of this tissue. Hydrogels are candidates to repair lesions as they have similar properties to cartilage extracellular matrix but they are unable to meet the mechanical and biological requirements for a successful outcome. Here, we reinforce hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogels with 13-93-lithium bioactive glass micro- and nanofibres produced by laser spinning. The glass fibres are a reinforcement filler and a platform for the delivery of therapeutic lithium-ions. The elastic modulus of the composites is more than three times higher than in HA hydrogels. Modelling of the reinforcement corroborates the experimental results. ATDC5 chondrogenic cells seeded on the composites are viable and more proliferation occurs on the hydrogels containing fibres than in HA hydrogels alone. Furthermore, the chondrogenic behavior on HA constructs with fibres containing lithium is more marked than in hydrogels with no-lithium fibres.Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431B 2016/042Xunta de Galicia | Ref. POS-A/2013/161Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481D 2017/010Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481B 2016/047-

Gatorbulin-1, a distinct cyclodepsipeptide chemotype, targets a seventh tubulin pharmacological site

35 p.-5 fig.-1 tab.Tubulin-targeted chemotherapy has proven to be a successful and wide spectrum strategy against solid and liquid malignancies. Therefore, new ways to modulate this essential protein could lead to new antitumoral pharmacological approaches. Currently known tubulin agents bind to six distinct sites at α/β-tubulin either promoting microtubule stabilization or depolymerization. We have discovered a seventh binding site at the tubulin intradimer interface where a novel microtubule-destabilizing cyclodepsipeptide, termed gatorbulin-1 (GB1), binds. GB1 has a unique chemotype produced by a marine cyanobacterium. We have elucidated this dual, chemical and mechanistic, novelty through multidimensional characterization, starting with bioactivity-guided natural product isolation and multinuclei NMR-based structure determination, revealing the modified pentapeptide with a functionally critical hydroxamate group; and validation by total synthesis. We have investigated the pharmacology using isogenic cancer cell screening, cellular profiling, and complementary phenotypic assays, and unveiled the underlying molecular mechanism by in vitro biochemical studies and high-resolution structural determination of the α/β-tubulin−GB1 complex.This research was supported by the NIH, National Cancer Institute Grants R01CA172310 (to H.L.) and R50CA211487 (to R.R.) and National Institute of General Medical Sciences Grant P41GM086210 (to H.L. and V.J.P.), Commercialization Fund Award from University of Florida (UF) Innovate (UF Office of Technology Licensing), and Debbie and Sylvia DeSantis Chair professorship (H.L.). The biochemical and the crystal structure work was supported by grants Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PID2019-10454RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias and COV20/01007E Proyecto Intramural Especial 201920E111 from Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (to J.F.D.) and European Union H2020-MSCA-ITN-2019 860070 TUBINTRAIN grant (to J.F.D. and A.E.P.).Peer reviewe

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components. The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy -- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy

We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of 15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Supplemental material in the ancillary file

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London