Inflammasome-independent role for NLRP3 in controlling innate antihelminth immunity and tissue repair in the lung

Alternatively activated macrophages are essential effector cells during type 2 immunity and tissue repair following helminth infections. We previously showed that Ym1, an alternative activation marker, can drive innate IL-1R-dependent neutrophil recruitment during infection with the lung-migrating nematode, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, suggesting a potential role for the inflammasome in the IL-1-mediated innate response to infection. Although inflammasome proteins such as NLRP3 have important proinflammatory functions in macrophages, their role during type 2 responses and repair are less defined. We therefore infected Nlrp3-/- mice with N. brasiliensis Unexpectedly, compared with wild-type (WT) mice, infected Nlrp3 -/- mice had increased neutrophilia and eosinophilia, correlating with enhanced worm killing but at the expense of increased tissue damage and delayed lung repair. Transcriptional profiling showed that infected Nlrp3 -/- mice exhibited elevated type 2 gene expression compared with WT mice. Notably, inflammasome activation was not evident early postinfection with N. brasiliensis, and in contrast to Nlrp3 -/- mice, antihelminth responses were unaffected in caspase-1/11-deficient or WT mice treated with the NLRP3-specific inhibitor MCC950. Together these data suggest that NLRP3 has a role in constraining lung neutrophilia, helminth killing, and type 2 immune responses in an inflammasome-independent manner.Alistair L. Chenery, Rafid Alhallaf, Zainab Agha, Jesuthas Ajendra, James E. Parkinson, Martha M. Cooper, Brian H.K. Chan, Ramon M. Eichenberger, Lindsay A. Dent, Avril A.B. Robertson, Andreas Kupz, David Brough, Alex Loukas, Tara E. Sutherland, Judith E. Allen, and Paul R. Giacomi

A comparative study of the effects of cone-plate and parallel-plate geometries on rheological properties under oscillatory shear flow

In this study, the effects of cone-plate (C/P) and parallel-plate (P/P) geometries were investigated on the rheological properties of various complex fluids, e.g. single-phase (polymer melts and solutions) and multiphase systems (polymer blend and nanocomposite, and suspension). Small amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) tests were carried out to compare linear rheological responses while nonlinear responses were compared using large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) tests at different frequencies. Moreover, Fourier-transform (FT)-rheology method was used to analyze the nonlinear responses under LAOS flow. Experimental results were compared with predictions obtained by single-point correction and shear rate correction. For all systems, SAOS data measured by C/P and P/P coincide with each other, but results showed discordance between C/P and P/P measurements in the nonlinear regime. For all systems except xanthan gum solutions, first-harmonic moduli were corrected using a single horizontal shift factor, whereas FT rheology-based nonlinear parameters (I3/1, I5/1, Q3, and Q5) were corrected using vertical shift factors that are well predicted by single-point correction. Xanthan gum solutions exhibited anomalous corrections. Their first-harmonic Fourier moduli were superposed using a horizontal shift factor predicted by shear rate correction applicable to highly shear thinning fluids. The distinguished corrections were observed for FT rheology-based nonlinear parameters. I3/1 and I5/1 were superposed by horizontal shifts, while the other systems displayed vertical shifts of I3/1 and I5/1. Q3 and Q5 of xanthan gum solutions were corrected using both horizontal and vertical shift factors. In particular, the obtained vertical shift factors for Q3 and Q5 were twice as large as predictions made by single-point correction. Such larger values are rationalized by the definitions of Q3 and Q5. These results highlight the significance of horizontal shift corrections in nonlinear oscillatory shear data

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora