Genomic Sequence Analysis of Granulovirus Isolated from the Tobacco Cutworm, Spodoptera litura

Background: Spodoptera litura is a noctuid moth that is considered an agricultural pest. The larvae feed on a wide range of plants and have been recorded on plants from 40 plant families (mostly dicotyledons). It is a major pest of many crops. To better understand Spodoptera litura granulovirus (SpliGV), the nucleotide sequence of the SpliGV DNA genome was determined and analyzed. Methodology/Principal Findings: The genome of the SpliGV was completely sequenced. The nucleotide sequence of the SpliGV genome was 124,121 bp long with 61.2 % A+T content and contained 133 putative open reading frames (ORFs) of 150 or more nucleotides. The 133 putative ORFs covered 86.3 % of the genome. Among these, 31 ORFs were conserved in most completely sequenced baculovirus genomes, 38 were granulovirus (GV)-specific, and 64 were present in some nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPVs) and/or GVs. We proved that 9 of the ORFs were SpliGV specific. Conclusions/Significance: The genome of SpliGV is 124,121 bp in size. One hundred thirty-three ORFs that putatively encode proteins of 50 or more amino acid residues with minimal overlap were determined. No chitinase or cathepsin genes, which are involved in the liquefaction of the infected host, were found in the SpliGV genome, explaining why SpliGVinfected insects do not degrade in a typical manner. The DNA photolyase gene was first found in the genus Granulovirus. When phylogenic relationships were analyzed, the SpliGV was most closely related to Trichoplusia ni granulovirus (TnGV

Gender differences in the use of cardiovascular interventions in HIV-positive persons; the D:A:D Study

Peer reviewe

Health-related quality of life and symptoms in patients with rituximab-refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma treated in the phase III GADOLIN study with obinutuzumab plus bendamustine versus bendamustine alone

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Lt

Maternal high-fat diet prevents developmental programming by early-life stress

Anxiety disorders and depression are well-documented in subjects exposed to adverse childhood events. Recently, maternal obesity and/or maternal consumption of high-fat diets (HFD) have been also proposed as risk factors for offspring mental health. Here using an animal model in rats, we explored the combinatorial effects of a maternal HFD (40% of energy from fat without impact on maternal weight; during gestation and lactation) and maternal separation (MS) in offspring. In the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of pups, MS led to changes in the expression of several genes such as Bdnf (brain derived neurotrophic factor), 5HT-r1a (serotonin receptor 1a) and Rest4 (neuron-restrictive silencer element, repressor element 1, silencing transcription factor (Rest), splicing variant 4). Surprisingly, perinatal HFD strongly attenuated the developmental alterations induced by MS. Furthermore, maternal HFD totally prevented the endophenotypes (anxiety, spatial memory, social behavior, hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis response to stress, hippocampal neurogenesis and visceral pain) associated with MS at adulthood. Finally, we also demonstrated that HFD intake reduced anxiety and enhanced maternal care in stressed dams. Overall, our data suggest that a HFD restricted to gestation and lactation, which did not lead to overweight in dams, had limited effects in unstressed offspring, highlighting the role of maternal obesity, rather than fat exposure per se, on brain vulnerability during development.Environnement psychosocial précoce, empreintes biologiques et épigénétiques et état de santé à l'âge adult

Toxicological aspects of organics (complex mixtures) with mutagenic and/or carcinogenic properties found in drinking water in The Netherlands

In drinkwater, bereid uit oppervlaktewater en grondwater werd in veel gevallen mutagene activiteit aangetoond. Duinfiltratie en actiefkool filtratie verwijderen de mutagene activiteit. Chloring verhoogt die activiteit aanzienlijk, chloordioxide in concentraties kleiner dan 1 mg/l C10-2 leidt tot een lagere toename in mutageniteit dan chloor. Toepassing van ozon verlaagt in de meeste gevallen (maar niet altijd) de mutagene activiteit. Mutagene organische stoffen in drinkwater bevinden zich voornamelijk in de licht polaire vluchtige fractie, zijn moeilijk gaschromatografeerbaar en hebben een mol.gewicht in de orde van grootte van 200. Mutagene drinkwater concentraten (bron Maas, gechloord drinkwater) induceerden chromosoomafwijkingen in CHO-cellen. Mutagene drinkwater concentraten (bron Rijn, gechloord drinkwater) induceerden geen verhoogde tumor incidentie in een carcinogeniteits experiment met Wistar ratten.DGMH/D /Trouwborst

Een onderzoek naar het voorkomen van mutagene en/of carcinogene verbindingen in organische concentraten van Nederlands drinkwater alsmede naar de effecten van diverse zuiveringsstappen op de mutagene activiteit

In drinkwater, bereid uit oppervlaktewater en grondwater werd in veel gevallen mutagene activiteit aangetoond. Duinfiltratie en actiefkool filtratie verwijderen de mutagene activiteit. Chloring verhoogt die activiteit aanzienlijk, chloordioxide in concentraties kleiner dan 1 mg/l C10-2 leidt tot een lagere toename in mutageniteit dan chloor. Toepassing van ozon verlaagt in de meeste gevallen (maar niet altijd) de mutagene activiteit. Mutagene organische stoffen in drinkwater bevinden zich voornamelijk in de licht polaire vluchtige fractie, zijn moeilijk gaschromatografeerbaar en hebben een mol.gewicht in de orde van grootte van 200. Mutagene drinkwater concentraten (bron Maas, gechloord drinkwater) induceerden chromosoomafwijkingen in CHO-cellen. Mutagene drinkwater concentraten (bron Rijn, gechloord drinkwater) induceerden geen verhoogde tumor incidentie in een carcinogeniteits experiment met Wistar ratten.<br

Adequate synapse formation between leukemic B cells and effector T cells following stimulation with artificial TCR ligands

Artificial T cell receptor (TCR) ligands can be used to direct virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) towards tumor cells. Because of their size, these constructs may differ from cognate peptides in their ability to induce T cell activation. We here analysed signalling outcomes upon synapse formation between human cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific CTL and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells through targeted complexes (TC) containing anti-CD20 single-chain variable fragment and biotinylated major histocompatibility complex class I molecules presenting peptides from CMVpp65. TC coated CLL cells were effectively lysed by CMVpp65-specific CTL but induced less interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) production than peptide loaded targets. Confocal microscopy revealed that TC induced a redistribution of TCR/CD3 but not CD2 towards the immunological synapse. Furthermore, morphological examination of immunological synapses showed smaller and 'patchy' interactions between TC coated B cells and CTL as compared with peptide coated targets. Finally, pre-incubation of CTL with CD2 antibodies led to an Fc-dependent redistribution of CD2 into TC-induced synapses and restored IFN-gamma production by CMV-specific CTL. Thus, redistribution of CD2 towards the immunological synapse appears to be essential for full T cell activation. However, CD2 triggering is not required for efficient lysis of tumor cells, demonstrating that CTL require only minimal stimulation to release their cytotoxic conten

Induction of TAp73 by platinum-based compounds to overcome drug resistance in p53 dysfunctional chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), strategies to overcome drug resistance due to p53 dysfunction are highly needed. Platinum-based compounds such as cisplatinum (CDDP) are active in fludarabine-refractory CLL through a largely unknown mechanism. We analyzed the mechanism of action of CDDP in the context of p53 dysfunctionality. In vitro treatment with CDDP did not induce death in quiescent CLL cells, but did induce apoptosis in CD40-ligand (and CpG) stimulated and proliferating cells, irrespective of p53 function. In the p53 dysfunctional prolymphocytic cell-line MEC1, CDDP treatment resulted in apoptosis, cell cycle arrest and ABL1-dependent expression of TAp73, CDKN1A, PUMA and BID. TAp73 RNA-interference decreased sensitivity to CDDP. Finally, both in vitro stimulated CLL cells and lymph node (LN) derived CLL cells showed increased TAp73 expression in comparison with quiescent peripheral blood derived cells. Activity of CDDP may therefore be mediated by TAp73, especially in the context of activation such as occurs in the LN microenvironment