A Genome-Wide Association Scan on the Levels of Markers of Inflammation in Sardinians Reveals Associations That Underpin Its Complex Regulation

Identifying the genes that influence levels of pro-inflammatory molecules can help to elucidate the mechanisms underlying this process. We first conducted a two-stage genome-wide association scan (GWAS) for the key inflammatory biomarkers Interleukin-6 (IL-6), the general measure of inflammation erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) in a large cohort of individuals from the founder population of Sardinia. By analysing 731,213 autosomal or X chromosome SNPs and an additional ∼1.9 million imputed variants in 4,694 individuals, we identified several SNPs associated with the selected quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and replicated all the top signals in an independent sample of 1,392 individuals from the same population. Next, to increase power to detect and resolve associations, we further genotyped the whole cohort (6,145 individuals) for 293,875 variants included on the ImmunoChip and MetaboChip custom arrays. Overall, our combined approach led to the identification of 9 genome-wide significant novel independent signals—5 of which were identified only with the custom arrays—and provided confirmatory evidence for an additional 7. Novel signals include: for IL-6, in the ABO gene (rs657152, p = 2.13×10−29); for ESR, at the HBB (rs4910472, p = 2.31×10−11) and UCN119B/SPPL3 (rs11829037, p = 8.91×10−10) loci; for MCP-1, near its receptor CCR2 (rs17141006, p = 7.53×10−13) and in CADM3 (rs3026968, p = 7.63×10−13); for hsCRP, within the CRP gene (rs3093077, p = 5.73×10−21), near DARC (rs3845624, p = 1.43×10−10), UNC119B/SPPL3 (rs11829037, p = 1.50×10−14), and ICOSLG/AIRE (rs113459440, p = 1.54×10−08) loci. Confirmatory evidence was found for IL-6 in the IL-6R gene (rs4129267); for ESR at CR1 (rs12567990) and TMEM57 (rs10903129); for MCP-1 at DARC (rs12075); and for hsCRP at CRP (rs1205), HNF1A (rs225918), and APOC-I (rs4420638). Our results improve the current knowledge of genetic variants underlying inflammation and provide novel clues for the understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating this complex process

The influence of macrophage inflammatory protein-1α on protective immunity mediated by antiviral cytotoxic T cells

Macrophage inflammatory protein 1α (MIP-1α), a member of the CC-chemokine subfamily, is known to induce chemotaxis of a variety of cell types in vivo. Although the role of MIP-1α in inflammatory responses generated following primary infection of mice with many different pathogens has been characterized, the influence of this chemokine on the generation of antigen-specific T-cell responses in vivo is less well understood. This is important, as virus-specific CD8(+) T lymphocytes (CTL) play a crucial role in defence against viral infections, both acutely and in the long term. In this study, we compared the ability of wild-type and MIP-1α-deficient (MIP-1α−/−) mice to mount CTL responses specific for the immunodominant epitope derived from influenza nucleoprotein (NP366–374). Influenza-specific CTL responses were compared with respect to frequency, cytotoxic activity and ability to clear subsequent infections with recombinant vaccinia viruses expressing the influenza NP. The results indicate that antiviral CTL generated in MIP-1α−/− mice are slightly impaired in their ability to protect against a subsequent infection. However, impaired in vivo CTL-mediated antiviral protection was found to be associated with reduced cytotoxicity rather than with a failure of the CTL to migrate to peripheral sites of infection

Influences of deposition current and interpass temperature to the Fe3Al-based iron aluminide fabricated using wire-arc additive manufacturing process

This research presents an innovative wire-arc additive manufacturing process for fabricating Fe3Al-based iron aluminide buildup walls with 30 at.% Al content. The alloy is produced in situ through controlled addition of the elemental iron and aluminum components into the welding process. The influences of major process parameters, including deposition current and interpass temperature to the material and mechanical properties of the buildup walls are investigated using optical microstructure analysis, hardness testing, tensile testing, X-ray diffraction phase characterization, and electron dispersive spectroscopy. The results have indicated that deposition current is the dominant factor to the grain size in the buildup walls, and interpass temperature is critical for preventing stress induced cracking