PLXNB1 (plexin B1)

Review on PLXNB1 (plexin B1), with data on DNA, on the protein encoded, and where the gene is implicated

Monitoring an Alien Invasion: DNA Barcoding and the Identification of Lionfish and Their Prey on Coral Reefs of the Mexican Caribbean

BACKGROUND: In the Mexican Caribbean, the exotic lionfish Pterois volitans has become a species of great concern because of their predatory habits and rapid expansion onto the Mesoamerican coral reef, the second largest continuous reef system in the world. This is the first report of DNA identification of stomach contents of lionfish using the barcode of life reference database (BOLD). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We confirm with barcoding that only Pterois volitans is apparently present in the Mexican Caribbean. We analyzed the stomach contents of 157 specimens of P. volitans from various locations in the region. Based on DNA matches in the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD) and GenBank, we identified fishes from five orders, 14 families, 22 genera and 34 species in the stomach contents. The families with the most species represented were Gobiidae and Apogonidae. Some prey taxa are commercially important species. Seven species were new records for the Mexican Caribbean: Apogon mosavi, Coryphopterus venezuelae, C. thrix, C. tortugae, Lythrypnus minimus, Starksia langi and S. ocellata. DNA matches, as well as the presence of intact lionfish in the stomach contents, indicate some degree of cannibalism, a behavior confirmed in this species by the first time. We obtained 45 distinct crustacean prey sequences, from which only 20 taxa could be identified from the BOLD and GenBank databases. The matches were primarily to Decapoda but only a single taxon could be identified to the species level, Euphausia americana. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This technique proved to be an efficient and useful method, especially since prey species could be identified from partially-digested remains. The primary limitation is the lack of comprehensive coverage of potential prey species in the region in the BOLD and GenBank databases, especially among invertebrates

Development of standard operating procedures to obtain longitudinal vaginal specimens from nulliparous rabbits as part of HIV vaccine mucosal immunogenicity studies.

The New Zealand white rabbit model (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is widely used to test whether HIV vaccine candidates elicit systemic antibody responses; however, its use in mucosal immunology has not been fully exploited due to the difficulty in collecting mucosal specimens longitudinally and reproducibly. Here we describe feasible and non-feasible methods to collect vaginal and nasal specimens from nulliparous rabbits. Non-feasible methods were those resulting in poor reproducibility and considerable animal twitching during sampling, whereas feasible methods resulted in no animal twitching and potential for sampling reproducibility. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) were implemented to collect vaginal swabs yielding total IgA titres ranging from 12,500 to 312,500. Intranasal immunisation with a naked DNA vaccine encoding HIV gp140 elicited HIV envelope-specific IgA detectable in nasal but not in vaginal secretions. Our methods provide an alternative to reliably assess pre- and post-vaccination mucosal antibody titres longitudinally in rabbits as part of mucosal HIV vaccine immunogenicity studies

Alterations in Cerebral White Matter and Neuropsychology in Patients with Cirrhosis and Falls

Background & aimFalls are frequent in patients with cirrhosis but underlying mechanisms are unknown. The aim was to determine the neuropsychological, neurological and brain alterations using magnetic resonance-diffusion tensor imaging (MR-DTI) in cirrhotic patients with falls.Patients and methodsTwelve patients with cirrhosis and falls in the previous year were compared to 9 cirrhotic patients without falls. A comprehensive neuropsychological and neurological evaluation of variables that may predispose to falls included: the Mini-Mental State Examination, Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score (PHES), Parkinson's Disease-Cognitive Rating Scale, specific tests to explore various cognitive domains, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale to evaluate parkinsonism, scales for ataxia and muscular strength, and electroneurography. High-field MR (3T) including DTI and structural sequences was performed in all patients.ResultsThe main neuropsychological findings were impairment in PHES (p = 0.03), Parkinson's Disease-Cognitive Rating Scale (p = 0.04) and in executive (pConclusionsWith the limitation of the small sample size, our results suggest that patients with cirrhosis and falls present alterations in brain white matter tracts related to executive dysfunction. These alterations are independent of PHES impairment