Hepatobiliary Disorders in Celiac Disease: An Update

This communication reviews recent literature and summarizes hepatobiliary abnormalities that may complicate the clinical course of celiac disease. A wide spectrum of hepatobiliary diseases has been described, including asymptomatic elevations of liver enzyme levels, nonspecific hepatitis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and autoimmune and cholestatic liver disease. Moreover, in the majority of patients, liver enzyme levels will normalize on a gluten-free diet. In addition, celiac disease may be associated with rare hepatic complications, such as hepatic T-cell lymphoma. Because many celiac patients do not have overt gastrointestinal symptoms, a high index of suspicion is required. Simple methods of detecting celiac disease such as serum antibody tests help in the early identification of the disease, thus preventing serious complications of the disorder. The IgG DGP antibody test and IgA tTG antibody test used in combination are an excellent screening test for suspected cases of celiac disease

Comparative and temporal transcriptome analysis of peste des petits ruminants virus infected goat peripheral blood mononuclear cells

Peste des petits ruminanats virus (PPRV), a morbillivirus causes an acute, highly contagious disease – peste des petits ruminants (PPR), affecting goats and sheep. Sungri/96 vaccine strain is widely used for mass vaccination programs in India against PPR and is considered the most potent vaccine providing long-term immunity. However, occurrence of outbreaks due to emerging PPR viruses may be a challenge. In this study, the temporal dynamics of immune response in goat peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) infected with Sungri/96 vaccine virus was investigated by transcriptome analysis. Infected goat PBMCs at 48 h and 120 h post infection revealed 2540 and 2000 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), respectively, on comparison with respective controls. Comparison of the infected samples revealed 1416 DEGs to be altered across time points. Functional analysis of DEGs reflected enrichment of TLR signaling pathways, innate immune response, inflammatory response, positive regulation of signal transduction and cytokine production. The upregulation of innate immune genes during early phase (between 2-5 days) viz. interferon regulatory factors (IRFs), tripartite motifs (TRIM) and several interferon stimulated genes (ISGs) in infected PBMCs and interactome analysis indicated induction of broad-spectrum anti-viral state. Several Transcription factors – IRF3, FOXO3 and SP1 that govern immune regulatory pathways were identified to co-regulate the DEGs. The results from this study, highlighted the involvement of both innate and adaptive immune systems with the enrichment of complement cascade observed at 120 h p.i., suggestive of a link between innate and adaptive immune response. Based on the transcriptome analysis and qRT-PCR validation, an in vitro mechanism for the induction of ISGs by IRFs in an interferon independent manner to trigger a robust immune response was predicted in PPRV infection

Breeding tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is an important vegetable crop cultivated in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Low productivity in India is due to occurrence of both biotic and abiotic stresses. Among the biotic stresses, tomato leaf curl disease, bacterial wilt, early blight and Groundnut Bud Necrosis Virus disease have become serious production constraints causing considerable yield loss in the major tomato growing areas of the country. Adoption of multiple disease resistant varieties or F1 hybrids would be the most appropriate way to address these diseases. At ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru systematic breeding strategies were employed to pyramid genes for resistance to early blight, bacterial wilt and tomato leaf curl diseases and to develop advanced breeding lines& F1 hybrids with triple disease resistance. Stable source of resistance to early blight and bi-partite begomo-virus (Tomato Leaf Curl New Delhi Virus) has been identified in Solanum habrochaites LA-1777. Validation with molecular markers linked to tomato leaf curl virus resistance revealed that LA-1777 carryTy2 and other putative resistant genes. Several high yielding dual purpose hybrids were also developed for fresh market and processing with high level of resistance to multiple diseases. Cherry tomato lines have also been bred for high TSS, total carotenoids, total phenols, flavonoids, vitamin C, acidity and lycopene content. IIHR-249-1, IIHR-2101 (Solanum habrochaites LA-1777), IIHR- 2866 and IIHR-2864 recorded high values for quality parameters like total carotenoids, lycopene, vitamin C, total phenols, flavonoids and TSS. Drought tolerant root stock has been developed by an interspecific cross between S. habrochaites LA-1777 and S. lycopersicum (15 SB SB). Resistant sources have also been identified against Tuta absoluta, a serious insect pest reported from major tomato growing areas in the country in recent time. High temperature tolerant breeding lines are in pipe line

Kinetics of propellant decomposition

Equations for solid-state decompositions which are controlled by the phase-boundary movement and nucleation have been examined using ammonium perchlorate/polystyrene propellant decomposition at 503 K and 533 K. It was found that 3 different equations governed by the nucleation process show a good fit of data at these temperatures. However, the best fit was obtained for the following Avrami-Erofeev equation, [-In (1 - α)]1/4=kt

Tubercular colitis masquerading as ischemic colitis: An unusual presentation

Tuberculosis is a common clinical problem which can involve virtually any organ and mimic a multitude of clinical conditions. Colonic tuberculosis is a type of intestinal tuberculosis which involves the colon and mimics inflammatory bowel disease. Occasionally, it is also confused with colonic malignancy. We report the case of a young female who presented with abdominal pain, bleeding per rectum. Abdominal X-ray showed evidence of thumb-printing. A possibility of ischemic colitis was entertained. However, further investigation unraveled the presence of tubercular colitis. The patient improved with anti-tubercular therapy. Colonic tuberculosis can mimic a number of clinical entities and should be considered in differential diagnosis of colonic lesions in endemic areas