The secreted triose phosphate isomerase of Brugia malayi is required to sustain microfilaria production in vivo

Human lymphatic filariasis is a major tropical disease transmitted through mosquito vectors which take up microfilarial larvae from the blood of infected subjects. Microfilariae are produced by long-lived adult parasites, which also release a suite of excretory-secretory products that have recently been subject to in-depth proteomic analysis. Surprisingly, the most abundant secreted protein of adult Brugia malayi is triose phosphate isomerase (TPI), a glycolytic enzyme usually associated with the cytosol. We now show that while TPI is a prominent target of the antibody response to infection, there is little antibody-mediated inhibition of catalytic activity by polyclonal sera. We generated a panel of twenty-three anti-TPI monoclonal antibodies and found only two were able to block TPI enzymatic activity. Immunisation of jirds with B. malayi TPI, or mice with the homologous protein from the rodent filaria Litomosoides sigmodontis, failed to induce neutralising antibodies or protective immunity. In contrast, passive transfer of neutralising monoclonal antibody to mice prior to implantation with adult B. malayi resulted in 60–70% reductions in microfilarial levels in vivo and both oocyte and microfilarial production by individual adult females. The loss of fecundity was accompanied by reduced IFNγ expression by CD4+ T cells and a higher proportion of macrophages at the site of infection. Thus, enzymatically active TPI plays an important role in the transmission cycle of B. malayi filarial parasites and is identified as a potential target for immunological and pharmacological intervention against filarial infections

First beta-decay spectroscopy of In-135 and new beta-decay branches of In-134

The beta decay of the neutron-rich In-134 and In-135 was investigated experimentally in order to provide new insights into the nuclear structure of the tin isotopes with magic proton number Z = 50 above the N = 82 shell. The beta-delayed gamma-ray spectroscopy measurement was performed at the ISOLDE facility at CERN, where indium isotopes were selectively laser-ionized and on-line mass separated. Three beta-decay branches of In-134 were established, two of which were observed for the first time. Population of neutron-unbound states decaying via. rays was identified in the two daughter nuclei of In-134, Sn-134 and Sn-133, at excitation energies exceeding the neutron separation energy by 1 MeV. The beta-delayed one- and two-neutron emission branching ratios of In-134 were determined and compared with theoretical calculations. The beta-delayed one-neutron decay was observed to be dominant beta-decay branch of In-134 even though the Gamow-Teller resonance is located substantially above the two-neutron separation energy of Sn-134. Transitions following the beta decay of In-135 are reported for the first time, including. rays tentatively attributed to Sn-135. In total, six new levels were identified in Sn-134 on the basis of the beta.. coincidences observed in the In-134 and In-135 beta decays. A transition that might be a candidate for deexciting the missing neutron single-particle 13/2(+) state in Sn-133 was observed in both beta decays and its assignment is discussed. Experimental level schemes of Sn-134 and Sn-135 are compared with shell-model predictions. Using the fast timing technique, half-lives of the 2(+), 4(+), and 6(+) levels in Sn-134 were determined. From the lifetime of the 4(+) state measured for the first time, an unexpectedly large B(E2; 4(+)-> 2(+)) transition strength was deduced, which is not reproduced by the shell-model calculations.Peer reviewe

Enhanced Quadrupole and Octupole Strength in Doubly Magic 132Sn^{132}\mathrm{Sn}

The first 2^{+} and 3^{-} states of the doubly magic nucleus ^{132}Sn are populated via safe Coulomb excitation employing the recently commissioned HIE-ISOLDE accelerator at CERN in conjunction with the highly efficient MINIBALL array. The ^{132}Sn ions are accelerated to an energy of 5.49  MeV/nucleon and impinged on a ^{206}Pb target. Deexciting γ rays from the low-lying excited states of the target and the projectile are recorded in coincidence with scattered particles. The reduced transition strengths are determined for the transitions 0_{g.s.}^{+}→2_{1}^{+}, 0_{g.s.}^{+}→3_{1}^{-}, and 2_{1}^{+}→3_{1}^{-} in ^{132}Sn. The results on these states provide crucial information on cross-shell configurations which are determined within large-scale shell-model and Monte Carlo shell-model calculations as well as from random-phase approximation and relativistic random-phase approximation. The locally enhanced B(E2;0_{g.s.}^{+}→2_{1}^{+}) strength is consistent with the microscopic description of the structure of the respective states within all theoretical approaches. The presented results of experiment and theory can be considered to be the first direct verification of the sphericity and double magicity of ^{132}Sn.status: publishe

Investigation of Low-lying States in 133Sn Populated in the β Decay of 133In Using Isomer-selective Laser Ionization

Excited states in the neutron-rich isotope 133Sn were studied via the β decay of 133In. Isomer selective ionization using the ISOLDE RILIS enabled the β decays of 133Ings (Iπ = 9∕2+) and 133mIn (Iπ = 1∕2−) to be studied independently for the first time. A description of the experimental setup at the ISOLDE Decay Station is presented together with preliminary results from the experiment.status: publishe

beta decay of In-133: gamma emission from neutron-unbound states in Sn-133

International audienceExcited states in $^{133}Sn$ were investigated through the $\beta$ decay of $^{133}In$ at the ISOLDE facility. The ISOLDE Resonance Ionization Laser Ion Source (RILIS) provided isomer-selective ionization for $^{133}In$, allowing us to study separately, and in detail, the β-decay branch of $^{133}In$ J$^{\pi}$=(9/2$^+$) ground state and its J$^{\pi}$=(1/2$^−$) isomer. Thanks to the large spin difference of the two β-decaying states of $^{133}In$, it is possible to investigate separately the lower and higher spin states in the daughter, $^{133}Sn$, and thus to probe independently different single-particle and single-hole levels. We report here new $\gamma$ transitions observed in the decay of $^{133}In$, including those assigned to the deexcitation of the neutron-unbound states

beta decay of In-133: gamma emission from neutron-unbound states in Sn-133

© 2019 authors. Published by the American Physical Society. Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI. Excited states in Sn133 were investigated through the β decay of In133 at the ISOLDE facility. The ISOLDE Resonance Ionization Laser Ion Source (RILIS) provided isomer-selective ionization for In133, allowing us to study separately, and in detail, the β-decay branch of In133Jπ=(9/2+) ground state and its Jπ=(1/2-) isomer. Thanks to the large spin difference of the two β-decaying states of In133, it is possible to investigate separately the lower and higher spin states in the daughter, Sn133, and thus to probe independently different single-particle and single-hole levels. We report here new γ transitions observed in the decay of In133, including those assigned to the deexcitation of the neutron-unbound states.status: publishe