810 research outputs found
Epstein-Barr virus lytic infection promotes activation of Toll-like receptor 8 innate immune response in systemic sclerosis monocytes
BACKGROUND: Monocytes/macrophages are activated in several autoimmune diseases, including systemic sclerosis (scleroderma; SSc), with increased expression of interferon (IFN)-regulatory genes and inflammatory cytokines, suggesting dysregulation of the innate immune response in autoimmunity. In this study, we investigated whether the lytic form of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection (infectious EBV) is present in scleroderma monocytes and contributes to their activation in SSc.
METHODS: Monocytes were isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) depleted of the CD19+ cell fraction, using CD14/CD16 negative-depletion. Circulating monocytes from SSc and healthy donors (HDs) were infected with EBV. Gene expression of innate immune mediators were evaluated in EBV-infected monocytes from SSc and HDs. Involvement of Toll-like receptor (TLR)8 in viral-mediated TLR8 response was investigated by comparing the TLR8 expression induced by infectious EBV to the expression stimulated by CL075/TLR8/agonist-ligand in the presence of TLR8 inhibitor in THP-1 cells.
RESULTS: Infectious EBV strongly induced TLR8 expression in infected SSc and HD monocytes in vitro. Markers of activated monocytes, such as IFN-regulated genes and chemokines, were upregulated in SSc- and HD-EBV-infected monocytes. Inhibiting TLR8 expression reduced virally induced TLR8 in THP-1 infected cells, demonstrating that innate immune activation by infectious EBV is partially dependent on TLR8. Viral mRNA and proteins were detected in freshly isolated SSc monocytes. Microarray analysis substantiated the evidence of an increased IFN signature and altered level of TLR8 expression in SSc monocytes carrying infectious EBV compared to HD monocytes.
CONCLUSION: This study provides the first evidence of infectious EBV in monocytes from patients with SSc and links EBV to the activation of TLR8 and IFN innate immune response in freshly isolated SSc monocytes. This study provides the first evidence of EBV replication activating the TLR8 molecular pathway in primary monocytes. Immunogenicity of infectious EBV suggests a novel mechanism mediating monocyte inflammation in SSc, by which EBV triggers the innate immune response in infected cells
Lista patrón de los tiburones, rayas y quimeras (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii, Holocephali) de México
Llista patró dels taurons, rajades i quimeres (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii, Holocephali) de Mèxic Es presenta una relació de les espècies de taurons, rajades i quimeres (condrictis) que han estat registrades a les aigües territorials de Mèxic, basada en revisions de bases de dades, literatura, examen físic dels espècimens de col·leccions científiques i registres d’exemplars recol·lectats en treballs de camp durant els darrers quatre anys i que no han estat publicats. La relació conté informació de 214 espècies de condrictis que, com a mínim, han estat registrades a les aigües marines i salobroses de Mèxic, pertanyents a 84 gèneres, 40 famílies i 14 ordres. S’hi inclouen vuit espècies de quimeres, 95 de batoïdeus i 111 de taurons. La condrictiofauna mexicana és una de les més riques del món, amb el 17,3% o més de les espècies conegudes. A més a més, s’ hi inclouen 16 espècies que és probable que siguin presents a Mèxic atesos els seus patrons de distribució.Checklist of sharks, rays and chimaeras (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii, Holocephali) from Mexico We present an annotated checklist of the species of sharks, rays and chimaeras (chondrichthyan fishes) occurring in Mexican waters, based on a thorough review of the literature and electronic database searches, examination of museum collection specimens, and unpublished records obtained during fieldwork conducted in the last four years. The checklist contains information of at least 214 species of chondrichthyan fishes that occur in Mexican marine and brackish waters, assigned to 84 genera, 40 families and 14 orders. It includes eight species of chimaeras, 95 batoids and 111 sharks. Condrichthyan fauna in Mexico is one of the richest in the world, with almost 17.3% of the known species. An additional 16 species are included as their occurrence in Mexican marine waters is probable according to distributional patterns.Se presenta un listado anotado de las especies de tiburones, rayas y quimeras (Condrictios) que han sido registrados en las aguas territoriales de México, basado en revisiones de bases de datos, literatura, examinación física de los especímenes de colecciones científicas y de registros de ejemplares recolectados en campo durante los últimos cuatro años y que no han sido publicados. El listado contiene información de al menos 214 especies de condrictios que se han registrado en las aguas marinas y salobres de México, pertenecientes a 84 géneros, 40 familias y 14 órdenes. Se incluyen ocho especies de quimeras, 95 de batoideos y 111 de tiburones. La condrictiofauna mexicana es una de las más ricas a nivel mundial, con al menos 17.3% de las especies conocidas. Adicionalmente, 16 especies, se incluyen como especies probables que ocurran en México debido a sus patrones de distribución.Palabras clave: Condrictios, Elasmobranquios, Batoideos, Quimeras, México
UVB radiation induced effects on cells studied by FTIR spectroscopy
We have made a preliminary analysis of the results about the eVects on
tumoral cell line (lymphoid T cell line Jurkat) induced by UVB radiation (dose
of 310 mJ/cm^2) with and without a vegetable mixture. In the present study, we
have used two techniques: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and
flow cytometry. FTIR spectroscopy has the potential to provide the
identiWcation of the vibrational modes of some of the major compounds (lipid,
proteins and nucleic acids) without being invasive in the biomaterials. The
second technique has allowed us to perform measurements of cytotoxicity and to
assess the percentage of apoptosis. We already studied the induction of
apoptotic process in the same cell line by UVB radiation; in particular, we
looked for correspondences and correlations between FTIR spetroscopy and flow
cytometry data finding three highly probable spectroscopic markers of apoptosis
(Pozzi et al. in Radiat Res 168:698-705, 2007). In the present work, the
results have shown significant changes in the absorbance and spectral pattern
in the wavenumber protein and nucleic acids regions after the treatments
Low temperature laser scanning microscopy of a superconducting radio-frequency cavity
An apparatus was developed to obtain, for the first time, 2D maps of the
surface resistance of the inner surface of an operating superconducting
radio-frequency niobium cavity by a low-temperature laser scanning microscopy
technique. This allows identifying non-uniformities of the surface resistance
with a spatial resolution of about one order of magnitude better than with
earlier methods and surface resistance resolution of ~ 1 micro-Ohm at 3.3 GHz.
A signal-to-noise ratio of about 10 dB was obtained with 240 mW laser power and
1 Hz modulation frequency. The various components of the apparatus, the
experimental procedure and results are discussed in detail in this
contribution.Comment: 19 pages, 17 figures, submitted to Rev. Sci. Instru
The Impact of Intermittent Fasting (Ramadan Fasting) on Psoriatic Arthritis Disease Activity, Enthesitis, and Dactylitis: A Multicentre Study
Intermittent circadian fasting, namely Ramadan, is a common worldwide practice. Such fasting has a positive impact on psoriasis, but no data exist on its role in psoriatic arthritis (PsA)—a disease that is clearly linked to body mass index. We enrolled 37 patients (23 females and 14 males) with a mean age 43.32 ± 7.81 and they fasted for 17 h for one month in 2016. The baseline PsA characteristics were collected and 12 (32.4%) patients had peripheral arthritis, 13 (35.1%) had axial involvement, 24 (64.9%) had enthesitis, and 13 (35.1%) had dactylitis. Three patients (8.1%) were treated with methotrexate, 28 (75.7%) with TNF-α blockers, and 6 (16.2%) with IL-17 blockers. After a month of intermittent fasting, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels decreased from 14.08 ± 4.65 to 12.16 ± 4.46 (p < 0.0001), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) decreased from 2.83 ± 1.03 to 2.08 ± 0.67 (p = 0.0078), Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) decreased from 7.46 ± 2.43 to 5.86 ± 2.37 (p < 0.0001), and Disease Activity index for PSoriatic Arthritis (DAPSA) decreased from 28.11 ± 4.51 to 25.76 ± 4.48 (p < 0.0001). Similarly, enthesitis improved after fasting, with Leeds Enthesitis Index (LEI) decreasing from 2.25 ± 1.11 to 1.71 ± 0.86 (p < 0.0001) and dactylitis severity score (DSS) decreasing from 9.92 ± 2.93 to 8.54 ± 2.79 (p = 0.0001). Fasting was found to be a predictor of a decrease in PsA disease activity scores (DAPSA, BASDAI, LEI, DSS) even after adjustment for weight loss. IL-17 therapy was found to be an independent predictor of decreases in LEI after fasting. These preliminary data may support the use of chronomedicine in the context of rheumatic diseases, namely PsA. Further studies are needed to support our findings
Quantum fluctuations can promote or inhibit glass formation
The very nature of glass is somewhat mysterious: while relaxation times in
glasses are of sufficient magnitude that large-scale motion on the atomic level
is essentially as slow as it is in the crystalline state, the structure of
glass appears barely different than that of the liquid that produced it.
Quantum mechanical systems ranging from electron liquids to superfluid helium
appear to form glasses, but as yet no unifying framework exists connecting
classical and quantum regimes of vitrification. Here we develop new insights
from theory and simulation into the quantum glass transition that surprisingly
reveal distinct regions where quantum fluctuations can either promote or
inhibit glass formation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Nature Physics. 22 pages, 3 figures, 1
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Ergodic properties of quasi-Markovian generalized Langevin equations with configuration dependent noise and non-conservative force
We discuss the ergodic properties of quasi-Markovian stochastic differential
equations, providing general conditions that ensure existence and uniqueness of
a smooth invariant distribution and exponential convergence of the evolution
operator in suitably weighted spaces, which implies the validity
of central limit theorem for the respective solution processes. The main new
result is an ergodicity condition for the generalized Langevin equation with
configuration-dependent noise and (non-)conservative force
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