Transcriptional profiling of mycobacterial antigen-induced responses in infants vaccinated with BCG at birth

BACKGROUND: Novel tuberculosis (TB) vaccines recently tested in humans have been designed to boost immunity induced by the current vaccine, Mycobacterium bovis Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Because BCG vaccination is used extensively in infants, this population group is likely to be the first in which efficacy trials of new vaccines will be conducted. However, our understanding of the complexity of immunity to BCG in infants is inadequate, making interpretation of vaccine-induced immune responses difficult. METHODS: To better understand BCG-induced immunity, we performed gene expression profiling in five 10-week old infants routinely vaccinated with BCG at birth. RNA was extracted from 12 hour BCG-stimulated or purified protein derivative of tuberculin (PPD)-stimulated PBMC, isolated from neonatal blood collected 10 weeks after vaccination. RNA was hybridised to the Sentrix(R) HumanRef-8 Expression BeadChip (Illumina) to measure expression of >16,000 genes. RESULTS: We found that ex vivo stimulation of PBMC with PPD and BCG induced largely similar gene expression profiles, except that BCG induced greater macrophage activation. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway, including PPAR-gamma, involved in activation of the alternative, anti-inflammatory macrophage response was down-regulated following stimulation with both antigens. In contrast, up-regulation of genes associated with the classic, pro-inflammatory macrophage response was noted. Further analysis revealed a decrease in the expression of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), including integrin alpha M (ITGAM), which is known to be important for entry of mycobacteria into the macrophage. Interestingly, more leukocyte genes were down-regulated than up-regulated. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that a combination of suppressed and up-regulated genes may be key in determining development of protective immunity to TB induced by vaccination with BCG

Evolution of Melanopsin Photoreceptors: Discovery and Characterization of a New Melanopsin in Nonmammalian Vertebrates

In mammals, the melanopsin gene (Opn4) encodes a sensory photopigment that underpins newly discovered inner retinal photoreceptors. Since its first discovery in Xenopus laevis and subsequent description in humans and mice, melanopsin genes have been described in all vertebrate classes. Until now, all of these sequences have been considered representatives of a single orthologous gene (albeit with duplications in the teleost fish). Here, we describe the discovery and functional characterisation of a new melanopsin gene in fish, bird, and amphibian genomes, demonstrating that, in fact, the vertebrates have evolved two quite separate melanopsins. On the basis of sequence similarity, chromosomal localisation, and phylogeny, we identify our new melanopsins as the true orthologs of the melanopsin gene previously described in mammals and term this grouping Opn4m. By contrast, the previously published melanopsin genes in nonmammalian vertebrates represent a separate branch of the melanopsin family which we term Opn4x. RT-PCR analysis in chicken, zebrafish, and Xenopus identifies expression of both Opn4m and Opn4x genes in tissues known to be photosensitive (eye, brain, and skin). In the day-14 chicken eye, Opn4m mRNA is found in a subset of cells in the outer nuclear, inner nuclear, and ganglion cell layers, the vast majority of which also express Opn4x. Importantly, we show that a representative of the new melanopsins (chicken Opn4m) encodes a photosensory pigment capable of activating G protein signalling cascades in a light- and retinaldehyde-dependent manner under heterologous expression in Neuro-2a cells. A comprehensive in silico analysis of vertebrate genomes indicates that while most vertebrate species have both Opn4m and Opn4x genes, the latter is absent from eutherian and, possibly, marsupial mammals, lost in the course of their evolution as a result of chromosomal reorganisation. Thus, our findings show for the first time that nonmammalian vertebrates retain two quite separate melanopsin genes, while mammals have just one. These data raise important questions regarding the functional differences between Opn4x and Opn4m pigments, the associated adaptive advantages for most vertebrate species in retaining both melanopsins, and the implications for mammalian biology of lacking Opn4x

Adaptation of pineal expressed teleost exo-rod opsin to non-image forming photoreception through enhanced Meta II decay

Photoreception by vertebrates enables both image-forming vision and non-image-forming responses such as circadian photoentrainment. Over the recent years, distinct non-rod non-cone photopigments have been found to support circadian photoreception in diverse species. By allowing specialization to this sensory task a selective advantage is implied, but the nature of that specialization remains elusive. We have used the presence of distinct rod opsin genes specialized to either image-forming (retinal rod opsin) or non-image-forming (pineal exo-rod opsin) photoreception in ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii) to gain a unique insight into this problem. A comparison of biochemical features for these paralogous opsins in two model teleosts, Fugu pufferfish (Takifugu rubripes) and zebrafish (Danio rerio), reveals striking differences. While spectral sensitivity is largely unaltered by specialization to the pineal environment, in other aspects exo-rod opsins exhibit a behavior that is quite distinct from the cardinal features of the rod opsin family. While they display a similar thermal stability, they show a greater than tenfold reduction in the lifetime of the signaling active Meta II photoproduct. We show that these features reflect structural changes in retinal association domains of helices 3 and 5 but, interestingly, not at either of the two residues known to define these characteristics in cone opsins. Our findings suggest that the requirements of non-image-forming photoreception have lead exo-rod opsin to adopt a characteristic that seemingly favors efficient bleach recovery but not at the expense of absolute sensitivity

The concept of a seamless concrete pavement and bridge deck

Continuous reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) is being used for heavily trafficked major infrastructure roads where a long service life is paramount. CRCP generally allows for the construction of long pavements lengths without transverse joints. CRCP is being used for the Westlink M7 (WM7) which is a 40km long privately financed toll road linking the M5 and M7 Motorways in Sydney, Australia. Each two-lane carriageway has a 10.5m wide continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) with an asphaltic concrete (AC) wearing surface. These carriageways cross 144 bridges along the length of the project. Current Australian practice requires that where the road encounters a bridge, the pavement be terminated at pavement end anchors and a bridge approach slab constructed to link the terminated CRCP to the bridge abutment. Transverse joints are required at both ends of the approach slab to allow for movements resulting from environmental and traffic loadings. This approach slab transition is not always smooth as the provision of the transverse joints can lead to discontinuities in the carriageway profile, particularly if the approach embankment settles

Structural and spectroscopic studies of some copper(I) halide tert-butyl isocyanide adducts

Single-crystal structural characterizations confirm the existence of the unusual 1 : 4 copper(I) halide : unidentate ligand adducts [Cu(CNt-Bu)(4)]X for X = Cl, Br (two forms), I (the chloride and one form of the bromide being solvated) with crystal packing dominated by stacks of interleaving cations. Cu-C range between 1.941(2) and 1.972(4) angstrom. The structure of the 1 : 2 chloride complex is also recorded, being [ClCu(CNt-BU)(2)], with the copper(I) atom environment trigonal planar, while CuCN: (CNt-Bu) (1 : 1) is a single-stranded polymer which spirals about a crystallographic 3-axis (CN scrambled), the ligands being pendant from the ...CuCNCuCN... string. The Cu-65 static broadline NMR spectra of [Cu(CNt-BU)(4)]I and [Cu(CNt-Bu)(4)]Br center dot H2O in the solid state exhibit dominant, narrow -1/2 +1/2 central transition resonances and associated +/- 1/2 +/- 3/2 satellite transition resonances which are characteristic of first-order quadrupole broadened systems, while associated high-resolution Cu-65 MAS NMR data provide accurate measurement of the (CU)-C-65 isotropic chemical shifts. Both approaches provide complete data on the quadrupole and chemical shift interactions which contribute to these spectra. Far-IR spectra of products of reactions involving a range of CuX : t-BuNC ratios reveal the existence of 1 : 1.5 adducts for X = Br, I. Metal-carbon and metal-halogen bands are assigned in the far-IR spectra, which indicate a binuclear double halogen-bridged structure for the 1 : 1.5 complexes