The Effects of Time Varying Curvature on Species Transport in Coronary Arteries

Alterations in mass transport patterns of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and oxygen are known to cause atherosclerosis in larger arteries. We hypothesise that the species transport processes in coronary arteries may be affected by their physiological motion, a factor which has not been considered widely in mass transfer studies. Hence, we numerically simulated the mass transport of LDL and oxygen in an idealized moving coronary artery model under both steady and pulsatile flow conditions. A physiological inlet velocity and a sinusoidal curvature waveform were specified as velocity and wall motion boundary conditions. The results predicted elevation of LDL flux, impaired oxygen flux and low wall shear stress (WSS) along the inner wall of curvature, a predilection site for atherosclerosis. The wall motion induced changes in the velocity and WSS patterns were only secondary to the pulsatile flow effects. The temporal variations in flow and WSS due to the flow pulsation and wall motion did not affect temporal changes in the species wall flux. However, the wall motion did alter the time-averaged oxygen and LDL flux in the order of 26% and 12% respectively. Taken together, these results suggest that the wall motion may play an important role in coronary arterial transport processes and emphasise the need for further investigation

A Family of Helminth Molecules that Modulate Innate Cell Responses via Molecular Mimicry of Host Antimicrobial Peptides

Over the last decade a significant number of studies have highlighted the central role of host antimicrobial (or defence) peptides in modulating the response of innate immune cells to pathogen-associated ligands. In humans, the most widely studied antimicrobial peptide is LL-37, a 37-residue peptide containing an amphipathic helix that is released via proteolytic cleavage of the precursor protein CAP18. Owing to its ability to protect against lethal endotoxaemia and clinically-relevant bacterial infections, LL-37 and its derivatives are seen as attractive candidates for anti-sepsis therapies. We have identified a novel family of molecules secreted by parasitic helminths (helminth defence molecules; HDMs) that exhibit similar biochemical and functional characteristics to human defence peptides, particularly CAP18. The HDM secreted by Fasciola hepatica (FhHDM-1) adopts a predominantly α-helical structure in solution. Processing of FhHDM-1 by F. hepatica cathepsin L1 releases a 34-residue C-terminal fragment containing a conserved amphipathic helix. This is analogous to the proteolytic processing of CAP18 to release LL-37, which modulates innate cell activation by classical toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We show that full-length recombinant FhHDM-1 and a peptide analogue of the amphipathic C-terminus bind directly to LPS in a concentration-dependent manner, reducing its interaction with both LPS-binding protein (LBP) and the surface of macrophages. Furthermore, FhHDM-1 and the amphipathic C-terminal peptide protect mice against LPS-induced inflammation by significantly reducing the release of inflammatory mediators from macrophages. We propose that HDMs, by mimicking the function of host defence peptides, represent a novel family of innate cell modulators with therapeutic potential in anti-sepsis treatments and prevention of inflammation

Effect of Concurrent Trypanosoma brucei Infection on Haemonchosis in Red Sokoto (Maradi) Goats

The effect of concurrent Trypanosoma bruceiinfection on caprine haemonchosis was investigated in Red Sokoto (Maradi) goats infected with either Haemonchus contortus alone or concurrently with Trypanosoma brucei. The goats infected with H. contortus alone manifested clinical disease that was mild and without mortality. On the other hand, concurrent infection with T.brucei resulted in severe clinical disease characterized by pyrexia, pallor of visible mucous membranes, anorexia, loss of body weight, diarrhoea and death of all the animals 18 - 24 days post infection. The concurrent infection with T. brucei also resulted in shorter prepatent period (16 ± 0.5 days) and the establishment of a greater number (137 ± 24) of adult Haemonchus worms per animal than in those infected with only H. contortus alone with prepatent period of 18 ± 0 days and 98 ± 26 adult worms per animal. Reduction in the packed cell volume, increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate, persistent monocytosis and leucopenia characterised by lymphopenia and neutropenia were associated with the concurrent infection while Haemonchus infection alone resulted in persistent eosinophilia. The results of the study show that a concurrent trypanosome infection may potentiate the clinical severity of an otherwise sub-clinical infection with H. contortus in Red Sokoto goats through reduced prepatent period, increased worm burden and faecal egg output coupled with significantly greater anaemia and loss of body weight. It is suggested that in the tsetse or trypanosomosis endemic areas like southern Nigeria, grazing animals likely to harbour sub-clinical H. contortus infections may need to be prophylactically treated against concurrent trypanosome infection in order to maintain optimal productivity. Keywords: Concurrent infection, haemonchosis, trypanosomosis, goatsSahel Journal of Veterinary Sciences Vol. 5 (1) 2006 pp. 45-5