NF-κB Protects HIV-1-Infected Myeloid Cells from Apoptosis

AbstractHIV-1 infection of primary monocytic cells and myeloid cell lines results in sustained NF-κB activation. Recently, NF-κB induction has been shown to play a role in protecting cells from programmed cell death. In the present study, we sought to investigate whether constitutive NF-κB activity in chronically HIV-1-infected promonocytic U937 (U9-IIIB) and myeloblastic PLB-985 (PLB-IIIB) cells affects apoptotic signaling. TNFα and cycloheximide caused infected cells to undergo apoptosis more rapidly than parental U937 and PLB-985 cells. Inhibition of TNFα-induced NF-κB activation using the antioxidantN-acetylcysteine (NAC) resulted in increased apoptosis in both U937 and U9-IIIB cells, while preactivation of NF-κB with the non-apoptotic inducer IL-1β caused a relative decrease in apoptosis. Inhibition of constitutive NF-κB activity in U9-IIIB and PLB-IIIB cells also induced apoptosis, suggesting that NF-κB protects cells from a persistent apoptotic signal. TNFα plus NAC treatment resulted in a marked decrease in Bcl-2 protein levels in HIV-1-infected cells, coupled with an increase in Bax protein compared to uninfected cells, suggesting that the difference in susceptibility to TNFα-induced apoptosis may relate to the differences in relative levels of Bcl-2 and Bax. The protective role of NF-κB in blocking TNFα- and HIV-1-induced apoptosis was supported by studies in Jurkat T cells engineered to express IκBα repressor mutants (TD-IκB) under the control of a tetracycline-responsive promoter. Cells underwent apoptosis in response to TNFα only when NF-κB activation was inhibited by TD-IκB expression. As was observed for the U9-IIIB cells, TNFα treatment also induced a marked decrease in Bcl-2 protein levels in TD-IκB expressing cells. These experiments demonstrate that apoptotic signaling is perturbed in HIV-1-infected U9-IIIB cells and indicate that NF-κB activation may play an additional protective role against HIV-1-induced apoptosis in myeloid cells

Emissions of sulfur gases from marine and freshwater wetlands of the Florida Everglades: Rates and extrapolation using remote sensing

Rates of emissions of the biogenic sulfur (S) gases carbonyl sulfide (COS), methyl mercaptan (MSH), dimethyl sulfide (DMS), and carbon disulfide (CS2) were measured in a variety of marine and freshwater wetland habitats in the Florida Everglades during a short duration period in October using dynamic chambers, cryotrapping techniques, and gas chromatography. The most rapid emissions of greater than 500 nmol/m(sup -2)h(sup -1) occurred in red mangrove-dominated sites that were adjacent to open seawater and contained numerous crab burrows. Poorly drained red mangrove sites exhibited lower fluxes of approximately 60 nmol/m(sup -2)h(sup -1) which were similar to fluxes from the black mangrove areas which dominated the marine-influenced wetland sites in the Everglades. DMS was the dominant organo-S gas emitted especially in the freshwater areas. Spectral data from a scene from the Landsat thematic mapper were used to map habitats in the Everglades. Six vegetation categories were delineated using geographical information system software and S gas emission were extrapolated for the entire Everglades National Park. The black mangrove-dominated areas accounted for the largest portion of S gas emissions to the area. The large area extent of the saw grass communities (42 percent) accounted for approximately 24 percent of the total S emissions

CMC Bench Scale Material Test Plan

The test plan detailed in this topical report supports Task 3.5 of the project titled ''Development of Technologies and Capabilities for Coal Energy Resources - Advanced Gasification Systems Development (AGSD)''. The purpose of these tests is to verify that materials planned for use in an advanced gasifier pilot plant will withstand the environments in a commercial gasifier. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) has developed this test plan with technical assistance from ceramic scientists at the Dept. of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Albany Research Center who will perform the environmental exposure tests

The ICT4scale Initiative: Harnessing ICT to Scale up Agricultural Solutions

This one-page policy brief provides a detailed outline of intervention research and scaling up of a soybean inoculant, using ICT technologies and platforms. The project aims at assessing the effect of a specific combination of ICT interventions and institutional arrangements regarding the number of smallholder farmers who are uptaking the application of a soybean inoculant

A Healthier Bottom Line: Distilling Best Practices in Corporate Wellness

The Massachusetts Business Roundtable (MBR) collaborated with a team from the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) from the University of Massachusetts Boston to explore ways to control health care costs. One strategy being implemented by employers to control health care costs is through “wellness programs,” employer-sponsored efforts to improve the health of employees. Members of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable (MBR) and other large employers have had success in reducing their health care costs through the implementation of corporate wellness initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to define what is working in private sector wellness programs to determine whether there is a broader application that would help the state meet its cost containment goals

Du réchauffement aux conséquences écologiques : s’adapter, migrer ou disparaître?

Le réchauffement climatique est un phénomène planétaire menant à des changements dans les conditions environnementales, tels que la température et la quantité de précipitations, posant un défi de taille pour les espèces sauvages. De nombreux scientifiques étudient les réponses biologiques des plantes et des animaux face à ces changements. Cet article est un aperçu des connaissances scientifiques sur les stratégies et réponses écologiques que les organismes vivants utilisent pour faire face, notamment, à l’augmentation des températures à l’échelle globale. Toutefois, pour certaines espèces, le réchauffement survient à une vitesse trop rapide, menant à leur disparition, et laissant parfois place à de nouvelles espèces

Unique Structural Modifications Are Present in the Lipopolysaccharide from Colistin-Resistant Strains of \u3ci\u3eAcinetobacter baumannii\u3c/i\u3e

Acinetobacter baumannii is a nosocomial opportunistic pathogen that can cause severe infections, including hospital-acquired pneumonia, wound infections, and sepsis. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains are prevalent, further complicating patient treatment. Due to the increase in MDR strains, the cationic antimicrobial peptide colistin has been used to treat A. baumannii infections. Colistin-resistant strains of A. baumannii with alterations to the lipid A component of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) have been reported; specifically, the lipid A structure was shown to be hepta-acylated with a phosphoethanolamine (pEtN) modification present on one of the terminal phosphate residues. Using a tandem mass spectrometry platform, we provide definitive evidence that the lipid A isolated from colistin-resistant A. baumannii MAC204 LPS contains a novel structure corresponding to a diphosphoryl hepta-acylated lipid A structure with both pEtN and galactosamine (GalN) modifications. To correlate our structural studies with clinically relevant samples, we characterized colistin-susceptible and -resistant isolates obtained from patients. These results demonstrated that the clinical colistin-resistant isolate had the same pEtN and GalN modifications as those seen in the laboratory-adapted A. baumannii strain MAC204. In summary, this work has shown complete structure characterization including the accurate assignment of acylation, phosphorylation, and glycosylation of lipid A from A. baumannii, which are important for resistance to colistin