Estado actual de las poblaciones de Fucus vesiculosus L. (Algae Phaeophyta) en la Ría de Vigo

The populations of Fucus vesiculosus L. at three stations of Ría de Vigo was studied in two times: summer of 1975 and summer of 1978. We make biometric analysis, number of vesicles, percentage of axillary, vesicles and other parameters. The dates obtained permits assert that the reseptentrionalisation of galician coasts is maintained at present moment.Se han estudiado las poblaciones de Fucus vesiculosus L. en tres estaciones de la Ría de Vigo en dos ocasiones: verano de 1975 y verano de 1978. Se efectuaron análisis biométricos, de número de vesículas, proporción de vesículas axilares y otros parámetros. Los datos obtenidos permiten afirmar que la "reseptentrionalización" de las costas gallegas se mantiene en el momento presente

Innate immunity against HIV: a priority target for HIV prevention research.

This review summarizes recent advances and current gaps in understanding of innate immunity to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and identifies key scientific priorities to enable application of this knowledge to the development of novel prevention strategies (vaccines and microbicides). It builds on productive discussion and new data arising out of a workshop on innate immunity against HIV held at the European Commission in Brussels, together with recent observations from the literature.Increasing evidence suggests that innate responses are key determinants of the outcome of HIV infection, influencing critical events in the earliest stages of infection including the efficiency of mucosal HIV transmission, establishment of initial foci of infection and local virus replication/spread as well as virus dissemination, the ensuing acute burst of viral replication, and the persisting viral load established. They also impact on the subsequent level of ongoing viral replication and rate of disease progression. Modulation of innate immunity thus has the potential to constitute a powerful effector strategy to complement traditional approaches to HIV prophylaxis and therapy. Importantly, there is increasing evidence to suggest that many arms of the innate response play both protective and pathogenic roles in HIV infection. Consequently, understanding the contributions made by components of the host innate response to HIV acquisition/spread versus control is a critical pre-requisite for the employment of innate immunity in vaccine or microbicide design, so that appropriate responses can be targeted for up- or down-modulation. There is also an important need to understand the mechanisms via which innate responses are triggered and mediate their activity, and to define the structure-function relationships of individual innate factors, so that they can be selectively exploited or inhibited. Finally, strategies for achieving modulation of innate functions need to be developed and subjected to rigorous testing to ensure that they achieve the desired level of protection without stimulation of immunopathological effects. Priority areas are identified where there are opportunities to accelerate the translation of recent gains in understanding of innate immunity into the design of improved or novel vaccine and microbicide strategies against HIV infection

Secretion of Protective Antigens by Tissue-Stage Nematode Larvae Revealed by Proteomic Analysis and Vaccination-Induced Sterile Immunity

Gastrointestinal nematode parasites infect over 1 billion humans, with little evidence for generation of sterilising immunity. These helminths are highly adapted to their mammalian host, following a developmental program through successive niches, while effectively down-modulating host immune responsiveness. Larvae of Heligmosomoides polygyrus, for example, encyst in the intestinal submucosa, before emerging as adult worms into the duodenal lumen. Adults release immunomodulatory excretory-secretory (ES) products, but mice immunised with adult H. polygyrus ES become fully immune to challenge infection. ES products of the intestinal wall 4th stage (L4) larvae are similarly important in host-parasite interactions, as they readily generate sterile immunity against infection, while released material from the egg stage is ineffective. Proteomic analyses of L4 ES identifies protective antigen targets as well as potential tissue-phase immunomodulatory molecules, using as comparators the adult ES proteome and a profile of H. polygyrus egg-released material. While 135 proteins are shared between L4 and adult ES, 72 are L4 ES-specific; L4-specific proteins correspond to those whose transcription is restricted to larval stages, while shared proteins are generally transcribed by all life cycle forms. Two protein families are more heavily represented in the L4 secretome, the Sushi domain, associated with complement regulation, and the ShK/SXC domain related to a toxin interfering with T cell signalling. Both adult and L4 ES contain extensive but distinct arrays of Venom allergen/Ancylostoma secreted protein-Like (VAL) members, with acetylcholinesterases (ACEs) and apyrase APY-3 particularly abundant in L4 ES. Serum antibodies from mice vaccinated with L4 and adult ES react strongly to the VAL-1 protein and to ACE-1, indicating that these two antigens represent major vaccine targets for this intestinal nematode. We have thus defined an extensive and novel repertoire of H. polygyrus proteins closely implicated in immune modulation and protective immunity

Estado actual de las poblaciones de Fucus vesiculosus L. (Algae Phaeophyta) en la Ría de Vigo

Se han estudiado las poblaciones de Fucus vesiculosus L. en tres estaciones de la Ría de Vigo en dos ocasiones: verano de 1975 y verano de 1978. Se efectuaron análisis biométricos, de número de vesículas, proporción de vesículas axilares y otros parámetros. Los datos obtenidos permiten afirmar que la "reseptentrionalización" de las costas gallegas se mantiene en el momento presente.</jats:p