CA2 Pyramidal Layer

This report contains a gene expression summary of the CA2 pyramidal cell layer (CA2sp), derived from the Allen Brain Atlas (ABA) in situ hybridization mouse data set. The structure's location and morphological characteristics in the mouse brain are described using the Nissl data found in the Allen Reference Atlas. Using an established algorithm, the expression values of the CA2sp were compared to the values of the macro/parent-structure, in this case the pyramidal layer of Ammon’s Horn, for the purpose of extracting regionally selective gene expression data. The genes with the highest ranking selectivity ratios were manually curated and verified. 50 genes were then selected and compiled for expression characterization. The experimental data for each gene may be accessed via the links provided; additional data in the sagittal plane may also be accessed using the ABA. Correlations between gene expression in the CA2sp and the rest of the brain, across all genes in the coronal dataset (~4300 genes), were derived computationally. A gene ontology table (derived from DAVID Bioinformatics Resources 2007) is also included, highlighting possible functions of the 50 genes selected for this report

Facial Motor Nucleus

This report contains a summary of expression patterns for genes that are enriched in the facial motor nucleus (VII) of the medulla. All data is derived from the Allen Brain Atlas (ABA) in situ hybridization mouse project. The structure's location and morphological characteristics in the mouse brain are described using the Nissl data found in the Allen Reference Atlas. Using an established algorithm, the expression values of the facial motor nucleus were compared to the values of its larger parent structure, in this case the medulla, for the purpose of extracting regionally selective gene expression data. The highest ranking genes were manually curated and verified. 50 genes were then selected and compiled for expression analysis. The experimental data for each gene may be accessed via the links provided; additional data in the sagittal plane may also be accessed using the ABA. Correlations between gene expression in the facial motor nucleus and the rest of the brain, across all genes in the coronal dataset (~4300 genes), were derived computationally. A gene ontology table (derived from DAVID Bioinformatics Resources 2007) is also included, highlighting possible functions of the 50 genes selected for this report

Dentate Gyrus

This report contains a gene expression summary of the dentate gyrus (DG), derived from the Allen Brain Atlas (ABA) _in situ_ hybridization mouse data set. The structure's location and morphological characteristics in the mouse brain are described using the Nissl data found in the Allen Reference Atlas. Using an established algorithm, the expression values of the dentate gyrus were compared to the values of the macro/parent-structure, in this case the hippocampal region, for the purpose of extracting regionally selective gene expression data. The genes with the highest ranking selectivity ratios were manually curated and verified. 50 genes were then selected and compiled for expression characterization. The experimental data for each gene may be accessed via the links provided; additional data in the sagittal plane may also be accessed using the ABA. Correlations between gene expression in the dentate gyrus and the rest of the brain, across all genes in the coronal dataset (~4300 genes), were derived computationally. A gene ontology table (derived from DAVID Bioinformatics Resources 2007) is also included, highlighting possible functions of the 50 genes selected for this report

Specific oral tolerance induction in childhood

Food allergy continues to be a significant public health concern for which there are no approved treatments and management strategies primarily include allergen avoidance and pharmacological measures for accidental exposures. Food allergy is thought to result from either a failure to establish oral tolerance or the breakdown of existing oral tolerance, and therefore, experimental preventative and treatment strategies are now aimed at inducing specific oral tolerance. This may occur in infancy prior to the development of food allergy through the optimal timing of dietary exposure (primary oral tolerance induction) or as a treatment for established food allergy through oral immunotherapy (secondary oral tolerance induction). Trials examining the effectiveness of early dietary allergen exposure to prevent food allergy have yielded promising results for peanut allergy but not so for other allergens, although the results of several trials are yet to be published. Although infant feeding guidelines no longer advise to avoid allergenic foods and exposure to food allergens orally is an important step in inducing food tolerance by the immune system, evidence regarding the optimal timing, dose and form of these foods into the infant's diet is lacking. Likewise, oral immunotherapy trials appear promising for inducing desensitization; however, the long-term efficacy in achieving sustained desensitization and optimal protocols to achieve this is unknown. More research is needed in this emerging field

Facile mutant identification via a single parental backcross method and application of whole genome sequencing based mapping pipelines

Forward genetic screens have identified numerous genes involved in development and metabolism, and remain a cornerstone of biological research. However, to locate a causal mutation, the practice of crossing to a polymorphic background to generate a mapping population can be problematic if the mutant phenotype is difficult to recognize in the hybrid F2 progeny, or dependent on parental specific traits. Here in a screen for leaf hyponasty mutants, we have performed a single backcross of an Ethane Methyl Sulphonate (EMS) generated hyponastic mutant to its parent. Whole genome deep sequencing of a bulked homozygous F2 population and analysis via the Next Generation EMS mutation mapping pipeline (NGM) unambiguously determined the causal mutation to be a single nucleotide polymorphisim (SNP) residing in HASTY, a previously characterized gene involved in microRNA biogenesis. We have evaluated the feasibility of this backcross approach using three additional SNP mapping pipelines; SHOREmap, the GATK pipeline, and the samtools pipeline. Although there was variance in the identification of EMS SNPs, all returned the same outcome in clearly identifying the causal mutation in HASTY. The simplicity of performing a single parental backcross and genome sequencing a small pool of segregating mutants has great promise for identifying mutations that may be difficult to map using conventional approaches.This work was funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant DP1097150

Protective Places: the Relationship between Neighborhood Quality and Preterm Births to Black Women in Oakland, California (2007–2011)

Black women have the highest incidence of preterm birth (PTB). Upstream factors, including neighborhood context, may be key drivers of this increased risk. This study assessed the relationship between neighborhood quality, defined by the Healthy Places Index, and PTB among Black women who lived in Oakland, California, and gave birth between 2007 and 2011 (N = 5418 women, N = 107 census tracts). We found that, compared with those living in lower quality neighborhoods, women living in higher quality neighborhoods had 20–38% lower risk of PTB, independent of confounders. Findings have implications for place-based research and interventions to address racial inequities in PTB

The inhibitory receptor LILRB4 (ILT3) modulates antigen presenting cell phenotype and, along with LILRB2 (ILT4), is upregulated in response to Salmonella infection.

BACKGROUND: Leukocyte Ig-like receptors (LILR) are a family of innate immune receptors with immunomodulatory functions. High-level expression of the receptors LILRB2 (ILT4) and LILRB4 (ILT3) is a feature of tolerogenic antigen presenting cells and has been observed in cancer and transplant situations. There are relatively few studies regarding these receptors in the context of infection and it is not yet clear how LILRB4 exerts its inhibitory effects. RESULTS: We studied the effects of LILRB4 ligation on antigen presenting cell phenotype, and the expression of LILRB2 and LILRB4 on Salmonella-infected antigen presenting cells. Ligation of LILRB4 throughout in vitro culture of dendritic cells led to an upregulation of the co-stimulatory protein CD86. Alterations in the production of IL-8 and IL-10 by LILRB4-ligated macrophages were also observed. Infection with Salmonella typhimurium or TLR stimulation with Salmonella components led to an upregulation of LILRB2 and LILRB4. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the inhibitory effects of LILRB4 do not result from a failure to upregulate co-stimulatory proteins. In addition to the high level expression that can render antigen presenting cells tolerogenic, there may be a role for lower level expression and activity of LILRB2 and LILRB4 in response to TLR signalling during an immune response to bacterial infection.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Modelling Immunological Systems using PEPA: a preliminary report

We present preliminary work on modelling aspects of the immune system using process algebra. The problem addressed is how T-helper cell populations respond to co-infections with parasites making conflicting immunological demands. Our goal is to build PEPA models of alternative hypotheses around T-helper cell behaviour and to evaluate those with respect to experimental data

A Link between Dimerization and Autophosphorylation of the Response Regulator PhoB

Response regulator proteins within two-component signal transduction systems are activated by phosphorylation and can catalyze their own covalent phosphorylation using small molecule phosphodonors. To date, comprehensive kinetic characterization of response regulator autophosphorylation is limited to CheY, which follows a simple model of phosphodonor binding followed by phosphorylation. We characterized autophosphorylation of the response regulator PhoB, known to dimerize upon phosphorylation. In contrast to CheY, PhoB time traces exhibited an initial lag phase and gave apparent pseudo-first order rate constants that increased with protein concentration. Furthermore, plots of the apparent autophosphorylation rate constant versus phosphodonor concentration were sigmoidal, as were PhoB binding isotherms for the phosphoryl group analog BeF3−. Successful mathematical modeling of the kinetic data necessitated inclusion of the formation of a PhoB heterodimer (one phosphorylated and one unphosphorylated monomer) with an enhanced rate of phosphorylation. Specifically, dimerization constants for the PhoB heterodimer and homodimer (two phosphorylated monomers) were similar, but the rate constant for heterodimer phosphorylation was ∼10-fold higher than for the monomer. In a test of the model, disruption of the known PhoBN dimerization interface by mutation led to markedly slower and noncooperative autophosphorylation kinetics. Furthermore, phosphotransfer from the sensor kinase PhoR was enhanced by dimer formation. Phosphorylation-mediated dimerization allows many response regulators to bind to tandem DNA-binding sites and regulate transcription. Our data challenge the notion that response regulator dimers primarily form between two phosphorylated monomers and raise the possibility that response regulator heterodimers containing one phosphoryl group may participate in gene regulation