18 research outputs found
Calcium-sensing receptor antagonism or lithium treatment ameliorates aminoglycoside-induced cell death in renal epithelial cells
AbstractThe aminoglycoside antibiotic gentamicin elicits proximal tubular toxicity and cell death. In calcium-sensing receptor (CaR)-transfected HEK-293 (CaR-HEK) cells and CaR-expressing proximal tubule-derived opossum kidney (OK) cells, chronic gentamicin treatment elicits dose-dependent, caspase-mediated apoptotic cell death. Here we investigated whether the renal cell toxicity of the CaR agonist gentamicin could be prevented by CaR antagonism or by lithium cotreatment which may interfere with receptor-mediated signalling. Chronic treatment of OK and CaR-HEK cells with low concentrations of gentamicin elicited cell death, an effect that was ameliorated by cotreatment with the CaR negative allosteric modulator (calcilytic) NPS-89636. This calcilytic also attenuated CaR agonist-induced ERK activation in these cells. In addition, 1 mM LiCl, equivalent to its therapeutic plasma concentration, also inhibited gentamicin-induced toxicity in both cell types. This protective effect of lithium was not due to the disruption of phosphatidylinositol-mediated gentamicin uptake as the cellular entry of Texas red-conjugated gentamicin into OK and CaR-HEK cells was unchanged by lithium treatment. However, the protective effect of lithium was mimicked by glycogen synthase 3β inhibition. Together, these data implicate CaR activation and a lithium-inhibitable signalling pathway in the induction of cell death by gentamicin in renal epithelial cells in culture
Electronics design and development of Near-Infrared Imager, Spectrometer and Polarimeter
NISP, a multifaceted near-infrared instrument for the upcoming 2.5m IR
telescope at MIRO Gurushikhar, Mount Abu, Rajasthan, India is being developed
at PRL, Ahmedabad. NISP will have wide (FOV = 10' x 10') field imaging,
moderate (R=3000) spectroscopy and imaging polarimetry operating modes. It is
designed based on 0.8 to 2.5 micron sensitive, 2048 X 2048 HgCdTe (MCT) array
detector from Teledyne. Optical, Mechanical and Electronics subsystems are
being designed and developed in-house at PRL. HAWAII-2RG (H2RG) detector will
be mounted along with controlling SIDECAR ASIC inside LN2 filled cryogenic
cooled Dewar. FPGA based controller for H2RG and ASIC will be mounted outside
the Dewar at room temperature. Smart stepper motors will facilitate motion of
filter wheels and optical components to realize different operating modes.
Detector and ASIC temperatures are servo controlled using Lakeshore's
Temperature Controller (TC) 336. Also, several cryogenic temperatures will be
monitored by TC for health checking of the instrument. Detector, Motion and
Temperature controllers onboard telescope will be interfaced to USB Hub and
fiber-optic trans-receiver. Remote Host computer interface to remote end
trans-receiver will be equipped with in-house developed GUI software to control
all functionalities of NISP. Design and development aspects of NISP Electronics
will be presented in this conference.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, Submitted to SPIE Conference Astronomical
Telescopes + Instrumentation 202
Screening and Treatment Outcomes in Adults and Children With Type 1 Diabetes and Asymptomatic Celiac Disease: The CD-DIET Study.
OBJECTIVE: To describe celiac disease (CD) screening rates and glycemic outcomes of a gluten-free diet (GFD) in patients with type 1 diabetes who are asymptomatic for CD.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Asymptomatic patients (8-45 years) were screened for CD. Biopsy-confirmed CD participants were randomized to GFD or gluten-containing diet (GCD) to assess changes in HbA
RESULTS: Adults had higher CD-seropositivity rates than children (6.8% [95% CI 4.9-8.2%,
CONCLUSIONS: CD is frequently observed in asymptomatic patients with type 1 diabetes, and clinical vigilance is warranted with initiation of a GFD
Hyperimmune immunoglobulin for hospitalised patients with COVID-19 (ITAC): a double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3, randomised trial
BACKGROUND:
Passive immunotherapy using hyperimmune intravenous immunoglobulin (hIVIG) to SARS-CoV-2, derived from recovered donors, is a potential rapidly available, specific therapy for an outbreak infection such as SARS-CoV-2. Findings from randomised clinical trials of hIVIG for the treatment of COVID-19 are limited.
METHODS:
In this international randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, hospitalised patients with COVID-19 who had been symptomatic for up to 12 days and did not have acute end-organ failure were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either hIVIG or an equivalent volume of saline as placebo, in addition to remdesivir, when not contraindicated, and other standard clinical care. Randomisation was stratified by site pharmacy; schedules were prepared using a mass-weighted urn design. Infusions were prepared and masked by trial pharmacists; all other investigators, research staff, and trial participants were masked to group allocation. Follow-up was for 28 days. The primary outcome was measured at day 7 by a seven-category ordinal endpoint that considered pulmonary status and extrapulmonary complications and ranged from no limiting symptoms to death. Deaths and adverse events, including organ failure and serious infections, were used to define composite safety outcomes at days 7 and 28. Prespecified subgroup analyses were carried out for efficacy and safety outcomes by duration of symptoms, the presence of anti-spike neutralising antibodies, and other baseline factors. Analyses were done on a modified intention-to-treat (mITT) population, which included all randomly assigned participants who met eligibility criteria and received all or part of the assigned study product infusion. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04546581.
FINDINGS:
From Oct 8, 2020, to Feb 10, 2021, 593 participants (n=301 hIVIG, n=292 placebo) were enrolled at 63 sites in 11 countries; 579 patients were included in the mITT analysis. Compared with placebo, the hIVIG group did not have significantly greater odds of a more favourable outcome at day 7; the adjusted OR was 1·06 (95% CI 0·77–1·45; p=0·72). Infusions were well tolerated, although infusion reactions were more common in the hIVIG group (18·6% vs 9·5% for placebo; p=0·002). The percentage with the composite safety outcome at day 7 was similar for the hIVIG (24%) and placebo groups (25%; OR 0·98, 95% CI 0·66–1·46; p=0·91). The ORs for the day 7 ordinal outcome did not vary for subgroups considered, but there was evidence of heterogeneity of the treatment effect for the day 7 composite safety outcome: risk was greater for hIVIG compared with placebo for patients who were antibody positive (OR 2·21, 95% CI 1·14–4·29); for patients who were antibody negative, the OR was 0·51 (0·29–0·90; pinteraction=0·001).
INTERPRETATION:
When administered with standard of care including remdesivir, SARS-CoV-2 hIVIG did not demonstrate efficacy among patients hospitalised with COVID-19 without end-organ failure. The safety of hIVIG might vary by the presence of endogenous neutralising antibodies at entry.
FUNDING:
US National Institutes of Health
Data acquisition, control, communication and computation system of solar X-ray spectrometer (SOXS) mission
Detection of left atrial scar and changes of cardiac function in relation to AF ablation, by 3D late gadolinium enhancement
Genetic Composition of the Bacillus subtilis SOS System
The SOS response in bacteria includes a global transcriptional response to DNA damage. DNA damage is sensed by the highly conserved recombination protein RecA, which facilitates inactivation of the transcriptional repressor LexA. Inactivation of LexA causes induction (derepression) of genes of the LexA regulon, many of which are involved in DNA repair and survival after DNA damage. To identify potential RecA-LexA-regulated genes in Bacillus subtilis, we searched the genome for putative LexA binding sites within 300 bp upstream of the start codons of all annotated open reading frames. We found 62 genes that could be regulated by putative LexA binding sites. Using mobility shift assays, we found that LexA binds specifically to DNA in the regulatory regions of 54 of these genes, which are organized in 34 putative operons. Using DNA microarray analyses, we found that 33 of the genes with LexA binding sites exhibit RecA-dependent induction by both mitomycin C and UV radiation. Among these 33 SOS genes, there are 22 distinct LexA binding sites preceding 18 putative operons. Alignment of the distinct LexA binding sites reveals an expanded consensus sequence for the B. subtilis operator: 5′-CGAACATATGTTCG-3′. Although the number of genes controlled by RecA and LexA in B. subtilis is similar to that of Escherichia coli, only eight B. subtilis RecA-dependent SOS genes have homologous counterparts in E. coli