IN VITRO DEMONSTRATION OF HUMORAL AND CELL-BOUND IMMUNITY AGAINST COMMON SPECIFIC TRANSPLANTATION ANTIGEN(S) OF ADENOVIRUS 12-INDUCED MOUSE AND HAMSTER TUMORS

A colony inhibition (CI) technique was used to demonstrate in vitro tumor-specific antigenicity common for neoplasms induced by the adenovirus type 12. Immunization of mice against syngeneic mouse adeno 12 tumor cells evoked immunity demonstrable against other adeno 12 neoplasms of mice and of hamster as well. The immunity was detected as antibody activity in the sera of specifically immunized mice and as a similar activity of the lymph node cells of these animals. The finding in transplantation experiments that infection with adenovirus types 12 and 7 induces an isograft immunity against adeno 12 tumors was confirmed by CI tests on the sera of virus-infected mice. The probable identity of the antigen detected by the CI technique and the tumor-specific transplantation antigen is discussed

FURTHER STUDIES ON SPECIFIC TRANSPLANTATION ANTIGENS IN ROUS SARCOMA OF MICE

Mice allografted with different sarcomas, induced by the Schmidt-Ruppin variant of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV-SR), showed a resistance against subsequent isografting of 9 different Rous sarcomas. Transplantation resistance could also be induced by Rous mouse tumor cells x-irradiated with 8000 r or with cell-free tumor extracts, containing no demonstrable virus. No transplantation resistance could be demonstrated after allograft pretreatment with various polyoma tumors or non-viral tumors. Allograft pretreatment with Rous tumors induced no demonstrable resistance against isografting of polyoma tumors. Inoculation of RSV-SR or Rous chicken sarcoma suspension into adult mice gave no clear cut resistance against isografting of mouse sarcomas. Neither after allografting of Rous tumors nor after virus or chicken sarcoma inoculation into adult mice could virus-neutralizing activity be demonstrated in the sera. The results demonstrate the presence of common, specific transplantation antigen(s) in different Rous sarcomas in mice and speak against an identity between the transplantation antigen(s) and viral antigen(s)

SPECIFIC TRANSPLANTATION ANTIGENS OF MOUSE SARCOMAS INDUCED BY ADENOVIRUS TYPE 12

A specific isograft resistance against three different mouse adeno 12 sarcomas was demonstrated in mice treated with four to eight doses of viable or X-ray-killed adeno 12 mouse tumors. Whole-body X-ray irradiation with 350 R 24 hr previous to the test challenge did not abolish the resistance, indicating that it was due to a true anamnestic immune reaction. This was further proven by the finding that similar treatment with tumors of other origin did not induce any immunity, nor did the treatment with adeno 12 tumor material induce any immunity against two neoplasms of Schmidt-Ruppin-Rous viral origin. The previous report by Trentin et al. (17) that adeno 12 infection leads to a specific transplantation immunity was fully confirmed. When the specificity of this virus-induced immunity was studied it was discovered that besides adeno virus type 12, type 7 and probably type 18 also gave the same type of resistance while adenovirus type 5 did not. A contamination of the adeno 7-infected mice with adeno type 12 was excluded by testing pooled sera from these animals for anti-adeno 12 CF or HI antibodies

Increased hepatic insulin sensitivity in mice lacking inhibitory leptin receptor signals

Leptin regulates food intake and energy expenditure by activating the long form of the leptin receptor (LepRb). Leptin also regulates glucose homeostasis by improving whole-body insulin sensitivity, but the mechanism remains undefined. Leptin action is mediated by phosphorylation of several tyrosine residues on LepRb. LepRb-Tyr985 plays an important role in the attenuation of LepRb signaling. We determined the contribution of LepRb-Tyr985-mediated signals to leptin action on insulin sensitivity using LepRb-Tyr985 mutant mice (l/l mice). Glucose tolerance and whole-body insulin-mediated glucose utilization were determined in wild-type (+/+) and l/l mice. Glucose tolerance was unaltered between female +/+ and l/l mice but enhanced in the male l/l mice. Serum insulin concentration was decreased at baseline and 15 min after a glucose injection in female l/l vs. +/+ mice (P < 0.05) but unaltered in the male l/l mice. However, basal and insulin-stimulated glucose transport in isolated soleus and extensor digitorum longus muscle was similar between +/+ and l/l mice, indicating skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity in vitro was not enhanced. Moreover, euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamps reveal hepatic, rather than peripheral, insulin sensitivity is enhanced in female l/l mice, whereas male l/l mice display both improved hepatic and peripheral insulin sensitivity. In conclusion, signals emanating from leptin receptor Tyr985 control hepatic insulin sensitivity in both female and male l/l mice. Lack of LepRb-Tyr985 signaling enhances whole-body insulin sensitivity partly through increased insulin action on the suppression of hepatic glucose production

A genomic survey of the fish parasite Spironucleus salmonicida indicates genomic plasticity among diplomonads and significant lateral gene transfer in eukaryote genome evolution

BACKGROUND: Comparative genomic studies of the mitochondrion-lacking protist group Diplomonadida (diplomonads) has been lacking, although Giardia lamblia has been intensively studied. We have performed a sequence survey project resulting in 2341 expressed sequence tags (EST) corresponding to 853 unique clones, 5275 genome survey sequences (GSS), and eleven finished contigs from the diplomonad fish parasite Spironucleus salmonicida (previously described as S. barkhanus). RESULTS: The analyses revealed a compact genome with few, if any, introns and very short 3' untranslated regions. Strikingly different patterns of codon usage were observed in genes corresponding to frequently sampled ESTs versus genes poorly sampled, indicating that translational selection is influencing the codon usage of highly expressed genes. Rigorous phylogenomic analyses identified 84 genes – mostly encoding metabolic proteins – that have been acquired by diplomonads or their relatively close ancestors via lateral gene transfer (LGT). Although most acquisitions were from prokaryotes, more than a dozen represent likely transfers of genes between eukaryotic lineages. Many genes that provide novel insights into the genetic basis of the biology and pathogenicity of this parasitic protist were identified including 149 that putatively encode variant-surface cysteine-rich proteins which are candidate virulence factors. A number of genomic properties that distinguish S. salmonicida from its human parasitic relative G. lamblia were identified such as nineteen putative lineage-specific gene acquisitions, distinct mutational biases and codon usage and distinct polyadenylation signals. CONCLUSION: Our results highlight the power of comparative genomic studies to yield insights into the biology of parasitic protists and the evolution of their genomes, and suggest that genetic exchange between distantly-related protist lineages may be occurring at an appreciable rate in eukaryote genome evolution

Effects of AMPK activation on insulin sensitivity and metabolism in leptin-deficient ob/ob mice

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a heterotrimeric complex, composed of a catalytic subunit (α) and two regulatory subunits (β and γ), which act as a metabolic sensor to regulate glucose and lipid metabolism. A mutation in the γ3 subunit (AMPKγ3(R225Q)) increases basal AMPK phosphorylation, while concomitantly reducing sensitivity to AMP. AMPKγ3(R225Q) (γ3(R225Q)) transgenic mice are protected against dietary-induced triglyceride accumulation and insulin resistance. We determined whether skeletal muscle-specific expression of AMPKγ3(R225Q) prevents metabolic abnormalities in leptin-deficient ob/ob (ob/ob-γ3(R225Q)) mice. Glycogen content was increased, triglyceride content was decreased, and diacylglycerol and ceramide content were unaltered in gastrocnemius muscle from ob/ob-γ3(R225Q) mice, whereas glucose tolerance was unaltered. Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in extensor digitorum longus muscle during the euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp was increased in lean γ3(R225Q) mice, but not in ob/ob-γ3(R225Q) mice. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase phosphorylation was increased in gastrocnemius muscle from γ3(R225Q) mutant mice independent of adiposity. Glycogen and triglyceride content were decreased after leptin treatment (5 days) in ob/ob mice, but not in ob/ob-γ3(R225Q) mice. In conclusion, metabolic improvements arising from muscle-specific expression of AMPKγ3(R225Q) are insufficient to ameliorate insulin resistance and obesity in leptin-deficient mice. Central defects due to leptin deficiency may override any metabolic benefit conferred by peripheral overexpression of the AMPKγ3(R225Q) mutation

Cytosolic free calcium elevation mediates the phagosome-lysosome fusion during phagocytosis in human neutrophils.

Cytosolic free calcium ([Ca2+]i) and fusion of secondary granules with the phagosomal membrane (phagosome-lysosome fusion, P-L fusion) were assessed in single adherent human neutrophils during phagocytosis of C3bi-opsonized yeast particles. Neutrophils were loaded with the fluorescent dye fura2/AM and [Ca2+]i was assessed by dual excitation microfluorimetry. Discharge of lactoferrin, a secondary granule marker into the phagosome was verified by immunostaining using standard epifluorescence, confocal laser scanning and electron microscopy. In Ca2(+)-containing medium, upon contact with a yeast particle, a rapid rise in [Ca2+]i was observed, followed by one or more Ca2+ peaks (maximal value 1,586 nM and median duration 145 s): P-L fusion was detected in 80% of the cells after 5-10 min. In Ca2(+)-free medium the amplitude, frequency and duration of the [Ca2+]i transients were decreased (maximal value 368 nM, mostly one single Ca2+ peak and median duration 75 s): P-L fusion was decreased to 52%. Increasing the cytosolic Ca2+ buffering capacity by loading the cells with MAPT/AM led to a dose-dependent inhibition both of [Ca2+]i elevations and P-L fusion. Under conditions where basal [Ca2+]i was reduced to less than 20 nM and intracellular Ca2+ stores were depleted, P-L fusion was drastically inhibited while the cells ingested yeast particles normally. P-L fusion could be restored in Ca2(+)-buffered cells containing ingested particles by elevating [Ca2+]i with the Ca2(+)-ionophore ionomycin. The present findings directly indicate that although the ingestion step of phagocytosis is a Ca2(+)-independent event, [Ca2+]i transients triggered upon contact with opsonized particles are necessary to control the subsequent fusion of secondary granules with the phagosomal membrane

Metastable Dynamics above the Glass Transition

The element of metastability is incorporated in the fluctuating nonlinear hydrodynamic description of the mode coupling theory (MCT) of the liquid-glass transition. This is achieved through the introduction of the defect density variable $n$ into the set of slow variables with the mass density $\rho$ and the momentum density ${\bf g}$. As a first approximation, we consider the case where motions associated with $n$ are much slower than those associated with $\rho$. Self-consistently, assuming one is near a critical surface in the MCT sense, we find that the observed slowing down of the dynamics corresponds to a certain limit of a very shallow metastable well and a weak coupling between $\rho$ and $n$. The metastability parameters as well as the exponents describing the observed sequence of time relaxations are given as smooth functions of the temperature without any evidence for a special temperature. We then investigate the case where the defect dynamics is included. We find that the slowing down of the dynamics corresponds to the system arranging itself such that the kinetic coefficient $\gamma_v$ governing the diffusion of the defects approaches from above a small temperature-dependent value $\gamma^c_v$.Comment: 38 pages, 14 figures (6 figs. are included as a uuencoded tar- compressed file. The rest is available upon request.), RevTEX3.0+eps