P2X7, inflammation and gastrointestinal disease

The inflammatory bowel diseases, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are characterised by spontaneously relapsing and remitting inflammation, associated with increased mucosal levels of the inflammatory cytokine, interleukin-1 (IL-1)β. IL-1β processing and release is mediated by ATP stimulation of the purine receptor, P2X7. P2X7 is a membrane ion channel highly expressed in immune cells. Signal transduction occurs via rapid cation exchange, plasma membrane depolarisation and increased intracellular calcium. Additionally, prolonged or repeated P2X7 stimulation leads to formation of a non-selective membrane pore permeable to small molecules, and ultimately to cell death. The aim of this project was to investigate the properties of the P2X7 receptor in mononuclear cells, to show that it is associated with IL-1β release in the colon, and that this release can be modified by P2X7 antagonists. Studies of ethidium bromide uptake, a functional assay, showed that P2X7 receptors are present on LPMCs and displayed properties similar to those of PBMCs and THP-1 cells. P2X7 receptor-stimulation released mature IL-1β from LPMCs in a dose-dependent manner that, in IBD patients, matched the severity of their inflammation, and could be markedly reduced by P2X7 antagonists. P2X7 stimulation also results in increased exposure of phosphatidylserine on the outer cell membrane (PS flip), often considered to be a marker of apoptotic cell death. P2X7-stimulated PS flip however is reversible and is not associated with cell death following brief stimulation times. Cell death caused by longer stimulation did not have features of apoptosis, was more evident in monocytes than lymphocytes, with LPMCs being less susceptible than PBMCs and THP-1 cells. These studies have shown that the P2X7 receptor is intimately involved in the release of IL-1β from human colonic mononuclear cells, that the release is greater in cells from IBD tissue and can be markedly inhibited by P2X7 antagonists

P2X7, inflammation and gastrointestinal disease

The inflammatory bowel diseases, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are characterised by spontaneously relapsing and remitting inflammation, associated with increased mucosal levels of the inflammatory cytokine, interleukin-1 (IL-1)β. IL-1β processing and release is mediated by ATP stimulation of the purine receptor, P2X7. P2X7 is a membrane ion channel highly expressed in immune cells. Signal transduction occurs via rapid cation exchange, plasma membrane depolarisation and increased intracellular calcium. Additionally, prolonged or repeated P2X7 stimulation leads to formation of a non-selective membrane pore permeable to small molecules, and ultimately to cell death. The aim of this project was to investigate the properties of the P2X7 receptor in mononuclear cells, to show that it is associated with IL-1β release in the colon, and that this release can be modified by P2X7 antagonists. Studies of ethidium bromide uptake, a functional assay, showed that P2X7 receptors are present on LPMCs and displayed properties similar to those of PBMCs and THP-1 cells. P2X7 receptor-stimulation released mature IL-1β from LPMCs in a dose-dependent manner that, in IBD patients, matched the severity of their inflammation, and could be markedly reduced by P2X7 antagonists. P2X7 stimulation also results in increased exposure of phosphatidylserine on the outer cell membrane (PS flip), often considered to be a marker of apoptotic cell death. P2X7-stimulated PS flip however is reversible and is not associated with cell death following brief stimulation times. Cell death caused by longer stimulation did not have features of apoptosis, was more evident in monocytes than lymphocytes, with LPMCs being less susceptible than PBMCs and THP-1 cells. These studies have shown that the P2X7 receptor is intimately involved in the release of IL-1β from human colonic mononuclear cells, that the release is greater in cells from IBD tissue and can be markedly inhibited by P2X7 antagonists

Viral Dynamics of Acute HIV-1 Infection

Viral dynamics were intensively investigated in eight patients with acute HIV infection to define the earliest rates of change in plasma HIV RNA before and after the start of antiretroviral therapy. We report the first estimates of the basic reproductive number (R0), the number of cells infected by the progeny of an infected cell during its lifetime when target cells are not depleted. The mean initial viral doubling time was 10 h, and the peak of viremia occurred 21 d after reported HIV exposure. The spontaneous rate of decline (α) was highly variable among individuals. The phase 1 viral decay rate (δI = 0.3/day) in subjects initiating potent antiretroviral therapy during acute HIV infection was similar to estimates from treated subjects with chronic HIV infection. The doubling time in two subjects who discontinued antiretroviral therapy was almost five times slower than during acute infection. The mean basic reproductive number (R0) of 19.3 during the logarithmic growth phase of primary HIV infection suggested that a vaccine or postexposure prophylaxis of at least 95% efficacy would be needed to extinguish productive viral infection in the absence of drug resistance or viral latency. These measurements provide a basis for comparison of vaccine and other strategies and support the validity of the simian immunodeficiency virus macaque model of acute HIV infection

Bisphosphoglycerate mutase deficiency protects against cerebral malaria and severe malaria-induced anemia

The replication cycle and pathogenesis of the Plasmodium malarial parasite involves rapid expansion in red blood cells (RBCs), and variants of certain RBC-specific proteins protect against malaria in humans. In RBCs, bisphosphoglycerate mutase (BPGM) acts as a key allosteric regulator of hemoglobin/oxyhemoglobin. We demonstrate here that a loss-of-function mutation in the murine Bpgm (BpgmL166P) gene confers protection against both Plasmodium-induced cerebral malaria and blood-stage malaria. The malaria protection seen in BpgmL166P mutant mice is associated with reduced blood parasitemia levels, milder clinical symptoms, and increased survival. The protective effect of BpgmL166P involves a dual mechanism that enhances the host’s stress erythroid response to Plasmodium-driven RBC loss and simultaneously alters the intracellular milieu of the RBCs, including increased oxyhemoglobin and reduced energy metabolism, reducing Plasmodium maturation, and replication. Overall, our study highlights the importance of BPGM as a regulator of hemoglobin/oxyhemoglobin in malaria pathogenesis and suggests a new potential malaria therapeutic target

Using observational data to estimate an upper bound on the reduction in cancer mortality due to periodic screening

BACKGROUND: Because randomized cancer screening trials are very expensive, observational cancer screening studies can play an important role in the early phases of screening evaluation. Periodic screening evaluation (PSE) is a methodology for estimating the reduction in population cancer mortality from data on subjects who receive regularly scheduled screens. Although PSE does not require assumptions about natural history of cancer it requires other assumptions, particularly progressive detection – the assumption that once a cancer is detected by a screening test, it will always be detected by the screening test. METHODS: We formulate a simple version of PSE and show that it leads to an upper bound on screening efficacy if the progressive detection assumption does not hold (and any effect of birth cohort is minimal) To determine if the upper bound is reasonable, for three randomized screening trials, we compared PSE estimates based only on screened subjects with PSE estimates based on all subjects. RESULTS: In the three randomized screening trials, PSE estimates based on screened subjects gave fairly close results to PSE estimates based on all subjects. CONCLUSION: PSE has promise for obtaining an upper bound on the reduction in population cancer mortality rates based on observational screening data. If the upper bound estimate is found to be small and any birth cohort effects are likely minimal, then a definitive randomized trial would not be warranted

The monitored performance of four social houses certified to the Code for Sustainable Homes Level 5

This paper presents the energy and water use of 4 social houses certified to the Code for Sustainable Homes Level 5 in Gainsborough, UK. The houses were monitored over 2 years, from July 2012 to September 2014. As the houses have the same construction and energy efficiency characteristics, the study offered a unique opportunity to investigate the effects of occupant behaviour on the dwellings performance. Electricity, gas and water consumptions were measured through data logging and meter readings. Surveys and interviews were conducted throughout to gain insights into tenants understanding and interactions with low energy features in their homes. Significant differences were observed in the amount of energy and water used. The annual space heating consumptions differentiated by a factor of 2.2 per square metre of floor area. Hot water heating demands varied by a factor of 3.5 per square metre of floor area or by 2.5 per person per year. Mains water consumptions varied by a factor of 2.2 litres per person per day in 2013