Detection of IgG against Rickettsia typhi: a population-based study in southern Kazakhstan

Uvod. Rickettsia typhi svrstava se u skupinu pjegavih tifusa i uzrokuje endemski tifus. Slučajevi endemskog tifusa i seropozitivnosti na R. typhi zabilježeni su u susjednoj Kini i Rusiji. Međutim, o endemskom tifusu u Kazahstanu se malo zna. Svrha ove studije bila je procijeniti prevalenciju IgG protutijela na R. typhi u populaciji južne regije Kazahstana. Metode. U istraživanje je uključeno ukupno 253 osoba (142 žena, 111 muškaraca) u dobi od 1 do 71 godine. Detekcija serumskih IgG protutijela na R. typhi provedena je imunoenzimskim ELISA testom. Rezultati. Ukupna seropozitivnost na R. typhi iznosila je 34,4%. Najveća seroprevalencija od 91,8% zabilježena je u regiji Turkestan. Najniža seropozitivnost od 6,1% otkrivena je u selu Lepsinsk, regija Almaty. Seroprevalencija se nije značajno razlikovala prema spolu. Seropozitivnost kod odraslih pojedinaca nije bila značajno povezana s dobi, ali pozitivni rezultati nisu otkriveni u dobnoj skupini djece mlađe od 14 godina. Zaključak. Dobiveni rezultati potvrđuju aktivnu cirkulaciju R. typhij u regijama Turkestan i Almaty u Kazahstanu. Podaci ukazuju na hitnu potrebu za daljnjim istraživanjima čiji je cilj procijeniti klinički učinak R. typhi u južnoj regiji Kazahstana.Background. Rickettsia typhi belongs to the typhus group of rickettsiae and causes endemic typhus. Cases of endemic typhus and seropositivity to R. typhi have been reported in the neighbouring China and Russia. However, little is known of the endemic typhus in Kazakhstan. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of IgG antibodies to R. typhi in the population of southern region of Kazakhstan. Methods. A total of 253 individuals (142 women, 111 men) aged from 1 to 71 years were recruited into the study. Detection of serum IgG antibodies against R. typhi was performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results. The overall R. typhi seropositivity has reached 34.4%. The highest seroprevalence of 91.8% was recorded in the Turkestan Region. The lowest seropositivity of 6.1% was detected in the village Lepsinsk, Almaty Region. The seroprevalence did not differ significantly between genders. Seropositivity in adult individuals was not significantly associated with age, but positive results were not detected in the age group of children under 14 years. Conclusion. The obtained results confirm active circulation of R. typhi in the Turkestan and Almaty Regions of Kazakhstan. The data indicate an urgent need for further studies aimed to evaluate the clinical impact caused by R. typhi in the southern region of Kazakhstan

Anti-Apoptotic Protein Bcl-xL Expression in the Midbrain Raphe Region Is Sensitive to Stress and Glucocorticoids.

Anti-apoptotic proteins are suggested to be important for the normal health of neurons and synapses as well as for resilience to stress. In order to determine whether stressful events may influence the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-xL in the midbrain and specifically in the midbrain serotonergic (5-HT) neurons involved in neurobehavioral responses to adverse stimuli, adult male rats were subjected to short-term or chronic forced swim stress. A short-term stress rapidly increased the midbrain bcl-xl mRNA levels and significantly elevated Bcl-xL immunoreactivity in the midbrain 5-HT cells. Stress-induced increase in glucocorticoid secretion was implicated in the observed effect. The levels of bcl-xl mRNA were decreased after stress when glucocorticoid elevation was inhibited by metyrapone (MET, 150 mg/kg), and this decrease was attenuated by glucocorticoid replacement with dexamethasone (DEX; 0.2 mg/kg). Both short-term stress and acute DEX administration, in parallel with Bcl-xL, caused a significant increase in tph2 mRNA levels and slightly enhanced tryptophan hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the midbrain. The increasing effect on the bcl-xl expression was specific to the short-term stress. Forced swim repeated daily for 2 weeks led to a decrease in bcl-xl mRNA in the midbrain without any effects on the Bcl-xL protein expression in the 5-HT neurons. In chronically stressed animals, an increase in tph2 gene expression was not associated with any changes in tryptophan hydroxylase protein levels. Our findings are the first to demonstrate that both short-term stress and acute glucocorticoid exposures induce Bcl-xL protein expression in the midbrain 5-HT neurons concomitantly with the activation of the 5-HT synthesis pathway in these neurons

The regioselective synthesis of spirooxindolo pyrrolidines and pyrrolizidines via three-component reactions of acrylamides and aroylacrylic acids with isatins and α-amino acids

The regioselective three-component condensation of azomethine ylides derived from isatins and α-amino acids with acrylamides or aroylacrylic acids as dipolarophiles has been realized through a one-pot 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition protocol. Decarboxylation of 2'-aroyl-2-oxo-1,1',2,2',5',6',7',7a'-octahydrospiro[indole-3,3'-pyrrolizine]-1'-carboxylic acids is accompanied by cyclative rearrangement with formation of dihydropyrrolizinyl indolones

Effects of stress-induced glucocorticoid signal on Bcl-xL expression.

<p>The levels of the midbrain <i>bcl-xl</i> mRNA at 2 h after second forced swim: Stress-induced glucocorticoid signal was blocked by MET and substituted by DEX in MET+DEX treated animals. *p < 0.05 vs. Intact (untreated animals), ^#p < 0.05 vs. VEH1.</p

Bcl-xL and TPH expression at 40 min and 2 h after short-term swim stress.

<p>(A) <i>Bcl-xl</i> and <i>tph2</i> mRNA levels in the midbrain at 40 min and 2 h after the second forced swim. (B) Bcl-xL and TPH protein immunoreactivities in 5-HT cell bodies located in the dorsal (DRNd) and ventral (DRNv) parts of the dorsal raphe nucleus, and in the median raphe nucleus (MRN) at 2 h after the second forced swim. *p < 0.05 vs. CTL (control unstressed animals), ^#p < 0.05 vs. 40 min.</p

Effects of DEX on Bcl-xL in adult rats.

<p>Bcl-xL protein expression in the 5-HT cell bodies located in the dorsal (DRNd) and ventral (DRNv) parts of the dorsal raphe nucleus, and in the median raphe nucleus (MRN) at 6 h after the drug (VEH or DEX) injection. *p < 0.05 vs. Intact (untreated animals).</p

Representative photomicrographs of immunofluorescent staining.

<p>Bcl-xL (red), TPH (green) and double immunofluorescence for TPH and Bcl-xL are shown in the rat ventral part of the dorsal nucleus (DRNv), and at higher magnification in the random insets 1 and 2 as indicated in the DRNv TPH picture.</p

Identifying the Involvement of Pro-Inflammatory Signal in Hippocampal Gene Expression Changes after Experimental Ischemia: Transcriptome-Wide Analysis

Acute cerebral ischemia induces distant inflammation in the hippocampus; however, molecular mechanisms of this phenomenon remain obscure. Here, hippocampal gene expression profiles were compared in two experimental paradigms in rats: middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and intracerebral administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The main finding is that 10 genes (Clec5a, CD14, Fgr, Hck, Anxa1, Lgals3, Irf1, Lbp, Ptx3, Serping1) may represent key molecular links underlying acute activation of immune cells in the hippocampus in response to experimental ischemia. Functional annotation clustering revealed that these genes built the same clusters related to innate immunity/immunity/innate immune response in all MCAO differentially expressed genes and responded to the direct pro-inflammatory stimulus group. The gene ontology enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses also indicate that LPS-responding genes were the most abundant among the genes related to “positive regulation of tumor necrosis factor biosynthetic process”, “cell adhesion”, “TNF signaling pathway”, and “phagosome” as compared with non-responding ones. In contrast, positive and negative “regulation of cell proliferation” and “HIF-1 signaling pathway” mostly enriched with genes that did not respond to LPS. These results contribute to understanding genomic mechanisms of the impact of immune/inflammatory activation on expression of hippocampal genes after focal brain ischemia

Effect of DEX on Bcl-xL in neonatal rats.

<p>The time-course of the neonatal brainstem <i>bcl-xl</i> mRNA response to DEX.*p < 0.05 with both Intact and Saline groups, and also with the values at 1 h, 2 h, 4 h, 8 h and 24 h after DEX.</p