Genetic characterization of an adapted pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza virus that reveals improved replication rates in human lung epithelial cells

The 2009 influenza pandemic originated from a swine-origin H1N1 virus, which, although less pathogenic than anticipated, may acquire additional virulence-associated mutations in the future. To estimate the potential risk, we sequentially passaged the isolate A/Hamburg/04/2009 in A549 human lung epithelial cells. After passage 6, we observed a 100-fold increased replication rate. High-throughput sequencing of viral gene segments identified five dominant mutations, whose contribution to the enhanced growth was analyzed by reverse genetics. The increased replication rate was pinpointed to two mutations within the hemagglutinin (HA) gene segment (HA1 D130E, HA2 I91L), near the receptor binding site and the stem domain. The adapted virus also replicated more efficiently in mice in vivo. Enhanced replication rate correlated with increased fusion pH of the HA protein and a decrease in receptor affinity. Our data might be relevant for surveillance of pre-pandemic strains and development of high titer cell culture strains for vaccine production

A four-gene lincRNA expression signature predicts risk in multiple cohorts of acute myeloid leukemia patients

Prognostic gene expression signatures have been proposed as clinical tools to clarify therapeutic options in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, these signatures rely on measuring large numbers of genes and often perform poorly when applied to independent cohorts or those with older patients. Long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) are emerging as important regulators of cell identity and oncogenesis, but knowledge of their utility as prognostic markers in AML is limited. Here we analyze transcriptomic data from multiple cohorts of clinically annotated AML patients and report that (i) microarrays designed for coding gene expression can be repurposed to yield robust lincRNA expression data, (ii) some lincRNA genes are located in close proximity to hematopoietic coding genes and show strong expression correlations in AML, (iii) lincRNA gene expression patterns distinguish cytogenetic and molecular subtypes of AML, (iv) lincRNA signatures composed of three or four genes are independent predictors of clinical outcome and further dichotomize survival in European Leukemia Net (ELN) risk groups and (v) an analytical tool based on logistic regression analysis of quantitative PCR measurement of four lincRNA genes (LINC4) can be used to determine risk in AML.D Beck, JAI Thoms, C Palu, T Herold, A Shah, J Olivier, L Boelen, Y Huang, D Chacon, A Brown, M Babic, C Hahn, M Perugini, X Zhou, BJ Huntly, A Schwarzer, J-H Klusmann, WE Berdel, B Wörmann, T Büchner, W Hiddemann, SK Bohlander, LB To, HS Scott, ID Lewis, RJ D’Andrea, JWH Wong, and JE Pimand

Interactions of microorganisms with rare earth ions and their utilization for separation and environmental technology

In recent years, rare earth elements (REEs) have been widely used in various modern technological devices and the global demand for REE has been increasing. The increased demand for REEs has led to environmental exposure or water pollution from rare earth metal mines and various commercial products. Therefore, the development of a safe technology for the separation and adsorption of REEs is very important from the perspective of green chemistry and environmental pollution. In this review, the application and mechanisms of microorganisms for the removal and extraction of REEs from aqueous solutions are described. In addition, the advantages in using microorganisms for REE adsorption and future studies on this topic are discussed.ArticleAPPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY. 97(1):1-8 (2013)journal articl