The immunological response of RB51 vaccinated buffalo calves using brucella periplasmic proteins as ELISA antigen

Immune status of RB51 vaccinated buffaloes was evaluated using tube agglutination test (TAT) and ELISA, using both periplasmic protein antigen (PPA) and lipopolysaccharide antigen (LPS). For this purpose, three groups of buffalo calves were used. The first one received S19 vaccine subcutaneously; the second was vaccinated once subcutaneously with RB51 vaccine. The third (control) group was injected similarly with sterile saline. Concerning the S19 vaccinated group, significant TAT titers were seen 1 week post vaccination (WPV) till the maximum at the 2nd WPV. After that it was gradually decreased till the 7 WPV, then sharply before it completely disappeared at the 13 WPV. On the other hand, the LPS-ELISA showed an antibody titer as early as one WPV reached its peak at 2 WPV and persisted steadily till the 6th WPV and decreased slowly when it reached minimal level at the 16 WPV till the end of the experiment. While in RB51 vaccinated buffalo calves using the PPA-ELISA, the antibody titer began and reach the maximum as early as the first WPV, still steady till 2 WPV, fluctuating till the 6th WPV, then dropped sharply when it disappeared at 11WPV till the end of the experiment.Key words: Brucella, buffaloes, ELISA, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), periplasmic proteins, RB51, S19, tube agglutination test (TAT)

The bovine alveolar macrophage DNA methylome is resilient to infection with Mycobacterium bovis

DNA methylation is pivotal in orchestrating gene expression patterns in various mammalian biological processes. Perturbation of the bovine alveolar macrophage (bAM) transcriptome, due to Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) infection, has been well documented; however, the impact of this intracellular pathogen on the bAM epigenome has not been determined. Here, whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) was used to assess the effect of M. bovis infection on the bAM DNA methylome. The methylomes of bAM infected with M. bovis were compared to those of non-infected bAM 24 hours post-infection (hpi). No differences in DNA methylation (CpG or non-CpG) were observed. Analysis of DNA methylation at proximal promoter regions uncovered >250 genes harbouring intermediately methylated (IM) promoters (average methylation of 33-66%). Gene ontology analysis, focusing on genes with low, intermediate or highly methylated promoters, revealed that genes with IM promoters were enriched for immune-related GO categories; this enrichment was not observed for genes in the high or low methylation groups. Targeted analysis of genes in the IM category confirmed the WGBS observation. This study is the first in cattle examining genome-wide DNA methylation at single nucleotide resolution in an important bovine cellular host-pathogen interaction model, providing evidence for IM promoter methylation in bAM

Trends in template/fragment-free protein structure prediction

Predicting the structure of a protein from its amino acid sequence is a long-standing unsolved problem in computational biology. Its solution would be of both fundamental and practical importance as the gap between the number of known sequences and the number of experimentally solved structures widens rapidly. Currently, the most successful approaches are based on fragment/template reassembly. Lacking progress in template-free structure prediction calls for novel ideas and approaches. This article reviews trends in the development of physical and specific knowledge-based energy functions as well as sampling techniques for fragment-free structure prediction. Recent physical- and knowledge-based studies demonstrated that it is possible to sample and predict highly accurate protein structures without borrowing native fragments from known protein structures. These emerging approaches with fully flexible sampling have the potential to move the field forward

Cancer Screening Patterns by Weight Group and Gender for Urban African American Church Members

BACKGROUND: Obese white women have lower rates of cancer screening compared to non-obese women. This study will determine if a relationship exists between weight and adherence to cancer screening guidelines among African Americans. METHODS: We used multivariate logistic regression to examine the relationship between being up-to-date with cancer screening (colorectal, breast, cervical, and prostate) and weight group (normal, overweight, obese I, obese II+) using data from older (age 50+) members (N=955) of 20 African American churches in Michigan and North Carolina. CRC testing rates were examined using multiple definitions to account for differences in screening rates vs. polyp surveillance rates. RESULTS: After adjusting for confounders, we found relationships between weight group and up-to-date CRC (p=0.04) and PSA (p=0.004) testing for men and mammography (p=0.03) for women. Compared to normal-weight men, obese I men were more likely to be up-to-date with CRC (OR 2.35, 95%CI 1.02–5.40) and PSA (OR 4.24 95%CI 1.77–10.17) testing. CRC screening rates were lower when individuals with polyps were excluded from the analysis; however, patterns by weight remained the same. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to previous research, we did not find lower rates of cancer screening among obese African Americans. Instead, we found that normal-weight African American men had lower screening rates than any other group. As we did not consistently find lower screening rates among obese African Americans, targeting this group for increased screening promotion may not be the most effective way to reduce weight-related cancer disparities