Functional mutations in spike glycoprotein of Zaire ebolavirus associated with an increase in infection efficiency

Ebola virus (EBOV) is extremely virulent, and its glycoprotein is necessary for viral entry. EBOV may adapt to its new host humans during outbreaks by acquiring mutations especially in glycoprotein, which allows EBOV to spread more efficiently. To identify these evolutionary selected mutations and examine their effects on viral infectivity, we used experimental–phylogenetic–structural interdisciplinary approaches. In evolutionary analysis of all available Zaire ebolavirus glycoprotein sequences, we detected two codon sites under positive selection, which are located near/within the region critical for the host‐viral membrane fusion, namely alanine‐to‐valine and threonine‐to‐isoleucine mutations at 82 (A82V) and 544 (T544I), respectively. The fine‐scale transmission dynamics of EBOV Makona variants that caused the 2014–2015 outbreak showed that A82V mutant was fixed in the population, whereas T544I was not. Furthermore, pseudotype assays for the Makona glycoprotein showed that the A82V mutation caused a small increase in viral infectivity compared with the T544I mutation. These findings suggest that mutation fixation in EBOV glycoprotein may be associated with their increased infectivity levels; the mutant with a moderate increase in infectivity will fix. Our findings showed that a driving force for Ebola virus evolution via glycoprotein may be a balance between costs and benefits of its virulence

An easy-to-implement, non-invasive head restraint method for monkey fMRI

Tanaka R., Watanabe K., Suzuki T., et al. An easy-to-implement, non-invasive head restraint method for monkey fMRI. NeuroImage 285, 120479 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120479.Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in behaving monkeys has a strong potential to bridge the gap between human neuroimaging and primate neurophysiology. In monkey fMRI, to restrain head movements, researchers usually surgically implant a plastic head-post on the skull. Although time-proven to be effective, this technique could create burdens for animals, including a risk of infection and discomfort. Furthermore, the presence of extraneous objects on the skull, such as bone screws and dental cement, adversely affects signals near the cortical surface. These side effects are undesirable in terms of both the practical aspect of efficient data collection and the spirit of “refinement” from the 3R's. Here, we demonstrate that a completely non-invasive fMRI scan in awake monkeys is possible by using a plastic head mask made to fit the skull of individual animals. In all of the three monkeys tested, longitudinal, quantitative assessment of head movements showed that the plastic mask has effectively suppressed head movements, and we were able to obtain reliable retinotopic BOLD signals in a standard retinotopic mapping task. The present, easy-to-make plastic mask has a strong potential to simplify fMRI experiments in awake monkeys, while giving data that is as good as or even better quality than that obtained with the conventional head-post method

Human Papillomavirus Genome in Oral Carcinoma and Their Metastatic Cervical Lymph Node Tissues.

Twenty cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with cervical lymph node metastasis were investigated. Both primary lesions and metastatic lymph nodes were analyzed for the involvement of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNAs utilizing the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method and dot blot hybridization. HPV DNAs were detected in five cases. Four primary lesions contained HPV-16 DNA, and one contained both HPV-16 and HPV-18 DNAs out of 20 cases examined. No HPV DNAs were detected in metastatic lymph node tissues in cases where HPV DNAs could not be detected in primary cancer tissues. The same types of HPV DNAs as those found in primary lesions were detected in metastatic lymph nodes including those with HPV-16 and HPV-18

Long-term monitoring of the short period SU UMa-type dwarf nova, V844 Herculis

We report on time-resolved CCD photometry of four outbursts of a short-period SU UMa-type dwarf nova, V844 Herculis. We successfully determined the mean superhump periods to be 0.05584(64) days, and 0.055883(3) for the 2002 May superoutburst, and the 2006 April-May superoutburst, respectively. During the 2002 October observations, we confirmed that the outburst is a normal outburst, which is the first recorded normal outburst in V844 Her. We also examined superhump period changes during 2002 May and 2006 April-May superoutbursts, both of which showed increasing superhump period over the course of the plateau stage. In order to examine the long-term behavior of V844 Her, we analyzed archival data over the past ten years since the discovery of this binary. Although photometry is not satisfactory in some superoutbursts, we found that V844 Her showed no precursors and rebrightenings. Based on the long-term light curve, we further confirmed V844 Her has shown almost no normal outbursts despite the fact that the supercycle of the system is estimated to be about 300 days. In order to explain the long-term light curves of V844 Her, evaporation in the accretion disk may play a role in the avoidance of several normal outbursts, which does not contradict with the relatively large X-ray luminosity of V844 Her.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, accepted for PAS

Prediction of Boron Concentrations in Blood from Patients on Boron Neutron Capture Therapy

Background: In boron neutron capture therapy, blood boron concentration is the key factor to calculate radiation dose, however, blood sampling is difficult during neutron irradiation. Materials and Methods: The prediction of blood boron concentrations for BNCT treatment planning has been prospectively investigated using patient data obtained at first craniotomy after the infusion of a low dose of sodium undecahydroclosododecaborate. Results: The boron biodistribution data showed a biexponential pharmacokinetic profile. If the final boron concentration at 6 or 9 hours after the end of the infusion is within the 95% confidence interval of the prediction, direct prediction from biexponential fit will reduce the error of blood boron concentrations during irradiation to around 6%. Conclusion: Actual boron concentrations during BNCT were reasonably and accurately predictable from the test data

DNA-like class R inhibitory oligonucleotides (INH-ODNs) preferentially block autoantigen-induced B-cell and dendritic cell activation in vitro and autoantibody production in lupus-prone MRL-Faslpr/lpr mice in vivo

INTRODUCTION. B cells have many different roles in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), ranging from autoantigen recognition and processing to effector functions (for example, autoantibody and cytokine secretion). Recent studies have shown that intracellular nucleic acid-sensing receptors, Toll-like receptor (TLR) 7 and TLR9, play an important role in the pathogenesis of SLE. Dual engagement of rheumatoid factor-specific AM14 B cells through the B-cell receptor (BCR) and TLR7/9 results in marked proliferation of autoimmune B cells. Thus, strategies to preferentially block innate activation through TLRs in autoimmune B cells may be preferred over non-selective B-cell depletion. METHODS. We have developed a new generation of DNA-like compounds named class R inhibitory oligonucleotides (INH-ODNs). We tested their effectiveness in autoimmune B cells and interferon-alpha-producing dendritic cells in vitro and in lupus-prone MRL-Faslpr/lpr mice in vivo. RESULTS. Class R INH-ODNs have 10- to 30-fold higher inhibitory potency when autoreactive B cells are synergistically activated through the BCR and associated TLR7 or 9 than when stimulation occurs via non-BCR-engaged TLR7/9. Inhibition of TLR9 requires the presence of both CCT and GGG triplets in an INH-ODN, whereas the inhibition of the TLR7 pathway appears to be sequence-independent but dependent on the phosphorothioate backbone. This difference was also observed in the MRL-Faslpr/lpr mice in vivo, where the prototypic class R INH-ODN was more effective in curtailing abnormal autoantibody secretion and prolonging survival. CONCLUSIONS. The increased potency of class R INH-ODNs for autoreactive B cells and dendritic cells may be beneficial for lupus patients by providing pathway-specific inhibition yet allowing them to generate protective immune response when needed.National Institutes of Health (AI047374, AI064736); Alliance for Lupus Researc

Detection of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) DNA Sequences in Normal Oral Scrapes Using the Nested PCR.

We investigated the prevalence rate of HPV DNAs in normal mucosa in the oral region. The nested PCR method was utilized to detect target DNA sequences using HPV E6/E7 consensus primer pairs. Of 56 patients examined, HPV 6 and HPV 16 DNA sequences were detected in a 46-year-old male and a 35-year-old female, respectively. These results suggest that HPVs are uncom-mon in normal oral epithelium, and that we should carry out careful follow-up in HPV DNA-positive cases

Monoallelic IRF5 deficiency in B cells prevents murine lupus

Gain-of-function polymorphisms in the transcription factor IFN regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) are associated with an increased risk of developing systemic lupus erythematosus. However, the IRF5-expressing cell type(s) responsible for lupus pathogenesis in vivo is not known. We now show that monoallelic IRF5 deficiency in B cells markedly reduced disease in a murine lupus model. In contrast, similar reduction of IRF5 expression in macrophages, monocytes, and neutrophils did not reduce disease severity. B cell receptor and TLR7 signaling synergized to promote IRF5 phosphorylation and increase IRF5 protein expression, with these processes being independently regulated. This synergy increased B cell-intrinsic IL-6 and TNF-alpha production, both key requirements for germinal center (GC) responses, with IL-6 and TNF-alpha production in vitro and in vivo being substantially lower with loss of 1 allele of IRF5. Mechanistically, TLR7-dependent IRF5 nuclear translocation was reduced in B cells from IRF5-heterozygous mice. In addition, we show in multiple lupus models that IRF5 expression was dynamically regulated in vivo with increased expression in GC B cells compared with non-GC B cells and with further sequential increases during progression to plasmablasts and long-lived plasma cells. Overall, a critical threshold level of IRF5 in B cells was required to promote disease in murine lupus