Autoimmunity-related demyelination in infection by Japanese encephalitis virus

Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus is the most common cause of epidemic viral encephalitis in the world. The virus mainly infects neuronal cells and causes an inflammatory response after invasion of the parenchyma of the brain. The death of neurons is frequently observed, in which demyelinated axons are commonly seen. The mechanism that accounts for the occurrence of demyelination is ambiguous thus far. With a mouse model, the present study showed that myelin-specific antibodies appeared in sera, particularly in those mice with evident symptoms. Meanwhile, specific T cells proliferating in response to stimulation by myelin basic protein (MBP) was also shown in these mice. Taken together, our results suggest that autoimmunity may play an important role in the destruction of components, e.g., MBP, of axon-surrounding myelin, resulting in demyelination in the mouse brain after infection with the JE virus

Thioglycosides Are Efficient Metabolic Decoys of Glycosylation that Reduce Selectin Dependent Leukocyte Adhesion

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Small-molecule inhibitors of glycosylation can be applied in basic science studies, and clinical investigations as anti-inflammatory, anti-metastatic, and anti-viral therapies. This article demonstrates that thioglycosides represent a class of potent metabolic decoys that resist hydrolysis, and block E-selectin-dependent leukocyte adhesion in models of inflammation

Candidate regulators of Early Leaf Development in Maize Perturb Hormone Signalling and Secondary Cell Wall Formation When Constitutively Expressed in Rice

All grass leaves are strap-shaped with a series of parallel veins running from base to tip, but the distance between each pair of veins, and the cell-types that develop between them, differs depending on whether the plant performs C or C photosynthesis. As part of a multinational effort to introduce C traits into rice to boost crop yield, candidate regulators of C leaf anatomy were previously identified through an analysis of maize leaf transcriptomes. Here we tested the potential of 60 of those candidate genes to alter leaf anatomy in rice. In each case, transgenic rice lines were generated in which the maize gene was constitutively expressed. Lines grouped into three phenotypic classes: (1) indistinguishable from wild-type; (2) aberrant shoot and/or root growth indicating possible perturbations to hormone homeostasis; and (3) altered secondary cell wall formation. One of the genes in class 3 defines a novel monocot-specific family. None of the genes were individually sufficient to induce C -like vein patterning or cell-type differentiation in rice. A better understanding of gene function in C plants is now needed to inform more sophisticated engineering attempts to alter leaf anatomy in C plants

A Perspective on Cell Therapy and Cancer Vaccine in Biliary Tract Cancers (BTCs).

Biliary tract cancer (BTC) is a rare, but aggressive, disease that comprises of gallbladder carcinoma, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, with heterogeneous molecular profiles. Advanced disease has limited therapeutic options beyond first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. Immunotherapy has emerged as a viable option for many cancers with a similar unmet need. Therefore, we reviewed current understanding of the tumor immune microenvironment and recent advances in cellular immunotherapy and therapeutic cancer vaccines against BTC. We illustrated the efficacy of dendritic cell vaccination in one patient with advanced, chemorefractory, melanoma-associated antigen (MAGE)-positive gallbladder carcinoma, who was given multiple injections of an allogenic MAGE antigen-positive melanoma cell lysate (MCL)-based autologous dendritic cell vaccine combined with sequential anti-angiogenic therapy. This resulted in good radiological and tumor marker response and an overall survival of 3 years from diagnosis. We postulate the potential synergism of adding anti-angiogenic therapy, such as bevacizumab, to immunotherapy in BTC, as a rational scientific principle to positively modulate the tumor microenvironment to augment antitumor immunity