Inclusion of a specific T cell epitope increases the protection conferred against foot-and-mouth disease virus in pigs by a linear peptide containing an immunodominant B cell site

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) causes an economically important and highly contagious disease of cloven-hoofed animals. FMD control in endemic regions is implemented using chemically inactivated whole-virus vaccines. Currently, efforts are directed to the development of safe and marked vaccines. We have previously reported solid protection against FMDV conferred by branched structures (dendrimeric peptides) harbouring virus-specific B and T-cell epitopes. In order to gain insights into the factors determining a protective immune response against FMDV, in this report we sought to dissect the immunogenicity conferred by different peptide-based immunogens. Thus, we have assessed the immune response and protection elicited in pigs by linear peptides harbouring the same FMDV B-cell or B and T-cell epitopes (B and TB peptides, respectively).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Pigs were twice immunized with either the B-cell epitope (site A) peptide or with TB, a peptide where the B-cell epitope was in tandem with the T-cell epitope [3A (21-35)]. Both, B and TB peptides were able to induce specific humoral (including neutralizing antibodies) and cellular immune responses against FMDV, but did not afford full protection in pigs. The data obtained showed that the T-cell epitope used is capable to induce efficient T-cell priming that contributes to improve the protection against FMDV. However, the IgA titres and IFNγ release elicited by these linear peptides were lower than those detected previously with the dendrimeric peptides.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that the incorporation of a FMDV specific T-cell epitope in the peptide formulation allows a significant reduction in virus excretion and clinical score after challenge. However, the linear TB peptide did not afford full protection in challenged pigs, as that previously reported using the dendrimeric construction indicating that, besides the inclusion of an adecuate T-cell epitope in the formulation, an efficient presentation of the B-cell epitope is crucial to elicit full protection by peptide vaccines.</p

B-Function Expression in the Flower Center Underlies the Homeotic Phenotype of Lacandonia schismatica (Triuridaceae)

Spontaneous homeotic transformations have been described in natural populations of both plants and animals, but little is known about the molecular-genetic mechanisms underlying these processes in plants. In the ABC model of floral organ identity in Arabidopsis thaliana, the B- and C-functions are necessary for stamen morphogenesis, and C alone is required for carpel identity. We provide ABC model-based molecular-genetic evidence that explains the unique inside-out homeotic floral organ arrangement of the monocotyledonous mycoheterotroph species Lacandonia schismatica (Triuridaceae) from Mexico. Whereas a quarter million flowering plant species bear central carpels surrounded by stamens, L. schismatica stamens occur in the center of the flower and are surrounded by carpels. The simplest explanation for this is that the B-function is displaced toward the flower center. Our analyses of the spatio-temporal pattern of B- and C-function gene expression are consistent with this hypothesis. The hypothesis is further supported by conservation between the B-function genes of L. schismatica and Arabidopsis, as the former are able to rescue stamens in Arabidopsis transgenic complementation lines, and Ls-AP3 and Ls-PI are able to interact with each other and with the corresponding Arabidopsis B-function proteins in yeast. Thus, relatively simple molecular modifications may underlie important morphological shifts in natural populations of extant plant taxa

La contribución económica-ambiental de programas de conservación en México: una aplicación del Modelo Integrado Económico-Ambiental (IEEM)

En este estudio se investigan los impactos, tanto económicos como aquellos sobre el capital natural y servicios ecosistémicos, de tres programas de conservación en México. Más precisamente, se analizan el programa de pago por servicios ambientales, el programa para reducir las emisiones en el sector agrícola, silvicultura y otros usos de la tierra, y el programa de unidades de manejo para la conservación de la vida silvestre. La estimación de los beneficios de estos programas es importante para justificar su financiamiento, en un contexto en el cual los recursos públicos son cada vez más escasos. Para tal fin, se aplica el Modelo Económico-Ambiental Integrado (IEEM por sus siglas en inglés) vinculado con la modelación espacial de alta resolución de cambios en uso y cobertura de suelos y servicios ecosistémicos (IEEM+ESM). Los resultados muestran que el impacto combinado de estos tres programas sobre el producto interno bruto acumulado hasta el año 2035 es de alrededor de US$856.9 millones de dólares, mientras que el impacto sobre la riqueza es aproximadamente US$492.3 millones de dólares. En conjunto, los tres programas considerados reducen la pobreza en 1,800 individuos. IEEM+ESM permite cuantificar, además de los efectos puramente económicos, el aporte que realizan distintos servicios ecosistémicos como, por ejemplo, cultura y recreación, de abastecimiento de agua y de regulación. A modo de ejemplo, cuando se consideran los servicios ecosistémicos de regulación, el impacto conjunto de los tres programas sobre el producto interno bruto es 1.34 veces más elevado. Los resultados presentados en este estudio pueden ser de utilidad para la obtención de recursos que permitan la continuidad e, incluso, la ampliación de estos programas, considerando que contribuyen a la conservación de la biodiversidad y el capital natural, así como también al bienestar de la sociedad mexicana.Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociale

Changes in Economic Inequality in Europe and Latin America in the First Decades of the Twenty-First Century

This open access volume identifies the common and specific aspects of social mechanisms that generate inequalities, through comparative analyses of different dimensions in which inequalities are expressed. It includes studies on social inequalities in 5 European and 5 Latin American countries, along 11 thematic axes: inequalities in the labour market and labour trajectories; asymmetries in the relationship between training and employment; inequalities in work and family life; educational inequalities; geographical and social inequalities: ethnicity and language; social inequalities, migration and space; uncertainty, strategies, resources and capabilities; inequality of opportunity: intergenerational social mobility; social policies; gender inequalities; and research methodology. This volume is the result of a large collaborative project on social inequality funded by the European Commission: the International Network for Comparative Analysis of Social Inequalities. Taking into account diverse perspectives and approximations, the collaborators have created a general analytical framework as a model of analysis of social inequalities. The various contributions in this volume help readers gain a global outlook and help reflect on social inequalities in a comparative perspective. This volume addresses social science graduate and postgraduate students, researchers, social policy makers, as well as a broader academic audience interested in social inequality.Fil: Salvia, Hector Agustin. Universidad Catolica Argentina; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Using Phylogenomic Patterns and Gene Ontology to Identify Proteins of Importance in Plant Evolution

We use measures of congruence on a combined expressed sequenced tag genome phylogeny to identify proteins that have potential significance in the evolution of seed plants. Relevant proteins are identified based on the direction of partitioned branch and hidden support on the hypothesis obtained on a 16-species tree, constructed from 2,557 concatenated orthologous genes. We provide a general method for detecting genes or groups of genes that may be under selection in directions that are in agreement with the phylogenetic pattern. Gene partitioning methods and estimates of the degree and direction of support of individual gene partitions to the overall data set are used. Using this approach, we correlate positive branch support of specific genes for key branches in the seed plant phylogeny. In addition to basic metabolic functions, such as photosynthesis or hormones, genes involved in posttranscriptional regulation by small RNAs were significantly overrepresented in key nodes of the phylogeny of seed plants. Two genes in our matrix are of critical importance as they are involved in RNA-dependent regulation, essential during embryo and leaf development. These are Argonaute and the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase 6 found to be overrepresented in the angiosperm clade. We use these genes as examples of our phylogenomics approach and show that identifying partitions or genes in this way provides a platform to explain some of the more interesting organismal differences among species, and in particular, in the evolution of plants

Loss of Different Inverted Repeat Copies from the Chloroplast Genomes of Pinaceae and Cupressophytes and Influence of Heterotachy on the Evaluation of Gymnosperm Phylogeny

The relationships among the extant five gymnosperm groups—gnetophytes, Pinaceae, non-Pinaceae conifers (cupressophytes), Ginkgo, and cycads—remain equivocal. To clarify this issue, we sequenced the chloroplast genomes (cpDNAs) from two cupressophytes, Cephalotaxus wilsoniana and Taiwania cryptomerioides, and 53 common chloroplast protein-coding genes from another three cupressophytes, Agathis dammara, Nageia nagi, and Sciadopitys verticillata, and a non-Cycadaceae cycad, Bowenia serrulata. Comparative analyses of 11 conifer cpDNAs revealed that Pinaceae and cupressophytes each lost a different copy of inverted repeats (IRs), which contrasts with the view that the same IR has been lost in all conifers. Based on our structural finding, the character of an IR loss no longer conflicts with the “gnepines” hypothesis (gnetophytes sister to Pinaceae). Chloroplast phylogenomic analyses of amino acid sequences recovered incongruent topologies using different tree-building methods; however, we demonstrated that high heterotachous genes (genes that have highly different rates in different lineages) contributed to the long-branch attraction (LBA) artifact, resulting in incongruence of phylogenomic estimates. Additionally, amino acid compositions appear more heterogeneous in high than low heterotachous genes among the five gymnosperm groups. Removal of high heterotachous genes alleviated the LBA artifact and yielded congruent and robust tree topologies in which gnetophytes and Pinaceae formed a sister clade to cupressophytes (the gnepines hypothesis) and Ginkgo clustered with cycads. Adding more cupressophyte taxa could not improve the accuracy of chloroplast phylogenomics for the five gymnosperm groups. In contrast, removal of high heterotachous genes from data sets is simple and can increase confidence in evaluating the phylogeny of gymnosperms

Innovación metodológica y tecnológica en la enseñanza del inglés para turismo a distancia

This article presents the curricular design of a subject on English for Specific Purposes from the Degree in Tourism at a distance learning tertiary institution such as the Spanish national distance learning university, UNED. In addition to the challenges present in such a teaching modality, the didactic scenario is also complex due to the great heterogeneity of the student groups, since it is a first year subject in a non-language degree, and also due to the high student numbers and unbalanced ratio between students and teachers. This article describes the main methodological and technological aspects of the innovative design of this online subject, which has enabled the teaching team, members of the ATLAS (Applying Technology to LAnguageS) research group, to win the UNED Award for Best Teaching PracticesEste artículo presenta el diseño curricular de una asignatura de inglés para fines específicos que se imparte en el Grado en Turismo de una institución universitaria a distancia como es la Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED). El escenario didáctico es complejo, además, por la gran heterogeneidad del alumnado, al tratarse de una asignatura de primer curso en un Grado que no es propiamente de lenguas y, también, por la masificación y el desequilibrio de la ratio entre estudiantes y profesores. Este artículo describe los principales aspectos metodológicos y tecnológicos del innovador diseño de esta asignatura en línea, que han valido recientemente al equipo docente, componentes del grupo de investigación ATLAS (Applying Technology to LAnguageS), el Premio a las Mejores Prácticas Docentes de la UNE

Construcción peptídica dendrimérica para la prevención de la fiebre aftosa en animales

Construcción peptídica dendrimérica para la prevención de la fiebre aftosa en animales. Esta construcción es una de fórmula (I) en donde: T es un péptido que comprende la secuencia SEC ID NO: 1 ó un fragmento de la misma; B es un péptido que comprende la secuencia SEC ID NO: 2 ó un fragmento de la misma; X es un grupo acilo unido al extremo N-terminal de B; n es 3 ó 4; y L corresponde a un núcleo de lisinas de fórmula (II) en donde W es un grupo conector; Z1-Z4 son iguales o diferentes entre sí y se seleccionan del grupo que consiste en cisteína y OH, con la condición que al menos tres de los grupos Z1 a Z4 sean cisteína; enlazándose B al núcleo de lisinas por su extremo C-terminal y T enlazándose a dicho núcleo por su extremo N-terminal.Peer reviewedUniversitat Pompeu Fabra e Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (España)B1 Patente con informe sobre el estado de la ténic

Inclusion of a specific T cell epitope increases the protection conferred against foot-and-mouth disease virus in pigs by a linear peptide containing an immunodominant B cell site

Background: Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) causes an economically important and highly contagious disease of cloven-hoofed animals. FMD control in endemic regions is implemented using chemically inactivated whole-virus vaccines. Currently, efforts are directed to the development of safe and marked vaccines. We have previously reported solid protection against FMDV conferred by branched structures (dendrimeric peptides) harbouring virus-specific B and T-cell epitopes. In order to gain insights into the factors determining a protective immune response against FMDV, in this report we sought to dissect the immunogenicity conferred by different peptide-based immunogens. Thus, we have assessed the immune response and protection elicited in pigs by linear peptides harbouring the same FMDV B-cell or B and T-cell epitopes (B and TB peptides, respectively). Results: Pigs were twice immunized with either the B-cell epitope (site A) peptide or with TB, a peptide where the B-cell epitope was in tandem with the T-cell epitope [3A (21-35)]. Both, B and TB peptides were able to induce specific humoral (including neutralizing antibodies) and cellular immune responses against FMDV, but did not afford full protection in pigs. The data obtained showed that the T-cell epitope used is capable to induce efficient T-cell priming that contributes to improve the protection against FMDV. However, the IgA titres and IFNγ release elicited by these linear peptides were lower than those detected previously with the dendrimeric peptides. Conclusions: We conclude that the incorporation of a FMDV specific T-cell epitope in the peptide formulation allows a significant reduction in virus excretion and clinical score after challenge. However, the linear TB peptide did not afford full protection in challenged pigs, as that previously reported using the dendrimeric construction indicating that, besides the inclusion of an adecuate T-cell epitope in the formulation, an efficient presentation of the B-cell epitope is crucial to elicit full protection by peptide vaccines.Work at CBMSO and INIA was supported by Spanish grants from CICYT (BIO2008-0447-C03-01 and AGL2010-22200-C02-02), MEC (PORCIVIR, CSD2006-0007), Fundación Ramón Areces and by EU Network of Excellence, EPIZONE (ContractNoFOODCT-2006-016236). Work at UPF was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (grant BIO2002-04091-C03-01 and BIO2005-07592-CO2-02) and by Generalitat de Catalunya (SGR00494 and CIDEM-BAPP

B epitope multiplicity and B/T epitope orientation influence immunogenicity of foot-and-mouth disease peptide vaccines

Synthetic peptides incorporating protective B- and T-cell epitopes are candidates for new safer foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines. We have reported that dendrimeric peptides including four copies of a B-cell epitope (VP1 136 to 154) linked to a T-cell epitope (3A 21 to 35) of FMD virus (FMDV) elicit potent B- and T-cell specific responses and confer protection to viral challenge, while juxtaposition of these epitopes in a linear peptide induces less efficient responses. To assess the relevance of B-cell epitope multivalency, dendrimers bearing two (B2T) or four (B4T) copies of the B-cell epitope from type O FMDV (a widespread circulating serotype) were tested in CD1 mice and showed that multivalency is advantageous over simple B-T-epitope juxtaposition, resulting in efficient induction of neutralizing antibodies and optimal release of IFN γ . Interestingly, the bivalent B2T construction elicited similar or even better B- and T-cell specific responses than tetravalent B4T. In addition, the presence of the T-cell epitope and its orientation were shown to be critical for the immunogenicity of the linear juxtaposed monovalent peptides analyzed in parallel. Taken together, our results provide useful insights for a more accurate design of FMD subunit vaccines.Research at CBMSO was funded by Spanish MINECO (BIO2011-24351), and by an institutional grant from Fundación Ramón Areces. Research at Universitat Pompeu Fabra was funded by the Spanish MINECO (SAF2011-24899) and by Generalitat de Catalunya (SGR2009-00492). Research at INIA was funded by the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7, 2007-2013), Research Infrastructures action, under the grant agreement no. FP7-228394 (NADIR) and Spanish MINECO (AGL2010-22200-C02-02 and CC07-062). Noelia Moreno is a predoctoral (FPI) fellow from the Spanish MEC