A Novel Family of Cyst Proteins with Epidermal Growth Factor Repeats in Giardia lamblia

The biological goal of Giardia lamblia life cycle is differentiation into a cyst form (encystation) that can survive in the environment and infect a new host. Since cystic stages are key to transmission of parasites, this differentiation may be a target for interruption of the life cycle. Synthesis and assembly of the extracellular cyst wall are the major hallmarks of this important differentiation. During encystation, cyst wall structural proteins are coordinately synthesized and are mainly targeted to the cyst wall. However, only a few such proteins have been identified to date. In this study, we used a combination of bioinformatics and molecular approaches to identify new cyst structural proteins from G. lamblia and found a group of Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF)-like Repeats containing Cyst Proteins (EGFCPs). Interestingly, the levels of EGFCPs proteins increased significantly during encystation, which matches the characteristics of the Giardia cyst wall protein. Further characterization and localization studies suggest that EGFCPs may function like cyst wall proteins, involved in differentiation of G. lamblia trophozoites into cysts. Our results provide valuable information regarding the function of a new group of cyst proteins in parasite differentiation into cysts and help develop ways to interrupt the parasite life cycle

Differentiation of Foot-and-Mouth Disease-Infected pigs from Vaccinated Pigs Using Antibody-Detecting Sandwich ELISA

The presence of serum antibodies for nonstructural proteins of the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) can differentiate FMDV-infected animals from vaccinated animals. In this study, a sandwich ELISA was developed for rapid detection of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) antibodies; it was based on an Escherichia coli-expressed, highly conserved region of the 3ABC nonstructural protein of the FMDV O/TW/99 strain and a monoclonal antibody derived from the expressed protein. The diagnostic sensitivity of the assay was 98.4%, and the diagnostic specificity was 100% for naïve and vaccinated pigs; the detection ability of the assay was comparable those of the PrioCHECK and UBI kits. There was 97.5, 93.4 and 66.6% agreement between the results obtained from our ELISA and those obtained from the PrioCHECK, UBI and CHEKIT kits, respectively. The kappa statistics were 0.95, 0.87 and 0.37, respectively. Moreover, antibodies for nonstructural proteins of the serotypes A, C, Asia 1, SAT 1, SAT 2 and SAT 3 were also detected in bovine sera. Furthermore, the absence of cross-reactions generated by different antibody titers against the swine vesicular disease virus and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) was also highlighted in this assay's specificit

Viral load and clinical features in children infected with seasonal influenza B in 2006/2007

Background/PurposeIn influenza B infection, viral load is believed to be related to the severity of clinical illness. The correlation between viral load and symptoms is not known. We conducted a study to assess the relationship between virus load and clinical features in children infected with influenza B, in the hope that clinical features could be used as surrogate markers of viral load to guide treatment.MethodsBetween December 2006 and February 2007, 228 patients with fever and respiratory symptoms were prospectively enrolled in our tertiary hospital-based study. Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to determine viral load.ResultsReal-time RT-PCR was positive for influenza B in 76 patients. Using virus culture as the gold standard, the sensitivity and specificity were 95% and 87%, respectively. Influenza culture positive rate significantly correlated with viral load (p = 0.03). The median copy number of influenza B virus in the 76 RT-PCR positive patients was 9735 copies/ml (range 4.8×101–2.0×106 copies/ml). Samples obtained later in the clinical course tended to have lower viral load (p = 0.7), while patient age (p = 0.72) and fever duration (p = 0.96) positively related to viral load. In patients >3 years of age, myalgia was related to statistically lower viral loads (14300 vs. 1180; p = 0.025). Patients with chills tended to have higher viral loads (72450 vs. 7640; p = 0.1). Patients with abdominal pain tended to have lower viral loads (1998 vs. 12550; p = 0.06).ConclusionCulture rate positively correlated with viral load. Patients with myalgia had a lower viral load

Functionalization of zirconia ceramic with fibronectin proteins enhanced bioactivity and osteogenic response of osteoblast-like cells

Introduction: To overcome the genuine bioinert properties of zirconia ceramic, functionalization of the surface with the bioactive protein fibronectin was conducted.Methods: Glow discharge plasma (GDP)-Argon was first used to clean the zirconia surface. Then allylamine was treated at three different powers of 50 W, 75 W, and 85 W and immersed into 2 different fibronectin concentrations (5 µg/ml and 10 µg/ml).Results and Discussion: After surface treatment, irregularly folded protein-like substances were attached on the fibronectin coated disks, and a granular pattern was observed for allylamine grafted samples. Infrared spectroscopy detected C-O, N-O, N-H, C-H, and O-H functional groups for fibronectin treated samples. Surface roughness rose and hydrophilicity improved after the surface modification, with MTT assay showing the highest level of cell viability for the A50F10 group. Cell differentiation markers also showed that fibronectin grafted disks with A50F10 and A85F10 were the most active, which in turn encouraged late-stage mineralization activity on 21d. Up-regulation of osteogenic related mRNA expression from 1d to 10d can be observed in RT-qPCR data for ALP, OC, DLX5, SP7, OPG and RANK biomarkers. These physical and biological properties clearly indicate that an allylamine and fibronectin composite grafted surface significantly stimulated the bioactivity of osteoblast-like cells, and can be utilized for future dental implant applications

Development of real-time dual-display handheld and bench-top hybrid-mode SD-OCTs

Development of a dual-display handheld optical coherence tomography (OCT) system for retina and optic-nerve-head diagnosis beyond the volunteer motion constraints is reported. The developed system is portable and easily movable, containing the compact portable OCT system that includes the handheld probe and computer. Eye posterior chambers were diagnosed using the handheld probe, and the probe could be fixed to the bench-top cradle depending on the volunteers' physical condition. The images obtained using this handheld probe were displayed in real time on the computer monitor and on a small secondary built-in monitor; the displayed images were saved using the handheld probe's built-in button. Large-scale signal-processing procedures such as k-domain linearization, fast Fourier transform (FFT), and log-scaling signal processing can be rapidly applied using graphics-processing-unit (GPU) accelerated processing rather than central-processing-unit (CPU) processing. The Labview-based system resolution is 1,024 ?? 512 pixels, and the frame rate is 56 frames/s, useful for real-time display. The 3D images of the posterior chambers including the retina, optic-nerve head, blood vessels, and optic nerve were composed using real-time displayed images with 500 ?? 500 ?? 500 pixel resolution. A handheld and bench-top hybrid mode with a dual-display handheld OCT was developed to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional method.open0

HDAC1 modulates OGG1-initiated oxidative DNA damage repair in the aging brain and Alzheimer’s disease

DNA damage contributes to brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases. However, the factors stimulating DNA repair to stave off functional decline remain obscure. We show that HDAC1 modulates OGG1-initated 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG) repair in the brain. HDAC1-deficient mice display age-associated DNA damage accumulation and cognitive impairment. HDAC1 stimulates OGG1, a DNA glycosylase known to remove 8-oxoG lesions that are associated with transcriptional repression. HDAC1 deficiency causes impaired OGG1 activity, 8-oxoG accumulation at the promoters of genes critical for brain function, and transcriptional repression. Moreover, we observe elevated 8-oxoG along with reduced HDAC1 activity and downregulation of a similar gene set in the 5XFAD mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Notably, pharmacological activation of HDAC1 alleviates the deleterious effects of 8-oxoG in aged wild-type and 5XFAD mice. Our work uncovers important roles for HDAC1 in 8-oxoG repair and highlights the therapeutic potential of HDAC1 activation to counter functional decline in brain aging and neurodegeneration