Wolbachia and its influence on the pathology and immunology of Dirofilaria immitis infection     

Kramer L  Grandi G  Leoni M  Passeri B  McCall J  Genchi C  Mortarino M  Bazzocchi C 《Veterinary parasitology》2008,158(3):191-195

Since the definitive identification in 1995 of the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia that resides in different tissues of the filarial worm Dirofilaria immitis, there has been increasing interest to understand whether and what role it plays in the pathogenesis of and immune response to heartworm infection. The present study evaluated the effects of treatments on lung pathology in 20 beagle dogs experimentally infected with D. immitis. Dogs in Group 1 were treated with doxycycline (10 mg/kg/day) orally from weeks 0-6, 10-12, 16-18, 22-26, and 28-34. Dogs in Group 2 served as infected, non-treated controls. Dogs in Group 3 were given doxycycline as described for Group 1 combined with weekly oral doses of ivermectin (6 mcg/kg) for 34 weeks and intramuscular (IM) melarsomine (2.5 mg/kg) at week 24, followed by two additional melarsomine injections 24h apart 1 month later. Group 4 received only melarsomine as described for Group 3. Lung lesion criteria, scored by two independent blinded pathologists, included perivascular inflammation and endothelial proliferation. Doxycycline treatment alone had no effect on lesion scores, whereas the combination of doxycycline and ivermectin resulted in less severe perivascular inflammation. All lungs were evaluated for positive immunostaining for the Wolbachia surface protein (WSP). Control dogs showed numerous thrombi, intense perivascular and interstitial inflammation and, occasionally, positive staining for WSP. Interestingly, dogs receiving doxycycline/ivermectin/melarsomine showed significantly less severe arterial lesions and the virtual absence of thrombi.  相似文献   

Decreased sialylation of the acute phase protein alpha1-acid glycoprotein in feline infectious peritonitis (FIP)     

Ceciliani F  Grossi C  Giordano A  Pocacqua V  Paltrinieri S 《Veterinary immunology and immunopathology》2004,99(3-4):229-236

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is an immune-mediated disease of domestic and exotic felides infected with feline coronavirus. FIP is characterized by the overexpression of an acute phase protein, the alpha1-acid glycoprotein (AGP). In humans, AGP is a heavily glycosylated protein that undergoes several modifications of its glycan moiety during acute and chronic inflammatory pathologies. We studied the changes in AGP glycosylation in the course of FIP. Specifically, we focussed our attention on the degree of sialylation, fucosylation and branching. This study presents a purification method for feline AGP (fAGP) from serum, using an ion exchange chromatography strategy. The glycosylation pattern was analyzed in detail by means of interaction of purified fAGP with specific lectins. In particular, Sambucus nigra agglutinin I and Maackia amurensis agglutinin lectins were used to detect sialic acid residues, Aleuria aurantia lectin was used to detect L-fucose residues and Concanavalin A was used to evaluate the branching degree. By this method we showed that fAGP did not present any L-fucose residues on its surface, and that its branching degree was very low, both in normal and in pathological conditions. In contrast, during FIP disease, fAGP underwent several modifications in the sialic acid content, including decreased expression of both alpha(2-6)-linked and alpha(2-3)-linked sialic acid (76 and 44%, respectively when compared to non-pathological feline AGP).  相似文献   

Ultrastructure of immature and mature human oocytes after cryotop vitrification     

Maria Grazia PALMERINI  Monica ANTINORI  Marta MAIONE  Fabrizio CERUSICO  Caterina VERSACI  Stefania Annarita NOTTOLA  Guido MACCHIARELLI  Mohammad Ali KHALILI  Severino ANTINORI 《The Journal of reproduction and development》2014,60(6):411-420

In vitro maturation of vitrified immature germinal vesicle (GV) oocytes is a promising fertility preservation option. We analyzed the ultrastructure of human GV oocytes after Cryotop vitrification (GVv) and compared it with fresh GV (GVc), fresh mature metaphase II (MIIc) and Cryotop-vitrified mature (MIIv) oocytes. By phase contrast microscopy and light microscopy, the oolemmal and cytoplasmic organization of fresh and vitrified oocytes did not show significant changes. GVv oocytes showed significant ultrastructural alterations of the microvilli in 40% of the samples; small vacuoles and occasional large/isolated vacuoles were abnormally present in the ooplasm periphery of 50% of samples. The ultrastructure of nuclei and mitochondria-vesicle (MV) complexes, as well as the distribution and characteristics of cortical granules (CGs), were comparable with those of GVc oocytes. MIIv oocytes showed an abnormal ultrastructure of microvilli in 30% of the samples and isolated large vacuoles in 70% of the samples. MV complexes were normal, but mitochondria-smooth endoplasmic reticulum aggregates appeared to be of reduced size. CGs were normally located under the oolemma but presented abnormalities in distribution and matrix electron density. In conclusion, Cryotop vitrification preserved main oocyte characteristics in the GV and MII stages, even if peculiar ultrastructural alterations appeared in both stages. This study also showed that the GV stage appears more suitable for vitrification than the MII stage, as indicated by the good ultrastructural preservation of important structures that are present only in immature oocytes, like the nucleus and migrating CGs.  相似文献   

Dynamics of slow-moving landslides from permanent scatterer analysis   总被引：3，自引：0，他引：3  

Hilley GE  Bürgmann R  Ferretti A  Novali F  Rocca F 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2004,304(5679):1952-1955

High-resolution interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) permanent scatterer data allow us to resolve the rates and variations in the rates of slow-moving landslides. Satellite-to-ground distances (range changes) on landslides increase at rates of 5 to 7 millimeters per year, indicating average downslope sliding velocities from 27 to 38 millimeters per year. Time-series analysis shows that displacement occurs mainly during the high-precipitation season; during the 1997-1998 El Ni?o event, rates of range change increased to as much as 11 millimeters per year. The observed nonlinear relationship of creep and precipitation rates suggests that increased pore fluid pressures within the shallow subsurface may initiate and accelerate these features. Changes in the slope of a hill resulting from increases in the pore pressure and lithostatic stress gradients may then lead to landslides.  相似文献   

ABAD directly links Abeta to mitochondrial toxicity in Alzheimer's disease     

Lustbader JW  Cirilli M  Lin C  Xu HW  Takuma K  Wang N  Caspersen C  Chen X  Pollak S  Chaney M  Trinchese F  Liu S  Gunn-Moore F  Lue LF  Walker DG  Kuppusamy P  Zewier ZL  Arancio O  Stern D  Yan SS  Wu H 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2004,304(5669):448-452

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a hallmark of beta-amyloid (Abeta)-induced neuronal toxicity in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we demonstrate that Abeta-binding alcohol dehydrogenase (ABAD) is a direct molecular link from Abeta to mitochondrial toxicity. Abeta interacts with ABAD in the mitochondria of AD patients and transgenic mice. The crystal structure of Abeta-bound ABAD shows substantial deformation of the active site that prevents nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) binding. An ABAD peptide specifically inhibits ABAD-Abeta interaction and suppresses Abeta-induced apoptosis and free-radical generation in neurons. Transgenic mice overexpressing ABAD in an Abeta-rich environment manifest exaggerated neuronal oxidative stress and impaired memory. These data suggest that the ABAD-Abeta interaction may be a therapeutic target in AD.  相似文献   

Missing baryons and the warm-hot intergalactic medium     

Nicastro F  Mathur S  Elvis M 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2008,319(5859):55-57

Stars and gas in galaxies, hot intracluster medium, and intergalactic photo-ionized gas make up at most half of the baryons that are expected to be present in the universe. The majority of baryons are still missing and are expected to be hidden in a web of warm-hot intergalactic medium. This matter was shock-heated during the collapse of density perturbations that led to the formation of the relaxed structures that we see today. Finding the missing baryons and thereby producing a complete inventory of possibly the only detectable component of the energy-mass budget of the universe is crucial to validate or invalidate our standard cosmological model.  相似文献   

Identification of a universal Group B streptococcus vaccine by multiple genome screen   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Maione D  Margarit I  Rinaudo CD  Masignani V  Mora M  Scarselli M  Tettelin H  Brettoni C  Iacobini ET  Rosini R  D'Agostino N  Miorin L  Buccato S  Mariani M  Galli G  Nogarotto R  Nardi-Dei V  Nardi Dei V  Vegni F  Fraser C  Mancuso G  Teti G  Madoff LC  Paoletti LC  Rappuoli R  Kasper DL  Telford JL  Grandi G 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2005,309(5731):148-150

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a multiserotype bacterial pathogen representing a major cause of life-threatening infections in newborns. To develop a broadly protective vaccine, we analyzed the genome sequences of eight GBS isolates and cloned and tested 312 surface proteins as vaccines. Four proteins elicited protection in mice, and their combination proved highly protective against a large panel of strains, including all circulating serotypes. Protection also correlated with antigen accessibility on the bacterial surface and with the induction of opsonophagocytic antibodies. Multigenome analysis and screening described here represent a powerful strategy for identifying potential vaccine candidates against highly variable pathogens.  相似文献   

Evidence for the effect of learning on timing of reproduction in blue tits     

Grieco F  van Noordwijk AJ  Visser ME 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2002,296(5565):136-138

We experimentally show that in blue tits (Parus caeruleus) egg-laying date is causally linked to experience in the previous year. Females that received additional food in the nestling period in one year laid eggs later in the next year compared with the control birds, whatever the degree of synchronization with the natural food abundance in the previous year. As a result, they raised their brood much later than the peak period of nestling food availability in the next year. The response to experience is adaptive for blue tits, which live in heterogeneous habitats where the peak period of food varies, but once settled will breed at the same location for life.  相似文献   

The role of ammonites in the Mesozoic marine food web revealed by jaw preservation     

Kruta I  Landman N  Rouget I  Cecca F  Tafforeau P 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2011,331(6013):70-72

Ammonites are prominent in macroevolutionary studies because of their abundance and diversity in the fossil record, but their paleobiology and position in the marine food web are not well understood due to the lack of preserved soft tissue. We present three-dimensional reconstructions of the buccal apparatus in the Mesozoic ammonite Baculites with the use of synchrotron x-ray microtomography. Buccal mass morphology, combined with the coexistence of food remains found in the buccal mass, suggests that these ammonites fed on plankton. This diet may have extended to all aptychophoran ammonites, which share the same buccal mass morphology. Understanding the role of these ammonites in the Mesozoic food web provides insights into their radiation in the Early Jurassic, as well as their extinction at the end of the Cretaceous/early Paleogene.  相似文献   

Role of the genes Md-ACO1 and Md-ACS1 in ethylene production and shelf life of apple (Malus domestica Borkh)     

Fabrizio Costa  Sara Stella  W. Eric Van de Weg  Walter Guerra  Michela Cecchinel  Joseph Dallavia  Bernie Koller  Silviero Sansavini 《Euphytica》2005,141(1-2):181-190

Shelf life determines the economic life time of mature apples, which can be either freshly harvested or stored. Good shelf life is highly associated with a slow decrease of fruit firmness at room temperature. Apple is a climacteric fruit, in which loss of firmness seems to be physiologically related to ethylene. Ethylenes biosynthetic pathway is controlled by two large gene families coding for 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase (ACS) and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxydase (ACO).In this study, one ACS and one ACO gene were examined for their effect on ethylene production and shelf life in apple using gene specific molecular marker, and have also been positioned on a molecular marker linkage map. The ACO marker was developed in this research and mapped on linkage group (LG) 10 of the crosses Prima × Fiesta and Fuji × Mondial Gala, within the 5% border of a previously identified fruit firmness QTL [Theor Appl Genet 100 (2000) 1074]. We denoted this locus as Md-ACO1. In addition, we mapped the previously developed Md-ACS1 marker [Theor Appl Genet 101 (2000) 742] on LG15.Studies on the cross Fuji × Braeburn revealed that Md-ACS1 and Md-ACO1 independently affect the internal ethylene concentration (IEC) as well as shelf life of apple, Md-ACS1 having the strongest effect. Descendants homozygous for Md-ACS1-2 and Md-ACO1-1 showed to have the lowest ethylene production as well as superior shelf-life. These two genes are candidates to be included in marker assisted breeding.  相似文献