Evidence of Antineutrinos from Distant Reactors Using Pure Water at SNO

The SNO+ Collaboration reports the first evidence of reactor antineutrinos in a Cherenkov detector. The nearest nuclear reactors are located 240 km away in Ontario, Canada. This analysis uses events with energies lower than in any previous analysis with a large water Cherenkov detector. Two analytical methods are used to distinguish reactor antineutrinos from background events in 190 days of data and yield consistent evidence for antineutrinos with a combined significance of 3.5σ.

1671 The Effect Of COVID-19 On the Management and Outcome of Neck of Femur Fractures in A District General Hospital - A Comparative Study

Aim

We wanted to see how the virus has impacted the management and outcome of our neck of femur fracture patients during Spring 2020.

Method

We performed a retrospective study of all neck of femur fracture patients presenting to our hospital from 23rd March 2020 (start of official lockdown in UK) until the end of May 2020 and compared them to patients presenting in the same time period in 2019. We recorded patient demographics, COVID-19 swab results, time to surgery, length of stay, transfers between wards, and 30-day mortality rates.

Results

We identified 75 patients in 2020 compared to 88 in 2019. Average length of stay was 11.4 days compared to 14.3 a year earlier. Mean time to surgery was 32.3 hours compared to 31.6 in 2019. The 30-day mortality increased significantly from 5.7% (5/88) in 2019 to 16% (12/75) in 2020 (p < 0.05) From 73 patients tested for COVID-19, 3 had a positive swab. Of these, 2 died. During their admission, 14 patients were transferred to 3 or more wards; in this group, 30-day mortality was 42.9% (6/14).

Conclusions

There has been a significant increase in 30-day mortality during COVID-19. Despite maintaining our time to surgery and reducing overall length of stay, we saw an increase in mortality, associated with multiple ward transfers rather than a high number of COVID-19 positive swab cases. Changes in pathways and wards configurations led to some patients requiring multiple transfers. This can cause difficulties in coordinated, multidisciplinary care for patients with NOF Fractures.

[Therapeutic effect of encapsulated into the nanocontainers MBP immunodominant peptides on EAE development in DA rats]

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a serve autoimmune neurodegenerative disease. Development of innovative approaches of MS treatment is of a high priority in the modern immunology and pharmacy. In the present study we showed high therapeutic efficiency of immunodominant peptides of myelin basic protein (MBP) incorporated into the monolayer mannosylated liposomes on the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in DA rats. MBP is a component ofoligodendrocytes' membrane, which form axonal sheath, and is one of the major autoantigens in MS. We analyzed binding pattern ofanti-MBP autoantibodies from MS patients using previously designed MBP epitope library. Utilizing the same approach we investigated pool of anti-MBP antibodies from SJL/J and C57/BL6 mice and DA rats with induced EAE. The most relevant rodent model to MS was EAE in DA rats according to the autoantibodies' binding pattern. We selected three immunodominant MBP fragments encapsulated in monolayer mannosylated liposomes for the following treatment of verified DA rodent model. MBP fragment 46-62 was the most effective in reducing of the first EAE attack, whereas MBP 124-139 and 147-160 inhibited development of pathology during remission stage. Simultaneous administration of these peptides in liposomes significantly decreased level of anti-MBP antibodies. Synergetic therapeutic effect of MBP fragments reduced integral disease score by inhibiting first EAE wave and subsequent remission, thus, our findings disclosure novel approaches for efficient treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.

Galanin acts as a trophic factor to the central and peripheral nervous systems

The neuropeptide galanin is widely, but not ubiquitously, expressed in the adult nervous system. Its expression is markedly up-regulated in many neuronal tissues after nerve injury or disease. Over the last 10 years, we have demonstrated that the peptide plays a developmental survival role to subsets of neurons in the peripheral and central nervous systems with resulting phenotypic changes in neuropathic pain and cognition. Galanin also appears to play a trophic role to adult sensory neurons following injury, via activation of GalR2, by stimulating neurite outgrowth. Furthermore, galanin also plays a neuroprotective role to the hippocampus following excitotoxic injury, again mediated by activation of GalR2. Most recently, we have shown that galanin expression is markedly up-regulated in multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions and in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model of MS. Over-expression of galanin in transgenic mice abolishes disease in the EAE model, whilst loss-of-function mutations in galanin or GalR2 increase disease severity. In summary, these studies demonstrate that a GalR2 agonist might have clinical utility in a variety of human diseases that affect the nervous system.

The importance of the short-term leaching dynamics of wood preservatives

The potential environmental impacts from the use of treated timber in aquatic areas is under scrutiny as a result of environmental legislation and reports of the deleterious environmental effects around treated structures. In this study leaching experiments of up to 3 weeks duration were conducted on two species of chromated copper arsenate treated timber, dried for different periods of time. Increased drying time significantly reduced leaching of Cr and As. The addition of a synthetic humic acid increased leaching of Cu and As, but reduced leaching of Cr. Putative risk assessments conducted using short-term copper leaching data suggested protocol design may influence decisions made regarding the environmental acceptability of such preservatives.

Targeted disruption of galanin: new insights from knock-out studies

The neuropeptide galanin has a widespread but no means ubiquitous expression pattern in the nervous and endocrine systems. Profound changes in the levels and distribution of the peptide occur in a range of path-physiological situations including nerve injury or damage and alterations in the circulating levels of a number of hormones. There is now a substantial body of work to indicate that galanin plays an important biological role as a regulator of neurotransmitter and hormone release in the adult. The recent generation of mice carrying a loss-of-function mutation within the galanin gene has allowed us new insights into the physiological actions of galanin. In this manuscript we detail three sets of data relating to the major phenotypic effects thus far delineated, putting them in the context of existing published data. These studies demonstrate that galanin acts as a developmental and trophic factor to subsets of neurons in the nervous and neuroendocrine systems.

Galanin regulates the postnatal survival of a subset of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons

The neuropeptide galanin colocalizes with choline acetyltransferase, the synthetic enzyme for acetylcholine, in a subset of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain of rodents. Chronic intracerebroventricular infusion of nerve growth factor induces a 3- to 4-fold increase in galanin gene expression in these neurons. Here we report the loss of a third of cholinergic neurons in the medial septum and vertical limb diagonal band of the basal forebrain of adult mice carrying a targeted loss-of-function mutation in the galanin gene. These deficits are associated with a 2-fold increase in the number of apoptotic cells in the forebrain at postnatal day seven. This loss is associated with marked age-dependent deficits in stimulated acetylcholine release, performance in the Morris water maze, and induction of long-term potentiation in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. These data provide unexpected evidence that galanin plays a trophic role to regulate the development and function of a subset of septohippocampal cholinergic neurons.

Targeted disruption of the galanin gene reduces the number of sensory neurons and their regenerative capacity

The neuropeptide galanin is expressed developmentally in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and is rapidly up-regulated 120-fold after peripheral nerve section in the adult. Here we report that adult mice carrying a loss-of-function mutation in the galanin gene have a 13% reduction in the number of cells in the DRG associated with a 24% decrease in the percentage of neurons that express substance P. These deficits are associated with a 2.8- and 2.6-fold increase in the number of apoptotic cells in the DRG at postnatal days 3 and 4, respectively. After crush injury to the sciatic nerve, the rate of peripheral nerve regeneration is reduced by 35% with associated long-term functional deficits. Cultured DRG neurons from adult mutant mice demonstrate similar deficits in neurite number and length. These results identify a critical role for galanin in the development and regeneration of sensory neurons.

Carbohydrate biopolymers enhance antibody responses to mucosally delivered vaccine antigens

We have evaluated the ability of two carbohydrate biopolymers, chitosan and gellan, to enhance antibody responses to subunit influenza virus vaccines delivered to the respiratory tracts of mice. Groups of mice were vaccinated three times intranasally (i.n.) with 10 microg of purified influenza B/Panama virus surface antigens (PSAs), which consist of hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA), either alone or admixed with chitosan or gellan solutions. Separate groups were vaccinated subcutaneously (s.c.) with PSAs adsorbed to Alhydrogel or chitosan or gellan alone i.n. Serum antibody responses were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for influenza virus-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) and by HA inhibition (HAI) and NA inhibition (NAI) assays. The local respiratory immune response was measured by assaying for influenza virus-specific IgA antibody in nasal secretions and by enumerating nasal and pulmonary lymphocytes secreting IgA, IgG, and IgM anti-influenza virus-specific antibodies by enzyme-linked immunospotting (ELISPOT). When administered alone i.n., B/Panama PSA was poorly immunogenic. Parenteral immunization with B/Panama PSA with Alhydrogel elicited high titers of anti-B/Panama antibodies in serum but a very poor respiratory anti-B/Panama IgA response. In contrast, i.n. immunization with PSA plus chitosan stimulated very strong local and systemic anti-B/Panama responses. Gellan also enhanced the local and serum antibody responses to i.n. PSA but not to the same extent as chitosan. The ability of chitosan to augment the immunogenicity of influenza vaccines given i.n. was confirmed using PSA prepared from an influenza A virus (A/Texas H1N1).

Comparison of abilities of Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium aroA aroD and aroA htrA mutants to act as live vectors

We compared the ability of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium SL1344 aroA aroD (BRD509) and aroA htrA (BRD807) mutants to act as live vectors for delivery of fragment C of tetanus toxin (FrgC). FrgC was expressed in these strains from either pTETnir15 or pTEThtrA1. BRD509FrgC(+) strains elicited approximately 2-log-higher serum anti-FrgC antibody titers than BRD807FrgC(+) strains. All mice immunized with BRD807pTEThtrA1, BRD509pTEThtrA1, and BRD509pTETnir15 (but not BRD807pTETnir15) were protected against tetanus.

Modulation of hippocampal excitability and seizures by galanin

Previous studies have shown that the expression of the neuropeptide galanin in the hippocampus is altered by seizures and that exogenous administration of galanin into the hippocampus attenuates seizure severity. To address the role of endogenous galanin in modulation of hippocampal excitability and its possible role in seizure mechanisms, we studied two types of transgenic mice: mice with a targeted disruption of the galanin gene (GalKO) and mice that overexpress the galanin gene under a dopamine-beta-hydroxylase promoter (GalOE). GalKO mice showed increased propensity to develop status epilepticus after perforant path stimulation or systemic kainic acid, as well as greater severity of pentylenetetrazol-induced convulsions. By contrast, GalOE mice had increased resistance to seizure induction in all three models. Physiological tests of hippocampal excitability revealed enhanced perforant path-dentate gyrus long-term potentiation (LTP) in GalKO and reduced LTP in GalOE. GalKO showed increased duration of afterdischarge (AD) evoked from the dentate gyrus by perforant path simulation, whereas GalOE had increased threshold for AD induction. Depolarization-induced glutamate release from hippocampal slices was greater in GalKO and lower in GalOE, suggesting that alterations of physiological and seizure responses in galanin transgenic animals may be mediated through modulation of glutamate release. Our data provide further evidence that hippocampal galanin acts as an endogenous anticonvulsant and suggest that genetically induced changes in galanin expression modulate both hippocampal excitability and predisposition to epileptic seizures.

Galanin knockout mice reveal nociceptive deficits following peripheral nerve injury

The neuropeptide galanin has been identified as a potential neurotransmitter/neuromodulator within the central nervous system. In the present study, the role of endogenous galanin in nociceptive processing in the nervous system has been analysed by using mice carrying a targeted mutation in the galanin gene. Supporting this, the effect of chronic administration of exogenous galanin on nociceptive sensory inputs has been assayed in adult rats. In the absence of peripheral nerve injury, the sensitivity to threshold noxious stimuli is significantly higher in galanin mutant mice than wild-type controls. Following peripheral nerve injury, in conditions under which endogenous galanin levels are elevated, spontaneous and evoked neuropathic pain behaviours are compromised in mutant mice. Conversely, chronic intrathecal delivery of exogenous galanin to nerve-intact adult rats is associated with persistent behavioural hypersensitivity, a significant increase in c-fos expression and an increase in PKCgamma immunoreactivity within the spinal cord dorsal horn. The present results demonstrate that a relationship exists between the degree of nerve injury-induced galanin expression and the degree of behavioural hypersensitivity, and show that galanin may play a role in nociceptive processing in the spinal cord, with interrelated inhibitory and excitatory effects.

Prior immunity to homologous and heterologous Salmonella serotypes suppresses local and systemic anti-fragment C antibody responses and protection from tetanus toxin in mice immunized with Salmonella strains expressing fragment C

We have investigated the effect of preexisting immunity to homologous (Salmonella typhimurium) or heterologous (S. dublin) serotypes of Salmonella on the ability of an attenuated S. typhimurium aroA aroD vector (BRD509) to immunize mice against the heterologous antigen fragment C (FrgC). We studied two strains, BRD847 and BRD937, expressing FrgC carried on plasmids that differ only with respect to the promoter controlling FrgC expression, the nirB promoter in the case of BRD847 and the htrA promoter in the case of BRD937. Mice were preimmunized orally with S. typhimurium BRD509, S. dublin aroA aroD (BRD620), or saline. Forty-four days later, they were immunized orally with BRD847 or BRD937. Prior immunity to S. typhimurium severely depressed the serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgA anti-FrgC response in both BRD847- and BRD937-immunized mice. Mice with existing immunity to S. dublin also had lower IgG anti-FrgC geometric mean titers (GMTs) than did mice preimmunized with saline, but this difference was significant only in the case of mice immunized with BRD937. However, in nonimmune mice or in mice preimmunized with S. typhimurium or S. dublin, the anti-FrgC IgG GMTs were always higher in mice in the BRD937 groups than in the equivalent BRD847 groups. This is reflected in the effect of prior immunity on the ability of oral immunization with BRD847 or BRD937 to protect mice from challenge with a lethal dose of tetanus toxin. All of the mice preimmunized with saline and then immunized with BRD847 or BRD937 survived challenge. Only 20% of the animals immunized with BRD847 and 60% of the mice in the BRD937 group survived tetanus toxin challenge if they were preimmunized with BRD509. Preexisting immunity to S. dublin did not affect the ability of BRD937 to immunize mice against tetanus, but it did reduce the efficiency of BRD847: only 60% percent of the mice survived challenge. The intestinal secretory IgA responses to FrgC were very similar in the BRD847 and BRD937 groups. Prior immunity did depress the IgA anti-FrgC titers but only significantly so in the mice preimmunized with BRD509. These results show that preexisting Salmonella immunity, particularly to homologous serotypes, can severely compromise the ability of live Salmonella vectors to deliver heterologous antigens to the mammalian immune system. However, the results also indicate that this may be overcome by the design of more powerful in vivo expression systems.

T-cell and antibody response characterisation of a new recombinant pre-S1, pre-S2 and SHBs antigen-containing hepatitis B vaccine; demonstration of superior anti-SHBs antibody induction in responder mice

The incidence of non-responders to hepatitis B (HB) virus SHBs antigen (Ag) vaccines has prompted the development of pre-S containing vaccines. The aim of this study was to characterise the murine immune response to a novel recombinant particle (Hepagene) (Medeva plc) containing pre-S1, pre-S2 and SHBsAg components. Hepagene induced potent in vitro spleen T-cell proliferative responses in both BALB/c (maximum stimulation index (SI) = 38) and SWR/J (maximum SI = 43) strains of mouse, following immunisation. High concentrations of interferon-gamma and low concentrations of interleukin-10 were detected in the media of spleen cells stimulated with Hepagene. The anti-Hepagene antibody response was higher in SWR/J mice and alhydrogel adjuvant significantly improved the titres. Anti-pre-S1 antibody was detected in both strains of mouse, whereas antipre-S2 antibody was only detected in SWR/J mice. IgG subclass analysis of the anti-Hepagene response revealed a Th2-type response in BALB/c mice and a mixed Th1/Th2 response in SWR/J mice. Hepagene induced higher anti-SHBs antibody responses than Engerix-B (11097 and 1276 IU/ml, respectively) in BALB/c mice. Hepagene therefore, stimulates strong cellular and humoral immune responses in murine models. The high anti-SHBs antibody response suggests that Hepagene is an improved hepatitis B virus vaccine.

The alternative sigma factor, sigmaE, is critically important for the virulence of Salmonella typhimurium

In Escherichia coli, extracytoplasmic stress is partially controlled by the alternative sigma factor, RpoE (sigmaE). In response to environmental stress or alteration in the protein content of the cell envelope, sigmaE upregulates the expression of a number of genes, including htrA. It has been shown that htrA is required for intramacrophage survival and virulence in Salmonella typhimurium. To investigate whether sigmaE-regulated genes other than htrA are involved in salmonella virulence, we inactivated the rpoE gene of S. typhimurium SL1344 by allelic exchange and compared the phenotype of the mutant (GVB311) in vitro and in vivo with its parent and an isogenic htrA mutant (BRD915). Unlike E. coli, sigmaE is not required for the growth and survival of S. typhimurium at high temperatures. However, GVB311 did display a defect in its ability to utilize carbon sources other than glucose. GVB311 was more sensitive to hydrogen peroxide, superoxide, and antimicrobial peptides than SL1344 and BRD915. Although able to invade both macrophage and epithelial cell lines normally, the rpoE mutant was defective in its ability to survive and proliferate in both cell lines. The effect of the rpoE mutation on the intracellular behavior of S. typhimurium was greater than that of the htrA mutation. Both GVB311 and BRD915 were highly attenuated in mice. Neither strain was able to kill mice via the oral route, and the 50% lethal dose (LD50) for both strains via the intravenous (i.v.) route was very high. The i.v. LD50s for SL1344, BRD915, and GVB311 were <10, 5.5 x 10(5), and 1.24 x 10(7) CFU, respectively. Growth in murine tissues after oral and i.v. inoculation was impaired for both the htrA and rpoE mutant, with the latter mutant being more severely affected. Neither mutant was able to translocate successfully from the Peyer's patches to other organs after oral infection or to proliferate in the liver and spleen after i.v. inoculation. However, the htrA mutant efficiently colonized the livers and spleens of mice infected i.v., but the rpoE mutant did not. Previous studies have shown that salmonella htrA mutants are excellent live vaccines. In contrast, oral immunization of mice with GVB311 was unable to protect any of the mice from oral challenge with SL1344. Furthermore, i.v. immunization with a large dose ( approximately 10(6) CFU) of GVB311 protected less than half of the orally challenged mice. Thus, our results indicate that genes in the sigmaE regulon other than htrA play a critical role in the virulence and immunogenicity of S. typhimurium.

Characterization of the T- and B-cell immune response to a new recombinant pre-S1, pre-S2 and SHBs antigen containing hepatitis B vaccine (Hepagene); evidence for superior anti-SHBs antibody induction in responder mice

Hepagene is a novel recombinant particle consisting of the pre-S1, pre-S2 and small surface (SHBs) antigens (Ag) of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and is adjuvanted with alhydrogel in the final formulation. It has been primarily developed to enhance anti-SHBs antibody titres in inadequate responders, to conventional SHBsAg vaccines. Since non-compliance is also a problem with existing HBV vaccine schedules, the ability to accelerate current immunization regimens to provide more rapid protection has also been an important objective. Here we describe the T- and B-cell responses to Hepagene in two strains of responder mouse (BALB/c and SWR/J). Hepagene induced high in vitro spleen T-cell proliferative responses in both strains (max. Stimulation Index = 43), following intraperitoneal immunization. High concentrations of interferon-gamma (max. = 5000 pg/mL) were detected in the media of spleen cells cultured with non-adjuvanted Hepagene particles. SWR/J mice showed the highest serum antibody (Ab) titres to non-adjuvanted Hepagene. The presence of alhydrogel adjuvant in the vaccine formulation significantly improved the titres. Anti-pre-S1 Ab was detected in both strains of mouse but anti-pre-S2 Ab was only detected in the SWR/J strain. In BALB/c mice, the anti-Hepagene (non-adjuvanted) IgG1 Ab subclass was predominant but in SWR/J mice IgG1, IgG2a and IgG2b subclasses were of a similar magnitude. In BALB/c mice, Hepagene induced higher anti-SHBs Ab responses than Engerix-B (11097 IU/mL and 1276 IU/mL, respectively), following two doses of vaccine (10 micrograms/mouse). The vaccine therefore, induces strong cellular and humoral immune responses and these data suggest that Hepagene is an improved hepatitis B vaccine.

Galanin regulates prolactin release and lactotroph proliferation

The neuropeptide galanin is predominantly expressed by the lactotrophs (the prolactin secreting cell type) in the rodent anterior pituitary and in the median eminence and paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. Prolactin and galanin colocalize in the same secretory granule, the expression of both proteins is extremely sensitive to the estrogen status of the animal. The administration of estradiol-17beta induces pituitary hyperplasia followed by adenoma formation and causes a 3,000-fold increase in the galanin mRNA content of the lactotroph. To further study the role of galanin in prolactin release and lactotroph growth we now report the generation of mice carrying a loss-of-function mutation of the endogenous galanin gene. There is no evidence of embryonic lethality and the mutant mice grow normally. The specific endocrine abnormalities identified to date, relate to the expression of prolactin. Pituitary prolactin message levels and protein content of adult female mutant mice are reduced by 30-40% compared with wild-type controls. Mutant females fail to lactate and pups die of starvation/dehydration unless fostered onto wild-type mothers. Prolactin secretion in mutant females is markedly reduced at 7 days postpartum compared with wild-type controls with an associated failure in mammary gland maturation. There is an almost complete abrogation of the proliferative response of the lactotroph to high doses of estrogen, with a failure to up-regulate prolactin release, STAT5 expression or to increase pituitary cell number. These data further support the hypothesis that galanin acts as a paracrine regulator of prolactin expression and as a growth factor to the lactotroph.

Oral vaccination against tetanus: comparison of the immunogenicities of Salmonella strains expressing fragment C from the nirB and htrA promoters

We have found the in vivo-regulated nirB promoter (PnirB) to be effective for directing expression of a number of antigens in salmonella in vivo. We wished to determine if other in vivo-regulated promoters have utility for antigen expression in salmonella and to compare the effectiveness of these promoters with that of PnirB. To this end, we have devised a scheme that allows the promoter element of the PnirB-fragment C plasmid pTETnir15 to be swapped with other promoters of interest. We demonstrate the usefulness of this system by replacing PnirB with PhtrA to create plasmid pTEThtrA1. htrA is a stress response gene that is required for virulence of salmonella in mice and survival within macrophages. Expression of fragment C in Salmonella typhimurium BRD509 (aroA aroD) harboring pTEThtrA1 (strain BRD937) correlated with growth temperature in vitro. A comparison was made of the immune responses to fragment C elicited in mice immunized orally with BRD937 or BRD847 (BRD509/pTETnir15) or subcutaneously with purified fragment C plus alhydrogel. High levels of anti-fragment C antibodies that persisted for at least 12 weeks were present in all groups of mice. Vaccination with BRD937 was the most effective means of immunization: the serum immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgA, and IgM anti-fragment C titers were higher in the BRD937-immunized mice throughout the duration of the study than in mice in the other groups. The kinetics of the serum anti-fragment C responses were different in different groups. The response was most rapid in the BRD937 group, with the titers almost at peak levels at 2 weeks postimmunization. Only the mice immunized with BRD937 or BRD847 developed an intestinal IgA response to fragment C. Again, the response was superior in the BRD937 group. The peak of the intestinal response was delayed with respect to the serum response. Analysis of the IgG subtype response to fragment C revealed a dominant IgG2a response in the salmonella-immunized mice, indicating a type 1 helper T-cell response to fragment C, whereas the major subtype in the group parenterally immunized with fragment C plus alhydrogel was IgG1. The IgG1/IgG2a ratio was much higher in sera of BRD937-immunized mice than in sera of BRD847-immunized mice. At 15 to 20 weeks after immunization, the mice immunized with BRD937 or BRD847 were solidly immune to tetanus toxin and salmonella. The immune responses to fragment C seen in mice immunized with BRD937 are the strongest we have observed and indicate that the htrA promoter may be very useful for expressing foreign antigens in salmonella vaccine strains.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha decreases surfactant protein B mRNA in murine lung

Respiratory failure secondary to acute lung inflammation is associated with quantitative and qualitative abnormalities of pulmonary surfactant. The surfactant-associated proteins (SP)-A, -B, and -C are critical for normal surfactant function, synthesis, and metabolism. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), a primary mediator of acute lung inflammation, decreased SP gene expression in vitro (32, 34). In the present in vivo study, transient T cell activation and TNF-alpha release were initiated by intraperitoneal administration of anti-CD3 antibody 145-2C11. Serum TNF-alpha was elevated 2 h after injection of the antibody. SP-B and -C mRNA were decreased 12 and 24 h after antibody treatment. Intratracheal murine TNF-alpha also resulted in decreased SP-B and SP-C mRNA levels in the bronchiolar and alveolar epithelium of adult FVB/N mice, as demonstrated by S1 nuclease protection and in situ hybridization assays, despite minimal histological inflammation. SP-A mRNA was not significantly altered after anti-CD3 antibody and was only mildly decreased after TNF-alpha. As previously reported, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 mRNA was elevated after intratracheal TNF-alpha. SP insufficiency contributes to the pathogenesis of pulmonary diseases associated with increased TNF-alpha, such as adult respiratory distress syndrome and pneumonia (8). TNF-alpha-mediated decrease in SP gene expression may contribute to the surfactant dysfunction and atelectasis observed in inflammatory lung diseases.

A mutant pertussis toxin molecule that lacks ADP-ribosyltransferase activity, PT-9K/129G, is an effective mucosal adjuvant for intranasally delivered proteins

We examined the capacity of a genetically detoxified derivative of pertussis toxin (PTX), PT-9K/129G, to act as a mucosal adjuvant for an intranasally (i.n.) administered tetanus vaccine. Groups of mice were immunized i.n. with the nontoxic C-terminal 50-kDa portion of tetanus toxin (fragment C [Frg C]) either alone or mixed with PT-9K/129G, PTX, or cholera toxin (CT) or were immunized subcutaneously (s.c.) with an equivalent amount of Frg C adsorbed to alhydrogel. In response to a single immunization, mice receiving Frg C plus PT-9K/129G or CT i.n. and parenterally immunized mice developed high-titer (> 20,000) anti-Frg C antibodies, whereas mice immunized i.n. with Frg C plus PTX or with Frg C alone seroconverted only after being boosted. The serum anti-Frg C response was dominated by immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) in mice immunized with Frg C plus PT-9K/129G, with Frg C plus PTX, or s.c. In contrast, IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG2b contributed almost equally to the Frg C response when CT was the adjuvant. Anti-Frg C IgE was detected only in the sera of mice immunized i.n. with Frg C plus PTX and immunized s.c. with Frg C plus alhydrogel. High levels of IgA antibodies were present in nasal lavage fluid from mice immunized i.n. with Frg C plus PT-9K/129G, PTX, or CT but not in that from mice given Frg C alone i.n. or parenterally. The mucosal adjuvanticity of PT-9K/129G was manifested in inbred as well as outbred mice. A single i.n. dose of Frg C plus either PT-9K/129G or PTX (with high specific activity) was sufficient to protect all immunized mice from tetanus toxin challenge, in contrast to the case for mice that received Frg C alone i.n. We conclude that the pertussis toxin analog PT-9K/129G, which is devoid of ADP-ribosyltransferase activity, is a potent mucosal adjuvant for vaccines delivered via the respiratory tract.