A chimeric influenza virus vaccine expressing fusion protein epitopes induces protection from human metapneumovirus challenge in mice

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a common virus associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome in pediatric patients. There are no HMPV vaccines or therapeutics that have been approved for prevention or treatment. In this study, we constructed a novel recombinant influenza virus carrying partial HMPV fusion protein (HMPV-F), termed rFLU-HMPV/F-NS, utilizing reverse genetics, which contained (HMPV-F) in the background of NS segments of influenza virus A/PuertoRico/8/34(PR8). The morphological characteristics of rFLU-HMPV/F-NS were consistent with the wild-type flu virus. Additionally, immunofluorescence results showed that fusion proteins in the chimeric rFLU-HMPV/F-NS could work well, and the virus could be stably passaged in SPF chicken embryos. Furthermore, intranasal immunization with rFLU-HMPV/F-NS in BALB/c mice induced robust humoral, mucosal and Th1-type dominant cellular immune responses in vivo. More importantly, we discovered that rFLU-HMPV/F-NS afforded significant protective efficacy against the wild-type HMPV and influenza virus challenge, with significantly attenuated pathological changes and reduced viral titers in the lung tissues of immunized mice. Collectively, these findings demonstrated that chimeric recombinant rFLU-HMPV/F-NS as a promising HMPV candidate vaccine has potentials for the development of HMPV vaccine.

Changes of mercury and methylmercury content and mercury methylation in Suaeda salsa soil under different salinity

In this paper, we studied the changes of Hg and MeHg contents in Liaohe estuarine Suaeda salsa soils under anaerobic conditions by simulated indoor incubation at constant temperature and whether the changes of salinity (CK, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%) affected SRB and dominated the formation of MeHg. The lowest Hg content is found in the subsurface Suaeda salsa soils at 2.0% salinity. The MeHg content in the soil also showed a general trend of increasing and then decreasing with increasing flooding salinity, and the MeHg content was higher at 0.5-1.0% flooding salinity. SRB was present in the soil under all salinity conditions and reached the maximum value at 15 days of incubation. The SRB content was higher under CK, S1 and S2 conditions, and the soil MeHg content showed a significant positive correlation with the number of SRB bacteria, indicating that the formation of MeHg was related to SRB which is of great significance to the study of estuarine wetlands.

Heterostructured TiO2@HKUST-1 for the enhanced removal of methylene blue by integrated adsorption and photocatalytic degradation

Aiming at exploring an effective photocatalytic adsorbent for organic dye removal, a series of heterostructured TiO₂@HKUST-1 photocatalysts, by incorporating HKUST-1 with different TiO₂ nanoparticles loading, were prepared by single-step hydrothermal method. The morphology and surface characteristics of the as-prepared TiO₂@HKUST-1were analyzed using SEM, HRTEM, XRD, FTIR, UV-vis DRS, and Photoluminescence techniques. The adsorption-photocatalytic degradation of the model dye methylene blue (MB) on the catalysts was investigated. It was indicated that the introduction of a certain amount of TiO₂ on the surface of HKUST-1 could improve the transfer and separation of the photogenerated charge carriers, resulting in the enhanced photocatalytic activity. The optimal 0.02TiO₂@HKUST-1 exhibited the highest MB removal rate with about 4.4 and 19.3 times as high MB removal efficiency as that of HKUST-1 and TiO₂, respectively. Heterostructured TiO₂@HKUST-1 materials for the removal of MB involved the integrated adsorption and visible light photocatalysis. Meanwhile, the composite exhibited good reusability in the process of cyclic experiments. Therefore, this work provides a potential MOF-based photocatalytic adsorbent for organic dye removal.

The Significance of Intraoperative First Metatarsal Traction Test in Hallux Valgus Surgical Decision Making

Category:

Bunion

Introduction/Purpose:

To investigate the significance of using an intraoperative first metatarsal traction test in hallux valgus correction surgery in decision making of the procedure choice and operation designs.

Methods:

From Jun 2015 to Jun 2016, correction surgery performed in patients with hallux valgus 40 cases with 68 feet. We used the intra-operative first metatarsal traction test to judge the grade of laxity of the 1st TMT and the factual IMA and thus help to make the decision of the level of osteotomy and or fusion. We adopted distal Chevon osteotomy (11 cases 16.2%) when the congruence of the surface of the 1st MPJ remains more than ½ under tension with the traction test. Proximal Scarf osteotomy (54 cases 79.4%) was used when the congruence was less than ½. While if there was a complete incongruent dislocation, Lapidus procedure (3 cases 4.4%) was carried out. We measured IMA and HVA in the patients preoperative, intraoperative, 3 days after operation and at 6 months’ follow-up. Same measurements were done on the 40 patients from the same time without traction test

Results:

Retrospective review of the 2 groups showing significant improvement (p<0.001) but more reliable larger correction of IMA angles in the intraoperative traction test group. The patients of the intraoperative traction test group had average higher satisfaction rate with more reliable improvement of symptoms and less postoperative complications. Significant improvement (P<0.001) and postoperative AOFAS score average of 93.2 was recorded in traction test method group vs. a 84.3 in control group. The traction test group largely retained the correction in half year follow up which is significant when comparing to the control

Conclusion:

The intraoperative traction test of first metatarsal objectively guided the decision making of procedure choice and operation design optimization. The traction test gave a reliable assessment of the laxity of first TMT thus avoiding inadequate correction of Hallux Valgus with improper surgical designs. The test can be potentially used as an objective intraoperative guidance in avoidance of inadequate correction with inappropriate surgical choices and thus maintain the correction in the long term with patient satisfaction

Enantioseparation of Three Important Intermediates of Tanikolide with Immobilized Cellulose Chiral Stationary Phase

Three stereoselective HPLC methods have been developed for the chiral separation of the enantiomers of three intermediates in the preparation of (+)-tanikolide. The enantiomers were separated on Chiralpak IC (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) in normal phase HPLC. Three intermediates were all baseline separated (RS = 2.84, 2.58 and 3.58, respectively). By comparing the chromatograms of racemates and single enantiomers of the three intermediates, the e.e. values of the single enantiomers were determined and calculated.

Abstract 4211: Detection and quantification of minoritary subclones of KRAS in metastatic colorectal cancers by digital microfluidics: therapeutic implications

KRAS mutations are associated with an absence of response to EGFR-targeting treatments in colorectal cancer. These therapies are restricted to patients with a KRAS wild type tumor but only 50% of these patients present an objective response. It has been recently demonstrated that secondary resistance was associated with appearance of a KRAS mutation. The presence of a low fraction of KRAS-mutated cells within tumors, not detectable by commonly used procedures, could explain these false negative and these secondary resistances.

To understand the importance of mutated subclones in the apparition of resistance to therapy targeting EGFR, a retrospective study including 95 patients with a metastatic colorectal cancer have been performed. All these patients, refractory to irinotecan were treated either with a combination of anti-EGFR and irinotecan or by anti-EGFR in monotherapy. These patients consisted of 54 men and 41 women with an average age of 62 years ± 11. Thirty-six patients were classified as responders according to RECIST criteria and 59 as non responders. Within this historitical serie, 27 patients were previously characterized as bearing a KRAS mutation by bulk Taqman analysis. DNA extracted from the tumors was analyzed by multiplex droplet-based microfluidics. This method, by segregating individual DNA molecules within million of aqueous microdroplets acting as independent microreactors, allows to perform precise quantitative experiments, for the 7 most frequent mutations of KRAS.

All tumors reported as bearing a mutated KRAS were detected as positives in droplets with proportions of mutated DNA from 10 to 64% (mean of 34,7% ± 17,9%). Two of them (KRAS G12D) were bearing additional subclones (KRAS G12V; KRAS G12S) detected only in droplets. With the 68 negative tumors, 18 were found positive in droplets with KRAS proportions from 0,013% to 86% (mean of 8.6% ± 20). Only 4 patients had a proportion of mutated DNA higher than 10% (86%, 24.5%, 12.7% and 10%), all presented low quantities of amplifiable DNA. We observed an inverse correlation between the proportion of mutated DNA and the frequency of anti-EGFR responses (P&lt; 0.03). The percentage of mutated DNA was 11.6% and 28,4% for responders and non-responders respectively. Survival free progression of patients was significantly different depending on the level of mutated DNA within the tumor. The survival free progression of patients with tumor presenting less than 5% of mutated KRAS was identical to the one of non mutated patients with both technics. HRs were of 0.54±0.2 NS, 3.1±0.9, (P&lt;0.001) 4.9±1.7 (P&lt;0.001) for patients with tumor containing less than 5%, between 5 and 25% or more than 25% of mutated DNA respectively. This work highlights the importance of a quantitative approach for detection of mutation of the KRAS oncogene.

Citation Format: Deniz Pekin, Corinne Normand, Steve Kotsopoulos, Li Xinyu, Leonor Benhaim, O. Bouche, T. Lecomte, D. Le Corre, T. Hor, Z. El Harrak, P. Nizard, D. LINK, B. HUTCHISON, P. LAURENT-PUIG, Valerie Taly. Detection and quantification of minoritary subclones of KRAS in metastatic colorectal cancers by digital microfluidics: therapeutic implications. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4211. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-4211

Triptolide inhibits IFN-γ signaling via the Jak/STAT pathway in HaCaT keratinocytes

Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) signaling in keratinocytes plays an important role in IFN-γ-mediated skin inflammation involved in psoriasis. Blocking IFN-γ signal transduction in keratinocytes could be a strategy for controlling inflammatory skin disorders. Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F. (T. wilfordii) has been used effectively in psoriasis treatment in China. Its therapeutic mechanism on IFN-γ-dependent inflammation has not been elucidated. Triptolide is one of main components of T. wilfordii's antiinflammatory and immune effects. This study aimed to explore the effects of triptolide on an rhIFN-γ-stimulated human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT) in culture. The expression of IFN-γ receptor α (IFN-γRα), phospho-Janus kinase2 (pJak2), phospho-signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (pSTAT1) and suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) was detected by western blotting. The expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) on the HaCaT cell surface was determined by cell-surface ELISA. The results demonstrated that triptolide inhibited the expression of IFN-γRα (IC₅₀  = 1.37 × 10⁻⁸ M), pJak2 (IC₅₀  = 2.82 × 10⁻⁹ M) and pSTAT1 (IC₅₀  = 1.29 × 10⁻⁹ M) in HaCaT cells. The expression of SOCS1 was up-regulated (ED₅₀  = 3.32 × 10⁻¹¹  M). Triptolide also significantly reduced the expression of ICAM-1 on the HaCaT cell surface (IC₅₀  = 5.82 × 10⁻¹⁰ M). This study suggests that triptolide may contribute to the therapeutic value of T. wilfordii by modulating the IFN-γ signal pathway in IFN-γ-dependent skin inflammatory diseases, including psoriasis.

A study on PCR for detecting infection with M. leprae

OBJECTIVE

So far, it has not been established a satisfactory method for early diagnosis and studying on epidemiology for leprosy, we want to develop a molecular biological method for solving this point.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Based on the M. leprae gene coding groEL, 65 kD and 16S rRNA, three polymerase chain reactions were developed by using Plikaytis', Woods' and Pattyn's procedures. It was optimized that the experimental parameters for each PCR, and a comparative study on practivity among three PCRs was also conducted for practical purpose.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

For detecting infection with M. leprae, all of PCRs established by us were highly sensitive and specific, but for practical purpose, the Woods' PCR optimized by us ought to be chosen firstly.