Geoglossomycetes cl. nov., Geoglossales ord. nov. and taxa above class rank in the Ascomycota Tree of Life

Featuring a high level of taxon sampling across Ascomycota, we evaluate a multi-gene phylogeny and propose a novel order and class in Ascomycota. We describe two new taxa, Geoglossomycetes and Geoglossales, to host three earth tongue genera: Geoglossum, Trichoglossum and Sarcoleotia as a lineage of 'Leotiomyceta'. Correspondingly, we confirm that these genera are not closely related to the genera Neolecta, Mitrula, Cudonia, Microglossum, Thuemenidum, Spathularia and Bryoglossum, all of which have been previously placed within the Geoglossaceae. We also propose a non-hierarchical system for naming well-resolved nodes, such as 'Saccharomyceta', 'Dothideomyceta', and 'Sordariomyceta' for supraordinal nodes, within the current phylogeny, acting as rankless taxa. As part of this revision, the continued use of 'Leotiomyceta', now as a rankless taxon, is proposed.

Cloning and characterization of a pyridoxine 5'-phosphate oxidase from silkworm, Bombyx mori

A cDNA encoding Pyridoxine 5'-phosphate oxidase (PNPO) from Bombyx mori was cloned and characterized (GenBank accession number: DQ452398). The cDNA encodes a polypeptide of 257 amino acid residues. The recombinant enzyme purified from Escherichia coli exhibited maximal activity at pH 9.0, and the K(m) values for the substrates of pyridoxine 5'-phosphate and pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate were determined as 0.65 and 1.15 micromol/l. It was found that B. mori PNPO shares 51.44% homology with humans, but several function-related, key amino acid residues in B. mori PNPO are different from the human and E. Coli gene. B. mori has a single copy of the PNPO gene, which spans a 3.5 kb region and contains five exons and four introns. B. mori PNPO is a homodimer, with each monomer containing nine antiparallel beta-strands and five alpha-helical segments. The secondary structure was deduced from computational study.

HLA class I allele and haplotype diversity in Ugandans supports the presence of a major east African genetic cluster

The objective of this study was to characterize the class I human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genetic composition of the Ugandan population to better define its relationship with other African groups. Samples from 175 individuals from Kampala (Uganda) were subjected to class I HLA-A, -B, and -C sequence-based typing. The high concordance between the major alleles and haplotypes found in the current and Kenyan populations and interpopulation genetic distance analysis strongly supported the presence of an East African cluster that contained the current Ugandan population along with Kenyan Luo and Nandi populations. The congruence of major alleles in different populations would permit consideration of East Africa as an integrated setting when designing and evaluating much needed malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS vaccines.

Serum bilirubin levels on ICU admission are associated with ARDS development and mortality in sepsis

BACKGROUND

Hyperbilirubinaemia is a common complication of sepsis. Elevated bilirubin may induce inflammation and apoptosis. It was hypothesised that increased serum bilirubin on Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission contributes to sepsis-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

METHODS

Serum bilirubin on ICU admission was measured in 1006 patients with sepsis. Serial serum bilirubin was analysed prospectively in patients with sepsis who had ARDS for a period of 28 days. The effects of clinical factors and variants of the UGT1A1 gene on serum bilirubin levels were determined. Outcomes were ARDS risk and mortality.

RESULTS

During 60-day follow-up, 326 patients with sepsis developed ARDS, of whom 144 died from ARDS. The hyperbilirubinaemia (>or=2.0 mg/dl) rate in patients with ARDS (22.4%) was higher than in those without ARDS (14.1%, p = 0.002). For each 1.0 mg/dl increase in admission bilirubin, ARDS risk and 28- and 60-day ARDS mortalities were increased by 7% (OR = 1.07; p = 0.003), 20% (OR = 1.20; p = 0.002) and 18% (OR = 1.18; p = 0.004), respectively. Compared with subjects with bilirubin levels <2.0 mg/dl, patients with hyperbilirubinaemia had higher risks of ARDS (OR = 2.12; p = 0.0007) and 28-day (OR = 2.24; p = 0.020) and 60-day ARDS mortalities (OR = 2.09; p = 0.020). In sepsis-related ARDS, serial bilirubin levels in non-survivors were consistently higher than in survivors (p<0.0001). Clinical variables explained 29.5% of the interindividual variation in bilirubin levels, whereas genetic variants of UGT1A1 contributed 7.5%.

CONCLUSION

In sepsis, a higher serum bilirubin level on ICU admission is associated with subsequent ARDS development and mortality.

The correlation between the expression of ABH and Lewis A histo-blood group antigens and the biological behavior of primary pulmonary adenocarcinoma

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Objective: To investigate the correlation between the expression of ABH and Lewis A histo-blood group antigens and the differentiation, tumorigenesis, progression, metastasis and prognosis of primary pulmonary adenocarcinoma. Methods: The expression of ABH and Lewis A histo-blood group antigens were detected in normal tissue (n=30), primary adenocarcinoma (n=103) and corresponding metastatic lesion (n=41) with immunohistochemistry S-P method. Results: The positive expression of A, B, H antigens was found in normal corresponding pulmonary tissue. While in cancer tissue, such expression was absent. The absence in poorly differentiated tumor was significantly higher than in moderate and highly differentiated cell (P<0.001). And the absent expression was statistically higher in tumor with metastasis than in without metastasis (P=0.036),higher in N2 than in N1 group, higher in secondary tumor in than primary focus(P=0.008).There was significantly statistical difference on the absent expression rates among normal pulmonary tissue, primary tumor and metastatic tumor (P<0.001), and having a tendency of increased absence rate. The expression of Lewis A antigen was markedly higher in pulmonary adenocarcinoma than in normal tissue (P=0.024). Concerning Lewis A expression, the significant difference was found in Stage I,II and III+IV cancers (P=0.001), while the positive expression rate in advanced cancer (StageII+III+IV) was remarkably higher than in early cancer (Stage I) . The 5-year survival of positive expression of ABH antigen was 25%, higher than that in negative expression group (P<0.0001). The 5-year survival in positive expression of Lewis A antigen was 7%, lower than in negative group (P=0.0002). Conclusions: The absence of ABH antigen is closely correlated with tumorigenesis, poor differentiation, and metastasis of primary adenocarcinoma. The detection of ABH, Lewis A antigen may be of vital significance for the prognosis.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) gene polymorphism, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) risk

11029

Background: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of key cancer genes, such as EGF A61G, are associated with an elevated risk of EAC, but the lack of full penetrance indicates that the effects of these SNPs on esophageal carcinogenesis are modified by additional genetic or environmental variables. Since GERD is an established risk factor for EAC, we evaluated whether the association between EGF polymorphism and EAC development is altered by the presence of GERD. Methods: EGF genotyping of DNA samples was performed and GERD history was collected for 309 EAC patients and 275 matched healthy controls. Associations between genotypes and EAC risk were examined with adjusted logistic regression. Genotype-GERD relationships were explored using analyses stratified by GERD history and joint effects models that considered severity and duration of GERD symptoms. Results: Baseline characteristics were comparable between cases and controls except that EGF variants (A/G or G/G) were more common (p=0.02) and GERD was more prevalent (p<0.001) in cases than in controls. When compared to the EGF wild type A/A genotype, the G/G variant was associated with an increased risk of EAC (OR 1.9; 95% CI, 1.2–3.0; p=0.007). Stratified analyses revealed that the G/G variant contributed to a substantial increase in EAC risk among individuals with GERD, but a slight decrease in risk for GERD-free individuals (see table). In the joint effects models, the odds of EAC was also highest for G/G patients who either experienced frequent GERD of more than once per week (OR 21.8; 95% CI, 5.1–94.0; p<0.001) or suffered GERD for longer than 15 years (OR 22.4; 95% CI, 6.5–77.6; p<0.001). There was a highly significant interaction between the G/G genotype and the presence of GERD (p<0.001). Conclusions: EGF A61G polymorphism exerts its effect on EAC susceptibility through an interaction with GERD. Performing EGF genotyping for patients with severe or longstanding GERD can help to identify individuals at the greatest risk of EAC. [Table: see text]

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Effect of metronomic use of zoledronic acid (ZOL) on antitumor and antiosteoclastic effects in breast cancer patients with bone metastasis

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Background: Zoledronic acid (ZOL) can reduce the risk of skeletal-related events (SREs) and may have direct and indirect antitumor effects, which have been shown in animal models, pilot clinical studies as well as in recent phase III randomized trials. However, the pharmacokinetics of the drug in breast cancer patients remains to be elucidated and optimized. The purpose of this randomized study was to compare the effects of ZOL on osteoclasts and angiogenesis between a weekly low-dose versus a conventional dosage. Methods: Sixty breast cancer patients with bone metastases were recruited in this randomized phase II clinical study. The participants either received ZOL 1mg IV weekly for 4 doses or a single dose of ZOL 4mg IV. No other antitumor treatments were administered. During the first month after initial infusion of ZOL, serial blood samples were collected on day 1, 15 and 29 measuring markers for bone resorption (NTx), angiogenesis (VEGF), and tumor burden (CEA and CA15–3). Results: Compared to a single-dose administration, weekly low dose of ZOL resulted in a greater reduction in serum levels of VEGF and NTx, with a significant trend over time during one month observation. There were no statistically significant differences in circulating levels of CEA and CA15–3 between the two dosing regimens. Patients who received metronomic ZOL had a longer median time to disease progression (TTP) (7.0 months, 95%CI, 6.1–7.9 months) than those who had a single dose of ZOL (2.8 months, 95%CI, 0–5.7 months; p=0.076). Conclusions: The metronomic use of low-dose ZOL 1 mg appeared to be more effective than the conventional regimen in the long-lasting reduction of VEGF and NTx, and in prolonging TTP. This dosing schedule should be further assessed in phase III trials as we demonstrated that ZOL 1mg has greater antitumor properties in our study.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Interlaboratory assay reproducibility study for loss of heterozygosity on chromosome 18 (18q LOH) in colon cancer

4052

Background: 18q LOH may be a useful marker in stage II colon carcinoma to assess who needs adjuvant chemotherapy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the intra- and inter-laboratory reproducibility of an assay for 18q LOH that is similar to the integral assay used in E5202, the current Intergroup phase III stage II colon carcinoma clinical trial. Methods: Specimens from 130 stage II/III colon cancer patients were obtained from the Cooperative Human Tissue Network and evaluated at three different laboratories. Samples were divided into subsamples, coded and distributed. Each laboratory used similar equipment in an established PCR protocol with 5 dinucleotide repeats. Starting materials used both histologic sections and extracted DNA samples of tumor and non-neoplastic tissue obtained only by scalpel microdissection. LOH was defined as tumor/normal peak ratio that was >1.35 or <0.67 without microsatellite instability (MSI). Tumors were categorized as either MSI+, LOH + or -, uninformative/monoallelic, or unevaluable (DNA not amplifiable). Standard tests assessed reproducibility of both the numerical ratios and the tumor 18q LOH status. Results: Sample quality issues prevented analysis of 13 tumors (10%). The frequency of 18q LOH was 64%. The probability of agreement on the same tumor evaluated twice was 92% (Cohen's kappa 0.83). Intra-class correlation coefficients for individual markers were consistently over 0.90. Tissue specimens must have high (>85%) tumor cell content for reproducibility. Differences among patients affected reproducibility much more than effects of laboratory and sample type (DNA vs. histologic section). Conclusions: This study validates reproducibility of the 18q LOH assay for both clinical categorization of status and numerical ratios if samples are high quality and appropriate for scalpel microdissection.

[Table: see text]

Prevalence of human respiratory viruses in adults with acute respiratory tract infections in Beijing, 2005-2007

To determine the aetiological role and epidemiological profile of common respiratory viruses in adults with acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs), a 2-year study was conducted in Beijing, China, from May 2005 to July 2007. Nose and throat swab samples from 5808 ARTI patients were analysed by PCR methods for common respiratory viruses, including influenza viruses (IFVs) A, B, and C, parainfluenza viruses (PIVs) 1-4, enteroviruses (EVs), human rhinoviruses (HRVs), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus (HMPV), human coronaviruses (HCoVs) OC43, 229E, NL63, and HKU1, and adenoviruses (ADVs). Viral pathogens were detected in 34.6% of patient samples, and 1.6% of the patients tested positive for more than one virus. IFVs (19.3%) were the dominant agents detected, followed by HRVs (6.5%), PIVs (4.3%), EVs (3.2%), and HCoVs (1.1%). ADVs, RSV and HMPV were also detected (<1%). The viral detection rates differed significantly between infections of the lower and upper respiratory tracts in the sample population: PIVs, the second most commonly detected viral agents in lower acute respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), were more prevalent than in upper acute respiratory tract infections, indicating that the pathogenic role of PIVs in LRTIs should be investigated. Currently, this study is the largest-scale investigation of respiratory virus infections in China with multiple agent detection, providing baseline data for further studies of respiratory virus infections in adults with ARTIs.

Learning brain connectivity with the false-discovery-rate-controlled PC-algorithm

Discovering the connectivity networks in the brain, i.e. the neural influence that brain regions exert over one another, has attracted increasing research attention in studies on brain functions. An important error rate criterion on the discovered network is the false discovery rate (FDR), that is the expected ratio of the falsely 'discovered' connections to all those 'discovered'. Very recently, we have developed an algorithm that is able to control the FDR under a given level q at the limit of large sample size, and its modification that controlled the FDR accurately in simulations with moderate sample sizes [1]. However, the algorithms do not consider prior knowledge on the network structure, and can not be applied to models such as dynamic Bayesian networks. In this paper, we extend the algorithms to incorporate prior knowledge, and demonstrate how to apply the extended algorithm to learning the structure of dynamic Bayesian networks from continuous data. Its application to a real functional-Magnetic-Resonance-Imaging (fMRI) data set revealed that Parkinson's disease patients' brain connectivities are normalized by L-dopa medication. This result is consistent with the fact that L-dopa has dramatic effects against bradykinesia and rigidity.

Clinicopathological characteristics of familial SLE patients with lupus nephritis

This study aimed to analyze the clinicopathological characteristics of familial SLE patients with lupus nephritis (LN). A total of 136 Chinese patients with lupus nephritis diagnosed by renal biopsy, including 34 familial patients and 102 sporadic cases, were recruited. Their demographic information, age of onset, disease duration, clinical features, laboratory data and histological manifestations were compared. The first-degree relatives (17 sibling cases and eight parent-offspring cases) of familial SLE patients were primarily affected. The prevalence of fever, rash and arthritis in familial subjects was higher than that in sporadic subjects. Familial patients had lower platelet counts and higher low-density lipoprotein. In familial patients, class V lupus nephritis was less common. After adjusted with the Benjamini and Hochberg procedure, however, fever was the only feature occurring significantly and more frequently in familial patients (58.8% vs 26.5%, P = 0.001). Moreover, SLEDAI and other clinicopathological features did not differ significantly between the two groups. Multivariate analysis showed that a higher prevalence of fever was an independent predictor of familial SLE. Most clinicopathological features in familial SLE patients were not significantly different from those in sporadic patients; the severity of LN in familial SLE patients was similar to that of sporadic cases. Thus, familial SLE may not be a different clinical entity.