Role of novel microRNAs in immunological dysfunction associated with PTSD (117.13)

The immunological dysfunction in combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has not been understood. The current study aimed to evaluate the role of novel microRNAs (miRNAs) in immunological dysfunction associated with PTSD. Our studies demonstrated that both PBMC and CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood significantly increased in PTSD patients as compared with controls. Further studies showed that the percentage of IFN-γ producing Th1 cells was much higher in PTSD patients than normal donors. Multiple cytokine assays indicated that PBMC from PTSD patients produced more IL-1β, IL-2, IL-17, G-CSF and IFN-γ than those from controls. Our results demonstrate that PTSD is associated with proinflammatory response. High-throughput miRNA array hybridization analysis showed that several novel miRNAs such as miR-664 and miR-1291were significantly up-regulated, whereas miR-125a and miR-181c were dramatically down-regulated in PTSD patients. Real-time PCR confirmed that several of these miRNAs such as miR-125a and miR-181c significantly decreased in PTSD patients. Our further studies demonstrated that down-regulation of miR-125a may be responsible for increased IFN-γ production in PTSD patients. The results suggest that some novel miRNAs may play a role in immunological dysfunction associated with PTSD and such novel miRNAs may be used as biomarkers for diagnosis or as a therapeutic remedy for PTSD.

Effect of BCNU on myeloid-derived suppressor cells in anti-tumor immune response (66.20)

We attempted to understand if 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU) may prevent the generation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) during tumor growth and modulate anti-tumor immunity. After intraperitoneal injection of EL4 tumor cells into mice, tumor cells grew rapidly in the peritoneal cavity, and metastasized into liver and lung. Mice died around day 14 after tumor challenge. MDSCs appeared at day 7 and massive MDSCs accumulated in spleen, liver and lung at day 11. In vitro assay indicated that MDSCs from tumor-bearing mice significantly inhibited T cell proliferation and anti-tumor immune response. After mice received BCNU injection (20mg/kg body weight) at day 5, however, tumor cell growth was completely inhibited and all of mice survived after BCNU treatment and tumor challenge. FACS analysis showed that MDSC accumulation was completely inhibited in tumor-challenged mice after BCNU injection, suggesting that BCNU may inhibit MDSC development and thus induce tumor rejection in mice. TUNNEL assay demonstrated that BCNU induced MDSC apoptosis. Interestingly, BCNU-cured mice rejected tumor after EL4 tumor cell re-challenge, suggesting that BCNU may not only inhibit MDSC production but also induce anti-tumor immune memory. The results indicate that BCNU may inhibit the production of MDSCs, increase anti-tumor immune response and thus facilitate tumor rejection.

Genotypic resistance profile of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in a large cohort of nucleos(t)ide analogue-experienced Chinese patients with chronic HBV infection

The study investigated the hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypic resistance profile in 1803 nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA)-experienced Chinese patients with chronic HBV infection. Serum HBV DNA was extracted, and the reverse transcriptase region was analysed by a high-sensitive direct PCR sequencing and verified by clonal sequencing if necessary. Drug-resistant mutations were detected in 560 of the 1803 patients, including 214 of 490 patients who received lamivudine (LAM), 35 of 428 patients who received adefovir (ADV), five of 18 patients who received telbivudine and 306 of 794 patients who received various sequential/combined NA therapies. ADV-resistant mutations were detected in 36 of 381 patients who received LAM and then switched-to ADV in contrast to one of 82 patients who received ADV add-on LAM. Entecavir (ETV)-resistant mutations were detected not only in LAM- and ETV-treated patients but also in LAM-treated ETV-naïve patients. Double mutations rtM204I and rtL180M were detected more frequently in genotype C than in genotype B virus, and patients infected with this mutant had higher alanine transaminase levels than those infected with mutant containing the rtM204I substitution alone. Multidrug-resistant HBV strains were identified in eight patients, including two novel strains with mutational patterns rtL180M + A181V + S202G + M204V + N236T and rtL180M + S202G + M204V + N236T. The results provide new information on HBV genotypic resistance profiles in a large cohort of Chinese patients with chronic HBV infection and may have important clinical implication for HBV drug resistance management in China.

Selective Rapid Thermal Cvd of Germanium

Selective depositions of germanium thin films have been investigated in a cold-wall, lamp heated rapid thermal processor. Films were deposited at low pressures (1 Torr-8 Torr) using the thermal decomposition of germane. Selectivity was maintained throughout the temperature range investigated, 350°C-600°C. Growth rates as high as 800 Å/min were obtained at 425°C where deposition is controlled by the surface reactions, making germanium compatible with the throughput requirements of single wafer manufacturing. Three dimensional growth was seen at temperatures above 450°C resulting in a rough surface morphology. Smooth films were deposited below 450°C with the films characterized by two dimensional growth. In this work, germanium is considered as a potential material to fabricate MOS transistors with raised source and drain junctions (UPMOS). Kelvin structures were fabricated to study the effect of the intermediate germanium layer between aluminum and silicon on contact resistance. It is shown that contact resistivity is improved by approximately 17% using an Al/p-Ge/p+-Si structure. In this work, it is also shown that titanium germanide formation can be used as a means of reducing the resistivity of the Ge buffer layer.

First-trimester serum analytes, biophysical tests and the association with pathological morphometry in the placenta of pregnancies with preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction

OBJECTIVE

We test the hypothesis that first-trimester serum analytes, 4-D power Doppler placental vascular indices and uterine artery Doppler (UAD) predicts abnormal placental morphometry in pregnancies with preeclampsia (PE) and fetal growth restriction (FGR).

STUDY DESIGN

Maternal serum analytes (PAPP-A, hCG, ADAM12s, and PP13), bilateral UADs, and placental vascular indices were measured at 11-14 weeks in a nested-case control study within a prospective cohort of women followed from the first-trimester to delivery. Vascularization index (VI), flow index (FI), and vascularization flow index (VFI) were obtained from 4-D power Doppler histograms. Serum analytes were measured using immunofluorometric assays and values converted to multiples of the median (MoM) for gestational age. Morphometric analysis was performed on placentas from pregnancies complicated by PE (n = 13), gestational hypertension (HBP, n = 7) and FGR (defined as fetal weight <10th percentile with abnormal umbilical artery Doppler: n = 7); and 20 uncomplicated pregnancies. Two pregnancies had both FGR and PE. Each placenta was weighed and random samples taken, and fixed in formalin within 1 h of delivery. Hematoxylin & Eosin stained slides were analyzed by design-based stereology to quantify linear dimensions, surface areas and volumes of placental components. Paired t-test and ANOVA with adjustments for multiple comparisons were used.

RESULTS

The surface areas of terminal and intermediate villi as well as the volume of terminal villi were significantly smaller in placentas from pregnancies complicated by FGR and PE. Compared with the control group the mean PAPP-A (MoM) was lower in the pregnancies with abnormal placenta morphometry (1.1 ± 0.5 versus 0.7 ± 0.5, P = 0.03). The morphometric indices were lower in those pregnancies with low PAPP-A and IUGR compared with preeclampsia.

CONCLUSION

First-trimester PAPP-A levels are associated with abnormal placental morphometry at delivery in pregnancies with PE and IUGR. These findings may explain the association between adverse pregnancy outcomes and first-trimester PAPP-A.

Production of metabolites in the biodegradation of phenanthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene by the mixed culture of Mycobacterium sp. and Sphingomonas sp

The effects of the mixed culture of Mycobacterium sp. strain A1-PYR and Sphingomonas sp. strain PheB4 on the degradation characteristics of single polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon were investigated. In the mixed bacterial culture, phenanthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene were degraded by 100% at Day 3, 71.2% and 50% at Day 7, respectively. Compared to their respective pure cultures, the degradation of phenanthrene and fluoranthene decreased, but that of pyrene increased significantly. Based on GC-MS analysis, eight and six new metabolites were produced from the biodegradation of phenanthrene and fluoranthene, respectively, while only two new metabolites were formed from pyrene. To our knowledge, this is the first report that the mixed bacterial culture could increase the diversity of metabolites from PAH, but the diverse metabolite pattern was not necessarily beneficial to the degradation of the recalcitrant PAH. The enhancement on pyrene degradation was possibly attributed to the rapid growth of strain PheB4.

Hepatitis B virus genotype and basal core promoter/precore mutations are associated with hepatitis B-related acute-on-chronic liver failure without pre-existing liver cirrhosis

The study was undertaken to investigate the features and clinical implications of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes, basal core promoter (BCP) and precore (PC) mutations in hepatitis B-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (HB-ACLF). Samples from 75 patients with HB-ACLF and without pre-existing liver cirrhosis and 328 age-matched patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) were analyzed. HBV genotype and BCP/PC mutations were determined by direct sequencing. Mutations at 8 sites of the BCP/PC region were compared between the two groups of patients. A significantly higher ratio of genotype B to C was found in patients with HB-ACLF than in patients with CHB (30.7-69.3% vs 16.5-82.6%, P < 0.01). Single mutations including T1753V (C/A/G), A1762T, G1764A, G1896A and G1899A and triple mutations T1753V/A1762T/G1764A and A1762T/G1764A/C1766T (or T1768A) were more frequently detected in patients with HB-ACLF than in patients with CHB. Correspondingly, BCP/PC wild-type sequences were absent in patients with HB-ACLF in contrast to 27.1% in patients with CHB. The BCP/PC mutations were found to be associated with increased HBeAg negativity, higher alanine aminotransferase level and lower viral load. Patients with HB-ACLF infected with the PC mutant virus had a higher mortality. The findings suggest that patients with CHB infected with genotype B with BCP/PC mutations were more likely to develop HB-ACLF than those with genotype C with wild-type BCP/PC regions, and patients with HB-ACLF with the PC mutation had increased risk of a fatal outcome.

Effects of pyrene and fluoranthene on the degradation characteristics of phenanthrene in the cometabolism process by Sphingomonas sp. strain PheB4 isolated from mangrove sediments

Cometabolism has been suggested as an attractive approach to enhance the degradation rates of high-molecular-weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, the effects of these recalcitrant PAHs on the degradation characteristics of low-molecular-weight PAHs are largely unknown. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of pyrene (PYR) and fluoranthene (FLA) on the degradation characteristics of phenanthrene (PHE) in the cometabolism process by Sphingomonas sp. strain PheB4 isolated from mangrove sediments. Based on the kinetics and characteristics of PHE metabolites, it was proposed that the transformation of hydroxylated PHE into 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid was a rate-limiting step in the degradation of PHE by strain PheB4. Compared to a single addition of PYR or FLA, the presence of a mixture of PYR and FLA decreased the degradation rate of PHE to a larger extent, which was likely because it could inhibit the production of 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid more effectively.

Effects of metals on the transformation of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) in solvents: implications for solvent-based recycling of brominated flame retardants

The management of electronic wastes (e-wastes) has become a global issue as it may release large quantities of hazardous materials such as heavy metals and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) to the environment. Solvent-based recycling is a newly developed, efficient and environmentally beneficial technology for the removal or recovery of BFRs from e-wastes. However, little is known about the behavior of BFRs in the solvents and to what extent they may be affected by co-existing heavy metals. This study quantified the rates of transformation of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), a widely used BFR, in the presence of different solvents (i.e. acetone, methanol or toluene) and metals (i.e. Ni, Cu, Zn, Fe or Al). Our experimental results showed that less than 20% of HBCD was transformed in all pure solvent systems within 24h at 50 degrees C. The presence of Ni greatly increased the transformation of HBCD (45-99%) in these solvent systems, whereas other metals had little or no effect on extraction process. The kinetics study showed that transformation of HBCD in Ni-containing systems followed pseudo-first-order kinetics and that the highest transformation rate constant (1.2+/-0.1h(-1)) of HBCD was recorded in the Ni+acetone system. The formation of HBr and pentabromocyclododecene in the acetone+Ni system suggested that transformation of HBCD proceeded via dehydrobromination. Collectively, these results indicated that acetone should not be applied in the recycling or extraction of HBCD from Ni-rich e-wastes, as debromination of HBCD may occur during these processes, even at mild extraction temperatures.

Immune modulation by chondroitin sulfate and its degraded disaccharide product in the development of an experimental model of multiple sclerosis

Clinical symptoms in MOG-induced EAE mice significantly exacerbated following chondroitin sulfate A (CS-A) injection, whereas administration of a degraded product, CSPG-DS, caused dramatic inhibition of EAE development. Also, administration of CSPG-DS but not CS-A, after the onset of clinical symptoms of EAE, was able to suppress the disease. Further studies demonstrated that CS-A up-regulated STAT4 expression and thus, induced IFN-gamma production and Th1 CD4 T cell differentiation. CS-A also up-regulated STAT3 and IL-23 expression and thus increased IL-17 producing T cells. CSPG-DS treatment both in vivo and in vitro decreased TNFalpha production from splenocytes. In vitro and in vivo studies indicated that CSPG-DS treatment in EAE mice significantly blocked migration of lymphocytes, whereas CS-A treatment increased lymphocyte infiltration in the brain.