Molecular ABO phenotyping in cynomolgus macaques using real-time quantitative PCR

Macaques are commonly used in biomedical research as animal models of human disease. The ABO phenotype of donors and recipients plays an important role in the success of transplantation and stem cell research of both human and macaque tissue. Traditional serological methods for ABO phenotyping can be time consuming, provide ambiguous results and/or require tissue that is unavailable or unsuitable. We developed a novel method to detect the A, B, and AB phenotypes of macaques using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. This method enables the simple and rapid screening of these phenotypes in macaques without the need for fresh blood or saliva. This study reports the distribution of the A, B, and AB phenotypes of captive cynomolgus macaques that, while regionally variable, closely resembles that of rhesus macaques. Blood group B, as in rhesus macaques, predominates in cynomolgus macaques and its frequency distribution leads to a probability of major incompatibility of 41%. No silencing mutations have been identified in exon 6 or 7 in macaques that could be responsible for the O phenotype, that, although rare, have been reported. The excess homozygosity of rhesus and cynomolgus macaque genotypes in this study, that assumes the absence of the O allele, suggests the possibility of some mechanism preventing the expression of the A and B transferases.

Additional novel Cryptosporidium genotypes in ornamental fishes

Current knowledge on the prevalence and genotypes of Cryptosporidium in fishes is still limited. This study investigated the prevalence of Cryptosporidium species in 171 ornamental fishes, belonging to 33 species, collected from 8 commercial aquariums around Perth, Western Australia. All samples were screened by nested PCR targeting the 18S rRNA locus. A total of 6 positives were identified by PCR at the 18S locus from 4 different species of fishes (red eye tetra, Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae; gold gourami, Trichogaster trichopterus; neon tetra, Paracheirodon innesi; goldfish, Carassius auratus auratus), giving an overall prevalence of 3.5% (6/171). Four different genotypes were identified, only one of which has been previously reported in fish; piscine genotype 4 in a neon tetra isolate, a rat genotype III-like isolate in a goldfish, a novel genotype in three isolates from red eye (piscine genotype 7) which exhibited a 3.5% genetic distance from piscine genotype 1 and a piscine genotype 6-like from a gold gourami (1% genetic distance). Further biological and genetic characterisation is required to determine the relationship of these genotypes to established species and strains of Cryptosporidium.

Simultaneous copper ion removal and hydrogen production from water over a TiO₂ nanotube photocatalyst

A one-dimensional (1-D) mesoporous TiO₂ nanotube (TiNT) was successfully synthesized via a hydrothermal-calcination process, and employed in simultaneous photocatalytic Cu(2+) removal and H₂ production. Under irradiation, Cu(2+) in the wide concentration range of 8-800 ppm, could be reduced rapidly, and the reduction was not severely impacted by co-existing inorganic ions in solution. Simultaneous with Cu(2+) reduction, noticeable H₂ was produced over the in-situ fabricated Cu incorporated TiNT (Cu-TiNT) photocatalyst, while H₂ evolution rate was controlled by the Cu(2+) reduction process, due to competition of electron capture between protons and Cu(2+). In addition, H₂ generation activity of Cu-TiNT depended on the initial Cu(2+)/Ti ratio, and could be depressed by co-existing ions in solution. Fast Cu(2+) reduction and remarkable H₂ evolution confirmed the feasibility of simultaneous Cu(2+) removal and H₂ production over a TiNT photocatalyst.

P3-13-11: Survival Benefit Associated with Post-Mastectomy Radiation for Node-Positive, Intermediate-Risk Breast Cancer Patients: Results of a Study from the SEER Registry Data

Background

The role of post-mastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) for breast cancer patients with intermediate-risk (1-3 positive nodes) disease remains controversial. This Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) study investigated the impact of PMRT in the intermediate-risk breast cancer patient population on cause-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS). The study also investigated the impact of estrogen receptor (ER) status, which has been reported in the SEER database since 2004, on the impact of PMRT in this patient population on CSS and OS.

Methods: The SEER database was used to identify all breast cancer patients who were treated between 2004–2007, who had undergone mastectomy, and who had T1-2 tumors and 1–3 pathologically positive lymph nodes. The status of radiation therapy, ethnicity, tumor grade, TNM stage, year of diagnosis, number of LNs sampled, number of LNs positive, and estrogen/progesterone receptor status was recorded. Patients missing pathologic or treatment-related information were excluded. Statistical analysis for CSS and OS was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and analyzed using the log-rank test. Multivariable analysis was performed using the Cox proportional hazards regression model. Statistical analyses were performed using PASW, version 18.

Results: 10,517 patients were identified, with a median follow-up of 21.8 months (range 0–47 months). 2339 patients (22.2%) received PMRT. Younger patients, increasing tumor size, increasing tumor grade, and ER negative tumors were more likely to receive PMRT. PMRT was associated with improved OS, 92.8% (95% CI 91.294.4%) versus 88.7% (95% CI 87.7−89.7%), p < 0.001. However, there was no overall CSS benefit to PMRT, p = 0.197. In the subgroup with ER positive tumors, PMRT was associated with both improved OS, 95.5% (95% CI 93.9−97.1%) versus 91.0% (95% CI 90.0−92.0%), p < 0.001, and improved CSS, 97.6% (95% CI 96.6−98.8%) versus 96.1% (95% CI 95.3−96.9%), p = 0.009. Multivariate analysis showed that PMRT was significantly associated with improved survival (HR 0.744, p = 0.011); increasing age, tumor grade, ER negative tumors, increasing tumor stage, and increasing positive nodal ratio were associated with increased risk of death.

Conclusion: Patients with intermediate risk breast cancer who received PMRT have improved OS compared to those who did not receive PMRT. For patients with ER positive tumors, PMRT also appears to be associated with improved CSS. Greater consideration for post-mastectomy radiation therapy use may be warranted for this patient population.

Increased HLA class I and II diversity as 72 novel alleles are identified in volunteers for the National Marrow Donor Program Registry in 2010

Seventy-two novel human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and class II alleles are described from volunteers for the 'Be The Match Registry®': 17 HLA-A alleles, 12 HLA-C alleles, 31 HLA-B alleles and 12 HLA-DRB1 alleles. Forty-six (≈ 64%) of the 72 novel alleles are single-nucleotide substitution variants when compared with their most homologous allele. Five of these single-nucleotide variants are silent substitutions and one creates a non-expressed allele (B*44:108N). The remaining novel alleles differ from their most similar allele by two to five nucleotide substitutions. One of the novel HLA-C alleles (C*07:150Q) is of questionable expression due to an insertion of 21 nucleotides starting at codon 143 that adds seven amino acids to exon 3. An inter-locus gene conversion may have created the novel allele HLA-A*23:31 that shares its codon differences with HLA-B*07:28. Some of the new alleles encode novel codons and unique amino acid changes at polymorphic positions in the HLA-A (codons 116 and 150), HLA-C (codon 114), HLA-B (codons 11, 21, 35, 42, 48, 73, 98 and 170) and HLA-DRB1 (codon 29) loci.

The effect of extensive flooding in Hull on the glycaemic control of patients with diabetes

AIMS

To examine the impact of extensive flooding in a UK city in 2007 on the glycaemic control of patients with diabetes mellitus.

METHODS

This was a longitudinal study in patients with diabetes mellitus 12 months before and after the floods in Hull and East Yorkshire, UK. All patients registered with diabetes mellitus were sent questionnaires about their experiences during and after the floods. Glycaemic control for patients directly affected by the floods was compared against those unaffected.

RESULTS

Of 1743 respondents, 296 patients had been affected by the floods (110 insulin treated, 186 lifestyle and oral agents) and 1447 unaffected (482 insulin treated, 965 lifestyle and oral agents). There was a rise in mean HbA(1c) of affected individuals comparing 12 months before the floods with 12 months after [mean (95% confidence interval), 7.6% (7.5-7.7) vs. 7.9% (7.7-8.0), P = 0.002], but not those unaffected [7.5% (7.4-7.6) vs. 7.5% (7.4-7.6), P = 0.46]. The difference was mainly in insulin-treated patients [8.6% (8.3, 8.9) affected vs. 8.2% (8.1, 8.3) unaffected, (P = 0.002)].

CONCLUSIONS

Glycaemic control deteriorated in diabetes patients following the floods but was almost exclusively confined to patients taking insulin and was worst at 6-9 months following the event. Insulin-treated patients may need specific targeting in the event of a natural disaster.

Kinetic structure of the electron diffusion region in antiparallel magnetic reconnection

Strong electron pressure anisotropy has been observed upstream of electron diffusion regions during reconnection in Earth's magnetotail and kinetic simulations. For collisionless antiparallel reconnection, we find that the anisotropy drives the electron current in the electron diffusion region, and that this current is insensitive to the reconnection electric field. Reconstruction of the electron distribution function within this region at enhanced resolutions reveals its highly structured nature and the mechanism by which the pressure anisotropy sets the structure of the region.