Critical role of Casein kinase 2 in hepatitis C NS5A-mediated inhibition of Kv2.1 K(+) channel function

Inhibiting injury-induced increases in outward K(+) currents is sufficient to block cell death in cortical neuronal injury models. It is now known that apoptosis is facilitated in hepatocytes by the same K(+) channel as in cortical neurons, namely, the delayed rectifier K(+) channel Kv2.1. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) protein NS5A prevents the apoptosis-enabling loss of intracellular potassium by inhibiting Kv2.1 function and thus blocking hepatocyte cell death. Critically, neurons expressing NS5A1b (from HCV genotype 1b), but not NS5A1a, can be protected from lethal injurious stimuli via a block of Kv2.1-mediated potassium currents. Here, we identify a key component unique to NS5A1b, which is necessary for restricting Kv2.1 currents and establishing neuroprotection. By comparing the sequence differences between NS5A1b and 1a we identify putative casein kinase 2 (CK2) phosphorylation regions unique to the 1b genotype. We show that selective inhibition of CK2 in cortical neurons results in loss of NS5A1b's ability to depress outward potassium currents, and, surprisingly, potentiates currents in non-NS5A-expressing cells. As such, our results suggest that NS5A1b-mediated inhibition of Kv2.1 function is critically dependent on its phosphorylation status at genotypic-specific CK2-directed residues. Importantly, inhibiting NS5A viral replicative function with the novel HCV drug Ledipasvir does not impair the ability of this protein to block Kv2.1 function. This suggests that the modulation of NS5A function by CK2 may be a component of HCV unique to the regulation of apoptosis.

The long-term quality of life of living kidney donors: a multicenter cohort study

Previous studies that described the long-term quality of life of living kidney donors were conducted in single centers, and lacked data on a healthy nondonor comparison group. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to compare the quality of life of 203 kidney donors with 104 healthy nondonor controls using validated scales (including the SF36, 15D and feeling thermometer) and author-developed questions. Participants were recruited from nine transplant centers in Canada, Scotland and Australia. Outcomes were assessed a median of 5.5 years after the time of transplantation (lower and upper quartiles of 3.8 and 8.4 years, respectively). 15D scores (scale of 0 to 1) were high and similar between donors and nondonors (mean 0.93 (standard deviation (SD) 0.09) and 0.94 (SD 0.06), p = 0.55), and were not different when results were adjusted for several prognostic characteristics (p = 0.55). On other scales and author-developed questions, groups performed similarly. Donors to recipients who had an adverse outcome (death, graft failure) had similar quality of life scores as those donors where the recipient did well. Our findings are reassuring for the practice of living transplantation. Those who donate a kidney in centers that use routine pretransplant donor evaluation have good long-term quality of life.

[Coping with crisis as an important factor in the rehabilitation process]

Accidents and serious illnesses are inevitably associated with an emotional crisis, based on the fact that they are followed by significant consequences. Coping with this crisis requires enormous mental adaptation. This active coping process is typically characterised by three phases: the shock phase, the coping phase in the narrow sense and the phase of successful coping versus chronification. In order to ensure a positive rehabilitation process, successful coping with the illness is necessary. It is therefore absolutely crucial to analyse individual coping styles and possible obstacles thoroughly from a psychological point of view. In order to prevent a process of chronification, relevant psychosocial factors should be considered along with the medical and occupational aspects early in the rehabilitation process. Ultimately, psychological stability is the prerequisite for successful rehabilitation.

[Rehabilitation and integration management]

At the core of a high-quality and efficient rehabilitation management, there is always a sophisticated analysis of each specific case and situation. This analysis is performed from a professional, medical and psychological point of view. It is set in the context of a case situation with regard to elements of civil law and social security regulations. The analysis explicitly takes the overall situation of the client into account. The success of the rehabilitation plan - and the amount of the overall costs--depend very much on the level of accuracy with which this analysis is conducted. Highly competent medical and job-specific knowledge, as well as psychological know-how, is required. Rehabilitation management does not refer to a fixed set of certain measures, but has to be applied to the specific healing plan and resources of the client.

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of aquatic bacteria: quality control disk diffusion ranges for Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida ATCC 33658 at 22 and 28 degrees C

Quality control (QC) ranges for disk diffusion susceptibility testing of aquatic bacterial isolates were proposed as a result of a multilaboratory study conducted according to procedures established by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS). Ranges were proposed for Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida ATCC 33658 at 22 and 28 degrees C for nine different antimicrobial agents (ampicillin, enrofloxacin, erythromycin, florfenicol, gentamicin, oxolinic acid, oxytetracycline, ormetoprim-sulfadimethoxine, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole). All tests were conducted on standard Mueller-Hinton agar. With >/=95% of all data points fitting within the proposed QC ranges, the results from this study comply with NCCLS guidelines and have been accepted by the NCCLS Subcommittee for Veterinary Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing. These QC guidelines will permit greater accuracy in interpreting results and, for the first time, the ability to reliably compare susceptibility test data between aquatic animal disease diagnostic laboratories.

National health projections through 2008

Health spending is expected to resume its rise as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) in the projection period, following 6 years of near stability, increasing from 13.5 percent in 1997 to an estimated 16.2 percent by 2008. This implies an approximate doubling of health spending, from $1.1 trillion in 1997 to $2.2 trillion by 2008. We anticipate a reversal in recent patterns of growth in public and private health spending, with private spending expected to accelerate while Medicare spending slows in response to the implementation of the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997.

Astrocyte-specific expression of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) Tax: induction of tumor necrosis factor alpha and susceptibility to lysis by CD8+ HTLV-1-specific cytotoxic T cells

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is associated with a chronic neurological disease termed HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraperesis (HAM/TSP). Although the pathogenesis of this disease remains to be elucidated, the evidence suggests that immunopathological mechanisms are involved. Since HTLV-1 tax mRNA was colocalized with glial acidic fibrillary protein, a marker for astrocytes, we developed an in vitro model to assess whether HTLV-1 infection activates astrocytes to secrete cytokines or present viral immunodominant epitopes to virus-specific T cells. Two human astrocytic glioma cell lines, U251 and U373, were transfected with the 3' portion of the HTLV-1 genome and with the HTLV-1 tax gene under astrocyte-specific promoter control. In this study, we report that Tax-expressing astrocytic glioma transfectants activate the expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha mRNA in vitro. Furthermore, these Tax-expressing glioma transfectants can serve as immunological targets for HTLV-1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). We propose that these events could contribute to the neuropathology of HAM/TSP, since infected astrocytes can become a source for inflammatory cytokines upon HTLV-1 infection and serve as targets for HTLV-1-specific CTL, resulting in parenchymal damage by direct lysis and/or cytokine release.

Methodological and conduct principles for pharmacoeconomic research. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America

In January 1995, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) adopted a voluntary set of principles to provide guidance for its member companies on the conduct and evaluation of pharmacoeconomic research. The principles were prepared by a working group of pharmacoeconomic scientists from the PhRMA Task Force on the Economic Evaluation of Pharmaceuticals. The principles were reviewed by a panel of academic experts and outside reviewers at each stage of their development. The PhRMA document consists of a set of broad principles that will foster high quality pharmacoeconomic research without impeding further methodological development of the field. Specific recommendations are offered in those methodological areas for which general agreement exists. However, no attempt was made to force a consensus for those methodological issues which have yet to be resolved. The principles address methodology and reporting of research rather than sponsor-investigator relationships or conflict of interest issues, which have been addressed elsewhere. This approach is based on the belief that the scientific integrity of pharmacoeconomic research is best ensured through the soundness of the research methods used and the full disclosure and transparency of all methods, analyses and results.

1H, 15N and 13C resonance assignments for the first three zinc fingers of transcription factor IIIA

The first three zinc fingers (ZF1-3) of transcription factor IIIA (TFIIIA) from Xenopus have been shown to contribute the majority of the binding energy to the intact TFIIIA-DNA interaction [Liao et al. (1992) J. Mol. Biol., 223, 857-871]. We have expressed a 92-amino acid polypeptide containing the three N-terminal zinc fingers of TFIIIA. This three-fingered polypeptide has been isotopically labeled with 15N and 13C in E. coli and purified to homogeneity. Assignment of backbone 1H, 15N, aliphatic 1H and 13C and aromatic 1H and 13C resonances of delta NZF1-3 has been obtained using a combination of single-, double- and triple-resonance multidimensional NMR experiments. The secondary structures for each finger have been determined from NOE connectivities, 3JNH alpha values and chemical shifts. The results show that each finger folds into a canonical beta-sheet-helix zinc finger structural motif, while the linkers adopt an extended structure. The helix between the two histidine ligands in ZF3 is distorted by zinc coordination, to accommodate the presence of four intervening amino acids instead of three as in ZF1 and ZF2.