Swine Influenza Virus (H1N2) Characterization and Transmission in Ferrets, Chile

Phylogenetic analysis of the influenza hemagglutinin gene (HA) has suggested that commercial pigs in Chile harbor unique human seasonal H1-like influenza viruses, but further information, including characterization of these viruses, was unavailable. We isolated influenza virus (H1N2) from a swine in a backyard production farm in Central Chile and demonstrated that the HA gene was identical to that in a previous report. Its HA and neuraminidase genes were most similar to human H1 and N2 viruses from the early 1990s and internal segments were similar to influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus. The virus replicated efficiently in vitro and in vivo and transmitted in ferrets by respiratory droplet. Antigenically, it was distinct from other swine viruses. Hemagglutination inhibition analysis suggested that antibody titers to the swine Chilean H1N2 virus were decreased in persons born after 1990. Further studies are needed to characterize the potential risk to humans, as well as the ecology of influenza in swine in South America.

Alpha-synuclein induces lysosomal rupture and cathepsin dependent reactive oxygen species following endocytosis

α-synuclein dysregulation is a critical aspect of Parkinson's disease pathology. Recent studies have observed that α-synuclein aggregates are cytotoxic to cells in culture and that this toxicity can be spread between cells. However, the molecular mechanisms governing this cytotoxicity and spread are poorly characterized. Recent studies of viruses and bacteria, which achieve their cytoplasmic entry by rupturing intracellular vesicles, have utilized the redistribution of galectin proteins as a tool to measure vesicle rupture by these organisms. Using this approach, we demonstrate that α-synuclein aggregates can induce the rupture of lysosomes following their endocytosis in neuronal cell lines. This rupture can be induced by the addition of α-synuclein aggregates directly into cells as well as by cell-to-cell transfer of α-synuclein. We also observe that lysosomal rupture by α-synuclein induces a cathepsin B dependent increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) in target cells. Finally, we observe that α-synuclein aggregates can induce inflammasome activation in THP-1 cells. Lysosomal rupture is known to induce mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation, both of which are well established aspects of Parkinson's disease, thus connecting these aspects of Parkinson's disease to the propagation of α-synuclein pathology in cells.

Comparison of alcohol-preferring and nonpreferring selectively bred rat lines. I. Ethanol initiation and limited access operant self-administration

Several lines of alcohol-preferring and alcohol-nonpreferring rats have been developed using selective breeding based on 24-hr homecage ethanol consumption. However, it remains unclear if the selection based on two-bottle choice resulted in similar ethanol self-administration when measured using an operant procedure. In this paper, we compare our previous work using alcohol-accepting (AA) and alcohol-nonaccepting (ANA) rats with data obtained using the identical procedures in the (P) and (NP) rat lines, and both replicate lines of the high alcohol drinking (HAD1 and HAD2) and low alcohol drinking (LAD1 and LAD2) lines. All rats from each line were initiated to self-administer 10% ethanol using the sucrose fading procedure. After initiation, increasing concentrations of ethanol up to 30% ethanol were tested. The results indicated that only in the LAD1 and LAD2 lines was ethanol presentation not able to maintain lever pressing after initiation. Compared with the AA line, the P, HAD1, HAD2, and NP lines all self-administered more ethanol in the operant paradigm after initiation. The ANA line self-administered less ethanol than the AA line, but more than the LAD lines. Correlational analysis of homecage consumption with operant ethanol self-administration suggested that approximately 62% of the genetic variance in operant self-administration resulted from genes selected for the homecage drinking. At the same time, it was clear that there were genetic influences on operant self-administration that were not selected for by homecage ethanol drinking.

Comparison of alcohol-preferring and nonpreferring selectively bred rat lines. II. Operant self-administration in a continuous-access situation

Several rat lines have been developed using preference/nonpreference and daily ethanol intake in the homecage as criteria for selective breeding. Using these lines, behavioral and neural factors that may underlie the genetic basis for the control of ethanol consumption have been examined. In this paper, we report data from eight of these selected lines: the Alcohol-Preferring (P) and Alcohol-Nonpreferring (NP), the Alcohol-Accepting (AA) and Alcohol-Nonaccepting (ANA), and the High Alcohol Drinking (HAD1 and HAD2) and Low Alcohol Drinking (LAD1 and LAD2) rats. All lines were tested using operant procedures and the same protocols for both the ethanol self-administration initiation and measurement of continuous-access ethanol consumption. During continuous access, the animals were housed in operant chambers with access to 10% (v/v) ethanol after responses on one lever, food pellets (45 mg) after responses on a second lever, and water in a drinking tube that was connected to a drinkometer circuit. Under these procedures, both similarities and differences among the selected lines on continuous-access operant ethanol intake were observed. For example, overall total homecage ethanol drinking was similar for the AA and both HAD lines. When examined in the operant continuous-access situation, however, the AA rats displayed a different consumption pattem, compared with the HAD lines. Data suggest that the frequency of drinking bouts was a primary factor in the phenotypic homecage selection of the preferring lines that was revealed by the use of the continuous-access operant procedure. In general, data suggest that genes related to ethanol preference and intake in homecage continuous-access situations may not be identical to those related to ethanol's reinforcing function in operant continuous-access conditions. Because ethanol consumption appears to be controlled by different drinking patterns across lines, the selected lines provide for a variety of models to understand how varying genotypes can impact ethanol consumption.

Disconnected Policy: The Shaping of Local Energy Management

Around half of all the CO2 emissions relate to the energy consumed in buildings. Management of energy demand is, therefore, a central concern of environmental policymakers. But how does local environmental policy actually shape local energy-management practices? Rather than analysing how the intensity of energy flows are shaped by institutions and regulatory forces, makers of local environmental policy have tended to adopt a ‘rational’ modelling approach, increasingly divorced from the operational realities of the restructured energy sector. Such an approach misses the way in which privatised utility companies are now reaching ‘beyond the meter’ in order to manage local energy consumption actively. In this way privatised utilities are emerging as important regulators of energy flows in the territories they serve. Local environmental policy is largely bypassed in this process. Policymakers therefore need to acknowledge the role of regional energy companies as key energy managers and to coordinate local energy policy accordingly.

Analysis of immunoglobulin genes: DNA/RNA hybridization with immunoglobulin kappa-chain mRNA and isolation and translation of hybridized RNA

Immunoglobulin kappa-chain mRNA was hybridized with DNA in order to assess the kappa-gene frequency. Kappa-mRNA was purified from membrane-bound ribosomes of mouse myeloma MOPC-41 by poly (U) chromatography and isolation of a 13S RNA by successive sucrose density gradient centrifugations. The RNA coded for kappa-chain precursor molecules in cell-free protein synthesis and essentially no other proteins. MOPC-41 kappa-mRNA hybridized with MOPC-41, MPC-11, and Krebs DNA with the same kinetics: the majority of the hybrids was formed with rare or unique DNA sequences (Cot/2 450 to 900), a small portion with highly repetitive sequences (Cot/2 5--6). The slow hybrids were well matched and the rapid hybrids were mismatched by about 4%, regardless of the DNA used. It was further investigated whether the rapid hybrids contained translatable kappa-mRNA or were due to impurities in the RNA preparations. Kappa-mRNA and globin-mRNA (as an internal standard for a unique transcript) were hybridized with DNA to Cot 20 or 48, the hybridized and unhybridized RNA were isolated by hydroxyopatite-urea chromatography and, after removal of the DNA, translated in a cell-free system. The cell-free products were analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoprecipitation. It was found that approximately equal quantities of translatable kappa- and globin-mRNA were hybridized maximally 1.7%). The results do not support the hypothesis that kappa-mRNA is a transcript of both repetitive and unique DNA sequences.