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Sample records for complex class i-related

  1. Tapasin-related protein TAPBPR is an additional component of the MHC class I presentation pathway

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boyle, Louise H; Hermann, Clemens; Boname, Jessica M

    2013-01-01

    Tapasin is an integral component of the peptide-loading complex (PLC) important for efficient peptide loading onto MHC class I molecules. We investigated the function of the tapasin-related protein, TAPBPR. Like tapasin, TAPBPR is widely expressed, IFN-γ-inducible, and binds to MHC class I coupled...... with β2-microglobulin in the endoplasmic reticulum. In contrast to tapasin, TAPBPR does not bind ERp57 or calreticulin and is not an integral component of the PLC. β2-microglobulin is essential for the association between TAPBPR and MHC class I. However, the association between TAPBPR and MHC class I...... occurs in the absence of a functional PLC, suggesting peptide is not required. Expression of TAPBPR decreases the rate of MHC class I maturation through the secretory pathway and prolongs the association of MHC class I on the PLC. The TAPBPR:MHC class I complex trafficks through the Golgi apparatus...

  2. Evolution of major histocompatibility complex class I and class II genes in the brown bear

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuduk Katarzyna

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Major histocompatibility complex (MHC proteins constitute an essential component of the vertebrate immune response, and are coded by the most polymorphic of the vertebrate genes. Here, we investigated sequence variation and evolution of MHC class I and class II DRB, DQA and DQB genes in the brown bear Ursus arctos to characterise the level of polymorphism, estimate the strength of positive selection acting on them, and assess the extent of gene orthology and trans-species polymorphism in Ursidae. Results We found 37 MHC class I, 16 MHC class II DRB, four DQB and two DQA alleles. We confirmed the expression of several loci: three MHC class I, two DRB, two DQB and one DQA. MHC class I also contained two clusters of non-expressed sequences. MHC class I and DRB allele frequencies differed between northern and southern populations of the Scandinavian brown bear. The rate of nonsynonymous substitutions (dN exceeded the rate of synonymous substitutions (dS at putative antigen binding sites of DRB and DQB loci and, marginally significantly, at MHC class I loci. Models of codon evolution supported positive selection at DRB and MHC class I loci. Both MHC class I and MHC class II sequences showed orthology to gene clusters found in the giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca. Conclusions Historical positive selection has acted on MHC class I, class II DRB and DQB, but not on the DQA locus. The signal of historical positive selection on the DRB locus was particularly strong, which may be a general feature of caniforms. The presence of MHC class I pseudogenes may indicate faster gene turnover in this class through the birth-and-death process. South–north population structure at MHC loci probably reflects origin of the populations from separate glacial refugia.

  3. Evolution of major histocompatibility complex class I and class II genes in the brown bear.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuduk, Katarzyna; Babik, Wiesław; Bojarska, Katarzyna; Sliwińska, Ewa B; Kindberg, Jonas; Taberlet, Pierre; Swenson, Jon E; Radwan, Jacek

    2012-10-02

    Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins constitute an essential component of the vertebrate immune response, and are coded by the most polymorphic of the vertebrate genes. Here, we investigated sequence variation and evolution of MHC class I and class II DRB, DQA and DQB genes in the brown bear Ursus arctos to characterise the level of polymorphism, estimate the strength of positive selection acting on them, and assess the extent of gene orthology and trans-species polymorphism in Ursidae. We found 37 MHC class I, 16 MHC class II DRB, four DQB and two DQA alleles. We confirmed the expression of several loci: three MHC class I, two DRB, two DQB and one DQA. MHC class I also contained two clusters of non-expressed sequences. MHC class I and DRB allele frequencies differed between northern and southern populations of the Scandinavian brown bear. The rate of nonsynonymous substitutions (dN) exceeded the rate of synonymous substitutions (dS) at putative antigen binding sites of DRB and DQB loci and, marginally significantly, at MHC class I loci. Models of codon evolution supported positive selection at DRB and MHC class I loci. Both MHC class I and MHC class II sequences showed orthology to gene clusters found in the giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca. Historical positive selection has acted on MHC class I, class II DRB and DQB, but not on the DQA locus. The signal of historical positive selection on the DRB locus was particularly strong, which may be a general feature of caniforms. The presence of MHC class I pseudogenes may indicate faster gene turnover in this class through the birth-and-death process. South-north population structure at MHC loci probably reflects origin of the populations from separate glacial refugia.

  4. Evolution of major histocompatibility complex class I and class II genes in the brown bear

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins constitute an essential component of the vertebrate immune response, and are coded by the most polymorphic of the vertebrate genes. Here, we investigated sequence variation and evolution of MHC class I and class II DRB, DQA and DQB genes in the brown bear Ursus arctos to characterise the level of polymorphism, estimate the strength of positive selection acting on them, and assess the extent of gene orthology and trans-species polymorphism in Ursidae. Results We found 37 MHC class I, 16 MHC class II DRB, four DQB and two DQA alleles. We confirmed the expression of several loci: three MHC class I, two DRB, two DQB and one DQA. MHC class I also contained two clusters of non-expressed sequences. MHC class I and DRB allele frequencies differed between northern and southern populations of the Scandinavian brown bear. The rate of nonsynonymous substitutions (dN) exceeded the rate of synonymous substitutions (dS) at putative antigen binding sites of DRB and DQB loci and, marginally significantly, at MHC class I loci. Models of codon evolution supported positive selection at DRB and MHC class I loci. Both MHC class I and MHC class II sequences showed orthology to gene clusters found in the giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca. Conclusions Historical positive selection has acted on MHC class I, class II DRB and DQB, but not on the DQA locus. The signal of historical positive selection on the DRB locus was particularly strong, which may be a general feature of caniforms. The presence of MHC class I pseudogenes may indicate faster gene turnover in this class through the birth-and-death process. South–north population structure at MHC loci probably reflects origin of the populations from separate glacial refugia. PMID:23031405

  5. Complex assembly, crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic studies of duck MHC class I molecule

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Jianhua; Chen, Yong; Gao, Feng; Chen, Weihong; Qi, Jianxun; Xia, Chun

    2009-01-01

    Using a peptide derived from H5N1, a complex of duck MHC class I molecule (DuMHC I) with duck β 2 -microglobulin (Duβ 2 m) was assembled and crystallized. Initial structure analysis indicated that the crystals did not contain the complete DuMHC I complex but instead contained DuMHC I α3-domain and Duβ 2 m subunits. In order to understand the biological properties of the immune systems of waterfowl and to establish a system for structural studies of duck class I major histocompatibility complex (DuMHC I), a complex of DuMHC I with duck β 2 -microglobulin (Duβ 2 m) and the peptide AEIEDLIF (AF8) derived from H5N1 NP residues 251–258 was assembled. The complex was crystallized; the crystals belonged to space group C222 1 , with unit-cell parameters a = 54.7, b = 72.4, c = 102.2 Å, and diffracted to 2.3 Å resolution. Matthews coefficient calculation and initial structure determination by molecular replacement showed that the crystals did not contain the whole DuMHC I complex, but instead contained the DuMHC I α3 domain and a Duβ2m molecule (DuMHC I α3+β2m). Another complex of DuMHC I with the peptide IDWFDGKE derived from a chicken fusion protein also generated the same results. The stable structure of DuMHC I α3+β2m may reflect some unique characteristics of DuMHC I and pave the way for novel MHC structure-related studies in the future

  6. The optimization of peptide cargo bound to MHC class I molecules by the peptide-loading complex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, Tim; Williams, Anthony

    2005-10-01

    Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I complexes present peptides from both self and foreign intracellular proteins on the surface of most nucleated cells. The assembled heterotrimeric complexes consist of a polymorphic glycosylated heavy chain, non-polymorphic beta(2) microglobulin, and a peptide of typically nine amino acids in length. Assembly of the class I complexes occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum and is assisted by a number of chaperone molecules. A multimolecular unit termed the peptide-loading complex (PLC) is integral to this process. The PLC contains a peptide transporter (transporter associated with antigen processing), a thiooxido-reductase (ERp57), a glycoprotein chaperone (calreticulin), and tapasin, a class I-specific chaperone. We suggest that class I assembly involves a process of optimization where the peptide cargo of the complex is edited by the PLC. Furthermore, this selective peptide loading is biased toward peptides that have a longer off-rate from the assembled complex. We suggest that tapasin is the key chaperone that directs this action of the PLC with secondary contributions from calreticulin and possibly ERp57. We provide a framework model for how this may operate at the molecular level and draw parallels with the proposed mechanism of action of human leukocyte antigen-DM for MHC class II complex optimization.

  7. Lipofection indirectly increases expression of endogenous major histocompatibility complex class I molecules on tumor cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, B A; Drury, M; Hu, H M; Cao, Z; Huntzicker, E G; Qie, W; Urba, W J

    1998-01-01

    Direct intratumoral injection of a lipid/DNA complex encoding an allogeneic major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecule leads to regression of both an immunogenic murine tumor and also melanoma lesions in some patients. We have sought to understand the mechanism(s) for this augmentation of antitumor activity. While optimizing parameters for in vitro gene transfer into the D5 subclone of B16BL6, it was noted that lipofected tumors not only expressed the new alloantigen but also exhibited increased expression of endogenous MHC class I, both H-2 Kb and H-2 Db. This increase in expression was not restricted to the small percentage of cells that expressed the transfected gene, but appeared to affect the majority of cells in culture. Class I expression was not increased by lipopolysaccharide, DNA alone, lipid, or lipid/lipopolysaccharide mixtures. Enhanced class I expression required a DNA/lipid complex and was greatest when parameters optimized for gene transfer of the alloantigen were used. All DNA plasmids tested had this effect, including one plasmid whose DNA was not transcribed because it lacked an expression cassette. Because of the critical role that MHC class I antigens play in immune recognition, we propose that lipid complex-mediated gene transfer may provide immunological advantages beyond those that are attributable to expression of the specific gene transferred.

  8. Comparative genomic analysis of the MHC: the evolution of class I duplication blocks, diversity and complexity from shark to man.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulski, Jerzy K; Shiina, Takashi; Anzai, Tatsuya; Kohara, Sakae; Inoko, Hidetoshi

    2002-12-01

    The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genomic region is composed of a group of linked genes involved functionally with the adaptive and innate immune systems. The class I and class II genes are intrinsic features of the MHC and have been found in all the jawed vertebrates studied so far. The MHC genomic regions of the human and the chicken (B locus) have been fully sequenced and mapped, and the mouse MHC sequence is almost finished. Information on the MHC genomic structures (size, complexity, genic and intergenic composition and organization, gene order and number) of other vertebrates is largely limited or nonexistent. Therefore, we are mapping, sequencing and analyzing the MHC genomic regions of different human haplotypes and at least eight nonhuman species. Here, we review our progress with these sequences and compare the human MHC structure with that of the nonhuman primates (chimpanzee and rhesus macaque), other mammals (pigs, mice and rats) and nonmammalian vertebrates such as birds (chicken and quail), bony fish (medaka, pufferfish and zebrafish) and cartilaginous fish (nurse shark). This comparison reveals a complex MHC structure for mammals and a relatively simpler design for nonmammalian animals with a hypothetical prototypic structure for the shark. In the mammalian MHC, there are two to five different class I duplication blocks embedded within a framework of conserved nonclass I and/or nonclass II genes. With a few exceptions, the class I framework genes are absent from the MHC of birds, bony fish and sharks. Comparative genomics of the MHC reveal a highly plastic region with major structural differences between the mammalian and nonmammalian vertebrates. Additional genomic data are needed on animals of the reptilia, crocodilia and marsupial classes to find the origins of the class I framework genes and examples of structures that may be intermediate between the simple and complex MHC organizations of birds and mammals, respectively.

  9. Dynamics of major histocompatibility complex class I association with the human peptide-loading complex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panter, Michaela S; Jain, Ankur; Leonhardt, Ralf M; Ha, Taekjip; Cresswell, Peter

    2012-09-07

    Although the human peptide-loading complex (PLC) is required for optimal major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) antigen presentation, its composition is still incompletely understood. The ratio of the transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) and MHC I to tapasin, which is responsible for MHC I recruitment and peptide binding optimization, is particularly critical for modeling of the PLC. Here, we characterized the stoichiometry of the human PLC using both biophysical and biochemical approaches. By means of single-molecule pulldown (SiMPull), we determined a TAP/tapasin ratio of 1:2, consistent with previous studies of insect-cell microsomes, rat-human chimeric cells, and HeLa cells expressing truncated TAP subunits. We also report that the tapasin/MHC I ratio varies, with the PLC population comprising both 2:1 and 2:2 complexes, based on mutational and co-precipitation studies. The MHC I-saturated PLC may be particularly prevalent among peptide-selective alleles, such as HLA-C4. Additionally, MHC I association with the PLC increases when its peptide supply is reduced by inhibiting the proteasome or by blocking TAP-mediated peptide transport using viral inhibitors. Taken together, our results indicate that the composition of the human PLC varies under normal conditions and dynamically adapts to alterations in peptide supply that may arise during viral infection. These findings improve our understanding of the quality control of MHC I peptide loading and may aid the structural and functional modeling of the human PLC.

  10. Expression, refolding and crystallization of murine MHC class I H-2Db in complex with human β2-microglobulin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sandalova, Tatyana; Michaëlsson, Jakob; Harris, Robert A.; Ljunggren, Hans-Gustaf; Kärre, Klas; Schneider, Gunter; Achour, Adnane

    2005-01-01

    Mouse MHC class I H-2Db in complex with human β2m and the LCMV-derived peptide gp33 has been produced and crystallized. Resolution of the structure of this complex combined with the structural comparison with the previously solved crystal structure of H-2Db/mβ2m/gp33 should lead to a better understanding of how the β2m subunit affects the overall conformation of MHC complexes as well as the stability of the presented peptides. β 2 -Microglobulin (β 2 m) is non-covalently linked to the major histocompatibility (MHC) class I heavy chain and interacts with CD8 and Ly49 receptors. Murine MHC class I can bind human β 2 m (hβ 2 m) and such hybrid molecules are often used in structural and functional studies. The replacement of mouse β 2 m (mβ 2 m) by hβ 2 m has important functional consequences for MHC class I complex stability and specificity, but the structural basis for this is unknown. To investigate the impact of species-specific β 2 m subunits on MHC class I conformation, murine MHC class I H-2D b in complex with hβ 2 m and the peptide gp33 derived from lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) has been expressed, refolded in vitro and crystallized. Crystals containing two complexes per asymmetric unit and belonging to the space group P2 1 , with unit-cell parameters a = 68.1, b = 65.2, c = 101.9 Å, β = 102.4°, were obtained

  11. Multiple major histocompatibility complex class I genes in Asian anurans: Ontogeny and phylogeny.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Didinger, Chelsea; Eimes, John A; Lillie, Mette; Waldman, Bruce

    2017-05-01

    Amphibians, as the first terrestrial vertebrates, offer a window into early major histocompatibility complex (MHC) evolution. We characterized the MHC class I of two Korean amphibians, the Asiatic toad (Bufo gargarizans) and the Japanese tree frog (Hyla japonica). We found at least four transcribed MHC class I (MHC I) loci, the highest number confirmed in any anuran to date. Furthermore, we identified MHC I transcripts in terrestrial adults, and possibly in aquatic larvae, of both species. We conducted a phylogenetic analysis based on MHC I sequence data and found that B. gargarizans and H. japonica cluster together in the superfamily Nobleobatrachia. We further identified three supertypes shared by the two species. Our results reveal substantial variation in the number of MHC I loci in anurans and suggest that certain supertypes have particular physiochemical properties that may confer pathogen resistance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Overall major histocompatibility complex class I expression is not downregulated in cervix cancer, as detected by immunoelectron microscopy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Eijkeren, MA; Roovers, JP; Oorschot, [No Value; Geuze, HJ

    2004-01-01

    Downregulation of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules in cervix cancer has been proposed as a mechanism for cancer cells to escape immunodetection. By means of light microscopic immunohistochemistry, it has been shown that in 20-70% of cervix cancers MHC class I is

  13. Identification of neurotensin-related peptides in human thymic epithelial cell membranes and relationship with major histocompatibility complex class I molecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanneste, Y; Thome, A N; Vandersmissen, E; Charlet, C; Franchimont, D; Martens, H; Lhiaubet, A M; Schimpff, R M; Rostène, W; Geenen, V

    1997-06-01

    This study shows the expression at the cell surface of human thymic epithelial cells (TEC) of a neurotensin (NT)-like immunoreactivity. NT radio-immunoassay (RIA) revealed that cultured human TEC contain +/-5 ng immunoreactive (ir) NT/10(6) cells, of which 5% is associated with plasma cell membranes. HPLC analysis of NT-ir present in human TEC showed a major peak of NT-ir corresponding to NT1-13. NT-ir was not detected in the supernatant of human TEC cultures. Using an affinity column prepared with a anti-MHC class I monoclonal antibody, NT-ir-related peptides were retained on the column and eluted together with MHC class I-related proteins. According to the elution time on HPLC of these peptides, they correspond to intact NT1-13, as well as to smaller fragments of NT1-13.

  14. Cyclophilin C Participates in the US2-Mediated Degradation of Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I Molecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, Daniel C; Stocki, Pawel; Williams, David B

    2015-01-01

    Human cytomegalovirus uses a variety of mechanisms to evade immune recognition through major histocompatibility complex class I molecules. One mechanism mediated by the immunoevasin protein US2 causes rapid disposal of newly synthesized class I molecules by the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation pathway. Although several components of this degradation pathway have been identified, there are still questions concerning how US2 targets class I molecules for degradation. In this study we identify cyclophilin C, a peptidyl prolyl isomerase of the endoplasmic reticulum, as a component of US2-mediated immune evasion. Cyclophilin C could be co-isolated with US2 and with the class I molecule HLA-A2. Furthermore, it was required at a particular expression level since depletion or overexpression of cyclophilin C impaired the degradation of class I molecules. To better characterize the involvement of cyclophilin C in class I degradation, we used LC-MS/MS to detect US2-interacting proteins that were influenced by cyclophilin C expression levels. We identified malectin, PDIA6, and TMEM33 as proteins that increased in association with US2 upon cyclophilin C knockdown. In subsequent validation all were shown to play a functional role in US2 degradation of class I molecules. This was specific to US2 rather than general ER-associated degradation since depletion of these proteins did not impede the degradation of a misfolded substrate, the null Hong Kong variant of α1-antitrypsin.

  15. Molecular Basis of Natural Killer Cell Tumor Target Recognition: The NKr/MHC Class I Complex

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Hasemann, Charles

    1999-01-01

    .... We have pursued this via the heterologous expression of wild type and mutant NK receptors for the purpose of the determination of the atomic structure of an NK receptor/ class I MHC complex via X-ray crystallography...

  16. Expression, refolding and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of equine MHC class I molecule complexed with an EIAV-Env CTL epitope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yao, Shugang; Qi, Jianxun; Liu, Jun; Chen, Rong; Pan, Xiaocheng; Li, Xiaoying; Gao, Feng; Xia, Chun

    2011-01-01

    The equine MHC class I molecule was crystallized in complex with β 2 -microglobulin and a CTL epitope and X-ray diffraction data were collected to 2.3 Å resolution. In order to clarify the structure and the peptide-presentation characteristics of the equine major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecule, a complex of equine MHC class I molecule (ELA-A1 haplotype, 7-6 allele) with mouse β 2 -microglobulin and the cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) epitope Env-RW12 (RVEDVTNTAEYW) derived from equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV) envelope protein (residues 195–206) was refolded and crystallized. The crystal, which belonged to space group P2 1 , diffracted to 2.3 Å resolution and had unit-cell parameters a = 82.5, b = 71.4, c = 99.8 Å, β = 102.9°. The crystal structure contained two molecules in the asymmetric unit. These results should help to determine the first equine MHC class I molecule structure presenting an EIAV CTL epitope

  17. Major histocompatibility complex class II compatibility, but not class I, predicts mate choice in a bird with highly developed olfaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strandh, Maria; Westerdahl, Helena; Pontarp, Mikael; Canbäck, Björn; Dubois, Marie-Pierre; Miquel, Christian; Taberlet, Pierre; Bonadonna, Francesco

    2012-11-07

    Mate choice for major histocompatibility complex (MHC) compatibility has been found in several taxa, although rarely in birds. MHC is a crucial component in adaptive immunity and by choosing an MHC-dissimilar partner, heterozygosity and potentially broad pathogen resistance is maximized in the offspring. The MHC genotype influences odour cues and preferences in mammals and fish and hence olfactory-based mate choice can occur. We tested whether blue petrels, Halobaena caerulea, choose partners based on MHC compatibility. This bird is long-lived, monogamous and can discriminate between individual odours using olfaction, which makes it exceptionally well suited for this analysis. We screened MHC class I and II B alleles in blue petrels using 454-pyrosequencing and quantified the phylogenetic, functional and allele-sharing similarity between individuals. Partners were functionally more dissimilar at the MHC class II B loci than expected from random mating (p = 0.033), whereas there was no such difference at the MHC class I loci. Phylogenetic and non-sequence-based MHC allele-sharing measures detected no MHC dissimilarity between partners for either MHC class I or II B. Our study provides evidence of mate choice for MHC compatibility in a bird with a high dependency on odour cues, suggesting that MHC odour-mediated mate choice occurs in birds.

  18. Immunomodulation of glioma cells after gene therapy: induction of major histocompatibility complex class I but not class II antigen in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parsa, A T; Chi, J H; Hurley, P T; Jeyapalan, S A; Bruce, J N

    2001-09-01

    Acquired immunity has been demonstrated in Fischer rats bearing syngeneic 9L tumors after herpes simplex virus (HSV) thymidine kinase (TK) gene transfection and ganciclovir treatment. The nature of this immunity in rats and its relevance to the HSV TK/ganciclovir protocol for human subjects remain to be determined. In this study, levels of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) Class I and II antigen expression were measured before and after HSV TK transfection, in an effort to document immunomodulatory changes caused by gene therapy. Tumor cells from the 9L gliosarcoma cell line, three primary human glioma cultures, and the human glioma cell line U87 MG were transduced with HSV TK vector-containing supernatant from fibroblast-producing cells (titer of 5 x 10(6) colony-forming units/ml) and selected in G418 medium for neomycin resistance. Clones were pooled or individually selected for cell-killing assays with ganciclovir, to confirm TK expression (10(3) cells/well in a 96-well dish). Northern analyses using MHC Class I and Class II complementary deoxyribonucleic acid probes were performed on blots containing total ribonucleic acid from wild-type tumor cells and HSV TK transfectants. A beta-actin complementary deoxyribonucleic acid probe served as an internal control. Cell surface expression was confirmed with flow cytometry. The induction of MHC Class I was tested for cycloheximide and genistein sensitivity. All cell cultures exhibited increases in MHC Class I but not MHC Class II expression, as determined by Northern analysis densitometry and flow cytometry. Cycloheximide treatment did not diminish the up-regulation of MHC Class I after retroviral transfection, implicating a signal transduction pathway that does not require ongoing protein synthesis. Genistein pretreatment of cell cultures did diminish the up-regulation of MHC Class I, implicating a tyrosine kinase in the signaling cascade. Induction of MHC Class I in rat and human glioma cells after HSV TK

  19. NetMHCcons: a consensus method for the major histocompatibility complex class I predictions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karosiene, Edita; Lundegaard, Claus; Lund, Ole

    2012-01-01

    A key role in cell-mediated immunity is dedicated to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules that bind peptides for presentation on the cell surface. Several in silico methods capable of predicting peptide binding to MHC class I have been developed. The accuracy of these methods depe...... at www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/NetMHCcons, and allows the user in an automatic manner to obtain the most accurate predictions for any given MHC molecule....

  20. Deciphering complex patterns of class-I HLA-peptide cross-reactivity via hierarchical grouping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukherjee, Sumanta; Warwicker, Jim; Chandra, Nagasuma

    2015-07-01

    T-cell responses in humans are initiated by the binding of a peptide antigen to a human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecule. The peptide-HLA complex then recruits an appropriate T cell, leading to cell-mediated immunity. More than 2000 HLA class-I alleles are known in humans, and they vary only in their peptide-binding grooves. The polymorphism they exhibit enables them to bind a wide range of peptide antigens from diverse sources. HLA molecules and peptides present a complex molecular recognition pattern, as many peptides bind to a given allele and a given peptide can be recognized by many alleles. A powerful grouping scheme that not only provides an insightful classification, but is also capable of dissecting the physicochemical basis of recognition specificity is necessary to address this complexity. We present a hierarchical classification of 2010 class-I alleles by using a systematic divisive clustering method. All-pair distances of alleles were obtained by comparing binding pockets in the structural models. By varying the similarity thresholds, a multilevel classification was obtained, with 7 supergroups, each further subclassifying to yield 72 groups. An independent clustering performed based only on similarities in their epitope pools correlated highly with pocket-based clustering. Physicochemical feature combinations that best explain the basis of clustering are identified. Mutual information calculated for the set of peptide ligands enables identification of binding site residues contributing to peptide specificity. The grouping of HLA molecules achieved here will be useful for rational vaccine design, understanding disease susceptibilities and predicting risk of organ transplants.

  1. Ligation of major histocompatibility complex class I antigens (MHC-I) prevents apoptosis induced by Fas or SAPK/JNK activation in T-lymphoma cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lamberth, K; Claesson, M H

    2001-01-01

    Early apoptosis in Jurkat T-lymphoma cells was induced by agonistic anti-Fas Ab or by anisomycin which activates the stress kinases SAPK/JNK. Apoptosis was inhibited by ligation of major histocompatibility complex class I antigens (MHC-I). MHC-I ligation induced upregulation of the anti-apoptotic......Early apoptosis in Jurkat T-lymphoma cells was induced by agonistic anti-Fas Ab or by anisomycin which activates the stress kinases SAPK/JNK. Apoptosis was inhibited by ligation of major histocompatibility complex class I antigens (MHC-I). MHC-I ligation induced upregulation of the anti......-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein and stabilized the mitochondrial membrane potential (Deltapsim). MHC-I ligation also prevented downregulation of Bcl-2 and destabilization of Deltapsim induced by anti-Fas Ab treatment or anisomycin exposure. Studies on three different Jurkat cell mutants deficient for src p56(lck), ZAP......-70 kinase, or TCR/CD3 gamma-chain showed that the cells undergo apoptosis after Fas ligation. Anisomycin exposure induced apoptosis in the src p56(lck)-deficient cell line but not in the two other mutant cell lines. Simultaneous cross-linking of MHC-I and Fas ligation inhibited apoptosis in the ZAP...

  2. Class-first analysis in a continuum: an approach to the complexities of schools, society, and insurgent science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valdiviezo, Laura Alicia

    2010-06-01

    This essay addresses Katherine Richardson Bruna's paper: Mexican Immigrant Transnational Social Capital and Class Transformation: Examining the Role of Peer Mediation in Insurgent Science, through five main points . First, I offer a comparison between the traditional analysis of classism in Latin America and Richardson Bruna's call for a class-first analysis in the North American social sciences where there has been a tendency to obviate the specific examination of class relations and class issues. Secondly, I discuss that a class-first analysis solely cannot suffice to depict the complex dimensions in the relations of schools and society. Thus, I suggest a continuum in the class-first analysis. Third, I argue that social constructions surrounding issues of language, ethnicity, and gender necessarily intersect with issues of class and that, in fact, those other constructions offer compatible epistemologies that aid in representing the complexity of social and institutional practices in the capitalist society. Richardson Bruna's analysis of Augusto's interactions with his teacher and peers in the science class provides a fourth point of discussion in this essay. As a final point in my response I discuss Richardson Bruna's idea of making accessible class-first analysis knowledge to educators and especially to science teachers.

  3. A new polymorphic and multicopy MHC gene family related to nonmammalian class I

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leelayuwat, C.; Degli-Esposti, M.A.; Abraham, L.J. [Univ. of Western Australia, Perth (Australia); Townend, D.C. [Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth (Australia); Dawkins, R.L. [Royal Perth Hospital, Perth (Australia)]|[Univ. of Western Australia, Perth (Australia)]|[Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth (Australia)

    1994-12-31

    The authors have used genomic analysis to characterize a region of the central major histocompatibility complex (MHC) spanning {approximately} 300 kilobases (kb) between TNF and HLA-B. This region has been suggested to carry genetic factors relevant to the development of autoimmune diseases such as myasthenia gravis (MG) and insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Genomic sequence was analyzed for coding potential, using two neural network programs, GRAIL and GeneParser. A genomic probe, JAB, containing putative coding sequences (PERB11) located 60 kb centromeric of HLA-B, was used for northern analysis of human tissues. Multiple transcripts were detected. Southern analysis of genomic DNA and overlapping YAC clones, covering the region from BAT1 to HLA-F, indicated that there are at least five copies of PERB11, four of which are located within this region of the MHC. The partial cDNA sequence of PERB11 was obtained from poly-A RNA derived from skeletal muscle. The putative amino acid sequence of PERB11 shares {approximately} 30% identity to MHC class I molecules from various species, including reptiles, chickens, and frogs, as well as to other MHC class I-like molecules, such as the IgG FcR of the mouse and rat and the human Zn-{alpha}2-glycoprotein. From direct comparison of amino acid sequences, it is concluded that PERB11 is a distinct molecule more closely related to nonmammalian than known mammalian MHC class I molecules. Genomic sequence analysis of PERB11 from five MHC ancestral haplotypes (AH) indicated that the gene is polymorphic at both DNA and protein level. The results suggest that the authors have identified a novel polymorphic gene family with multiple copies within the MHC. 48 refs., 10 figs., 2 tabs.

  4. Development of a rapid in vitro protein refolding assay which discriminates between peptide-bound and peptide-free forms of recombinant porcine major histocompatibility class I complex (SLA-I)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Oleksiewicz, M.B.; Kristensen, B.; Ladekjaer-Mikkelsen, A.S.

    2002-01-01

    The extracellular domains of swine leukocyte antigen class I (SLA-I, major histocompatibility complex protein class 1) were cloned and sequenced for two haplotypes (114 and H7) which do not share any alleles based on serological typing, and which are the most important in Danish farmed pigs...

  5. Characterization and 454 pyrosequencing of Major Histocompatibility Complex class I genes in the great tit reveal complexity in a passerine system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sepil Irem

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The critical role of Major Histocompatibility Complex (Mhc genes in disease resistance and their highly polymorphic nature make them exceptional candidates for studies investigating genetic effects on survival, mate choice and conservation. Species that harbor many Mhc loci and high allelic diversity are particularly intriguing as they are potentially under strong selection and studies of such species provide valuable information as to the mechanisms maintaining Mhc diversity. However comprehensive genotyping of complex multilocus systems has been a major challenge to date with the result that little is known about the consequences of this complexity in terms of fitness effects and disease resistance. Results In this study, we genotyped the Mhc class I exon 3 of the great tit (Parus major from two nest-box breeding populations near Oxford, UK that have been monitored for decades. Characterization of Mhc class I exon 3 was adopted and bidirectional sequencing was carried using the 454 sequencing platform. Full analysis of sequences through a stepwise variant validation procedure allowed reliable typing of more than 800 great tits based on 214,357 reads; from duplicates we estimated the repeatability of typing as 0.94. A total of 862 alleles were detected, and the presence of at least 16 functional loci was shown - the highest number characterized in a wild bird species. Finally, the functional alleles were grouped into 17 supertypes based on their antigen binding affinities. Conclusions We found extreme complexity at the Mhc class I of the great tit both in terms of allelic diversity and gene number. The presence of many functional loci was shown, together with a pseudogene family and putatively non-functional alleles; there was clear evidence that functional alleles were under strong balancing selection. This study is the first step towards an in-depth analysis of this gene complex in this species, which will help

  6. NLRC5: a newly discovered MHC class I transactivator (CITA)

    OpenAIRE

    Meissner, Torsten B.; Li, Amy; Kobayashi, Koichi S.

    2011-01-01

    Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and class II are crucial for the function of the human adaptive immune system. An NLR protein, CIITA (MHC class II transactivator), is a master regulator of MHC class II gene expression as well as of some of the genes involved in MHC class II antigen presentation. It has recently been discovered that another member of the NLR protein family, NLRC5, transcriptionally activates MHC class I genes, and thus acts as “CITA” (MHC class I transactivator)...

  7. Zika Virus Escapes NK Cell Detection by Upregulating Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I Molecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glasner, Ariella; Oiknine-Djian, Esther; Weisblum, Yiska; Diab, Mohammad; Panet, Amos; Wolf, Dana G; Mandelboim, Ofer

    2017-11-15

    NK cells are innate lymphocytes that participate in many immune processes encompassing cancer, bacterial and fungal infection, autoimmunity, and even pregnancy and that specialize in antiviral defense. NK cells express inhibitory and activating receptors and kill their targets when activating signals overpower inhibitory signals. The NK cell inhibitory receptors include a uniquely diverse array of proteins named killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs), the CD94 family, and the leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor (LIR) family. The NK cell inhibitory receptors recognize mostly major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I (MHC-I) proteins. Zika virus has recently emerged as a major threat due to its association with birth defects and its pandemic potential. How Zika virus interacts with the immune system, and especially with NK cells, is unclear. Here we show that Zika virus infection is barely sensed by NK cells, since little or no increase in the expression of activating NK cell ligands was observed following Zika infection. In contrast, we demonstrate that Zika virus infection leads to the upregulation of MHC class I proteins and consequently to the inhibition of NK cell killing. Mechanistically, we show that MHC class I proteins are upregulated via the RIGI-IRF3 pathway and that this upregulation is mediated via beta interferon (IFN-β). Potentially, countering MHC class I upregulation during Zika virus infection could be used as a prophylactic treatment against Zika virus. IMPORTANCE NK cells are innate lymphocytes that recognize and eliminate various pathogens and are known mostly for their role in controlling viral infections. NK cells express inhibitory and activating receptors, and they kill or spare their targets based on the integration of inhibitory and activating signals. Zika virus has recently emerged as a major threat to humans due to its pandemic potential and its association with birth defects. The role of NK cells in Zika virus

  8. pH dependence of MHC class I-restricted peptide presentation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stryhn, A; Pedersen, L O; Romme, T

    1996-01-01

    The function of MHC class I molecules is to bind and present antigenic peptides to cytotoxic T cells. Here, we report that class I-restricted peptide presentation is strongly pH dependent. The presentation of some peptides was enhanced at acidic pH, whereas the presentation of others was inhibited....... Biochemical peptide-MHC class I binding assays demonstrated that peptide-MHC class I complexes are more stable at neutral pH than at acidic pH. We suggest that acid-dependent peptide dissociation can generate empty class I molecules and that the resulting binding potential can be exploited by a subset...

  9. Characterization of major histocompatibility complex class I, and class II DRB loci of captive and wild Indian leopards (Panthera pardus fusca).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parmar, Drashti R; Mitra, Siuli; Bhadouriya, Snehalata; Rao, Tirupathi; Kunteepuram, Vaishnavi; Gaur, Ajay

    2017-12-01

    The major histocompatibility complex (MHC), in vertebrate animals, is a multi-genic protein complex that encodes various receptors. During a disease, MHC interacts with the antigen and triggers a cascade of adaptive immune responses to overcome a disease outbreak. The MHC is very important region from immunological point of view, but it is poorly characterized among Indian leopards. During this investigation, we examined genetic diversity for MHC class I (MHC-I) and MHC class II-DRB (MHC-II) among wild and captive Indian leopards. This study estimated a pool of 9 and 17 alleles for MHC-I and MHC-II, respectively. The wild group of individuals showed higher nucleotide diversity and amino acid polymorphism compared to the captive group. A phylogenetic comparison with other felids revealed a clustering in MHC-I and interspersed presence in MHC-II sequences. A test for selection also revealed a deviation from neutrality at MHC-II DRB loci and higher non-synonymous substitution rate (dN) among the individuals from wild group. Further, the wild individuals showed higher dN for both MHC I and II genes compared to the group that was bred under captive conditions. These findings suggest the role of micro-evolutionary forces, such as pathogen-mediated selection, to cause MHC variations among the two groups of Indian leopards, because the two groups have been bred in two different environments for a substantial period of time. Since, MHC diversity is often linked with the quality of immunological health; the results obtained from this study fill the gap of knowledge on disease predisposition among wild and captive Indian leopards.

  10. Porcine major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules and analysis of their peptide-binding specificities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Lasse Eggers; Harndahl, Mikkel; Rasmussen, Michael

    2011-01-01

    a HLA-I molecule (HLA-A*11:01), thereby generating recombinant human/swine chimeric MHC-I molecules as well as the intact SLA-1*0401 molecule. Biochemical peptide-binding assays and positional scanning combinatorial peptide libraries were used to analyze the peptide-binding motifs of these molecules....... A pan-specific predictor of peptide–MHC-I binding, NetMHCpan, which was originally developed to cover the binding specificities of all known HLA-I molecules, was successfully used to predict the specificities of the SLA-1*0401 molecule as well as the porcine/human chimeric MHC-I molecules. These data......In all vertebrate animals, CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are controlled by major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) molecules. These are highly polymorphic peptide receptors selecting and presenting endogenously derived epitopes to circulating CTLs. The polymorphism of the MHC...

  11. Signal transduction by the major histocompatibility complex class I molecule

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, A E; Skov, Svend; Bregenholt, S

    1999-01-01

    Ligation of cell surface major histocompatibility class I (MHC-I) proteins by antibodies, or by their native counter receptor, the CD8 molecule, mediates transduction of signals into the cells. MHC-I-mediated signaling can lead to both increased and decreased activity of the MHC-I-expressing cell...... and functioning, MHC-I molecules might be of importance for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis not only within the immune system, but also in the interplay between the immune system and other organ systems....

  12. Expression and clinical value of the soluble major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain A molecule in the serum of patients with renal tumors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Y-K; Jia, C-M; Yuan, G-J; Liu, W; Qiu, Y; Zhu, Q-G

    2015-06-29

    We investigated the expression and clinical value of the soluble major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain A (sMICA) molecule in the serum of patients with renal tumors. Sixty patients diagnosed with renal tumors were enrolled in the experimental group, whereas 20 healthy volunteers served as the control group. The sMICA levels were measured via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the results were analyzed in combination with data from pathol-ogy examination. The experimental group had a statistically significant higher sMICA level (P < 0.05) than the control group. The sMICA level was higher in patients with malignant tumors than in those with be-nign tumors. We also observed a positive relationship among different tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) pathological stages with more advanced diseases exhibiting higher sMICA levels. As a tumor-associated antigen, MICA has a close relationship with renal tumorigenesis and immune es-cape. Our results indicated that sMICA levels were related to tumor pathol-ogy, TNM stage, and metastasis. Therefore, sMICA might be a potential marker for tumor characteristics, prognosis, and recurrence prediction.

  13. T-cell activation. VI. Inhibitory and stimulatory effects of anti-major histocompatibility complex class I antibodies in allogeneic mixed lymphocyte culture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Röpke, M; Röpke, C; Claesson, Mogens Helweg

    1993-01-01

    Murine T splenocytes stimulated in primary allogeneic mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) were incubated with soluble anti-major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I monoclonal antibodies. These antibodies induced inhibition in the cytotoxicity of the responding population and this inhibition...... was not dependent on the domain on class I molecules recognized by the antibodies. Cross-reactivity of the antibodies between the responder and stimulating cell population caused a marked reduction in the inhibitory effect compared to systems where no such cross-reactivity was present. Saturating levels...... of the antibodies caused a reduction in generation of T-cell cytotoxicity, whereas low concentrations stimulated the same response. These results demonstrate that the MHC class I molecules of T cells are of significant importance in antigen-induced signal transduction....

  14. Duration of the pubertal peak in skeletal Class I and Class III subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuc-Michalska, Małgorzata; Baccetti, Tiziano

    2010-01-01

    To estimate and compare the duration of the pubertal growth peak in Class I and Class III subjects. The data examined consisted of pretreatment lateral cephalometric records of 218 skeletal Class I or Class III subjects (93 female and 125 male subjects) of white ancestry. The duration of the pubertal peak was calculated from the average chronological age intervals between stages CS3 and CS4 of the cervical vertebral maturation in Class I vs Class III groups (t-test). In skeletal Class I subjects, the pubertal peak had a mean duration of 11 months, whereas in Class III subjects it lasted 16 months. The average difference (5 months) was statistically significant (P < .001). The growth interval corresponding to the pubertal growth spurt (CS3-CS4) was longer in Class III subjects than in subjects with normal skeletal relationships; the larger increases in mandibular length during the pubertal peak reported in the literature for Class III subjects may be related to the longer duration of the pubertal peak.

  15. Axotomy induces MHC class I antigen expression on rat nerve cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Maehlen, J; Schröder, H D; Klareskog, L

    1988-01-01

    Immunomorphological staining demonstrates that class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-coded antigen expression can be selectively induced on otherwise class I-negative rat nerve cells by peripheral axotomy. Induction of class I as well as class II antigen expression was simultaneously seen...... on non-neural cells in the immediate vicinity of the injured nerve cells. As nerve regeneration after axotomy includes growth of new nerve cell processes and formation of new nerve cell contacts, the present findings raise the question of a role for MHC-coded molecules in cell-cell interactions during...... nerve cell growth....

  16. Natural Product Screening Reveals Naphthoquinone Complex I Bypass Factors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scott B Vafai

    Full Text Available Deficiency of mitochondrial complex I is encountered in both rare and common diseases, but we have limited therapeutic options to treat this lesion to the oxidative phosphorylation system (OXPHOS. Idebenone and menadione are redox-active molecules capable of rescuing OXPHOS activity by engaging complex I-independent pathways of entry, often referred to as "complex I bypass." In the present study, we created a cellular model of complex I deficiency by using CRISPR genome editing to knock out Ndufa9 in mouse myoblasts, and utilized this cell line to develop a high-throughput screening platform for novel complex I bypass factors. We screened a library of ~40,000 natural product extracts and performed bioassay-guided fractionation on a subset of the top scoring hits. We isolated four plant-derived 1,4-naphthoquinone complex I bypass factors with structural similarity to menadione: chimaphilin and 3-chloro-chimaphilin from Chimaphila umbellata and dehydro-α-lapachone and dehydroiso-α-lapachone from Stereospermum euphoroides. We also tested a small number of structurally related naphthoquinones from commercial sources and identified two additional compounds with complex I bypass activity: 2-methoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone and 2-methoxy-3-methyl-1,4,-naphthoquinone. The six novel complex I bypass factors reported here expand this class of molecules and will be useful as tool compounds for investigating complex I disease biology.

  17. Mechanical Stress Downregulates MHC Class I Expression on Human Cancer Cell Membrane

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    La Rocca, Rosanna; Tallerico, Rossana; Hassan, Almosawy Talib

    2014-01-01

    In our body, cells are continuously exposed to physical forces that can regulate different cell functions such as cell proliferation, differentiation and death. In this work, we employed two different strategies to mechanically stress cancer cells. The cancer and healthy cell populations were...... treated either with mechanical stress delivered by a micropump (fabricated by deep X-ray nanolithography) or by ultrasound wave stimuli. A specific down-regulation of Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class I molecules expression on cancer cell membrane compared to different kinds of healthy cells...... between 700–1800 cm-1, indicated a relative concentration variation of MHC class I. PCA analysis was also performed to distinguish control and stressed cells within different cell lines. These mechanical induced phenotypic changes increase the tumor immunogenicity, as revealed by the related increased...

  18. The leader peptide of mutacin 1140 has distinct structural components compared to related class I lantibiotics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escano, Jerome; Stauffer, Byron; Brennan, Jacob; Bullock, Monica; Smith, Leif

    2014-12-01

    Lantibiotics are ribosomally synthesized peptide antibiotics composed of an N-terminal leader peptide that promotes the core peptide's interaction with the post translational modification (PTM) enzymes. Following PTMs, mutacin 1140 is transported out of the cell and the leader peptide is cleaved to yield the antibacterial peptide. Mutacin 1140 leader peptide is structurally unique compared to other class I lantibiotic leader peptides. Herein, we further our understanding of the structural differences of mutacin 1140 leader peptide with regard to other class I leader peptides. We have determined that the length of the leader peptide is important for the biosynthesis of mutacin 1140. We have also determined that mutacin 1140 leader peptide contains a novel four amino acid motif compared to related lantibiotics. PTM enzyme recognition of the leader peptide appears to be evolutionarily distinct from related class I lantibiotics. Our study on mutacin 1140 leader peptide provides a basis for future studies aimed at understanding its interaction with the PTM enzymes. © 2014 The Authors. MicrobiologyOpen published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Clinical significance of SNP (rs2596542 in histocompatibility complex class I-related gene A promoter region among hepatitis C virus related hepatocellular carcinoma cases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amal A. Mohamed

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The major histocompatibility complex class I-related gene A (MICA is an antigen induced by stress and performs an integral role in immune responses as an anti-infectious and antitumor agent. This work was designed to investigate whether (SNP rs2596542C/T in MICA promoter region is predictive of liver cirrhosis (LC and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC or not. Forty-seven healthy controls and 94 HCV-infected patients, subdivided into 47 LC and 47 HCC subjects were enrolled in this study. SNP association was studied using real time PCR and soluble serum MICA concentration was measured using ELISA. Results showed that heterozygous genotype rs2596542CT was significantly (P = 0.022 distributed between HCC and LC related CHC patients. The sMICA was significantly higher (P = 0.0001 among HCC and LC. No significant association (P = 0.56 between rs2596542CT genotypes and sMICA levels was observed. Studying SNP rs2596542C/T association with HCC and LC susceptibility revealed that statistical significant differences (P = 0.013, P = 0.027 were only observed between SNP rs2596542C/T and each of HCC and LC, respectively, versus healthy controls, indicating that the rs2596542C/T genetic variation is not a significant contributor to HCC development in LC patients. Moreover, the T allele was considered a risk factor for HCC and LC vulnerability in HCV patients (OR = 1.93 and 2.1, respectively, while the C allele contributes to decreasing HCC risk. Therefore, SNP (rs2596542C/T in MICA promoter region and sMICA levels might be potential useful markers in the assessment of liver disease progression to LC and HCC.

  20. Characterisation of major histocompatibility complex class I transcripts in an Australian dragon lizard.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hacking, Jessica; Bertozzi, Terry; Moussalli, Adnan; Bradford, Tessa; Gardner, Michael

    2018-07-01

    Characterisation of squamate major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes has lagged behind other taxonomic groups. MHC genes encode cell-surface glycoproteins that present self- and pathogen-derived peptides to T cells and play a critical role in pathogen recognition. Here we characterise MHC class I transcripts for an agamid lizard (Ctenophorus decresii) and investigate the evolution of MHC class I in Iguanian lizards. An iterative assembly strategy was used to identify six full-length C. decresii MHC class I transcripts, which were validated as likely to encode classical class I MHC molecules. Evidence for exon shuffling recombination was uncovered for C. decresii transcripts and Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of Iguanian MHC class I sequences revealed a pattern expected under a birth-and-death mode of evolution. This work provides a stepping stone towards further research on the agamid MHC class I region. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Engineering chimeric human and mouse major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I tetramers for the production of T-cell receptor (TCR) mimic antibodies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bentley, Carol; Yates, Jenna; Salimi, Maryam; Greig, Jenny; Wiblin, Sarah; Hassanali, Tasneem; Banham, Alison H.

    2017-01-01

    Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies targeting cell surface or secreted antigens are among the most effective classes of novel immunotherapies. However, the majority of human proteins and established cancer biomarkers are intracellular. Peptides derived from these intracellular proteins are presented on the cell surface by major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) and can be targeted by a novel class of T-cell receptor mimic (TCRm) antibodies that recognise similar epitopes to T-cell receptors. Humoural immune responses to MHC-I tetramers rarely generate TCRm antibodies and many antibodies recognise the α3 domain of MHC-I and β2 microglobulin (β2m) that are not directly involved in presenting the target peptide. Here we describe the production of functional chimeric human-murine HLA-A2-H2Dd tetramers and modifications that increase their bacterial expression and refolding efficiency. These chimeric tetramers were successfully used to generate TCRm antibodies against two epitopes derived from wild type tumour suppressor p53 (RMPEAAPPV and GLAPPQHLIRV) that have been used in vaccination studies. Immunisation with chimeric tetramers yielded no antibodies recognising the human α3 domain and β2m and generated TCRm antibodies capable of specifically recognising the target peptide/MHC-I complex in fully human tetramers and on the cell surface of peptide pulsed T2 cells. Chimeric tetramers represent novel immunogens for TCRm antibody production and may also improve the yield of tetramers for groups using these reagents to monitor CD8 T-cell immune responses in HLA-A2 transgenic mouse models of immunotherapy. PMID:28448627

  2. Ligation of major histocompatibility complex class I antigens (MHC-I) prevents apoptosis induced by Fas or SAPK/JNK activation in T-lymphoma cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lamberth, K; Claesson, M H

    2001-01-01

    Early apoptosis in Jurkat T-lymphoma cells was induced by agonistic anti-Fas Ab or by anisomycin which activates the stress kinases SAPK/JNK. Apoptosis was inhibited by ligation of major histocompatibility complex class I antigens (MHC-I). MHC-I ligation induced upregulation of the anti......-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein and stabilized the mitochondrial membrane potential (Deltapsim). MHC-I ligation also prevented downregulation of Bcl-2 and destabilization of Deltapsim induced by anti-Fas Ab treatment or anisomycin exposure. Studies on three different Jurkat cell mutants deficient for src p56(lck), ZAP......-70 kinase, or TCR/CD3 gamma-chain showed that the cells undergo apoptosis after Fas ligation. Anisomycin exposure induced apoptosis in the src p56(lck)-deficient cell line but not in the two other mutant cell lines. Simultaneous cross-linking of MHC-I and Fas ligation inhibited apoptosis in the ZAP...

  3. Forming a complex with MHC class I molecules interferes with mouse CD1d functional expression.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renukaradhya J Gourapura

    Full Text Available CD1d molecules are structurally similar to MHC class I, but present lipid antigens as opposed to peptides. Here, we show that MHC class I molecules physically associate with (and regulate the functional expression of mouse CD1d on the surface of cells. Low pH (3.0 acid stripping of MHC class I molecules resulted in increased surface expression of murine CD1d on antigen presenting cells as well as augmented CD1d-mediated antigen presentation to NKT cells. Consistent with the above results, TAP1-/- mice were found to have a higher percentage of type I NKT cells as compared to wild type mice. Moreover, bone marrow-derived dendritic cells from TAP1-/- mice showed increased antigen presentation by CD1d compared to wild type mice. Together, these results suggest that MHC class I molecules can regulate NKT cell function, in part, by masking CD1d.

  4. Development of a rapid in vitro protein refolding assay which discriminates between peptide-bound and peptide-free forms of recombinant porcine major histocompatibility class I complex (SLA-I)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Oleksiewicz, M.B.; Kristensen, B.; Ladekjaer-Mikkelsen, A.S.

    2002-01-01

    The extracellular domains of swine leukocyte antigen class I (SLA-I, major histocompatibility complex protein class 1) were cloned and sequenced for two haplotypes (114 and H7) which do not share any alleles based on serological typing, and which are the most important in Danish farmed pigs....... The extracellular domain of SLA-I was connected to porcine beta2 microglobulin by glycine-rich linkers. The engineered sin.-le-chain proteins, consisting of fused SLA-I and beta2 microglobulin, were overexpressed as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli. Also, variants were made of the single-chain proteins......, by linking them through glycine-rich linkers to peptides representing T-cell epitopes from classical swine fever virus (CSFV) and foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). An in vitro refold assay was developed, using a monoclonal anti-SLA antibody (PT85A) to gauge refolding. The single best-defined, SLA...

  5. <i>Toxoplasma gondiii> peptide ligands open the gate of the HLA class I binding groove

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    McMurtrey, Curtis; Trolle, Thomas; Sansom, Tiffany

    2016-01-01

    HLA class I presentation of pathogen-derived peptide ligands is essential for CD8+ T cell recognition of Toxoplasma gondii infected cells. Currently, little data exist pertaining to peptides that are presented after T. gondii infection. Herein we purify HLA-A*02:01 complexes from T. gondii infect...

  6. Class I Underground Injection Control Program: Study of the Risks Associated with Class I Underground Injection Wells

    Science.gov (United States)

    The document provides describes the current Class I UIC program, the history of Class I injection, and studies of human health risks associated with Class I injection wells, which were conducted for past regulatory efforts and policy documentation.

  7. Focusing Leaky Waves: A Class of Electromagnetic Localized Waves with Complex Spectra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuscaldo, Walter; Comite, Davide; Boesso, Alessandro; Baccarelli, Paolo; Burghignoli, Paolo; Galli, Alessandro

    2018-05-01

    Localized waves, i.e., the wide class of limited-diffraction, limited-dispersion solutions to the wave equation are generally characterized by real wave numbers. We consider the role played by localized waves with generally complex "leaky" wave numbers. First, the impact of the imaginary part of the wave number (i.e., the leakage constant) on the diffractive (spatial broadening) features of monochromatic localized solutions (i.e., beams) is rigorously evaluated. Then general conditions are derived to show that only a restricted class of spectra (either real or complex) allows for generating a causal localized wave. It turns out that backward leaky waves fall into this category. On this ground, several criteria for the systematic design of wideband radiators, namely, periodic radial waveguides based on backward leaky waves, are established in the framework of leaky-wave theory. An effective design method is proposed to minimize the frequency dispersion of the proposed class of devices and the impact of the "leakage" on the dispersive (temporal broadening) features of polychromatic localized solutions (i.e., pulses) is accounted for. Numerical results corroborate the concept, clearly highlighting the advantages and limitations of the leaky-wave approach for the generation of localized pulses at millimeter-wave frequencies, where energy focusing is in high demand in modern applications.

  8. Haemophilus ducreyi Cutaneous Ulcer Strains Diverged from Both Class I and Class II Genital Ulcer Strains: Implications for Epidemiological Studies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dharanesh Gangaiah

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Haemophilus ducreyi has emerged as a major cause of cutaneous ulcers (CU in yaws-endemic regions of the tropics in the South Pacific, South East Asia and Africa. H. ducreyi was once thought only to cause the genital ulcer (GU disease chancroid; GU strains belong to 2 distinct classes, class I and class II. Using whole-genome sequencing of 4 CU strains from Samoa, 1 from Vanuatu and 1 from Papua New Guinea, we showed that CU strains diverged from the class I strain 35000HP and that one CU strain expressed β-lactamase. Recently, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention released the genomes of 11 additional CU strains from Vanuatu and Ghana; however, the evolutionary relationship of these CU strains to previously-characterized CU and GU strains is unknown.We performed phylogenetic analysis of 17 CU and 10 GU strains. Class I and class II GU strains formed two distinct clades. The class I strains formed two subclades, one containing 35000HP and HD183 and the other containing the remainder of the class I strains. Twelve of the CU strains formed a subclone under the class I 35000HP subclade, while 2 CU strains formed a subclone under the other class I subclade. Unexpectedly, 3 of the CU strains formed a subclone under the class II clade. Phylogenetic analysis of dsrA-hgbA-ncaA sequences yielded a tree similar to that of whole-genome phylogenetic tree.CU strains diverged from multiple lineages within both class I and class II GU strains. Multilocus sequence typing of dsrA-hgbA-ncaA could be reliably used for epidemiological investigation of CU and GU strains. As class II strains grow relatively poorly and are relatively more susceptible to vancomycin than class I strains, these findings have implications for methods to recover CU strains. Comparison of contemporary CU and GU isolates would help clarify the relationship between these entities.

  9. Haemophilus ducreyi Cutaneous Ulcer Strains Diverged from Both Class I and Class II Genital Ulcer Strains: Implications for Epidemiological Studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gangaiah, Dharanesh; Spinola, Stanley M

    2016-12-01

    Haemophilus ducreyi has emerged as a major cause of cutaneous ulcers (CU) in yaws-endemic regions of the tropics in the South Pacific, South East Asia and Africa. H. ducreyi was once thought only to cause the genital ulcer (GU) disease chancroid; GU strains belong to 2 distinct classes, class I and class II. Using whole-genome sequencing of 4 CU strains from Samoa, 1 from Vanuatu and 1 from Papua New Guinea, we showed that CU strains diverged from the class I strain 35000HP and that one CU strain expressed β-lactamase. Recently, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention released the genomes of 11 additional CU strains from Vanuatu and Ghana; however, the evolutionary relationship of these CU strains to previously-characterized CU and GU strains is unknown. We performed phylogenetic analysis of 17 CU and 10 GU strains. Class I and class II GU strains formed two distinct clades. The class I strains formed two subclades, one containing 35000HP and HD183 and the other containing the remainder of the class I strains. Twelve of the CU strains formed a subclone under the class I 35000HP subclade, while 2 CU strains formed a subclone under the other class I subclade. Unexpectedly, 3 of the CU strains formed a subclone under the class II clade. Phylogenetic analysis of dsrA-hgbA-ncaA sequences yielded a tree similar to that of whole-genome phylogenetic tree. CU strains diverged from multiple lineages within both class I and class II GU strains. Multilocus sequence typing of dsrA-hgbA-ncaA could be reliably used for epidemiological investigation of CU and GU strains. As class II strains grow relatively poorly and are relatively more susceptible to vancomycin than class I strains, these findings have implications for methods to recover CU strains. Comparison of contemporary CU and GU isolates would help clarify the relationship between these entities.

  10. An Approach for a Synthetic CTL Vaccine Design against Zika Flavivirus Using Class I and Class II Epitopes Identified by Computer Modeling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edecio Cunha-Neto

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The threat posed by severe congenital abnormalities related to Zika virus (ZKV infection during pregnancy has turned development of a ZKV vaccine into an emergency. Recent work suggests that the cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL response to infection is an important defense mechanism in response to ZKV. Here, we develop the rationale and strategy for a new approach to developing cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL vaccines for ZKV flavivirus infection. The proposed approach is based on recent studies using a protein structure computer model for HIV epitope selection designed to select epitopes for CTL attack optimized for viruses that exhibit antigenic drift. Because naturally processed and presented human ZKV T cell epitopes have not yet been described, we identified predicted class I peptide sequences on ZKV matching previously identified DNV (Dengue class I epitopes and by using a Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC binding prediction tool. A subset of those met the criteria for optimal CD8+ attack based on physical chemistry parameters determined by analysis of the ZKV protein structure encoded in open source Protein Data File (PDB format files. We also identified candidate ZKV epitopes predicted to bind promiscuously to multiple HLA class II molecules that could provide help to the CTL responses. This work suggests that a CTL vaccine for ZKV may be possible even if ZKV exhibits significant antigenic drift. We have previously described a microsphere-based CTL vaccine platform capable of eliciting an immune response for class I epitopes in mice and are currently working toward in vivo testing of class I and class II epitope delivery directed against ZKV epitopes using the same microsphere-based vaccine.

  11. Shared fine specificity between T-cell receptors and an antibody recognizing a peptide/major histocompatibility class I complex

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stryhn, A; Andersen, P S; Pedersen, L O

    1996-01-01

    Cytotoxic T cells recognize mosaic structures consisting of target peptides embedded within self-major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules. This structure has been described in great detail for several peptide-MHC complexes. In contrast, how T-cell receptors recognize peptide...... each other showing that peptide residues 1, 3, 4, 6, and 7 were exposed on the MHC surface and recognized by the T cells. Thus, the majority, and perhaps all, of the side chains of the non-primary anchor residues may be available for T-cell recognition, and contribute to the stringent specificity of T...... cells. A striking similarity between the specificity of the T cells and that of the pSAN antibody was found and most of the peptide residues, which could be recognized by the T cells, could also be recognized by the antibody....

  12. Cutting Edge: Impaired MHC Class I Expression in Mice Deficient for Nlrc5/CITA

    OpenAIRE

    Biswas, Amlan; Meissner, Torsten B.; Taro Kawai,; Kobayashi, Koichi S.

    2012-01-01

    MHC class I and class II are crucial for the adaptive immune system. Although regulation of MHC class II expression by CIITA (class II transactivator) has long been recognized, the mechanism of MHC class I transactivation has been largely unknown until the recent discovery of NLRC5/CITA. Here we show using Nlrc5-deficient mice that NLRC5 is required for both constitutive and inducible MHC class I expression. Loss of Nlrc5 resulted in severe reduction in the expression of MHC class I and relat...

  13. 454 sequencing reveals extreme complexity of the class II Major Histocompatibility Complex in the collared flycatcher

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gustafsson Lars

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Because of their functional significance, the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC class I and II genes have been the subject of continuous interest in the fields of ecology, evolution and conservation. In some vertebrate groups MHC consists of multiple loci with similar alleles; therefore, the multiple loci must be genotyped simultaneously. In such complex systems, understanding of the evolutionary patterns and their causes has been limited due to challenges posed by genotyping. Results Here we used 454 amplicon sequencing to characterize MHC class IIB exon 2 variation in the collared flycatcher, an important organism in evolutionary and immuno-ecological studies. On the basis of over 152,000 sequencing reads we identified 194 putative alleles in 237 individuals. We found an extreme complexity of the MHC class IIB in the collared flycatchers, with our estimates pointing to the presence of at least nine expressed loci and a large, though difficult to estimate precisely, number of pseudogene loci. Many similar alleles occurred in the pseudogenes indicating either a series of recent duplications or extensive concerted evolution. The expressed alleles showed unambiguous signals of historical selection and the occurrence of apparent interlocus exchange of alleles. Placing the collared flycatcher's MHC sequences in the context of passerine diversity revealed transspecific MHC class II evolution within the Muscicapidae family. Conclusions 454 amplicon sequencing is an effective tool for advancing our understanding of the MHC class II structure and evolutionary patterns in Passeriformes. We found a highly dynamic pattern of evolution of MHC class IIB genes with strong signals of selection and pronounced sequence divergence in expressed genes, in contrast to the apparent sequence homogenization in pseudogenes. We show that next generation sequencing offers a universal, affordable method for the characterization and, in perspective

  14. Mechanical Stress Downregulates MHC Class I Expression on Human Cancer Cell Membrane

    KAUST Repository

    La Rocca, Rosanna

    2014-12-26

    In our body, cells are continuously exposed to physical forces that can regulate different cell functions such as cell proliferation, differentiation and death. In this work, we employed two different strategies to mechanically stress cancer cells. The cancer and healthy cell populations were treated either with mechanical stress delivered by a micropump (fabricated by deep X-ray nanolithography) or by ultrasound wave stimuli. A specific down-regulation of Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class I molecules expression on cancer cell membrane compared to different kinds of healthy cells (fibroblasts, macrophages, dendritic and lymphocyte cells) was observed, stimulating the cells with forces in the range of nano-newton, and pressures between 1 and 10 bar (1 bar = 100.000 Pascal), depending on the devices used. Moreover, Raman spectroscopy analysis, after mechanical treatment, in the range between 700–1800 cm−1, indicated a relative concentration variation of MHC class I. PCA analysis was also performed to distinguish control and stressed cells within different cell lines. These mechanical induced phenotypic changes increase the tumor immunogenicity, as revealed by the related increased susceptibility to Natural Killer (NK) cells cytotoxic recognition.

  15. Mechanical stress downregulates MHC class I expression on human cancer cell membrane.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosanna La Rocca

    Full Text Available In our body, cells are continuously exposed to physical forces that can regulate different cell functions such as cell proliferation, differentiation and death. In this work, we employed two different strategies to mechanically stress cancer cells. The cancer and healthy cell populations were treated either with mechanical stress delivered by a micropump (fabricated by deep X-ray nanolithography or by ultrasound wave stimuli. A specific down-regulation of Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC class I molecules expression on cancer cell membrane compared to different kinds of healthy cells (fibroblasts, macrophages, dendritic and lymphocyte cells was observed, stimulating the cells with forces in the range of nano-newton, and pressures between 1 and 10 bar (1 bar = 100.000 Pascal, depending on the devices used. Moreover, Raman spectroscopy analysis, after mechanical treatment, in the range between 700-1800 cm(-1, indicated a relative concentration variation of MHC class I. PCA analysis was also performed to distinguish control and stressed cells within different cell lines. These mechanical induced phenotypic changes increase the tumor immunogenicity, as revealed by the related increased susceptibility to Natural Killer (NK cells cytotoxic recognition.

  16. Identification of MHC class II restricted T‐cell‐mediated reactivity against MHC class I binding Mycobacterium tuberculosis peptides

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Mingjun; Tang, Sheila Tuyet; Stryhn, Anette

    2011-01-01

    Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) are known to play an important role in the control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection so identification of CTL epitopes from M. tuberculosis is of importance for the development of effective peptide...

  17. An Optimizing Compiler for Petascale I/O on Leadership Class Architectures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choudhary, Alok [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States); Kandemir, Mahmut [Pennsylvania State Univ., State College, PA (United States)

    2015-03-18

    In high-performance computing systems, parallel I/O architectures usually have very complex hierarchies with multiple layers that collectively constitute an I/O stack, including high-level I/O libraries such as PnetCDF and HDF5, I/O middleware such as MPI-IO, and parallel file systems such as PVFS and Lustre. Our project explored automated instrumentation and compiler support for I/O intensive applications. Our project made significant progress towards understanding the complex I/O hierarchies of high-performance storage systems (including storage caches, HDDs, and SSDs), and designing and implementing state-of-the-art compiler/runtime system technology that targets I/O intensive HPC applications that target leadership class machine. This final report summarizes the major achievements of the project and also points out promising future directions.

  18. Study of class I integron in a Burkholderia cepacia complex strain isolated from blood colture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linda Furlanis

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available The Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc consists of several species that cause lung infections in patients with cystic fibrosis but are also capable to colonize immunocompromised patients. Once established, the infection is usually difficult to eradicate, as Bcc is intrinsically resistant to many antibiotics. Besides, the acquisition of additional resistance determinants by horizontal gene transfer makes very difficult the therapeutic approach to these infections. Among horizontally acquired DNAs, integrons have been frequently reported in many Gramnegative bacteria that affect human health, but they have not been found frequently in Burkholderia isolates until now. In the present work we report on a Bcc isolate, recovered from the blood of an immunocompromised patient, that carries a 2.3 kb class I integron already described in a Salmonella enterica isolate eight years ago, coding for aacA4, aadA1 and catB2 in its cassette array.

  19. Pan-specific prediction of peptide-MHC Class I complex stability, a correlate of T cell immunogenicity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Michael; Fenoy, Emilio; Harndahl, Mikkel

    2016-01-01

    Binding of peptides to MHC class I (MHC-I) molecules is the most selective event in the processing and presentation of Ags to CTL, and insights into the mechanisms that govern peptide-MHC-I binding should facilitate our understanding of CTL biology. Peptide-MHC-I interactions have traditionally b...

  20. 25 CFR 502.2 - Class I gaming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Class I gaming. 502.2 Section 502.2 Indians NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR GENERAL PROVISIONS DEFINITIONS OF THIS CHAPTER § 502.2 Class I gaming. Class I gaming means: (a) Social games played solely for prizes of minimal value...

  1. A roentgenocephalometric study on the condylar displacement in angle's class I and III malocclusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jeong Hwa; Park, Chang Seo

    1986-01-01

    The purpose of this investigation was to know correlation of mean values between centric occlusion and centric relation by the cephalogram in Angle's Class I and III malocclusion subjects. 22 adults with Angle's Class I malocclusion (17 men and 5 women, 21 to 27 years of age) and 14 adult with Angle's class III malocclusion (10 men and 4 women, 21 to 27 years of age) were selected form the dental students in Yonsei University. Each subject was given two lateral cephalometric radiographics and cephalometric analysis was performed. All data form these analyses was recorded and statistically processed with CYBER computer system. The results were obtained as follows: 1. There was a strong positive correlation between centric occlusion and centric relation in all subjects with Angle's Class I and III malocclusion. 2. In Angle's Class I malocclusion, measurements in lower facial height revealed significant difference between centric occlusion and centric relation (p<0.05). 3.When the mandible was movement was 1.27 mm (0.2-2.8 mm) in Angle's Class I malocclusion, 1.70 mm(0.55-4.15 mm) in Angle's Class III malocclusion, and 1.44 mm (0.2- 4.15 mm) in all subjects.

  2. Expression of rat class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) alloantigens and hepatocytes and hepatoma cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hunt, J.M.; Desai, P.A.; Chakraborty, S.

    1986-01-01

    Altered expression of Class I MHC alloantigens has been reported for murine tumors, and may be associated with the tumorigenic phenotype of tumor cells. To characterize MHC Class I alloantigen expression on a chemically-induced transplantable rat hepatoma cell line, 17X, derived from a (WF x F344) F 1 rat, polyvalent anti-F344 and anti-WF rat alloantisera were first used to immunoprecipitate the rat RT1.A Class I MHC alloantigens expressed on primary (WF x F344) F 1 hepatocyptes in short-term monolayer cultures. Two-dimensional isoelectric focusing and SDS-PAGE of immunoprecipitates from 35 S-methionine-labeled (WF x F344) F 1 hepatocytes clearly resolved the RT1.A/sup u/ (WF) and RT1.A/sup LvI/ (F344) parental alloantigens. Identical radiolabeling and immunoprecipitation failed to detect either parental alloantigen on the 17X hepatoma cells. However, indirect immunofluorescence and immunoblot analyses demonstrated the presence of parental alloantigens on the 17X cells. Immunization of F344 rats but not of WF rats with 17X cells resulted in antibodies cytotoxic for normal (WF X F344) F 1 spleen cells in the presence of complement. These findings indicate that a combination of detection techniques will be necessary to characterize altered alloantigen expression on rat hepatoma cells

  3. Class I mhc genes of cichlid fishes: identification, expression, and polymorphism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sato, A; Klein, D; Sültmann, H; Figueroa, F; O'hUigin, C; Klein, J

    1997-01-01

    Cichlid fishes of the East African Rift Valley lakes constitute an important model of adaptive radiation. Explosive speciation in the Great Lakes, in some cases as recently as 12 400 years ago, generated large species flocks that have been the focus of evolutionary studies for some time. The studies have, however, been hampered by the paucity of biochemical markers for phylogenetic reconstruction. Here, we describe a set of markers which should help to alleviate this problem. They are the class I genes of the major histocompatibility complex. We provide evidence for the existence of at least 17 class I loci in cichlid fishes, and for extensive polymorphism of three of these loci. Since the polymorphism has a trans-species character, it will be possible to use it in investigating the founding events of the individual species. The sequences of the cichlid class I fishes support the monophyly of actinopterygian fish on the one hand, and of tetrapods on the other.

  4. A viral, transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP)-independent, high affinity ligand with alternative interactions endogenously presented by the nonclassical human leukocyte antigen E class I molecule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorente, Elena; Infantes, Susana; Abia, David; Barnea, Eilon; Beer, Ilan; García, Ruth; Lasala, Fátima; Jiménez, Mercedes; Mir, Carmen; Morreale, Antonio; Admon, Arie; López, Daniel

    2012-10-12

    The transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) enables the flow of viral peptides generated in the cytosol by the proteasome and other proteases to the endoplasmic reticulum, where they complex with nascent human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I. Later, these peptide-HLA class I complexes can be recognized by CD8(+) lymphocytes. Cancerous cells and infected cells in which TAP is blocked, as well as individuals with unusable TAP complexes, are able to present peptides on HLA class I by generating them through TAP-independent processing pathways. Here, we identify a physiologically processed HLA-E ligand derived from the D8L protein in TAP-deficient vaccinia virus-infected cells. This natural high affinity HLA-E class I ligand uses alternative interactions to the anchor motifs previously described to be presented on nonclassical HLA class I molecules. This octameric peptide was also presented on HLA-Cw1 with similar binding affinity on both classical and nonclassical class I molecules. In addition, this viral peptide inhibits HLA-E-mediated cytolysis by natural killer cells. Comparison between the amino acid sequences of the presenting HLA-E and HLA-Cw1 alleles revealed a shared structural motif in both HLA class molecules, which could be related to their observed similar cross-reactivity affinities. This motif consists of several residues located on the floor of the peptide-binding site. These data expand the role of HLA-E as an antigen-presenting molecule.

  5. The Missing Link in Epstein-Barr Virus Immune Evasion: the BDLF3 Gene Induces Ubiquitination and Downregulation of Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I (MHC-I) and MHC-II.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quinn, Laura L; Williams, Luke R; White, Claire; Forrest, Calum; Zuo, Jianmin; Rowe, Martin

    2016-01-01

    The ability of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) to spread and persist in human populations relies on a balance between host immune responses and EBV immune evasion. CD8(+) cells specific for EBV late lytic cycle antigens show poor recognition of target cells compared to immediate early and early antigen-specific CD8(+) cells. This phenomenon is due in part to the early EBV protein BILF1, whose immunosuppressive activity increases with lytic cycle progression. However, published data suggest the existence of a hitherto unidentified immune evasion protein further enhancing protection against late EBV antigen-specific CD8(+) cells. We have now identified the late lytic BDLF3 gene as the missing link accounting for efficient evasion during the late lytic cycle. Interestingly, BDLF3 also contributes to evasion of CD4(+) cell responses to EBV. We report that BDLF3 downregulates expression of surface major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and class II molecules in the absence of any effect upon other surface molecules screened, including CD54 (ICAM-1) and CD71 (transferrin receptor). BDLF3 both enhanced internalization of surface MHC molecules and reduced the rate of their appearance at the cell surface. The reduced expression of surface MHC molecules correlated with functional protection against CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cell recognition. The molecular mechanism was identified as BDLF3-induced ubiquitination of MHC molecules and their subsequent downregulation in a proteasome-dependent manner. Immune evasion is a necessary feature of viruses that establish lifelong persistent infections in the face of strong immune responses. EBV is an important human pathogen whose immune evasion mechanisms are only partly understood. Of the EBV immune evasion mechanisms identified to date, none could explain why CD8(+) T cell responses to late lytic cycle genes are so infrequent and, when present, recognize lytically infected target cells so poorly relative to CD8(+) T cells specific for

  6. On synchronisation of a class of complex chaotic systems with complex unknown parameters via integral sliding mode control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tirandaz, Hamed; Karami-Mollaee, Ali

    2018-06-01

    Chaotic systems demonstrate complex behaviour in their state variables and their parameters, which generate some challenges and consequences. This paper presents a new synchronisation scheme based on integral sliding mode control (ISMC) method on a class of complex chaotic systems with complex unknown parameters. Synchronisation between corresponding states of a class of complex chaotic systems and also convergence of the errors of the system parameters to zero point are studied. The designed feedback control vector and complex unknown parameter vector are analytically achieved based on the Lyapunov stability theory. Moreover, the effectiveness of the proposed methodology is verified by synchronisation of the Chen complex system and the Lorenz complex systems as the leader and the follower chaotic systems, respectively. In conclusion, some numerical simulations related to the synchronisation methodology is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical discussions.

  7. An Optimizing Compiler for Petascale I/O on Leadership-Class Architectures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kandemir, Mahmut Taylan [PSU; Choudary, Alok [Northwestern; Thakur, Rajeev [ANL

    2014-03-01

    In high-performance computing (HPC), parallel I/O architectures usually have very complex hierarchies with multiple layers that collectively constitute an I/O stack, including high-level I/O libraries such as PnetCDF and HDF5, I/O middleware such as MPI-IO, and parallel file systems such as PVFS and Lustre. Our DOE project explored automated instrumentation and compiler support for I/O intensive applications. Our project made significant progress towards understanding the complex I/O hierarchies of high-performance storage systems (including storage caches, HDDs, and SSDs), and designing and implementing state-of-the-art compiler/runtime system technology that targets I/O intensive HPC applications that target leadership class machine. This final report summarizes the major achievements of the project and also points out promising future directions Two new sections in this report compared to the previous report are IOGenie and SSD/NVM-specific optimizations.

  8. A HLA class I cis-regulatory element whose activity can be modulated by hormones.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sim, B C; Hui, K M

    1994-12-01

    To elucidate the basis of the down-regulation in major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I gene expression and to identify possible DNA-binding regulatory elements that have the potential to interact with class I MHC genes, we have studied the transcriptional regulation of class I HLA genes in human breast carcinoma cells. A 9 base pair (bp) negative cis-regulatory element (NRE) has been identified using band-shift assays employing DNA sequences derived from the 5'-flanking region of HLA class I genes. This 9-bp element, GTCATGGCG, located within exon I of the HLA class I gene, can potently inhibit the expression of a heterologous thymidine kinase (TK) gene promoter and the HLA enhancer element. Furthermore, this regulatory element can exert its suppressive function in either the sense or anti-sense orientation. More interestingly, NRE can suppress dexamethasone-mediated gene activation in the context of the reported glucocorticoid-responsive element (GRE) in MCF-7 cells but has no influence on the estrogen-mediated transcriptional activation of MCF-7 cells in the context of the reported estrogen-responsive element (ERE). Furthermore, the presence of such a regulatory element within the HLA class I gene whose activity can be modulated by hormones correlates well with our observation that the level of HLA class I gene expression can be down-regulated by hormones in human breast carcinoma cells. Such interactions between negative regulatory elements and specific hormone trans-activators are novel and suggest a versatile form of transcriptional control.

  9. Efficient assembly of recombinant major histocompatibility complex class I molecules with preformed disulfide bonds

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ostergaard Pedersen, L; Nissen, Mogens Holst; Hansen, N J

    2001-01-01

    The expression of major histocompatibility class I (MHC-I) crucially depends upon the binding of appropriate peptides. MHC-I from natural sources are therefore always preoccupied with peptides complicating their purification and analysis. Here, we present an efficient solution to this problem....... Recombinant MHC-I heavy chains were produced in Escherichia coli and subsequently purified under denaturing conditions. In contrast to common practice, the molecules were not reduced during the purification. The oxidized MHC-I heavy chain isoforms were highly active with respect to peptide binding....... This suggests that de novo folding of denatured MHC-I molecules proceed efficiently if directed by preformed disulfide bond(s). Importantly, these molecules express serological epitopes and stain specific T cells; and they bind peptides specifically. Several denatured MHC-I heavy chains were analyzed and shown...

  10. Discovery of novel MHC-class I alleles and haplotypes in Filipino cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) by pyrosequencing and Sanger sequencing: Mafa-class I polymorphism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiina, Takashi; Yamada, Yukiho; Aarnink, Alice; Suzuki, Shingo; Masuya, Anri; Ito, Sayaka; Ido, Daisuke; Yamanaka, Hisashi; Iwatani, Chizuru; Tsuchiya, Hideaki; Ishigaki, Hirohito; Itoh, Yasushi; Ogasawara, Kazumasa; Kulski, Jerzy K; Blancher, Antoine

    2015-10-01

    Although the low polymorphism of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) transplantation genes in the Filipino cynomolgus macaque (Macaca fascicularis) is expected to have important implications in the selection and breeding of animals for medical research, detailed polymorphism information is still lacking for many of the duplicated class I genes. To better elucidate the degree and types of MHC polymorphisms and haplotypes in the Filipino macaque population, we genotyped 127 unrelated animals by the Sanger sequencing method and high-resolution pyrosequencing and identified 112 different alleles, 28 at cynomolgus macaque MHC (Mafa)-A, 54 at Mafa-B, 12 at Mafa-I, 11 at Mafa-E, and seven at Mafa-F alleles, of which 56 were newly described. Of them, the newly discovered Mafa-A8*01:01 lineage allele had low nucleotide similarities (Filipino macaque population would identify these and other high-frequency Mafa-class I haplotypes that could be used as MHC control animals for the benefit of biomedical research.

  11. Proteolysis of the heavy chain of major histocompatibility complex class I antigens by complement component C1s

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eriksson, H; Nissen, Mogens Holst

    1990-01-01

    weights of the fragments are in agreement with the cleavage located in the area between the disulphide loops of the alpha 2-and alpha 3-domains of the heavy chain. In addition human C1s complement is able to cleave H-2 antigens from mouse in a similar fashion but not rat MHC class I antigen or mouse MHC...... class II antigen (I-Ad). Mouse MHC class I antigen-specific determinants could also be detected in supernatant from mouse spleen cells incubated with C1r and C1s. These results indicate the presence in the body fluids of a non-membrane-bound soluble form of the alpha 1-and alpha 2-domains which...

  12. Características cefalométricas de pacientes portadores de más oclusões Classe I e Classe II de Angle Cephalometric characteristics of patients with Angle Class I and Class II malocclusions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rogério Lacerda dos Santos

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVOS: o presente estudo comparou algumas medidas cefalométricas relacionadas às características faciais em pacientes com má oclusão Classe I, Classe II 1ª divisão e Classe II 2ª divisão. METODOLOGIA: foram selecionadas 130 telerradiografias de pacientes leucodermas em fase inicial de tratamento ortodôntico, com idades entre 10 e 16 anos (média de 12,6 anos; e divididos em 3 grupos. As medidas cefalométricas utilizadas neste estudo foram: ANB, ı-SN, IMPA, AML, Ls-ı, Li-ī e EI. A análise de variância e o teste de Tukey foram realizados nas medidas ANB, IMPA, AML, ı-SN e Li-ī. Para as demais variáveis (EI e Ls-ı foi utilizado o teste de Kruskal Wallis e Dunn. RESULTADOS: os resultados mostraram que as medidas Ls-ı e EI tiveram diferença estatisticamente significativa entre os grupos I e II-1 e entre os grupos II-1 e II-2 (p AIM: The present study compared some cephalometric measurements related to facial characteristics in patients having Class I, Class II division 1, and Class II division 2 malocclusions. METHODS: One hundred and thirty teleradiographs of Caucasian patients aged 10-16 years (mean age of 12.6 years under initial orthodontic treatment were selected for study and divided into 3 groups. The cephalometric measurements used in the present study were the following: ANB, ı-SN, IMPA, AML, Ls-ı, Li-ī, and EI. Variance analysis and Tukey's test were carried out for ANB, IMPA, AML, ı-SN, and Li-ī measurements, whereas Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn's tests were used for EI and Ls-ı. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were found for EI and Ls-ı measurements when Group II-1 was compared to Group I and Group II-2 (p < 0.05. ANB and IMPA measurements also had statistically significant differences when Group I was compared to Group II-1 and Group II-2 (p < 0.05. The measurement ı-SN had statistically significant differences between the 3 groups (p < 0.05. CONCLUSIONS: One can conclude that the measurement

  13. In silico peptide-binding predictions of passerine MHC class I reveal similarities across distantly related species, suggesting convergence on the level of protein function

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Follin, Elna; Karlsson, Maria; Lundegaard, Claus

    2013-01-01

    The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are the most polymorphic genes found in the vertebrate genome, and they encode proteins that play an essential role in the adaptive immune response. Many songbirds (passerines) have been shown to have a large number of transcribed MHC class I genes...

  14. Crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of the rhesus macaque MHC class I molecule Mamu-B*17 complexed with an immunodominant SIVmac239 Env epitope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao, Feng; Bao, Jinku

    2013-01-01

    A primitive monoclinic crystal of the rhesus macaque MHC class I molecule Mamu-B*17 complexed with an SIVmac239 Env peptide was obtained and belonged to space group P2, with unit-cell parameters a = 68.3, b = 45.0, c = 81.5 Å, β = 96.5°. The crystal diffracted to 2.55 Å resolution. Long-term nonprogression during simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection has been strongly associated with the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I allele Mamu-B*17. Here, a complex of rhesus macaque Mamu-B*17 with rhesus macaque β 2 -microglobulin (β 2 m) and an immunodominant peptide (SIVmac239 Env241–251; LRCNDTNYSGF; Env LF11) derived from the SIV Env protein was crystallized by the hanging-drop method using PEG 3350 as a precipitating agent. The crystals belonged to the primitive monoclinic space group P2, with unit-cell parameters a = 68.3, b = 45.0, c = 81.5 Å, β = 96.5°. Assuming the presence of one molecule in the asymmetric unit, the Matthews coefficient and solvent content were calculated to be 2.96 Å 3 Da −1 and 58.5%, respectively

  15. Comparison of second molar eruption patterns in patients with skeletal Class II and skeletal Class I malocclusions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brin, Ilana; Camasuvi, Semin; Dali, Nasser; Aizenbud, Dror

    2006-12-01

    The eruptive positions of the second molars in Class I and Class II malocclusions were studied. Pretreatment records of 221 patients with a mean age of 11.3 years were evaluated. About 19% of them had skeletal Class I, 31% had skeletal maxillary Class II, and 50% had skeletal mandibular Class II malocclusions. The mean values of the dental and chronologic ages of the subjects were similar. The eruptive positions in relation to a reference line, the developmental stages of the patients' second molars and dental ages were recorded from the panoramic roentgenograms. The distribution of the various developmental stages in each malocclusion group was similar, and no association between skeletal malocclusion and dental developmental stage of the second molars was encountered. The eruptive position of the maxillary second molars was more occlusal only in the oldest maxillary Class II group, above 12 years of age (P = .02). These results support, in part, previous reports suggesting that the maxillary second molars may erupt earlier in patients with skeletal maxillary Class II malocclusions.

  16. Evolution of MHC class I genes in the endangered loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) revealed by 454 amplicon sequencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stiebens, Victor A; Merino, Sonia E; Chain, Frédéric J J; Eizaguirre, Christophe

    2013-04-30

    In evolutionary and conservation biology, parasitism is often highlighted as a major selective pressure. To fight against parasites and pathogens, genetic diversity of the immune genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are particularly important. However, the extensive degree of polymorphism observed in these genes makes it difficult to conduct thorough population screenings. We utilized a genotyping protocol that uses 454 amplicon sequencing to characterize the MHC class I in the endangered loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) and to investigate their evolution at multiple relevant levels of organization. MHC class I genes revealed signatures of trans-species polymorphism across several reptile species. In the studied loggerhead turtle individuals, it results in the maintenance of two ancient allelic lineages. We also found that individuals carrying an intermediate number of MHC class I alleles are larger than those with either a low or high number of alleles. Multiple modes of evolution seem to maintain MHC diversity in the loggerhead turtles, with relatively high polymorphism for an endangered species.

  17. Conceptual Inadequacy of the Shore and Johnson Axioms for Wide Classes of Complex Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Constantino Tsallis

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available It is by now well known that the Boltzmann-Gibbs-von Neumann-Shannon logarithmic entropic functional (\\(S_{BG}\\ is inadequate for wide classes of strongly correlated systems: see for instance the 2001 Brukner and Zeilinger's {\\it Conceptual inadequacy of the Shannon information in quantum measurements}, among many other systems exhibiting various forms of complexity. On the other hand, the Shannon and Khinchin axioms uniquely mandate the BG form \\(S_{BG}=-k\\sum_i p_i \\ln p_i\\; the Shore and Johnson axioms follow the same path. Many natural, artificial and social systems have been satisfactorily approached with nonadditive entropies such as the \\(S_q=k \\frac{1-\\sum_i p_i^q}{q-1}\\ one (\\(q \\in {\\cal R}; \\,S_1=S_{BG}\\, basis of nonextensive statistical mechanics. Consistently, the Shannon 1948 and Khinchine 1953 uniqueness theorems have already been generalized in the literature, by Santos 1997 and Abe 2000 respectively, in order to uniquely mandate \\(S_q\\. We argue here that the same remains to be done with the Shore and Johnson 1980 axioms. We arrive to this conclusion by analyzing specific classes of strongly correlated complex systems that await such generalization.

  18. Selective changes in expression of HLA class I polymorphic determinants in human solid tumors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Natali, P.G.; Nicotra, M.R.; Bigotti, A.; Venturo, I.; Giacomini, P.; Marcenaro, L.; Russo, C.

    1989-01-01

    Analysis of surgical biopsies with monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to framework determinants of major histocompatibility complex class I antigens has shown that malignant transformation is frequently associated with a marked loss of these cell surface molecules. The present study sought to determine whether more selective losses of major histocompatibility complex class I expression occur. Multiple specimens from 13 different types of primary and metastatic tumors were tested utilizing mAb BB7.2, which recognizes a polymorphic HLA-A2 epitope. In each case, expression of HLA-A,B,C molecules was determined by testing with mAb W6/32 directed to a framework HLA class I determinant. The authors have found that in HLA-A2-positive patients, HLA-A2 products are not detectable or are reduced in their expression in 70-80% of endometrial, colorectal, mammary, and renal tumors; in 40-60% of soft-tissue, skin, ovary, urinary bladder, prostate, and stomach tumors; and in 25-30% of melanomas and lung carcinomas tested. All tumors expressed the framework HLA-A,B.C determinant. The HLA-A2 epitope recognized by mAb BB7.2 is located in a portion of the HLA-A2 molecule postulated to react with the T-cell receptor. The selective loss of an HLA class I polymorphic epitope shown in this study may explain the mechanism by which tumor cells escape both T-cell recognition and natural killer cell surveillance

  19. Molecular regulation of MHC class I chain-related protein A expression after HDAC-inhibitor treatment of Jurkat T cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andresen, Lars; Jensen, Helle; Pedersen, Marianne T

    2007-01-01

    In this study, we characterize the molecular signal pathways that lead to MHC class I chain-related protein A (MICA) expression after histone deacetylase (HDAC)-inhibitor (HDAC-i) treatment of Jurkat T cells. Chelating calcium with BAPTA-AM or EGTA potently inhibited HDAC- and CMV-mediated MICA......1 site from position -113 to -93 relative to the mRNA start site was important for HDAC and CMV-induced promoter activity. Sp1 was subsequently shown to be important, as targeted mutation of the Sp1 binding sequence or siRNA mediated down modulation of Sp1-inhibited MICA promoter activity...

  20. Analysis of associations between major histocompatibility complex (BoLA) class I haplotypes and subclinical mastitis of dairy cows

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aarestrup, Frank Møller; Jensen, N. E.; Østergård, H.

    1995-01-01

    The associations between BoLA class I haplotypes and subclinical mastitis were investigated using information on 333 cows from three different breeds and crossbreeds from 14 dairy herds in Denmark. Somatic cell count and bacteriological status were used as markers for subclinical mastitis....... Associations between BoLA class I haplotypes and IMI status were also determined. The association between BoLA class I haplotypes and subclinical mastitis was weak. The A10(W50), A11, A12(A30), A16, A19(A6), A21, A26, and A31(A30) alleles were associated with different markers of subclinical mastitis....... Susceptibility or resistance to the two bacteria categories was associated with different alleles. This study indicated that BoLA antigens may be involved in resistance to mastitis and that resistance may be specific for a particular pathogen....

  1. Classes of feedforward neural networks and their circuit complexity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shawe-Taylor, John S.; Anthony, Martin H.G.; Kern, Walter

    1992-01-01

    This paper aims to place neural networks in the context of boolean circuit complexity. We define appropriate classes of feedforward neural networks with specified fan-in, accuracy of computation and depth and using techniques of communication complexity proceed to show that the classes fit into a

  2. The relationship between Class I and Class II methanol masers at high angular resolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCarthy, T. P.; Ellingsen, S. P.; Voronkov, M. A.; Cimò, G.

    2018-06-01

    We have used the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) to make the first high-resolution observations of a large sample of class I methanol masers in the 95-GHz (80-71A+) transition. The target sources consist of a statistically complete sample of 6.7-GHz class II methanol masers with an associated 95-GHz class I methanol maser, enabling a detailed study of the relationship between the two methanol maser classes at arcsecond angular resolution. These sources have been previously observed at high resolution in the 36- and 44-GHz transitions, allowing comparison between all three class I maser transitions. In total, 172 95-GHz maser components were detected across the 32 target sources. We find that at high resolution, when considering matched maser components, a 3:1 flux density ratio is observed between the 95- and 44-GHz components, consistent with a number of previous lower angular resolution studies. The 95-GHz maser components appear to be preferentially located closer to the driving sources and this may indicate that this transition is more strongly inverted nearby to background continuum sources. We do not observe an elevated association rate between 95-GHz maser emission and more evolved sources, as indicated by the presence of 12.2-GHz class II masers. We find that in the majority of cases where both class I and class II methanol emission is observed, some component of the class I emission is associated with a likely outflow candidate.

  3. Crystal structure of a TAPBPR–MHC I complex reveals the mechanism of peptide editing in antigen presentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiang, Jiansheng; Natarajan, Kannan; Boyd, Lisa F.; Morozov, Giora I.; Mage, Michael G.; Margulies, David H. (NIH); (Hebrew)

    2017-10-12

    Central to CD8+ T cell–mediated immunity is the recognition of peptide–major histocompatibility complex class I (p–MHC I) proteins displayed by antigen-presenting cells. Chaperone-mediated loading of high-affinity peptides onto MHC I is a key step in the MHC I antigen presentation pathway. However, the structure of MHC I with a chaperone that facilitates peptide loading has not been determined. We report the crystal structure of MHC I in complex with the peptide editor TAPBPR (TAP-binding protein–related), a tapasin homolog. TAPBPR remodels the peptide-binding groove of MHC I, resulting in the release of low-affinity peptide. Changes include groove relaxation, modifications of key binding pockets, and domain adjustments. This structure captures a peptide-receptive state of MHC I and provides insights into the mechanism of peptide editing by TAPBPR and, by analogy, tapasin.

  4. Instruction sequence based non-uniform complexity classes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bergstra, J.A.; Middelburg, C.A.

    2013-01-01

    We present an approach to non-uniform complexity in which single-pass instruction sequences play a key part, and answer various questions that arise from this approach. We introduce several kinds of non-uniform complexity classes. One kind includes a counterpart of the well-known non-uniform

  5. Enhanced Prevalence of Plasmatic Soluble MHC Class I Chain-Related Molecule in Vascular Pregnancy Diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean Baptiste Haumonte

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The major histocompatibility complex class I related chain (MIC is a stress-inducible protein modulating the function of immune natural killer (NK cells, a major leukocyte subset involved in proper trophoblast invasion and spiral artery remodeling. Aim of the study was to evaluate whether upregulation of soluble MIC (sMIC may reflect immune disorders associated to vascular pregnancy diseases (VPD. sMIC was more frequently detected in the plasma of women with a diagnostic of VPD (32% than in normal term-matched pregnancies (1.6%, P<0.0001, with highest prevalence in intrauterine fetal death (IUDF, 44% and vascular intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR, 39%. sMIC levels were higher in preeclampsia (PE than in IUFD (P<0.01 and vascular IUGR (P<0.05. sMIC detection was associated with bilateral early diastolic uterine notches (P=0.037, thrombocytopenia (P=0.03, and high proteinuria (P=0.03 in PE and with the vascular etiology of IUGR (P=0.0038. Incubation of sMIC-positive PE plasma resulted in downregulation of NKG2D expression and NK cell-mediated IFN-γ production in vitro. Our work thus suggests that detection of sMIC molecule in maternal plasma may constitute a hallmark of altered maternal immune functions that contributes to vascular disorders that complicate pregnancy, notably by impairing NK-cell mediated production of IFN-γ, an essential cytokine favoring vascular modeling.

  6. NLRC5/MHC class I transactivator is a target for immune evasion in cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshihama, Sayuri; Roszik, Jason; Downs, Isaac; Meissner, Torsten B; Vijayan, Saptha; Chapuy, Bjoern; Sidiq, Tabasum; Shipp, Margaret A; Lizee, Gregory A; Kobayashi, Koichi S

    2016-05-24

    Cancer cells develop under immune surveillance, thus necessitating immune escape for successful growth. Loss of MHC class I expression provides a key immune evasion strategy in many cancers, although the molecular mechanisms remain elusive. MHC class I transactivator (CITA), known as "NLRC5" [NOD-like receptor (NLR) family, caspase recruitment (CARD) domain containing 5], has recently been identified as a critical transcriptional coactivator of MHC class I gene expression. Here we show that the MHC class I transactivation pathway mediated by CITA/NLRC5 constitutes a target for cancer immune evasion. In all the 21 tumor types we examined, NLRC5 expression was highly correlated with the expression of MHC class I, with cytotoxic T-cell markers, and with genes in the MHC class I antigen-presentation pathway, including LMP2/LMP7, TAP1, and β2-microglobulin. Epigenetic and genetic alterations in cancers, including promoter methylation, copy number loss, and somatic mutations, were most prevalent in NLRC5 among all MHC class I-related genes and were associated with the impaired expression of components of the MHC class I pathway. Strikingly, NLRC5 expression was significantly associated with the activation of CD8(+) cytotoxic T cells and patient survival in multiple cancer types. Thus, NLRC5 constitutes a novel prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target of cancers.

  7. Teaching the Public Relations Case Studies/Campaigns Class.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cottone, Laura Perkins

    The public relations case studies/campaigns class entails teaching students how to die and then come back to life. As students must learn to take a critical look at complex public and social issues, teachers should create an environment in which the students feel comfortable with the process of psychological reconstruction. Students must be taught…

  8. Constitutive MHC class I molecules negatively regulate TLR-triggered inflammatory responses via the Fps-SHP-2 pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Sheng; Liu, Xingguang; Bao, Yan; Zhu, Xuhui; Han, Chaofeng; Zhang, Peng; Zhang, Xuemin; Li, Weihua; Cao, Xuetao

    2012-04-22

    The molecular mechanisms that fine-tune Toll-like receptor (TLR)-triggered innate inflammatory responses remain to be fully elucidated. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules can mediate reverse signaling and have nonclassical functions. Here we found that constitutively expressed membrane MHC class I molecules attenuated TLR-triggered innate inflammatory responses via reverse signaling, which protected mice from sepsis. The intracellular domain of MHC class I molecules was phosphorylated by the kinase Src after TLR activation, then the tyrosine kinase Fps was recruited via its Src homology 2 domain to phosphorylated MHC class I molecules. This led to enhanced Fps activity and recruitment of the phosphatase SHP-2, which interfered with TLR signaling mediated by the signaling molecule TRAF6. Thus, constitutive MHC class I molecules engage in crosstalk with TLR signaling via the Fps-SHP-2 pathway and control TLR-triggered innate inflammatory responses.

  9. Species-specific evolution of class I MHC genes in iguanas (order: Squamata; subfamily: Iguaninae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glaberman, Scott; Caccone, Adalgisa

    2008-07-01

    Over the last few decades, the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) has emerged as a model for understanding the influence of natural selection on genetic diversity in populations as well as for investigating the genetic basis of host resistance to pathogens. However, many vertebrate taxa remain underrepresented in the field of MHC research, preventing its application to studies of disease, evolution, and conservation genetics in these groups. This is particularly true for squamates, which are by far the most diversified order of non-avian reptiles but have not been the subject of any recent MHC studies. In this paper, we present MHC class I complementary DNA data from three squamate species in the subfamily Iguaninae (iguanas): the Galápagos marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus), the Galápagos land iguana (Conolophus subcristatus), and the green iguana (Iguana iguana). All sequences obtained are related to the few published class I genes from other squamates. There is evidence for multiple loci in each species, and the conserved alpha-3 domain appears to be evolving in a species-specific manner. Conversely, there is some indication of shared polymorphism between species in the peptide-binding alpha-1 and alpha-2 domains, suggesting that these two regions have different phylogenetic histories. The great similarity between alpha-3 sequences in marine iguanas in particular suggests that concerted evolution is acting to homogenize class I loci within species. However, while less likely, the data are also compatible with a birth and death model of evolution.

  10. Novel full-length major histocompatibility complex class I allele discovery and haplotype definition in pig-tailed macaques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Semler, Matthew R; Wiseman, Roger W; Karl, Julie A; Graham, Michael E; Gieger, Samantha M; O'Connor, David H

    2017-11-13

    Pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina, Mane) are important models for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) studies. Their infectability with minimally modified HIV makes them a uniquely valuable animal model to mimic human infection with HIV and progression to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). However, variation in the pig-tailed macaque major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and the impact of individual transcripts on the pathogenesis of HIV and other infectious diseases is understudied compared to that of rhesus and cynomolgus macaques. In this study, we used Pacific Biosciences single-molecule real-time circular consensus sequencing to describe full-length MHC class I (MHC-I) transcripts for 194 pig-tailed macaques from three breeding centers. We then used the full-length sequences to infer Mane-A and Mane-B haplotypes containing groups of MHC-I transcripts that co-segregate due to physical linkage. In total, we characterized full-length open reading frames (ORFs) for 313 Mane-A, Mane-B, and Mane-I sequences that defined 86 Mane-A and 106 Mane-B MHC-I haplotypes. Pacific Biosciences technology allows us to resolve these Mane-A and Mane-B haplotypes to the level of synonymous allelic variants. The newly defined haplotypes and transcript sequences containing full-length ORFs provide an important resource for infectious disease researchers as certain MHC haplotypes have been shown to provide exceptional control of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) replication and prevention of AIDS-like disease in nonhuman primates. The increased allelic resolution provided by Pacific Biosciences sequencing also benefits transplant research by allowing researchers to more specifically match haplotypes between donors and recipients to the level of nonsynonymous allelic variation, thus reducing the risk of graft-versus-host disease.

  11. Characterization of a Nonclassical Class I MHC Gene in a Reptile, the Galápagos Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glaberman, Scott; Du Pasquier, Louis; Caccone, Adalgisa

    2008-01-01

    Squamates are a diverse order of vertebrates, representing more than 7,000 species. Yet, descriptions of full-length major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes in this group are nearly absent from the literature, while the number of MHC studies continues to rise in other vertebrate taxa. The lack of basic information about MHC organization in squamates inhibits investigation into the relationship between MHC polymorphism and disease, and leaves a large taxonomic gap in our understanding of amniote MHC evolution. Here, we use both cDNA and genomic sequence data to characterize a class I MHC gene (Amcr-UA) from the Galápagos marine iguana, a member of the squamate subfamily Iguaninae. Amcr-UA appears to be functional since it is expressed in the blood and contains many of the conserved peptide-binding residues that are found in classical class I genes of other vertebrates. In addition, comparison of Amcr-UA to homologous sequences from other iguanine species shows that the antigen-binding portion of this gene is under purifying selection, rather than balancing selection, and therefore may have a conserved function. A striking feature of Amcr-UA is that both the cDNA and genomic sequences lack the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains that are necessary to anchor the class I receptor molecule into the cell membrane, suggesting that the product of this gene is secreted and consequently not involved in classical class I antigen-presentation. The truncated and conserved character of Amcr-UA lead us to define it as a nonclassical gene that is related to the few available squamate class I sequences. However, phylogenetic analysis placed Amcr-UA in a basal position relative to other published classical MHC genes from squamates, suggesting that this gene diverged near the beginning of squamate diversification. PMID:18682845

  12. Characterization of a nonclassical class I MHC gene in a reptile, the Galápagos marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scott Glaberman

    Full Text Available Squamates are a diverse order of vertebrates, representing more than 7,000 species. Yet, descriptions of full-length major histocompatibility complex (MHC genes in this group are nearly absent from the literature, while the number of MHC studies continues to rise in other vertebrate taxa. The lack of basic information about MHC organization in squamates inhibits investigation into the relationship between MHC polymorphism and disease, and leaves a large taxonomic gap in our understanding of amniote MHC evolution. Here, we use both cDNA and genomic sequence data to characterize a class I MHC gene (Amcr-UA from the Galápagos marine iguana, a member of the squamate subfamily Iguaninae. Amcr-UA appears to be functional since it is expressed in the blood and contains many of the conserved peptide-binding residues that are found in classical class I genes of other vertebrates. In addition, comparison of Amcr-UA to homologous sequences from other iguanine species shows that the antigen-binding portion of this gene is under purifying selection, rather than balancing selection, and therefore may have a conserved function. A striking feature of Amcr-UA is that both the cDNA and genomic sequences lack the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains that are necessary to anchor the class I receptor molecule into the cell membrane, suggesting that the product of this gene is secreted and consequently not involved in classical class I antigen-presentation. The truncated and conserved character of Amcr-UA lead us to define it as a nonclassical gene that is related to the few available squamate class I sequences. However, phylogenetic analysis placed Amcr-UA in a basal position relative to other published classical MHC genes from squamates, suggesting that this gene diverged near the beginning of squamate diversification.

  13. Features of target cell lysis by class I and class II MHC restricted cytolytic T lymphocytes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maimone, M.M.; Morrison, L.A.; Braciale, V.L.; Braciale, T.J.

    1986-01-01

    The lytic activity of influenza virus-specific muvine cytolytic T lymphocyte (CTL) clones that are restricted by either H-2K/D (class I) or H-2I (class II) major histocompatibility (MHC) locus products was compared on an influenza virus-infected target cell expressing both K/D and I locus products. With the use of two in vitro measurements of cytotoxicity, conventional 51 Cr release, and detergent-releasable radiolabeled DNA (as a measure of nuclear disintegration in the early post-lethal hit period), the authors found no difference between class I and class II MHC-restricted CTL in the kinetics of target cell destruction. In addition, class II MHC-restricted antiviral CTL failed to show any lysis of radiolabeled bystander cells. Killing of labeled specific targets by these class II MHC-restricted CTL was also efficiently inhibited by unlabeled specific competitor cells in a cold target inhibition assay. In sum, these data suggest that class I and class II MHC-restricted CTL mediate target cell destruction by an essentially similar direct mechanism

  14. Doxorubicin-conjugated bacteriophages carrying anti-MHC class I chain-related A for targeted cancer therapy in vitro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Phumyen A

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Achara Phumyen,1–3 Siriporn Jantasorn,1 Amonrat Jumnainsong,1 Chanvit Leelayuwat1–4 1The Centre for Research and Development of Medical Diagnostic Laboratories (CMDL, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, 2The Liver Fluke and Cholangiocarcinoma Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, 3Research Cluster: Specific Health Problem of Grater Maekong Subregion (SHeP-GMS, 4Department of Clinical Immunology and Transfusion Sciences, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand Background: Cancer therapy by systemic administration of anticancer drugs, besides the effectiveness shown on cancer cells, demonstrated the side effects and cytotoxicity on normal cells. The targeted drug-carrying nanoparticles may decrease the required drug concentration at the site and the distribution of drugs to normal tissues. Overexpression of major histocompatibility complex class I chain–related A (MICA in cancer is useful as a targeted molecule for the delivery of doxorubicin to MICA-expressing cell lines. Methods: The application of 1-ethyl-3-[3-dimethylaminopropyl] carbodiimide (EDC chemistry was employed to conjugate the major coat protein of bacteriophages carrying anti-MICA and doxorubicin in a mildly acid condition. Doxorubicin (Dox on phages was determined by double fluorescence of phage particles stained by M13-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC and drug autofluorescence by flow cytometry. The ability of anti-MICA on phages to bind MICA after doxorubicin conjugation was evaluated by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. One cervical cancer and four cholangiocarcinoma cell lines expressing MICA were used as models to evaluate targeting activity by cell cytotoxicity test. Results: Flow cytometry and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay demonstrated that most of the phages (82% could be conjugated with doxorubicin, and the Dox-carrying phage-displaying anti-MICA (Dox-phage remained the binding activity against MICA

  15. Defective HLA class I antigen processing machinery in cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Lei; Michelakos, Theodoros; Yamada, Teppei; Fan, Song; Wang, Xinhui; Schwab, Joseph H; Ferrone, Cristina R; Ferrone, Soldano

    2018-02-27

    Malignant transformation of cells is frequently associated with defective HLA class I antigen processing machinery (APM) component expression. This abnormality may have functional relevance, since it may have a negative impact on tumor cell recognition by cognate T cells. Furthermore, HLA class I APM abnormalities appear to have clinical significance, since they are associated with poor prognosis in several malignant diseases and may play a role in the resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitor-based immunotherapy. In this paper, we have reviewed the literature describing abnormalities in HLA class I APM component expression in many types of cancer. These abnormalities have been reported in all types of cancer analyzed with a frequency ranging between a minimum of 35.8% in renal cancer and a maximum of 87.9% in thyroid cancer for HLA class I heavy chains. In addition, we have described the molecular mechanisms underlying defects in HLA class I APM component expression and function by malignant cells. Lastly, we have discussed the clinical significance of HLA class I APM component abnormalities in malignant tumors.

  16. Hev b 11, a peculiar class I chitinase?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beintema, J. J.

    2007-01-01

    The recently identified rubber allergen Hev b 11, which is a class I chitinase, may be a cytosolic (C-serum) protein. This is a rather unique feature, as all other known plant class I chitinases are vacuolar proteins.

  17. Distinguishing PTSD, Complex PTSD, and Borderline Personality Disorder: A latent class analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marylène Cloitre

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: There has been debate regarding whether Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (Complex PTSD is distinct from Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD when the latter is comorbid with PTSD. Objective: To determine whether the patterns of symptoms endorsed by women seeking treatment for childhood abuse form classes that are consistent with diagnostic criteria for PTSD, Complex PTSD, and BPD. Method: A latent class analysis (LCA was conducted on an archival dataset of 280 women with histories of childhood abuse assessed for enrollment in a clinical trial for PTSD. Results: The LCA revealed four distinct classes of individuals: a Low Symptom class characterized by low endorsements on all symptoms; a PTSD class characterized by elevated symptoms of PTSD but low endorsement of symptoms that define the Complex PTSD and BPD diagnoses; a Complex PTSD class characterized by elevated symptoms of PTSD and self-organization symptoms that defined the Complex PTSD diagnosis but low on the symptoms of BPD; and a BPD class characterized by symptoms of BPD. Four BPD symptoms were found to greatly increase the odds of being in the BPD compared to the Complex PTSD class: frantic efforts to avoid abandonment, unstable sense of self, unstable and intense interpersonal relationships, and impulsiveness. Conclusions: Findings supported the construct validity of Complex PTSD as distinguishable from BPD. Key symptoms that distinguished between the disorders were identified, which may aid in differential diagnosis and treatment planning.

  18. In silico peptide-binding predictions of passerine MHC class I reveal similarities across distantly related species, suggesting convergence on the level of protein function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Follin, Elna; Karlsson, Maria; Lundegaard, Claus; Nielsen, Morten; Wallin, Stefan; Paulsson, Kajsa; Westerdahl, Helena

    2013-04-01

    The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are the most polymorphic genes found in the vertebrate genome, and they encode proteins that play an essential role in the adaptive immune response. Many songbirds (passerines) have been shown to have a large number of transcribed MHC class I genes compared to most mammals. To elucidate the reason for this large number of genes, we compared 14 MHC class I alleles (α1-α3 domains), from great reed warbler, house sparrow and tree sparrow, via phylogenetic analysis, homology modelling and in silico peptide-binding predictions to investigate their functional and genetic relationships. We found more pronounced clustering of the MHC class I allomorphs (allele specific proteins) in regards to their function (peptide-binding specificities) compared to their genetic relationships (amino acid sequences), indicating that the high number of alleles is of functional significance. The MHC class I allomorphs from house sparrow and tree sparrow, species that diverged 10 million years ago (MYA), had overlapping peptide-binding specificities, and these similarities across species were also confirmed in phylogenetic analyses based on amino acid sequences. Notably, there were also overlapping peptide-binding specificities in the allomorphs from house sparrow and great reed warbler, although these species diverged 30 MYA. This overlap was not found in a tree based on amino acid sequences. Our interpretation is that convergent evolution on the level of the protein function, possibly driven by selection from shared pathogens, has resulted in allomorphs with similar peptide-binding repertoires, although trans-species evolution in combination with gene conversion cannot be ruled out.

  19. Thin-plate spline analysis of craniofacial growth in Class I and Class II subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franchi, Lorenzo; Baccetti, Tiziano; Stahl, Franka; McNamara, James A

    2007-07-01

    To compare the craniofacial growth characteristics of untreated subjects with Class II division 1 malocclusion with those of subjects with normal (Class I) occlusion from the prepubertal through the postpubertal stages of development. The Class II division 1 sample consisted of 17 subjects (11 boys and six girls). The Class I sample also consisted of 17 subjects (13 boys and four girls). Three craniofacial regions (cranial base, maxilla, and mandible) were analyzed on the lateral cephalograms of the subjects in both groups by means of thin-plate spline analysis at T1 (prepubertal) and T2 (postpubertal). Both cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons were performed on both size and shape differences between the two groups. The results showed an increased cranial base angulation as a morphological feature of Class II malocclusion at the prepubertal developmental phase. Maxillary changes in either shape or size were not significant. Subjects with Class II malocclusion exhibited a significant deficiency in the size of the mandible at the completion of active craniofacial growth as compared with Class I subjects. A significant deficiency in the size of the mandible became apparent in Class II subjects during the circumpubertal period and it was still present at the completion of active craniofacial growth.

  20. Clinical, immunological and genetic features in eleven Algerian patients with major histocompatibility complex class II expression deficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Djidjik Réda

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Presenting processed antigens to CD4+ lymphocytes during the immune response involves major histocompatibility complex class II molecules. MHC class II genes transcription is regulated by four transcription factors: CIITA, RFXANK, RFX5 and RFXAP. Defects in these factors result in major histocompatibility complex class II expression deficiency, a primary combined immunodeficiency frequent in North Africa. Autosomal recessive mutations in the RFXANK gene have been reported as being the principal defect found in North African patients with this disorder. In this paper, we describe clinical, immunological and genetic features of 11 unrelated Algerian patients whose monocytes display a total absence of MHC class II molecules. They shared mainly the same clinical picture which included protracted diarrhoea and respiratory tract recurrent infections. Genetic analysis revealed that 9 of the 11 patients had the same RFXANK founder mutation, a 26 bp deletion (named I5E6-25_I5E6+1, also known as 752delG26. Immunological and genetic findings in our series may facilitate genetic counselling implementation for Algerian consanguineous families. Further studies need to be conducted to determine 752delG26 heterozygous mutation frequency in Algerian population.

  1. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and II alleles which confer susceptibility or protection in the Morphea in Adults and Children (MAC) cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobe, Heidi; Ahn, Chul; Arnett, Frank; Reveille, John D.

    2014-01-01

    Objective To determine human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA-class I) and II (HLA-class II) alleles associated with morphea (localized scleroderma) in the Morphea in Adults and Children (MAC) cohort by a nested case–control association study. Methods Morphea patients were included from MAC cohort and matched controls from the NIH/NIAMS Scleroderma Family Registry and DNA Repository and Division of Rheumatology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. HLA- Class II genotyping and SSCP typing was performed of HLA-A, -B, -C alleles. Associations between HLA-Class I and II alleles and morphea as well as its subphenotypes were determined. Results There were 211 cases available for HLA-class I typing with 726 matched controls and 158 cases available for HLA Class-II typing with 1108 matched controls. The strongest associations were found with DRB1*04:04 (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.4–4.0 P=0.002) and HLA-B*37 conferred the highest OR among Class I alleles (3.3, 95% CI 1.6–6.9, P= 0.0016). Comparison with risk alleles in systemic sclerosis determined using the same methods and control population revealed one common allele (DRB*04:04). Conclusion Results of the present study demonstrate specific HLA Class I and II alleles are associated with morphea and likely generalized and linear subtypes. The associated morphea alleles are different than in scleroderma, implicating morphea is also immunogenetically distinct. Risk alleles in morphea are also associated with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other autoimmune conditions. Population based studies indicate patients with RA have increased risk of morphea, implicating a common susceptibility allele. PMID:25223600

  2. Class I structures license renewal industry report; revision 1. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deng, D.; Renfro, J.; Statton, J.

    1994-07-01

    The U.S. nuclear power industry, through coordination by the Nuclear Management and Resources Council (NUMARC), and sponsorship by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), has evaluated age-related degradation effects for a number of major plant systems, structures, and components, in the license renewal technical Industry Reports (IRs). License renewal applicants may choose to reference these IRs in support of their plant-specific license renewal applications, as an equivalent to the integrated plant assessment provisions of the license renewal rule (10 CFR Part 54). This IR provides the technical basis for license renewal for U.S. nuclear power plant Class I structures, with the IR evaluating which structures are Class I. Seventeen structures are explicitly described and evaluated in this IR. These structures are not necessarily classified as Class I at all plants, therefore the license renewal applicant should consult this IR for correct identification

  3. 40 CFR 82.4 - Prohibitions for class I controlled substances.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... violation of this subpart. Any person selling unused class I controlled substances produced or imported... substances. 82.4 Section 82.4 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Prohibitions for class I controlled substances. (a)(1) Prior to January 1, 1996, for all Groups of class I...

  4. Spectral energy distribution analysis of class I and class II FU Orionis stars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gramajo, Luciana V.; Gómez, Mercedes [Observatorio Astronómico, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina, Laprida 854, 5000 Córdoba (Argentina); Rodón, Javier A., E-mail: luciana@oac.uncor.edu, E-mail: mercedes@oac.uncor.edu, E-mail: jrodon@eso.org [European Southern Observatory, Alonso de Córdova 3107, Vitacura, Casilla 19001, Santiago 19 (Chile)

    2014-06-01

    FU Orionis stars (FUors) are eruptive pre-main sequence objects thought to represent quasi-periodic or recurring stages of enhanced accretion during the low-mass star-forming process. We characterize the sample of known and candidate FUors in a homogeneous and consistent way, deriving stellar and circumstellar parameters for each object. We emphasize the analysis in those parameters that are supposed to vary during the FUor stage. We modeled the spectral energy distributions of 24 of the 26 currently known FUors, using the radiative transfer code of Whitney et al. We compare our models with those obtained by Robitaille et al. for Taurus class II and I sources in quiescence periods by calculating the cumulative distribution of the different parameters. FUors have more massive disks: we find that ∼80% of the disks in FUors are more massive than any Taurus class II and I sources in the sample. Median values for the disk mass accretion rates are ∼10{sup –7} M {sub ☉} yr{sup –1} versus ∼10{sup –5} M {sub ☉} yr{sup –1} for standard young stellar objects (YSOs) and FUors, respectively. While the distributions of envelope mass accretion rates for class I FUors and standard class I objects are similar, FUors, on average, have higher envelope mass accretion rates than standard class II and class I sources. Most FUors (∼70%) have envelope mass accretion rates above 10{sup –7} M {sub ☉} yr{sup –1}. In contrast, 60% of the classical YSO sample has an accretion rate below this value. Our results support the current scenario in which changes experimented by the circumstellar disk explain the observed properties of these stars. However, the increase in the disk mass accretion rate is smaller than theoretically predicted, although in good agreement with previous determinations.

  5. Identification of naturally processed hepatitis C virus-derived major histocompatibility complex class I ligands.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benno Wölk

    Full Text Available Fine mapping of human cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL responses against hepatitis C virus (HCV is based on external loading of target cells with synthetic peptides which are either derived from prediction algorithms or from overlapping peptide libraries. These strategies do not address putative host and viral mechanisms which may alter processing as well as presentation of CTL epitopes. Therefore, the aim of this proof-of-concept study was to identify naturally processed HCV-derived major histocompatibility complex (MHC class I ligands. To this end, continuous human cell lines were engineered to inducibly express HCV proteins and to constitutively express high levels of functional HLA-A2. These cell lines were recognized in an HLA-A2-restricted manner by HCV-specific CTLs. Ligands eluted from HLA-A2 molecules isolated from large-scale cultures of these cell lines were separated by high performance liquid chromatography and further analyzed by electrospray ionization quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (MS/tandem MS. These analyses allowed the identification of two HLA-A2-restricted epitopes derived from HCV nonstructural proteins (NS 3 and 5B (NS3₁₄₀₆₋₁₄₁₅ and NS5B₂₅₉₄₋₂₆₀₂. In conclusion, we describe a general strategy that may be useful to investigate HCV pathogenesis and may contribute to the development of preventive and therapeutic vaccines in the future.

  6. Detecting Site-Specific Physicochemical Selective Pressures: Applications to the Class I HLA of the Human Major Histocompatibility Complex and the SRK of the Plant Sporophytic Self-Incompatibility System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sainudiin, Raazesh; Wong, Wendy Shuk Wan; Yogeeswaran, Krithika

    2005-01-01

    :transversion biases. Here, we apply this method to two positively selected receptors involved in ligand-recognition: the class I alleles of the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) of known structure and the S-locus receptor kinase (SRK) of the sporophytic self-incompatibility system (SSI) in cruciferous...... Bayes approach is used to identify sites that may be important for ligand recognition in these proteins....

  7. Diversity of natural self-derived ligands presented by different HLA class I molecules in transporter antigen processing-deficient cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Lorente

    Full Text Available The transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP translocates the cytosol-derived proteolytic peptides to the endoplasmic reticulum lumen where they complex with nascent human leukocyte antigen (HLA class I molecules. Non-functional TAP complexes and viral or tumoral blocking of these transporters leads to reduced HLA class I surface expression and a drastic change in the available peptide repertoire. Using mass spectrometry to analyze complex human leukocyte antigen HLA-bound peptide pools isolated from large numbers of TAP-deficient cells, we identified 334 TAP-independent ligands naturally presented by four different HLA-A, -B, and -C class I molecules with very different TAP dependency from the same cell line. The repertoire of TAP-independent peptides examined favored increased peptide lengths and a lack of strict binding motifs for all four HLA class I molecules studied. The TAP-independent peptidome arose from 182 parental proteins, the majority of which yielded one HLA ligand. In contrast, TAP-independent antigen processing of very few cellular proteins generated multiple HLA ligands. Comparison between TAP-independent peptidome and proteome of several subcellular locations suggests that the secretory vesicle-like organelles could be a relevant source of parental proteins for TAP-independent HLA ligands. Finally, a predominant endoproteolytic peptidase specificity for Arg/Lys or Leu/Phe residues in the P(1 position of the scissile bond was found for the TAP-independent ligands. These data draw a new and intricate picture of TAP-independent pathways.

  8. Activation of Stat-3 is involved in the induction of apoptosis after ligation of major histocompatibility complex class I molecules on human Jurkat T cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skov, S; Nielsen, M; Bregenholt, S

    1998-01-01

    Activation of Janus tyrosine kinases (Jak) and Signal transducers and activators of transcription (Stat) after ligation of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) was explored in Jurkat T cells. Cross-linking of MHC-I mediated tyrosine phosphorylation of Tyk2, but not Jak1, Jak2, and Jak3......-probe derived from the interferon-gamma activated site (GAS) in the c-fos promoter, a common DNA sequence for Stat protein binding. An association between hSIE and Stat-3 after MHC-I ligation was directly demonstrated by precipitating Stat-3 from nuclear extracts with biotinylated hSIE probe and avidin......-coupled agarose. To investigate the function of the activated Stat-3, Jurkat T cells were transiently transfected with a Stat-3 isoform lacking the transactivating domain. This dominant-negative acting Stat-3 isoform significantly inhibited apoptosis induced by ligation of MHC-I. In conclusion, our data suggest...

  9. 49 CFR 238.313 - Class I brake test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... intercity passenger train shall receive a Class I brake test once each calendar day that the train is placed...-distance intercity passenger train shall receive a Class I brake test: (1) Prior to the train's departure... shoes or pads are firmly seated against the wheel or disc with the brakes applied; (3) Piston travel is...

  10. NLRC5: a key regulator of MHC class I-dependent immune responses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Koichi S; van den Elsen, Peter J

    2012-12-01

    The expression of MHC class I molecules is crucial for the initiation and regulation of adaptive immune responses against pathogens. NOD-, LRR- and CARD-containing 5 (NLRC5) was recently identified as a specific transactivator of MHC class I genes (CITA). NLRC5 and the master regulator for MHC class II genes, class II transactivator (CIITA), interact with similar MHC promoter-bound factors. Here, we provide a broad overview of the molecular mechanisms behind MHC class I transcription and the role of the class I transactivator NLRC5 in MHC class I-dependent immune responses.

  11. Peripheral nerve injury causes transient expression of MHC class I antigens in rat motor neurons and skeletal muscles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Maehlen, J; Nennesmo, I; Olsson, A B

    1989-01-01

    After a peripheral nerve lesion (rat facial and sciatic) an induction of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens class I was detected immunohistochemically in skeletal muscle fibers and motor neurons. This MHC expression was transient after a nerve crush, when regeneration occurred......, but persisted after a nerve cut, when regeneration was prevented. Since the time course of MHC class I expression correlates to that of regeneration a role for this cell surface molecule in regeneration may be considered....

  12. The Cancer Exome Generated by Alternative mRNA Splicing Dilutes Predicted HLA Class I Epitope Density

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stranzl, Thomas; Larsen, Mette Voldby; Lund, Ole

    2012-01-01

    Several studies have shown that cancers actively regulate alternative splicing. Altered splicing mechanisms in cancer lead to cancer-specific transcripts different from the pool of transcripts occurring only in healthy tissue. At the same time, altered presentation of HLA class I epitopes...... is frequently observed in various types of cancer. Down-regulation of genes related to HLA class I antigen processing has been observed in several cancer types, leading to fewer HLA class I antigens on the cell surface. Here, we use a peptidome wide analysis of predicted alternative splice forms, based...... on a publicly available database, to show that peptides over-represented in cancer splice variants comprise significantly fewer predicted HLA class I epitopes compared to peptides from normal transcripts. Peptides over-represented in cancer transcripts are in the case of the three most common HLA class I...

  13. A SEARCH FOR 95 GHz CLASS I METHANOL MASERS IN MOLECULAR OUTFLOWS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gan, Cong-Gui; Chen, Xi; Shen, Zhi-Qiang [Key Laboratory for Research in Galaxies and Cosmology, Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 80 Nandan RD, Shanghai 200030 (China); Xu, Ye; Ju, Bing-Gang, E-mail: cggan@shao.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy, Chinese Academy of Sciences (China)

    2013-01-20

    We have observed a sample of 288 molecular outflow sources including 123 high-mass and 165 low-mass sources in order to search for class I methanol masers at the 95 GHz transition and to investigate the relationship between outflow characteristics and class I methanol maser emission with the Purple Mountain Observatory 13.7 m radio telescope. Our survey detected 62 sources with 95 GHz methanol masers above a 3{sigma} detection limit, which includes 47 high-mass sources and 15 low-mass sources. Therefore, the detection rate is 38% for high-mass outflow sources and 9% for low-mass outflow sources, suggesting that class I methanol masers are relatively easily excited in high-mass sources. There are 37 newly detected 95 GHz methanol masers (including 27 high-mass and 10 low-mass sources), 19 of which are newly identified (i.e., first identification) class I methanol masers (including 13 high-mass and 6 low-mass sources). A statistical analysis of the distributions of maser detections with the outflow parameters reveals that the maser detection efficiency increases with the outflow properties (e.g., mass, momentum, kinetic energy, mechanical luminosity of outflows, etc.). Systematic investigations of the relationships between the intrinsic luminosity of methanol masers and the outflow properties (including mass, momentum, kinetic energy, bolometric luminosity, and mass-loss rate of the central stellar sources) indicate a positive correlation. This further supports the theory that class I methanol masers are collisionally pumped and associated with shocks when outflows interact with the surrounding ambient medium.

  14. The Viral Transcription Group Determines the HLA Class I Cellular Immune Response Against Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnstone, Carolina; Lorente, Elena; Barriga, Alejandro; Barnea, Eilon; Infantes, Susana; Lemonnier, François A.; David, Chella S.; Admon, Arie; López, Daniel

    2015-01-01

    The cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-mediated killing of virus-infected cells requires previous recognition of short viral antigenic peptides bound to human leukocyte antigen class I molecules that are exposed on the surface of infected cells. The cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response is critical for the clearance of human respiratory syncytial virus infection. In this study, naturally processed viral human leukocyte antigen class I ligands were identified with mass spectrometry analysis of complex human leukocyte antigen-bound peptide pools isolated from large amounts of human respiratory syncytial virus-infected cells. Acute antiviral T-cell response characterization showed that viral transcription determines both the immunoprevalence and immunodominance of the human leukocyte antigen class I response to human respiratory syncytial virus. These findings have clear implications for antiviral vaccine design. PMID:25635267

  15. New horizons in mouse immunoinformatics: reliable in silico prediction of mouse class I histocompatibility major complex peptide binding affinity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hattotuwagama, Channa K; Guan, Pingping; Doytchinova, Irini A; Flower, Darren R

    2004-11-21

    Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analysis is a main cornerstone of modern informatic disciplines. Predictive computational models, based on QSAR technology, of peptide-major histocompatibility complex (MHC) binding affinity have now become a vital component of modern day computational immunovaccinology. Historically, such approaches have been built around semi-qualitative, classification methods, but these are now giving way to quantitative regression methods. The additive method, an established immunoinformatics technique for the quantitative prediction of peptide-protein affinity, was used here to identify the sequence dependence of peptide binding specificity for three mouse class I MHC alleles: H2-D(b), H2-K(b) and H2-K(k). As we show, in terms of reliability the resulting models represent a significant advance on existing methods. They can be used for the accurate prediction of T-cell epitopes and are freely available online ( http://www.jenner.ac.uk/MHCPred).

  16. Frequency of class I anti-HLA alloantibodies in patients infected by HIV-1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elza Regina Manzolli Leite

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of class I anti-HLA alloantibodies in patients infected by HIV-1 and relate it with the different clinical courses of the disease. Blood samples were collected in EDTA tubes from 145 individuals. HIV-1 infection was confirmed by ELISA test. The presence of class I anti-HLA alloantibodies and HLA allele's were determined. Clinical evolution was set as fast (3 years. Class I anti-HLA alloantibodies presence was lower in healthy individuals than in those infected by HIV-1 (4.2% against 32.4%. However, an equal distribution of these alloantibodies was found among the individuals infected, independent on the clinical evolution. Thus, class I anti-HLA alloantibodies was not a determinant factor for patient worsening.O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a presença de aloanticorpos anti-HLA classe I em pacientes infectados pelo HIV-1 e relacioná-la aos diferentes cursos clínicos da doença. Amostras de sangue de 145 indivíduos HIV positivo foram coletadas em tubos com EDTA. A infecção pelo HIV-1 foi confirmada por teste ELISA e a presença de aloanticorpos anti-HLA classe I determinada em seguida. A evolução clínica foi definida como rápida (3 anos. A presença de aloanticorpos anti-HLA classe I foi menor em indivíduos saudáveis em relação aos infectados pelo HIV-1 (4,2% contra 32,4%. Porém, a distribuição destes aloanticorpos entre os indivíduos infectados foi igual, independente da evolução clínica. Deste modo, a presença de aloanticorpos anti-HLA classe I não é um fator determinante na piora clínica do paciente.

  17. Inhibition of MHC class I is a virulence factor in herpes simplex virus infection of mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark T Orr

    2005-09-01

    Full Text Available Herpes simplex virus (HSV has a number of genes devoted to immune evasion. One such gene, ICP47, binds to the transporter associated with antigen presentation (TAP 1/2 thereby preventing transport of viral peptides into the endoplasmic reticulum, loading of peptides onto nascent major histocompatibility complex (MHC class I molecules, and presentation of peptides to CD8 T cells. However, ICP47 binds poorly to murine TAP1/2 and so inhibits antigen presentation by MHC class I in mice much less efficiently than in humans, limiting the utility of murine models to address the importance of MHC class I inhibition in HSV immunopathogenesis. To address this limitation, we generated recombinant HSVs that efficiently inhibit antigen presentation by murine MHC class I. These recombinant viruses prevented cytotoxic T lymphocyte killing of infected cells in vitro, replicated to higher titers in the central nervous system, and induced paralysis more frequently than control HSV. This increase in virulence was due to inhibition of antigen presentation to CD8 T cells, since these differences were not evident in MHC class I-deficient mice or in mice in which CD8 T cells were depleted. Inhibition of MHC class I by the recombinant viruses did not impair the induction of the HSV-specific CD8 T-cell response, indicating that cross-presentation is the principal mechanism by which HSV-specific CD8 T cells are induced. This inhibition in turn facilitates greater viral entry, replication, and/or survival in the central nervous system, leading to an increased incidence of paralysis.

  18. Major histocompatibility complex class I molecule expression is normal on peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

    OpenAIRE

    Hao, W; Gladstone, P; Engardt, S; Greenbaum, C; Palmer, J P

    1996-01-01

    Recent work from one laboratory has shown, in both nonobese diabetic mice and humans, an association between insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and quantitative difference in MHC class I molecule expression. This reported decrease in MHC class I molecule expression is very controversial in the nonobese diabetic mouse model of IDDM, but to our knowledge, it has not been evaluated by another group in human IDDM. To evaluate this question, we studied 30 patients with IDDM and 30 age- and...

  19. CXA La Paloma, LLC: UIC Class I Permit No.CA10710001

    Science.gov (United States)

    Documents related to La Paloma Generating Company, LLC's (LPGC) application for a UIC permit renewal (of permit #CA199000001) to operate a Class I injection well facility to dispose of non-hazardous wastewater from the La Paloma Generating Plant.

  20. The acid-labile subunit of the ternary insulin-like growth factor complex in cirrhosis: relation to liver dysfunction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møller, S; Juul, A; Becker, U

    2000-01-01

    BACKGROUND/AIMS: In the circulation, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is bound in a trimeric complex of 150 kDa with IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) and the acid-labile subunit (ALS). Whereas circulating IGF-I and IGFBP-3 are reported to be low in patients with chronic liver failure, the leve...... with significant relations to liver dysfunction and other components of the IGF complex. A small hepatic extraction was found in controls, which suggests extrahepatic production of ALS. Future studies should focus on organ-specific removal of ALS.......BACKGROUND/AIMS: In the circulation, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is bound in a trimeric complex of 150 kDa with IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) and the acid-labile subunit (ALS). Whereas circulating IGF-I and IGFBP-3 are reported to be low in patients with chronic liver failure, the level...... of ALS has not been described in relation to hepatic dysfunction. The aim of the present study was therefore to measure circulating and hepatic venous concentrations of ALS in relation to hepatic function and the IGF axis. METHODS: Twenty-five patients with cirrhosis (Child class A/B/C:5/10/10) and 30...

  1. Restriction fragment length polymorphism within the class I gene loci of the equine major histocompatibility complex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alexander, A.J.; Bailey, E.; Woodward, J.G.

    1986-01-01

    Fourteen standard bred horses were serotyped as homozygous for 1 of 6 Equine Leukocyte Antigen (ELA) specificities. DNA was purified from peripheral leukocytes and digested with Hind III or Pvu II. Southern blot hybridization analysis was carried out using a 32 P-labeled mouse cDNA probe (PH2IIa) specific for class I MHC genes. Both enzymes generated blots that contained a large number of bands (23 to 30) per horse. Significant polymorphism existed among most fragment sizes, while a dozen highly conserved band sizes suggested the presence of Qa/tla - like genes. Only 2 animals (both W6's) showed identical band patterns. Polymorphism was greatest between horses of different serotypes and was significantly decreased within serotypes. Unique bands were present on both blots for both W1's and W6's and may account for the serologic specificity seen in ELA W1 and W6 horses. This study is consistent with the findings in other higher vertebrates and implies that the MHC of the horse includes a highly polymorphic class I multigene family

  2. Premalignant quiescent melanocytic nevi do not express the MHC class I chain-related protein A

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mercedes B. Fuertes

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available The MHC class I chain-related protein A (MICA is an inducible molecule almost not expressed by normal cells but strongly up-regulated in tumor cells. MICA-expressing cells are recognized by natural killer (NK cells, CD8+ aßTCR and ?dTCR T lymphocytes through the NKG2D receptor. Engagement of NKG2D by MICA triggers IFN-? secretion and cytotoxicity against malignant cells. Although most solid tumors express MICA and this molecule is a target during immune surveillance against tumors, it has been observed that high grade tumors from different histotypes express low amounts of cell surface MICA due to a metalloprotease- induced shedding. Also, melanomas develop after a complex process of neotransformation of normal melanocytes. However, the expression of MICA in premalignant stages (primary human quiescent melanocytic nevi remains unknown. Here, we assessed expression of MICA by flow cytometry using cell suspensions from 15 primary nevi isolated from 11 patients. When collected material was abundant, cell lysates were prepared and MICA expression was also analyzed by Western blot. We observed that MICA was undetectable in the 15 primary nevi (intradermic, junction, mixed, lentigo and congenital samples as well as in normal skin, benign lesions (seborrheic keratosis, premalignant lesions (actinic keratosis and benign basocellular cancer. Conversely, a primary recently diagnosed melanoma showed intense cell surface MICA. We conclude that the onset of MICA expression is a tightly regulated process that occurs after melanocytes trespass the stage of malignant transformation. Thus, analysis of MICA expression in tissue sections of skin samples may constitute a useful marker to differentiate between benign and malignant nevi.

  3. Weak equivalence classes of complex vector bundles

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Le, Hong-Van

    LXXVII, č. 1 (2008), s. 23-30 ISSN 0862-9544 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100190701 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10190503 Keywords : chern classes * complex Grassmannians weak equivalence Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics

  4. Molecular characterization of classical and nonclassical MHC class I genes from the golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeng, Q-Q; Zhong, G-H; He, K; Sun, D-D; Wan, Q-H

    2016-02-01

    Classical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I allelic polymorphism is essential for competent antigen presentation. To improve the genotyping efforts in the golden pheasant, it is necessary to differentiate more accurately between classical and nonclassical class I molecules. In our study, all MHC class I genes were isolated from one golden pheasant based on two overlapping PCR amplifications. In total, six full-length class I nucleotide sequences (A-F) were identified, and four were novel. Two (A and C) belonged to the IA1 gene, two (B and D) were alleles derived from the IA2 gene through transgene amplification, and two (E and F) comprised a third novel locus, IA3 that was excluded from the core region of the golden pheasant MHC-B. IA1 and IA2 exhibited the broad expression profiles characteristic of classical loci, while IA3 showed no expression in multiple tissues and was therefore defined as a nonclassical gene. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the three IA genes in the golden pheasant share a much closer evolutionary relationship than the corresponding sequences in other galliform species. This observation was consistent with high sequence similarity among them, which likely arises from the homogenizing effect of recombination. Our careful distinction between the classical and nonclassical MHC class I genes in the golden pheasant lays the foundation for developing locus-specific genotyping and establishing a good molecular marker system of classical MHC I loci. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. A modern approach for epitope prediction: identification of foot-and-mouth disease virus peptides binding bovine leukocyte antigen (BoLA) class I molecules

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pandya, Mital; Rasmussen, Michael; Hansen, Andreas

    2015-01-01

    Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules regulate adaptive immune responses through the presentation of antigenic peptides to CD8+ T cells. Polymorphisms in the peptide binding region of class I molecules determine peptide binding affinity and stability during antigen presentation......, and different antigen peptide motifs are associated with specific genetic sequences of class I molecules. Understanding bovine leukocyte antigen (BoLA), peptide-MHC class I binding specificities may facilitate development of vaccines or reagents for quantifying the adaptive immune response to intracellular...... pathogens, such as foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). Six synthetic BoLA class I (BoLA-I) molecules were produced, and the peptide binding motif was generated for five of the six molecules using a combined approach of positional scanning combinatorial peptide libraries (PSCPLs) and neural network...

  6. The viral transcription group determines the HLA class I cellular immune response against human respiratory syncytial virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnstone, Carolina; Lorente, Elena; Barriga, Alejandro; Barnea, Eilon; Infantes, Susana; Lemonnier, François A; David, Chella S; Admon, Arie; López, Daniel

    2015-04-01

    The cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-mediated killing of virus-infected cells requires previous recognition of short viral antigenic peptides bound to human leukocyte antigen class I molecules that are exposed on the surface of infected cells. The cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response is critical for the clearance of human respiratory syncytial virus infection. In this study, naturally processed viral human leukocyte antigen class I ligands were identified with mass spectrometry analysis of complex human leukocyte antigen-bound peptide pools isolated from large amounts of human respiratory syncytial virus-infected cells. Acute antiviral T-cell response characterization showed that viral transcription determines both the immunoprevalence and immunodominance of the human leukocyte antigen class I response to human respiratory syncytial virus. These findings have clear implications for antiviral vaccine design. © 2015 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  7. High-risk human papillomavirus E7 expression reduces cell-surface MHC class I molecules and increases susceptibility to natural killer cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bottley, G; Watherston, O G; Hiew, Y-L

    2007-01-01

    a role for E7 in tumour immune evasion. We show that knockdown of E7 expression in HPV16- and HPV18-transformed cervical carcinoma cells by RNA interference increased expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I at the cell surface and reduced susceptibility of these cells to natural...... killer (NK) cells. Tetracycline-regulated induction of HPV16 E7 resulted in reduced expression of cell surface MHC class I molecules and increased NK cell killing. Our results suggest that, for HPV-associated malignancies, reduced MHC class I expression is the result of an active immune evasion strategy...

  8. Toward the prediction of class I and II mouse major histocompatibility complex-peptide-binding affinity: in silico bioinformatic step-by-step guide using quantitative structure-activity relationships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hattotuwagama, Channa K; Doytchinova, Irini A; Flower, Darren R

    2007-01-01

    Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analysis is a cornerstone of modern informatics. Predictive computational models of peptide-major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-binding affinity based on QSAR technology have now become important components of modern computational immunovaccinology. Historically, such approaches have been built around semiqualitative, classification methods, but these are now giving way to quantitative regression methods. We review three methods--a 2D-QSAR additive-partial least squares (PLS) and a 3D-QSAR comparative molecular similarity index analysis (CoMSIA) method--which can identify the sequence dependence of peptide-binding specificity for various class I MHC alleles from the reported binding affinities (IC50) of peptide sets. The third method is an iterative self-consistent (ISC) PLS-based additive method, which is a recently developed extension to the additive method for the affinity prediction of class II peptides. The QSAR methods presented here have established themselves as immunoinformatic techniques complementary to existing methodology, useful in the quantitative prediction of binding affinity: current methods for the in silico identification of T-cell epitopes (which form the basis of many vaccines, diagnostics, and reagents) rely on the accurate computational prediction of peptide-MHC affinity. We have reviewed various human and mouse class I and class II allele models. Studied alleles comprise HLA-A*0101, HLA-A*0201, HLA-A*0202, HLA-A*0203, HLA-A*0206, HLA-A*0301, HLA-A*1101, HLA-A*3101, HLA-A*6801, HLA-A*6802, HLA-B*3501, H2-K(k), H2-K(b), H2-D(b) HLA-DRB1*0101, HLA-DRB1*0401, HLA-DRB1*0701, I-A(b), I-A(d), I-A(k), I-A(S), I-E(d), and I-E(k). In this chapter we show a step-by-step guide into predicting the reliability and the resulting models to represent an advance on existing methods. The peptides used in this study are available from the AntiJen database (http://www.jenner.ac.uk/AntiJen). The PLS method

  9. Characterization of the Endothelial Cell Cytoskeleton following HLA Class I Ligation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziegler, Mary E.; Souda, Puneet; Jin, Yi-Ping; Whitelegge, Julian P.; Reed, Elaine F.

    2012-01-01

    Background Vascular endothelial cells (ECs) are a target of antibody-mediated allograft rejection. In vitro, when the HLA class I molecules on the surface of ECs are ligated by anti-HLA class I antibodies, cell proliferation and survival pathways are activated and this is thought to contribute to the development of antibody-mediated rejection. Crosslinking of HLA class I molecules by anti-HLA antibodies also triggers reorganization of the cytoskeleton, which induces the formation of F-actin stress fibers. HLA class I induced stress fiber formation is not well understood. Methodology and Principal Findings The present study examines the protein composition of the cytoskeleton fraction of ECs treated with HLA class I antibodies and compares it to other agonists known to induce alterations of the cytoskeleton in endothelial cells. Analysis by tandem mass spectrometry revealed unique cytoskeleton proteomes for each treatment group. Using annotation tools a candidate list was created that revealed 12 proteins, which were unique to the HLA class I stimulated group. Eleven of the candidate proteins were phosphoproteins and exploration of their predicted kinases provided clues as to how these proteins may contribute to the understanding of HLA class I induced antibody-mediated rejection. Three of the candidates, eukaryotic initiation factor 4A1 (eIF4A1), Tropomyosin alpha 4-chain (TPM4) and DDX3X, were further characterized by Western blot and found to be associated with the cytoskeleton. Confocal microscopy analysis showed that class I ligation stimulated increased eIF4A1 co-localization with F-actin and paxillin. Conclusions/Significance Colocalization of eIF4A1 with F-actin and paxillin following HLA class I ligation suggests that this candidate protein could be a target for understanding the mechanism(s) of class I mediated antibody-mediated rejection. This proteomic approach for analyzing the cytoskeleton of ECs can be applied to other agonists and various cells types

  10. Effects of irradiation on the expression of major histocompatibility complex class I antigen and adhesion costimulation molecules ICAM-1 in human cervical cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santin, Alessandro D.; Hermonat, Paul L.; Hiserodt, John C.; Chiriva-Internati, Maurizio; Woodliff, Jeff; Theus, John W.; Barclay, David; Pecorelli, Sergio; Parham, Groesbeck P.

    1997-01-01

    Purpose: We initiated studies to analyze the effects of high doses of gamma irradiation on the surface antigen expression of MHC Class I, Class II, and ICAM-1 on human cervical carcinoma cell lines. Methods and Materials: The expression of surface antigens (MHC Class I, Class II, and ICAM-1) was evaluated by FACS analysis on two cervical cell lines at different time points, following their exposure to high doses of gamma irradiation (i.e., 25.00, 50.00, and 100.00 Gy). Results: The CaSki and SiHa cervical cancer cells we analyzed in this study expressed variable levels of MHC Class I and ICAM-1 antigens, while Class II surface antigens were not detectable. Whereas irradiation doses of 25.00 Gy were not sufficient to totally block cell replication in both cell lines, exposure to 50.00 or 100.00 Gy was able to completely inhibit cell replication. Range doses from 25.00 to 100.00 Gy significantly and consistently increased the expression of all surface antigens present on the cells prior to irradiation but were unable to induce neoexpression of antigens previously not expressed by these cells (i.e., MHC Class II). Importantly, such upregulation was shown to be dose dependent, with higher radiation doses associated with increased antigen expression. Moreover, when the kinetic of this upregulation was studied after 2 and 6 days after irradiation, it was shown to be persistent and lasted until all the cells died. Conclusions: These findings may partially explain the increased immunogenicity of tumor cells following irradiation and may suggest enhanced immune recognition in tumor tissue in patients receiving radiation therapy

  11. ER stress affects processing of MHC class I-associated peptides

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meloche Sylvain

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Viral infection and neoplastic transformation trigger endoplasmic reticulum (ER stress. Thus, a large proportion of the cells that must be recognized by the immune system are stressed cells. Cells respond to ER stress by launching the unfolded protein response (UPR. The UPR regulates the two key processes that control major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I-peptide presentation: protein synthesis and degradation. We therefore asked whether and how the UPR impinges on MHC I-peptide presentation. Results We evaluated the impact of the UPR on global MHC I expression and on presentation of the H2Kb-associated SIINFEKL peptide. EL4 cells stably transfected with vectors coding hen egg lysozyme (HEL-SIINFEKL protein variants were stressed with palmitate or exposed to glucose deprivation. UPR decreased surface expression of MHC I but did not affect MHC I mRNA level nor the total amount of intracellular MHC I proteins. Impaired MHC I-peptide presentation was due mainly to reduced supply of peptides owing to an inhibition of overall protein synthesis. Consequently, generation of H2Kb-SIINFEKL complexes was curtailed during ER stress, illustrating how generation of MHC I peptide ligands is tightly coupled to ongoing protein synthesis. Notably, the UPR-induced decline of MHC I-peptide presentation was more severe when the protein source of peptides was localized in the cytosol than in the ER. This difference was not due to changes in the translation rates of the precursor proteins but to increased stability of the cytosolic protein during ER stress. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that ER stress impairs MHC I-peptide presentation, and that it differentially regulates expression of ER- vs. cytosol-derived peptides. Furthermore, this work illustrates how ER stress, a typical feature of infected and malignant cells, can impinge on cues for adaptive immune recognition.

  12. Different Roles Of Class-I And Class-II Clostridium-histolyticum Collagenase In Rat Pancreatic-islet Isolation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wolters, G. H. J.; Vos-Scheperkeuter, Greetje; Lin, Hun-Chi; van Schilfaarde, R

    Crude Clostridium histolyticum collagenase was purified by gel filtration and fractionated by anion exchange chromatography into class I with high collagen digestion activity (CDA) and low FALGPA (2-furanacryloyl-L-leucylglycyl-L-prolyI-L-alanine )hydrolysis activity (FHA), class II with low CDA and

  13. On generalized de Rham-Hodge complexes, the related characteristic Chern classes and some applications to integrable multi-dimensional differential systems on Riemannian manifolds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bogolubov, Nikolai N. Jr.; Prykarpatsky, Anatoliy K.

    2006-12-01

    The differential-geometric aspects of generalized de Rham-Hodge complexes naturally related with integrable multi-dimensional differential systems of M. Gromov type, as well as the geometric structure of Chern characteristic classes are studied. Special differential invariants of the Chern type are constructed, their importance for the integrability of multi-dimensional nonlinear differential systems on Riemannian manifolds is discussed. An example of the three-dimensional Davey-Stewartson type nonlinear strongly integrable differential system is considered, its Cartan type connection mapping and related Chern type differential invariants are analyzed. (author)

  14. Inhibition of the HDAC/Suv39/G9a pathway restores the expression of DNA damage-dependent major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain A and B in cancer cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakajima, Nakako Izumi; Niimi, Atsuko; Isono, Mayu; Oike, Takahiro; Sato, Hiro; Nakano, Takashi; Shibata, Atsushi

    2017-08-01

    Immunotherapy is expected to be promising as a next generation cancer therapy. Immunoreceptors are often activated constitutively in cancer cells, however, such levels of ligand expression are not effectively recognized by the native immune system due to tumor microenvironmental adaptation. Studies have demonstrated that natural-killer group 2, member D (NKG2D), a major activating immunoreceptor, responds to DNA damage. The upregulation of major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain A and B (MICA/B) (members of NKG2D ligands) expression after DNA damage is associated with NK cell-mediated killing of cancer cells. However, the regulation of DNA damage-induced MICA/B expression has not been fully elucidated in the context of the types of cancer cell lines. In the present study, we found that MICA/B expression varied between cancer cell lines after DNA damage. Screening in terms of chromatin remodeling identified that inhibitors related to chromatin relaxation via post-translational modification on histone H3K9, i.e. HDAC, Suv39 or G9a inhibition, restored DNA damage-dependent MICA/B expression in insensitive cells. In addition, we revealed that the restored MICA/B expression was dependent on ATR as well as E2F1, a transcription factor. We further revealed that low‑dose treatment of an HDAC inhibitor was sufficient to restore MICA/B expression in insensitive cells. Finally, we demonstrated that HDAC inhibition restored DNA damage‑dependent cytotoxic NK activity against insensitive cells. Thus, the present study revealed that DNA damage‑dependent MICA/B expression in insensitive cancer cells can be restored by chromatin relaxation via the HDAC/Suv39/G9a pathway. Collectively, manipulation of chromatin status by therapeutic cancer drugs may potentiate the antitumor effect by enhancing immune activation following radiotherapy and DNA damage-associated chemotherapy.

  15. The interaction of beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2m) with mouse class I major histocompatibility antigens and its ability to support peptide binding. A comparison of human and mouse beta 2m

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, L O; Stryhn, A; Holter, T L

    1995-01-01

    of class I molecules are involved in peptide binding, whereas most of class I molecules are involved in beta 2m binding. We propose that mouse beta 2m interacts with the minor peptide binding (i.e. the "empty") fraction with a lower affinity than human beta 2m does, whereas mouse and human beta 2m interact......The function of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules is to sample peptides derived from intracellular proteins and to present these peptides to CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes. In this paper, biochemical assays addressing MHC class I binding of both peptide and beta 2-microglobulin...... (beta 2m) have been used to examine the assembly of the trimolecular MHC class I/beta 2m/peptide complex. Recombinant human beta 2m and mouse beta 2ma have been generated to compare the binding of the two beta 2m to mouse class I. It is frequently assumed that human beta 2m binds to mouse class I heavy...

  16. Proteasome, transporter associated with antigen processing, and class I genes in the nurse shark Ginglymostoma cirratum: evidence for a stable class I region and MHC haplotype lineages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohta, Yuko; McKinney, E Churchill; Criscitiello, Michael F; Flajnik, Martin F

    2002-01-15

    Cartilaginous fish (e.g., sharks) are derived from the oldest vertebrate ancestor having an adaptive immune system, and thus are key models for examining MHC evolution. Previously, family studies in two shark species showed that classical class I (UAA) and class II genes are genetically linked. In this study, we show that proteasome genes LMP2 and LMP7, shark-specific LMP7-like, and the TAP1/2 genes are linked to class I/II. Functional LMP7 and LMP7-like genes, as well as multiple LMP2 genes or gene fragments, are found only in some sharks, suggesting that different sets of peptides might be generated depending upon inherited MHC haplotypes. Cosmid clones bearing the MHC-linked classical class I genes were isolated and shown to contain proteasome gene fragments. A non-MHC-linked LMP7 gene also was identified on another cosmid, but only two exons of this gene were detected, closely linked to a class I pseudogene (UAA-NC2); this region probably resulted from a recent duplication and translocation from the functional MHC. Tight linkage of proteasome and class I genes, in comparison with gene organizations of other vertebrates, suggests a primordial MHC organization. Another nonclassical class I gene (UAA-NC1) was detected that is linked neither to MHC nor to UAA-NC2; its high level of sequence similarity to UAA suggests that UAA-NC1 also was recently derived from UAA and translocated from MHC. These data further support the principle of a primordial class I region with few class I genes. Finally, multiple paternities in one family were demonstrated, with potential segregation distortions.

  17. Migration-related health inequalities: showing the complex interactions between gender, social class and place of origin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malmusi, Davide; Borrell, Carme; Benach, Joan

    2010-11-01

    In this paper, we briefly review theories and findings on migration and health from the health equity perspective, and then analyse migration-related health inequalities taking into account gender, social class and migration characteristics in the adult population aged 25-64 living in Catalonia, Spain. On the basis of the characterisation of migration types derived from the review, we distinguished between immigrants from other regions of Spain and those from other countries, and within each group, those from richer or poorer areas; foreign immigrants from low-income countries were also distinguished according to duration of residence. Further stratification by sex and social class was applied. Groups were compared in relation to self-assessed health in two cross-sectional population-based surveys, and in relation to indicators of socio-economic conditions (individual income, an index of material and financial assets, and an index of employment precariousness) in one survey. Social class and gender inequalities were evident in both health and socio-economic conditions, and within both the native and immigrant subgroups. Migration-related health inequalities affected both internal and international immigrants, but were mainly limited to those from poor areas, were generally consistent with their socio-economic deprivation, and apparently more pronounced in manual social classes and especially for women. Foreign immigrants from poor countries had the poorest socio-economic situation but relatively better health (especially men with shorter length of residence). Our findings on immigrants from Spain highlight the transitory nature of the 'healthy immigrant effect', and that action on inequality in socio-economic determinants affecting migrant groups should not be deferred. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Mechanical Stress Downregulates MHC Class I Expression on Human Cancer Cell Membrane

    KAUST Repository

    La Rocca, Rosanna; Tallerico, Rossana; Talib Hassan, Almosawy; Das, Gobind; Tadepally, Lakshmikanth; Matteucci, Marco; Liberale, Carlo; Mesuraca, Maria; Scumaci, Domenica; Gentile, Francesco; Cojoc, Gheorghe; Perozziello, Gerardo; Ammendolia, Antonio; Gallo, Adriana; Kä rre, Klas; Cuda, Giovanni; Candeloro, Patrizio; Di Fabrizio, Enzo M.; Carbone, Ennio

    2014-01-01

    bar (1 bar = 100.000 Pascal), depending on the devices used. Moreover, Raman spectroscopy analysis, after mechanical treatment, in the range between 700–1800 cm−1, indicated a relative concentration variation of MHC class I. PCA analysis was also

  19. A novel role of HLA class I in the pathology of medulloblastoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Courtney; Santi, Mariarita; Rajan, Bhargavi; Rushing, Elisabeth J; Choi, Mi Rim; Rood, Brian R; Cornelison, Robert; MacDonald, Tobey J; Vukmanovic, Stanislav

    2009-07-12

    MHC class I expression by cancer cells enables specific antigen recognition by the immune system and protection of the host. However, in some cancer types MHC class I expression is associated with an unfavorable outcome. We explored the basis of MHC class I association with unfavorable prognostic marker expression in the case of medulloblastoma. We investigated expression of four essential components of MHC class I (heavy chain, beta2m, TAP1 and TAP2) in 10 medulloblastoma mRNA samples, a tissue microarray containing 139 medulloblastoma tissues and 3 medulloblastoma cell lines. Further, in medulloblastoma cell lines we evaluated the effects of HLA class I engagement on activation of ERK1/2 and migration in vitro. The majority of specimens displayed undetectable or low levels of the heavy chains. Medulloblastomas expressing high levels of HLA class I displayed significantly higher levels of anaplasia and c-myc expression, markers of poor prognosis. Binding of beta2m or a specific antibody to open forms of HLA class I promoted phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in medulloblastoma cell line with high levels, but not in the cell line with low levels of HLA heavy chain. This treatment also promoted ERK1/2 activation dependent migration of medulloblastoma cells. MHC class I expression in medulloblastoma is associated with anaplasia and c-myc expression, markers of poor prognosis. Peptide- and/or beta2m-free forms of MHC class I may contribute to a more malignant phenotype of medulloblastoma by modulating activation of signaling molecules such as ERK1/2 that stimulates cell mobility.

  20. Frontal Changes in the Lower Face After Clockwise Rotation of the Maxillomandibular Complex Without Perisurgical Orthodontic Treatment in Angle Class I and Skeletal Class III Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sang Woo; Cho, Jeongmok; Kim, Kikap; Ahn, Seung Hyun

    2017-06-01

    Orthognathic surgery has become more popular to slenderize a wide lower face and to improve facial esthetics in Asian patients with normal occlusion. Clockwise rotation (CR) of the maxillomandibular complex (MMC) steepens the mandibular plane. This study performed a quantitative analysis on the influence of CR on slenderness of the lower face from the frontal view. This retrospective study included 36 female patients with Angle Class I occlusion and skeletal Class III pattern. The subjects underwent CR of the MMC without perioperative orthodontic treatment and change in the occlusion only for the purpose of esthetic improvement. Linear and angular variables were measured on a cephalogram and three-dimensional computed tomography (3D CT) obtained before and at least 6 months after surgery. Data were analyzed using paired t tests and Spearman correlations. Univariate regression analysis was used to predict the postoperative change according to the amount of posterior impaction. The mean posterior impaction was 3.81 mm. All mandibular plane angle (MPA) measurements were increased (ranged from 5.69° to 13.12°, p lower face becomes narrower and more slender as the MMC rotates in a clockwise direction. Orthognathic surgery with CR has the advantage of increasing the MPAs and obtaining natural soft tissue contouring while minimizing the amount of bone resection. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266c .

  1. Pan-specific MHC class I predictors: A benchmark of HLA class I pan-specific prediction methods

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Hao; Lundegaard, Claus; Nielsen, Morten

    2009-01-01

    not previously been compared using independent evaluation sets. Results: A diverse set of quantitative peptide binding affinity measurements was collected from IEDB, together with a large set of HLA class I ligands from the SYFPEITHI database. Based on these data sets, three different pan-specific HLA web...

  2. Class I ADP-ribosylation factors are involved in enterovirus 71 replication.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianmin Wang

    Full Text Available Enterovirus 71 is one of the major causative agents of hand, foot, and mouth disease in infants and children. Replication of enterovirus 71 depends on host cellular factors. The viral replication complex is formed in novel, cytoplasmic, vesicular compartments. It has not been elucidated which cellular pathways are hijacked by the virus to create these vesicles. Here, we investigated whether proteins associated with the cellular secretory pathway were involved in enterovirus 71 replication. We used a loss-of-function assay, based on small interfering RNA. We showed that enterovirus 71 RNA replication was dependent on the activity of Class I ADP-ribosylation factors. Simultaneous depletion of ADP-ribosylation factors 1 and 3, but not three others, inhibited viral replication in cells. We also demonstrated with various techniques that the brefeldin-A-sensitive guanidine nucleotide exchange factor, GBF1, was critically important for enterovirus 71 replication. Our results suggested that enterovirus 71 replication depended on GBF1-mediated activation of Class I ADP-ribosylation factors. These results revealed a connection between enterovirus 71 replication and the cellular secretory pathway; this pathway may represent a novel target for antiviral therapies.

  3. Class I ADP-ribosylation factors are involved in enterovirus 71 replication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jianmin; Du, Jiang; Jin, Qi

    2014-01-01

    Enterovirus 71 is one of the major causative agents of hand, foot, and mouth disease in infants and children. Replication of enterovirus 71 depends on host cellular factors. The viral replication complex is formed in novel, cytoplasmic, vesicular compartments. It has not been elucidated which cellular pathways are hijacked by the virus to create these vesicles. Here, we investigated whether proteins associated with the cellular secretory pathway were involved in enterovirus 71 replication. We used a loss-of-function assay, based on small interfering RNA. We showed that enterovirus 71 RNA replication was dependent on the activity of Class I ADP-ribosylation factors. Simultaneous depletion of ADP-ribosylation factors 1 and 3, but not three others, inhibited viral replication in cells. We also demonstrated with various techniques that the brefeldin-A-sensitive guanidine nucleotide exchange factor, GBF1, was critically important for enterovirus 71 replication. Our results suggested that enterovirus 71 replication depended on GBF1-mediated activation of Class I ADP-ribosylation factors. These results revealed a connection between enterovirus 71 replication and the cellular secretory pathway; this pathway may represent a novel target for antiviral therapies.

  4. An MHC class I immune evasion gene of Marek׳s disease virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hearn, Cari; Preeyanon, Likit; Hunt, Henry D; York, Ian A

    2015-01-15

    Marek׳s disease virus (MDV) is a widespread α-herpesvirus of chickens that causes T cell tumors. Acute, but not latent, MDV infection has previously been shown to lead to downregulation of cell-surface MHC class I (Virology 282:198-205 (2001)), but the gene(s) involved have not been identified. Here we demonstrate that an MDV gene, MDV012, is capable of reducing surface expression of MHC class I on chicken cells. Co-expression of an MHC class I-binding peptide targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum (bypassing the requirement for the TAP peptide transporter) partially rescued MHC class I expression in the presence of MDV012, suggesting that MDV012 is a TAP-blocking MHC class I immune evasion protein. This is the first unique non-mammalian MHC class I immune evasion gene identified, and suggests that α-herpesviruses have conserved this function for at least 100 million years. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Expression of bovine non-classical major histocompatibility complex class I proteins in mouse P815 and human K562 cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parasar, Parveen; Wilhelm, Amanda; Rutigliano, Heloisa M; Thomas, Aaron J; Teng, Lihong; Shi, Bi; Davis, William C; Suarez, Carlos E; New, Daniel D; White, Kenneth L; Davies, Christopher J

    2016-08-01

    Major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) proteins can be expressed as cell surface or secreted proteins. To investigate whether bovine non-classical MHC-I proteins are expressed as cell surface or secreted proteins, and to assess the reactivity pattern of monoclonal antibodies with non-classical MHC-I isoforms, we expressed the MHC proteins in murine P815 and human K562 (MHC-I deficient) cells. Following antibiotic selection, stably transfected cell lines were stained with H1A or W6/32 antibodies to detect expression of the MHC-I proteins by flow cytometry. Two non-classical proteins (BoLA-NC1*00501 and BoLA-NC3*00101) were expressed on the cell surface in both cell lines. Surprisingly, the BoLA-NC4*00201 protein was expressed on the cell membrane of human K562 but not mouse P815 cells. Two non-classical proteins (BoLA-NC1*00401, which lacks a transmembrane domain, and BoLA-NC2*00102) did not exhibit cell surface expression. Nevertheless, Western blot analyses demonstrated expression of the MHC-I heavy chain in all transfected cell lines. Ammonium-sulfate precipitation of proteins from culture supernatants showed that BoLA-NC1*00401 was secreted and that all surface expressed proteins where shed from the cell membrane by the transfected cells. Interestingly, the surface expressed MHC-I proteins were present in culture supernatants at a much higher concentration than BoLA-NC1*00401. This comprehensive study shows that bovine non-classical MHC-I proteins BoLA-NC1*00501, BoLA-NC3*00101, and BoLA-NC4*00201 are expressed as surface isoforms with the latter reaching the cell membrane only in K562 cells. Furthermore, it demonstrated that BoLA-NC1*00401 is a secreted isoform and that significant quantities of membrane associated MHC-I proteins can be shed from the cell membrane. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  6. Expression and characterization of recombinant single-chain salmon class I MHC fused with beta2-microglobulin with biological activity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhao, Heng; Stet, René J M; Skjødt, Karsten

    2008-01-01

    Heterodimeric class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules consist of a putative 45-kDa heavy chain and a 12-kDa beta2-microglobulin (beta2m) light chain. The knowledge about MHC genes in Atlantic salmon accumulated during the last decade has allowed us to generate soluble and stable ...... MHC class I molecules with biological activity. We report here the use of a bacterial expression system to produce the recombinant single-chain MHC molecules based on a specific allele Sasa-UBA*0301. This particular allele was selected because previous work has shown its association...... antibodies were successfully produced against both the MHC class I heavy chain and beta(2)m, and showed binding to the recombinant molecule. The recombinant complex Sasabeta2mUBA*0301 was expressed and isolated; the production was scaled up by adjusting to its optimal conditions. Subsequently......, the recombinant proteins were purified by affinity chromatography using mAb against beta2m and alpha3. Eluates were analyzed by Western blot and refolded by the removal of denaturant. The correct folding was confirmed by measuring its binding capacity against mAb produced to recognize the native form of MHC...

  7. In vivo immunologic selection of class I major histocompatibility complex gene deletion variants from the B16-BL6 melanoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Talmadge, J E; Talmadge, C B; Zbar, B; McEwen, R; Meeker, A K; Tribble, H

    1987-06-01

    The mechanism by which tumor allografts escape host immunologic attack was investigated. B16-BL6 cells (the bladder 6 subline of the B16 melanoma) (H-2b) were transfected with a gene (Dd) encoding an allogeneic class I major histocompatibility complex antigen. Clones that expressed Dd antigen were injected into the footpads of nonimmune syngeneic mice, syngeneic immune mice, and nude mice. Under conditions of immunologic selection a clone that contained multiple copies of the transfected gene formed variants that lacked the transfected gene. Primary tumors and pulmonary metastases of immunized mice and pulmonary metastases of nonimmunized mice had lost the Dd gene and, in most cases, all of the associated plasmid. In contrast, in immunodeficient nude mice, primary tumors and pulmonary metastases retained the Dd gene and the associated plasmid. Deletion of genes encoding cell surface antigens may be one of the mechanisms by which allogeneic tumors escape immunologic attack.

  8. A novel role of HLA class I in the pathology of medulloblastoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rood Brian R

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background MHC class I expression by cancer cells enables specific antigen recognition by the immune system and protection of the host. However, in some cancer types MHC class I expression is associated with an unfavorable outcome. We explored the basis of MHC class I association with unfavorable prognostic marker expression in the case of medulloblastoma. Methods We investigated expression of four essential components of MHC class I (heavy chain, β2m, TAP1 and TAP2 in 10 medulloblastoma mRNA samples, a tissue microarray containing 139 medulloblastoma tissues and 3 medulloblastoma cell lines. Further, in medulloblastoma cell lines we evaluated the effects of HLA class I engagement on activation of ERK1/2 and migration in vitro. Results The majority of specimens displayed undetectable or low levels of the heavy chains. Medulloblastomas expressing high levels of HLA class I displayed significantly higher levels of anaplasia and c-myc expression, markers of poor prognosis. Binding of β2m or a specific antibody to open forms of HLA class I promoted phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in medulloblastoma cell line with high levels, but not in the cell line with low levels of HLA heavy chain. This treatment also promoted ERK1/2 activation dependent migration of medulloblastoma cells. Conclusion MHC class I expression in medulloblastoma is associated with anaplasia and c-myc expression, markers of poor prognosis. Peptide- and/or β2m-free forms of MHC class I may contribute to a more malignant phenotype of medulloblastoma by modulating activation of signaling molecules such as ERK1/2 that stimulates cell mobility.

  9. Localisation of deformations of the midfacial complex in subjects with class III malocclusions employing thin-plate spline analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, G D; McNamara, J A; Lozanoff, S

    1997-11-01

    This study determines deformations of the midface that contribute to a class III appearance, employing thinplate spline analysis. A total of 135 lateral cephalographs of prepubertal children of European-American descent with either class III malocclusions or a class I molar occlusion were compared. The cephalographs were traced and checked, and 7 homologous landmarks of the midface were identified and digitised. The data sets were scaled to an equivalent size and subjected to Procrustes analysis. These statistical tests indicated significant differences (P spline analysis indicated that both affine and nonaffine transformations contribute towards the total spline for the averaged midfacial configuration. For nonaffine transformations, partial warp 3 had the highest magnitude, indicating the large scale deformations of the midfacial configuration. These deformations affected the palatal landmarks, and were associated with compression of the midfacial complex in the anteroposterior plane predominantly. Partial warp 4 produced some vertical compression of the posterior aspect of the midfacial complex whereas partial warps 1 and 2 indicated localised shape changes of the maxillary alveolus region. large spatial-scale deformations therefore affect the midfacial complex in an anteroposterior axis, in combination with vertical compression and localised distortions. These deformations may represent a developmental diminution of the palatal complex anteroposteriorly that, allied with vertical shortening of midfacial height posteriorly, results in class III malocclusions with a retrusive midfacial profile.

  10. Premalignant quiescent melanocytic nevi do not express the MHC class I chain-related protein A Los nevos melanocíticos premalignos quiescentes no expresan la molécula MHC class I chain-related protein A

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mercedes B. Fuertes

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available The MHC class I chain-related protein A (MICA is an inducible molecule almost not expressed by normal cells but strongly up-regulated in tumor cells. MICA-expressing cells are recognized by natural killer (NK cells, CD8+ aßTCR and ?dTCR T lymphocytes through the NKG2D receptor. Engagement of NKG2D by MICA triggers IFN-? secretion and cytotoxicity against malignant cells. Although most solid tumors express MICA and this molecule is a target during immune surveillance against tumors, it has been observed that high grade tumors from different histotypes express low amounts of cell surface MICA due to a metalloprotease- induced shedding. Also, melanomas develop after a complex process of neotransformation of normal melanocytes. However, the expression of MICA in premalignant stages (primary human quiescent melanocytic nevi remains unknown. Here, we assessed expression of MICA by flow cytometry using cell suspensions from 15 primary nevi isolated from 11 patients. When collected material was abundant, cell lysates were prepared and MICA expression was also analyzed by Western blot. We observed that MICA was undetectable in the 15 primary nevi (intradermic, junction, mixed, lentigo and congenital samples as well as in normal skin, benign lesions (seborrheic keratosis, premalignant lesions (actinic keratosis and benign basocellular cancer. Conversely, a primary recently diagnosed melanoma showed intense cell surface MICA. We conclude that the onset of MICA expression is a tightly regulated process that occurs after melanocytes trespass the stage of malignant transformation. Thus, analysis of MICA expression in tissue sections of skin samples may constitute a useful marker to differentiate between benign and malignant nevi.MHC class I chain-related protein A (MICA es una molécula casi ausente en células normales pero sobre-expresada por células tumorales, que promueve el reconocimiento por células citotóxicas naturales (natural killer o NK y por

  11. Expression, purification and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of the chicken MHC class I molecule YF1*7.1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hee, Chee Seng; Gao, Song; Miller, Marcia M.; Goto, Ronald M.; Ziegler, Andreas; Daumke, Oliver; Uchanska-Ziegler, Barbara

    2009-01-01

    The chicken classical MHC class I antigen YF1*7.1 was crystallized together with β 2 -microglobulin but without a peptide ligand. Crystals diffracted synchrotron radiation to 1.32 Å and belonged to the monoclinic space group P2 1 . YF1*7.1 is an allele of a polymorphic major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-like locus within the chicken Y gene complex. With the aim of understanding the possible role of the YF1*7.1 molecule in antigen presentation, the complex of YF1*7.1 heavy chain and β 2 -microglobulin was reconstituted and purified without a peptide. Crystals diffracted synchrotron radiation to 1.32 Å resolution and belonged to the monoclinic space group P2 1 . The phase problem was solved by molecular replacement. A detailed examination of the structure may provide insight into the type of ligand that could be bound by the YF1*7.1 molecule

  12. Ubiquitination regulates MHC class II-peptide complex retention and degradation in dendritic cells

    OpenAIRE

    Walseng, Even; Furuta, Kazuyuki; Bosch, Berta; Weih, Karis A.; Matsuki, Yohei; Bakke, Oddmund; Ishido, Satoshi; Roche, Paul A.

    2010-01-01

    The expression and turnover of MHC class II-peptide complexes (pMHC-II) on the surface of dendritic cells (DCs) is essential for their ability to activate CD4 T cells efficiently. The half-life of surface pMHC-II is significantly greater in activated (mature) DCs than in resting (immature) DCs, but the molecular mechanism leading to this difference remains unknown. We now show that ubiquitination of pMHC-II by the E3 ubiquitin ligase membrane-associated RING-CH 1 (March-I) regulates surface e...

  13. Hyoid bone position and head posture comparison in skeletal Class I and Class II subjects: A retrospective cephalometric study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pawankumar Dnyandeo Tekale

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the hyoid bone position and the head posture using lateral cephalograms in subjects with skeletal Class I and skeletal Class II pattern and to investigate the gender differences. Materials and Methods: The study used lateral cephalograms of 40 subjects (20 skeletal Class I pattern; 20 skeletal Class II pattern. Lateral cephalograms were traced and analyzed for evaluation of the hyoid bone position and the head posture using 34 parameters. Independent sample t-test was performed to compare the differences between the two groups and between genders in each group. Statistical tests were performed using NCSS 2007 software (NCSST, Kaysville, Utah, USA. Results: The linear measurements between the hyoid bone (H and cervical spine (CV2ia, the nasion-sella line, palatal line nasion line, the anterior nasal spine (ANS to perpendicular projection of H on the NLP (NLP- Nasal Linear Projection (H-NLP/ANS as well as the posterior cranial points (Bo, Ar and S points were found to be less in skeletal Class II subjects. The measurement H-CV2ia was found to be less in males with skeletal Class I pattern and H-CV4ia was found to be less in males with skeletal Class II pattern. The natural head posture showed no significant gender differences. Conclusion: The position of hyoid bone was closer to the cervical vertebra horizontally in skeletal Class II subjects when compared with skeletal Class I subjects. In males, the hyoid bone position was closer to the cervical vertebra horizontally both in skeletal Class I and skeletal Class II subjects.

  14. Global synchronization of a class of delayed complex networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Ping; Yi Zhang; Zhang Lei

    2006-01-01

    Global synchronization of a class of complex networks with time-varying delays is investigated in this paper. Some sufficient conditions are derived. These conditions show that the synchronization of delayed complex networks can be determined by their topologies. In addition, these conditions are simply represented in terms of the networks coupling matrix and are easy to be checked. A typical example of complex networks with chaotic nodes is employed to illustrate the obtained global synchronization results

  15. MHC class I loaded ligands from breast cancer cell lines: A potential HLA-I-typed antigen collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rozanov, Dmitri V.; Rozanov, Nikita D.; Chiotti, Kami; Reddy, Ashok; Wilmarth, Phillip A.; David, Larry L.; Cha, Seung W.; Woo, Sunghee; Pevzner, Pavel; Bafna, Vineet; Burrows, Gregory G.; Rantala, Juha K.; Levin, Trevor; Anur, Pavana; Johnson-Camacho, Katie; Tabatabaei, Shaadi; Munson, Daniel J.; Bruno, Tullia C.; Slansky, Jill E.; Kappler, John W.; Hirano, Naoto; Boegel, Sebastian; Fox, Bernard A.; Egelston, Colt; Simons, Diana L.; Jimenez, Grecia; Lee, Peter P.; Gray, Joe W.; Spellman, Paul T.

    2018-01-01

    Breast cancer therapy based on amplifying a patient’s antitumor immune response depends on the availability of appropriate MHC class I-restricted, breast cancer-specific epitopes. To build a catalog of peptides presented by breast cancer cells, we undertook systematic MHC class I immunoprecipitation followed by elution of MHC class I-loaded peptides in breast cancer cell lines. We determined the sequence of 3,196 MHC class I-bound peptides representing 1,921 proteins from a panel of 20 breast cancer cell lines including basal, luminal, and claudin-low subtypes. The data has been deposited to the ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD006406. After removing duplicate peptides, i.e., the same peptide eluted from more than one cell line, the total number of unique peptides was 2,740. Of the unique peptides eluted, more than 1,750 had been previously identified, and of these, sixteen have been shown to be immunogenic. Importantly, only 3 of these immunogenic peptides have been identified in breast cancer cells in earlier studies. MHC class I binding probability of eluted peptides was used to plot the distribution of MHC class I allele-specific peptides in accordance with the binding score for each breast cancer cell line. We also determined that the tested breast cancer cells presented 89 mutation-containing peptides and peptides derived from aberrantly translated genes, 7 of which were shared between four or two different cell lines. Overall, the high throughput identification of MHC class I-loaded peptides is an effective strategy for systematic characterization of cancer peptides, and could be employed for design of multi-peptide anticancer vaccines. PMID:29331515

  16. The Relationship Between Class I and II Integrons and Antibiotic Resistance Among Escherichia coli Isolates From Urinary Tract Infections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farshad Nojoomi

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Objective: the aim of this study was determination of antibiotic resistance profile, investigation of class I and II integrons among Escherichia coli (E. coli isolates from urinary tract infections. This study was conducted for the investigation of the prevalence of class I and II Integrons among E. coli Isolates from urinary tract infections. Materials and Methods: A total of 100 E. coli clinical isolates were collected from urinary tract infections in Borujerd city, Iran, from… to …. All the isolates were identified with standard laboratory procedures as described everywhere. The antibiotic susceptibility profile was conducted against adopted antibiotic disks following CLSI 2016 guidelines. All the isolates were enrolled in the PCR technique for the presence of class I and II integrons. Results: the highest resistance was against amoxicillin (72%, ciprofloxacin (69%, nalidixic acid (55% and tetracycline (51%. The prevalence of class I and II integrons was 31% and 21%, respectively. A significant relation was observed between resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (p<0.001, nalidixic acid (p<0.01 and tetracycline (p<0.005 with the presence of class I integron. The rate of class I integron in the E. coli isolates was high, possibly playing a role in the spread of multidrug resistant isolates. Conclusion: considering the significant relation observed between the presence of class I integron among multidrug-resistant isolates, establishment implementation of proper procedures to control and suitable treatment strategies in hospitals seems essential for the prevention of more spread of these isolates.

  17. Ethnic Related Selection for an ADH Class I Variant within East Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hui; Gu, Sheng; Cai, Xiaoyun; Speed, William C.; Pakstis, Andrew J.; Golub, Efim I.; Kidd, Judith R.; Kidd, Kenneth K.

    2008-01-01

    Background The alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH) are widely studied enzymes and the evolution of the mammalian gene cluster encoding these enzymes is also well studied. Previous studies have shown that the ADH1B*47His allele at one of the seven genes in humans is associated with a decrease in the risk of alcoholism and the core molecular region with this allele has been selected for in some East Asian populations. As the frequency of ADH1B*47His is highest in East Asia, and very low in most of the rest of the world, we have undertaken more detailed investigation in this geographic region. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we report new data on 30 SNPs in the ADH7 and Class I ADH region in samples of 24 populations from China and Laos. These populations cover a wide geographic region and diverse ethnicities. Combined with our previously published East Asian data for these SNPs in 8 populations, we have typed populations from all of the 6 major linguistic phyla (Altaic including Korean-Japanese and inland Altaic, Sino-Tibetan, Hmong-Mien, Austro-Asiatic, Daic, and Austronesian). The ADH1B genotyping data are strongly related to ethnicity. Only some eastern ethnic phyla or subphyla (Korean-Japanese, Han Chinese, Hmong-Mien, Daic, and Austronesian) have a high frequency of ADH1B*47His. ADH1B haplotype data clustered the populations into linguistic subphyla, and divided the subphyla into eastern and western parts. In the Hmong-Mien and Altaic populations, the extended haplotype homozygosity (EHH) and relative EHH (REHH) tests for the ADH1B core were consistent with selection for the haplotype with derived SNP alleles. In the other ethnic phyla, the core showed only a weak signal of selection at best. Conclusions/Significance The selection distribution is more significantly correlated with the frequency of the derived ADH1B regulatory region polymorphism than the derived amino-acid altering allele ADH1B*47His. Thus, the real focus of selection may be the regulatory region

  18. Ethnic related selection for an ADH Class I variant within East Asia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hui; Gu, Sheng; Cai, Xiaoyun; Speed, William C; Pakstis, Andrew J; Golub, Efim I; Kidd, Judith R; Kidd, Kenneth K

    2008-04-02

    The alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH) are widely studied enzymes and the evolution of the mammalian gene cluster encoding these enzymes is also well studied. Previous studies have shown that the ADH1B*47His allele at one of the seven genes in humans is associated with a decrease in the risk of alcoholism and the core molecular region with this allele has been selected for in some East Asian populations. As the frequency of ADH1B*47His is highest in East Asia, and very low in most of the rest of the world, we have undertaken more detailed investigation in this geographic region. Here we report new data on 30 SNPs in the ADH7 and Class I ADH region in samples of 24 populations from China and Laos. These populations cover a wide geographic region and diverse ethnicities. Combined with our previously published East Asian data for these SNPs in 8 populations, we have typed populations from all of the 6 major linguistic phyla (Altaic including Korean-Japanese and inland Altaic, Sino-Tibetan, Hmong-Mien, Austro-Asiatic, Daic, and Austronesian). The ADH1B genotyping data are strongly related to ethnicity. Only some eastern ethnic phyla or subphyla (Korean-Japanese, Han Chinese, Hmong-Mien, Daic, and Austronesian) have a high frequency of ADH1B*47His. ADH1B haplotype data clustered the populations into linguistic subphyla, and divided the subphyla into eastern and western parts. In the Hmong-Mien and Altaic populations, the extended haplotype homozygosity (EHH) and relative EHH (REHH) tests for the ADH1B core were consistent with selection for the haplotype with derived SNP alleles. In the other ethnic phyla, the core showed only a weak signal of selection at best. The selection distribution is more significantly correlated with the frequency of the derived ADH1B regulatory region polymorphism than the derived amino-acid altering allele ADH1B*47His. Thus, the real focus of selection may be the regulatory region. The obvious ethnicity-related distributions of ADH1B diversities

  19. Ethnic related selection for an ADH Class I variant within East Asia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui Li

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available The alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH are widely studied enzymes and the evolution of the mammalian gene cluster encoding these enzymes is also well studied. Previous studies have shown that the ADH1B*47His allele at one of the seven genes in humans is associated with a decrease in the risk of alcoholism and the core molecular region with this allele has been selected for in some East Asian populations. As the frequency of ADH1B*47His is highest in East Asia, and very low in most of the rest of the world, we have undertaken more detailed investigation in this geographic region.Here we report new data on 30 SNPs in the ADH7 and Class I ADH region in samples of 24 populations from China and Laos. These populations cover a wide geographic region and diverse ethnicities. Combined with our previously published East Asian data for these SNPs in 8 populations, we have typed populations from all of the 6 major linguistic phyla (Altaic including Korean-Japanese and inland Altaic, Sino-Tibetan, Hmong-Mien, Austro-Asiatic, Daic, and Austronesian. The ADH1B genotyping data are strongly related to ethnicity. Only some eastern ethnic phyla or subphyla (Korean-Japanese, Han Chinese, Hmong-Mien, Daic, and Austronesian have a high frequency of ADH1B*47His. ADH1B haplotype data clustered the populations into linguistic subphyla, and divided the subphyla into eastern and western parts. In the Hmong-Mien and Altaic populations, the extended haplotype homozygosity (EHH and relative EHH (REHH tests for the ADH1B core were consistent with selection for the haplotype with derived SNP alleles. In the other ethnic phyla, the core showed only a weak signal of selection at best.The selection distribution is more significantly correlated with the frequency of the derived ADH1B regulatory region polymorphism than the derived amino-acid altering allele ADH1B*47His. Thus, the real focus of selection may be the regulatory region. The obvious ethnicity-related distributions of ADH1B

  20. Somatic HLA Mutations Expose the Role of Class I-Mediated Autoimmunity in Aplastic Anemia and its Clonal Complications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babushok, Daria V; Duke, Jamie L; Xie, Hongbo M; Stanley, Natasha; Atienza, Jamie; Perdigones, Nieves; Nicholas, Peter; Ferriola, Deborah; Li, Yimei; Huang, Hugh; Ye, Wenda; Morrissette, Jennifer J D; Kearns, Jane; Porter, David L; Podsakoff, Gregory M; Eisenlohr, Laurence C; Biegel, Jaclyn A; Chou, Stella T; Monos, Dimitrios S; Bessler, Monica; Olson, Timothy S

    2017-10-10

    Acquired aplastic anemia (aAA) is an acquired deficiency of early hematopoietic cells, characterized by inadequate blood production, and a predisposition to myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and leukemia. Although its exact pathogenesis is unknown, aAA is thought to be driven by Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA)-restricted T cell immunity, with earlier studies favoring HLA class II-mediated pathways. Using whole exome sequencing (WES), we recently identified two aAA patients with somatic mutations in HLA class I genes. We hypothesized that HLA class I mutations are pathognomonic for autoimmunity in aAA, but were previously underappreciated because the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) region is notoriously difficult to analyze by WES. Using a combination of targeted deep sequencing of HLA class I genes and single nucleotide polymorphism array (SNP-A) genotyping we screened 66 aAA patients for somatic HLA class I loss. We found somatic HLA loss in eleven patients (17%), with thirteen loss-of-function mutations in HLA-A *33:03, HLA-A *68:01, HLA-B *14:02 and HLA-B *40:02 alleles. Three patients had more than one mutation targeting the same HLA allele. Interestingly, HLA-B *14:02 and HLA-B *40:02 were significantly overrepresented in aAA patients, compared to ethnicity-matched controls. Patients who inherited the targeted HLA alleles, regardless of HLA mutation status, had a more severe disease course with more frequent clonal complications as assessed by WES, SNP-A, and metaphase cytogenetics, and more frequent secondary MDS. The finding of recurrent HLA class I mutations provides compelling evidence for a predominant HLA class I-driven autoimmunity in aAA, and establishes a novel link between aAA patients' immunogenetics and clonal evolution.

  1. The interaction between beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2m) and purified class-I major histocompatibility (MHC) antigen

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, L O; Hansen, A S; Olsen, A C

    1994-01-01

    been generated recently and this paper reports on a similar assay for the interaction between beta 2m and class I. As a model system human beta 2m binding to mouse class I was used. The assay is strictly biochemical using purified reagents which interact in solution and complex formation is determined...... by size separation. It is specific and highly sensitive. The observed affinity of the interaction, KD, is close to 0.4 nM. The rate of association at 37 degrees C is very fast (the ka is around 5 x 10(4)/M/s) whereas the dissociation is slow (the kd is around 8 x 10(-6)/s); the ratio of dissociation...

  2. An overview of Class I Structures license renewal Industry Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Statton, J.A.; Renfro, L.J.; Peeifer, B.W.; Deng, D.Z.; Byron, J.

    1991-01-01

    The results of this evaluation indicate that license renewal of Class I Structures is technically achievable and that most age-related degradation can be managed by existing effective programs such that the continued safe operation of the plant is assured. Existing effective programs are satisfactory as long as plant-unique verification of design and operating features is performed. Thus, the conclusions of this IR can be applied to individual plants. (author)

  3. HLA Class I and Class II Alleles and Haplotypes Confirm the Berber Origin of the Present Day Tunisian Population.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdelhafidh Hajjej

    Full Text Available In view of its distinct geographical location and relatively small area, Tunisia witnessed the presence of many civilizations and ethnic groups throughout history, thereby questioning the origin of present-day Tunisian population. We investigated HLA class I and class II gene profiles in Tunisians, and compared this profile with those of Mediterranean and Sub-Sahara African populations. A total of 376 unrelated Tunisian individuals of both genders were genotyped for HLA class I (A, B and class II (DRB1, DQB1, using reverse dot-blot hybridization (PCR-SSO method. Statistical analysis was performed using Arlequin software. Phylogenetic trees were constructed by DISPAN software, and correspondence analysis was carried out by VISTA software. One hundred fifty-three HLA alleles were identified in the studied sample, which comprised 41, 50, 40 and 22 alleles at HLA-A,-B,-DRB1 and -DQB1 loci, respectively. The most frequent alleles were HLA-A*02:01 (16.76%, HLA-B*44:02/03 (17.82%, HLA-DRB1*07:01 (19.02%, and HLA-DQB1*03:01 (17.95%. Four-locus haplotype analysis identified HLA-A*02:01-B*50:01-DRB1*07:01-DQB1*02:02 (2.2% as the common haplotype in Tunisians. Compared to other nearby populations, Tunisians appear to be genetically related to Western Mediterranean population, in particular North Africans and Berbers. In conclusion, HLA genotype results indicate that Tunisians are related to present-day North Africans, Berbers and to Iberians, but not to Eastern Arabs (Palestinians, Jordanians and Lebanese. This suggests that the genetic contribution of Arab invasion of 7th-11th century A.D. had little impact of the North African gene pool.

  4. Characterization of MHC class I and II genes in a subantarctic seabird, the blue petrel, Halobaena caerulea (Procellariiformes).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strandh, Maria; Lannefors, Mimi; Bonadonna, Francesco; Westerdahl, Helena

    2011-10-01

    The great polymorphism observed in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes is thought to be maintained by pathogen-mediated selection possibly combined with MHC-disassortative mating, guided by MHC-determined olfactory cues. Here, we partly characterize the MHC class I and II B of the blue petrel, Halobaena caerulea (Procellariiformes), a bird with significant olfactory abilities that lives under presumably low pathogen burdens in Subantarctica. Blue petrels are long-lived, monogamous birds which suggest the necessity of an accurate mate choice process. The species is ancestral to songbirds (Passeriformes; many MHC loci), although not to gamefowls (Galliformes; few MHC loci). Considering the phylogenetic relationships and the low subantarctic pathogen burden, we expected few rather than many MHC loci in the blue petrel. However, when we analysed partial MHC class I and class II B cDNA and gDNA sequences we found evidence for as many as at least eight MHC class I loci and at least two class II B loci. These class I and II B sequences showed classical MHC characteristics, e.g. high nucleotide diversity, especially in putative peptide-binding regions where signatures of positive selection was detected. Trans-species polymorphism was found between MHC class II B sequences of the blue petrel and those of thin-billed prion, Pachyptila belcheri, two species that diverged ∼25 MYA. The observed MHC allele richness in the blue petrel may well serve as a basis for mate choice, especially since olfactory discrimination of MHC types may be possible in this species.

  5. Strategy complexity of two-player, zero-sum games

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ibsen-Jensen, Rasmus

    on the algorithms. I consider a wide assortment of different two-player, zero-sum game classes, e.g. matrix games, uni-chain concurrent mean-payoff games, concurrent mean-payoff games, concurrent reachability games and one-clock priced timed games. In all game classes considered, except for one-clock priced timed...... non-zero probability used in one of the probability distributions. In each case I provide relatively tight bounds on the patience of the “good” strategy that requires the least patience in the worst game of the game class. I will give an improved bound on the patience of concurrent reachability games......This dissertation considers two-player, zero-sum games with a focus on how complicated they are to play; a notion I will call strategy complexity. Often, knowing good bounds on the strategy complexity indicates bounds on the run time of various algorithms. In such cases I will also derive bounds...

  6. Facial attractiveness of skeletal class I and class II malocclusion as perceived by laypeople, patients and clinicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pace, Michela; Cioffi, Iacopo; D'antò, Vincenzo; Valletta, Alessandra; Valletta, Rosa; Amato, Massimo

    2018-06-01

    Physical attractiveness is dependent on facial appearance. The facial profile plays a crucial role in facial attractiveness and can be improved with orthodontic treatment. The aesthetic assessment of facial appearance may be influenced by the cultural background and education of the assessor and dependent upon the experience level of dental professionals. This study aimed to evaluate how the sagittal jaw relationship in Class I and Class II individuals affects facial attractiveness, and whether the assessor's professional education and background affect the perception of facial attractiveness. Facial silhouettes simulating mandibular retrusion, maxillary protrusion, mandibular retrusion combined with maxillary protrusion, bimaxillary protrusion and severe bimaxillary protrusion in class I and class II patients were assessed by five groups of people with different backgrounds and education levels (i.e., 23 expert orthodontists, 21 orthodontists, 15 maxillofacial surgeons, 19 orthodontic patients and 28 laypeople). Straight facial profiles were judged to be more attractive than convex profiles due to severe mandibular retrusion and to mandibular retrusion combined with maxillary protrusion (all Pattractive by clinicians than by patients and laypeople (all Pattractive than Class I profiles. The assessment of facial attractiveness is dependent on the assessor's education and background. Laypeople and patients are considerably less sensitive to abnormal sagittal jaw relationships than orthodontists.

  7. Vaccination and Infection as Causative Factors in Japanese Patients With Rasmussen Syndrome: Molecular Mimicry and HLA Class I

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yukitoshi Takahashi

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Rasmussen syndrome is an intractable epilepsy with a putative causal relation with cellular and humoral autoimmunity. Almost half of the patients have some preceding causative factors, with infections found in 38.2%, vaccinations in 5.9% and head trauma in 8.9% of Japanese patients. In a patient with seizure onset after influenza A infections, cross-reaction of the patient's lymphocytes with GluRε2 and influenza vaccine components was demonstrated by lymphocyte stimulation test. Database analyses revealed that influenza A virus hemagglutinin and GluRε2 molecules contain peptides with the patient's HLA class I binding motif (HLA ࢤ A*0201. The relative risks of HLA class I genotypes for Rasmussen syndrome are 6.1 (A*2402, 6.4 (A*0201, 6.3 (A*2601 and 11.4 (B*4601. The relative risks of HLA class I-A and B haplotypes are infinity (A*2601+B*5401, 21.1 (A*2402+B*1501, 13.3 (A*2402+B*4801 and 5.1 (A*2402+B*5201. Some alleles and haplotypes of HLA class I may be the risk factors in Japanese patients. Cross-reactivity of cytotoxic T lymphocytes may contribute to the processes leading from infection to the involvement of CNS.

  8. Evolution of MHC class I in the Order Crocodylia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jaratlerdsiri, Weerachai; Isberg, Sally R; Higgins, Damien P

    2014-01-01

    have mostly focused on model species. However, the investigation of this region in non-avian reptiles is still in its infancy. To provide insights into the evolutionary mechanisms that have shaped the diversity of this region in the Order Crocodylia, we investigated MHC class I exon 3, intron 3...... events of gene duplication, particularly in Crocodilidae. These findings enhance our understanding of MHC class I evolution and provide a preliminary framework for comparative studies of other non-avian reptiles as well as diversity assessment within Crocodylia....

  9. Patterns of genetic differentiation at MHC class I genes and microsatellites identify conservation units in the giant panda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Ying; Wan, Qiu-Hong; Yu, Bin; Ge, Yun-Fa; Fang, Sheng-Guo

    2013-10-22

    Evaluating patterns of genetic variation is important to identify conservation units (i.e., evolutionarily significant units [ESUs], management units [MUs], and adaptive units [AUs]) in endangered species. While neutral markers could be used to infer population history, their application in the estimation of adaptive variation is limited. The capacity to adapt to various environments is vital for the long-term survival of endangered species. Hence, analysis of adaptive loci, such as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes, is critical for conservation genetics studies. Here, we investigated 4 classical MHC class I genes (Aime-C, Aime-F, Aime-I, and Aime-L) and 8 microsatellites to infer patterns of genetic variation in the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and to further define conservation units. Overall, we identified 24 haplotypes (9 for Aime-C, 1 for Aime-F, 7 for Aime-I, and 7 for Aime-L) from 218 individuals obtained from 6 populations of giant panda. We found that the Xiaoxiangling population had the highest genetic variation at microsatellites among the 6 giant panda populations and higher genetic variation at Aime-MHC class I genes than other larger populations (Qinling, Qionglai, and Minshan populations). Differentiation index (FST)-based phylogenetic and Bayesian clustering analyses for Aime-MHC-I and microsatellite loci both supported that most populations were highly differentiated. The Qinling population was the most genetically differentiated. The giant panda showed a relatively higher level of genetic diversity at MHC class I genes compared with endangered felids. Using all of the loci, we found that the 6 giant panda populations fell into 2 ESUs: Qinling and non-Qinling populations. We defined 3 MUs based on microsatellites: Qinling, Minshan-Qionglai, and Daxiangling-Xiaoxiangling-Liangshan. We also recommended 3 possible AUs based on MHC loci: Qinling, Minshan-Qionglai, and Daxiangling-Xiaoxiangling-Liangshan. Furthermore, we recommend

  10. The outermost N-terminal region of tapasin facilitates folding of major histocompatibility complex class I

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Røder, Gustav Andreas; Geironson, Linda; Darabi, Anna

    2009-01-01

    ). Using a biochemical peptide-MHC-I-binding assay, recombinant Tpn(1-87) was found to specifically facilitate peptide-dependent folding of HLA-A*0201. Furthermore, we used Tpn(1-87) to generate a monoclonal antibody, alphaTpn(1-87)/80, specific for natural human Tpn and capable of cellular staining of ER......Tapasin (Tpn) is an ER chaperone that is uniquely dedicated to MHC-I biosynthesis. It binds MHC-I molecules, integrates them into peptide-loading complexes, and exerts quality control of the bound peptides; only when an "optimal peptide" is bound will the MHC-I be released and exported to the cell...... surface for presentation to T cells. The exact mechanisms of Tpn quality control and the criteria for being an optimal peptide are still unknown. Here, we have generated a recombinant fragment of human Tpn, Tpn(1-87) (representing the 87 N-terminal and ER-luminal amino acids of the mature Tpn protein...

  11. A Latent Class Analysis of Weight-Related Health Behaviors among 2-and 4-Year College Students and Associated Risk of Obesity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathur, Charu; Stigler, Melissa; Lust, Katherine; Laska, Melissa

    2014-01-01

    Little is known about the complex patterning of weight-related health behaviors in 2-and 4-year college students. The objective of this study was to identify and describe unique classes of weight-related health behaviors among college students. Latent class analysis was used to identify homogenous, mutually exclusive classes of nine health…

  12. LOFT blowdown loop piping thermal analysis Class I review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kinnaman, T.L.

    1978-01-01

    In accordance with ASME Code, Section III requirements, all analyses of Class I components must be independently reviewed. Since the LOFT blowdown loop piping up through the blowdown valve is a Class I piping system, the thermal analyses are reviewed. The Thermal Analysis Branch comments to this review are also included. It is the opinion of the Thermal Analysis Branch that these comments satisfy all of the reviewers questions and that the analyses should stand as is, without additional considerations in meeting the ASME Code requirements and ANC Specification 60139

  13. Repression of class I transcription by cadmium is mediated by the protein phosphatase 2A

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Lei; Le Roux, Gwenaëlle; Ducrot, Cécile; Chédin, Stéphane; Labarre, Jean; Riva, Michel; Carles, Christophe

    2013-01-01

    Toxic metals are part of our environment, and undue exposure to them leads to a variety of pathologies. In response, most organisms adapt their metabolism and have evolved systems to limit this toxicity and to acquire tolerance. Ribosome biosynthesis being central for protein synthesis, we analyzed in yeast the effects of a moderate concentration of cadmium (Cd2+) on Pol I transcription that represents >60% of the transcriptional activity of the cells. We show that Cd2+ rapidly and drastically shuts down the expression of the 35S rRNA. Repression does not result from a poisoning of any of the components of the class I transcriptional machinery by Cd2+, but rather involves a protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A)-dependent cellular signaling pathway that targets the formation/dissociation of the Pol I–Rrn3 complex. We also show that Pol I transcription is repressed by other toxic metals, such as Ag+ and Hg2+, which likewise perturb the Pol I–Rrn3 complex, but through PP2A-independent mechanisms. Taken together, our results point to a central role for the Pol I–Rrn3 complex as molecular switch for regulating Pol I transcription in response to toxic metals. PMID:23640330

  14. Population Based Assessment of MHC Class I Antigens Down Regulation as Markers of Increased Risk for Development and Progression of Breast Cancer from Benign Breast Lesions

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Worsham, Maria J

    2007-01-01

    .... The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules are found on the cell membrane of all cells in the body and are involved in intercellular communications and in complex interactions with the immune...

  15. Population Based Assessment of MHC Class I Antigens Down Regulation as Markers of Increased Risk for Development and Progression of Breast Cancer from Benign Breast Lesions

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Worsham, Maria

    2001-01-01

    .... The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules are found on the cell membrane of all cells in the body and are involved in intercellular communications and in complex interactions with the immune...

  16. Population Based Assessment of MHC Class I Antigens Down Regulation as Markers of Increased Risk for Development and Progression of Breast Cancer from Benign Breast Lesions

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Worsham, Maria J; Raju, Usha; Abrams, Judith

    2005-01-01

    .... The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules are found on the cell membrane of all cells in the body and are involved in intercellular communications and in complex interactions with the immune...

  17. Population Based Assessment of MHC Class I Antigens Down Regulation as Markers of Increased Risk for Development and Progression of Breast Cancer From Benign Breast Lesions

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Worsham, Maria

    2004-01-01

    .... The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules are found on the cell membrane of all cells in the body and are involved in intercellular communications and in complex interactions with the immune...

  18. Availability of endogenous peptides limits expression of an M3a-Ld major histocompatibility complex class I chimera

    Science.gov (United States)

    1994-01-01

    Taking advantage of our understanding of the peptide specificity of the major histocompatibility complex class I-b molecule M3a, we sought to determine why these molecules are poorly represented on the cell surface. To this end we constructed a chimeric molecule with the alpha 1 and alpha 2 domains of M3a and alpha 3 of Ld thereby allowing use of available monoclonal antibodies to quantify surface expression. Transfected, but not control, B10.CAS2 (H-2M3b) cells were lysed readily by M3a-restricted monoclonal cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Thus, the chimera bound, trafficked, and presented endogenous mitochondrial peptides. However, despite high levels of M3a-Ld mRNA, transfectants were negative by surface staining. This finding was consistent with inefficient trafficking to the cell surface. Incubation at 26 degrees C, thought to permit trafficking of unoccupied heavy (H) chains, resulted in detectable cell surface expression of chimeric molecules. Incubation with exogenous peptide at 26 degrees C (but not at 37 degrees C) greatly enhanced expression of M3a-Ld molecules in a dose- dependent manner, suggesting stabilization of unoccupied molecules. Stable association of beta 2-microglobulin with the chimeric H chain was observed in labeled cell lysates only in the presence of exogenous specific peptide, indicating that peptide is required for the formation of a ternary complex. These results indicate that surface expression of M3a-Ld is limited largely by the steady-state availability of endogenous peptides. Since most known M3a-binding peptides are N- formylated, native M3a may normally be expressed at high levels only during infection by intracellular bacteria. PMID:8270862

  19. Gene transfer preferentially selects MHC class I positive tumour cells and enhances tumour immunogenicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hacker, Ulrich T; Schildhauer, Ines; Barroso, Margarita Céspedes; Kofler, David M; Gerner, Franz M; Mysliwietz, Josef; Buening, Hildegard; Hallek, Michael; King, Susan B S

    2006-05-01

    The modulated expression of MHC class I on tumour tissue is well documented. Although the effect of MHC class I expression on the tumorigenicity and immunogenicity of MHC class I negative tumour cell lines has been rigorously studied, less is known about the validity of gene transfer and selection in cell lines with a mixed MHC class I phenotype. To address this issue we identified a C26 cell subline that consists of distinct populations of MHC class I (H-2D/K) positive and negative cells. Transient transfection experiments using liposome-based transfer showed a lower transgene expression in MHC class I negative cells. In addition, MHC class I negative cells were more sensitive to antibiotic selection. This led to the generation of fully MHC class I positive cell lines. In contrast to C26 cells, all transfectants were rejected in vivo and induced protection against the parental tumour cells in rechallenge experiments. Tumour cell specificity of the immune response was demonstrated in in vitro cytokine secretion and cytotoxicity assays. Transfectants expressing CD40 ligand and hygromycin phosphotransferase were not more immunogenic than cells expressing hygromycin resistance alone. We suggest that the MHC class I positive phenotype of the C26 transfectants had a bearing on their immunogenicity, because selected MHC class I positive cells were more immunogenic than parental C26 cells and could induce specific anti-tumour immune responses. These data demonstrate that the generation of tumour cell transfectants can lead to the selection of subpopulations that show an altered phenotype compared to the parental cell line and display altered immunogenicity independent of selection marker genes or other immune modulatory genes. Our results show the importance of monitoring gene transfer in the whole tumour cell population, especially for the evaluation of in vivo therapies targeted to heterogeneous tumour cell populations.

  20. Disruption of the Class IIa HDAC Corepressor Complex Increases Energy Expenditure and Lipid Oxidation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vidhi Gaur

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Drugs that recapitulate aspects of the exercise adaptive response have the potential to provide better treatment for diseases associated with physical inactivity. We previously observed reduced skeletal muscle class IIa HDAC (histone deacetylase transcriptional repressive activity during exercise. Here, we find that exercise-like adaptations are induced by skeletal muscle expression of class IIa HDAC mutants that cannot form a corepressor complex. Adaptations include increased metabolic gene expression, mitochondrial capacity, and lipid oxidation. An existing HDAC inhibitor, Scriptaid, had similar phenotypic effects through disruption of the class IIa HDAC corepressor complex. Acute Scriptaid administration to mice increased the expression of metabolic genes, which required an intact class IIa HDAC corepressor complex. Chronic Scriptaid administration increased exercise capacity, whole-body energy expenditure and lipid oxidation, and reduced fasting blood lipids and glucose. Therefore, compounds that disrupt class IIa HDAC function could be used to enhance metabolic health in chronic diseases driven by physical inactivity.

  1. Anteroposterior condylar position: a comparative study between subjects with normal occlusion and patients with Class I, Class II Division 1, and Class III malocclusions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fraga, Marcelo Reis; Rodrigues, Andréia Fialho; Ribeiro, Luiz Claudio; Campos, Marcio José da Silva; Vitral, Robert Willer Farinazzo

    2013-10-29

    The present study aimed to determine and compare the anteroposterior position of the condyle in the mandibular fossa between groups of asymptomatic subjects with normal occlusion and asymptomatic subjects with Class I, Class II Division 1, and Class III malocclusions. Thirty persons with normal occlusion, 30 with Class I malocclusion, 30 with Class II Division 1, and 30 with Class III had computed tomography scans of their temporomandibular joints. The anterior joint space/posterior joint space (AJS/PJS) ratio was determined for the right and left joints. The paired t test was used to analyze the AJS/PJS ratio between both sides for each group. The ANOVA test was applied to verify the differences between the groups for the measurements of the right and left sides. In case the ANOVA test confirmed significance, the Dunnett's t test was performed to compare the groups of malocclusion with that of normal occlusion. The paired t test between the AJS/PJS relationships in the right and left sides showed the following p values: Class I (0.168), Class II Division 1 (0.662), Class III (0.991), and normal occlusion (0.390). The ANOVA test showed a p value of 0.445 for the comparisons of the right side and 0.040 for the left side. The Dunnett's t test demonstrated a statistically significant difference between the Class II group and the normal occlusion group (p value of 0.026) in the joints of the left side. Bilateral symmetry and lack of condyle centralization were common characteristics among all groups. The greatest condylar decentralization was observed in the Class II group, whereas the least condylar decentralization was found in the normal occlusion group.

  2. Lower incisor dentoalveolar compensation and symphysis dimensions among Class I and III malocclusion patients with different facial vertical skeletal patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molina-Berlanga, Núria; Llopis-Perez, Jaume; Flores-Mir, Carlos; Puigdollers, Andreu

    2013-11-01

    To compare lower incisor dentoalveolar compensation and mandible symphysis morphology among Class I and Class III malocclusion patients with different facial vertical skeletal patterns. Lower incisor extrusion and inclination, as well as buccal (LA) and lingual (LP) cortex depth, and mandibular symphysis height (LH) were measured in 107 lateral cephalometric x-rays of adult patients without prior orthodontic treatment. In addition, malocclusion type (Class I or III) and facial vertical skeletal pattern were considered. Through a principal component analysis (PCA) related variables were reduced. Simple regression equation and multivariate analyses of variance were also used. Incisor mandibular plane angle (P Class I P  =  .03 and Class III P  =  .01) and a positive correlation with LH (Class I P  =  .01 and Class III P  =  .02) in both groups. Within the Class III group, there was a negative correlation between the mandibular plane and LP (P  =  .02). PCA showed that the tendency toward a long face causes the symphysis to elongate and narrow. In Class III, alveolar narrowing is also found in normal faces. Vertical facial pattern is a significant factor in mandibular symphysis alveolar morphology and lower incisor positioning, both for Class I and Class III patients. Short-faced Class III patients have a widened alveolar bone. However, for long-faced and normal-faced Class III, natural compensation elongates the symphysis and influences lower incisor position.

  3. Estudo cefalométrico comparativo dos espaços naso e bucofaríngeo nas más oclusões Classe I e Classe II, Divisão 1, sem tratamento ortodôntico, com diferentes padrões de crescimento A Comparative cephalometric study of the naso and oropharyngeal space in malocclusions Class I and Class II Division 1, without orthodontic treatment with different growth patterns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadyr M. Penteado Virmond Alcazar

    2004-08-01

    with class II, division 1 subdivided according to facial growth: normal and vertical. The naso and oropharyngeal airway space was assessed according to McNamara's analysis by using the Nfa-NFp and Nba-NBp measurements. The analysis of the results obtained revealed that, the oropharyngeal measurements for class I with pattern vertical growth and nasopharyngeal class II with pattern normal growth were similar to the reference measures in McNamara's sample. The other measurements were statistically smaller. In the comparison between groups, the oropharyngeal spaces did not show a difference between one group and another. The nasopharyngeal space in the class I group with vertical growth, showed a narrower space than in the class I group and in the class II group with pattern normal growth. In relation to adenoids hypertrophy, only class I with pattern vertical growth showed obstruction; for tonsils hypertrophy, only class I with pattern vertical growth and class II with pattern normal growth showed tonsils hypertrophy.

  4. CIITA promoter I CARD-deficient mice express functional MHC class II genes in myeloid and lymphoid compartments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zinzow-Kramer, W M; Long, A B; Youngblood, B A; Rosenthal, K M; Butler, R; Mohammed, A-U-R; Skountzou, I; Ahmed, R; Evavold, B D; Boss, J M

    2012-06-01

    Three distinct promoters control the master regulator of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II expression, class II transactivator (CIITA), in a cell type-specific manner. Promoter I (pI) CIITA, expressed primarily by dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages, expresses a unique isoform that contains a caspase-recruitment domain (CARD). The activity and function of this isoform are not understood, but are believed to enhance the function of CIITA in antigen-presenting cells. To determine whether isoform I of CIITA has specific functions, CIITA mutant mice were created in which isoform I was replaced with isoform III sequences. Mice in which pI and the CARD-encoding exon were deleted were also created. No defect in the formation of CD4 T cells, the ability to respond to a model antigen or bacterial or viral challenge was observed in mice lacking CIITA isoform I. Although CIITA and MHC-II expression was decreased in splenic DCs, pI knockout animals expressed CIITA from downstream promoters, suggesting that control of pI activity is mediated by unknown distal elements that could act at pIII, the B-cell promoter. Thus, no critical function is linked to the CARD domain of CIITA isoform I with respect to basic immune system development, function and challenge.

  5. Regulation of T cell response to leishmania antigens by determinants of histocompatibility leukocyte class I and II molecules

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bacellar O.

    1998-01-01

    Full Text Available It has been shown that HLA class I molecules play a significant role in the regulation of the proliferation of T cells activated by mitogens and antigens. We evaluated the ability of mAb to a framework determinant of HLA class I molecules to regulate T cell proliferation and interferon gamma (IFN-g production against leishmania, PPD, C. albicans and tetanus toxoid antigens in patients with tegumentary leishmaniasis and healthy subjects. The anti-major histocompatibility complex (MHC mAb (W6/32 suppressed lymphocyte proliferation by 90% in cultures stimulated with aCD3, but the suppression was variable in cultures stimulated with leishmania antigen. This suppression ranged from 30-67% and was observed only in 5 of 11 patients. IFN-g production against leishmania antigen was also suppressed by anti-HLA class I mAb. In 3 patients IFN-g levels were suppressed by more than 60%, while in the other 2 cultures IFN-g levels were 36 and 10% lower than controls. The suppression by HLA class I mAb to the proliferative response in leishmaniasis patients and in healthy controls varied with the antigens and the patients or donors tested. To determine whether the suppression is directed at antigen presenting cells (APCs or at the responding T cells, experiments with antigen-primed non-adherent cells, separately incubated with W6/32, were performed. Suppression of proliferation was only observed when the W6/32 mAb was added in the presence of T cells. These data provide evidence that a mAb directed at HLA class I framework determinants can suppress proliferation and cytokine secretion in response to several antigens.

  6. Oat (Avena sativa) Seed Extract as an Antifungal Food Preservative Through the Catalytic Activity of a Highly Abundant Class I Chitinase

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Hans; Madsen, Lone; Petersen, Jørgen

    2009-01-01

    candidates included thaumatin-like proteins, 1,3-beta-glucanase, permatin precursor, pathogenesis-related protein type 1, and chitinases of class I and II. Class I chitinase could be specifically removed from the extracts and was found to be indispensable for 50% of the P. roqueforti inhibiting activity...

  7. Genetic Divergence of the Rhesus Macaque Major Histocompatibility Complex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daza-Vamenta, Riza; Glusman, Gustavo; Rowen, Lee; Guthrie, Brandon; Geraghty, Daniel E.

    2004-01-01

    The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is comprised of the class I, class II, and class III regions, including the MHC class I and class II genes that play a primary role in the immune response and serve as an important model in studies of primate evolution. Although nonhuman primates contribute significantly to comparative human studies, relatively little is known about the genetic diversity and genomics underlying nonhuman primate immunity. To address this issue, we sequenced a complete rhesus macaque MHC spanning over 5.3 Mb, and obtained an additional 2.3 Mb from a second haplotype, including class II and portions of class I and class III. A major expansion of from six class I genes in humans to as many as 22 active MHC class I genes in rhesus and levels of sequence divergence some 10-fold higher than a similar human comparison were found, averaging from 2% to 6% throughout extended portions of class I and class II. These data pose new interpretations of the evolutionary constraints operating between MHC diversity and T-cell selection by contrasting with models predicting an optimal number of antigen presenting genes. For the clinical model, these data and derivative genetic tools can be implemented in ongoing genetic and disease studies that involve the rhesus macaque. PMID:15289473

  8. Constraining the disk masses of the class I binary protostar GV Tau

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sheehan, Patrick D.; Eisner, Josh A., E-mail: psheehan@email.arizona.edu [Steward Observatory, University of Arizona 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

    2014-08-10

    We present new spatially resolved 1.3 mm imaging with CARMA of the GV Tau system. GV Tau is a Class I binary protostar system in the Taurus Molecular Cloud, the components of which are separated by 1.''2. Each protostar is surrounded by a protoplanetary disk, and the pair may be surrounded by a circumbinary envelope. We analyze the data using detailed radiative transfer modeling of the system. We create synthetic protostar model spectra, images, and visibilities and compare them with CARMA 1.3 mm visibilities, a Hubble Space Telescope near-infrared scattered light image, and broadband spectral energy distributions from the literature to study the disk masses and geometries of the GV Tau disks. We show that the protoplanetary disks around GV Tau fall near the lower end of estimates of the Minimum Mass Solar Nebula, and may have just enough mass to form giant planets. When added to the sample of Class I protostars from Eisner, we confirm that Class I protostars are on average more massive than their Class II counterparts. This suggests that substantial dust grain processing occurs between the Class I and Class II stages, and may help to explain why the Class II protostars do not appear to have, on average, enough mass in their disks to form giant planets.

  9. Region-specific expression of mitochondrial complex I genes during murine brain development.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefanie Wirtz

    Full Text Available Mutations in the nuclear encoded subunits of mitochondrial complex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase may cause circumscribed cerebral lesions ranging from degeneration of the striatal and brainstem gray matter (Leigh syndrome to leukodystrophy. We hypothesized that such pattern of regional pathology might be due to local differences in the dependence on complex I function. Using in situ hybridization we investigated the relative expression of 33 nuclear encoded complex I subunits in different brain regions of the mouse at E11.5, E17.5, P1, P11, P28 and adult (12 weeks. With respect to timing and relative intensity of complex I gene expression we found a highly variant pattern in different regions during development. High average expression levels were detected in periods of intense neurogenesis. In cerebellar Purkinje and in hippocampal CA1/CA3 pyramidal neurons we found a second even higher peak during the period of synaptogenesis and maturation. The extraordinary dependence of these structures on complex I gene expression during synaptogenesis is in accord with our recent findings that gamma oscillations--known to be associated with higher cognitive functions of the mammalian brain--strongly depend on the complex I activity. However, with the exception of the mesencephalon, we detected only average complex I expression levels in the striatum and basal ganglia, which does not explain the exquisite vulnerability of these structures in mitochondrial disorders.

  10. Interferon beta 1, an intermediate in the tumor necrosis factor alpha- induced increased MHC class I expression and an autocrine regulator of the constitutive MHC class I expression

    OpenAIRE

    1987-01-01

    In conclusion, our observations indicate that the constitutive MHC class I expression is regulated by autocrine production of IFN-beta 1. TNF-alpha acts as an enhancer of the autocrine production of IFN-beta 1, and consequently as an enhancer of the MHC class I expression and viral protection.

  11. Class dependency of fuzzy relational database using relational calculus and conditional probability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deni Akbar, Mohammad; Mizoguchi, Yoshihiro; Adiwijaya

    2018-03-01

    In this paper, we propose a design of fuzzy relational database to deal with a conditional probability relation using fuzzy relational calculus. In the previous, there are several researches about equivalence class in fuzzy database using similarity or approximate relation. It is an interesting topic to investigate the fuzzy dependency using equivalence classes. Our goal is to introduce a formulation of a fuzzy relational database model using the relational calculus on the category of fuzzy relations. We also introduce general formulas of the relational calculus for the notion of database operations such as ’projection’, ’selection’, ’injection’ and ’natural join’. Using the fuzzy relational calculus and conditional probabilities, we introduce notions of equivalence class, redundant, and dependency in the theory fuzzy relational database.

  12. Use of "one-pot, mix-and-read" peptide-MHC class I tetramers and predictive algorithms to improve detection of cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses in cattle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svitek, Nicholas; Hansen, Andreas Martin; Steinaa, Lucilla

    2014-01-01

    Peptide-major histocompatibility complex (p-MHC) class I tetramer complexes have facilitated the early detection and functional characterisation of epitope specific CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). Here, we report on the generation of seven recombinant bovine leukocyte antigens (BoLA) and re...

  13. 40 CFR 82.13 - Recordkeeping and reporting requirements for class I controlled substances.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... subpart) and will not be resold or used in manufacturing. (xiii) The amount of class I, Group VI... class II controlled substances; (xii) The U.S. Customs entry form; (xiii) Dated records documenting the..., an annual list of the amount of critical use methyl bromide bought; (ii) For critical uses of class I...

  14. Alveolar bone thickness and lower incisor position in skeletal Class I and Class II malocclusions assessed with cone-beam computed tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baysal, Asli; Ucar, Faruk Izzet; Buyuk, Suleyman Kutalmis; Ozer, Torun; Uysal, Tancan

    2013-06-01

    To evaluate lower incisor position and bony support between patients with Class II average- and high-angle malocclusions and compare with the patients presenting Class I malocclusions. CBCT records of 79 patients were divided into 2 groups according to sagittal jaw relationships: Class I and II. Each group was further divided into average- and high-angle subgroups. Six angular and 6 linear measurements were performed. Independent samples t-test, Kruskal-Wallis, and Dunn post-hoc tests were performed for statistical comparisons. Labial alveolar bone thickness was significantly higher in Class I group compared to Class II group (p = 0.003). Lingual alveolar bone angle (p = 0.004), lower incisor protrusion (p = 0.007) and proclination (p = 0.046) were greatest in Class II average-angle patients. Spongious bone was thinner (p = 0.016) and root apex was closer to the labial cortex in high-angle subgroups when compared to the Class II average-angle subgroup (p = 0.004). Mandibular anterior bony support and lower incisor position were different between average- and high-angle Class II patients. Clinicians should be aware that the range of lower incisor movement in high-angle Class II patients is limited compared to average- angle Class II patients.

  15. Articulación de fones en individuos clase esqueletal I,II y III Speech patterns in skeletal class I, II and III subjects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pía Villanueva

    2009-09-01

    phonemes between skeletal class I and II and only in the anterior phonemes between skeletal class I and III. There were no significant differences between II and III skeletal groups. Qualitatively different modifications and compensations between skeletal classes are reported. CONCLUSION: different degree of modification in consonant phonemes articulation is shown in class II and III patients when compared to class I skeletal subjects. These differences are related to the skeletal patterns.

  16. The prognostic role of classical and nonclassical MHC class I expression in endometrial cancer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bijen, C.B.; Bantema-Joppe, E.J.; de Jong, Renske; Leffers, N.; Mourits, M.J.; Eggink, Henk F.; van der Zee, A.G.; Hollema, H.; de Bock, G.H.; Nijman, H.W.

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate classical MHC class I and nonclassical MHC (human leukocyte antigen-G [HLA-GJ) expression in a large cohort of patients with endometrial cancer, to determine the prognostic value of these cell surface markers and their relation with clinicopathological

  17. Pedagogy of complex relationality exploring complexity theory, neuro-phenomenology, and attentiveness for education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khattar, Randa

    What do the new sciences of complex relationality offer education? This work draws on complexity theory, neurological understandings of biology and phenomenology, and attentiveness to study what the new sciences might offer education and the possibilities of a pedagogical understanding of embodied knowing. Complexity theory provides understandings of local-global relationality, self-organization, far-from-equilibrium conditions, and emergent dynamics that are important for describing pedagogical relationality. In itself, however, complexity theory is lacking an attention to issues of embodiment that respond directly to an ethical understanding of relationality. Phenomenology provides important views on the human experience of perception, for example, Merleau-Ponty's, whose research opens up possibilities for embodiment and attentiveness. At the level of pedagogical practice, I will pose, following biologists Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela's autopoietic self-making understanding of life, that attentiveness perspectives, which have been largely absent from western pedagogical theory and practice, are crucial to promoting embodied knowing for education. Maturana and Varela's autopoietic perspective offers an embodied understanding of living---and therefore education---which opens up necessary attentive spaces to listen to one another in non judgmental awareness in the present moment of experience. I offer insights into a relationally complex conception of education drawing on this biological and autopoietically-grounded framework. These insights are framed in the context of five clusters of relations: (1) emergence, far-from-equilibrium, and local-global relationality; (2) autopoietic autonomy, structural determination and sensory-motor coupling; (3) triggering perturbations, structural plasticity, and autopoietic organization; (4) knowing as adequate action, domains of interaction, and blind spots; and (5) attentiveness and responsive relationality. Four

  18. Comparison of interradicular distances and cortical bone thickness in Thai patients with class I and class II skeletal patterns using cone-beam computed tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khumsarn, Nattida [Dental Division of Lamphun Hospital, Lamphun (Thailand); Patanaporn, Virush; Janhom, Apirum; Jotikasthira, Dhirawat [Faculty of Dentistry, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai (Thailand)

    2016-06-15

    This study evaluated and compared interradicular distances and cortical bone thickness in Thai patients with Class I and Class II skeletal patterns, using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Pretreatment CBCT images of 24 Thai orthodontic patients with Class I and Class II skeletal patterns were included in the study. Three measurements were chosen for investigation: the mesiodistal distance between the roots, the width of the buccolingual alveolar process, and buccal cortical bone thickness. All distances were recorded at five different levels from the cementoenamel junction (CEJ). Descriptive statistical analysis and t-tests were performed, with the significance level for all tests set at p<0.05. Patients with a Class II skeletal pattern showed significantly greater maxillary mesiodistal distances (between the first and second premolars) and widths of the buccolingual alveolar process (between the first and second molars) than Class I skeletal pattern patients at 10 mm above the CEJ. The maxillary buccal cortical bone thicknesses between the second premolar and first molar at 8 mm above the CEJ in Class II patients were likewise significantly greater than in Class I patients. Patients with a Class I skeletal pattern showed significantly wider mandibular buccolingual alveolar processes than did Class II patients (between the first and second molars) at 4, 6, and 8 mm below the CEJ. In both the maxilla and mandible, the mesiodistal distances, the width of the buccolingual alveolar process, and buccal cortical bone thickness tended to increase from the CEJ to the apex in both Class I and Class II skeletal patterns.

  19. Comparison of interradicular distances and cortical bone thickness in Thai patients with class I and class II skeletal patterns using cone-beam computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khumsarn, Nattida; Patanaporn, Virush; Janhom, Apirum; Jotikasthira, Dhirawat

    2016-01-01

    This study evaluated and compared interradicular distances and cortical bone thickness in Thai patients with Class I and Class II skeletal patterns, using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Pretreatment CBCT images of 24 Thai orthodontic patients with Class I and Class II skeletal patterns were included in the study. Three measurements were chosen for investigation: the mesiodistal distance between the roots, the width of the buccolingual alveolar process, and buccal cortical bone thickness. All distances were recorded at five different levels from the cementoenamel junction (CEJ). Descriptive statistical analysis and t-tests were performed, with the significance level for all tests set at p<0.05. Patients with a Class II skeletal pattern showed significantly greater maxillary mesiodistal distances (between the first and second premolars) and widths of the buccolingual alveolar process (between the first and second molars) than Class I skeletal pattern patients at 10 mm above the CEJ. The maxillary buccal cortical bone thicknesses between the second premolar and first molar at 8 mm above the CEJ in Class II patients were likewise significantly greater than in Class I patients. Patients with a Class I skeletal pattern showed significantly wider mandibular buccolingual alveolar processes than did Class II patients (between the first and second molars) at 4, 6, and 8 mm below the CEJ. In both the maxilla and mandible, the mesiodistal distances, the width of the buccolingual alveolar process, and buccal cortical bone thickness tended to increase from the CEJ to the apex in both Class I and Class II skeletal patterns

  20. Automated benchmarking of peptide-MHC class I binding predictions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trolle, Thomas; Metushi, Imir G.; Greenbaum, Jason A.; Kim, Yohan; Sidney, John; Lund, Ole; Sette, Alessandro; Peters, Bjoern; Nielsen, Morten

    2015-01-01

    Motivation: Numerous in silico methods predicting peptide binding to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules have been developed over the last decades. However, the multitude of available prediction tools makes it non-trivial for the end-user to select which tool to use for a given task. To provide a solid basis on which to compare different prediction tools, we here describe a framework for the automated benchmarking of peptide-MHC class I binding prediction tools. The framework runs weekly benchmarks on data that are newly entered into the Immune Epitope Database (IEDB), giving the public access to frequent, up-to-date performance evaluations of all participating tools. To overcome potential selection bias in the data included in the IEDB, a strategy was implemented that suggests a set of peptides for which different prediction methods give divergent predictions as to their binding capability. Upon experimental binding validation, these peptides entered the benchmark study. Results: The benchmark has run for 15 weeks and includes evaluation of 44 datasets covering 17 MHC alleles and more than 4000 peptide-MHC binding measurements. Inspection of the results allows the end-user to make educated selections between participating tools. Of the four participating servers, NetMHCpan performed the best, followed by ANN, SMM and finally ARB. Availability and implementation: Up-to-date performance evaluations of each server can be found online at http://tools.iedb.org/auto_bench/mhci/weekly. All prediction tool developers are invited to participate in the benchmark. Sign-up instructions are available at http://tools.iedb.org/auto_bench/mhci/join. Contact: mniel@cbs.dtu.dk or bpeters@liai.org Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:25717196

  1. Disentangling women's responses on complex dietary intake patterns from an Indian cross-sectional survey : a latent class analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Padmadas, SS; Dias, JG; Willekens, FJ

    Objective To investigate the degree of individual heterogeneity related to complex dietary behaviour and to further examine the associations of different dietary compositions with selected characteristics. Design Latent class analysis was applied to data from the recent cross-sectional National

  2. Disentangling women's responses on complex dietary intake patterns from an Indian cross-sectional survey: a latent class analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Padmadas, S.; Dias, J.; Willekens, F.J.C.

    2006-01-01

    Objective To investigate the degree of individual heterogeneity related to complex dietary behaviour and to further examine the associations of different dietary compositions with selected characteristics. Design Latent class analysis was applied to data from the recent cross-sectional National

  3. Haemophilus ducreyi Cutaneous Ulcer Strains Are Nearly Identical to Class I Genital Ulcer Strains.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dharanesh Gangaiah

    Full Text Available Although cutaneous ulcers (CU in the tropics is frequently attributed to Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue, the causative agent of yaws, Haemophilus ducreyi has emerged as a major cause of CU in yaws-endemic regions of the South Pacific islands and Africa. H. ducreyi is generally susceptible to macrolides, but CU strains persist after mass drug administration of azithromycin for yaws or trachoma. H. ducreyi also causes genital ulcers (GU and was thought to be exclusively transmitted by microabrasions that occur during sex. In human volunteers, the GU strain 35000HP does not infect intact skin; wounds are required to initiate infection. These data led to several questions: Are CU strains a new variant of H. ducreyi or did they evolve from GU strains? Do CU strains contain additional genes that could allow them to infect intact skin? Are CU strains susceptible to azithromycin?To address these questions, we performed whole-genome sequencing and antibiotic susceptibility testing of 5 CU strains obtained from Samoa and Vanuatu and 9 archived class I and class II GU strains. Except for single nucleotide polymorphisms, the CU strains were genetically almost identical to the class I strain 35000HP and had no additional genetic content. Phylogenetic analysis showed that class I and class II strains formed two separate clusters and CU strains evolved from class I strains. Class I strains diverged from class II strains ~1.95 million years ago (mya and CU strains diverged from the class I strain 35000HP ~0.18 mya. CU and GU strains evolved under similar selection pressures. Like 35000HP, the CU strains were highly susceptible to antibiotics, including azithromycin.These data suggest that CU strains are derivatives of class I strains that were not recognized until recently. These findings require confirmation by analysis of CU strains from other regions.

  4. Sequence diversity between class I MHC loci of African native and introduced <i>Bos taurusi> cattle in <i>Theileria parvai> endemic regions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Obara, Isaiah; Nielsen, Morten; Jeschek, Marie

    2016-01-01

    There is strong evidence that the immunity induced by live vaccination for control of the protozoan parasite Theileria parva is mediated by class I MHC-restricted CD8+ T cells directed against the schizont stage of the parasite that infects bovine lymphocytes. The functional competency of class I...... with peptides. In silico functional analysis resulted in peptide binding specificities that were largely distinct between the two breeds. We also demonstrate that CD8+ T cells derived from Ankole cattle that are seropositive for T. parva do not recognize vaccine candidate antigens originally identified...

  5. Isolation and characterization of major histocompatibility complex class II B genes in cranes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohyama, Tetsuo I; Akiyama, Takuya; Nishida, Chizuko; Takami, Kazutoshi; Onuma, Manabu; Momose, Kunikazu; Masuda, Ryuichi

    2015-11-01

    In this study, we isolated and characterized the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II B genes in cranes. Genomic sequences spanning exons 1 to 4 were amplified and determined in 13 crane species and three other species closely related to cranes. In all, 55 unique sequences were identified, and at least two polymorphic MHC class II B loci were found in most species. An analysis of sequence polymorphisms showed the signature of positive selection and recombination. A phylogenetic reconstruction based on exon 2 sequences indicated that trans-species polymorphism has persisted for at least 10 million years, whereas phylogenetic analyses of the sequences flanking exon 2 revealed a pattern of concerted evolution. These results suggest that both balancing selection and recombination play important roles in the crane MHC evolution.

  6. Circulating immune complexes, immunoglobulin classes (IgG, IgA ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objective:- To evaluate serum levels of circulating immune complexes (CICs), immunoglobulin classes (IgG, IgA and IgM) and Complement Components (C3c, C4 and Factor B) in Nigerians with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Design:- Case control study. Setting:- University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.

  7. Peptide-binding motif prediction by using phage display library for SasaUBA*0301, a resistance haplotype of MHC class I molecule from Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhao, Heng; Hermsen, Trudi; Stet, Rene J M

    2008-01-01

    The structure of the peptide-binding specificity of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I has been analyzed extensively in human and mouse. For fish, there are no crystallographic models of MHC molecules, neither are there data on the peptide-binding specificity. In this study, we descri...... and there is a significant association between MHC polymorphism and the disease resistance. Therefore, our study might contribute to designing a peptide vaccine against this viral disease....... class I molecule might have a very similar binding motif at the C-terminus compared with a known mouse class I molecule H2-Kb which has L, or I, V, M at p8. Previous work showed that Atlantic Salmon carrying the allele SasaUBA*0301 are resistant to infectious Salmon aneamia virus...

  8. Adaptive control for a class of nonlinear complex dynamical systems with uncertain complex parameters and perturbations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jian Liu

    Full Text Available In this paper, adaptive control is extended from real space to complex space, resulting in a new control scheme for a class of n-dimensional time-dependent strict-feedback complex-variable chaotic (hyperchaotic systems (CVCSs in the presence of uncertain complex parameters and perturbations, which has not been previously reported in the literature. In detail, we have developed a unified framework for designing the adaptive complex scalar controller to ensure this type of CVCSs asymptotically stable and for selecting complex update laws to estimate unknown complex parameters. In particular, combining Lyapunov functions dependent on complex-valued vectors and back-stepping technique, sufficient criteria on stabilization of CVCSs are derived in the sense of Wirtinger calculus in complex space. Finally, numerical simulation is presented to validate our theoretical results.

  9. Adaptive control for a class of nonlinear complex dynamical systems with uncertain complex parameters and perturbations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jian; Liu, Kexin; Liu, Shutang

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, adaptive control is extended from real space to complex space, resulting in a new control scheme for a class of n-dimensional time-dependent strict-feedback complex-variable chaotic (hyperchaotic) systems (CVCSs) in the presence of uncertain complex parameters and perturbations, which has not been previously reported in the literature. In detail, we have developed a unified framework for designing the adaptive complex scalar controller to ensure this type of CVCSs asymptotically stable and for selecting complex update laws to estimate unknown complex parameters. In particular, combining Lyapunov functions dependent on complex-valued vectors and back-stepping technique, sufficient criteria on stabilization of CVCSs are derived in the sense of Wirtinger calculus in complex space. Finally, numerical simulation is presented to validate our theoretical results.

  10. Major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain A/B (MICA/B) expression in tumor tissue and serum of pancreatic cancer: Role of uric acid accumulation in gemcitabine-induced MICA/B expression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Xiulong; Rao, Geetha S; Groh, Veronika; Spies, Thomas; Gattuso, Paolo; Kaufman, Howard L; Plate, Janet; Prinz, Richard A

    2011-01-01

    Major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain A and B (MICA/B) are two stress-inducible ligands that bind the immunoreceptor NKG2D and play an important role in mediating the cyotoxicity of NK and T cells. In this study, we sought to study MICA/B expression in pancreatic cancer and to determine whether and how genotoxic drugs such as gemcitabine can affect MICA/B expression and natural killer cytotoxity. Seven pancreatic cancer cell lines were analyzed for MICA/B expression by flow cytometry and for their sensitivity to NK-92 cell killing by a 51 Cr release assay. MICA/B expression in tumor tissues and sera of pancreatic cancer was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining (IHC) and ELISA, respectively. Two MICA/B-positive cell lines were sensitive to the cytotoxic activity of NK-92 cells. Other two MICA/B-positive cell lines and three MICA/B-negative cell lines were resistant to NK-92 cell killing. MICA/B expression was positive in 17 of 25 (68%) pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas but not in normal pancreatic ductal epithelial cells. Serum MICA/B levels were significantly elevated in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinomas but did not correlate with the stage of pancreatic cancer and patient survival. Gemcitabine therapy led to increased serum MICA levels in 6 of 10 patients with detectable serum MICA. Allopurinol, an inhibitor of xanthine oxidoreductase that converts xanthine to uric acid, blocked uric acid production, MICA/B expression, and sensitivity to NK-92 cell killing toward a PANC-1 cancer cell line exposed to radiation and two genotoxic drugs, gemcitabine and 5-fluorouracil. The levels of MICA/B expression in serum and tissue of pancreatic cancer are elevated. DNA damage-induced MICA/B expression is mediated through increased uric acid production

  11. Major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain A/B (MICA/B expression in tumor tissue and serum of pancreatic cancer: Role of uric acid accumulation in gemcitabine-induced MICA/B expression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaufman Howard L

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain A and B (MICA/B are two stress-inducible ligands that bind the immunoreceptor NKG2D and play an important role in mediating the cyotoxicity of NK and T cells. In this study, we sought to study MICA/B expression in pancreatic cancer and to determine whether and how genotoxic drugs such as gemcitabine can affect MICA/B expression and natural killer cytotoxity. Methods Seven pancreatic cancer cell lines were analyzed for MICA/B expression by flow cytometry and for their sensitivity to NK-92 cell killing by a 51Cr release assay. MICA/B expression in tumor tissues and sera of pancreatic cancer was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining (IHC and ELISA, respectively. Results Two MICA/B-positive cell lines were sensitive to the cytotoxic activity of NK-92 cells. Other two MICA/B-positive cell lines and three MICA/B-negative cell lines were resistant to NK-92 cell killing. MICA/B expression was positive in 17 of 25 (68% pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas but not in normal pancreatic ductal epithelial cells. Serum MICA/B levels were significantly elevated in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinomas but did not correlate with the stage of pancreatic cancer and patient survival. Gemcitabine therapy led to increased serum MICA levels in 6 of 10 patients with detectable serum MICA. Allopurinol, an inhibitor of xanthine oxidoreductase that converts xanthine to uric acid, blocked uric acid production, MICA/B expression, and sensitivity to NK-92 cell killing toward a PANC-1 cancer cell line exposed to radiation and two genotoxic drugs, gemcitabine and 5-fluorouracil. Conclusions The levels of MICA/B expression in serum and tissue of pancreatic cancer are elevated. DNA damage-induced MICA/B expression is mediated through increased uric acid production.

  12. Upregulation of HLA Class I Expression on Tumor Cells by the Anti-EGFR Antibody Nimotuzumab

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Greta Garrido

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Defining how epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR-targeting therapies influence the immune response is essential to increase their clinical efficacy. A growing emphasis is being placed on immune regulator genes that govern tumor – T cell interactions. Previous studies showed an increase in HLA class I cell surface expression in tumor cell lines treated with anti-EGFR agents. In particular, earlier studies of the anti-EGFR blocking antibody cetuximab, have suggested that increased tumor expression of HLA class I is associated with positive clinical response. We investigated the effect of another commercially available anti-EGFR antibody nimotuzumab on HLA class I expression in tumor cell lines. We observed, for the first time, that nimotuzumab increases HLA class I expression and its effect is associated with a coordinated increase in mRNA levels of the principal antigen processing and presentation components. Moreover, using 7A7 (a specific surrogate antibody against murine EGFR, we obtained results suggesting the importance of the increased MHC-I expression induced by EGFR-targeted therapies display higher in antitumor immune response. 7A7 therapy induced upregulation of tumor MHC-I expression in vivo and tumors treated with this antibody display higher susceptibility to CD8+ T cells-mediated lysis. Our results represent the first evidence suggesting the importance of the adaptive immunity in nimotuzumab-mediated antitumor activity. More experiments should be conducted in order to elucidate the relevance of this mechanism in cancer patients. This novel immune-related antitumor mechanism mediated by nimotuzumab opens new perspectives for its combination with various immunotherapeutic agents and cancer vaccines.

  13. Activity of Topotecan toward the DNA/Topoisomerase I Complex: A Theoretical Rationalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bali, Semiha Kevser; Marion, Antoine; Ugur, Ilke; Dikmenli, Ayse Kumru; Catak, Saron; Aviyente, Viktorya

    2018-03-06

    Topotecan (TPT) is a nontoxic anticancer drug characterized by a pH-dependent lactone/carboxyl equilibrium. TPT acts on the covalently bonded DNA/topoisomerase I (DNA/TopoI) complex by intercalating between two DNA bases at the active site. This turns TopoI into a DNA-damaging agent and inhibits supercoil relaxation. Although only the lactone form of the drug is active and effectively inhibits TopoI, both forms have been co-crystallized at the same location within the DNA/TopoI complex. To gain further insights into the pH-dependent activity of TPT, the differences between two TPT:DNA/TopoI complexes presenting either the lactone (acidic pH) or the carboxyl (basic pH) form of TPT were studied by means of molecular dynamic simulations, quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical calculations, and topological analysis. We identified two specific amino acids that have a direct relationship with the activity of the drug, i.e., lysine 532 (K532) and asparagine 722 (N722). K532 forms a stable hydrogen bond bridge between TPT and DNA only when the drug is in its active lactone form. The presence of the active drug triggers the formation of an additional stable interaction between DNA and protein residues, where N722 acts as a bridge between the two fragments, thus increasing the binding affinity of DNA for TopoI and further slowing the release of DNA. Overall, our results provide a clear understanding of the activity of the TPT-like class of molecules and can help in the future design of new anticancer drugs targeting topoisomerase enzymes.

  14. A common minimal motif for the ligands of HLA-B*27 class I molecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barriga, Alejandro; Lorente, Elena; Johnstone, Carolina; Mir, Carmen; del Val, Margarita; López, Daniel

    2014-01-01

    CD8(+) T cells identify and kill infected cells through the specific recognition of short viral antigens bound to human major histocompatibility complex (HLA) class I molecules. The colossal number of polymorphisms in HLA molecules makes it essential to characterize the antigen-presenting properties common to large HLA families or supertypes. In this context, the HLA-B*27 family comprising at least 100 different alleles, some of them widely distributed in the human population, is involved in the cellular immune response against pathogens and also associated to autoimmune spondyloarthritis being thus a relevant target of study. To this end, HLA binding assays performed using nine HLA-B*2705-restricted ligands endogenously processed and presented in virus-infected cells revealed a common minimal peptide motif for efficient binding to the HLA-B*27 family. The motif was independently confirmed using four unrelated peptides. This experimental approach, which could be easily transferred to other HLA class I families and supertypes, has implications for the validation of new bioinformatics tools in the functional clustering of HLA molecules, for the identification of antiviral cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses, and for future vaccine development.

  15. A common minimal motif for the ligands of HLA-B*27 class I molecules.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alejandro Barriga

    Full Text Available CD8(+ T cells identify and kill infected cells through the specific recognition of short viral antigens bound to human major histocompatibility complex (HLA class I molecules. The colossal number of polymorphisms in HLA molecules makes it essential to characterize the antigen-presenting properties common to large HLA families or supertypes. In this context, the HLA-B*27 family comprising at least 100 different alleles, some of them widely distributed in the human population, is involved in the cellular immune response against pathogens and also associated to autoimmune spondyloarthritis being thus a relevant target of study. To this end, HLA binding assays performed using nine HLA-B*2705-restricted ligands endogenously processed and presented in virus-infected cells revealed a common minimal peptide motif for efficient binding to the HLA-B*27 family. The motif was independently confirmed using four unrelated peptides. This experimental approach, which could be easily transferred to other HLA class I families and supertypes, has implications for the validation of new bioinformatics tools in the functional clustering of HLA molecules, for the identification of antiviral cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses, and for future vaccine development.

  16. Glass-ionomer-silver-cermet interim Class I restorations for permanent teeth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Croll, T P; Killian, C M

    1992-11-01

    Glass-ionomer-silver-cermet cement has proved to be a worthy alternative to silver amalgam for restoring certain Class I lesions in primary teeth. Such restorations are now known to last up to 8 years without need for repair or replacement. Cermet cement has also been used for interim restoration of permanent teeth in special cases, with ideal results. The procedure for placing a glass-ionomer-silver-cermet cement Class I restoration is described.

  17. The production and crystallization of the human leukocyte antigen class II molecules HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 complexed with deamidated gliadin peptides implicated in coeliac disease

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Henderson, Kate N.; Reid, Hugh H.; Borg, Natalie A.; Broughton, Sophie E.; Huyton, Trevor [The Protein Crystallography Unit, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Biomedical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800 (Australia); Anderson, Robert P. [Autoimmunity and Transplantation Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3050 (Australia); Department of Gastroenterology, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Grattan Street, Parkville, Victoria 3050 (Australia); McCluskey, James [Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010 (Australia); Rossjohn, Jamie, E-mail: jamie.rossjohn@med.monash.edu.au [The Protein Crystallography Unit, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Biomedical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800 (Australia)

    2007-12-01

    The production and crystallization of human leukocyte antigen class II molecules HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 in complex with deamidated gliadin peptides is reported. Crystals of HLA-DQ2{sup PQPELPYPQ} diffracted to 3.9 Å, while the HLA-DQ8{sup EGSFQPSQE} crystals diffracted to 2.1 Å, allowing structure determination by molecular replacement. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 are key risk factors in coeliac disease, as they bind deamidated gluten peptides that are subsequently recognized by CD4{sup +} T cells. Here, the production and crystallization of both HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 in complex with the deamidated gliadin peptides DQ2 α-I (PQPELPYPQ) and DQ8 α-I (EGSFQPSQE), respectively, are reported.

  18. Finishing occlusion in Class II or Class III molar relation: therapeutic Class II and III.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nangia, A; Darendeliler, M A

    2001-11-01

    The most frequent extraction regime consists of the removal of upper and lower premolars. Depending on anchorage requirements, camouflage treatment options, surgical intervention, or the absence of teeth in only one arch, it may become necessary to finalize the occlusion with a one-dental-unit discrepancy between the upper and lower dental arches. Guidelines are presented for finishing occlusions in Class II or Class III molar relation.

  19. Expression of a cucumber class III chitinase and Nicotiana plumbaginifolia class I glucanase genes in transgenic potato plants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Moravcikova, J.; Matusikova, I.; Libantova, J.; Bauer, M.; Mlynarova, L.

    2004-01-01

    The genes encoding for a cucumber class III chitinase and Nicotiana plumbaginifolia class I glucanase were co-introduced into Slovak potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) breeding line 116/86 using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. For both transgenes the number of integrated copies and level of RNA expression

  20. Proteolytic enzymes involved in MHC class I antigen processing: A guerrilla army that partners with the proteasome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lázaro, Silvia; Gamarra, David; Del Val, Margarita

    2015-12-01

    Major histocompatibility complex class I proteins (MHC-I) load short peptides derived from proteolytic cleavage of endogenous proteins in any cell of the body, in a process termed antigen processing and presentation. When the source proteins are altered self or encoded by a pathogen, recognition of peptide/MHC-I complexes at the plasma membrane leads to CD8(+) T-lymphocyte responses that clear infections and probably underlie tumor immune surveillance. On the other hand, presentation of self peptides may cause some types of autoimmunity. The peptides that are presented determine the specificity and efficiency of pathogen clearance or, conversely, of immunopathology. In this review we highlight the growing number of peptidases which, as a by-product of their regular activity, can generate peptide epitopes for immune surveillance. These ∼20 peptidases collectively behave as a guerrilla army partnering with the regular proteasome army in generating a variety of peptides for presentation by MHC-I and thus optimally signaling infection. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  1. Docosahexaenoic acid modifies the clustering and size of lipid rafts and the lateral organization and surface expression of MHC class I of EL4 cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaikh, Saame Raza; Rockett, Benjamin Drew; Salameh, Muhammad; Carraway, Kristen

    2009-09-01

    An emerging molecular mechanism by which docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) exerts its effects is modification of lipid raft organization. The biophysical model, based on studies with liposomes, shows that DHA avoids lipid rafts because of steric incompatibility between DHA and cholesterol. The model predicts that DHA does not directly modify rafts; rather, it incorporates into nonrafts to modify the lateral organization and/or conformation of membrane proteins, such as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I. Here, we tested predictions of the model at a cellular level by incorporating oleic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and DHA, compared with a bovine serum albumin (BSA) control, into the membranes of EL4 cells. Quantitative microscopy showed that DHA, but not EPA, treatment, relative to the BSA control diminished lipid raft clustering and increased their size. Approximately 30% of DHA was incorporated directly into rafts without changing the distribution of cholesterol between rafts and nonrafts. Quantification of fluorescence colocalization images showed that DHA selectively altered MHC class I lateral organization by increasing the fraction of the nonraft protein into rafts compared with BSA. Both DHA and EPA treatments increased antibody binding to MHC class I compared with BSA. Antibody titration showed that DHA and EPA did not change MHC I conformation but increased total surface levels relative to BSA. Taken together, our findings are not in agreement with the biophysical model. Therefore, we propose a model that reconciles contradictory viewpoints from biophysical and cellular studies to explain how DHA modifies lipid rafts on several length scales. Our study supports the notion that rafts are an important target of DHA's mode of action.

  2. HLA class I expression and its alteration by preoperative hyperthermo-chemoradiotherapy in patients with rectal cancer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiro Sato

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Enhancing immunologic responses, including human leukocyte antigen (HLA class I expression on tumor cells and recognition and elimination of tumor cells by tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL, is considered a novel concept of radiotherapy. The present study examined patients who underwent preoperative hyperthermo-chemoradiotherapy (HCRT for locally advanced rectal cancer to assess the correlation between HLA class I expression and clinical outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-eight patients with locally advanced rectal adenocarcinoma who received preoperative HCRT were enrolled. The median age of the patients was 64 years (range, 33-85 years and 4, 18, and 56 patients had clinical stage I, II and III disease, respectively. Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues excised before and after HCRT were subjected to immunohistochemical analysis with an anti-HLA class I-A, B, C antibody. HLA class I expression was graded according to tumor cell positivity. RESULTS: In pre-HCRT, the number of specimens categorized as Grade 0 and 1 were 19 (24% and 58 (74%, respectively. Only 1 patient (1% showed Grade 2 expression. However, 6 (8%, 27 (35%, 7 (9%, and 12 (15% post-HCRT specimens were graded as Grade 0, 1, 2, and 3, respectively. There was a significant increase in HLA class I expression in post-HCRT specimens (p<0.01. However, neither pre- nor post-HCRT HLA class I expression affected overall survival and distant metastasis-free survival in clinical stage III patients. Univariate analysis revealed that Post-HCRT HLA class I expression showed a significant negative relationship with LC (p<0.05. Nevertheless, multivariate analysis showed that there was no correlation between HLA class I expression and clinical outcome. CONCLUSION: HCRT increased HLA class I expression in rectal cancer patients. However, multivariate analysis failed to show any correlation between the level of HLA class I expression and prognosis.

  3. Arginine (Di)methylated Human Leukocyte Antigen Class I Peptides Are Favorably Presented by HLA-B*07

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Marino, Fabio; Mommen, Geert P M; Jeko, Anita; Meiring, Hugo D; van Gaans-van den Brink, Jacqueline A M; Scheltema, Richard A; van Els, Cécile A C M; Heck, Albert J R

    Alterations in protein post-translational modification (PTM) are recognized hallmarks of diseases. These modifications potentially provide a unique source of disease-related human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I-presented peptides that can elicit specific immune responses. While phosphorylated HLA

  4. Improved prediction of MHC class I and class II epitopes using a novel Gibbs sampling approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Morten; Lundegaard, Claus; Worning, Peder

    2004-01-01

    Prediction of which peptides will bind a specific major histocompatibility complex (MHC) constitutes an important step in identifying potential T-cell epitopes suitable as vaccine candidates. MHC class II binding peptides have a broad length distribution complicating such predictions. Thus......, identifying the correct alignment is a crucial part of identifying the core of an MHC class II binding motif. In this context, we wish to describe a novel Gibbs motif sampler method ideally suited for recognizing such weak sequence motifs. The method is based on the Gibbs sampling method, and it incorporates...

  5. Phase transition universality classes of classical, nonequilibrium systems

    CERN Document Server

    Ódor, G

    2004-01-01

    In the first chapter I summarize the most important critical exponents and relations used in this work. In the second chapter I briefly address the question of scaling behavior at first order phase transitions.In chapter three I review dynamical extensions of basic static classes, show the effect of mixing dynamics and percolation behavior. The main body of this work is given in chapter four where genuine, dynamical universality classes specific to nonequilibrium systems are introduced. In chapter five I continue overviewing such nonequilibrium classes but in coupled, multi-component systems. Most of known transitions in low dimensional systems are between active and absorbing states of reaction-diffusion type systems, but I briefly introduce related classes that appear in interface growth models in chapter six. Some of them are related to critical behavior of coupled, multi-component systems. Finally in chapter seven I summarize families of absorbing state system classes, mean-field classes and the most freq...

  6. Microleakage of different provisionalization techniques for class I inlays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Selim Erkut

    2013-03-01

    Conclusion: The microleakage in class I inlay cavities could be reduced by the application of dentin-bonding agents after cavity preparation followed by the placement of light-polymerized provisional restorative materials.

  7. Macrocyclic Peptoid–Peptide Hybrids as Inhibitors of Class I Histone Deacetylases

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Christian Adam; Montero, Ana; Leman, Luke J.

    2012-01-01

    We report the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of the first macrocyclic peptoid-containing histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors. The compounds selectively inhibit human class I HDAC isoforms in vitro, with no inhibition of the tubulin deacetylase activity associated with class IIb HDAC...

  8. Immunogenicity of HLA Class I and II Double Restricted Influenza A-Derived Peptides

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Sara Ram; Christensen, Jan Pravsgaard; Buus, Søren

    2016-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to identify influenza A-derived peptides which bind to both HLA class I and -II molecules and by immunization lead to both HLA class I and class II restricted immune responses. Eight influenza A-derived 9-11mer peptides with simultaneous binding to both HLA-A*02...... four of the double binding peptides did result in HLA-A*02:01 restricted responses only. According to their cytokine profile, the CD4 T cell responses were of the Th2 type. In influenza infected mice, we were unable to detect natural processing in vivo of the double restricted peptides and in line...... with this, peptide vaccination did not decrease virus titres in the lungs of intranasally influenza challenged mice. Our data show that HLA class I and class II double binding peptides can be identified by bioinformatics and biochemical technology. By immunization, double binding peptides can give rise...

  9. Specificity Characterization of SLA Class I Molecules Binding to Swine-Origin Viral Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Epitope Peptides in Vitro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caixia Gao

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Swine leukocyte antigen (SLA class I molecules play a crucial role in generating specific cellular immune responses against viruses and other intracellular pathogens. They mainly bind and present antigens of intracellular origin to circulating MHC I-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs. Binding of an appropriate epitope to an SLA class I molecule is the single most selective event in antigen presentation and the first step in the killing of infected cells by CD8+ CTLs. Moreover, the antigen epitopes are strictly restricted to specific SLA molecules. In this study, we constructed SLA class I complexes in vitro comprising viral epitope peptides, the extracellular region of the SLA-1 molecules, and β2-microglobulin (β2m using splicing overlap extension polymerase chain reaction (SOE-PCR. The protein complexes were induced and expressed in an Escherichia coli prokaryotic expression system and subsequently purified and refolded. Specific binding of seven SLA-1 proteins to one classical swine fever virus (CSFV and four porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV epitope peptides was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA-based method. The SLA-1∗13:01, SLA-1∗11:10, and SLA-1∗11:01:02 proteins were able to bind specifically to different CTL epitopes of CSFV and PRRSV and the MHC restrictions of the five epitopes were identified. The fixed combination of Asn151Val152 residues was identified as the potentially key amino acid residues influencing the binding of viral several CTL epitope peptides to SLA-1∗13:01 and SLA-1∗04:01:01 proteins. The more flexible pocket E in the SLA-1∗13:01 protein might have fewer steric limitations and therefore be able to accommodate more residues of viral CTL epitope peptides, and may thus play a critical biochemical role in determining the peptide-binding motif of SLA-1∗13:01. Characterization of the binding specificity of peptides to SLA class I molecules provides an

  10. Purification of Ovine Respiratory Complex I Results in a Highly Active and Stable Preparation*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Letts, James A.; Degliesposti, Gianluca; Fiedorczuk, Karol; Skehel, Mark; Sazanov, Leonid A.

    2016-01-01

    NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) is the largest (∼1 MDa) and the least characterized complex of the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Because of the ease of sample availability, previous work has focused almost exclusively on bovine complex I. However, only medium resolution structural analyses of this complex have been reported. Working with other mammalian complex I homologues is a potential approach for overcoming these limitations. Due to the inherent difficulty of expressing large membrane protein complexes, screening of complex I homologues is limited to large mammals reared for human consumption. The high sequence identity among these available sources may preclude the benefits of screening. Here, we report the characterization of complex I purified from Ovis aries (ovine) heart mitochondria. All 44 unique subunits of the intact complex were identified by mass spectrometry. We identified differences in the subunit composition of subcomplexes of ovine complex I as compared with bovine, suggesting differential stability of inter-subunit interactions within the complex. Furthermore, the 42-kDa subunit, which is easily lost from the bovine enzyme, remains tightly bound to ovine complex I. Additionally, we developed a novel purification protocol for highly active and stable mitochondrial complex I using the branched-chain detergent lauryl maltose neopentyl glycol. Our data demonstrate that, although closely related, significant differences exist between the biochemical properties of complex I prepared from ovine and bovine mitochondria and that ovine complex I represents a suitable alternative target for further structural studies. PMID:27672209

  11. Chemistry of Carbon Monoxide Free Cyclopentadienylvanadium(I) Alkene and Alkyne Complexes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hessen, Bart; Meetsma, Auke; Bolhuis, Fré van; Teuben, Jan H.; Helgesson, Göran; Jagner, Susan

    The compounds CpV(L)(PMe3)2 (L = η2-ethene (2), η2-alkyne) form a new class of highly reactive CO-free CpVI complexes. Paramagnetic 2 was prepared from CpVCl(PMe3)2 and 0.5 mol of BrMg(CH2)4MgBr. An X-ray structure determination shows a relatively short ethene C=C distance of 1.365 (5) Å. The

  12. Structural properties and complexity of a new network class: Collatz step graphs.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frank Emmert-Streib

    Full Text Available In this paper, we introduce a biologically inspired model to generate complex networks. In contrast to many other construction procedures for growing networks introduced so far, our method generates networks from one-dimensional symbol sequences that are related to the so called Collatz problem from number theory. The major purpose of the present paper is, first, to derive a symbol sequence from the Collatz problem, we call the step sequence, and investigate its structural properties. Second, we introduce a construction procedure for growing networks that is based on these step sequences. Third, we investigate the structural properties of this new network class including their finite scaling and asymptotic behavior of their complexity, average shortest path lengths and clustering coefficients. Interestingly, in contrast to many other network models including the small-world network from Watts & Strogatz, we find that CS graphs become 'smaller' with an increasing size.

  13. An Evaluation of Mandibular Dental and Basal Arch Dimensions in Class I and Class II Division 1 Adult Syrian Patients using Cone-beam Computed Tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Hilal, Layal H; Sultan, Kinda; Hajeer, Mohammad Y; Mahmoud, Ghiath; Wanli, Abdulrahman A

    2018-04-01

    Aim: The aim of this study is (1) to inspect any difference in mandibular arch widths between males and females in class I and class II division 1 (class malocclusions using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), (2) to compare the mandibular dental and basal widths between the two groups, and (3) to investigate any possible correlation between dental and basal arch widths in both groups. Materials and methods: The CBCT images of 68 patients aged between 18 and 25 years consisted of 34 class I (17 males and 17 females) and 34 class (17 males and 17 females) who were recruited at the Department of Orthodontics, University of Damascus Dental School (Syria). Using on-demand three-dimensional (3D) on axial views, facial axis points for dental measurements and basal bone center (BBC) points for basal measurements were identified on lower canines and first molars. Dental and basal intercanine width (ICW) and intermolar width (IMW) were measured. Results: Independent t-test showed a statistically significant difference between males and females in several variables in both groups and a statistically significant difference between class I and class groups in the basal ICW for both genders and in the dental ICW for females only (p class I group, Pearson's correlation coefficients between dental and basal measurements showed a strong correlation in the IMW for both genders (r > 0.73; p class group, a moderate correlation in females' IMW (r = 0.67; p Class I patients had larger ICW than class II-1 patients in all measurements and had narrower IMW than class in most measurements for both genders. There were moderate-to-strong correlations between dental and basal dimensions. BBC points might be landmarks that accurately represent the basal bone arch. Clinical significance: CBCT-based assessments of dental and basal arch dimensions provide a great opportunity to accurately evaluate these aspects, to enhance clinicians' decisions regarding proper tooth movements, and to achieve

  14. The Position of Hyoici Bone in Skeletal Class I, II and III Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ravanmehr H

    2000-06-01

    Full Text Available In this investigation, the position of hyoid bone was compared in three skeletal groups of class I, II and III. The study was based on evaluating 77 lateral cephalometric radiographs, 40 girls and 37 boys, which were divided into 3 groups. Group 1, 2, and 3 consist of 26, 25, and 26 radiographs. 19 cephalometric landmarks and 10 planes were used in order to tracing the radiographs. In all patients, 9 skeletal and 4 cervical vertebrae parameters were measured to determine the hyoid bone. These parameters were compared between three skeletal groups regardless of sex and then, in another statistical analysis, parameters were compared based on patients sex. Statistical analysis showed that in class III patients, the hyoid bone was positioned more anteriorly than two other groups. Also in this group, the hyoid bone had less inclination and it was more horizontal in relation to mandibular plane. In skeletal class II patients this bone was positioned more superiorly than two other groups. Due to these findings it can be concluded that perimandibular muscles and bones could affect the growth of mandible. In addition, comparison of the parameters between two sexes revealed that the hyoid bone was positioned more anteriorly and inferiorly in boys. Also it was shown that in the girls, the position of hyoid bone was closer to the position of this bone in skeletal class I patients.

  15. Identifying Effective Enzyme Activity Targets for Recombinant Class I and Class II Collagenase for Successful Human Islet Isolation

    OpenAIRE

    Balamurugan, Appakalai N.; Green, Michael L.; Breite, Andrew G.; Loganathan, Gopalakrishnan; Wilhelm, Joshua J.; Tweed, Benjamin; Vargova, Lenka; Lockridge, Amber; Kuriti, Manikya; Hughes, Michael G.; Williams, Stuart K.; Hering, Bernhard J.; Dwulet, Francis E.; McCarthy, Robert C.

    2015-01-01

    Isolation following a good manufacturing practice-compliant, human islet product requires development of a robust islet isolation procedure where effective limits of key reagents are known. The enzymes used for islet isolation are critical but little is known about the doses of class I and class II collagenase required for successful islet isolation.

  16. Use of lichen fumigation studies to evaluate the effects of new emission sources on class I areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hart, R.; Webb, P.G.; Biggs, R.H.; Portier, K.M.

    1988-01-01

    Allowable increments of SO 2 from new emission sources near Class I areas are severely limited by the PSD provisions of the Clean Air Act, unless the applicant can prove that the expected emissions will not adversely affect the air quality related values of Class I area. Lichens are considered to be the resource that is most sensitive to SO 2 . If projected concentrations will not injure lichens, other resources should not be affected. Four lichen species native to two Class I area, Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge and Everglades National Park, were fumigated in the laboratory with SO 2 doses that simulated the frequencies, duration, and concentrations expected from potential new sources. Lichens from Cape Romain were fumigated with 240 μg/m 3 , 400 μg/m 3 , and ambient air 3 hours/week for 6 weeks. No differences in biomass gain, percent electrolyte leakage in solution (an indicator of membrane damage) or 14 CO 2 assimilation were observed among treatments. Lichens from Everglades National Park were fumigated with 100 μg/m 3 , 200 μg/m 3 , 400 μg/m 3 , and ambient air 6 hours/week for 10 weeks. Percent electrolyte leakage of Parmotrema tinctorum was greater at the two high concentrations, but there was no significant effect on biomass gain or 14 CO 2 assimilation. Percent electrolyte leakage increased and biomass gain and 14 CO 2 assimilation decreased in Ramalina denticulata at 400 μg/m 3 SO 2 in comparison with lower concentrations. Studies of fumigation effects on lichens are a useful technique for the evaluation of impacts of emission sources on air quality related values in Class I areas

  17. Morphological caracteristics of malocclusion class II

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavlović J.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Class II malocclusion are complex anomalies of the skeletal and dental systems. The aim of this study is that the rengenkefalometrics analysis closer determine the morphological characteristics of this malocclusion. For this study were used 30 patients aged 18-30, previously clinically diagnosed class II, before the planned orthodontic treatment. The results analisis lateral cephalometric radiographs were compared with the 30 patients with class I malocclusion. Analyzed three linear and two angular cranial base dimensions and nine angular and four linear measures from the facial skeleton. The Results show: No statistically significant differensis in cranial base angle (SNBa and anterior cranial base length (S-N between class II and control Class I. Angle maxillar prognathism ( SNA is no signifikant different between class I and Class II but SNB angle were signifikant smaller. The length of maxillary base (A'-SnP is longer and the length of mandibule (Pg'-MT1/MT is signifficantly smaller. The gonial angle (ArGo-Me was smaller with open articular angle (GoArSN. Morphological characteristics of class II malocclusion are , retrognathic and smaller mandibular ligth, normognathic and longer maxilla, open articular angle with vertical tendency of the craniofacial growth pattern.

  18. Prospects for immunotherapy of MHC class I-deficient tumours

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Bubeník, Jan

    2003-01-01

    Roč. 49, č. 3 (2003), s. 95-99 ISSN 0015-5500 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5052915 Keywords : MHC class I * immunotherapy Subject RIV: FD - Oncology ; Hematology Impact factor: 0.527, year: 2003

  19. Characterization of 47 MHC class I sequences in Filipino cynomolgus macaques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Kevin J.; Detmer, Ann M.; Karl, Julie A.; Wiseman, Roger W.; Blasky, Alex J.; Hughes, Austin L.; Bimber, Benjamin N.; O’Connor, Shelby L.; O’Connor, David H.

    2009-01-01

    Cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) provide increasingly common models for infectious disease research. Several geographically distinct populations of these macaques from Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius are available for pathogenesis studies. Though host genetics may profoundly impact results of such studies, similarities and differences between populations are often overlooked. In this study we identified 47 full-length MHC class I nucleotide sequences in 16 cynomolgus macaques of Filipino origin. The majority of MHC class I sequences characterized (39 of 47) were unique to this regional population. However, we discovered eight sequences with perfect identity and six sequences with close similarity to previously defined MHC class I sequences from other macaque populations. We identified two ancestral MHC haplotypes that appear to be shared between Filipino and Mauritian cynomolgus macaques, notably a Mafa-B haplotype that has previously been shown to protect Mauritian cynomolgus macaques against challenge with a simian/human immunodeficiency virus, SHIV89.6P. We also identified a Filipino cynomolgus macaque MHC class I sequence for which the predicted protein sequence differs from Mamu-B*17 by a single amino acid. This is important because Mamu-B*17 is strongly associated with protection against simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) challenge in Indian rhesus macaques. These findings have implications for the evolutionary history of Filipino cynomolgus macaques as well as for the use of this model in SIV/SHIV research protocols. PMID:19107381

  20. Self-esteem in adolescents with Angle Class I, II and III malocclusion in a Peruvian sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Florián-Vargas, Karla; Honores, Marcos J Carruitero; Bernabé, Eduardo; Flores-Mir, Carlos

    2016-01-01

    To compare self-esteem scores in 12 to 16-year-old adolescents with different Angle malocclusion types in a Peruvian sample. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 276 adolescents (159, 52 and 65 with Angle Class I, II and III malocclusions, respectively) from Trujillo, Peru. Participants were asked to complete the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and were also clinically examined, so as to have Angle malocclusion classification determined. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to compare RSES scores among adolescents with Class I, II and III malocclusions, with participants' demographic factors being controlled. Mean RSES scores for adolescents with Class I, II and III malocclusions were 20.47 ± 3.96, 21.96 ± 3.27 and 21.26 ± 4.81, respectively. The ANCOVA test showed that adolescents with Class II malocclusion had a significantly higher RSES score than those with Class I malocclusion, but there were no differences between other malocclusion groups. Supplemental analysis suggested that only those with Class II, Division 2 malocclusion might have greater self-esteem when compared to adolescents with Class I malocclusion. This study shows that, in general, self-esteem did not vary according to adolescents' malocclusion in the sample studied. Surprisingly, only adolescents with Class II malocclusion, particularly Class II, Division 2, reported better self-esteem than those with Class I malocclusion. A more detailed analysis assessing the impact of anterior occlusal features should be conducted.

  1. Measuring case-mix complexity of tertiary care hospitals using DRGs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Hayoung; Shin, Youngsoo

    2004-02-01

    The objectives of the study were to develop a model that measures and evaluates case-mix complexity of tertiary care hospitals, and to examine the characteristics of such a model. Physician panels defined three classes of case complexity and assigned disease categories represented by Adjacent Diagnosis Related Groups (ADRGs) to one of three case complexity classes. Three types of scores, indicating proportions of inpatients in each case complexity class standardized by the proportions at the national level, were defined to measure the case-mix complexity of a hospital. Discharge information for about 10% of inpatient episodes at 85 hospitals with bed size larger than 400 and their input structure and research and education activity were used to evaluate the case-mix complexity model. Results show its power to predict hospitals with the expected functions of tertiary care hospitals, i.e. resource intensive care, expensive input structure, and high levels of research and education activities.

  2. MHC Class I Chain-Related Gene A Polymorphisms and Linkage Disequilibrium with HLA-B and HLA-C Alleles in Ocular Toxoplasmosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayo, Christiane Maria; Camargo, Ana Vitória da Silveira; Frederico, Fábio Batista; Siqueira, Rubens Camargo; Previato, Mariana; Murata, Fernando Henrique Antunes; Silveira-Carvalho, Aparecida Perpétuo; Barbosa, Amanda Pires; Brandão de Mattos, Cinara de Cássia; de Mattos, Luiz Carlos

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated whether polymorphisms of the MICA (major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related gene A) gene are associated with eye lesions due to Toxoplasma gondii infection in a group of immunocompetent patients from southeastern Brazil. The study enrolled 297 patients with serological diagnosis of toxoplasmosis. Participants were classified into two distinct groups after conducting fundoscopic exams according to the presence (n = 148) or absence (n = 149) of ocular scars/lesions due to toxoplasmosis. The group of patients with scars/lesions was further subdivided into two groups according to the type of the ocular manifestation observed: primary (n = 120) or recurrent (n = 28). Genotyping of the MICA and HLA alleles was performed by the polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific oligonucleotide technique (PCR-SSO; One Lambda®) and the MICA-129 polymorphism (rs1051792) was identified by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR-RFLP). Significant associations involving MICA polymorphisms were not found. Although the MICA*002~HLA-B*35 haplotype was associated with increased risk of developing ocular toxoplasmosis (P-value = 0.04; OR = 2.20; 95% CI = 1.05–4.60), and the MICA*008~HLA-C*07 haplotype was associated with protection against the development of manifestations of ocular toxoplasmosis (P-value = 0.009; OR: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.22–0.76), these associations were not statistically significant after adjusting for multiple comparisons. MICA polymorphisms do not appear to influence the development of ocular lesions in patients diagnosed with toxoplasmosis in this study population. PMID:26672749

  3. Purification of Ovine Respiratory Complex I Results in a Highly Active and Stable Preparation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Letts, James A; Degliesposti, Gianluca; Fiedorczuk, Karol; Skehel, Mark; Sazanov, Leonid A

    2016-11-18

    NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) is the largest (∼1 MDa) and the least characterized complex of the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Because of the ease of sample availability, previous work has focused almost exclusively on bovine complex I. However, only medium resolution structural analyses of this complex have been reported. Working with other mammalian complex I homologues is a potential approach for overcoming these limitations. Due to the inherent difficulty of expressing large membrane protein complexes, screening of complex I homologues is limited to large mammals reared for human consumption. The high sequence identity among these available sources may preclude the benefits of screening. Here, we report the characterization of complex I purified from Ovis aries (ovine) heart mitochondria. All 44 unique subunits of the intact complex were identified by mass spectrometry. We identified differences in the subunit composition of subcomplexes of ovine complex I as compared with bovine, suggesting differential stability of inter-subunit interactions within the complex. Furthermore, the 42-kDa subunit, which is easily lost from the bovine enzyme, remains tightly bound to ovine complex I. Additionally, we developed a novel purification protocol for highly active and stable mitochondrial complex I using the branched-chain detergent lauryl maltose neopentyl glycol. Our data demonstrate that, although closely related, significant differences exist between the biochemical properties of complex I prepared from ovine and bovine mitochondria and that ovine complex I represents a suitable alternative target for further structural studies. © 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  4. The role of class I histone deacetylase (HDAC) on gluconeogenesis in liver

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oiso, Hiroshi [Department of Metabolic Medicine, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto (Japan); Furukawa, Noboru, E-mail: n-furu@gpo.kumamoto-u.ac.jp [Department of Metabolic Medicine, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto (Japan); Suefuji, Mihoshi; Shimoda, Seiya [Department of Metabolic Medicine, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto (Japan); Ito, Akihiro; Furumai, Ryohei [Chemical Genetics Laboratory, RIKEN Advanced Science Institute, Saitama (Japan); Nakagawa, Junichi [Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Bio-Industry, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Hokkaido (Japan); Yoshida, Minoru [Chemical Genetics Laboratory, RIKEN Advanced Science Institute, Saitama (Japan); Nishino, Norikazu [Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu (Japan); Araki, Eiichi [Department of Metabolic Medicine, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto (Japan)

    2011-01-07

    Research highlights: {yields} A novel class I HDAC inhibitor decreased hepatic PEPCK mRNA and gluconeogenesis. {yields} Inhibition of HDAC decreased PEPCK by reducing HNF4{alpha} expression and FoxO1 activity. {yields} siRNA knockdown of HDAC1 in HepG2 cells reduced the expression of PEPCK and HNF4{alpha}. {yields} Inhibition of class I HDAC improves glucose homeostasis in HFD mice. -- Abstract: Hepatic gluconeogenesis is crucial for glucose homeostasis. Although sirtuin 1 (Sirt1) is implicated in the regulation of gluconeogenesis in the liver, the effects of other histone deacetylases (HDAC) on gluconeogenesis are unclear. The aim of this study was to identify the role of class I HDACs in hepatic gluconeogenesis. In HepG2 cells and the liver of mice, the expressions of phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and hepatocyte nuclear factor 4{alpha} (HNF4{alpha}) were significantly decreased by treatment with a newly designed class I HDAC inhibitor, Ky-2. SiRNA knockdown of HDAC1 expression, but not of HDAC2 or HDAC3, in HepG2 cells decreased PEPCK and HNF4{alpha} expression. In HepG2 cells, insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of Akt and forkhead box O 1 (FoxO1) was increased by Ky-2. Pyruvate tolerance tests in Ky-2-treated high-fat-diet (HFD)-fed mice showed a marked reduction in blood glucose compared with vehicle-treated HFD mice. These data suggest that class I HDACs increase HNF4{alpha} protein expression and the transcriptional activity of FoxO1, followed by the induction of PEPCK mRNA expression and gluconeogenesis in liver.

  5. The role of class I histone deacetylase (HDAC) on gluconeogenesis in liver

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oiso, Hiroshi; Furukawa, Noboru; Suefuji, Mihoshi; Shimoda, Seiya; Ito, Akihiro; Furumai, Ryohei; Nakagawa, Junichi; Yoshida, Minoru; Nishino, Norikazu; Araki, Eiichi

    2011-01-01

    Research highlights: → A novel class I HDAC inhibitor decreased hepatic PEPCK mRNA and gluconeogenesis. → Inhibition of HDAC decreased PEPCK by reducing HNF4α expression and FoxO1 activity. → siRNA knockdown of HDAC1 in HepG2 cells reduced the expression of PEPCK and HNF4α. → Inhibition of class I HDAC improves glucose homeostasis in HFD mice. -- Abstract: Hepatic gluconeogenesis is crucial for glucose homeostasis. Although sirtuin 1 (Sirt1) is implicated in the regulation of gluconeogenesis in the liver, the effects of other histone deacetylases (HDAC) on gluconeogenesis are unclear. The aim of this study was to identify the role of class I HDACs in hepatic gluconeogenesis. In HepG2 cells and the liver of mice, the expressions of phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α) were significantly decreased by treatment with a newly designed class I HDAC inhibitor, Ky-2. SiRNA knockdown of HDAC1 expression, but not of HDAC2 or HDAC3, in HepG2 cells decreased PEPCK and HNF4α expression. In HepG2 cells, insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of Akt and forkhead box O 1 (FoxO1) was increased by Ky-2. Pyruvate tolerance tests in Ky-2-treated high-fat-diet (HFD)-fed mice showed a marked reduction in blood glucose compared with vehicle-treated HFD mice. These data suggest that class I HDACs increase HNF4α protein expression and the transcriptional activity of FoxO1, followed by the induction of PEPCK mRNA expression and gluconeogenesis in liver.

  6. THE GOULD's BELT VERY LARGE ARRAY SURVEY. I. THE OPHIUCHUS COMPLEX

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dzib, Sergio A.; Loinard, Laurent; Rodríguez, Luis F.; Ortiz-León, Gisela N.; Pech, Gerardo; Rivera, Juana L.; Mioduszewski, Amy J.; Torres, Rosa M.; Boden, Andrew F.; Hartmann, Lee; Evans, Neal J. II; Briceño, Cesar; Tobin, John

    2013-01-01

    We present large-scale (∼2000 arcmin 2 ), deep (∼20 μJy), high-resolution (∼1'') radio observations of the Ophiuchus star-forming complex obtained with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array at λ = 4 and 6 cm. In total, 189 sources were detected, 56 of them associated with known young stellar sources, and 4 with known extragalactic objects; the other 129 remain unclassified, but most of them are most probably background quasars. The vast majority of the young stars detected at radio wavelengths have spectral types K or M, although we also detect four objects of A/F/B types and two brown dwarf candidates. At least half of these young stars are non-thermal (gyrosynchrotron) sources, with active coronas characterized by high levels of variability, negative spectral indices, and (in some cases) significant circular polarization. As expected, there is a clear tendency for the fraction of non-thermal sources to increase from the younger (Class 0/I or flat spectrum) to the more evolved (Class III or weak line T Tauri) stars. The young stars detected both in X-rays and at radio wavelengths broadly follow a Güdel-Benz relation, but with a different normalization than the most radioactive types of stars. Finally, we detect a ∼70 mJy compact extragalactic source near the center of the Ophiuchus core, which should be used as gain calibrator for any future radio observations of this region

  7. ROOT HAIR DEFECTIVE SIX-LIKE Class I Genes Promote Root Hair Development in the Grass Brachypodium distachyon.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chul Min Kim

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Genes encoding ROOT HAIR DEFECTIVE SIX-LIKE (RSL class I basic helix loop helix proteins are expressed in future root hair cells of the Arabidopsis thaliana root meristem where they positively regulate root hair cell development. Here we show that there are three RSL class I protein coding genes in the Brachypodium distachyon genome, BdRSL1, BdRSL2 and BdRSL3, and each is expressed in developing root hair cells after the asymmetric cell division that forms root hair cells and hairless epidermal cells. Expression of BdRSL class I genes is sufficient for root hair cell development: ectopic overexpression of any of the three RSL class I genes induces the development of root hairs in every cell of the root epidermis. Expression of BdRSL class I genes in root hairless Arabidopsis thaliana root hair defective 6 (Atrhd6 Atrsl1 double mutants, devoid of RSL class I function, restores root hair development indicating that the function of these proteins has been conserved. However, neither AtRSL nor BdRSL class I genes is sufficient for root hair development in A. thaliana. These data demonstrate that the spatial pattern of class I RSL activity can account for the pattern of root hair cell differentiation in B. distachyon. However, the spatial pattern of class I RSL activity cannot account for the spatial pattern of root hair cells in A. thaliana. Taken together these data indicate that that the functions of RSL class I proteins have been conserved among most angiosperms-monocots and eudicots-despite the dramatically different patterns of root hair cell development.

  8. Regional-dependent intestinal permeability and BCS classification: elucidation of pH-related complexity in rats using pseudoephedrine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fairstein, Moran; Swissa, Rotem; Dahan, Arik

    2013-04-01

    Based on its lower Log P value relative to metoprolol, a marker for the low/high-permeability (P(eff)) class boundary, pseudoephedrine was provisionally classified as BCS low-permeability compound. On the other hand, following oral administration, pseudoephedrine fraction dose absorbed (F(abs)) and systemic bioavailability approaches 100%. This represents a challenge to the generally recognized P(eff)-F(abs) correlation. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the underlying mechanisms behind the confusion in pseudoephedrine's BCS classification. Pseudoephedrine's BCS solubility class was determined, and its physicochemical properties and intestinal permeability were thoroughly investigated, both in vitro and in vivo in rats, considering the complexity of the whole of the small intestine. Pseudoephedrine was found to be unequivocally a high-solubility compound. All of the permeability studies revealed similar phenomenon; at any given intestinal segment/pH, the permeability of metoprolol was higher than that of pseudoephedrine, however, as the intestinal region becomes progressively distal, and the pH gradually increases, pseudoephedrine's permeability rises above that of metoprolol in the former segment. This unique permeability pattern likely explains pseudoephedrine's complete absorption. In conclusion, pseudoephedrine is a BCS Class I compound; no discrepancy between P(eff) and F(abs) is involved in its absorption. Rather, it reflects the complexity behind P(eff) when considering the whole of the intestine. We propose to allow high-permeability classification to drugs with P(eff) that matches/exceeds the low/high class benchmark anywhere throughout the intestinal tract and not restricted necessarily to the jejunum.

  9. Positive regulation of plasmacytoid dendritic cell function via Ly49Q recognition of class I MHC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tai, Lee-Hwa; Goulet, Marie-Line; Belanger, Simon; Toyama-Sorimachi, Noriko; Fodil-Cornu, Nassima; Vidal, Silvia M.; Troke, Angela D.; McVicar, Daniel W.; Makrigiannis, Andrew P.

    2008-01-01

    Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are an important source of type I interferon (IFN) during initial immune responses to viral infections. In mice, pDCs are uniquely characterized by high-level expression of Ly49Q, a C-type lectin-like receptor specific for class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. Despite having a cytoplasmic immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif, Ly49Q was found to enhance pDC function in vitro, as pDC cytokine production in response to the Toll-like receptor (TLR) 9 agonist CpG-oligonucleotide (ODN) could be blocked using soluble monoclonal antibody (mAb) to Ly49Q or H-2Kb. Conversely, CpG-ODN–dependent IFN-α production by pDCs was greatly augmented upon receptor cross-linking using immobilized anti-Ly49Q mAb or recombinant H-2Kb ligand. Accordingly, Ly49Q-deficient pDCs displayed a severely reduced capacity to produce cytokines in response to TLR7 and TLR9 stimulation both in vitro and in vivo. Finally, TLR9-dependent antiviral responses were compromised in Ly49Q-null mice infected with mouse cytomegalovirus. Thus, class I MHC recognition by Ly49Q on pDCs is necessary for optimal activation of innate immune responses in vivo. PMID:19075287

  10. Facilitation of syngeneic stem cell engraftment by anti-class I monoclonal antibody pretreatment of unirradiated recipients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Voralia, M.; Semeluk, A.; Wegmann, T.G.

    1987-01-01

    We have established a murine model of syngeneic bone marrow transplantation based on the use of monoclonal antibody as the sole conditioning regimen in unirradiated recipients. Administration of a single injection of monoclonal antibody directed against major histocompatibility complex-encoded class I determinants facilitated permanent hemopoietic stem cell engraftment without any apparent side-effects. Whereas untreated hosts exhibited a maximal chimerism of 15% at donor cell doses of up to 12 X 10(7) bone marrow cells, pretreatment by 2 mg of anti-class I antibody one week prior to transplantation of 3 X 10(7) syngeneic bone marrow cells resulted in a mean donor representation of about 80%. The antibody can be given up to four weeks prior to transplantation, and the degree of donor engraftment observed is a function of the dose of antibody administered. The fact that specific antibody enhanced engraftment in two strain combinations indicates that antibody is the active agent in facilitating engraftment and that facilitation is not strain-restricted. Anti-class I antibodies of the IgG2a, but not IgG1, isotype are effective in promoting engraftment. Although the isotype requirement suggests a role for antibody-mediated cytotoxicity in promoting stem cell engraftment, the extensive time-frame of facilitation suggests that other effects of the antibody may also be involved. The model of syngeneic bone marrow transplantation we describe here will be useful in studying the mechanisms regulating stem cell engraftment and may have potential clinical application as an approach to autologous marrow transplantation

  11. Self-esteem in adolescents with Angle Class I, II and III malocclusion in a Peruvian sample

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karla Florián-Vargas

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: To compare self-esteem scores in 12 to 16-year-old adolescents with different Angle malocclusion types in a Peruvian sample. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 276 adolescents (159, 52 and 65 with Angle Class I, II and III malocclusions, respectively from Trujillo, Peru. Participants were asked to complete the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES and were also clinically examined, so as to have Angle malocclusion classification determined. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA was used to compare RSES scores among adolescents with Class I, II and III malocclusions, with participants' demographic factors being controlled. Results: Mean RSES scores for adolescents with Class I, II and III malocclusions were 20.47 ± 3.96, 21.96 ± 3.27 and 21.26 ± 4.81, respectively. The ANCOVA test showed that adolescents with Class II malocclusion had a significantly higher RSES score than those with Class I malocclusion, but there were no differences between other malocclusion groups. Supplemental analysis suggested that only those with Class II, Division 2 malocclusion might have greater self-esteem when compared to adolescents with Class I malocclusion. Conclusion: This study shows that, in general, self-esteem did not vary according to adolescents' malocclusion in the sample studied. Surprisingly, only adolescents with Class II malocclusion, particularly Class II, Division 2, reported better self-esteem than those with Class I malocclusion. A more detailed analysis assessing the impact of anterior occlusal features should be conducted.

  12. Widespread dissemination of class 1 integron components in soils and related ecosystems as revealed by cultivation-independent analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jechalke, Sven; Schreiter, Susanne; Wolters, Birgit; Dealtry, Simone; Heuer, Holger; Smalla, Kornelia

    2013-01-01

    Class 1 integrons contribute to the emerging problem of antibiotic resistance in human medicine by acquisition, exchange, and expression of resistance genes embedded within gene cassettes. Besides the clinical setting they were recently reported from environmental habitats and often located on plasmids and transposons, facilitating their transfer and spread within bacterial communities. In this study we aimed to provide insights into the occurrence of genes typically associated with the class 1 integrons in previously not studied environments with or without human impact and their association with IncP-1 plasmids. Total community DNA was extracted from manure-treated and untreated soils, lettuce and potato rhizosphere, digestates, and an on-farm biopurification system and screened by PCR with subsequent Southern blot hybridization for the presence of the class 1 integrase gene intI1 as well as qacE and qacEΔ 1 resistance genes. The results revealed a widespread dissemination of class 1 integrons in the environments analyzed, mainly related to the presence of qacEΔ 1 genes. All 28 IncP-1ε plasmids carrying class 1 integrons, which were captured exogenously in a recent study from piggery manure and soils treated with manure, carried qacEΔ 1 genes. Based on the strong hybridization signals in the rhizosphere of lettuce compared to the potato rhizosphere, the abundances of intI1, qacE/qacEΔ 1, and sul1 genes were quantified relative to the 16S rRNA gene abundance by real-time PCR in the rhizosphere of lettuce planted in three different soils and in the corresponding bulk soil. A significant enrichment of intI1 and qacE/qacEΔ 1 genes was confirmed in the rhizosphere of lettuce compared to bulk soil. Additionally, the relative abundance of korB genes specific for IncP-1 plasmids was enriched in the rhizosphere and correlated to the intI1 gene abundance indicating that IncP-1 plasmids might have contributed to the spread of class 1 integrons in the analyzed soils.

  13. Widespread dissemination of class 1 integron components in soils and related ecosystems as revealed by cultivation-independent analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sven eJechalke

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Class 1 integrons contribute to the emerging problem of antibiotic resistance in human medicine by acquisition, exchange, and expression of resistance genes embedded within gene cassettes. Besides the clinical setting they were recently reported from environmental habitats and often located on plasmids and transposons, facilitating their transfer and spread within bacterial communities. In this study we aimed to provide insights into the occurrence of genes typically associated with the class 1 integrons in previously not studied environments with or without human impact and their association with IncP-1 plasmids. Total community DNA was extracted from manure-treated and untreated soils, lettuce and potato rhizosphere, digestates, and an on-farm biopurification system and screened by PCR with subsequent Southern blot hybridization for the presence of the class 1 integrase gene intI1 as well as qacE and qacEΔ1 resistance genes. The results revealed a widespread dissemination of class 1 integrons in the environments analyzed, mainly related to the presence of qacEΔ1 genes. All 28 IncP-1ε plasmids carrying class 1 integrons, which were captured exogenously in a recent study from piggery manure and soils treated with manure, carried qacEΔ1 genes. Based on the strong hybridization signals in the rhizosphere of lettuce compared to the potato rhizosphere, the abundances of intI1, qacE/qacEΔ1, and sul1 genes were quantified relative to the 16S rRNA gene abundance by real time PCR in the rhizosphere of lettuce planted in three different soils and in the corresponding bulk soil. A significant enrichment of intI1 and qacE/qacEΔ1 genes was confirmed in the rhizosphere of lettuce compared to bulk soil. Additionally, the relative abundance of korB genes specific for IncP-1 plasmids was enriched in the rhizosphere and correlated to the intI1 gene abundance indicating that IncP-1 plasmids might have contributed to the spread of class 1 integrons in the

  14. Angle Class I malocclusion with anterior negative overjet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulo Ávila de Souza

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT This clinical case report describes the orthodontic treatment of an 8-year and 9-month old female patient with Angle Class I malocclusion, anterior crossbite and canine Class III relationship. Orthodontic treatment was carried out in two stages. The first one was orthopedic, while the second one included the use of a fixed appliance and the need for space gain for reshaping of maxillary lateral incisors. The two-stage treatment combined with multidisciplinary Restorative Cosmetic Dentistry allowed excellent esthetic and functional outcomes to be achieved. This case was presented to the Brazilian Board of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics (BBO as a requirement for the title of certified by the BBO.

  15. An overview of the class I structures license renewal industry report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Renfro, L.J.; Statton, J.A.

    1991-01-01

    License renewal of a commercial nuclear power plant requires verification that systems, structures and components important to license renewal can perform their intended safety functions throughout the license renewal term. The verification of this continuing performance includes a technical evaluation of the effects of age-related degradation. An industry report (IR) sponsored by the nuclear industry was developed which identifies potentially significant age-related degradation mechanisms that may affect Class I structures and evaluates their impact on the ability of the structures to continue to perform their safety functions. Preventive and/or mitigative options are outlined for managing degradation mechanisms that could significantly affect plant performance during the license renewal period. This paper provides a summary of the IR. (author)

  16. Backbone Brackets and Arginine Tweezers delineate Class I and Class II aminoacyl tRNA synthetases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haupt, V. Joachim; Schroeder, Michael; Labudde, Dirk

    2018-01-01

    The origin of the machinery that realizes protein biosynthesis in all organisms is still unclear. One key component of this machinery are aminoacyl tRNA synthetases (aaRS), which ligate tRNAs to amino acids while consuming ATP. Sequence analyses revealed that these enzymes can be divided into two complementary classes. Both classes differ significantly on a sequence and structural level, feature different reaction mechanisms, and occur in diverse oligomerization states. The one unifying aspect of both classes is their function of binding ATP. We identified Backbone Brackets and Arginine Tweezers as most compact ATP binding motifs characteristic for each Class. Geometric analysis shows a structural rearrangement of the Backbone Brackets upon ATP binding, indicating a general mechanism of all Class I structures. Regarding the origin of aaRS, the Rodin-Ohno hypothesis states that the peculiar nature of the two aaRS classes is the result of their primordial forms, called Protozymes, being encoded on opposite strands of the same gene. Backbone Brackets and Arginine Tweezers were traced back to the proposed Protozymes and their more efficient successors, the Urzymes. Both structural motifs can be observed as pairs of residues in contemporary structures and it seems that the time of their addition, indicated by their placement in the ancient aaRS, coincides with the evolutionary trace of Proto- and Urzymes. PMID:29659563

  17. Tumour MHC class I downregulation and immunotherapy (Review)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Bubeník, Jan

    2003-01-01

    Roč. 10, č. 6 (2003), s. 2005-2008 ISSN 1021-335X R&D Projects: GA MZd NC7148; GA ČR GA301/01/0985; GA AV ČR IAA5052203 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5052915 Keywords : tumour vaccines * MHC class I downregulation Subject RIV: FD - Oncology ; Hematology Impact factor: 1.256, year: 2003

  18. Human Relations Class. A Syllabus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guillen, Mary A.

    A junior high level human relations class develops human interaction and oral communication skills. A week-by-week syllabus contains the following components: introduction of the students to each other and to the principles of body language, transactional analysis, and group interaction; behavior contracts; group dynamics topics and exercises;…

  19. Tailoring of EIA-649-1: Definition of Major (Class I) Engineering Change Proposal

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-05-15

    MISSILE SYSTEMS CENTER TAILORING TAILORING OF EIA -649-1: DEFINITION OF MAJOR (CLASS I) ENGINEERING CHANGE PROPOSAL APPROVED FOR...PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION IS UNLIMITED 1 Tailoring of EIA -649-1: Definition of Major (Class I) ECP. 1. Intent of this Tailoring Document...This tailoring document remedies a requirements gap in the industry consensus standard, EIA -649-1: 2015. Specifically, this tailoring provides a

  20. MHC class I+ and class I(-)HPV16-associated tumours expressing the E7 oncoprotein do not cross-react in immunization/challenge experiments

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šímová, Jana; Mikyšková, Romana; Vonka, V.; Bieblová, Jana; Bubeník, Jan; Jandlová, Táňa

    2003-01-01

    Roč. 2003, č. 49 (2003), s. 230-234 ISSN 0015-5500 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5052915 Keywords : HPV 16 * MHC class I expression * tumour vaccines Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 0.527, year: 2003

  1. Gender, social class, and women's employment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGinn, Kathleen L; Oh, Eunsil

    2017-12-01

    People in low-power positions, whether due to gender or class, tend to exhibit other-oriented rather than self-oriented behavior. Women's experiences at work and at home are shaped by social class, heightening identification with gender for relatively upper class women and identification with class for relatively lower class women, potentially mitigating, or even reversing, class-based differences documented in past research. Gender-class differences are reflected in women's employment beliefs and behaviors. Research integrating social class with gendered experiences in homes and workplaces deepens our understanding of the complex interplay between sources of power and status in society. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Deciphering the fine nucleotide diversity of full HLA class I and class II genes in a well-documented population from sub-Saharan Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goeury, T; Creary, L E; Brunet, L; Galan, M; Pasquier, M; Kervaire, B; Langaney, A; Tiercy, J-M; Fernández-Viña, M A; Nunes, J M; Sanchez-Mazas, A

    2018-01-01

    With the aim to understand how next-generation sequencing (NGS) improves both our assessment of genetic variation within populations and our knowledge on HLA molecular evolution, we sequenced and analysed 8 HLA loci in a well-documented population from sub-Saharan Africa (Mandenka). The results of full-gene NGS-MiSeq sequencing compared with those obtained by traditional typing techniques or limited sequencing strategies showed that segregating sites located outside exon 2 are crucial to describe not only class I but also class II population diversity. A comprehensive analysis of exons 2, 3, 4 and 5 nucleotide diversity at the 8 HLA loci revealed remarkable differences among these gene regions, notably a greater variation concentrated in the antigen recognition sites of class I exons 3 and some class II exons 2, likely associated with their peptide-presentation function, a lower diversity of HLA-C exon 3, possibly related to its role as a KIR ligand, and a peculiar molecular diversity of HLA-A exon 2, revealing demographic signals. Based on full-length HLA sequences, we also propose that the most frequent DRB1 allele in the studied population, DRB1*13:04, emerged from an allelic conversion involving 3 potential alleles as donors and DRB1*11:02:01 as recipient. Finally, our analysis revealed a high occurrence of the DRB1*13:04-DQA1*05:05:01-DQB1*03:19 haplotype, possibly resulting from a selective sweep due to protection to Onchorcerca volvulus, a prevalent pathogen in West Africa. This study unveils highly relevant information on the molecular evolution of HLA genes in relation to their immune function, calling for similar analyses in other populations living in contrasting environments. © 2017 The Authors HLA: Immune Response Genetics Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. H-2RIIBP, a member of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily that binds to both the regulatory element of major histocompatibility class I genes and the estrogen response element.

    OpenAIRE

    Hamada, K; Gleason, S L; Levi, B Z; Hirschfeld, S; Appella, E; Ozato, K

    1989-01-01

    Transcription of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I genes is regulated by the conserved MHC class I regulatory element (CRE). The CRE has two factor-binding sites, region I and region II, both of which elicit enhancer function. By screening a mouse lambda gt 11 library with the CRE as a probe, we isolated a cDNA clone that encodes a protein capable of binding to region II of the CRE. This protein, H-2RIIBP (H-2 region II binding protein), bound to the native region II sequence, bu...

  4. Algorithmic Relative Complexity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniele Cerra

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Information content and compression are tightly related concepts that can be addressed through both classical and algorithmic information theories, on the basis of Shannon entropy and Kolmogorov complexity, respectively. The definition of several entities in Kolmogorov’s framework relies upon ideas from classical information theory, and these two approaches share many common traits. In this work, we expand the relations between these two frameworks by introducing algorithmic cross-complexity and relative complexity, counterparts of the cross-entropy and relative entropy (or Kullback-Leibler divergence found in Shannon’s framework. We define the cross-complexity of an object x with respect to another object y as the amount of computational resources needed to specify x in terms of y, and the complexity of x related to y as the compression power which is lost when adopting such a description for x, compared to the shortest representation of x. Properties of analogous quantities in classical information theory hold for these new concepts. As these notions are incomputable, a suitable approximation based upon data compression is derived to enable the application to real data, yielding a divergence measure applicable to any pair of strings. Example applications are outlined, involving authorship attribution and satellite image classification, as well as a comparison to similar established techniques.

  5. Immunotherapy of MHC class I-deficient tumors

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Reiniš, Milan

    2010-01-01

    Roč. 6, č. 10 (2010), s. 1577-1589 ISSN 1479-6694 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA301/07/1410; GA ČR GAP301/10/2174; GA AV ČR IAA500520807; GA AV ČR IAA500520605 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 18933 - CLINIGENE Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50520514 Keywords : tumor vaccine * MHC class I expression * antigen presenting machinery Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 2.455, year: 2010

  6. SU-F-T-312: Identifying Distinct Radiation Therapy Plan Classes Through Multi-Dimensional Analysis of Plan Complexity Metrics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Desai, V; Labby, Z; Culberson, W [University of Wisc Madison, Madison, WI (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: To determine whether body site-specific treatment plans form unique “plan class” clusters in a multi-dimensional analysis of plan complexity metrics such that a single beam quality correction determined for a representative plan could be universally applied within the “plan class”, thereby increasing the dosimetric accuracy of a detector’s response within a subset of similarly modulated nonstandard deliveries. Methods: We collected 95 clinical volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans from four body sites (brain, lung, prostate, and spine). The lung data was further subdivided into SBRT and non-SBRT data for a total of five plan classes. For each control point in each plan, a variety of aperture-based complexity metrics were calculated and stored as unique characteristics of each patient plan. A multiple comparison of means analysis was performed such that every plan class was compared to every other plan class for every complexity metric in order to determine which groups could be considered different from one another. Statistical significance was assessed after correcting for multiple hypothesis testing. Results: Six out of a possible 10 pairwise plan class comparisons were uniquely distinguished based on at least nine out of 14 of the proposed metrics (Brain/Lung, Brain/SBRT lung, Lung/Prostate, Lung/SBRT Lung, Lung/Spine, Prostate/SBRT Lung). Eight out of 14 of the complexity metrics could distinguish at least six out of the possible 10 pairwise plan class comparisons. Conclusion: Aperture-based complexity metrics could prove to be useful tools to quantitatively describe a distinct class of treatment plans. Certain plan-averaged complexity metrics could be considered unique characteristics of a particular plan. A new approach to generating plan-class specific reference (pcsr) fields could be established through a targeted preservation of select complexity metrics or a clustering algorithm that identifies plans exhibiting similar

  7. Early Intervention in Skeletal Class II and dental Class II division I malocclusion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeeshan Iqbal Bhat

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A Class II malocclusion may occur as a result of mandibular deficiency, maxillary excess, or a combination of both. However, the most common finding is mandibular skeletal retrusion. The use of functional jaw orthopedics, at the right time during growth, can ultimately result in malocclusion patients achieving an excellent functional occlusion, a broad beautiful smile, a full face with a beautiful jaw line, and profile. Functional jaw orthopedic (FJO appliances are designed to encourage adaptive skeletal growth by maintaining the mandible in a corrected forward position. The activator developed by Andresen is one of the most widely used for this purpose. A 12-year-old boy with skeletal Class II malocclusion and dental Class II div I malocclusion, a low mandibular plane angle was treated with growth modulation using an activator followed by molar distalization using fixed orthodontics for detailing of the occlusion. The major effects of the activator treatment in this case have been due to increase in condylar growth and also an increase in mandibular base length. Further, non-extraction fixed orthodontic treatment for proper interdigitation of the dentition also helped to maintain the stability of the satisfactory results achieved.

  8. A Latent Class Analysis of Multimorbidity and the Relationship to Socio-Demographic Factors and Health-Related Quality of Life. A National Population-Based Study of 162,283 Danish Adults

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Finn Breinholt; Pedersen, Marie Hauge; Friis, Karina

    2017-01-01

    Respiratory Disorders" (2%). Female gender was associated with an increased likelihood of belonging to any of the six multimorbidity classes except for class 2 (Hypertension). Low educational attainment predicted membership of all of the multimorbidity classes except for class 5 (Asthma-Allergy). Marked...... had nearly identical profiles in relation to health-related quality of life. CONCLUSION: The results clearly support that diseases tend to compound and interact, which suggests that a differentiated public health and treatment approach towards multimorbidity is needed.......% of the population) labeled "1) Relatively Healthy" and six classes with a very high prevalence of multimorbidity labeled; "2) Hypertension" (14%); "3) Musculoskeletal Disorders" (10%); "4) Headache-Mental Disorders" (7%); "5) Asthma-Allergy" (6%); "6) Complex Cardiometabolic Disorders" (3%); and "7) Complex...

  9. New class of uncertainty relations for partially coherent light

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bastiaans, M.J.

    1984-01-01

    A class of uncertainty relations for partially coherent light is derived; the uncertainty relations in this class express the fact that the product of the effective widths of the space-domain intensity and the spatial-frequency-domain intensity of the light has a lower bound and that this lower

  10. High efficiency class-I audio power amplifier using a single adaptive supply

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peng Zhenfei; Yang Shanshand; Feng Yong; Hong Zhiliang; Liu Yang

    2012-01-01

    A high efficiency class-I linear audio power amplifier (PA) with an adaptive supply is presented. Its efficiency is improved by a dynamic supply to reduce the power transistors' voltage drop. A gain compression technique is adopted to make the amplifier accommodate a single positive supply. Circuit complicity and chip area are reduced because no charge pump is necessary for the negative supply. A common shared mode voltage and a symmetric layout pattern are used to minimize the non-linearity. A peak efficiency of 80% is reached at peak output power. The measured THD+N before and after the supply switching point are 0.01% and 0.05%, respectively. The maximum output power is 410 mW for an 8 Ω speaker load. Unlike switching amplifiers, the class-I amplifier operates as a linear amplifier and hence has a low EMI. The advantage of a high efficiency and low EMI makes the class-I amplifier suitable for portable and RF sensitive applications. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

  11. Peptide-binding motifs of two common equine class I MHC molecules in Thoroughbred horses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergmann, Tobias; Lindvall, Mikaela; Moore, Erin; Moore, Eugene; Sidney, John; Miller, Donald; Tallmadge, Rebecca L; Myers, Paisley T; Malaker, Stacy A; Shabanowitz, Jeffrey; Osterrieder, Nikolaus; Peters, Bjoern; Hunt, Donald F; Antczak, Douglas F; Sette, Alessandro

    2017-05-01

    Quantitative peptide-binding motifs of MHC class I alleles provide a valuable tool to efficiently identify putative T cell epitopes. Detailed information on equine MHC class I alleles is still very limited, and to date, only a single equine MHC class I allele, Eqca-1*00101 (ELA-A3 haplotype), has been characterized. The present study extends the number of characterized ELA class I specificities in two additional haplotypes found commonly in the Thoroughbred breed. Accordingly, we here report quantitative binding motifs for the ELA-A2 allele Eqca-16*00101 and the ELA-A9 allele Eqca-1*00201. Utilizing analyses of endogenously bound and eluted ligands and the screening of positional scanning combinatorial libraries, detailed and quantitative peptide-binding motifs were derived for both alleles. Eqca-16*00101 preferentially binds peptides with aliphatic/hydrophobic residues in position 2 and at the C-terminus, and Eqca-1*00201 has a preference for peptides with arginine in position 2 and hydrophobic/aliphatic residues at the C-terminus. Interestingly, the Eqca-16*00101 motif resembles that of the human HLA A02-supertype, while the Eqca-1*00201 motif resembles that of the HLA B27-supertype and two macaque class I alleles. It is expected that the identified motifs will facilitate the selection of candidate epitopes for the study of immune responses in horses.

  12. Sex-related and non-sex-related comorbidity subtypes of tic disorders: a latent class approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodgers, S; Müller, M; Kawohl, W; Knöpfli, D; Rössler, W; Castelao, E; Preisig, M; Ajdacic-Gross, V

    2014-05-01

    Recent evidence suggests that there may be more than one Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS)/tic disorder phenotype. However, little is known about the common patterns of these GTS/tic disorder-related comorbidities. In addition, sex-specific phenomenological data of GTS/tic disorder-affected adults are rare. Therefore, this community-based study used latent class analyses (LCA) to investigate sex-related and non-sex-related subtypes of GTS/tic disorders and their most common comorbidities. The data were drawn from the PsyCoLaus study (n = 3691), a population-based survey conducted in Lausanne, Switzerland. LCA were performed on the data of 80 subjects manifesting motor/vocal tics during their childhood/adolescence. Comorbid attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder, depressive, phobia and panic symptoms/syndromes comprised the selected indicators. The resultant classes were characterized by psychosocial correlates. In LCA, four latent classes provided the best fit to the data. We identified two male-related classes. The first class exhibited both ADHD and depression. The second class comprised males with only depression. Class three was a female-related class depicting obsessive thoughts/compulsive acts, phobias and panic attacks. This class manifested high psychosocial impairment. Class four had a balanced sex proportion and comorbid symptoms/syndromes such as phobias and panic attacks. The complementary occurrence of comorbid obsessive thoughts/compulsive acts and ADHD impulsivity was remarkable. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study applying LCA to community data of GTS symptoms/tic disorder-affected persons. Our findings support the utility of differentiating GTS/tic disorder subphenotypes on the basis of comorbid syndromes. © 2013 The Author(s) European Journal of Neurology © 2013 EFNS.

  13. Subunit stoichiometry of the chloroplast photosystem I complex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruce, B.D.; Malkin, R.

    1988-01-01

    A native photosystem I (PS I) complex and a PS I core complex depleted of antenna subunits has been isolated from the uniformly 14 C-labeled aquatic higher plant, Lemna. These complexes have been analyzed for their subunit stoichiometry by quantitative sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis methods. The results for both preparations indicate that one copy of each high molecular mass subunit is present per PS I complex and that a single copy of most low molecular mass subunits is also present. These results suggest that iron-sulfur center X, an early PS I electron acceptor proposed to bind to the high molecular mass subunits, contains a single [4Fe-4S] cluster which is bound to a dimeric structure of high molecular mass subunits, each providing 2 cysteine residues to coordinate this cluster

  14. Binding stability of peptides on major histocompatibility complex class I proteins: role of entropy and dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gul, Ahmet; Erman, Burak

    2018-03-01

    Prediction of peptide binding on specific human leukocyte antigens (HLA) has long been studied with successful results. We herein describe the effects of entropy and dynamics by investigating the binding stabilities of 10 nanopeptides on various HLA Class I alleles using a theoretical model based on molecular dynamics simulations. The fluctuational entropies of the peptides are estimated over a temperature range of 310-460 K. The estimated entropies correlate well with experimental binding affinities of the peptides: peptides that have higher binding affinities have lower entropies compared to non-binders, which have significantly larger entropies. The computation of the entropies is based on a simple model that requires short molecular dynamics trajectories and allows for approximate but rapid determination. The paper draws attention to the long neglected dynamic aspects of peptide binding, and provides a fast computation scheme that allows for rapid scanning of large numbers of peptides on selected HLA antigens, which may be useful in defining the right peptides for personal immunotherapy.

  15. Má oclusão Classe I de Angle, com mordida aberta anterior, tratada com extração de dentes permanentes Angle Class I malocclusion, with anterior open bite, treated with extraction of permanent teeth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mírian Aiko Nakane Matsumoto

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available A mordida aberta é uma anomalia com características distintas que, além da complexidade dos múltiplos fatores etiológicos, traz consequências estéticas e funcionais. Muitas alternativas têm sido utilizadas em seu tratamento, entre elas a grade palatina, forças ortopédicas, ajuste oclusal, camuflagem com ou sem exodontias, mini-implantes ou miniplacas e cirurgia ortognática. O diagnóstico preciso e a determinação da etiologia permitem estabelecer os objetivos e o plano de tratamento ideal para essa má oclusão. O presente relato descreve o tratamento de uma má oclusão Classe I de Angle, com padrão esquelético de Classe II e mordida aberta anterior, realizado em duas fases e que foi apresentado à diretoria do Board Brasileiro de Ortodontia e Ortopedia Facial (BBO, representando a categoria 2, como parte dos requisitos para a obtenção do título de Diplomado pelo BBO.Open bite is an anomaly with distinct characteristics which, in addition to involving complex, multiple etiologic factors, entails aesthetic and functional consequences. Many alternative approaches have been employed to treat open bite, including palatal crib, orthopedic forces, occlusal adjustment, camouflage with or without extractions, mini-implants or mini-plates, and orthognathic surgery. By determining accurate diagnosis and etiology professionals can set the goals and ideal treatment plan for this malocclusion. This report, describing the two stages treatment of a Angle Class I malocclusion with Class II skeletal pattern and anterior open bite, was presented to the Brazilian Board of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics (BBO, representative of category 2, as partial fulfillment of the requirements for obtaining the title of BBO Diplomate.

  16. LINEAR POLARIZATION OF CLASS I METHANOL MASERS IN MASSIVE STAR-FORMING REGIONS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, Ji-hyun; Byun, Do-Young; Kim, Kee-Tae; Kim, Jongsoo; Lyo, A-Ran; Vlemmings, W. H. T.

    2016-01-01

    Class I methanol masers are found to be good tracers of the interaction between outflows from massive young stellar objects with their surrounding media. Although polarization observations of Class II methanol masers have been able to provide information about magnetic fields close to the central (proto)stars, polarization observations of Class I methanol masers are rare, especially at 44 and 95 GHz. We present the results of linear polarization observations of 39 Class I methanol maser sources at 44 and 95 GHz. These two lines are observed simultaneously with one of the 21 m Korean VLBI Network telescopes in single-dish mode. Approximately 60% of the observed sources have fractional polarizations of a few percent in at least one transition. This is the first reported detection of linear polarization of the 44 GHz methanol maser. The two maser transitions show similar polarization properties, indicating that they trace similar magnetic environments, although the fraction of the linear polarization is slightly higher at 95 GHz. We discuss the association between the directions of polarization angles and outflows. We also discuss some targets having different polarization properties at both lines, including DR21(OH) and G82.58+0.20, which show the 90° polarization angle flip at 44 GHz.

  17. Genotyping of major histocompatibility complex Class II DRB gene in Rohilkhandi goats by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and DNA sequencing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kush Shrivastava

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Aim: To study the major histocompatibility complex (MHC Class II DRB1 gene polymorphism in Rohilkhandi goat using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP and nucleotide sequencing techniques. Materials and Methods: DNA was isolated from 127 Rohilkhandi goats maintained at sheep and goat farm, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly. A 284 bp fragment of exon 2 of DRB1 gene was amplified and digested using BsaI and TaqI restriction enzymes. Population genetic parameters were calculated using Popgene v 1.32 and SAS 9.0. The genotypes were then sequenced using Sanger dideoxy chain termination method and were compared with related breeds/species using MEGA 6.0 and Megalign (DNASTAR software. Results: TaqI locus showed three and BsaI locus showed two genotypes. Both the loci were found to be in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE, however, population genetic parameters suggest that heterozygosity is still maintained in the population at both loci. Percent diversity and divergence matrix, as well as phylogenetic analysis revealed that the MHC Class II DRB1 gene of Rohilkhandi goats was found to be in close cluster with Garole and Scottish blackface sheep breeds as compared to other goat breeds included in the sequence comparison. Conclusion: The PCR-RFLP patterns showed population to be in HWE and absence of one genotype at one locus (BsaI, both the loci showed excess of one or the other homozygote genotype, however, effective number of alleles showed that allelic diversity is present in the population. Sequence comparison of DRB1 gene of Rohilkhandi goat with other sheep and goat breed assigned Rohilkhandi goat in divergence with Jamanupari and Angora goats.

  18. Evaluation depth of the curve of Spee in class I, class II, and class III malocclusion: A cross sectional study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanjna Nayar

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Occlusal plane is an essential consideration when multiple long-span posterior restorations are designed. When restorations are added to an existing tooth arrangement characterized by rotated, tipped, or extruded teeth, excursive interferences may be incorporated, resulting in detrimental squeal. The curve of Spee, which exists in the ideal natural dentition, allows harmony to exist between the anterior tooth and condylar guidance. This curve exists in the sagittal plane and is the best viewed from a lateral aspect. It permits total posterior disclusion on mandibular protrusion, given proper anterior tooth guidance. It is unclear that whether the curve of Spee is a description of the occlusal surface of each arch separately or in maximal intercuspation. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in the depth of curve of Spee between the class I, class II, class III and to investigate the relationship of depth of curve of Spee with over jet, over-bite.

  19. IFN-τ Mediated Control of Bovine Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I Expression and Function via the Regulation of bta-miR-148b/152 in Bovine Endometrial Epithelial Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haichong Wu

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available IFN-τ, a type I interferon produced by the trophoblasts of ruminants, has various important immune functions, including effects on the expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC class I (MHC-I. A previous study has reported that IFN-τ promotes the expression of MHC-I molecules on endometrial cells. However, the immunological mechanisms by which IFN-τ regulates MHC-I molecules remain unknown. Here, we investigated which microRNA (miRNAs may be involved in the regulation of MHC-I molecule expression and function in bovine endometrial epithelial cells (bEECs. By using TargetScan 6.2 and http://www.microRNA.org, two miRNAs were suggested to target the 3′UTR of the bovine MHC-I heavy chain: bta-miR-148b and bta-miR-152. Dual luciferase reporter and miRNA mimic/inhibitor assays suggested that bta-miR-148b/152 were negatively correlated with bovine MHC-I heavy chain genes. The function of the MHC-I heavy chain was then investigated using qRT-PCR, ELISA, western blotting, immunofluorescence, and RNA interference assays in primary bEECs and an endometrial epithelial cell line (BEND. The results demonstrated that bta-miR-148b/152 could promote TLR4-triggered inflammatory responses by targeting the bovine MHC-I heavy chain, and the MHC-I molecule negatively regulated TLR4-induced inflammatory reactions may through the Fps-SHP-2 pathway. Our discovery offers novel insight into negative regulation of the TLR4 pathway and elucidates the mechanism by which bovine MHC-I molecules control congenital inflammatory reactions.

  20. Semiotic aspects of control and modeling relations in complex systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joslyn, C.

    1996-08-01

    A conceptual analysis of the semiotic nature of control is provided with the goal of elucidating its nature in complex systems. Control is identified as a canonical form of semiotic relation of a system to its environment. As a form of constraint between a system and its environment, its necessary and sufficient conditions are established, and the stabilities resulting from control are distinguished from other forms of stability. These result from the presence of semantic coding relations, and thus the class of control systems is hypothesized to be equivalent to that of semiotic systems. Control systems are contrasted with models, which, while they have the same measurement functions as control systems, do not necessarily require semantic relations because of the lack of the requirement of an interpreter. A hybrid construction of models in control systems is detailed. Towards the goal of considering the nature of control in complex systems, the possible relations among collections of control systems are considered. Powers arguments on conflict among control systems and the possible nature of control in social systems are reviewed, and reconsidered based on our observations about hierarchical control. Finally, we discuss the necessary semantic functions which must be present in complex systems for control in this sense to be present at all.

  1. Structure-Based Design of a Novel Series of Potent, Selective Inhibitors of the Class I Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, Adrian L.; D’Angelo, Noel D.; Bo, Yunxin Y.; Booker, Shon K.; Cee, Victor J.; Herberich, Brad; Hong, Fang-Tsao; Jackson, Claire L.M.; Lanman, Brian A.; Liu, Longbin; Nishimura, Nobuko; Pettus, Liping H.; Reed, Anthony B.; Tadesse, Seifu; Tamayo, Nuria A.; Wurz, Ryan P.; Yang, Kevin; Andrews, Kristin L.; Whittington, Douglas A.; McCarter, John D.; Miguel, Tisha San; Zalameda, Leeanne; Jiang, Jian; Subramanian, Raju; Mullady, Erin L.; Caenepeel, Sean; Freeman, Daniel J.; Wang, Ling; Zhang, Nancy; Wu, Tian; Hughes, Paul E.; Norman, Mark H. (Amgen)

    2012-09-17

    A highly selective series of inhibitors of the class I phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI3Ks) has been designed and synthesized. Starting from the dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor 5, a structure-based approach was used to improve potency and selectivity, resulting in the identification of 54 as a potent inhibitor of the class I PI3Ks with excellent selectivity over mTOR, related phosphatidylinositol kinases, and a broad panel of protein kinases. Compound 54 demonstrated a robust PD-PK relationship inhibiting the PI3K/Akt pathway in vivo in a mouse model, and it potently inhibited tumor growth in a U-87 MG xenograft model with an activated PI3K/Akt pathway.

  2. Pancreatic mitochondrial complex I exhibits aberrant hyperactivity in diabetes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jinzi Wu

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available It is well established that NADH/NAD+ redox balance is heavily perturbed in diabetes, and the NADH/NAD+ redox imbalance is a major source of oxidative stress in diabetic tissues. In mitochondria, complex I is the only site for NADH oxidation and NAD+ regeneration and is also a major site for production of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS. Yet how complex I responds to the NADH/NAD+ redox imbalance and any potential consequences of such response in diabetic pancreas have not been investigated. We report here that pancreatic mitochondrial complex I showed aberrant hyperactivity in either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Further studies focusing on streptozotocin (STZ-induced diabetes indicate that complex I hyperactivity could be attenuated by metformin. Moreover, complex I hyperactivity was accompanied by increased activities of complexes II to IV, but not complex V, suggesting that overflow of NADH via complex I in diabetes could be diverted to ROS production. Indeed in diabetic pancreas, ROS production and oxidative stress increased and mitochondrial ATP production decreased, which can be attributed to impaired pancreatic mitochondrial membrane potential that is responsible for increased cell death. Additionally, cellular defense systems such as glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, sirtuin 3, and NQO1 were found to be compromised in diabetic pancreas. Our findings point to the direction that complex I aberrant hyperactivity in pancreas could be a major source of oxidative stress and β cell failure in diabetes. Therefore, inhibiting pancreatic complex I hyperactivity and attenuating its ROS production by various means in diabetes might serve as a promising approach for anti-diabetic therapies.

  3. Structural analysis of DNA binding by C.Csp231I, a member of a novel class of R-M controller proteins regulating gene expression

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shevtsov, M. B.; Streeter, S. D.; Thresh, S.-J.; Swiderska, A.; McGeehan, J. E.; Kneale, G. G., E-mail: geoff.kneale@port.ac.uk [University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 2DY (United Kingdom)

    2015-02-01

    The structure of the new class of controller proteins (exemplified by C.Csp231I) in complex with its 21 bp DNA-recognition sequence is presented, and the molecular basis of sequence recognition in this class of proteins is discussed. An unusual extended spacer between the dimer binding sites suggests a novel interaction between the two C-protein dimers. In a wide variety of bacterial restriction–modification systems, a regulatory ‘controller’ protein (or C-protein) is required for effective transcription of its own gene and for transcription of the endonuclease gene found on the same operon. We have recently turned our attention to a new class of controller proteins (exemplified by C.Csp231I) that have quite novel features, including a much larger DNA-binding site with an 18 bp (∼60 Å) spacer between the two palindromic DNA-binding sequences and a very different recognition sequence from the canonical GACT/AGTC. Using X-ray crystallography, the structure of the protein in complex with its 21 bp DNA-recognition sequence was solved to 1.8 Å resolution, and the molecular basis of sequence recognition in this class of proteins was elucidated. An unusual aspect of the promoter sequence is the extended spacer between the dimer binding sites, suggesting a novel interaction between the two C-protein dimers when bound to both recognition sites correctly spaced on the DNA. A U-bend model is proposed for this tetrameric complex, based on the results of gel-mobility assays, hydrodynamic analysis and the observation of key contacts at the interface between dimers in the crystal.

  4. Structural analysis of DNA binding by C.Csp231I, a member of a novel class of R-M controller proteins regulating gene expression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shevtsov, M. B.; Streeter, S. D.; Thresh, S.-J.; Swiderska, A.; McGeehan, J. E.; Kneale, G. G.

    2015-01-01

    The structure of the new class of controller proteins (exemplified by C.Csp231I) in complex with its 21 bp DNA-recognition sequence is presented, and the molecular basis of sequence recognition in this class of proteins is discussed. An unusual extended spacer between the dimer binding sites suggests a novel interaction between the two C-protein dimers. In a wide variety of bacterial restriction–modification systems, a regulatory ‘controller’ protein (or C-protein) is required for effective transcription of its own gene and for transcription of the endonuclease gene found on the same operon. We have recently turned our attention to a new class of controller proteins (exemplified by C.Csp231I) that have quite novel features, including a much larger DNA-binding site with an 18 bp (∼60 Å) spacer between the two palindromic DNA-binding sequences and a very different recognition sequence from the canonical GACT/AGTC. Using X-ray crystallography, the structure of the protein in complex with its 21 bp DNA-recognition sequence was solved to 1.8 Å resolution, and the molecular basis of sequence recognition in this class of proteins was elucidated. An unusual aspect of the promoter sequence is the extended spacer between the dimer binding sites, suggesting a novel interaction between the two C-protein dimers when bound to both recognition sites correctly spaced on the DNA. A U-bend model is proposed for this tetrameric complex, based on the results of gel-mobility assays, hydrodynamic analysis and the observation of key contacts at the interface between dimers in the crystal

  5. Distinct mechanisms of loss of IFN-gamma mediated HLA class I inducibility in two melanoma cell lines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodríguez, Teresa; Méndez, Rosa; Del Campo, Ana; Jiménez, Pilar; Aptsiauri, Natalia; Garrido, Federico; Ruiz-Cabello, Francisco

    2007-01-01

    The inability of cancer cells to present antigen on the cell surface via MHC class I molecules is one of the mechanisms by which tumor cells evade anti-tumor immunity. Alterations of Jak-STAT components of interferon (IFN)-mediated signaling can contribute to the mechanism of cell resistance to IFN, leading to lack of MHC class I inducibility. Hence, the identification of IFN-γ-resistant tumors may have prognostic and/or therapeutic relevance. In the present study, we investigated a mechanism of MHC class I inducibility in response to IFN-γ treatment in human melanoma cell lines. Basal and IFN-induced expression of HLA class I antigens was analyzed by means of indirect immunofluorescence flow cytometry, Western Blot, RT-PCR, and quantitative real-time RT-PCR (TaqMan ® Gene Expression Assays). In demethylation studies cells were cultured with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine. Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA) was used to assay whether IRF-1 promoter binding activity is induced in IFN-γ-treated cells. Altered IFN-γ mediated HLA-class I induction was observed in two melanoma cells lines (ESTDAB-004 and ESTDAB-159) out of 57 studied, while treatment of these two cell lines with IFN-α led to normal induction of HLA class I antigen expression. Examination of STAT-1 in ESTDAB-004 after IFN-γ treatment demonstrated that the STAT-1 protein was expressed but not phosphorylated. Interestingly, IFN-α treatment induced normal STAT-1 phosphorylation and HLA class I expression. In contrast, the absence of response to IFN-γ in ESTDAB-159 was found to be associated with alterations in downstream components of the IFN-γ signaling pathway. We observed two distinct mechanisms of loss of IFN-γ inducibility of HLA class I antigens in two melanoma cell lines. Our findings suggest that loss of HLA class I induction in ESTDAB-004 cells results from a defect in the earliest steps of the IFN-γ signaling pathway due to absence of STAT-1 tyrosine-phosphorylation, while absence

  6. The role of CD4+ T cells in cell-mediated immunity to LCMV: studies in MHC class I and class II deficient mice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Jan Pravsgaard; Marker, O; Thomsen, Allan Randrup

    1994-01-01

    Parameters of the virus-specific T-cell response were analysed in order to dissect the contribution of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells to cell-mediated immunity to lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. In MHC class II deficient mice, initial T-cell responsiveness was not impaired, but virus clearance...... was delayed, and virus-specific Td activity declined more rapidly. Furthermore, class I restricted Tc memory appeared to be impaired in these mice. To directly evaluate the role of CD4+ cells in virus clearance and T-cell mediated inflammation, MHC class I deficient mice were also studied. No virus...... exudate. This low-grade response was associated with some degree of virus control as organ titres were lower in these animals than in matched T-cell deficient nu/nu mice or class I deficient mice treated with anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody. This confirms that CD4+ cells are not needed to induce a virus...

  7. Effect of monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) to class I and class II HLA antigens on lectin- and MoAb OKT3-induced lymphocyte proliferation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akiyama, Y; Zicht, R; Ferrone, S; Bonnard, G D; Herberman, R B

    1985-04-01

    We have examined the effect of several monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) to monomorphic determinants of class II HLA antigens, and MoAb to monomorphic determinants of class I HLA antigens and to beta-2-microglobulin (beta 2-mu) on lectin- and MoAb OKT3-induced proliferation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) and cultured T cells (CTC). Some, but not all, anti-class II HLA MoAb inhibited the proliferative response of PBMNC to MoAb OKT3 and pokeweed mitogen (PWM). The degree of inhibitory effect varied considerably. This effect was not limited to anti-class II HLA MoAb since anti-class I HLA MoAb and anti-beta 2-mu MoAb also inhibited MoAb OKT3- or PWM-induced proliferative responses. In contrast, the response of PBMNC to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and concanavalin A (Con A) was not blocked by any anti-class II HLA MoAb. However, some anti-class II HLA MoAb also inhibited the proliferative response of CTC plus allogeneic peripheral blood adherent accessory cells (AC) to PHA or Con A as well as to MoAb OKT3 or PWM. This may be attributable to the substantially greater class II HLA antigen expression by CTC than by fresh lymphocytes. Pretreatment of either CTC or AC with anti-class II HLA MoAb inhibited OKT3-induced proliferation. In contrast, pretreatment of CTC, but not AC, with anti-class I HLA MoAb inhibited the proliferative response of CTC to OKT3. Pretreatment of CTC with anti-class I HLA MoAb inhibited PHA-, Con A and PWM-induced proliferation, to a greater degree than the anti-class II HLA MoAb. It appears as if lymphocyte activation by different mitogens exhibits variable requirements for the presence of cells expressing major histocompatibility determinants. Binding of Ab to membrane markers may interfere with lymphocyte-AC cooperation, perhaps by inhibiting binding of mitogens to their receptors or by interfering with lymphocyte and AC function. We also have examined the role of class II HLA antigens on CTC by depleting class II HLA-positive cells

  8. NetMHCpan 4.0: Improved peptide-MHC class I interaction predictions integrating eluted ligand and peptide binding affinity data

    OpenAIRE

    Jurtz, Vanessa; Paul, Sinu; Andreatta, Massimo; Marcatili, Paolo; Peters, Bjoern; Nielsen, Morten

    2017-01-01

    Cytotoxic T cells are of central importance in the immune systems response to disease. They recognize defective cells by binding to peptides presented on the cell surface by MHC (major histocompatibility complex) class I molecules. Peptide binding to MHC molecules is the single most selective step in the antigen presentation pathway. On the quest for T cell epitopes, the prediction of peptide binding to MHC molecules has therefore attracted large attention. In the past, predictors of peptide-...

  9. Structure and spectroscopic properties of the dimeric copper(I) N-heterocyclic carbene complex [Cu₂(CNC(t-Bu))₂](PF₆)₂.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riener, Korbinian; Pöthig, Alexander; Cokoja, Mirza; Herrmann, Wolfgang A; Kühn, Fritz E

    2015-08-01

    In recent years, the use of copper N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes has expanded to fields besides catalysis, namely medicinal chemistry and luminescence applications. In the latter case, multinuclear copper NHC compounds have attracted interest, however, the number of these complexes in the literature is still quite limited. Bis[μ-1,3-bis(3-tert-butylimidazolin-2-yliden-1-yl)pyridine]-1κ(4)C(2),N:N,C(2');2κ(4)C(2),N:N,C(2')-dicopper(I) bis(hexafluoridophosphate), [Cu2(C19H25N5)2](PF6)2, is a dimeric copper(I) complex bridged by two CNC, i.e. bis(N-heterocyclic carbene)pyridine, ligands. Each Cu(I) atom is almost linearly coordinated by two NHC ligands and interactions are observed between the pyridine N atoms and the metal centres, while no cuprophilic interactions were observed. Very strong absorption bands are evident in the UV-Vis spectrum at 236 and 274 nm, and an emission band is observed at 450 nm. The reported complex is a new example of a multinuclear copper NHC complex and a member of a compound class which has only rarely been reported.

  10. Compact complex surfaces with geometric structures related to split quaternions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davidov, Johann; Grantcharov, Gueo; Mushkarov, Oleg; Yotov, Miroslav

    2012-01-01

    We study the problem of existence of geometric structures on compact complex surfaces that are related to split quaternions. These structures, called para-hypercomplex, para-hyperhermitian and para-hyperkähler, are analogs of the hypercomplex, hyperhermitian and hyperkähler structures in the definite case. We show that a compact 4-manifold carries a para-hyperkähler structure iff it has a metric of split signature together with two parallel, null, orthogonal, pointwise linearly independent vector fields. Every compact complex surface admitting a para-hyperhermitian structure has vanishing first Chern class and we show that, unlike the definite case, many of these surfaces carry infinite-dimensional families of such structures. We provide also compact examples of complex surfaces with para-hyperhermitian structures which are not locally conformally para-hyperkähler. Finally, we discuss the problem of non-existence of para-hyperhermitian structures on Inoue surfaces of type S 0 and provide a list of compact complex surfaces which could carry para-hypercomplex structures.

  11. Subcellular localization of class I histone deacetylases in the developing Xenopus tectum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xia eGuo

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Histone deacetylases (HDACs are thought to localize in the nucleus to regulate gene transcription and play pivotal roles in neurogenesis, apoptosis and plasticity. However, the subcellular distribution of class I HDACs in the developing brain remains unclear. Here, we show that HDAC1 and HDAC2 are located in both the mitochondria and the nucleus in the Xenopus laevis stage 34 tectum and are mainly restricted to the nucleus following further brain development. HDAC3 is widely present in the mitochondria, nucleus and cytoplasm during early tectal development and is mainly distributed in the nucleus in stage 45 tectum. In contrast, HDAC8 is broadly located in the mitochondria, nucleus and cytoplasm during tectal development. These data demonstrate that HDAC1, HDAC2 and HDAC3 are transiently localized in the mitochondria and that the subcellular distribution of class I HDACs in the Xenopus tectum is heterogeneous. Furthermore, we observed that spherical mitochondria accumulate in the cytoplasm at earlier stages, whereas elongated mitochondria are evenly distributed in the tectum at later stages. The activity of histone acetylation (H4K12 remains low in mitochondria during tectal development. Pharmacological blockades of HDACs using a broad spectrum HDAC inhibitor of Trichostatin A (TSA or specific class I HDAC inhibitors of MS-275 and MGCD0103 decrease the number of mitochondria in the tectum at stage 34. These findings highlight a link between the subcellular distribution of class I HDACs and mitochondrial dynamics in the developing optic tectum of Xenopus laevis.

  12. On skein relations in class S theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tachikawa, Yuji; Watanabe, Noriaki

    2015-01-01

    Loop operators of a class S theory arise from networks on the corresponding Riemann surface, and their operator product expansions are given in terms of the skein relations, that we describe in detail in the case of class S theories of type A. As two applications, we explicitly determine networks corresponding to dyonic loops of N=4SU(3) super Yang-Mills, and compute the superconformal index of a nontrivial network operator of the T 3 theory.

  13. HLA class Ib in pregnancy and pregnancy-related disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persson, Gry; Melsted, Wenna Nascimento; Nilsson, Line Lynge; Hviid, Thomas Vauvert F

    2017-08-01

    The HLA class Ib genes, HLA-E, HLA-F, and HLA-G, were discovered long after the classical HLA class Ia genes. The elucidation of their functions had a modest beginning. However, their basic functions and involvement in pathophysiology and a range of diseases are now emerging. Although results from a range of studies support the functional roles for the HLA class Ib molecules in adult life, especially HLA-G and HLA-F have most intensively been, and were also primarily, studied in relation to reproduction and pregnancy. The expression of HLA class Ib proteins at the feto-maternal interface in the placenta seems to be important for the maternal acceptance of the semi-allogenic fetus. In contrast to the functions of HLA class Ia, HLA-G possesses immune-modulatory and tolerogenic functions. Here, we review an accumulating amount of data describing the functions of HLA class Ib molecules in relation to fertility, reproduction, and pregnancy, and a possible role for these molecules in certain pregnancy complications, such as implantation failure, recurrent spontaneous abortions, and pre-eclampsia. The results from different kinds of studies point toward a role for HLA class Ib, especially HLA-G, throughout the reproductive cycle from conception to the birth weight of the child.

  14. Evaluation of cervical posture of children in skeletal class I, II, and III.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Attilio, Michele; Caputi, Sergio; Epifania, Ettore; Festa, Felice; Tecco, Simona

    2005-07-01

    Previous studies on the relationship between morphological structure of the face and cervical posture have predominantly focused on vertical dimensions of the face. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there are significant differences in cervical posture in subjects with a different sagittal morphology of the face, i.e., a different skeletal class. One hundred twenty (120) children (60 males and 60 females, average age 9.5 yrs., SD+/-0.5) were admitted for orthodontic treatment. Selection criteria was: European ethnic origin, date of birth, considerable skeletal growth potential remaining and an absence of temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD). Lateral skull radiographs were taken in mirror position. Subjects were divided into three groups based on their skeletal class. The cephalometric tracings included postural variables. The most interesting findings were: 1. children in skeletal class III showed a significantly lower cervical lordosis angle (phead upon the spinal column compared to children in skeletal class I and skeletal class III (pposture of the neck seems to be strongly associated with the sagittal as well as the vertical structure of the face.

  15. Insights into the Halogen Oxidative Addition Reaction to Dinuclear Gold(I) Di(NHC) Complexes

    KAUST Repository

    Baron, Marco

    2016-06-14

    Gold(I) dicarbene complexes [Au2(MeIm-Y-ImMe)2](PF6)2(Y=CH2(1), (CH2)2(2), (CH2)4(4), MeIm=1-methylimidazol-2-ylidene) react with iodine to give the mixed-valence complex [Au(MeIm-CH2-ImMe)2AuI2](PF6)2(1 aI) and the gold(III) complexes [Au2I4(MeIm-Y-ImMe)2](PF6)2(2 cIand 4 cI). Reaction of complexes 1 and 2 with an excess of ICl allows the isolation of the tetrachloro gold(III) complexes [Au2Cl4(MeIm-CH2-ImMe)2](PF6)2(1 cCl) and [Au2Cl4(MeIm-(CH2)2-ImMe)2](Cl)2(2 cCl-Cl) (as main product); remarkably in the case of complex 2, the X-ray molecular structure of the crystals also shows the presence of I-Au-Cl mixed-sphere coordination. The same type of coordination has been observed in the main product of the reaction of complexes 3 or 4 with ICl. The study of the reactivity towards the oxidative addition of halogens to a large series of dinuclear bis(dicarbene) gold(I) complexes has been extended and reviewed. The complexes react with Cl2, Br2and I2to give the successive formation of the mixed-valence gold(I)/gold(III) n aXand gold(III) n cX(excluding compound 1 cI) complexes. However, complex 3 affords with Cl2and Br2the gold(II) complex 3 bX[Au2X2(MeIm-(CH2)3-ImMe)2](PF6)2(X=Cl, Br), which is the predominant species over compound 3 cXeven in the presence of free halogen. The observed different relative stabilities of the oxidised complexes of compounds 1 and 3 have also been confirmed by DFT calculations. © 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. Cancer cells become susceptible to natural killer cell killing after exposure to histone deacetylase inhibitors due to glycogen synthase kinase-3-dependent expression of MHC class I-related chain A and B

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skov, Søren; Pedersen, Marianne Terndrup; Andresen, Lars

    2005-01-01

    We show that histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors lead to functional expression of MHC class I-related chain A and B (MICA/B) on cancer cells, making them potent targets for natural killer (NK) cell-mediated killing through a NK group 2, member D (NKG2D) restricted mechanism. Blocking either...

  17. The major histocompatibility complex in the chicken

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guillemot, F; Kaufman, J F; Skjoedt, K

    1989-01-01

    The chicken B complex is the first non-mammalian MHC characterized at the molecular level. It differs from the human HLA and murine H-2 complexes in the small size of the class I (B-F) and class II (B-L) genes and their close proximity. This proximity accounts for the absence of recombination...

  18. Accurate approximation method for prediction of class I MHC affinities for peptides of length 8, 10 and 11 using prediction tools trained on 9mers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lundegaard, Claus; Lund, Ole; Nielsen, Morten

    2008-01-01

    Several accurate prediction systems have been developed for prediction of class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC):peptide binding. Most of these are trained on binding affinity data of primarily 9mer peptides. Here, we show how prediction methods trained on 9mer data can be used for accurate...

  19. Oligoclonal band phenotypes in MS differ in their HLA class II association, while specific KIR ligands at HLA class I show association to MS in general

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gustavsen, Marte W; Viken, Marte K; Celius, Elisabeth G

    2014-01-01

    Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients have been reported to have different HLA class II allele profiles depending on oligoclonal bands (OCBs) in the cerebrospinal fluid, but HLA class I alleles and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) ligands have not been studied. We investigated the associ......Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients have been reported to have different HLA class II allele profiles depending on oligoclonal bands (OCBs) in the cerebrospinal fluid, but HLA class I alleles and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) ligands have not been studied. We investigated...

  20. Augmented serum level of major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain A (MICA) protein and reduced NKG2D expression on NK and T cells in patients with cervical cancer and precursor lesions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arreygue-Garcia, Naela A; Delgado-Rizo, Vidal; Garcia-Iglesias, Trinidad; Hernandez-Flores, Georgina; Toro-Arreola, Susana del; Daneri-Navarro, Adrian; Toro-Arreola, Alicia del; Cid-Arregui, Angel; Gonzalez-Ramella, Oscar; Jave-Suarez, Luis F; Aguilar-Lemarroy, Adriana; Troyo-Sanroman, Rogelio; Bravo-Cuellar, Alejandro

    2008-01-01

    Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. NK and cytotoxic T cells play an important role in the elimination of virus-infected and tumor cells through NKG2D activating receptors, which can promote the lysis of target cells by binding to the major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain A (MICA) proteins. Increased serum levels of MICA have been found in patients with epithelial tumors. The aim of this study was to compare the levels of soluble MICA (sMICA) and NKG2D-expressing NK and T cells in blood samples from patients with cervical cancer or precursor lesions with those from healthy donors. Peripheral blood with or without heparin was collected to obtain mononuclear cells or sera, respectively. Serum sMICA levels were measured by ELISA and NKG2D-expressing immune cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Also, a correlation analysis was performed to associate sMICA levels with either NKG2D expression or with the stage of the lesion. Significant amounts of sMICA were detected in sera from nearly all patients. We found a decrease in the number of NKG2D-expressing NK and T cells in both cervical cancer and lesion groups when compared to healthy donors. Pearson analysis showed a negative correlation between sMICA and NKG2D-expressing T cells; however, we did not find a significant correlation when the analysis was applied to sMICA and NKG2D expression on NK cells. Our results show for the first time that high sMICA levels are found in sera from patients with both cervical cancer and precursor lesions when compared with healthy donors. We also observed a diminution in the number of NKG2D-expressing NK and T cells in the patient samples; however, a significant negative correlation between sMICA and NKG2D expression was only seen in T cells

  1. Machine learning competition in immunology – Prediction of HLA class I binding peptides

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Guang Lan; Ansari, Hifzur Rahman; Bradley, Phil

    2011-01-01

    of peptide binding, therefore, determines the accuracy of the overall method. Computational predictions of peptide binding to HLA, both class I and class II, use a variety of algorithms ranging from binding motifs to advanced machine learning techniques ( [Brusic et al., 2004] and [Lafuente and Reche, 2009...

  2. An Ontology for Modeling Complex Inter-relational Organizations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wautelet, Yves; Neysen, Nicolas; Kolp, Manuel

    This paper presents an ontology for organizational modeling through multiple complementary aspects. The primary goal of the ontology is to dispose of an adequate set of related concepts for studying complex organizations involved in a lot of relationships at the same time. In this paper, we define complex organizations as networked organizations involved in a market eco-system that are playing several roles simultaneously. In such a context, traditional approaches focus on the macro analytic level of transactions; this is supplemented here with a micro analytic study of the actors' rationale. At first, the paper overviews enterprise ontologies literature to position our proposal and exposes its contributions and limitations. The ontology is then brought to an advanced level of formalization: a meta-model in the form of a UML class diagram allows to overview the ontology concepts and their relationships which are formally defined. Finally, the paper presents the case study on which the ontology has been validated.

  3. Duration of the peak of adolescent growth spurt in class i and ii malocclusion subjects using a cervical vertebrae maturation analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salazar-Lazo, Rodrigo; Arriola-Guillén, Luis E; Flores-Mir, Carlos

    2014-01-01

    The aim of the present work was to determine the duration of the adolescent peak growth spurt using cervical vertebral maturation analysis in class I and II malocclusion subjects. The study was conducted on a sample which consisted of 154 lateral cephalograms of children and adolescents aged 9-15 years (84 females and 70 males). The evaluation of skeletal maturation stage was performed using a visual morphological analysis of CS3 and CS4 cervical vertebrae. The sagittal skeletal relation was evaluated according to Steiner analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize chronological age in each malocclusion group and for each CS3 and CS4 skeletal maturation stage. Due to a lack of normal distribution, comparisons of CS3 and CS4 age intervals on class I and II subjects were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test for independent samples. The results show that the mean duration of the adolescent peak growth spurt was 10 months between CS3 and CS4 stages in class I malocclusion subjects, whereas in class II malocclusion patients the duration was 6 months. This difference of 4 months was statistically significant (p<0.001). Finally, a clinically significant difference of 4 months in the duration of the adolescent peak growth spurt for class I and II malocclusion subjects was identified.

  4. Immunization with MHC class I-negative but not -positive HPV16-associated tumour cells inhibits growth of MHC class I-negative tumours

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Reiniš, Milan; Šímová, Jana; Indrová, Marie; Bieblová, Jana; Přibylová, Hana; Moravcová, Simona; Jandlová, Táňa; Bubeník, Jan

    2007-01-01

    Roč. 30, č. 4 (2007), s. 1011-1017 ISSN 1019-6439 R&D Projects: GA MZd NR7807 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 18933 - CLINIGENE Grant - others:Liga proti rakovině, Praha(CZ) XX Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50520514 Keywords : HPV16 * MHC class I-deficient tumours * immunologic crossreaction Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 2.295, year: 2007

  5. THE GOULD's BELT VERY LARGE ARRAY SURVEY. I. THE OPHIUCHUS COMPLEX

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dzib, Sergio A.; Loinard, Laurent; Rodríguez, Luis F.; Ortiz-León, Gisela N.; Pech, Gerardo; Rivera, Juana L. [Centro de Radioastronomía y Astrofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Apartado Postal 3-72, 58090 Morelia, Michoacán (Mexico); Mioduszewski, Amy J. [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Domenici Science Operations Center, 1003 Lopezville Road, Socorro, NM 87801 (United States); Torres, Rosa M. [Paul Harris 9065, Las Condes, Santiago (Chile); Boden, Andrew F. [Division of Physics, Math, and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Hartmann, Lee [Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, 500 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48105 (United States); Evans, Neal J. II [Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, C1400, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Briceño, Cesar [Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomía, Mérida 5101-A (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of); Tobin, John, E-mail: s.dzib@crya.unam.mx [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States)

    2013-09-20

    We present large-scale (∼2000 arcmin{sup 2}), deep (∼20 μJy), high-resolution (∼1'') radio observations of the Ophiuchus star-forming complex obtained with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array at λ = 4 and 6 cm. In total, 189 sources were detected, 56 of them associated with known young stellar sources, and 4 with known extragalactic objects; the other 129 remain unclassified, but most of them are most probably background quasars. The vast majority of the young stars detected at radio wavelengths have spectral types K or M, although we also detect four objects of A/F/B types and two brown dwarf candidates. At least half of these young stars are non-thermal (gyrosynchrotron) sources, with active coronas characterized by high levels of variability, negative spectral indices, and (in some cases) significant circular polarization. As expected, there is a clear tendency for the fraction of non-thermal sources to increase from the younger (Class 0/I or flat spectrum) to the more evolved (Class III or weak line T Tauri) stars. The young stars detected both in X-rays and at radio wavelengths broadly follow a Güdel-Benz relation, but with a different normalization than the most radioactive types of stars. Finally, we detect a ∼70 mJy compact extragalactic source near the center of the Ophiuchus core, which should be used as gain calibrator for any future radio observations of this region.

  6. Applications of Functional Amyloids from Fungi: Surface Modification by Class I Hydrophobins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alessandra Piscitelli

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Class I hydrophobins produced from fungi are amongst the first proteins recognized as functional amyloids. They are amphiphilic proteins involved in the formation of aerial structures such as spores or fruiting bodies. They form chemically robust layers which can only be dissolved in strong acids. These layers adhere to different surfaces, changing their wettability, and allow the binding of other proteins. Herein, the modification of diverse types of surfaces with Class I hydrophobins is reported, highlighting the applications of the coated surfaces. Indeed, these coatings can be exploited in several fields, spanning from biomedical to industrial applications, which include biosensing and textile manufacturing.

  7. BoLA class I polymorphism and in vitro immune response to M. bovis antigens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Longeri, M; Polli, M; Ponti, W; Zanotti, M

    1993-01-12

    From a sample of 119 Friesian calves, serologically typed for BoLA class I, 47 subjects were chosen expressing 9 different MHC types (A6, A6.9, A10, A11, A14, A15, A30, W16, M103) with the same age and reared in the same farm conditions. The animals were s.c. injected with a water in oil suspension of killed M. bovis and the treatment was repeated two days later. Before the treatment and 21 days later, calves were bled and on PBM (peripheral blood mononuclear leucocytes) were performed the following tests: 1. Lymphocyte Stimulation with bovine and avian PPDs (Purified protein derivative of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium avium, respectively). 2. Phagocytic activity towards M. bovis. 3. Class II molecules expression on cell surface. 4. Percentage of leucocyte populations and subpopulations. In the in vitro Lymphocyte Stimulation test, all the animals and classes were responders. Animals bearing A10 BoLA class I presented c.p.m. (counts per minute) and index values higher than the other cattle; these values were significantly positively related both to bovine and avian PPDs (P celular de moleculas de clase II. 4. Porcentaje de poblaciones y de subpob-laciones de leucocitos. Todos los animales y todos los tipos de MHC dieron respuestas positivas en las pruebas de Stimulacion Lymphocitaria. Los animales que tenian la BoLA A10 presentaron valores de c.p.m. y indices mas altos de los demas animales. Estos valores se encontraron significativamente y positivamente relacionados sea a la PPD bovina que a la PPD avicola. Por medio de la analisis de varianzas se encontro que el tipo BoLA A14 muestraba una correlacion significativa y algo positiva con una mejor actividad fagocitaria. Los tipos de clase BoLA I no parecieron que influenzaran de manera appreciable el porcentaje de positividad por la clase II y el porcentaje de leucocitos en la sangre PBM. 1993 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  8. A hybrid approach for predicting promiscuous MHC class I restricted ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Prakash

    2006-09-15

    Sep 15, 2006 ... with existing MHC binder prediction methods for alleles studied by both ... in locating the promiscuous MHC binding regions from antigen sequence. ... Artificial neural network; MHC class I alleles; promiscuous binders; ... this problem by developing methods for prediction for ... In case equal number of.

  9. Scavenger Receptor Class B, Type I, a CD36 Related Protein in Macrobrachium nipponense: Characterization, RNA Interference, and Expression Analysis with Different Dietary Lipid Sources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhili Ding

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The scavenger receptor class B, type I (SR-BI, is a member of the CD36 superfamily comprising transmembrane proteins involved in mammalian and fish lipid homeostasis regulation. We hypothesize that this receptor plays an important role in Macrobrachium nipponense lipid metabolism. However, little attention has been paid to SR-BI in commercial crustaceans. In the present study, we report a cDNA encoding M. nipponense scavenger receptor class B, type I (designated as MnSR-BI, obtained from a hepatopancreas cDNA library. The complete MnSR-BI coding sequence was 1545 bp, encoding 514 amino acid peptides. The MnSR-BI primary structure consisted of a CD36 domain that contained two transmembrane regions at the N- and C-terminals of the protein. SR-BI mRNA expression was specifically detected in muscle, gill, ovum, intestine, hepatopancreas, stomach, and ovary tissues. Furthermore, its expression in the hepatopancreas was regulated by dietary lipid sources, with prawns fed soybean and linseed oils exhibiting higher expression levels. RNAi-based SR-BI silencing resulted in the suppression of its expression in the hepatopancreas and variation in the expression of lipid metabolism-related genes. This is the first report of SR-BI in freshwater prawns and provides the basis for further studies on SR-BI in crustaceans.

  10. Maxillary molar distalization with first class appliance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramesh, Namitha; Palukunnu, Biswas; Ravindran, Nidhi; Nair, Preeti P

    2014-02-27

    Non-extraction treatment has gained popularity for corrections of mild-to-moderate class II malocclusion over the past few decades. The distalization of maxillary molars is of significant value for treatment of cases with minimal arch discrepancy and mild class II molar relation associated with a normal mandibular arch and acceptable profile. This paper describes our experience with a 16-year-old female patient who reported with irregularly placed upper front teeth and unpleasant smile. The patient was diagnosed to have angles class II malocclusion with moderate maxillary anterior crowding, deep bite of 4 mm on a skeletal class II base with an orthognathic maxilla and retrognathic mandible and normal growth pattern. She presented an ideal profile and so molar distalization was planned with the first-class appliance. Molars were distalised by 8 mm on the right and left quadrants and class I molar relation achieved within 4 months. The space gained was utilised effectively to align the arch and establish a class I molar and canine relation.

  11. Deficiency of respiratory chain complex I in Hashimoto thyroiditis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmermann, Franz A; Neureiter, Daniel; Feichtinger, René G; Trost, Andrea; Sperl, Wolfgang; Kofler, Barbara; Mayr, Johannes A

    2016-01-01

    Oncocytic cells (OCs) are characterized by an accumulation of mitochondria and their occurrence in the thyroid gland of patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) is well known. However, their properties and functional relevance are poorly understood. We investigated OC lesions (n=212) in the thyroid of 12 HT patients. Loss of complex I protein was observed in oncocytic lesions of each of the patients. In addition to isolated complex I deficiency, 25% of oncocytic lesions showed combined deficiency of complex I and IV. Thus, we demonstrate for the first time a defect of respiratory chain complex I in OCs of HT patients. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. and Mitochondria Research Society. All rights reserved.

  12. [Evaluation of accuracy of virtual occlusal definition in Angle class I molar relationship].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, L; Liu, X J; Li, Z L; Wang, X

    2018-02-18

    To evaluate the accuracy of virtual occlusal definition in non-Angle class I molar relationship, and to evaluate the clinical feasibility. Twenty pairs of models of orthognathic patients were included in this study. The inclusion criteria were: (1) finished with pre-surgical orthodontic treatment and (2) stable final occlusion. The exclusion criteria were: (1) existence of distorted teeth, (2) needs for segmentation, (3) defect of dentition except for orthodontic extraction ones, and (4) existence of tooth space. The tooth-extracted test group included 10 models with two premolars extracted during preoperative orthodontic treatment. Their molar relationships were not Angle class I relationship. The non-tooth-extracted test group included another 10 models without teeth extracted, therefore their molar relationships were Angle class I. To define the final occlusion in virtual environment, two steps were included: (1) The morphology data of upper and lower dentition were digitalized by surface scanner (Smart Optics/Activity 102; Model-Tray GmbH, Hamburg, Germany); (2) the virtual relationships were defined using 3Shape software. The control standard of final occlusion was manually defined using gypsum models and then digitalized by surface scanner. The final occlusion of test group and control standard were overlapped according to lower dentition morphology. Errors were evaluated by calculating the distance between the corresponding reference points of testing group and control standard locations. The overall errors for upper dentition between test group and control standard location were (0.51±0.18) mm in non-tooth-extracted test group and (0.60±0.36) mm in tooth-extracted test group. The errors were significantly different between these two test groups (P0.05); and the accuracy of non-tooth-extracted group was significantly smaller than 1 mm (Pdefinition of none class I molar relationship is higher than that of class I relationship, with an accuracy of 1 mm

  13. Resilience in patients with amputation because of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome type I

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bodde, Marlies I.; Schrier, Ernst; Krans, Hilde K.; Geertzen, J.H.B.; Dijkstra, Pieter U.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Although controversial, an amputation for longstanding and therapy-resistant Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type I (CRPS-I) may improve quality of life and pain intensity. Resilience, the way people deal with adversity in a positive way may be related to these positive outcomes. This study

  14. Contrasting patterns of selection between MHC I and II across populations of Humboldt and Magellanic penguins

    OpenAIRE

    Sallaberry?Pincheira, Nicole; Gonz?lez?Acu?a, Daniel; Padilla, Pamela; Dantas, Gisele P. M.; Luna?Jorquera, Guillermo; Frere, Esteban; Vald?s?Vel?squez, Armando; Vianna, Juliana A.

    2016-01-01

    Abstract The evolutionary and adaptive potential of populations or species facing an emerging infectious disease depends on their genetic diversity in genes, such as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). In birds, MHC class I deals predominantly with intracellular infections (e.g., viruses) and MHC class II with extracellular infections (e.g., bacteria). Therefore, patterns of MHC I and II diversity may differ between species and across populations of species depending on the relative e...

  15. Structure and function of complex I in animals and plants - a comparative view.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senkler, Jennifer; Senkler, Michael; Braun, Hans-Peter

    2017-09-01

    The mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase complex (complex I) has a molecular mass of about 1000 kDa and includes 40-50 subunits in animals, fungi and plants. It is composed of a membrane arm and a peripheral arm and has a conserved L-like shape in all species investigated. However, in plants and possibly some protists it has a second peripheral domain which is attached to the membrane arm on its matrix exposed side at a central position. The extra domain includes proteins resembling prokaryotic gamma-type carbonic anhydrases. We here present a detailed comparison of complex I from mammals and flowering plants. Forty homologous subunits are present in complex I of both groups of species. In addition, five subunits are present in mammalian complex I, which are absent in plants, and eight to nine subunits are present in plant complex I which do not occur in mammals. Based on the atomic structure of mammalian complex I and biochemical insights into complex I architecture from plants we mapped the species-specific subunits. Interestingly, four of the five animal-specific and five of the eight to nine plant-specific subunits are localized at the inner surface of the membrane arm of complex I in close proximity. We propose that the inner surface of the membrane arm represents a workbench for attaching proteins to complex I, which are not directly related to respiratory electron transport, like nucleoside kinases, acyl-carrier proteins or carbonic anhydrases. We speculate that further enzyme activities might be bound to this micro-location in other groups of organisms. © 2017 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.

  16. Expressão do complexo de histocompatilidade principal de classe I (MHC I no sistema nervoso central: plasticidade sináptica e regeneração Expresión del complejo principal de histocompatibilidad de clase I (MHC I en el sistema nervioso central: plasticidad sináptica y regeneración Expression of class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC I in the central nervous system: role in synaptic plasticity and regeneration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renata Graciele Zanon

    2010-06-01

    consecuencia, con la recuperación funcional. Por consiguiente, estos nuevos aspectos sobre la función del MHC I en el SNC orientan nuevas investigaciones con miras a entender el papel del MHC I en las enfermedades neurológicas y a desarrollar nuevas estrategias terapéuticas.It has been recently demonstrated that the major histocompatibility complex of class I (MHC I expressed in the central nervous system (CNS does not only function as a molecule of the immune system, but also plays a role in the synaptic plasticity. The expression of MHC I influences the intensity and selectivity of elimination of synapses apposed to neurons that were subjected to lesion, besides influencing the reactivity of neighboring glial cells. MHC I expression and the degree of synaptic rearrangement and glial response after injury correlate with differences in the regenerative potential and functional recovery of isogenic mice strains. In this way, the new aspects regarding MHC I functions in the CNS may guide further studies aiming at searching the involvement of MCH I in neurologic disorders, as well as the development of new therapeutic strategies.

  17. Analysis of chickens for recombination within the MHC (B-complex)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skjødt, K; Koch, C; Crone, M

    1985-01-01

    In an attempt to further map the chicken MHC (the B complex), a systematic search for genetic recombinants within the B complex was performed by serotyping the progeny from F2 crosses of chickens by means of specific anti-class I, anti-class II, and anti-class IV alloantisera. Two recombinant B......-haplotypes (B21r and B15r) were found by analysing 2,656 F2 chickens representing 5,312 informative typings. In either case, the B-G (class IV) allele was recombined with both the B-F and B-L alleles of the opposite haplotype. MLC typings, tests for direct compatibility by GVH reactions, and absorption analyses...... confirmed the original serological typing of the two recombinant B haplotypes. No recombination between B-F (class I) and B-L (class II) loci was found. This very low frequency of recombination within the B complex as compared with recombination frequencies found in mammalian MHC's is discussed...

  18. [Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) as a treatment for the spread phenomenon related to complex regional pain syndrome type- I (CRPS-I )].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goto, Shinichi; Taira, Takaomi; Hori, Tomokatsu

    2009-09-01

    The authors describe an experience of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) in a 30-year-old woman who developed complex regional pain syndrome type-I (CRPS-I) with spread phenomenon. She had received lumbar SCS under a diagnosis of CRPS-I in her left leg for 8 years. She had refractory pain in her right arm for the recent two years. There was no new lesion explaining her refractory pain on physical or radiological examination. Thus, the pain in her right upper arm was considered as spread phenomenon of CRPS-I. Test stimulation with cervical epidural spinal electrode showed good results and the pulse generator was implanted. It is suggested that the symptom of CRPS-I involving spread phenomenon was possibly due to a cortical reorganization. But a certain effect of SCS may be contributing to the favorable results of test stimulation for the treatment of CRPS-I with spread phenomenon in this case.

  19. Human leukocyte antigen class I, class II, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha polymorphisms in a healthy elder Mexican Mestizo population

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Llorente Luis

    2005-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There is strong evidence that an individual's genetic background is an important predisposing factor to longevity. In the present study we analysed the frequency of HLA class I, class II, as well as the TNF-α -308 polymorphism that may be related to an increased life span in Mexican Mestizo healthy elders. Results HLA typing was performed by polymerase chain reaction sequence specific oligonucleotide (PCR SSO reverse dot blot. The TNF-α -308 polymorphism was assessed by PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism. A significant increased frequency of HLA-DRB1*11 was found in elderly women whereas this allele was not present in elderly males. The TNF2 allele was also increased in the elder group when compared to young controls. The frequencies of the remaining alleles tested were not statistically different among groups. Conclusion These data suggest an ethnicity independent tendency of HLA-DRB1*11 in elder females to increase life span and a possible role of the TNF2 allele with the successful remodelling of senescent immune system.

  20. Sequence-Based Genotyping of Expressed Swine Leukocyte Antigen Class I Alleles by Next-Generation Sequencing Reveal Novel Swine Leukocyte Antigen Class I Haplotypes and Alleles in Belgian, Danish, and Kenyan Fattening Pigs and Göttingen Minipigs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Maria Rathmann; Ilsøe, Mette; Strube, Mikael Lenz

    2017-01-01

    for the prediction of epitope binding in pigs. The low number of known SLA class I alleles and the limited knowledge of their prevalence in different pig breeds emphasizes the need for efficient SLA typing methods. This study utilizes an SLA class I-typing method based on next-generation sequencing of barcoded PCR...

  1. The 1.4 Å Crystal Structure of the Class D [beta]-Lactamase OXA-1 Complexed with Doripenem

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schneider, Kyle D.; Karpen, Mary E.; Bonomo, Robert A.; Leonard, David A.; Powers, Rachel A.; (Grand Valley); (Case Western U.-Med)

    2010-01-12

    The clinical efficacy of carbapenem antibiotics depends on their resistance to the hydrolytic action of {beta}-lactamase enzymes. The structure of the class D {beta}-lactamase OXA-1 as an acyl complex with the carbapenem doripenem was determined to 1.4 {angstrom} resolution. Unlike most class A and class C carbapenem complexes, the acyl carbonyl oxygen in the OXA-1-doripenem complex is bound in the oxyanion hole. Interestingly, no water molecules were observed in the vicinity of the acyl linkage, providing an explanation for why carbapenems inhibit OXA-1. The side chain amine of K70 remains fully carboxylated in the acyl structure, and the resulting carbamate group forms a hydrogen bond to the alcohol of the 6{alpha}-hydroxyethyl moiety of doripenem. The carboxylate attached to the {beta}-lactam ring of doripenem is stabilized by a salt bridge to K212 and a hydrogen bond with T213, in lieu of the interaction with an arginine side chain found in most other {beta}-lactamase-{beta}-lactam complexes (e.g., R244 in the class A member TEM-1). This novel set of interactions with the carboxylate results in a major shift of the carbapenem's pyrroline ring compared to the structure of the same ring in meropenem bound to OXA-13. Additionally, bond angles of the pyrroline ring suggest that after acylation, doripenem adopts the {Delta}{sup 1} tautomer. These findings provide important insights into the role that carbapenems may have in the inactivation process of class D {beta}-lactamases.

  2. A cell-based MHC stabilization assay for the detection of peptide binding to the canine classical class I molecule, DLA-88.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Peter; Holmes, Jennifer C; Gojanovich, Gregory S; Hess, Paul R

    2012-12-15

    Identifying immunodominant CTL epitopes is essential for studying CD8+ T-cell responses in populations, but remains difficult, as peptides within antigens typically are too numerous for all to be synthesized and screened. Instead, to facilitate discovery, in silico scanning of proteins for sequences that match the motif, or binding preferences, of the restricting MHC class I allele - the largest determinant of immunodominance - can be used to predict likely candidates. The high false positive rate with this analysis ideally requires binding confirmation, which is obtained routinely by an assay using cell lines such as RMA-S that have defective transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) machinery, and consequently, few surface class I molecules. The stabilization and resultant increased life-span of peptide-MHC complexes on the cell surface by the addition of true binders validates their identity. To determine whether a similar assay could be developed for dogs, we transfected a prevalent class I allele, DLA-88*50801, into RMA-S. In the BARC3 clone, the recombinant heavy chain was associated with murine β2-microglobulin, and importantly, could differentiate motif-matched and -mismatched peptides by surface MHC stabilization. This work demonstrates the potential to use RMA-S cells transfected with canine alleles as a tool for CTL epitope discovery in this species. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Relational Compositions in Fuzzy Class Theory

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Běhounek, Libor; Daňková, M.

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 160, č. 8 (2009), s. 1005-1036 ISSN 0165-0114 R&D Pro jects: GA AV ČR KJB100300502 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : fuzzy relation * sup-T-composition * inf-R-composition * BK- pro duct * fuzzy class theory * formal truth value Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 2.138, year: 2009

  4. Simplified Method for Predicting a Functional Class of Proteins in Transcription Factor Complexes

    KAUST Repository

    Piatek, Marek J.

    2013-07-12

    Background:Initiation of transcription is essential for most of the cellular responses to environmental conditions and for cell and tissue specificity. This process is regulated through numerous proteins, their ligands and mutual interactions, as well as interactions with DNA. The key such regulatory proteins are transcription factors (TFs) and transcription co-factors (TcoFs). TcoFs are important since they modulate the transcription initiation process through interaction with TFs. In eukaryotes, transcription requires that TFs form different protein complexes with various nuclear proteins. To better understand transcription regulation, it is important to know the functional class of proteins interacting with TFs during transcription initiation. Such information is not fully available, since not all proteins that act as TFs or TcoFs are yet annotated as such, due to generally partial functional annotation of proteins. In this study we have developed a method to predict, using only sequence composition of the interacting proteins, the functional class of human TF binding partners to be (i) TF, (ii) TcoF, or (iii) other nuclear protein. This allows for complementing the annotation of the currently known pool of nuclear proteins. Since only the knowledge of protein sequences is required in addition to protein interaction, the method should be easily applicable to many species.Results:Based on experimentally validated interactions between human TFs with different TFs, TcoFs and other nuclear proteins, our two classification systems (implemented as a web-based application) achieve high accuracies in distinguishing TFs and TcoFs from other nuclear proteins, and TFs from TcoFs respectively.Conclusion:As demonstrated, given the fact that two proteins are capable of forming direct physical interactions and using only information about their sequence composition, we have developed a completely new method for predicting a functional class of TF interacting protein partners

  5. Structure of a Class I Tagatose-1,6-bisphosphate Aldolase - Investigation into an Apparent Loss of Stereospecificity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    LowKam, C.; Liotard, B; Sygusch, J

    2010-01-01

    Tagatose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase from Streptococcus pyogenes is a class I aldolase that exhibits a remarkable lack of chiral discrimination with respect to the configuration of hydroxyl groups at both C3 and C4 positions. The enzyme catalyzes the reversible cleavage of four diastereoisomers (fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (FBP), psicose 1,6-bisphosphate, sorbose 1,6-bisphosphate, and tagatose 1,6-bisphosphate) to dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) and d-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate with high catalytic efficiency. To investigate its enzymatic mechanism, high resolution crystal structures were determined of both native enzyme and native enzyme in complex with dihydroxyacetone-P. The electron density map revealed a ({alpha}/{beta}){sub 8} fold in each dimeric subunit. Flash-cooled crystals of native enzyme soaked with dihydroxyacetone phosphate trapped a covalent intermediate with carbanionic character at Lys{sup 205}, different from the enamine mesomer bound in stereospecific class I FBP aldolase. Structural analysis indicates extensive active site conservation with respect to class I FBP aldolases, including conserved conformational responses to DHAP binding and conserved stereospecific proton transfer at the DHAP C3 carbon mediated by a proximal water molecule. Exchange reactions with tritiated water and tritium-labeled DHAP at C3 hydrogen were carried out in both solution and crystalline state to assess stereochemical control at C3. The kinetic studies show labeling at both pro-R and pro-S C3 positions of DHAP yet detritiation only at the C3 pro-S-labeled position. Detritiation of the C3 pro-R label was not detected and is consistent with preferential cis-trans isomerism about the C2-C3 bond in the carbanion as the mechanism responsible for C3 epimerization in tagatose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase.

  6. Infectious mononucleosis-linked HLA class I single nucleotide polymorphism is associated with multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jafari, Naghmeh; Broer, Linda; Hoppenbrouwers, Ilse A; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Hintzen, Rogier Q

    2010-11-01

    Multiple sclerosis is a presumed autoimmune disease associated with genetic and environmental risk factors such as infectious mononucleosis. Recent research has shown infectious mononucleosis to be associated with a specific HLA class I polymorphism. Our aim was to test if the infectious mononucleosis-linked HLA class I single nucleotide polymorphism (rs6457110) is also associated with multiple sclerosis. Genotyping of the HLA-A single nucleotide polymorphism rs6457110 using TaqMan was performed in 591 multiple sclerosis cases and 600 controls. The association of multiple sclerosis with the HLA-A single nucleotide polymorphism was tested using logistic regression adjusted for age, sex and HLA-DRB1*1501. HLA-A minor allele (A) is associated with multiple sclerosis (OR = 0.68; p = 4.08 × 10( -5)). After stratification for HLA-DRB1*1501 risk allele (T) carrier we showed a significant OR of 0.70 (p = 0.003) for HLA-A. HLA class I single nucleotide polymorphism rs6457110 is associated with infectious mononucleosis and multiple sclerosis, independent of the major class II allele, supporting the hypothesis that shared genetics may contribute to the association between infectious mononucleosis and multiple sclerosis.

  7. Diagnostic value of MHC class I staining in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pas, J. van der; Hengstman, G.J.D.; Laak, H.J. ter; Borm, G.F.; Engelen, B.G.M. van

    2004-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Identification of mononuclear cellular infiltrates in skeletal muscle tissue is the histological cornerstone of the diagnosis of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM). However, these infiltrates are not always present. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether MHC class I antigen expression on

  8. Neuron-specific regulation of class I PI3K catalytic subunits and their dysfunction in brain disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christina eGross

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available The PI3K complex plays important roles in virtually all cells of the body. The enzymatic activity of PI3K to phosphorylate phosphoinositides in the membrane is mediated by a group of catalytic and regulatory subunits. Among those, the class I catalytic subunits, p110α, p110β, p110γ and p110δ, have recently drawn attention in the neuroscience field due to their specific dysregulation in diverse brain disorders. While in non-neuronal cells these catalytic subunits may have partially redundant functions, there is increasing evidence that in neurons their roles are more specialized, and confined to distinct receptor-dependent pathways. This review will summarize the emerging role of class I PI3K catalytic subunits in neurotransmitter-regulated neuronal signaling, and their dysfunction in a variety of neurological diseases, including fragile X syndrome, schizophrenia and epilepsy. We will discuss recent literature describing the use of PI3K subunit-selective inhibitors to rescue brain disease-associated phenotypes in in vitro and animal models. These studies give rise to the exciting prospect that these drugs, originally designed for cancer treatment, may be repurposed as therapeutic drugs for brain disorders in the future.

  9. Modified human beta 2-microglobulin (desLys(58)) displays decreased affinity for the heavy chain of MHC class I and induces nitric oxide production and apoptosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, M; Harhaji, L; Lamberth, K

    2009-01-01

    Beta2-microglobulin (beta2m) is the light chain of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) molecules, and is a prerequisite for the binding of peptides to the heavy chain and their presentation to CD8+ T cells. beta2m can be modified in vivo and in vitro by proteolytic cleavage...... by complement C1 and subsequent carboxypeptidase B-like activity--processes that lead to the generation of desLys(58) beta2m (dbeta2m). This work aims to study the effect of dbeta2m on peptide binding to MHC-I, the influence of dbeta2m on the binding of beta2m to the MHC-I heavy chain and the biological...... activity of dbeta2m. Both beta2m and dbeta2m are able to support the generation of MHC-I/peptide complexes at 18 degrees C, but complexes formed in the presence of dbeta2m destabilize at 37 degrees C. Moreover, a 250 times higher concentration of dbeta2m than of beta2m is needed to displace MHC...

  10. Two putative subunits of a peptide pump encoded in the human major histocompatability complex class 2 region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bahram, S.; Arnold, D.; Bresnahan, M.; Strominger, J.L.; Spies, T.

    1991-01-01

    The class 2 region of the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) may encode several genes controlling the processing of endogenous antigen and the presentation of peptide epitopes by MHC class 1 molecules to cytotoxic T lymphocytes. A previously described peptide supply factor (PSF1) is a member of the multidrug-resistance family of transporters and may pump cytosolic peptides into the membrane-bound compartment where class 1 molecules assemble. A second transporter gene, PSF2, was identified 10 kilobases (kb) from PSF1, near the class 2 DOB gene. The complete sequences of PSF1 and PSF2 were determined from cDNA clones. The translation products are closely related in sequence and predicted secondary structure. Both contain a highly conserved ATP-binding fold and share 25% homology in a hydrophobic domain with a tentative number of eight membrane-spanning segments. Based on the principle dimeric organization of these two domains in other transporters, PSF1 and PSF2 may function as complementary subunits, independently as homodimers, or both. Taken together with previous genetic evidence, the coregulation of PSF1 and PSF2 by γ interferon and the to-some-degree coordinate transcription of these genes suggest a common role in peptide-loading of class 1 molecules, although a distinct function of PSF2 cannot be ruled out

  11. Mistletoe lectin I in complex with galactose and lactose reveals distinct sugar-binding properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mikeska, Ruth; Wacker, Roland; Arni, Raghuvir; Singh, Tej P.; Mikhailov, Albert; Gabdoulkhakov, Azat; Voelter, Wolfgang; Betzel, Christian

    2004-01-01

    The structures of mistletoe lectin I in complex with lactose and galactose reveal differences in binding by the two known sites in subdomains α1 and γ2 and suggest the presence of a third low-affinity site in subdomain β1. The structures of mistletoe lectin I (ML-I) from Viscum album complexed with lactose and galactose have been determined at 2.3 Å resolution and refined to R factors of 20.9% (R free = 23.6%) and 20.9 (R free = 24.6%), respectively. ML-I is a heterodimer and belongs to the class of ribosome-inactivating proteins of type II, which consist of two chains. The A-chain has rRNA N-glycosidase activity and irreversibly inhibits eukaryotic ribosomes. The B-chain is a lectin and preferentially binds to galactose-terminated glycolipids and glycoproteins on cell membranes. Saccharide binding is performed by two binding sites in subdomains α1 and γ2 of the ML-I B-chain separated by ∼62 Å from each other. The favoured binding of galactose in subdomain α1 is achieved via hydrogen bonds connecting the 4-hydroxyl and 3-hydroxyl groups of the sugar moiety with the side chains of Asp23B, Gln36B and Lys41B and the main chain of 26B. The aromatic ring of Trp38B on top of the preferred binding pocket supports van der Waals packing of the apolar face of galactose and stabilizes the sugar–lectin complex. In the galactose-binding site II of subdomain γ2, Tyr249B provides the hydrophobic stacking and the side chains of Asp235B, Gln238B and Asn256B are hydrogen-bonding partners for galactose. In the case of the galactose-binding site I, the 2-hydroxyl group also stabilizes the sugar–protein complex, an interaction thus far rarely detected in galactose-specific lectins. Finally, a potential third low-affinity galactose-binding site in subunit β1 was identified in the present ML-I structures, in which a glycerol molecule from the cryoprotectant buffer has bound, mimicking the sugar compound

  12. HLA class I expression predicts prognosis and therapeutic benefits from tyrosine kinase inhibitors in metastatic renal-cell carcinoma patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jiajun; Liu, Li; Qu, Yang; Xi, Wei; Xia, Yu; Bai, Qi; Xiong, Ying; Long, Qilai; Xu, Jiejie; Guo, Jianming

    2018-01-01

    Classical HLA class I antigen is highly involved in antigen presentation and adaptive immune response against tumor. In this study, we explored its predictive value for treatment response and survival in metastatic renal-cell carcinoma (mRCC) patients. A TKI cohort of 111 mRCC patients treated with sunitinib or sorafenib and a non-TKI cohort of 160 mRCC patients treated with interleukin-2 or interferon-α-based immunotherapy at a single institution were retrospectively enrolled. HLA class I expression and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) density was assessed by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays. Association between HLA class I and CTL was also assessed in the TCGA KIRC cohort. In the TKI cohort, down-regulated HLA class I was associated with lower objective response rate of TKI therapy (P = 0.004), shorter overall survival (OS) (P = 0.001), and shorter progression free survival (PFS) (P class I was not significantly associated with survival. HLA class I expression was associated with CTL infiltration and function, and its prognostic value was more predominant in CTL high-density tumors (P class I expression can serve as a potential predictive biomarker for TKI therapy in mRCC patients. Its predictive value was restricted in CTL high-density tumors. However, further external validations and functional investigations are still required.

  13. Class I HDAC inhibition is a novel pathway for regulating astrocytic apoE secretion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dresselhaus, Erica; Duerr, James M; Vincent, Fabien; Sylvain, Emily K; Beyna, Mercedes; Lanyon, Lorraine F; LaChapelle, Erik; Pettersson, Martin; Bales, Kelly R; Ramaswamy, Gayathri

    2018-01-01

    Despite the important role of apolipoprotein E (apoE) secretion from astrocytes in brain lipid metabolism and the strong association of apoE4, one of the human apoE isoforms, with sporadic and late onset forms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) little is known about the regulation of astrocytic apoE. Utilizing annotated chemical libraries and a phenotypic screening strategy that measured apoE secretion from a human astrocytoma cell line, inhibition of pan class I histone deacetylases (HDACs) was identified as a mechanism to increase apoE secretion. Knocking down select HDAC family members alone or in combination revealed that inhibition of the class I HDAC family was responsible for enhancing apoE secretion. Knocking down LXRα and LXRβ genes revealed that the increase in astrocytic apoE in response to HDAC inhibition occurred via an LXR-independent pathway. Collectively, these data suggest that pan class I HDAC inhibition is a novel pathway for regulating astrocytic apoE secretion.

  14. MHC polymorphism and disease resistance in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar); facing pathogens with single expressed major histocompatibility class I and class II loci

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Grimholt, U.; Larsen, S.; Nordmo, R.; Midtlyng, P.; Kjoeglum, S.; Storset, A.; Saebo, S.; Stet, R.J.M.

    2003-01-01

    Few studies have yet addressed the functional aspects of MHC molecules in fish. To lay the foundation for this, we evaluated the association between disease resistance and MHC class I and class II polymorphism in Atlantic salmon. Standardized disease challenge trials were performed on a semi-wild

  15. Novel HLA Class I Alleles Associated with Indian Leprosy Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    U. Shankarkumar

    2003-01-01

    A*0101, Cw*04011, and Cw*0602 leprosy patients was observed when compared to the controls. Further haplotype A*1102-B*4006-Cw*1502 was significantly increased among the lepromatous leprosy patients when compared to the controls. It seems that HLA class I alleles play vital roles in disease association/pathogenesis with leprosy among Indians.

  16. A Latent Class Analysis of Weight-Related Health Behaviors among 2- and 4-year College Students, and Associated Risk of Obesity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathur, C; Stigler, M; Lust, K; Laska, M

    2016-01-01

    Little is known about the complex patterning of weight-related health behaviors in 2- and 4-year college students. The objective of this study was to identify and describe unique classes of weight-related health behaviors among college youth. Latent class analysis was used to identify homogenous, mutually exclusive classes of nine health behaviors which represent multiple theoretically/clinically relevant dimensions of obesity risk among 2- versus 4-year college students using cross-sectional statewide surveillance data (n= 17,584). Additionally, differences in class membership on selected sociodemographic characteristics were examined using a model-based approach. Analysis was conducted separately for both college groups, and 5 and 4 classes were identified for 2-and 4-year college students, respectively. Four classes were similar across 2-and 4-year college groups and were characterized as “mostly healthy dietary habits, active”, “moderately high screen time, active”, “moderately healthy dietary habits, inactive”, and “moderately high screen time, inactive”. “Moderately healthy dietary habits, high screen time” was the additional class unique to 2-year college students. These classes differed on a number of sociodemographic characteristics, including the proportion in each class who were classified as obese. Implications for prevention scientists and future intervention programs are considered. PMID:24990599

  17. Effects of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor on leucopenia in zidovudine-treated patients with AIDS and AIDS related complex, a phase I/II study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Wouw, P. A.; van Leeuwen, R.; van Oers, R. H.; Lange, J. M.; Danner, S. A.

    1991-01-01

    Twelve male patients, eight with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and four with AIDS related complex (ARC), who had zidovudine associated neutropenia (less than 1 x 10(9) neutrophils/l) were treated with recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in a phase I/II

  18. HLA-DPB1 and HLA class I confer risk of and protection from narcolepsy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ollila, Hanna M; Ravel, Jean-Marie; Han, Fang

    2015-01-01

    Type 1 narcolepsy, a disorder caused by a lack of hypocretin (orexin), is so strongly associated with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II HLA-DQA1(∗)01:02-DQB1(∗)06:02 (DQ0602) that very few non-DQ0602 cases have been reported. A known triggering factor for narcolepsy is pandemic 2009 influenza......-class-II-independent associations with HLA-A(∗)11:01 (OR = 1.32 [1.13-1.54], p = 4.92 × 10(-4)), HLA-B(∗)35:03 (OR = 1.96 [1.41-2.70], p = 5.14 × 10(-5)), and HLA-B(∗)51:01 (OR = 1.49 [1.25-1.78], p = 1.09 × 10(-5)) were also seen across ethnic groups in the HLA class I region. These effects might reflect modulation...... of autoimmunity or indirect effects of HLA class I and HLA-DP alleles on response to viral infections such as that of influenza....

  19. Kill or Cure? Different Types of Social Class Identification Amplify and Buffer the Relation between Social Class and Mental Health

    OpenAIRE

    Rubin, Mark

    2017-01-01

    The present research investigated different types of social class identification as moderators of the negative relation between social class and mental health problems. Psychology undergraduates (N = 355) completed an online survey that included measures of social class, mental health and well-being, and three aspects of social class identification: importance of identity, salience of identity, and perceived self-class similarity. Perceived self-class similarity buffered the negative associat...

  20. I PROMESSI SPOSI: PERCORSO DIDATTICO IN UNA CLASSE INTERCULTURALE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Loredana Colombo

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Il percorso proposto nasce dalla consapevolezza che la presenza di alunni non italofoni nel nostro sistema scolastico è, per i docenti, occasione di aggiornarsi e cercare nuove strategie didattiche, e, per tutti, motivo di arricchimento umano e culturale. Le innegabili difficoltà che presenta l’insegnamento in una classe multiculturale sono particolarmente evidenti quando si affrontano testi letterari, per una serie di ovvie ragioni: le difficoltà legate ad una lingua spesso lontanissima dall’italiano standard, vicende che sono inserite in un passato storico-sociale completamente sconosciuto ai non italofoni, uso di figure retoriche, richiami mitologici, riferimenti religiosi ed artistici. Si è colta la sfida con il presentare un percorso attraverso i primi otto capitoli dei Promessi Sposi che persegua l’obiettivo di sviluppare le competenze linguistiche e di favorire la conoscenza reciproca e l’integrazione, attraverso la narrazione, l’attività di didattica attiva e laboratoriale e il cooperative learning.I PROMESSI SPOSI: A DIDACTIC EXPERIENCE IN ANINTERCULTURAL CLASSThis experience stems from the awareness that the presence of non-Italian speaking students in our school system is an occasion for teachers to acquire new teaching strategies as well as offering human and cultural enrichment for everyone. The undeniable difficulties in teaching a multicultural class are particularly evident when literary texts are dealt with, for a series of obvious reasons: difficulties linked to unusual, non-standardized Italian, events set in historical-social settings which are completely unfamiliar to foreign students, the use of rhetorical figures, mythological, religious and artistic references. To face this challenge, we present an experience dealing with the first 8 chapters of I Promessi Sposi aimed at developing linguistic competence and encouraging mutual knowledge and integration, through narration, active learning activities and

  1. Class relations and all-cause mortality: a test of Wright's social class scheme using the Barcelona 2000 Health Interview Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muntaner, Carles; Borrell, Carme; Solà, Judit; Marí-Dell'Olmo, Marc; Chung, Haejoo; Rodríguez-Sanz, Maica; Benach, Joan; Rocha, Kátia B; Ng, Edwin

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this study is to test the effects of neo-Marxian social class and potential mediators such as labor market position, work organization, material deprivation, and health behaviors on all-cause mortality. The authors use longitudinal data from the Barcelona 2000 Health Interview Survey (N=7526), with follow-up interviews through the municipal census in 2008 (95.97% response rate). Using data on relations of property, organizational power, and education, the study groups social classes according to Wright's scheme: capitalists, petit bourgeoisie, managers, supervisors, and skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled workers. Findings indicate that social class, measured as relations of control over productive assets, is an important predictor of mortality among working-class men but not women. Workers (hazard ratio = 1.60; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-2.35) but also managers and small employers had a higher risk of death compared with capitalists. The extensive use of conventional gradient measures of social stratification has neglected sociological measures of social class conceptualized as relations of control over productive assets. This concept is capable of explaining how social inequalities are generated. To confirm the protective effect of the capitalist class position and the "contradictory class location hypothesis," additional efforts are needed to properly measure class among low-level supervisors, capitalists, managers, and small employers.

  2. Characteristic classes, singular embeddings, and intersection homology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cappell, S E; Shaneson, J L

    1987-06-01

    This note announces some results on the relationship between global invariants and local topological structure. The first section gives a local-global formula for Pontrjagin classes or L-classes. The second section describes a corresponding decomposition theorem on the level of complexes of sheaves. A final section mentions some related aspects of "singular knot theory" and the study of nonisolated singularities. Analogous equivariant analogues, with local-global formulas for Atiyah-Singer classes and their relations to G-signatures, will be presented in a future paper.

  3. Class 1 devices case studies in medical devices design

    CERN Document Server

    Ogrodnik, Peter J

    2014-01-01

    The Case Studies in Medical Devices Design series consists of practical, applied case studies relating to medical device design in industry. These titles complement Ogrodnik's Medical Device Design and will assist engineers with applying the theory in practice. The case studies presented directly relate to Class I, Class IIa, Class IIb and Class III medical devices. Designers and companies who wish to extend their knowledge in a specific discipline related to their respective class of operation will find any or all of these titles a great addition to their library. Class 1 Devices is a companion text to Medical Devices Design: Innovation from Concept to Market. The intention of this book, and its sister books in the series, is to support the concepts presented in Medical Devices Design through case studies. In the context of this book the case studies consider Class I (EU) and 510(k) exempt (FDA) . This book covers classifications, the conceptual and embodiment phase, plus design from idea to PDS. These title...

  4. Outcome quality and long-term (≥15 years) stability after Class II:2 Herbst-multibracket appliance treatment in comparison to untreated Class I controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bock, Niko C; Saffar, Mitra; Hudel, Helge; Evälahti, Marjut; Heikinheimo, Kaisa; Rice, David P; Ruf, Sabine

    2017-12-09

    To investigate the outcome quality and the long-term (≥15 years) post-treatment (Tx) changes after Class II:2 Herbst-multibracket appliance (MBA) Tx. In this longitudinal observational study, a recall of Class II:2 patients who had been treated by a Herbst-MBA during adolescence was conducted. Study models from before and after active Tx, after retention and after recall were assessed using standard occlusal variables and the peer assessment rating index (PAR). These data were compared to historical untreated Class I controls. Twenty out of 33 patients (61%) could be located and participated at age 33.9 ± 2.7 years. When comparing their data to the 13 patients who did not participate, the pre- and post-Tx occlusal findings did not differ systematically; however, the PAR scores of the non-participants were by 3.3-8.2 points higher at all times and the non-participants were 2.1-2.5 years older. Pre-Tx at age 14.4 ± 2.7 years, the participants showed the following mean values: PAR = 15.0 ± 7.0, Class II molar relationship (MR) = 0.8 ± 0.3 cusp widths (cw), overbite = 5.3 ± 1.3 mm. After Tx, a PAR score of 2.9 ± 1.3 and a super Class I MR (-0.1 ± 0.1 cw) with normal overbite (1.2 ± 0.8 mm) existed. At recall, a PAR score increase to 5.9 ± 3.6 points had occurred, mainly caused by an increase of overbite to 2.5 ± 1.5 mm. The average MR remained Class I (0.0 ± 0.2 cw). For all variables, the untreated controls exhibited similar findings. The occlusal outcome of Class II:2 Herbst-MBA Tx exhibited very good long-term stability. While mild post-Tx changes occurred, the long-term findings are similar to untreated Class I controls. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Orthodontic Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

  5. ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN RELATION TO THEIR SOCIAL POSITION IN THE CLASS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivana Poledňová

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The study was based on a theoretical presumption that social climate and relationships in the class can be in specific ways connected with students’ achievement motivation. Previous research in the area of student motivation was mostly based on self-reports and was therefore focused on explicit motives, i.e. personal goals which the respondents strived for. Self-report measures of motivation, however, can be affected by biases and misperceptions of one’s own self. Our study approached achievement motivation at its implicit, i.e. non-conscious level. It was conducted with students in five classes of a secondary school, N = 138, 107 female and 31 male, with an average age of 17 years. The respondents were administered a sociometric questionnaire and the projective Thematic Apperception Test (TAT in McClelland´s adaptation using Heckhausen´s content-analytical clue for the measurement of achievement motivation. The hypothesized relation between social position in class and achievement motivation was only partly supported. Affiliation was unrelated to achievement motivation, even when analyzed for both achievement motives separately. We found a slight negative relationship between influence in the class and achievement motivation, especially with the motive to achieve success. These results, partly diverging from theoretical presumptions, can be explained in terms of specific features of the sample as well as a general methodological disparity in previous research, especially a lack of differentiation between implicit and explicit motives in the interpretation of the findings.

  6. The phosphorylation pattern of bovine heart complex I subunits

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Palmisano, Giuseppe; Sardanelli, Anna Maria; Signorile, Anna

    2007-01-01

    The phosphoproteome of bovine heart complex I of the respiratory chain has been analysed with a procedure based on nondenaturing gel electrophoretic separation of complex I from small quantities of mitochondria samples, in-gel digestion, in combination with phosphopeptide enrichment by titanium d...

  7. Native IgG2a(b) is barely antigenic to major histocompatibility complex class II-restricted T cells owing to inefficient internalization by professional antigen-presenting cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartnes, K; Hannestad, K

    2000-04-01

    Peptide epitopes derived from immunoglobulin variable regions represent tumour-specific antigens on B-cell neoplasms and can be recognized by syngeneic, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II-restricted T cells. Immunoglobulin peptide/MHC class II complexes may also be involved in autoimmunity and CD4+ T-cell-mediated B-cell regulation. Thus, the IgG2a(b) H-chain allopeptide gamma2a(b) 435-451 presented on I-Ad mimics the epitope implicated in herpes simplex virus-induced autoimmune stromal keratitis and is the target of T helper 1 (Th1) clones that suppress IgG2a(b) production in vivo. We here report that spleen and thymus cells constitutively present the autologous gamma2a(b) epitope to a gamma2a(b) 435-451/I-A(d) reactive T-cell hybridoma as a function of the animal housing conditions (specific pathogen-free or not) and the serum levels of IgG2a(b). Constitutive presentation in the spleen was predominantly performed by dendritic cells. Whereas spleen cells poorly presented native IgG2a(b) to a gamma2a(b) 435-451/I-A(d) reactive T-cell hybridoma, IgG2a(b) in the form of immune complexes were presented > 200-fold more efficiently owing to internalization via low-affinity FcgammaR on macrophages. The antigenicity could also be improved by homotypic aggregation and by targeting IgG2a(b) to complement receptors on the A20 B-cell lymphoma. Mice without detectable IgG2a(b)-containing immune complexes typically exhibited minimal constitutive presentation. Nevertheless, native IgG2a(b) can sensitize antigen-presenting cells in vivo, as mice that were devoid of immune complexes and carried an IgG2a(b)-producing tumour did present constitutively, even at physiological IgG2a(b) serum levels. Whereas the amounts of IgG released from most B-cell lymphomas may be too low to allow spontaneous priming of tumour-specific MHC class II-restricted T cells, administration of tumour immunoglobulin in aggregated form might improve the efficacy of idiotype vaccination.

  8. iCub-HRI: A Software Framework for Complex Human–Robot Interaction Scenarios on the iCub Humanoid Robot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tobias Fischer

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Generating complex, human-like behavior in a humanoid robot like the iCub requires the integration of a wide range of open source components and a scalable cognitive architecture. Hence, we present the iCub-HRI library which provides convenience wrappers for components related to perception (object recognition, agent tracking, speech recognition, and touch detection, object manipulation (basic and complex motor actions, and social interaction (speech synthesis and joint attention exposed as a C++ library with bindings for Java (allowing to use iCub-HRI within Matlab and Python. In addition to previously integrated components, the library allows for simple extension to new components and rapid prototyping by adapting to changes in interfaces between components. We also provide a set of modules which make use of the library, such as a high-level knowledge acquisition module and an action recognition module. The proposed architecture has been successfully employed for a complex human–robot interaction scenario involving the acquisition of language capabilities, execution of goal-oriented behavior and expression of a verbal narrative of the robot’s experience in the world. Accompanying this paper is a tutorial which allows a subset of this interaction to be reproduced. The architecture is aimed at researchers familiarizing themselves with the iCub ecosystem, as well as expert users, and we expect the library to be widely used in the iCub community.

  9. Three Cyanide-Bridged One-Dimensional Single Chain Co"I"I"I-Mn"I"I Complexes: Rational Design, Synthesis, Crystal Structures and Magnetic Properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Daopeng; Zhao, Zengdian; Wang, Ping; Chen, Xia

    2012-01-01

    Two pyridinecarboxamide dicyanidecobalt(III) building blocks and two mononuclear seven-coordinated macrocycle manganese(II) compounds have been rationally selected to assemble cyanide-bridged heterobimetallic complexes, resulting in three cyanide-bridged Co"I"I"I-Mn"I"I complexes. Single X-ray diffraction analysis show that these complexes {[Mn(L"1)][Co(bpb)]}ClO_4·CH_3OH·0.5H_2O (1), {[Mn(L"2)][Co(bpb)]}ClO_4·0.5CH_3OH (2) and {[Mn(L"1)][Cobpmb]}ClO_4·H_2O (3) (L"1 = 3,6-diazaoctane-1,8-diamine, L"2 = 3,6-dioxaoctano-1,8- diamine: bpb"2"- = 1,2-bis(pyridine-2-carboxamido)benzenate, bpmb"2"- = 1,2-bis(pyridine-2-carboxamido)-4- methyl-benzenate) all present predictable one-dimensional single chain structures. The molecular structures of these one-dimensional complexes consists of alternating units of [Mn(L)]"2"+ (L = L"1 or L"2) and [Co(L')(CN)_2]"- (L' = bpb"2"-, or bpmb"2"-), forming a cyanide-bridged cationic polymeric chain with free ClO_4"- as the balance anion. The coordination geometry of manganese(II) ion in the three one-dimensional complexes is a slightly distorted pentagonal-bipyrimidal with two cyanide nitrogen atoms at the trans positions and N_5 or N_3O_2 coordinating mode at the equatorial plane from ligand L"1 or L"2. Investigation over magnetic properties of these complexes reveals that the very weak magnetic coupling between neighboring Mn(II) ions connected by the diamagnetic dicyanidecobalt(III) building block. A best-fit to the magnetic susceptibility of complex 1 leads to the magnetic coupling constants J = .0.084(3) cm"-"1

  10. The Complex Neutrosophic Soft Expert Relation and Its Multiple Attribute Decision-Making Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashraf Al-Quran

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper introduces a novel soft computing technique, called the complex neutrosophic soft expert relation (CNSER, to evaluate the degree of interaction between two hybrid models called complex neutrosophic soft expert sets (CNSESs. CNSESs are used to represent two-dimensional data that are imprecise, uncertain, incomplete and indeterminate. Moreover, it has a mechanism to incorporate the parameter set and the opinions of all experts in one model, thus making it highly suitable for use in decision-making problems where the time factor plays a key role in determining the final decision. The complex neutrosophic soft expert set and complex neutrosophic soft expert relation are both defined. Utilizing the properties of CNSER introduced, an empirical study is conducted on the relationship between the variability of the currency exchange rate and Malaysian exports and the time frame (phase of the interaction between these two variables. This study is supported further by an algorithm to determine the type and the degree of this relationship. A comparison between different existing relations and CNSER to show the ascendancy of our proposed CNSER is provided. Then, the notion of the inverse, complement and composition of CNSERs along with some related theorems and properties are introduced. Finally, we define the symmetry, transitivity and reflexivity of CNSERs, as well as the equivalence relation and equivalence classes on CNSESs. Some interesting properties are also obtained.

  11. [Size of lower jaw as an early indicator of skeletal class III development].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stojanović, Zdenka; Nikodijević, Angelina; Udovicić, Bozidar; Milić, Jasmina; Nikolić, Predrag

    2008-08-01

    Malocclusion of skeletal class III is a complex abnormality, with a characteristic sagital position of the lower jaw in front of the upper one. A higher level of prognatism of the lower jaw in relation to the upper one can be the consequence of its excessive length. The aim of this study was to find the differences in the length of the lower jaw in the children with skeletal class III and the children with normal sagital interjaw relation (skeletal class I) in the period of mixed dentition. After clinical and x-ray diagnostics, profile tele-x-rays of the head were analyzed in 60 examinees with mixed dentition, aged from 6 to 12 years. The examinees were divided into two groups: group 1--the children with skeletal class III and group 2--the children with skeletal class I. The length of the lower jaw, upper jaw and cranial base were measured. The proportional relations between the lengths measured within each group were established and the level of difference in the lengths measured and their proportions between the groups were estimated. No significant difference between the groups was found in the body length, ramus and the total length of the lower jaw. Proportional relation between the body length and the length of the lower jaw ramus and proportional relation between the forward cranial base and the lower jaw body were not significantly different. A significant difference was found in proportional relations of the total length of the lower jaw with the total lengths of cranial base and the upper jaw and proportional relation of the length of the lower and upper jaw body. Of all the analyzed parameters, the following were selected as the early indicators of the development of skeletal class III on the lower jaw: greater total length of the lower jaw, proportional to the total lengths of cranial base and theupper jaw, as well as greater length of the lower jaw body, proportional to the length of the upper jaw body.

  12. Modes of salmonid MHC class I and II evolution differ from the primate paradigm

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shum, B.P.; Guethlein, L.; Flodin, L.R.; Adkison, M.A.; Hedrick, R.P.; Nehring, R.B.; Stet, R.J.M.; Secombes, C.; Parham, P.

    2001-01-01

    Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) represent two salmonid genera separated for 15-20 million years. cDNA sequences were determined for the classical MHC class I heavy chain gene UBA and the MHC class II β-chain gene DAB from 15 rainbow and 10 brown trout. Both genes

  13. Complex manifolds in relativity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Flaherty, E.J. Jr.

    1975-01-01

    Complex manifold theory is applied to the study of certain problems in general relativity. The first half of the work is devoted to the mathematical theory of complex manifold. Then a brief review of general relativity is given. It is shown that any spacetime admits locally an almost Hermitian structure, suitably modified to be compatible with the indefinite metric of spacetime. This structure is integrable if and only if the spacetime admits two geodesic and shearfree null congruences, thus in particular if the spacetime is type D vacuum or electrified. The structure is ''half-integrable'' in a suitable sense if and only if the spacetime admits one geodesic and shearfree null congruence, thus in particular for all algebraically special vacuum spacetimes. Conditions for the modified Hermitian spacetime to be Kahlerian are presented. The most general metric for such a modified Kahlerian spacetime is found. It is shown that the type D vacuum and electrified spacetimes are conformally related to modified Kahlerian spacetimes by a generally complex conformal factor. These latter are shown to possess a very rich structure, including the existence of Killing tensors and Killing vectors. A new ''explanation'' of Newman's complex coordinate transformations is given. It is felt to be superior to previous ''explanations'' on several counts. For example, a physical interpretation in terms of a symmetry group is given. The existence of new complex coordinate transformations is established: Nt is shown that any type D vacuum spacetime is obtainable from either Schwarzschild spacetime or ''C'' spacetime by a complex coordinate transformation. Finally, some related topics are discussed and areas for future work are outlined. (Diss. Abstr. Int., B)

  14. The role of placental MHC class I expression in immune-assisted separation of the fetal membranes in cattle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benedictus, Lindert; Koets, Ad P; Rutten, Victor P M G

    2015-11-01

    The bovine fetus, like that of other species, is a semi-allograft and the regulation of materno-fetal alloimmunity is critical to prevent its immunological rejection. In cattle, a materno-fetal alloimmune response may be beneficial at parturition. It is hypothesized that upregulation of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I on the fetal membranes toward the end of gestation induces a maternal alloimmune response that activates innate immune effector mechanisms, aiding in the loss of the adherence between the fetal membranes and the uterus. Loss of fetal-maternal adherence is pivotal for the timely expulsion of the fetal membranes and the absence (or reduction) of the maternal immune response may lead to retained fetal membranes, a common reproductive disorder of cattle. Currently, there is no effective treatment for retained fetal membranes and a better understanding of materno-fetal alloimmune-assisted separation of the fetal membranes may lead to novel targets for the treatment of retained fetal membranes. In this review, the regulation of materno-fetal alloimmunity during pregnancy in cattle, with a focus on placental MHC class I expression, and the importance of maternal alloimmunity for the timely separation of the fetal membranes, are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Characteristics of MHC class I genes in house sparrows Passer domesticus as revealed by long cDNA transcripts and amplicon sequencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karlsson, Maria; Westerdahl, Helena

    2013-08-01

    In birds the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) organization differs both among and within orders; chickens Gallus gallus of the order Galliformes have a simple arrangement, while many songbirds of the order Passeriformes have a more complex arrangement with larger numbers of MHC class I and II genes. Chicken MHC genes are found at two independent loci, classical MHC-B and non-classical MHC-Y, whereas non-classical MHC genes are yet to be verified in passerines. Here we characterize MHC class I transcripts (α1 to α3 domain) and perform amplicon sequencing using a next-generation sequencing technique on exon 3 from house sparrow Passer domesticus (a passerine) families. Then we use phylogenetic, selection, and segregation analyses to gain a better understanding of the MHC class I organization. Trees based on the α1 and α2 domain revealed a distinct cluster with short terminal branches for transcripts with a 6-bp deletion. Interestingly, this cluster was not seen in the tree based on the α3 domain. 21 exon 3 sequences were verified in a single individual and the average numbers within an individual were nine and five for sequences with and without a 6-bp deletion, respectively. All individuals had exon 3 sequences with and without a 6-bp deletion. The sequences with a 6-bp deletion have many characteristics in common with non-classical MHC, e.g., highly conserved amino acid positions were substituted compared with the other alleles, low nucleotide diversity and just a single site was subject to positive selection. However, these alleles also have characteristics that suggest they could be classical, e.g., complete linkage and absence of a distinct cluster in a tree based on the α3 domain. Thus, we cannot determine for certain whether or not the alleles with a 6-bp deletion are non-classical based on our present data. Further analyses on segregation patterns of these alleles in combination with dating the 6-bp deletion through MHC characterization across the

  16. H-2RIIBP, a member of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily that binds to both the regulatory element of major histocompatibility class I genes and the estrogen response element.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamada, K; Gleason, S L; Levi, B Z; Hirschfeld, S; Appella, E; Ozato, K

    1989-11-01

    Transcription of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I genes is regulated by the conserved MHC class I regulatory element (CRE). The CRE has two factor-binding sites, region I and region II, both of which elicit enhancer function. By screening a mouse lambda gt 11 library with the CRE as a probe, we isolated a cDNA clone that encodes a protein capable of binding to region II of the CRE. This protein, H-2RIIBP (H-2 region II binding protein), bound to the native region II sequence, but not to other MHC cis-acting sequences or to mutant region II sequences, similar to the naturally occurring region II factor in mouse cells. The deduced amino acid sequence of H-2RIIBP revealed two putative zinc fingers homologous to the DNA-binding domain of steroid/thyroid hormone receptors. Although sequence similarity in other regions was minimal, H-2RIIBP has apparent modular domains characteristic of the nuclear hormone receptors. Further analyses showed that both H-2RIIBP and the natural region II factor bind to the estrogen response element (ERE) of the vitellogenin A2 gene. The ERE is composed of a palindrome, and half of this palindrome resembles the region II binding site of the MHC CRE. These results indicate that H-2RIIBP (i) is a member of the superfamily of nuclear hormone receptors and (ii) may regulate not only MHC class I genes but also genes containing the ERE and related sequences. Sequences homologous to the H-2RIIBP gene are widely conserved in the animal kingdom. H-2RIIBP mRNA is expressed in many mouse tissues, in agreement with the distribution of the natural region II factor.

  17. On PR group classes and PR algebra membership

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lebedenko, V.M.

    1978-01-01

    The necessary and sufficient conditions are found for the membership of Lee algebras to PR algebra class, to algebras with commutation relations of [Hsub(i), Hsub(j)]=rsub(ij)Hsub(i) (i< j) type. Due to this, a criterion is obtained for the membership of the Lee froups to PR group classes, connected and simply connected Lee groups, which Lee algebras are PR algebras

  18. Probing natural killer cell education by Ly49 receptor expression analysis and computational modelling in single MHC class I mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sofia Johansson

    Full Text Available Murine natural killer (NK cells express inhibitory Ly49 receptors for MHC class I molecules, which allows for "missing self" recognition of cells that downregulate MHC class I expression. During murine NK cell development, host MHC class I molecules impose an "educating impact" on the NK cell pool. As a result, mice with different MHC class I expression display different frequency distributions of Ly49 receptor combinations on NK cells. Two models have been put forward to explain this impact. The two-step selection model proposes a stochastic Ly49 receptor expression followed by selection for NK cells expressing appropriate receptor combinations. The sequential model, on the other hand, proposes that each NK cell sequentially expresses Ly49 receptors until an interaction of sufficient magnitude with self-class I MHC is reached for the NK cell to mature. With the aim to clarify which one of these models is most likely to reflect the actual biological process, we simulated the two educational schemes by mathematical modelling, and fitted the results to Ly49 expression patterns, which were analyzed in mice expressing single MHC class I molecules. Our results favour the two-step selection model over the sequential model. Furthermore, the MHC class I environment favoured maturation of NK cells expressing one or a few self receptors, suggesting a possible step of positive selection in NK cell education. Based on the predicted Ly49 binding preferences revealed by the model, we also propose, that Ly49 receptors are more promiscuous than previously thought in their interactions with MHC class I molecules, which was supported by functional studies of NK cell subsets expressing individual Ly49 receptors.

  19. Kill or cure? Different types of social class identification amplify and buffer the relation between social class and mental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rubin, Mark; Stuart, Rebecca

    2018-01-01

    The present research investigated different types of social class identification as moderators of the negative relation between social class and mental health problems. Psychology undergraduates (N = 355) completed an online survey that included measures of social class, mental health and well-being, and three aspects of social class identification: importance of identity, salience of identity, and perceived self-class similarity. Perceived self-class similarity buffered the negative association between social class and depressive symptoms. However, importance and salience of social class identity amplified the associations between social class and anxiety and life satisfaction. These findings contribute to a more sophisticated understanding of the way in which social identification may operate as a social cure.

  20. Mitochondrial respiratory complex I probed by delayed luminescence spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baran, Irina; Ionescu, Diana; Privitera, Simona; Scordino, Agata; Mocanu, Maria Magdalena; Musumeci, Francesco; Grasso, Rosaria; Gulino, Marisa; Iftime, Adrian; Tofolean, Ioana Teodora; Garaiman, Alexandru; Goicea, Alexandru; Irimia, Ruxandra; Dimancea, Alexandru; Ganea, Constanta

    2013-12-01

    The role of mitochondrial complex I in ultraweak photon-induced delayed photon emission [delayed luminescence (DL)] of human leukemia Jurkat T cells was probed by using complex I targeting agents like rotenone, menadione, and quercetin. Rotenone, a complex I-specific inhibitor, dose-dependently increased the mitochondrial level of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), decreased clonogenic survival, and induced apoptosis. A strong correlation was found between the mitochondrial levels of NADH and oxidized flavin mononucleotide (FMNox) in rotenone-, menadione- and quercetin-treated cells. Rotenone enhanced DL dose-dependently, whereas quercetin and menadione inhibited DL as well as NADH or FMNox. Collectively, the data suggest that DL of Jurkat cells originates mainly from mitochondrial complex I, which functions predominantly as a dimer and less frequently as a tetramer. In individual monomers, both pairs of pyridine nucleotide (NADH/reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) sites and flavin (FMN-a/FMN-b) sites appear to bind cooperatively their specific ligands. Enhancement of delayed red-light emission by rotenone suggests that the mean time for one-electron reduction of ubiquinone or FMN-a by the terminal Fe/S center (N2) is 20 or 284 μs, respectively. All these findings suggest that DL spectroscopy could be used as a reliable, sensitive, and robust technique to probe electron flow within complex I in situ.

  1. Distinct Classes of Negative Alcohol-Related Consequences in a National Sample of Incoming First-Year College Students: A Latent Class Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rinker, Dipali Venkataraman; Diamond, Pamela M; Walters, Scott T; Wyatt, Todd M; DeJong, William

    2016-09-01

    : First-year college students are at particular risk for experiencing negative alcohol-related consequences that may set the stage for experiencing such consequences in later life. Latent class analysis is a person-centered approach that, based on observable indicator variables, divides a population into mutually exclusive and exhaustive groups ('classes'). To date, no studies have examined the latent class structure of negative alcohol-related consequences experienced by first-year college students just before entering college. The aims of this study were to (a) identify classes of first-year college students based on the patterns of negative alcohol-related consequences they experienced just before entering college, and (b) determine whether specific covariates were associated with class membership. Incoming freshmen from 148 colleges and universities (N = 54,435) completed a baseline questionnaire as part of an alcohol education program they completed just prior to their first year of college. Participants answered questions regarding demographics and other personal characteristics, their alcohol use in the past 2 weeks, and the negative alcohol-related consequences they had experienced during that time. Four distinct classes of students emerged: (a) No Problems, (b) Academic Problems, (c) Injured Self and (d) Severe Problems. Average number of drinks per drinking day, total number of drinking days, age of drinking initiation, intention to join a fraternity or sorority and family history of alcohol problems were associated with membership in all of the problem classes relative to the No Problems class. These results can inform future campus-based prevention efforts. © The Author 2016. Medical Council on Alcohol and Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

  2. Operationalizing Max Weber's probability concept of class situation: the concept of social class.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Ken

    2007-03-01

    In this essay I take seriously Max Weber's astonishingly neglected claim that class situation may be defined, not in categorial terms, but probabilistically. I then apply this idea to another equally neglected claim made by Weber that the boundaries of social classes may be determined by the degree of social mobility within such classes. Taking these two ideas together I develop the idea of a non-categorial boundary 'surface' between classes and of a social class 'corridor' made up of all those people who are still to be found within the boundaries of the social class into which they were born. I call social mobility within a social class 'intra-class social mobility' and social mobility between classes 'inter-class social mobility'. I also claim that this distinction resolves the dispute between those sociologists who claim that late industrial societies are still highly class bound and those who think that this is no longer the case. Both schools are right I think, but one is referring to a high degree of intra-class social mobility and the other to an equally high degree of inter-class mobility. Finally I claim that this essay provides sociology with only one example among many other possible applications of how probability theory might usefully be used to overcome boundary problems generally in sociology.

  3. Stability of rotor systems: A complex modelling approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kliem, Wolfhard; Pommer, Christian; Stoustrup, Jakob

    1998-01-01

    The dynamics of a large class of rotor systems can be modelled by a linearized complex matrix differential equation of second order, Mz + (D + iG)(z) over dot + (K + iN)z = 0, where the system matrices M, D, G, K and N are real symmetric. Moreover M and K are assumed to be positive definite and D...... approach applying bounds of appropriate Rayleigh quotients. The rotor systems tested are: a simple Laval rotor, a Laval rotor with additional elasticity and damping in the bearings, and a number of rotor systems with complex symmetric 4 x 4 randomly generated matrices.......The dynamics of a large class of rotor systems can be modelled by a linearized complex matrix differential equation of second order, Mz + (D + iG)(z) over dot + (K + iN)z = 0, where the system matrices M, D, G, K and N are real symmetric. Moreover M and K are assumed to be positive definite and D...

  4. Kidney graft recipients with pretransplantation HLA CLASS I antibodies and high soluble CD30 are at high risk for graft loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez, Libia M; París, Sara C; Arbeláez, Mario; Cotes, José M; Süsal, Caner; Torres, Yolanda; García, Luís F

    2007-08-01

    In the present study, we investigated whether pretransplantation HLA class I and class II antibodies and pretransplantation levels of soluble CD30 (sCD30) and IgA anti-Fab autoantibodies are predictive of kidney allograft survival. Pretransplantation sera of 504 deceased-donor kidney recipients were tested for IgG HLA class I and class II antibodies, sCD30, and IgA anti-Fab levels using the CTS 4 ELISA kit. Kidney graft survival was estimated by Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate Cox regression. Regardless of the presence of HLA class II antibodies, recipients with high HLA class I reactivity had lower 1-year graft survival than recipients with low reactivity (p sCD30 had lower 5-year graft survival rate than those with low sCD30 (p sCD30 effect was observed in presensitized and nonsensitized recipients, demonstrated a synergistic effect with HLA class I antibodies (p kidney graft survival. Our results indicate that high pretransplantation sCD30 levels and HLA class I positivity increase the risk of kidney graft loss regardless of other factors. Consequently, such determinations should be routinely performed to estimate recipients' risks of graft rejection before transplantation.

  5. Complex assembly, crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic studies of rhesus macaque MHC Mamu-A*01 complexed with an immunodominant SIV-Gag nonapeptide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chu, Fuliang; Lou, Zhiyong; Gao, Bin; Bell, John I.; Rao, Zihe; Gao, George F.

    2005-01-01

    Crystallization of the first rhesus macaque MHC class I complex. Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection in rhesus macaques has been used as the best model for the study of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in humans, especially in the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response. However, the structure of rhesus macaque (or any other monkey model) major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) presenting a specific peptide (the ligand for CTL) has not yet been elucidated. Here, using in vitro refolding, the preparation of the complex of the rhesus macaque MHC I allele (Mamu-A*01) with human β 2 m and an immunodominant peptide, CTPYDINQM (Gag-CM9), derived from SIV Gag protein is reported. The complex (45 kDa) was crystallized; the crystal belongs to space group I422, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 183.8, c = 155.2 Å. The crystal contains two molecules in the asymmetric unit and diffracts X-rays to 2.8 Å resolution. The structure is being solved by molecular replacement and this is the first attempt to determined the crystal structure of a peptide–nonhuman primate MHC complex

  6. AN MHC class I immune evasion gene of Marek's disease virus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marek's disease virus (MDV) is a widespread a-herpesvirus of chickens that causes T cell tumors. Acute, but not latent, MDV infection has previously been shown to lead to downregulation of cell-surface MHC class I (Virology 282:198–205 (2001)), but the gene(s) involved have not been identified. Here...

  7. Killing of Human Melanoma Cells Induced by Activation of Class I Interferon–Regulated Signaling Pathways via MDA-7/IL-24

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ekmekcioglu, Suhendan; Mumm, John B.; Udtha, Malini; Chada, Sunil; Grimm, Elizabeth A.

    2008-01-01

    Restoration of the tumor-suppression function by gene transfer of the melanoma differentiation-associated gene 7 (MDA7)/interleukin 24 (IL-24) successfully induces apoptosis in melanoma tumors in vivo. To address the molecular mechanisms involved, we previously revealed that MDA7/IL-24 treatment of melanoma cells down-regulates interferon regulatory factor (IRF)-1 expression and concomitantly up-regulates IRF-2 expression, which competes with the activity of IRF-1 and reverses the induction of IRF-1–regulated inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Interferons (IFNs) influence melanoma cell survival by modulating apoptosis. A class I IFN (IFN alfa) has been approved for the treatment of advanced melanoma with some limited success. A class II IFN (IFN gamma), on the other hand, supports melanoma cell survival, possibly through constitutive activation of iNOS expression. We therefore conducted this study to explore the molecular pathways of MDA7/IL-24 regulation of apoptosis via the intracellular induction of IFNs in melanoma. We hypothesized that the restoration of the MDA7/IL-24 axis leads to upregulation of Class I IFNs and induction of the apoptotic cascade. We found that MDA7/IL-24 induces the secretion of endogenous IFN beta, another class I IFN, leading to the arrest of melanoma cell growth and apoptosis. We also identified a series of apoptotic markers that play a role in this pathway, including the regulation of tumor necrosis factor–related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and Fas-FasL. In summary, we described a novel pathway of MDA7/IL-24 regulation of apoptosis in melanoma tumors via endogenous IFN beta induction followed by IRF regulation and TRAIL/FasL system activation. PMID:18511292

  8. Genetic variation and selection of MHC class I loci differ in two congeneric frogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiemnec-Tyburczy, Karen M; Tracy, Karen E; Lips, Karen R; Zamudio, Kelly R

    2018-04-01

    Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes encode proteins in the acquired immune response pathway that often show distinctive selection-driven patterns in wild vertebrate populations. We examined genetic variation and signatures of selection in the MHC class I alpha 1 (A1)- and alpha 2 (A2)-domain encoding exons of two frog congeners [Agalychnis callidryas (n = 20) and A. lemur (n = 20)] from a single locality in Panama. We also investigated how historical demographic processes may have impacted MHC genetic diversity by analyzing a neutral mitochondrial marker. We found that both MHC domains were highly variable in both species, with both species likely expressing three loci. Our analyses revealed different signatures of selection between the two species, most notably that the A. callidryas A2 domain had experienced positive selection while the A2 domain of A. lemur had not. Diversifying selection acted on the same number of A1 and A2 allelic lineages, but on a higher percentage of A1 sites compared to A2 sites. Neutrality tests of mitochondrial haplotypes predominately indicated that the two species were at genetic equilibrium when the samples were collected. In addition, two historical tests of demography indicated both species have had relatively stable population sizes over the past 100,000 years; thus large population size changes are unlikely to have greatly influenced MHC diversity in either species during this time period. In conclusion, our results suggest that the impact of selection on MHC diversity varied between these two closely related species, likely due to a combination of distinct ecological conditions and past pathogenic pressures.

  9. Sinus lifting before Le Fort I maxillary osteotomy: a suitable method for oral rehabilitation of edentulous patients with skelettal class-III conditions: review of the literature and report of a case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meyer Ulrich

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Functional rehabilitation of patients afflicted with severe mandibular and maxillary alveolar atrophy might be challenging especially in malformed patients. Methods Treatment planning using sinus lifting and implant placement before Le Fort I maxillary osteotomy in a patient with severe mandibular and posterior maxillary alveolar atrophy and skelettal class-III conditions due to cleft palate are described. Results A full functional and esthetic rehabilitation of the patient was achieved by a stepwise surgical approach performed through sinus lifting as the primary approach followed by implant placement and subsequent Le Fort I maxillary osteotomy to correct the maxillo-mandibular relation. Conclusion Stabilisation of the maxillary complex by a sinus lifting procedure in combination with computer aided implant placement as preorthodontic planning procedure before Le Fort I maxillary osteotomy seems to be suitable in order to allow ideal oral rehabilitation especially in malformed patients.

  10. Characterization of MHC class I in a long distance migratory wader, the Icelandic black-tailed godwit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pardal, Sara; Drews, Anna; Alves, José A; Ramos, Jaime A; Westerdahl, Helena

    2017-07-01

    The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) encodes proteins that are central for antigen presentation and pathogen elimination. MHC class I (MHC-I) genes have attracted a great deal of interest among researchers in ecology and evolution and have been partly characterized in a wide range of bird species. So far, the main focus has been on species within the bird orders Galliformes and Passeriformes, while Charadriiformes remain vastly underrepresented with only two species studied to date. These two Charadriiformes species exhibit striking differences in MHC-I characteristics and MHC-I diversity. We therefore set out to study a third species within Charadriiformes, the Icelandic subspecies of black-tailed godwits (Limosa limosa islandica). This subspecies is normally confined to parasite-poor environments, and we hence expected low MHC diversity. MHC-I was partially characterized first using Sanger sequencing and then using high-throughput sequencing (MiSeq) in 84 individuals. We verified 47 nucleotide alleles in open reading frame with classical MHC-I characteristics, and each individual godwit had two to seven putatively classical MHC alleles. However, in contrast to previous MHC-I data within Charadriiformes, we did not find any evidence of alleles with low sequence diversity, believed to represent non-classical MHC genes. The diversity and divergence of the godwits MHC-I genes to a large extent fell between the previous estimates within Charadriiformes. However, the MHC genes of the migratory godwits had few sites subject to positive selection, and one possible explanation could be a low exposure to pathogens.

  11. HIV Controllers Exhibit Enhanced Frequencies of Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Tetramer+ Gag-Specific CD4+ T Cells in Chronic Clade C HIV-1 Infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laher, Faatima; Ranasinghe, Srinika; Porichis, Filippos; Mewalal, Nikoshia; Pretorius, Karyn; Ismail, Nasreen; Buus, Søren; Stryhn, Anette; Carrington, Mary; Walker, Bruce D; Ndung'u, Thumbi; Ndhlovu, Zaza M

    2017-04-01

    Immune control of viral infections is heavily dependent on helper CD4 + T cell function. However, the understanding of the contribution of HIV-specific CD4 + T cell responses to immune protection against HIV-1, particularly in clade C infection, remains incomplete. Recently, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II tetramers have emerged as a powerful tool for interrogating antigen-specific CD4 + T cells without relying on effector functions. Here, we defined the MHC class II alleles for immunodominant Gag CD4 + T cell epitopes in clade C virus infection, constructed MHC class II tetramers, and then used these to define the magnitude, function, and relation to the viral load of HIV-specific CD4 + T cell responses in a cohort of untreated HIV clade C-infected persons. We observed significantly higher frequencies of MHC class II tetramer-positive CD4 + T cells in HIV controllers than progressors ( P = 0.0001), and these expanded Gag-specific CD4 + T cells in HIV controllers showed higher levels of expression of the cytolytic proteins granzymes A and B. Importantly, targeting of the immunodominant Gag41 peptide in the context of HLA class II DRB1*1101 was associated with HIV control ( r = -0.5, P = 0.02). These data identify an association between HIV-specific CD4 + T cell targeting of immunodominant Gag epitopes and immune control, particularly the contribution of a single class II MHC-peptide complex to the immune response against HIV-1 infection. Furthermore, these results highlight the advantage of the use of class II tetramers in evaluating HIV-specific CD4 + T cell responses in natural infections. IMPORTANCE Increasing evidence suggests that virus-specific CD4 + T cells contribute to the immune-mediated control of clade B HIV-1 infection, yet there remains a relative paucity of data regarding the role of HIV-specific CD4 + T cells in shaping adaptive immune responses in individuals infected with clade C, which is responsible for the majority of HIV

  12. A Neurocomputational Approach to Trained and Transitive Relations in Equivalence Classes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ángel E. Tovar

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available A stimulus class can be composed of perceptually different but functionally equivalent stimuli. The relations between the stimuli that are grouped in a class can be learned or derived from other stimulus relations. If stimulus A is equivalent to B, and B is equivalent to C, then the equivalence between A and C can be derived without explicit training. In this work we propose, with a neurocomputational model, a basic learning mechanism for the formation of equivalence. We also describe how the relatedness between the members of an equivalence class is developed for both trained and derived stimulus relations. Three classic studies on stimulus equivalence are simulated covering typical and atypical populations as well as nodal distance effects. This model shows a mechanism by which certain stimulus associations are selectively strengthened even when they are not co-presented in the environment. This model links the field of equivalence classes to accounts of Hebbian learning and categorization, and points to the pertinence of modeling stimulus equivalence to explore the effect of variations in training protocols.

  13. Epigenetic priming restores the HLA class-I antigen processing machinery expression in Merkel cell carcinoma

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ritter, Cathrin; Fan, Kaiji; Paschen, Annette

    2017-01-01

    Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive, yet highly immunogenic skin cancer. The latter is due to its viral or UV-associated carcinogenesis. For tumor progression MCC has to escape the host's immuno-surveillance, e.g. by loss of HLA class-I expression. Indeed, a reduced HLA class...

  14. Entrepreneurial identity formation-in-practice : Immigrant women entrepreneurs' lived practices and experiences within gender, ethnicity and class relations

    OpenAIRE

    Aygören, Huriye

    2015-01-01

    This dissertation, comprising four appended papers, examines what entrepreneurs actually do in order to manage the intrinsic social complexity pertaining to relations of power and culture involved in entrepreneurial undertakings. The studies share the common interest in probing into the ways inwhich fundamental social divisions and conflicts, namely gender, ethnicity and class are inscribed into the entrepreneurs through the organization of difference (Ashcraft, 2012) and how these shape and ...

  15. Relation between Angle Class II malocclusion and deleterious oral habits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Tarcísio Lima Ferreira

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Oral habits may interfere on the growth and development of the stomatognathic system and orofacial myofunctional conditions, producing changes in the position of teeth in their dental arches. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to verify the presence of deleterious oral habits in individuals with malocclusion and see if there is a predominance of Class II malocclusion in these individuals. METHODS: The records of 140 patients treated at the Clinic of Preventive Orthodontics FORP-USP who had already completed treatment were randomly selected and analyzed. Their ages ranged from 6 to 10 years and 11 months. Associations were made between the presence or absence of deleterious oral habits, type and number of habits found in each individual and the type of malocclusion according to Angle classification. The statistical analysis used was the Chi-square test with a significance level of 5%. History of deleterious oral habits was found in 67.1% of individuals. RESULTS: The Class I malocclusion was most frequent (82.9%, followed by Class II malocclusion (12.1% and Class III (5%. CONCLUSION: There was a predominance of Class II malocclusion in individuals with a history of deleterious oral habits.INTRODUÇÃO: hábitos bucais podem interferir no crescimento e desenvolvimento do sistema estomatognático e nas condições miofuncionais bucofaciais, acarretando alterações no posicionamento dos dentes nas respectivas arcadas dentárias. OBJETIVO: o objetivo dessa pesquisa foi verificar a presença de hábitos bucais deletérios em indivíduos portadores de má oclusão e observar se existe predominância de má oclusão Classe II de Angle nesses indivíduos. MÉTODOS: foram selecionadas, aleatoriamente, e analisadas 140 fichas de pacientes atendidos na Clínica de Ortodontia Preventiva da FORP-USP, que já haviam recebido alta no tratamento. A faixa etária variou dos 6 anos a 10 anos e 11 meses. Foram realizadas associações entre

  16. MHC class I epitope binding prediction trained on small data sets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lundegaard, Claus; Nielsen, Morten; Lamberth, K.

    2004-01-01

    The identification of potential T-cell epitopes is important for development of new human or vetenary vaccines, both considering single protein/subunit vaccines, and for epitope/peptide vaccines as such. The highly diverse MHC class I alleles bind very different peptides, and accurate binding pre...... in situations where only very limited data are available for training....

  17. MHC class I down-regulation: Tumour escape from immune surveillance? (Review)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Bubeník, Jan

    2004-01-01

    Roč. 25, č. 2 (2004), s. 487-491 ISSN 1019-6439 R&D Projects: GA MZd NC7148; GA ČR GA301/04/0492; GA AV ČR IAA5052203 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5052915 Keywords : MHC class I- tumour cells * immune surveillance Subject RIV: EC - Immunology Impact factor: 3.056, year: 2004

  18. Natural host genetic resistance to lentiviral CNS disease: a neuroprotective MHC class I allele in SIV-infected macaques.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph L Mankowski

    Full Text Available Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection frequently causes neurologic disease even with anti-retroviral treatment. Although associations between MHC class I alleles and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS have been reported, the role MHC class I alleles play in restricting development of HIV-induced organ-specific diseases, including neurologic disease, has not been characterized. This study examined the relationship between expression of the MHC class I allele Mane-A*10 and development of lentiviral-induced central nervous system (CNS disease using a well-characterized simian immunodeficiency (SIV/pigtailed macaque model. The risk of developing CNS disease (SIV encephalitis was 2.5 times higher for animals that did not express the MHC class I allele Mane-A*10 (P = 0.002; RR = 2.5. Animals expressing the Mane-A*10 allele had significantly lower amounts of activated macrophages, SIV RNA, and neuronal dysfunction in the CNS than Mane-A*10 negative animals (P<0.001. Mane-A*10 positive animals with the highest CNS viral burdens contained SIV gag escape mutants at the Mane-A*10-restricted KP9 epitope in the CNS whereas wild type KP9 sequences dominated in the brain of Mane-A*10 negative animals with comparable CNS viral burdens. These concordant findings demonstrate that particular MHC class I alleles play major neuroprotective roles in lentiviral-induced CNS disease.

  19. Real-time, high-throughput measurements of peptide-MHC-I dissociation using a scintillation proximity assay

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Harndahl, Mikkel; Rasmussen, Michael; Røder, Gustav Andreas

    2011-01-01

    and it is well suited for high-throughput screening. To exemplify this, we screened a panel of 384 high-affinity peptides binding to the MHC class I molecule, HLA-A*02:01, and observed the rates of dissociation that ranged from 0.1h to 46h depending on the peptide used.......Efficient presentation of peptide-MHC class I complexes to immune T cells depends upon stable peptide-MHC class I interactions. Theoretically, determining the rate of dissociation of a peptide-MHC class I complexes is straightforward; in practical terms, however, generating the accurate and closely...... timed data needed to determine the rate of dissociation is not simple. Ideally, one should use a homogenous assay involving an inexhaustible and label-free assay principle. Here, we present a homogenous, high-throughput peptide-MHC class I dissociation assay, which by and large fulfill these ideal...

  20. No evidence of a role for mitochondrial complex I in Helicobacter pylori pathogenesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Garrett Z; Ke, Bi-Xia; Laskowski, Adrienne; Thorburn, David R; Sutton, Philip

    2017-06-01

    Complex I is the first enzyme complex in the mitochondrial respiratory chain, responsible for generating a large fraction of energy during oxidative phosphorylation. Recently, it has been identified that complex I deficiency can result in increased inflammation due to the generation of reactive oxygen species by innate immune cells. As a reduction in complex I activity has been demonstrated in human stomachs with atrophic gastritis, we investigated whether complex I deficiency could influence Helicobacter pylori pathogenesis. Ndufs6 gt/gt mice have a partial complex I deficiency. Complex I activity was quantified in the stomachs and immune cells of Ndufs6 gt/gt mice by spectrophotometric assays. Ndufs6 gt/gt mice were infected with H. pylori and bacterial colonization assessed by colony-forming assay, gastritis assessed histologically, and H. pylori -specific humoral response quantified by ELISA. The immune cells and stomachs of Ndufs6 gt/gt mice were found to have significantly decreased complex I activity, validating the model for assessing the effects of complex I deficiency in H. pylori infection. However, there was no observable effect of complex I deficiency on either H. pylori colonization, the resulting gastritis, or the humoral response. Although complex I activity is described to suppress innate immune responses and is decreased during atrophic gastritis in humans, our data suggest it does not affect H. pylori pathogenesis. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. An introduction and overview of DRAFT CSA Standard N288.7 Groundwater Protection at Class I Nuclear Facilities and Uranium Mines and Mills

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    DeWilde, J., E-mail: john_dewilde@golder.com [Golder Associates Ltd., Whitby, ON (Canada); Klukas, M.; Audet, M., E-mail: marc.audet@cnl.ca [Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, Chalk River, ON (Canada)

    2015-07-01

    The DRAFT CSA Standard N288.7 entitled Groundwater Protection at Class I Nuclear Facilities and Uranium Mines and Mills is currently under development and is anticipated to publish in June of 2015. This draft standard identifies a process for the protection and monitoring of groundwater at nuclear facilities but may also be used at any facility (i.e. nuclear facilities that are not Class I or non-nuclear facilities). The paper discusses the background to the draft standard, the formalized methodology described in the draft standard and provides some input on implementation. The paper is intended for people that have responsibilities related to groundwater protection at facilities that may need to comply with the draft standard or any site/facility that has some form of groundwater monitoring program. (author)

  2. "I'm a Geek I Am": Academic Achievement and the Performance of a Studious Working-Class Masculinity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, Michael R. M.

    2014-01-01

    During the last few decades, the South Wales Valleys (UK) have undergone a considerable economic, social, cultural and political transformation, altering youth transitions from school to work. Drawing on a two and a half year ethnographic study, in the paper I concentrate on a group of academically successful young white working-class men aged…

  3. Bidirectional selection between two classes in complex social networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Bin; He, Zhe; Jiang, Luo-Luo; Wang, Nian-Xin; Wang, Bing-Hong

    2014-12-19

    The bidirectional selection between two classes widely emerges in various social lives, such as commercial trading and mate choosing. Until now, the discussions on bidirectional selection in structured human society are quite limited. We demonstrated theoretically that the rate of successfully matching is affected greatly by individuals' neighborhoods in social networks, regardless of the type of networks. Furthermore, it is found that the high average degree of networks contributes to increasing rates of successful matches. The matching performance in different types of networks has been quantitatively investigated, revealing that the small-world networks reinforces the matching rate more than scale-free networks at given average degree. In addition, our analysis is consistent with the modeling result, which provides the theoretical understanding of underlying mechanisms of matching in complex networks.

  4. Leukocyte Ig-Like Receptors – a model for MHC class I disease associations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachel Louise Allen

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available MHC class I (MHC-I polymorphisms are associated with the outcome of some viral infections and autoimmune diseases. MHC-I proteins present antigenic peptides and are recognised by receptors on Natural Killer cells and Cytotoxic T lymphocytes, thus enabling the immune system to detect self-antigens and eliminate targets lacking self or expressing foreign antigens. Recognition of MHC-I, however, extends beyond receptors on cytotoxic leukocytes. Members of the Leukocyte Ig-like receptor (LILR family are expressed on monocytic cells and can recognise both classical and non-classical MHC-I alleles. Despite their relatively broad specificity when compared to the T Cell Receptor or Killer Ig-like Receptors, variations in the strength of LILR binding between different MHC-I alleles have recently been shown to correlate with control of HIV infection. We suggest that LILR recognition may mediate MHC-I disease association in a manner that does not depend on a binary discrimination of self/non-self by cytotoxic cells. Instead, the effects of LILR activity following engagement by MHC-I may represent a degrees of self model, whereby strength of binding to different alleles determines the degree of influence exerted by these receptors on immune cell functions. LILR are expressed by myelomonocytic cells and lymphocytes, extending their influence across antigen presenting cell subsets including dendritic cells, macrophages and B cells. They have been identified as important players in the response to infection, inflammatory diseases and cancer, with recent literature to indicate that MHC-I recognition by these receptors and consequent allelic effects could extend an influence beyond the immune system.

  5. Clinical, Immunological, and Molecular Findings in Five Patients with Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Deficiency from India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jahnavi Aluri

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Major histocompatibility complex (MHC class II deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive form of primary immunodeficiency disorder (PID characterized by the deficiency of MHC class II molecules. This deficiency affects the cellular and humoral immune response by impairing the development of CD4+ T helper (Th cells and Th cell-dependent antibody production by B cells. Affected children typically present with severe respiratory and gastrointestinal tract infections. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT is the only curative therapy available for treating these patients. This is the first report from India wherein we describe the clinical, immunological, and molecular findings in five patients with MHC class II deficiency. Our patients presented with recurrent lower respiratory tract infection as the most common clinical presentation within their first year of life and had a complete absence of human leukocyte antigen-antigen D-related (HLA-DR expression on B cells and monocytes. Molecular characterization revealed novel mutations in RFAXP, RFX5, and CIITA genes. Despite genetic heterogeneity, these patients were clinically indistinguishable. Two patients underwent HSCT but had a poor survival outcome. Detectable level of T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs were measured in our patients, highlighting that this form of PID may be missed by TREC-based newborn screening program for severe combined immunodeficiency.

  6. A new class of information complexity (ICOMP) criteria with an application to customer profiling and segmentation

    OpenAIRE

    Bozdogan, Hamparsun

    2010-01-01

    This paper introduces several forms of a new class of information-theoretic measure of complexity criterion called ICOMP as a decision rule for model selection in statistical modeling to help provide new approaches relevant to statistical inference. The practical utility and the importance of ICOMP is illustrated by providing a real numerical example in data mining of mobile phone data for customer profiling and segmentation of mobile phone customers using a novel multi-class support vector m...

  7. Inverse correlation between promoter strength and excision activity in class 1 integrons.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Jové

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Class 1 integrons are widespread genetic elements that allow bacteria to capture and express gene cassettes that are usually promoterless. These integrons play a major role in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance among Gram-negative bacteria. They typically consist of a gene (intI encoding an integrase (that catalyzes the gene cassette movement by site-specific recombination, a recombination site (attI1, and a promoter (Pc responsible for the expression of inserted gene cassettes. The Pc promoter can occasionally be combined with a second promoter designated P2, and several Pc variants with different strengths have been described, although their relative distribution is not known. The Pc promoter in class 1 integrons is located within the intI1 coding sequence. The Pc polymorphism affects the amino acid sequence of IntI1 and the effect of this feature on the integrase recombination activity has not previously been investigated. We therefore conducted an extensive in silico study of class 1 integron sequences in order to assess the distribution of Pc variants. We also measured these promoters' strength by means of transcriptional reporter gene fusion experiments and estimated the excision and integration activities of the different IntI1 variants. We found that there are currently 13 Pc variants, leading to 10 IntI1 variants, that have a highly uneven distribution. There are five main Pc-P2 combinations, corresponding to five promoter strengths, and three main integrases displaying similar integration activity but very different excision efficiency. Promoter strength correlates with integrase excision activity: the weaker the promoter, the stronger the integrase. The tight relationship between the aptitude of class 1 integrons to recombine cassettes and express gene cassettes may be a key to understanding the short-term evolution of integrons. Dissemination of integron-driven drug resistance is therefore more complex than previously thought.

  8. Assembly factors for the membrane arm of human complex I.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrews, Byron; Carroll, Joe; Ding, Shujing; Fearnley, Ian M; Walker, John E

    2013-11-19

    Mitochondrial respiratory complex I is a product of both the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. The integration of seven subunits encoded in mitochondrial DNA into the inner membrane, their association with 14 nuclear-encoded membrane subunits, the construction of the extrinsic arm from 23 additional nuclear-encoded proteins, iron-sulfur clusters, and flavin mononucleotide cofactor require the participation of assembly factors. Some are intrinsic to the complex, whereas others participate transiently. The suppression of the expression of the NDUFA11 subunit of complex I disrupted the assembly of the complex, and subcomplexes with masses of 550 and 815 kDa accumulated. Eight of the known extrinsic assembly factors plus a hydrophobic protein, C3orf1, were associated with the subcomplexes. The characteristics of C3orf1, of another assembly factor, TMEM126B, and of NDUFA11 suggest that they all participate in constructing the membrane arm of complex I.

  9. Homotypic aggregation of human cell lines by HLA class II-, class Ia- and HLA-G-specific monoclonal antibodies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Odum, Niels; Ledbetter, J A; Martin, P

    1991-01-01

    Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules have been implicated in cell adhesion in two ways. In addition to the well-established role of class II antigens in low-affinity adhesion provided by interactions between class II and CD4, recent data indicated that class II may also induce...... adhesion between T and B cells by activating the CD18/CD11a (LFA-1) adhesion pathway. Here we report that monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against HLA-DR (L243, p4.1, HB10a, VI15) and certain broad class II reacting mAb (TU35, TU39), but not anti-DQ (TU22, Leu-10) mAb, induced homotypic aggregation of human...... class II-positive monocytic (I937) and T leukemic (HUT78) tumor cell lines and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) transformed B-lymphoid cell lines (EBV-LCL). Class II-negative cell lines (U-937 and the EBV-LCL mutant line 616) were not induced to aggregate. An HLA-G-transfected EBV-LCL, 221-AGN...

  10. Identifying Effective Enzyme Activity Targets for Recombinant Class I and Class II Collagenase for Successful Human Islet Isolation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balamurugan, Appakalai N; Green, Michael L; Breite, Andrew G; Loganathan, Gopalakrishnan; Wilhelm, Joshua J; Tweed, Benjamin; Vargova, Lenka; Lockridge, Amber; Kuriti, Manikya; Hughes, Michael G; Williams, Stuart K; Hering, Bernhard J; Dwulet, Francis E; McCarthy, Robert C

    2016-01-01

    Isolation following a good manufacturing practice-compliant, human islet product requires development of a robust islet isolation procedure where effective limits of key reagents are known. The enzymes used for islet isolation are critical but little is known about the doses of class I and class II collagenase required for successful islet isolation. We used a factorial approach to evaluate the effect of high and low target activities of recombinant class I (rC1) and class II (rC2) collagenase on human islet yield. Consequently, 4 different enzyme formulations with divergent C1:C2 collagenase mass ratios were assessed, each supplemented with the same dose of neutral protease. Both split pancreas and whole pancreas models were used to test enzyme targets (n = 20). Islet yield/g pancreas was compared with historical enzymes (n = 42). Varying the Wunsch (rC2) and collagen degradation activity (CDA, rC1) target dose, and consequently the C1:C2 mass ratio, had no significant effect on tissue digestion. Digestions using higher doses of Wunsch and CDA resulted in comparable islet yields to those obtained with 60% and 50% of those activities, respectively. Factorial analysis revealed no significant main effect of Wunsch activity or CDA for any parameter measured. Aggregate results from 4 different collagenase formulations gave 44% higher islet yield (>5000 islet equivalents/g) in the body/tail of the pancreas (n = 12) when compared with those from the same segment using a standard natural collagenase/protease mixture (n = 6). Additionally, islet yields greater than 5000 islet equivalents/g pancreas were also obtained in whole human pancreas. A broader C1:C2 ratio can be used for human islet isolation than has been used in the past. Recombinant collagenase is an effective replacement for the natural enzyme and we have determined that high islet yield can be obtained even with low doses of rC1:rC2, which is beneficial for the survival of islets.

  11. Caenorhabditis elegans expressing the Saccharomyces cerevisiae NADH alternative dehydrogenase Ndi1p, as a tool to identify new genes involved in complex I related diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raynald eCossard

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Isolated complex I deficiencies are one of the most commonly observed biochemical features in patients suffering from mitochondrial disorders. In the majority of these clinical cases the molecular bases of the diseases remain unknown suggesting the involvement of unidentified factors that are critical for complex I function.The Saccharomyces cerevisiae NDI1 gene, encoding the mitochondrial internal NADH dehydrogenase was previously shown to complement a complex I deficient strain in Caenorhabitis elegans with notable improvements in reproduction, whole organism respiration. These features indicate that Ndi1p can functionally integrate the respiratory chain, allowing complex I deficiency complementation. Taking into account the Ndi1p ability to bypass complex I, we evaluate the possibility to extend the range of defects/mutations causing complex I deficiencies that can be alleviated by NDI1 expression.We report here that NDI1 expressing animals unexpectedly exhibit a slightly shortened lifespan, a reduction in the progeny and a depletion of the mitochondrial genome. However, Ndi1p is expressed and targeted to the mitochondria as a functional protein that confers rotenone resistance to those animals and without affecting their respiration rate and ATP content.We show that the severe embryonic lethality level caused by the RNAi knockdowns of complex I structural subunit encoding genes (e.g. NDUFV1, NDUFS1, NDUFS6, NDUFS8 or GRIM-19 human orthologs in wild type animals is significantly reduced in the Ndi1p expressing worm.All together these results open up the perspective to identify new genes involved in complex I function, assembly or regulation by screening an RNAi library of genes leading to embryonic lethality that should be rescued by NDI1 expression.

  12. A structural investigation of complex I and I+III2 supercomplex from Zea mays at 11-13 angstrom resolution : Assignment of the carbonic anhydrase domain and evidence for structural heterogeneity within complex I

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Peters, Katrin; Dudkina, Natalya V.; Jaensch, Lothar; Braun, Hans-Peter; Boekema, Egbert J.; Jänsch, Lothar

    The projection structures of complex I and the I+III2 supercomplex from the C-4 plant Zea mays were determined by electron microscopy and single particle image analysis to a resolution of up to 11 angstrom. Maize complex I has a typical L-shape. Additionally, it has a large hydrophilic, extra-domain

  13. Antenna complexes protect Photosystem I from Photoinhibition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alboresi, Alessandro; Ballottari, Matteo; Hienerwadel, Rainer; Giacometti, Giorgio M; Morosinotto, Tomas

    2009-01-01

    Background Photosystems are composed of two moieties, a reaction center and a peripheral antenna system. In photosynthetic eukaryotes the latter system is composed of proteins belonging to Lhc family. An increasing set of evidences demonstrated how these polypeptides play a relevant physiological function in both light harvesting and photoprotection. Despite the sequence similarity between antenna proteins associated with the two Photosystems, present knowledge on their physiological role is mostly limited to complexes associated to Photosystem II. Results In this work we analyzed the physiological role of Photosystem I antenna system in Arabidopsis thaliana both in vivo and in vitro. Plants depleted in individual antenna polypeptides showed a reduced capacity for photoprotection and an increased production of reactive oxygen species upon high light exposure. In vitro experiments on isolated complexes confirmed that depletion of antenna proteins reduced the resistance of isolated Photosystem I particles to high light and that the antenna is effective in photoprotection only upon the interaction with the core complex. Conclusion We show that antenna proteins play a dual role in Arabidopsis thaliana Photosystem I photoprotection: first, a Photosystem I with an intact antenna system is more resistant to high light because of a reduced production of reactive oxygen species and, second, antenna chlorophyll-proteins are the first target of high light damages. When photoprotection mechanisms become insufficient, the antenna chlorophyll proteins act as fuses: LHCI chlorophylls are degraded while the reaction center photochemical activity is maintained. Differences with respect to photoprotection strategy in Photosystem II, where the reaction center is the first target of photoinhibition, are discussed. PMID:19508723

  14. Chirality sensing with stereodynamic copper(I) complexes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Los Santos, Zeus A; Legaux, Nicholas M; Wolf, Christian

    2017-11-01

    Three Cu(I) complexes derived from stereodynamic diphosphine ligands were synthesized and used for chirality sensing. The coordination of diamines and amino acids to these complexes generates distinct circular dichroism signals. The chiroptical sensor response allows determination of the absolute configuration and the enantiomeric excess of the analyte at low concentrations. This method is operationally simple, fast, and attractive for high-throughput sensing applications. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. The diabetogenic mouse MHC class II molecule I-A[subscript g7] is endowed with a switch that modulates TCR affinity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yoshida, Kenji; Corper, Adam L.; Herro, Rana; Jabri, Bana; Wilson, Ian A.; Teyton, Luc (Scripps); (UC)

    2011-11-16

    Genetic susceptibility to autoimmunity is frequently associated with specific MHC alleles. Diabetogenic MHC class II molecules, such as human HLA-DQ8 and mouse I-A{sub g7}, typically have a small, uncharged amino acid residue at position 57 of their {beta} chain ({beta}57); this results in the absence of a salt bridge between {beta}57 and Arg{alpha}76, which is adjacent to the P9 pocket of the peptide-binding groove. However, the influence of Arg{alpha}76 on the selection of the TCR repertoire remains unknown, particularly when the MHC molecule binds a peptide with a neutral amino acid residue at position P9. Here, we have shown that diabetogenic MHC class II molecules bound to a peptide with a neutral P9 residue primarily selected and expanded cells expressing TCRs bearing a negatively charged residue in the first segment of their complementarity determining region 3{beta}. The crystal structure of one such TCR in complex with I-A{sub g7} bound to a peptide containing a neutral P9 residue revealed that a network of favorable long-range (greater than 4 {angstrom}) electrostatic interactions existed among Arg{alpha}76, the neutral P9 residue, and TCR, which supported the substantially increased TCR/peptide-MHC affinity. This network could be modulated or switched to a lower affinity interaction by the introduction of a negative charge at position P9 of the peptide. Our results support the existence of a switch at residue {beta}57 of the I-Ag7 and HLA-DQ8 class II molecules and potentially link normal thymic TCR selection with abnormal peripheral behavior.

  16. Coding Class

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ejsing-Duun, Stine; Hansbøl, Mikala

    Denne rapport rummer evaluering og dokumentation af Coding Class projektet1. Coding Class projektet blev igangsat i skoleåret 2016/2017 af IT-Branchen i samarbejde med en række medlemsvirksomheder, Københavns kommune, Vejle Kommune, Styrelsen for IT- og Læring (STIL) og den frivillige forening...... Coding Pirates2. Rapporten er forfattet af Docent i digitale læringsressourcer og forskningskoordinator for forsknings- og udviklingsmiljøet Digitalisering i Skolen (DiS), Mikala Hansbøl, fra Institut for Skole og Læring ved Professionshøjskolen Metropol; og Lektor i læringsteknologi, interaktionsdesign......, design tænkning og design-pædagogik, Stine Ejsing-Duun fra Forskningslab: It og Læringsdesign (ILD-LAB) ved Institut for kommunikation og psykologi, Aalborg Universitet i København. Vi har fulgt og gennemført evaluering og dokumentation af Coding Class projektet i perioden november 2016 til maj 2017...

  17. Protein and lipid oxidative damage and complex I content are lower in the brain of budgerigar and canaries than in mice. Relation to aging rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pamplona, Reinald; Portero-Otín, Manuel; Sanz, Alberto; Ayala, Victoria; Vasileva, Ekaterina; Barja, Gustavo

    2005-12-01

    What are the mechanisms determining the rate of animal aging? Of the two major classes of endothermic animals, bird species are strikingly long-lived compared to mammals of similar body size and metabolic rate. Thus, they are ideal models to identify longevity-related characteristics not linked to body size or low metabolic rates. Since oxidative stress seems to be related to the basic aging process, we measured specific markers of different kinds of oxidative damage to proteins, like glutamic and aminoadipic semialdehydes (GSA and AASA, specific protein carbonyls), Nɛ-(carboxyethyl)lysine (CEL), Nɛ-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML), and Nɛ-(malondialdehyde)lysine (MDAL), as well as mitochondrial Complex I content and amino acid and membrane fatty acyl composition, in the brain of short-lived mice (maximum life span [MLSP] 3.5 years) compared with those of long-lived budgerigar 'parakeets' (MLSP, 21 years) and canaries (MLSP, 24 years). The brains of both bird species had significantly lower levels of compounds formed as a result of oxidative (GSA and AASA), glycoxidative (CEL and CML), and lipoxidative (CML and MDAL) protein modifications, as well as a lower levels of mitochondrial complex I protein. Although it is known that fatty acid unsaturation is lower in many tissues of long-lived compared to short-lived mammals, this is not true in the particular case of brain. In agreement with this, we also found that the brain tissue of bugerigars and canaries contains no fewer double bonds than that of mice. Amino acid composition analyses revealed that bird proteins have a significantly lower content of His, Leu and Phe, as well as, interestingly, of methionine, whereas Asp, Glu, Ala, Val, and Lys contents were higher than in the mammals. These results, together with those previously described in other tissues of pigeons (MLSP, 35 years) compared to rats (MLSP, 4 years), indicate that oxidative damage to proteins, lipids and mitochondrial DNA are lower in birds (very

  18. Spectral simplicity of apparent complexity. I. The nondiagonalizable metadynamics of prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riechers, Paul M.; Crutchfield, James P.

    2018-03-01

    Virtually all questions that one can ask about the behavioral and structural complexity of a stochastic process reduce to a linear algebraic framing of a time evolution governed by an appropriate hidden-Markov process generator. Each type of question—correlation, predictability, predictive cost, observer synchronization, and the like—induces a distinct generator class. Answers are then functions of the class-appropriate transition dynamic. Unfortunately, these dynamics are generically nonnormal, nondiagonalizable, singular, and so on. Tractably analyzing these dynamics relies on adapting the recently introduced meromorphic functional calculus, which specifies the spectral decomposition of functions of nondiagonalizable linear operators, even when the function poles and zeros coincide with the operator's spectrum. Along the way, we establish special properties of the spectral projection operators that demonstrate how they capture the organization of subprocesses within a complex system. Circumventing the spurious infinities of alternative calculi, this leads in the sequel, Part II [P. M. Riechers and J. P. Crutchfield, Chaos 28, 033116 (2018)], to the first closed-form expressions for complexity measures, couched either in terms of the Drazin inverse (negative-one power of a singular operator) or the eigenvalues and projection operators of the appropriate transition dynamic.

  19. Establishment of a quantitative ELISA capable of determining peptide - MHC class I interaction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sylvester-Hvid, C; Kristensen, N; Blicher, T

    2002-01-01

    dependent manner. Here, we exploit the availability of these molecules to generate a quantitative ELISA-based assay capable of measuring the affinity of the interaction between peptide and MHC-I. This assay is simple and sensitive, and one can easily envisage that the necessary reagents, standards......Many different assays for measuring peptide-MHC interactions have been suggested over the years. Yet, there is no generally accepted standard method available. We have recently generated preoxidized recombinant MHC class I molecules (MHC-I) which can be purified to homogeneity under denaturing...

  20. NetMHCpan, a method for MHC class I binding prediction beyond humans

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hoof, Ilka; Peters, B; Sidney, J

    2009-01-01

    molecules. We show that the NetMHCpan-2.0 method can accurately predict binding to uncharacterized HLA molecules, including HLA-C and HLA-G. Moreover, NetMHCpan-2.0 is demonstrated to accurately predict peptide binding to chimpanzee and macaque MHC class I molecules. The power of NetMHCpan-2.0 to guide...

  1. Rapid screening for nuclear genes mutations in isolated respiratory chain complex I defects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pagniez-Mammeri, Hélène; Lombes, Anne; Brivet, Michèle; Ogier-de Baulny, Hélène; Landrieu, Pierre; Legrand, Alain; Slama, Abdelhamid

    2009-04-01

    Complex I or reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH): ubiquinone oxydoreductase deficiency is the most common cause of respiratory chain defects. Molecular bases of complex I deficiencies are rarely identified because of the dual genetic origin of this multi-enzymatic complex (nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA) and the lack of phenotype-genotype correlation. We used a rapid method to screen patients with isolated complex I deficiencies for nuclear genes mutations by Surveyor nuclease digestion of cDNAs. Eight complex I nuclear genes, among the most frequently mutated (NDUFS1, NDUFS2, NDUFS3, NDUFS4, NDUFS7, NDUFS8, NDUFV1 and NDUFV2), were studied in 22 cDNA fragments spanning their coding sequences in 8 patients with a biochemically proved complex I deficiency. Single nucleotide polymorphisms and missense mutations were detected in 18.7% of the cDNA fragments by Surveyor nuclease treatment. Molecular defects were detected in 3 patients. Surveyor nuclease screening is a reliable method for genotyping nuclear complex I deficiencies, easy to interpret, and limits the number of sequence reactions. Its use will enhance the possibility of prenatal diagnosis and help us for a better understanding of complex I molecular defects.

  2. HDA2 and HDA3 are related proteins that interact with and are essential for the activity of the yeast histone deacetylase HDA1

    OpenAIRE

    Wu, Jiansheng; Carmen, Andrew A.; Kobayashi, Ryuji; Suka, Noriyuki; Grunstein, Michael

    2001-01-01

    Histone deacetylase HDA1, the prototype for the class II mammalian deacetylases, is likely the catalytic subunit of the HDA1-containing complex that is involved in TUP1-specific repression and global deacetylation in yeast. Although the class I RPD3-like enzymatic complexes have been well characterized, little is known about the identity and interactions of the factors that associate to form the HDA1 complex. In this paper, we identify related HDA2 and HDA3 proteins that ...

  3. Characterization of EBV gB indicates properties of both class I and class II viral fusion proteins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Backovic, Marija; Leser, George P.; Lamb, Robert A.; Longnecker, Richard; Jardetzky, Theodore S.

    2007-01-01

    To gain insight into Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) glycoprotein B (gB), recombinant, secreted variants were generated. The role of putative transmembrane regions, the proteolytic processing and the oligomerization state of the gB variants were investigated. Constructs containing 2 of 3 C-terminal hydrophobic regions were secreted, indicating that these do not act as transmembrane anchors. The efficiency of cleavage of the gB furin site was found to depend on the nature of C-terminus. All of the gB constructs formed rosette structures reminiscent of the postfusion aggregates formed by other viral fusion proteins. However, substitution of putative fusion loop residues, WY 112-113 and WLIY 193-196 , with less hydrophobic amino acids from HSV-1 gB, produced trimeric protein and abrogated the ability of the EBV gB ectodomains to form rosettes. These data demonstrate biochemical features of EBV gB that are characteristic of other class I and class II viral fusion proteins, but not of HSV-1 gB

  4. Star Formation and Young Population of the H II Complex Sh2-294

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samal, M. R.; Pandey, A. K.; Ojha, D. K.; Chauhan, N.; Jose, J.; Pandey, B.

    2012-08-01

    The Sh2-294 H II region ionized by a single B0V star features several infrared excess sources, a photodissociation region, and also a group of reddened stars at its border. The star formation scenario in this region seems to be quite complex. In this paper, we present follow-up results of Sh2-294 H II region at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 μm observed with the Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Array Camera (IRAC), coupled with H2 (2.12 μm) observation, to characterize the young population of the region and to understand its star formation history. We identified 36 young stellar object (YSO, Class I, Class II, and Class I/II) candidates using IRAC color-color diagrams. It is found that Class I sources are preferentially located at the outskirts of the H II region and associated with enhanced H2 emission; none of them are located near the central cluster. Combining the optical to mid-infrared (MIR) photometry of the YSO candidates and using the spectral energy distribution fitting models, we constrained stellar parameters and the evolutionary status of 33 YSO candidates. Most of them are interpreted by the model as low-mass (<4 M ⊙) YSOs; however, we also detected a massive YSO (~9 M ⊙) of Class I nature, embedded in a cloud of visual extinction of ~24 mag. Present analysis suggests that the Class I sources are indeed a younger population of the region relative to Class II sources (age ~ 4.5 × 106 yr). We suggest that the majority of the Class I sources, including the massive YSOs, are second-generation stars of the region whose formation is possibly induced by the expansion of the H II region powered by a ~4 × 106 yr B0 main-sequence star.

  5. STAR FORMATION AND YOUNG POPULATION OF THE H II COMPLEX Sh2-294

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samal, M. R.; Pandey, A. K.; Chauhan, N.; Jose, J.; Ojha, D. K.; Pandey, B.

    2012-01-01

    The Sh2-294 H II region ionized by a single B0V star features several infrared excess sources, a photodissociation region, and also a group of reddened stars at its border. The star formation scenario in this region seems to be quite complex. In this paper, we present follow-up results of Sh2-294 H II region at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 μm observed with the Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Array Camera (IRAC), coupled with H 2 (2.12 μm) observation, to characterize the young population of the region and to understand its star formation history. We identified 36 young stellar object (YSO, Class I, Class II, and Class I/II) candidates using IRAC color-color diagrams. It is found that Class I sources are preferentially located at the outskirts of the H II region and associated with enhanced H 2 emission; none of them are located near the central cluster. Combining the optical to mid-infrared (MIR) photometry of the YSO candidates and using the spectral energy distribution fitting models, we constrained stellar parameters and the evolutionary status of 33 YSO candidates. Most of them are interpreted by the model as low-mass ( ☉ ) YSOs; however, we also detected a massive YSO (∼9 M ☉ ) of Class I nature, embedded in a cloud of visual extinction of ∼24 mag. Present analysis suggests that the Class I sources are indeed a younger population of the region relative to Class II sources (age ∼ 4.5 × 10 6 yr). We suggest that the majority of the Class I sources, including the massive YSOs, are second-generation stars of the region whose formation is possibly induced by the expansion of the H II region powered by a ∼4 × 10 6 yr B0 main-sequence star.

  6. Combustion-related studies using weakly-bonded complexes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beaudet, R.A. [Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles (United States)

    1993-12-01

    Binary van der Waals complexes involving species of interest to combustion research are prepared in supersonic free-jet expansions, and their photochemical and photophysical properties are probed by using IR tunable diode laser (TDL) spectroscopy. In the first phase, geometries and other molecular properties are being determined from vibration-rotational spectra. In the second phase, these complexes will be used as precursors to study photoinitiated reactions in precursor geometry limited environments. Two complementary classes of binary complexes are being investigated. The first involves molecular oxygen and hydrogen containing constituents (e.g. O{sub 2}-HCN, O{sub 2}-HF, O{sub 2}-HCl, O{sub 2}-HBr, O{sub 2}-HI and O{sub 2}-hydrocarbons). These species are interesting candidates for study since upon photodissociating the hydride portion, the reaction H and O{sub 2} via the vibrationally excited HO{sub 2} intermediate can conceivably be studied, (e.g. BrH-O{sub 2} + hv(193 nm) {yields} Br-H-O{sub 2} {yields} Br + HO{sub 2} {yields} Br + OH + O). High resolution IR spectroscopy of such complexes have not been obtained previously and the structural information deriving from IR spectra is certainly very useful for better designing and understanding photoinitiated reactions that occur in these complexes.

  7. The yeast complex I equivalent NADH dehydrogenase rescues pink1 mutants.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sven Vilain

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Pink1 is a mitochondrial kinase involved in Parkinson's disease, and loss of Pink1 function affects mitochondrial morphology via a pathway involving Parkin and components of the mitochondrial remodeling machinery. Pink1 loss also affects the enzymatic activity of isolated Complex I of the electron transport chain (ETC; however, the primary defect in pink1 mutants is unclear. We tested the hypothesis that ETC deficiency is upstream of other pink1-associated phenotypes. We expressed Saccaromyces cerevisiae Ndi1p, an enzyme that bypasses ETC Complex I, or sea squirt Ciona intestinalis AOX, an enzyme that bypasses ETC Complex III and IV, in pink1 mutant Drosophila and find that expression of Ndi1p, but not of AOX, rescues pink1-associated defects. Likewise, loss of function of subunits that encode for Complex I-associated proteins displays many of the pink1-associated phenotypes, and these defects are rescued by Ndi1p expression. Conversely, expression of Ndi1p fails to rescue any of the parkin mutant phenotypes. Additionally, unlike pink1 mutants, fly parkin mutants do not show reduced enzymatic activity of Complex I, indicating that Ndi1p acts downstream or parallel to Pink1, but upstream or independent of Parkin. Furthermore, while increasing mitochondrial fission or decreasing mitochondrial fusion rescues mitochondrial morphological defects in pink1 mutants, these manipulations fail to significantly rescue the reduced enzymatic activity of Complex I, indicating that functional defects observed at the level of Complex I enzymatic activity in pink1 mutant mitochondria do not arise from morphological defects. Our data indicate a central role for Complex I dysfunction in pink1-associated defects, and our genetic analyses with heterologous ETC enzymes suggest that Ndi1p-dependent NADH dehydrogenase activity largely acts downstream of, or in parallel to, Pink1 but upstream of Parkin and mitochondrial remodeling.

  8. Characterization of a Novel Class I Transcription Factor A (CITFA) Subunit That Is Indispensable for Transcription by the Multifunctional RNA Polymerase I of Trypanosoma brucei

    KAUST Repository

    Nguyen, T. N.

    2012-10-26

    Trypanosoma brucei is the only organism known to have evolved a multifunctional RNA polymerase I (pol I) system that is used to express the parasite\\'s ribosomal RNAs, as well as its major cell surface antigens, namely, the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) and procyclin, which are vital for establishing successful infections in the mammalian host and the tsetse vector, respectively. Thus far, biochemical analyses of the T. brucei RNA pol I transcription machinery have elucidated the subunit structure of the enzyme and identified the class I transcription factor A (CITFA). CITFA binds to RNA pol I promoters, and its CITFA-2 subunit was shown to be absolutely essential for RNA pol I transcription in the parasite. Tandem affinity purification (TAP) of CITFA revealed the subunits CITFA-1 to -6, which are conserved only among kinetoplastid organisms, plus the dynein light chain DYNLL1. Here, by tagging CITFA-6 instead of CITFA-2, a complex was purified that contained all known CITFA subunits, as well as a novel proline-rich protein. Functional studies carried out in vivo and in vitro, as well as a colocalization study, unequivocally demonstrated that this protein is a bona fide CITFA subunit, essential for parasite viability and indispensable for RNA pol I transcription of ribosomal gene units and the active VSG expression site in the mammalian-infective life cycle stage of the parasite. Interestingly, CITFA-7 function appears to be species specific, because expression of an RNA interference (RNAi)-resistant CITFA-7 transgene from Trypanosoma cruzi could not rescue the lethal phenotype of silencing endogenous CITFA-7.

  9. Copper(I), silver(I) and gold(I) halide complexes with the dithioformamidinium dihalides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peyronel, Giorgio; Malavasi, Wanda; Pignedoli, Anna

    Some copper(I), silver(I) and gold(I) halide complexes with the dithioformamidinium dihalides (Tu 2X 2) were prepared and studied by infrared spectroscopy and conductometry: 3CuX.2Tu 2X 2(XCl,I), CuBr.Tu 2Br 2, 4CuBr.3.5Tu 2Br 2.MeOH, 2CuBr.Tu 2Br 2.0.66EtOH, 3CuI.2Tu 2I 2, 2AgCl.2.5Tu 2Cl 2, 3AgCl.2Tu 2Cl 2.0.5EtOH, 3AgCl.Tu 2Cl 2, 2AgBr.2Tu 2Br 2.0.5Tu 2(NO 3) 2.H 2O, AgBr.Tu 2Br 2, 4AgBr.Tu 2Br 2, 4AgI.0.5Tu 2I 2.EtOH, AuCl.1.5Tu 2Cl 2, 4AuCl.3.5Tu 2Cl 2.2DMF, AuBr.4Tu 2Br 2, AuBr.2Tu 2Br 2.1.5DMF, AuI.5Tu 2I 2, AuI.Tu 2I 2. A decrease of the ν(NH), δ(NH 2) and ν(CN 2) frequencies and an increase of the ν(CS) frequencies indicate an N-coordination of the dithioformamidinium cation to the metal ions; ν(MN) and ν(MX) frequencies are tentatively assigned in the far-infrared spectra.

  10. Orthodontic clockwise rotation of maxillomandibular complex for improving facial profile in late teenagers with Class III malocclusion: A preliminary report

    OpenAIRE

    Eric JW Liou; Yu-Chi Wang

    2018-01-01

    Objective: Orthodontic camouflage treatments improve occlusion but might worsen facial profile in patients with Class III malocclusion. It has been reported that surgical clockwise rotation of maxillomandibular complex (MMc) improves facial profile by reducing chin prominence and chin throat length in patients with Class III malocclusion. The purpose of this report was to illustrate two orthodontic techniques for clockwise rotation of the MMc in late teenagers with Class III malocclusion and ...

  11. Class prediction for high-dimensional class-imbalanced data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lusa Lara

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The goal of class prediction studies is to develop rules to accurately predict the class membership of new samples. The rules are derived using the values of the variables available for each subject: the main characteristic of high-dimensional data is that the number of variables greatly exceeds the number of samples. Frequently the classifiers are developed using class-imbalanced data, i.e., data sets where the number of samples in each class is not equal. Standard classification methods used on class-imbalanced data often produce classifiers that do not accurately predict the minority class; the prediction is biased towards the majority class. In this paper we investigate if the high-dimensionality poses additional challenges when dealing with class-imbalanced prediction. We evaluate the performance of six types of classifiers on class-imbalanced data, using simulated data and a publicly available data set from a breast cancer gene-expression microarray study. We also investigate the effectiveness of some strategies that are available to overcome the effect of class imbalance. Results Our results show that the evaluated classifiers are highly sensitive to class imbalance and that variable selection introduces an additional bias towards classification into the majority class. Most new samples are assigned to the majority class from the training set, unless the difference between the classes is very large. As a consequence, the class-specific predictive accuracies differ considerably. When the class imbalance is not too severe, down-sizing and asymmetric bagging embedding variable selection work well, while over-sampling does not. Variable normalization can further worsen the performance of the classifiers. Conclusions Our results show that matching the prevalence of the classes in training and test set does not guarantee good performance of classifiers and that the problems related to classification with class

  12. Anionic Sites, Fucose Residues and Class I Human Leukocyte Antigen Fate During Interaction of Toxoplasma gondii with Endothelial Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stumbo Ana Carolina

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available Toxoplasma gondii invades and proliferates in human umbilical vein endothelial cells where it resides in a parasitophorous vacuole. In order to analyze which components of the endothelial cell plasma membrane are internalized and become part of the parasitophorous vacuole membrane, the culture of endothelial cells was labeled with cationized ferritin or UEA I lectin or anti Class I human leukocytte antigen (HLA before or after infection with T. gondii. The results showed no cationized ferritin and UEA I lectin in any parasitophorous vacuole membrane, however, the Class I HLA molecule labeling was observed in some endocytic vacuoles containing parasite until 1 h of interaction with T. gondii. After 24 h parasite-host cell interaction, the labeling was absent on the vacuolar membrane, but presents only in small vesicles near parasitophorous vacuole. These results suggest the anionic site and fucose residues are excluded at the time of parasitophorous vacuole formation while Class I HLA molecules are present only on a minority of Toxoplasma-containig vacuoles.

  13. Genetics Home Reference: mitochondrial complex I deficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... the energy from food into a form that cells can use. Complex I is the first of five mitochondrial ... maternal inheritance. Because egg cells, but not sperm cells, contribute ... only from their mother. These disorders can appear in every generation of ...

  14. Predominant typologies of psychopathology in the United States: a latent class analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Gabalawy, Renée; Tsai, Jack; Harpaz-Rotem, Ilan; Hoff, Rani; Sareen, Jitender; Pietrzak, Robert H

    2013-11-01

    Latent class analysis (LCA) offers a parsimonious way of classifying common typologies of psychiatric comorbidity. We used LCA to identify the nature and correlates of predominant typologies of Axis I and II disorders in a large and comprehensive population-based sample of U.S. adults. We analyzed data from Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (2004-2005; n = 34,653), a population-based sample of U.S. adults. We derived latent classes based on all assessed Axis I and II disorders and examined the relationship between the identified Axis I classes and lifetime psychiatric disorders and suicide attempts, and physical and mental health-related quality of life. A four-class solution was optimal in characterizing predominant typologies of both Axis I and II disorders. For Axis I disorders, these included low psychopathology (n = 28,935, 84.0%), internalizing (n = 3693, 9.9%), externalizing (n = 1426, 4.5%), and high psychopathology (n = 599, 1.6%) classes. For Axis II disorders, these included no/low personality disorders (n = 31,265, 90.9%), obsessive/paranoid (n = 1635, 4.6%), borderline/dysregulated (n = 1319, 3.4%), and highly comorbid (n = 434, 1.1%) classes. Compared to the low psychopathology class, all other Axis I classes had significantly increased odds of mental disorders, elevated Axis II classes, suicide attempts and poorer quality of life, with the high psychopathology class having the overall highest rates of these correlates, with the exception of substance use disorders. Compared to the low psychopathology class, the internalizing and externalizing classes had increased rates of mood and anxiety disorders, and substance use disorders, respectively. Axis I and II psychopathology among U.S. adults may be best represented by four predominant typologies. Characterizing co-occurring patterns of psychopathology using person-based typologies represents a higher-order classification system that may be useful in clinical

  15. Expression of major histocompatibility complex class II and costimulatory molecules in oral carcinomas in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villarroel-Dorrego, Mariana; Speight, Paul M; Barrett, A William

    2005-01-01

    Recognition in the 1980 s that keratinocytes can express class II molecules of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) first raised the possibility that these cells might have an immunological function, and may even act as antigen presenting cells (APC). For effective T lymphocyte activation, APC require, in addition to MHC II, appropriate costimulatory signals. The aim of this study was to determine the expression of MHC class II and the co-stimulatory molecules CD40, CD80 and CD86 in keratinocytes derived from healthy oral mucosa and oral carcinomas. Using flow cytometry, it was confirmed that oral keratinocytes, switch on, expression of MHC class II molecules after stimulation with IFNgamma in vitro. All keratinocyte lines expressed CD40 constitutively; by contrast, CD80 and CD86 were universally absent. Loss of CD80 and CD86 may be one means whereby tumours escape immunological surveillance.

  16. Social class, social mobility and alcohol-related disorders in Swedish men and women: A study of four generations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sidorchuk, Anna; Goodman, Anna; Koupil, Ilona

    2018-01-01

    To investigate whether and how social class and social mobility in grandparents and parents predict alcohol-related disorders (ARDs) in males and females aged 12+ years, and whether intergenerational social prediction of ARDs varies across time periods. The study sample included four successive generations (G) of Swedish families from the Uppsala Birth Cohort Multigenerational Study: G0 born 1851-1912; G1 born 1915-1929; G2 born 1940-1964 and G3 born 1965-1989. Two study populations were created, each consisting of grandparents, parents and offspring: population I 'G0-G1-G2' (offspring n = 18 430) and population II 'G1-G2-G3' (offspring n = 26 469). Registers and archives provided data on ancestors' socio-demographic factors and ARD history, together with offspring ARD development between 1964-2008. Cox regression models examined the hazard of offspring ARD development according to grandparental social class and grandparental-to-parental social trajectories, controlling for offspring birth year, grandmother's and mother's marital status and parental ARDs. Disadvantaged grandparental social class predicted increased ARD risk in offspring in population I, although the effect attenuated and became non-significant in males after adjusting for parental characteristics (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 1.80 (95%CI; 1.07, 3.03) in females, HR = 1.32 (95%CI; 0.93, 1.89) in males). In population II, no increase in ARD risk by grandparental social was evident. In both populations, males were at the highest ARD risk if both parents and grandparents belonged to disadvantaged social class (population I: HR = 1.82 (95%CI; 1.22-2.72); population II: HR = 1.68 (95%CI; 1.02-2.76)). Intergenerational social patterning of ARDs appears to be time-contextual and gender-specific. The role of grandparental social class in developing ARDs in grandchildren seems to decline over time, while persistent grandparental-to-parental social disadvantage remains associated with higher ARD risk in males

  17. Hydrolysis of Letrozole catalyzed by macrocyclic Rhodium (I) Schiff-base complexes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reddy, P Muralidhar; Shanker, K; Srinivas, V; Krishna, E Ravi; Rohini, R; Srikanth, G; Hu, Anren; Ravinder, V

    2015-03-15

    Ten mononuclear Rhodium (I) complexes were synthesized by macrocyclic ligands having N4 and N2O2 donor sites. Square planar geometry is assigned based on the analytical and spectral properties for all complexes. Rh(I) complexes were investigated as catalysts in hydrolysis of Nitrile group containing pharmaceutical drug Letrozole. A comparative study showed that all the complexes are efficient in the catalysis. The percent yields of all the catalytic reaction products viz. drug impurities were determined by spectrophotometric procedures and characterized by spectral studies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. A screening procedure to evaluate air pollution effects on Class I wilderness areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Douglas G. Fox; Ann M. Bartuska; James G. Byrne; Ellis Cowling; Richard Fisher; Gene E. Likens; Steven E. Lindberg; Rick A. Linthurst; Jay Messer; Dale S. Nichols

    1989-01-01

    This screening procedure is intended to help wilderness managers conduct "adverse impact determinations" as part of Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) applications for sources that emit air pollutants that might impact Class I wildernesses. The process provides an initial estimate of susceptibility to critical loadings for sulfur, nitrogen, and...

  19. Purification of correctly oxidized MHC class I heavy-chain molecules under denaturing conditions: a novel strategy exploiting disulfide assisted protein folding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ferré, Henrik; Ruffet, Emmanuel; Blicher, Thomas

    2003-01-01

    The aim of this study has been to develop a strategy for purifying correctly oxidized denatured major histocompability complex class I (MHC-I) heavy-chain molecules, which on dilution, fold efficiently and become functional. Expression of heavy-chain molecules in bacteria results in the formation...... of insoluble cellular inclusion bodies, which must be solubilized under denaturing conditions. Their subsequent purification and refolding is complicated by the fact that (1). correct folding can only take place in combined presence of beta(2)-microglobulin and a binding peptide; and (2). optimal in vitro...... conditions for disulfide bond formation ( approximately pH 8) and peptide binding ( approximately pH 6.6) are far from complementary. Here we present a two-step strategy, which relies on uncoupling the events of disulfide bond formation and peptide binding. In the first phase, heavy-chain molecules...

  20. Purification of correctly oxidized MHC class I heavy-chain molecules under denaturing conditions: A novel strategy exploiting disulfide assisted protein folding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ferré, Henrik; Ruffet, E.; Blicher, T.

    2003-01-01

    The aim of this study has been to develop a strategy for purifying correctly oxidized denatured major histocompability complex class I (MHC-I) heavy-chain molecules, which on dilution, fold efficiently and become functional. Expression of heavy-chain molecules in bacteria results in the formation...... of insoluble cellular inclusion bodies, which must be solubilized under denaturing conditions. Their subsequent purification and refolding is complicated by the fact that (1) correct folding can only take place in combined presence of beta(2)-microglobulin and a binding peptide; and (2) optimal in vitro...... conditions for disulfide bond formation (similar topH 8) and peptide binding (similar topH 6.6) are far from complementary. Here we present a two-step strategy, which relies on uncoupling the events of disulfide bond formation and peptide binding. In the first phase, heavy-chain molecules with correct...

  1. Molecular phylogeny and comparative morphology indicate that odontostomatids (Alveolata, Ciliophora) form a distinct class-level taxon related to Armophorea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandes, Noemi M; Vizzoni, Vinicius F; Borges, Bárbara do N; A G Soares, Carlos; Silva-Neto, Inácio D da; S Paiva, Thiago da

    2018-04-18

    The odontostomatids are among the least studied ciliates, possibly due to their small sizes, restriction to anaerobic environments and difficulty in culturing. Consequently, their phylogenetic affinities to other ciliate taxa are still poorly understood. In the present study, we analyzed newly obtained ribosomal gene sequences of the odontostomatids Discomorphella pedroeneasi and Saprodinium dentatum, together with sequences from the literature, including Epalxella antiquorum and a large assemblage of ciliate sequences representing the major recognized classes. The results show that D. pedroeneasi and S. dentatum form a deep-diverging branch related to metopid and clevelandellid armophoreans, corroborating the old literature. However E. antiquorum clustered with the morphologically discrepant plagiopylids, indicating that either the complex odontostomatid body architecture evolved convergently, or the positioning of E. antiquorum as a plagiopylid is artifactual. A new ciliate class, Odontostomatea n. cl., is proposed based on molecular analyses and comparative morphology of odontostomatids with related taxa. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  2. An atlas of the thioredoxin fold class reveals the complexity of function-enabling adaptations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atkinson, Holly J; Babbitt, Patricia C

    2009-10-01

    The group of proteins that contain a thioredoxin (Trx) fold is huge and diverse. Assessment of the variation in catalytic machinery of Trx fold proteins is essential in providing a foundation for understanding their functional diversity and predicting the function of the many uncharacterized members of the class. The proteins of the Trx fold class retain common features-including variations on a dithiol CxxC active site motif-that lead to delivery of function. We use protein similarity networks to guide an analysis of how structural and sequence motifs track with catalytic function and taxonomic categories for 4,082 representative sequences spanning the known superfamilies of the Trx fold. Domain structure in the fold class is varied and modular, with 2.8% of sequences containing more than one Trx fold domain. Most member proteins are bacterial. The fold class exhibits many modifications to the CxxC active site motif-only 56.8% of proteins have both cysteines, and no functional groupings have absolute conservation of the expected catalytic motif. Only a small fraction of Trx fold sequences have been functionally characterized. This work provides a global view of the complex distribution of domains and catalytic machinery throughout the fold class, showing that each superfamily contains remnants of the CxxC active site. The unifying context provided by this work can guide the comparison of members of different Trx fold superfamilies to gain insight about their structure-function relationships, illustrated here with the thioredoxins and peroxiredoxins.

  3. Genomic Characterization of Methanomicrobiales Reveals Three Classes of Methanogens

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anderson, Iain; Ulrich, Luke E.; Lupa, Boguslaw; Susanti, Dwi; Porat, Iris; Hooper, Sean D.; Lykidis, Athanasios; Sieprawska-Lupa, Magdalena; Dharmarajan, Lakshmi; Goltsman, Eugene; Lapidus, Alla; Saunders, Elizabeth; Han, Cliff; Land, Miriam; Lucas, Susan; Mukhopadhyay, Biswarup; Whitman, William B.; Woese, Carl; Bristow, James; Kyrpides, Nikos

    2009-05-01

    Methanomicrobiales is the least studied order of methanogens. While these organisms appear to be more closely related to the Methanosarcinales in ribosomal-based phylogenetic analyses, they are metabolically more similar to Class I methanogens. In order to improve our understanding of this lineage, we have completely sequenced the genomes of two members of this order, Methanocorpusculum labreanum Z and Methanoculleus marisnigri JR1, and compared them with the genome of a third, Methanospirillum hungatei JF-1. Similar to Class I methanogens, Methanomicrobiales use a partial reductive citric acid cycle for 2-oxoglutarate biosynthesis, and they have the Eha energy-converting hydrogenase. In common with Methanosarcinales, Methanomicrobiales possess the Ech hydrogenase and at least some of them may couple formylmethanofuran formation and heterodisulfide reduction to transmembrane ion gradients. Uniquely, M. labreanum and M. hungatei contain hydrogenases similar to the Pyrococcus furiosus Mbh hydrogenase, and all three Methanomicrobiales have anti-sigma factor and anti-anti-sigma factor regulatory proteins not found in other methanogens. Phylogenetic analysis based on seven core proteins of methanogenesis and cofactor biosynthesis places the Methanomicrobiales equidistant from Class I methanogens and Methanosarcinales. Our results indicate that Methanomicrobiales, rather than being similar to Class I methanogens or Methanomicrobiales, share some features of both and have some unique properties. We find that there are three distinct classes of methanogens: the Class I methanogens, the Methanomicrobiales (Class II), and the Methanosarcinales (Class III).

  4. Peroxo-Type Intermediates in Class I Ribonucleotide Reductase and Related Binuclear Non-Heme Iron Enzymes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kepp, Kasper Planeta; Bell, Caleb B.; Clay, MIchael D.

    2009-01-01

    We have performed a systematic study of chemically possible peroxo-type intermediates occurring in the non-heme di-iron enzyme class la ribonucleotide reductase, using spectroscopically calibrated computational chemistry. Density functional computations of equilibrium structures, Fe-O and O-O str...

  5. The dominantly expressed class I molecule of the chicken MHC is explained by coevolution with the polymorphic peptide transporter (TAP) genes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Walker, Brian A; Hunt, Lawrence G; Sowa, Anna K

    2011-01-01

    In most mammals, the MHC class I molecules are polymorphic and determine the specificity of peptide presentation, whereas the transporter associated with antigen presentation (TAP) heterodimers are functionally monomorphic. In chickens, there are two classical class I genes but only one is expres...

  6. HLA non-class II genes may confer type I diabetes susceptibility in a Mapuche (Amerindian) affected family.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez-Bravo, Francisco; Martinez-Laso, Jorge; Martin-Villa, Jose M; Moscoso, Juan; Moreno, Almudena; Serrano-Vela, Juan I; Zamora, Jorge; Asenjo, Silvia; Gleisner, Andrea; Arnaiz-Villena, Antonio

    2006-01-01

    A rare case of type I diabetes is studied in an Amerindian (Mapuche) family from Chile, analyzing glutamic acid decarboxylase, islet-cell autoantibodies and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes. The affected sib is the only one that has one specific HLA haplotype combination that differs from the other sibs only in the HLA class I genes. It is concluded that HLA diabetes susceptibility factors may be placed outside the class II region or even that susceptibility factors do not exist in the HLA region in this Amerindian family.

  7. Class and Politics in Denmark: Are Both Old and New Politics Structured by Class?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Harrits, Gitte Sommer; Prieur, Annick; Rosenlund, Lennart

    2010-01-01

    The trend within studies of voting and political attitudes has been to give less attention to class as a structuring dimension and more to post-material values. The basic argument of this article is that this is a false opposition: The adherence to different sets of values is related to social...... background, although in complex ways, which can only be discovered with a multidimensional conception of what class is. This conception may be found in Pierre Bourdieu's analytical approach, which we here apply in an analysis of survey data from a Danish city, Aalborg. Data from a survey of political...... the constructed space of attitudes to a set of indicators based on a two-dimensional conception of social class. On the basis of this analysis the article concludes that the political landscape appears as highly structured by the two principles of social differentiation from Bourdieu’s class model: volume...

  8. The Class I HDAC Inhibitor RGFP963 Enhances Consolidation of Cued Fear Extinction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowers, Mallory E.; Xia, Bing; Carreiro, Samantha; Ressler, Kerry J.

    2015-01-01

    Evidence indicates that broad, nonspecific histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition enhances learning and memory, however, the contribution of the various HDACs to specific forms of learning is incompletely understood. Here, we show that the Class I HDAC inhibitor, RGFP963, enhances consolidation of cued fear extinction. However, RGFP966, a strong…

  9. Upwardly Mobile: Attitudes toward the Class Transition among First-Generation College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinz, Serena E.

    2016-01-01

    First-generation, working-class college students are on the path to upward mobility and may have social and psychological problems related to cultural differences between the working class and the middle class. In her study, Hurst (2007, 2010) reports that students of working-class origin often choose loyalty to one class. However, I revise…

  10. Parametric embedding for class visualization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwata, Tomoharu; Saito, Kazumi; Ueda, Naonori; Stromsten, Sean; Griffiths, Thomas L; Tenenbaum, Joshua B

    2007-09-01

    We propose a new method, parametric embedding (PE), that embeds objects with the class structure into a low-dimensional visualization space. PE takes as input a set of class conditional probabilities for given data points and tries to preserve the structure in an embedding space by minimizing a sum of Kullback-Leibler divergences, under the assumption that samples are generated by a gaussian mixture with equal covariances in the embedding space. PE has many potential uses depending on the source of the input data, providing insight into the classifier's behavior in supervised, semisupervised, and unsupervised settings. The PE algorithm has a computational advantage over conventional embedding methods based on pairwise object relations since its complexity scales with the product of the number of objects and the number of classes. We demonstrate PE by visualizing supervised categorization of Web pages, semisupervised categorization of digits, and the relations of words and latent topics found by an unsupervised algorithm, latent Dirichlet allocation.

  11. The Escape of Cancer from T Cell-Mediated Immune Surveillance: HLA Class I Loss and Tumor Tissue Architecture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Federico Garrido

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Tumor immune escape is associated with the loss of tumor HLA class I (HLA-I expression commonly found in malignant cells. Accumulating evidence suggests that the efficacy of immunotherapy depends on the expression levels of HLA class I molecules on tumors cells. It also depends on the molecular mechanism underlying the loss of HLA expression, which could be reversible/“soft” or irreversible/“hard” due to genetic alterations in HLA, β2-microglobulin or IFN genes. Immune selection of HLA-I negative tumor cells harboring structural/irreversible alterations has been demonstrated after immunotherapy in cancer patients and in experimental cancer models. Here, we summarize recent findings indicating that tumor HLA-I loss also correlates with a reduced intra-tumor T cell infiltration and with a specific reorganization of tumor tissue. T cell immune selection of HLA-I negative tumors results in a clear separation between the stroma and the tumor parenchyma with leucocytes, macrophages and other mononuclear cells restrained outside the tumor mass. Better understanding of the structural and functional changes taking place in the tumor microenvironment may help to overcome cancer immune escape and improve the efficacy of different immunotherapeutic strategies. We also underline the urgent need for designing strategies to enhance tumor HLA class I expression that could improve tumor rejection by cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL.

  12. Light harvesting complexes of Chromera velia, photosynthetic relative of apicomplexan parasites

    KAUST Repository

    Tichý, Josef

    2013-06-01

    The structure and composition of the light harvesting complexes from the unicellular alga Chromera velia were studied by means of optical spectroscopy, biochemical and electron microscopy methods. Two different types of antennae systems were identified. One exhibited a molecular weight (18-19 kDa) similar to FCP (fucoxanthin chlorophyll protein) complexes from diatoms, however, single particle analysis and circular dichroism spectroscopy indicated similarity of this structure to the recently characterized XLH antenna of xanthophytes. In light of these data we denote this antenna complex CLH, for "Chromera Light Harvesting" complex. The other system was identified as the photosystem I with bound Light Harvesting Complexes (PSI-LHCr) related to the red algae LHCI antennae. The result of this study is the finding that C. velia, when grown in natural light conditions, possesses light harvesting antennae typically found in two different, evolutionary distant, groups of photosynthetic organisms. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. "Oh! Iben's Here Now, So We Better Behave Properly"—The Production of Class as Morality in Research Encounters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iben Charlotte Aamann

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This article is a study of how class is produced in research encounters as matters of morality. I engage various class perspectives, arguing that class today occurs in subtle ways, being lived as judgments and struggles around moral authorization. I draw on my experiences during six months of ethnographic fieldwork among ethnic Danish middle- and working-class parents when involved in their six-year-old children's start in the final preschool class. In light of my methodological problems with establishing trustful relations with the participants, I argue that I was being interpreted as a judge with a mandate to pass moral judgments on the parents. While this interpretation was common among the participants, they positioned themselves in three radically different ways towards the researcher and "judge": "eager to get a positive judgment," "in the same boat" and "refusing to get judged." This, I argue, reflects contours of class relations in contemporary, neoliberal societies. I also call for acknowledgment of how the power relations embedded in social, qualitative research are often matters of class. Further, I argue that in a broader methodological perspective, we also need to recognize and investigate the classed dimensions of social research to enhance our understanding of the processes involved in qualitative studies.

  14. 41 CFR 301-10.122 - What class of airline accommodations must I use?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What class of airline accommodations must I use? 301-10.122 Section 301-10.122 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Travel Regulation System TEMPORARY DUTY (TDY) TRAVEL ALLOWANCES ALLOWABLE TRAVEL EXPENSES 10-TRANSPORTATION EXPENSES Common Carrier Transportatio...

  15. Azido, triazolyl, and alkynyl complexes of gold(I): syntheses, structures, and ligand effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robilotto, Thomas J; Deligonul, Nihal; Updegraff, James B; Gray, Thomas G

    2013-08-19

    Gold(I) triazolyl complexes are prepared in [3 + 2] cycloaddition reactions of (tertiary phosphine)gold(I) azides with terminal alkynes. Seven such triazolyl complexes, not previously prepared, are described. Reducible functional groups are accommodated. In addition, two new (N-heterocyclic carbene)gold(I) azides and two new gold(I) alkynyls are described. Eight complexes are crystallographically authenticated; aurophilic interactions appear in one structure only. The packing diagrams of gold(I) triazolyls all show intermolecular hydrogen bonding between N-1 of one molecule and N-3 of a neighbor. This hydrogen bonding permeates the crystal lattice. Density-functional theory calculations of (triphenylphosphine)gold(I) triazolyls and the corresponding alkynyls indicate that the triazolyl is a stronger trans-influencer than is the alkynyl, but the alkynyl is more electron-releasing. These results suggest that trans-influences in two-coordinate gold(I) complexes can be more than a simple matter of ligand donicity.

  16. Slow magnetic relaxation and single-molecule toroidal behaviour in a family of heptanuclear {Cr"I"I"ILn"I"I"I_6} (Ln=Tb, Ho, Er) complexes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vignesh, Kuduva R. [IITB-Monash Research Academy, IIT Bombay, Powai, Mumbai (India); Langley, Stuart K. [School of Science and the Environment, Division of Chemistry, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester (United Kingdom); Swain, Abinash; Rajaraman, Gopalan [Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai (India); Moubaraki, Boujemaa; Murray, Keith S. [School of Chemistry, Monash University, Clayton, VIC (Australia); Damjanovic, Marko; Wernsdorfer, Wolfgang [Institute Neel, CNRS, Universite Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble (France); Institute of Nanotechnology (INT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen (Germany)

    2018-01-15

    The synthesis, magnetic properties, and theoretical studies of three heterometallic {Cr"I"I"ILn"I"I"I_6} (Ln=Tb, Ho, Er) complexes, each containing a metal topology consisting of two Ln{sub 3} triangles connected via a Cr{sup III} linker, are reported. The {CrTb_6} and {CrEr_6} analogues display slow relaxation of magnetization in a 3000 Oe static magnetic field. Single-crystal measurements reveal opening up of the hysteresis loop for {CrTb_6} and {CrHo_6} molecules at low temperatures. Ab initio calculations predict toroidal magnetic moments in the two Ln{sub 3} triangles, which are found to couple, stabilizing a con-rotating ferrotoroidal ground state in Tb and Ho examples and extend the possibility of observing toroidal behaviour in non Dy{sup III} complexes for the first time. (copyright 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  17. Antibodies Against β2-Glycoprotein I Complexed With an Oxidised Lipoprotein Relate to Intima Thickening of Carotid Arteries in Primary Antiphospholipid Syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. R. J. Ames

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available To explore whether antibodies against β2-glycoprotein I (β2GPI complexed to 7-ketocholesteryl-9-carboxynonanoate (oxLig-1 and to oxidised low-density lipoproteins (oxLDL relate to paraoxonase activity (PONa and/or intima media thickness (IMT of carotid arteries in primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS. As many as 29 thrombotic patients with PAPS, 10 subjects with idiopathic antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL without thrombosis, 17 thrombotic patients with inherited thrombophilia and 23 healthy controls were investigated. The following were measured in all participants: β2GPI−oxLDL complexes, IgG anti-β2GPI−oxLig-1, IgG anti-β2GPI−oxLDL antibodies (ELISA, PONa, (para-nitrophenol method, IMT of common carotid (CC artery, carotid bifurcation (B, internal carotid (IC by high resolution sonography. β2GPI−oxLDL complex was highest in the control group (p < 0.01, whereas, IgG anti-β2GPI−oxLig1 and IgG anti-β2GPI−oxLDL were highest in PAPS (p < 0.0001. In healthy controls, β2GPI−oxLDL complexes positively correlated to IMT of the IC (p = 0.007 and negatively to PONa after correction for age (p < 0.03. PONa inversely correlated with age (p = 0.008. In PAPS, IgG anti-2GPI−oxLig-1 independently predicted PONa (p = 0.02 and IMT of B (p = 0.003, CC, (p = 0.03 and of IC (p = 0.04. In PAPS, PONa inversely correlated to the IMT of B, CC and IC (p = 0.01, 0.02 and 0.003, respectively. IgG anti-2GPI−oxLig-1 may be involved in PAPS related atherogenesis via decreased PON activity.

  18. Machine learning for predicting soil classes in three semi-arid landscapes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brungard, Colby W.; Boettinger, Janis L.; Duniway, Michael C.; Wills, Skye A.; Edwards, Thomas C.

    2015-01-01

    forests (RF) using covariates selected via recursive feature elimination was consistently the most accurate, or was among the most accurate, classifiers between study areas and between covariate sets within each study area. We recommend that for soil taxonomic class prediction, complex models and covariates selected by recursive feature elimination be used. Overall classification accuracy in each study area was largely dependent upon the number of soil taxonomic classes and the frequency distribution of pedon observations between taxonomic classes. Individual subgroup class accuracy was generally dependent upon the number of soil pedon observations in each taxonomic class. The number of soil classes is related to the inherent variability of a given area. The imbalance of soil pedon observations between classes is likely related to cLHS. Imbalanced frequency distributions of soil pedon observations between classes must be addressed to improve model accuracy. Solutions include increasing the number of soil pedon observations in classes with few observations or decreasing the number of classes. Spatial predictions using the most accurate models generally agree with expected soil–landscape relationships. Spatial prediction uncertainty was lowest in areas of relatively low relief for each study area.

  19. Social class, dementia and the fourth age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Ian Rees

    2017-02-01

    Research addressing social class and dementia has largely focused on measures of socioeconomic status as causal risk factors for dementia and in observed differences in diagnosis, treatment and care. This large body of work has produced important insights but also contains numerous problems and weaknesses. Research needs to take account of the ways in which ageing and social class have been transformed in tandem with the economic, social and cultural coordinates of late modernity. These changes have particular consequences for individual identities and social relations. With this in mind this article adopts a critical gaze on research that considers interactions between dementia and social class in three key areas: (i) epidemiological approaches to inequalities in risk (ii) the role of social class in diagnosis and treatment and (iii) class in the framing of care and access to care. Following this, the article considers studies of dementia and social class that focus on lay understandings and biographical accounts. Sociological insights in this field come from the view that dementia and social class are embedded in social relations. Thus, forms of distinction based on class relations may still play an important role in the lived experience of dementia. © 2017 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.

  20. Functional dissection of the proton pumping modules of mitochondrial complex I.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Dröse

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Mitochondrial complex I, the largest and most complicated proton pump of the respiratory chain, links the electron transfer from NADH to ubiquinone to the pumping of four protons from the matrix into the intermembrane space. In humans, defects in complex I are involved in a wide range of degenerative disorders. Recent progress in the X-ray structural analysis of prokaryotic and eukaryotic complex I confirmed that the redox reactions are confined entirely to the hydrophilic peripheral arm of the L-shaped molecule and take place at a remarkable distance from the membrane domain. While this clearly implies that the proton pumping within the membrane arm of complex I is driven indirectly via long-range conformational coupling, the molecular mechanism and the number, identity, and localization of the pump-sites remains unclear. Here, we report that upon deletion of the gene for a small accessory subunit of the Yarrowia complex I, a stable subcomplex (nb8mΔ is formed that lacks the distal part of the membrane domain as revealed by single particle analysis. The analysis of the subunit composition of holo and subcomplex by three complementary proteomic approaches revealed that two (ND4 and ND5 of the three subunits with homology to bacterial Mrp-type Na(+/H(+ antiporters that have been discussed as prime candidates for harbouring the proton pumps were missing in nb8mΔ. Nevertheless, nb8mΔ still pumps protons at half the stoichiometry of the complete enzyme. Our results provide evidence that the membrane arm of complex I harbours two functionally distinct pump modules that are connected in series by the long helical transmission element recently identified by X-ray structural analysis.

  1. Isolation of a monoclonal antibody from a phage display library binding the rhesus macaque MHC class I allomorph Mamu-A1*001.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nathan Holman

    Full Text Available Monoclonal antibodies that bind to human leukocyte antigen (HLA are useful tools for HLA-typing, tracking donor-recipient chimerisms after bone marrow transplants, and characterizing specific major histocompatibility complexes (MHC on cell surfaces. Unfortunately, equivalent reagents are not available for rhesus macaques, which are commonly used animal as models in organ transplant and infectious disease research. To address this deficiency, we isolated an antibody that recognizes the common Indian rhesus macaque MHC class I molecule, Mamu-A1*001. We induced Mamu-A1*001-binding antibodies by alloimmunizing a female Mamu-A1*001-negative rhesus macaque with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC from a male Mamu-A1*001-positive donor. A Fab phage display library was constructed with PBMC from the alloimmunized macaque and panned to isolate an antibody that binds to Mamu-A1*001 but not to other common rhesus macaque MHC class I molecules. The isolated antibody distinguishes PBMC from Mamu-A1*001-positive and -negative macaques. Additionally, the Mamu-A1*001-specific antibody binds the cynomolgus macaque MHC class I ortholog Mafa-A1*001:01 but not variants Mafa-A1*001:02/03, indicating a high degree of binding specificity. The Mamu-A1*001-specific antibody will be useful for identifying Mamu-A1*001-positive rhesus macaques, for detecting Mamu-A1*001-positive cells in populations of Mamu-A1*001-negative cells, and for examining disease processes that alter expression of Mamu-A1*001 on cell surfaces. Moreover, the alloimmunization process we describe will be useful for isolating additional MHC allomorph-specific monoclonal antibodies or antibodies against other polymorphic host proteins which are difficult to isolate with traditional technologies.

  2. Neuronal MHC Class I Expression Is Regulated by Activity Driven Calcium Signaling.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dan Lv

    Full Text Available MHC class I (MHC-I molecules are important components of the immune system. Recently MHC-I have been reported to also play important roles in brain development and synaptic plasticity. In this study, we examine the molecular mechanism(s underlying activity-dependent MHC-I expression using hippocampal neurons. Here we report that neuronal expression level of MHC-I is dynamically regulated during hippocampal development after birth in vivo. Kainic acid (KA treatment significantly increases the expression of MHC-I in cultured hippocampal neurons in vitro, suggesting that MHC-I expression is regulated by neuronal activity. In addition, KA stimulation decreased the expression of pre- and post-synaptic proteins. This down-regulation is prevented by addition of an MHC-I antibody to KA treated neurons. Further studies demonstrate that calcium-dependent protein kinase C (PKC is important in relaying KA simulation activation signals to up-regulated MHC-I expression. This signaling cascade relies on activation of the MAPK pathway, which leads to increased phosphorylation of CREB and NF-κB p65 while also enhancing the expression of IRF-1. Together, these results suggest that expression of MHC-I in hippocampal neurons is driven by Ca2+ regulated activation of the MAPK signaling transduction cascade.

  3. REPERE TEORETICE ŞI PRAXIOLOGICE ALE CONSILIERII ONTOLOGICE COMPLEXE A PERSOANEI ŞI FAMILIEI ÎN CONTEXTUL INTER-, PLURI- ŞI TRANSDISCIPLINARITĂŢII

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Larisa CUZNEŢOV

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available În articol este prezentat un studiu teoretico-aplicativ care iniţiază în Consilierea ontologică complexă a familiei/COCF. Este elucidată fundamentarea ştiinţifică a COCF şi a Modelului sintetic al consilierii ontologice complexe a familiei. Concomitent, studiul reflectă specificul şi caracteristicile COCF, inclusiv descrie componentele şi subcomponentele Modelului sintetic al consilierii ontologice complexe a familiei, după cum urmează: fundamentele epistemologice; perspectivele integrării teoretice; filosofia adoptată de consilier; cunoaşterea ştiinţifică cu cele patru subcomponente: ipotetizarea, cunoaşterea factuală, cunoaşterea nomologică, cunoaşterea tehnologică; procesul consilierii constituit din 20 de etape; factorii comuni privind rezultatele consilierii şi finalităţile COCF. În concluzie se menţionează că modelul expus în studiu şi procesul COCF au fost experimentate cu succes, timp de 11 ani, de către autor şi discipolii ei, ceea ce a permis formarea şi consolidarea unor comportamente şi schimbări conştiente de tip evolutiv şi prospectiv/ strategice.THEORETICAL AND PRAXIOLOGICAL BASES OF COMPLEX ONTHOLOGICAL COUNSELING OF INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES IN THE CONTEXT OF INTER-, PLURI- AND TRANSDISCIPLINARITYThis article contains a theoretical and applied study which initiates us into Complex ontological family counseling/ COFC. The author highlights the scientific substantiation of COFC and the Synthetic model of complex ontological family counseling. Simultaneously, study reflects characteristics and features of COCF, including components and subcomponents which describesSynthetic model of complex ontological family counseling, as follows: epistemological foundations; theoretical prospects of integration; philosophy adopted by advisor; scientific knowledge with four sub­components/ hypothesization, factual knowledge, nomological knowledge, technological knowledge, counseling process, consists of

  4. Horse cDNA clones encoding two MHC class I genes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barbis, D.P.; Maher, J.K.; Stanek, J.; Klaunberg, B.A.; Antczak, D.F.

    1994-12-31

    Two full-length clones encoding MHC class I genes were isolated by screening a horse cDNA library, using a probe encoding in human HLA-A2.2Y allele. The library was made in the pcDNA1 vector (Invitrogen, San Diego, CA), using mRNA from peripheral blood lymphocytes obtained from a Thoroughbred stallion (No. 0834) homozygous for a common horse MHC haplotype (ELA-A2, -B2, -D2; Antczak et al. 1984; Donaldson et al. 1988). The clones were sequenced, using SP6 and T7 universal primers and horse-specific oligonucleotides designed to extend previously determined sequences.

  5. Cellular expression or binding of desLys58-beta2 microglobulin is not dependent on the presence of the tri-molecular MHC class I complex

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, M; Corlin, D B; Heegaard, N H H

    2008-01-01

    -exposure to dbeta2m. Binding of 332-01 antibody could not be displaced by addition of high concentrations of native beta2m. In conclusion, our data indicate that dbeta2m - in contrast to native beta2m - binds to a hitherto unknown cell surface receptor independent of classical MHC class I molecules. As beta2m has...... previously been shown to display biological activities such as the induction of both growth promotion and apoptosis, C1 complement activity, shown to mediate cleavage of beta2m, could be involved in these processes....

  6. Intractable secretory diarrhea in a Japanese boy with mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I deficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murayama, Kei; Nagasaka, Hironori; Tsuruoka, Tomoko; Omata, Yuko; Horie, Hiroshi; Tregoning, Simone; Thorburn, David R; Takayanagi, Masaki; Ohtake, Akira

    2009-03-01

    The etiology of secretory diarrhea in early life is often unclear. We report a Japanese boy who survived until 3 years of age, despite intractable diarrhea commencing soon after birth. The fecal sodium content was strikingly high (109 mmol/L [normal range, 27-35 mmol/L]) and the osmotic gap was decreased (15 mOsm/kg), consistent with the findings of congenital sodium diarrhea. We examined the mitochondrial respiratory chain function by blue native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (BN-PAGE) in-gel enzyme staining, BN-PAGE western blotting, respiratory chain enzyme activity assay, and immunohistochemistry. Liver respiratory chain complex (Co) I activity was undetectable, while other respiratory chain complex activities were increased (Co II, 138%; Co III, 153%; Co IV, 126% versus respective control activities). Liver BN-PAGE in-gel enzyme staining and western blotting showed an extremely weak complex I band, while immunohistochemistry showed extremely weak staining for the 30-kDa subunit of complex I, but normal staining for the 70-kDa subunit of complex II. The patient was, therefore, diagnosed with complex I deficiency. The overall complex I activity of the jejunum was substantially decreased (63% of the control activity). The immunohistochemistry displayed apparently decreased staining of the 30-kDa complex I subunit, together with a slightly enhanced staining of the 70-kDa complex II subunit in intestinal epithelial cells. These data imply that intestinal epithelial cells are also complex I-deficient in this patient. Complex I deficiency is a novel cause of secretory diarrhea and may act via disrupting the supply of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) needed for the maintenance of ion gradients across membranes.

  7. An atlas of the thioredoxin fold class reveals the complexity of function-enabling adaptations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Holly J Atkinson

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available The group of proteins that contain a thioredoxin (Trx fold is huge and diverse. Assessment of the variation in catalytic machinery of Trx fold proteins is essential in providing a foundation for understanding their functional diversity and predicting the function of the many uncharacterized members of the class. The proteins of the Trx fold class retain common features-including variations on a dithiol CxxC active site motif-that lead to delivery of function. We use protein similarity networks to guide an analysis of how structural and sequence motifs track with catalytic function and taxonomic categories for 4,082 representative sequences spanning the known superfamilies of the Trx fold. Domain structure in the fold class is varied and modular, with 2.8% of sequences containing more than one Trx fold domain. Most member proteins are bacterial. The fold class exhibits many modifications to the CxxC active site motif-only 56.8% of proteins have both cysteines, and no functional groupings have absolute conservation of the expected catalytic motif. Only a small fraction of Trx fold sequences have been functionally characterized. This work provides a global view of the complex distribution of domains and catalytic machinery throughout the fold class, showing that each superfamily contains remnants of the CxxC active site. The unifying context provided by this work can guide the comparison of members of different Trx fold superfamilies to gain insight about their structure-function relationships, illustrated here with the thioredoxins and peroxiredoxins.

  8. Selection and Characterization of Palmitic Acid Responsive Patients with an OXPHOS Complex I Defect

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    Tom E. J. Theunissen

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Mitochondrial disorders are genetically and clinically heterogeneous, mainly affecting high energy-demanding organs due to impaired oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS. Currently, effective treatments for OXPHOS defects, with complex I deficiency being the most prevalent, are not available. Yet, clinical practice has shown that some complex I deficient patients benefit from a high-fat or ketogenic diet, but it is unclear how these therapeutic diets influence mitochondrial function and more importantly, which complex I patients could benefit from such treatment. Dietary studies in a complex I deficient patient with exercise intolerance showed increased muscle endurance on a high-fat diet compared to a high-carbohydrate diet. We performed whole-exome sequencing to characterize the genetic defect. A pathogenic homozygous p.G212V missense mutation was identified in the TMEM126B gene, encoding an early assembly factor of complex I. A complementation study in fibroblasts confirmed that the p.G212V mutation caused the complex I deficiency. The mechanism turned out to be an incomplete assembly of the peripheral arm of complex I, leading to a decrease in the amount of mature complex I. The patient clinically improved on a high-fat diet, which was supported by the 25% increase in maximal OXPHOS capacity in TMEM126B defective fibroblast by the saturated fatty acid palmitic acid, whereas oleic acid did not have any effect in those fibroblasts. Fibroblasts of other patients with a characterized complex I gene defect were tested in the same way. Patient fibroblasts with complex I defects in NDUFS7 and NDUFAF5 responded to palmitic acid, whereas ACAD9, NDUFA12, and NDUFV2 defects were non-responding. Although the data are too limited to draw a definite conclusion on the mechanism, there is a tendency that protein defects involved in early assembly complexes, improve with palmitic acid, whereas proteins defects involved in late assembly, do not. Our data show at

  9. Components of soft tissue deformations in subjects with untreated angle's Class III malocclusions: thin-plate spline analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, G D; McNamara, J A; Lozanoff, S

    1998-01-01

    While the dynamics of maxillo-mandibular allometry associated with treatment modalities available for the management of Class III malocclusions currently are under investigation, developmental aberration of the soft tissues in untreated Class III malocclusions requires specification. In this study, lateral cephalographs of 124 prepubertal European-American children (71 with untreated Class III malocclusion; 53 with Class I occlusion) were traced, and 12 soft-tissue landmarks digitized. Resultant geometries were scaled to an equivalent size and mean Class III and Class I configurations compared. Procrustes analysis established statistical difference (P thin-plate spline (TPS) analysis indicated that both affine and non-affine transformations contribute towards the deformation (total spline) of the averaged Class III soft tissue configuration. For non-affine transformations, partial warp 8 had the highest magnitude, indicating large-scale deformations visualized as a combination of columellar retrusion and lower labial protrusion. In addition, partial warp 5 also had a high magnitude, demonstrating upper labial vertical compression with antero-inferior elongation of the lower labio-mental soft tissue complex. Thus, children with Class III malocclusions demonstrate antero-posterior and vertical deformations of the maxillary soft tissue complex in combination with antero-inferior mandibular soft tissue elongation. This pattern of deformations may represent gene-environment interactions, resulting in Class III malocclusions with characteristic phenotypes, that are amenable to orthodontic and dentofacial orthopedic manipulations.

  10. Disability pension by occupational class--the impact of work-related factors: the Hordaland Health Study Cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haukenes, Inger; Mykletun, Arnstein; Knudsen, Ann Kristin; Hansen, Hans-Tore; Mæland, John Gunnar

    2011-05-30

    The social gradient in disability pension is well recognized, however mechanisms accounting for the gradient are largely unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between occupational class and subsequent disability pension among middle-aged men and women, and to what extent work-related factors accounted for the association. A subsample (N = 7031) of the population-based Hordaland Health Study (HUSK) conducted in 1997-99, provided self-reported information on health and work-related factors, and were grouped in four strata by Erikson, Goldthorpe and Portocareros occupational class scheme. The authors obtained follow-up data on disability pension by linking the health survey to national registries of benefit (FD-trygd). They employed Cox regression analysis and adjusted for gender, health (medical conditions, mental health, self-perceived health, somatic symptoms) and work-related factors (working hours, years in current occupation, physical demands, job demands, job control). A strong gradient in disability pension by occupational class was found. In the fully adjusted model the risk (hazard ratio) ranged from 1.41 (95% CI 0.84 to 2.33) in the routine non-manual class, 1.87 (95% CI 1.07 to 3.27) in the skilled manual class and 2.12 (95% CI 1.14 to 3.95) in the unskilled manual class, employing the administrator and professional class as reference. In the gender and health-adjusted model work-related factors mediated the impact of occupational class on subsequent disability pension with 5% in the routine non-manual class, 26% in the skilled manual class and 24% in the unskilled manual class. The impact of job control and physical demands was modest, and mainly seen among skilled and unskilled manual workers. Workers in the skilled and unskilled manual classes had a substantial unexplained risk of disability pension. Work-related factors only had a moderate impact on the disability risk. Literature indicates an accumulation of hazards in the

  11. Disability pension by occupational class - the impact of work-related factors: The Hordaland Health Study Cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background The social gradient in disability pension is well recognized, however mechanisms accounting for the gradient are largely unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between occupational class and subsequent disability pension among middle-aged men and women, and to what extent work-related factors accounted for the association. Methods A subsample (N = 7031) of the population-based Hordaland Health Study (HUSK) conducted in 1997-99, provided self-reported information on health and work-related factors, and were grouped in four strata by Erikson, Goldthorpe and Portocareros occupational class scheme. The authors obtained follow-up data on disability pension by linking the health survey to national registries of benefit (FD-trygd). They employed Cox regression analysis and adjusted for gender, health (medical conditions, mental health, self-perceived health, somatic symptoms) and work-related factors (working hours, years in current occupation, physical demands, job demands, job control). Results A strong gradient in disability pension by occupational class was found. In the fully adjusted model the risk (hazard ratio) ranged from 1.41 (95% CI 0.84 to 2.33) in the routine non-manual class, 1.87 (95% CI 1.07 to 3.27) in the skilled manual class and 2.12 (95% CI 1.14 to 3.95) in the unskilled manual class, employing the administrator and professional class as reference. In the gender and health-adjusted model work-related factors mediated the impact of occupational class on subsequent disability pension with 5% in the routine non-manual class, 26% in the skilled manual class and 24% in the unskilled manual class. The impact of job control and physical demands was modest, and mainly seen among skilled and unskilled manual workers. Conclusions Workers in the skilled and unskilled manual classes had a substantial unexplained risk of disability pension. Work-related factors only had a moderate impact on the disability risk. Literature indicates

  12. Disability pension by occupational class - the impact of work-related factors: The Hordaland Health Study Cohort

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Knudsen Ann

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The social gradient in disability pension is well recognized, however mechanisms accounting for the gradient are largely unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between occupational class and subsequent disability pension among middle-aged men and women, and to what extent work-related factors accounted for the association. Methods A subsample (N = 7031 of the population-based Hordaland Health Study (HUSK conducted in 1997-99, provided self-reported information on health and work-related factors, and were grouped in four strata by Erikson, Goldthorpe and Portocareros occupational class scheme. The authors obtained follow-up data on disability pension by linking the health survey to national registries of benefit (FD-trygd. They employed Cox regression analysis and adjusted for gender, health (medical conditions, mental health, self-perceived health, somatic symptoms and work-related factors (working hours, years in current occupation, physical demands, job demands, job control. Results A strong gradient in disability pension by occupational class was found. In the fully adjusted model the risk (hazard ratio ranged from 1.41 (95% CI 0.84 to 2.33 in the routine non-manual class, 1.87 (95% CI 1.07 to 3.27 in the skilled manual class and 2.12 (95% CI 1.14 to 3.95 in the unskilled manual class, employing the administrator and professional class as reference. In the gender and health-adjusted model work-related factors mediated the impact of occupational class on subsequent disability pension with 5% in the routine non-manual class, 26% in the skilled manual class and 24% in the unskilled manual class. The impact of job control and physical demands was modest, and mainly seen among skilled and unskilled manual workers. Conclusions Workers in the skilled and unskilled manual classes had a substantial unexplained risk of disability pension. Work-related factors only had a moderate impact on the disability risk

  13. Chemotherapeutics and radiation stimulate MHC class I expression through elevated interferon-beta signaling in breast cancer cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shan Wan

    Full Text Available Low doses of anticancer drugs have been shown to enhance antitumor immune response and increase the efficacy of immunotherapy. The molecular basis for such effects remains elusive, although selective depletion of T regulatory cells has been demonstrated. In the current studies, we demonstrate that topotecan (TPT, a topoisomerase I-targeting drug with a well-defined mechanism of action, stimulates major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I expression in breast cancer cells through elevated expression/secretion of interferon-β (IFN-β and activation of type I IFN signaling. First, we show that TPT treatment elevates the expression of both total and cell-surface MHC I in breast cancer cells. Second, conditioned media from TPT-treated breast cancer ZR-75-1 cells induce elevated expression of cell-surface MHC I in drug-naïve recipient cells, suggesting the involvement of cytokines and/or other secreted molecules. Consistently, TPT-treated cells exhibit elevated expression of multiple cytokines such as IFN-β, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8. Third, either knocking down the type I interferon receptor subunit 1 (IFNAR1 or addition of neutralizing antibody against IFN-β results in reduced MHC I expression in TPT-treated cells. Together, these results suggest that TPT induces increased IFN-β autocrine/paracrine signaling through type I IFN receptor, resulting in the elevated MHC I expression in tumor cells. Studies have also demonstrated that other chemotherapeutic agents (e.g. etoposide, cisplatin, paclitaxel and vinblastine similarly induce increased IFN-β secretion and elevated MHC I expression. In addition, conditioned media from γ-irradiated donor cells are shown to induce IFN-β-dependent MHC I expression in unirradiated recipient cells. In the aggregate, our results suggest that many cancer therapeutics induce elevated tumor antigen presentation through MHC I, which could represent a common mechanism for enhanced antitumor immune response through

  14. Proton transfer and complex formation of angiotensin I ions with gaseous molecules at various temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nonose, Shinji; Yamashita, Kazuki; Sudo, Ayako; Kawashima, Minami

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Proton transfer from angiotensin I ions (z = 2, 3) to gaseous molecules was studied. • Temperature dependence of absolute reaction rate constants was measured. • Remarkable changes were obtained for distribution of product ions and reaction rate constants. • Proton transfer reaction was enhanced and reduced by complex formation. • Conformation changes are induced by complex formation and or by thermal collision with He. - Abstract: Proton transfer reactions of angiotensin I ions for +2 charge state, [M + 2H] 2+ , to primary, secondary and aromatic amines were examined in the gas phase. Absolute reaction rate constants for proton transfer were determined from intensities of parent and product ions in the mass spectra. Temperature dependence of the reaction rate constants was measured. Remarkable change was observed for distribution of product ions and reaction rate constants. Proton transfer reaction was enhanced or reduced by complex formation of [M + 2H] 2+ with gaseous molecules. The results relate to conformation changes of [M + 2H] 2+ with change of temperature, which are induced by complex formation and or by thermal collision with He. Proton transfer reactions of angiotensin I ions for +3 charge state, [M + 3H] 3+ , were also studied. The reaction rates did not depend on temperature so definitely

  15. Direct binding to antigen-coated beads refines the specificity and cross-reactivity of four monoclonal antibodies that recognize polymorphic epitopes of HLA class I molecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hilton, H G; Parham, P

    2013-04-01

    Monoclonal antibodies with specificity for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I determinants of HLA were originally characterized using serological assays in which the targets were cells expressing three to six HLA class I variants. Because of this complexity, the specificities of the antibodies were defined indirectly by correlation. Here we use a direct binding assay, in which the targets are synthetic beads coated with 1 of 111 HLA class I variants, representing the full range of HLA-A, -B and -C variation. We studied one monoclonal antibody with monomorphic specificity (W6/32) and four with polymorphic specificity (MA2.1, PA2.1, BB7.2 and BB7.1) and compared the results with those obtained previously. W6/32 reacted with all HLA class I variants. MA2.1 not only exhibits high specificity for HLA-A*02, -B*57 and -B*58, but also exhibited cross-reactivity with HLA-A*11 and -B*15:16. At low concentration (1 µg/ml), PA2.1 and BB7.2 were both specific for HLA-A*02 and -A*69, and at high concentration (50 µg/ml) exhibited significant cross-reactions with HLA-A*68, -A*23 and -A*24. BB7.1 exhibits specificity for HLA-B*07 and -B*42, as previously described, but reacts equally well with HLA-B*81, a rare allotype defined some 16 years after the description of BB7.1. The results obtained with cell-based and bead-based assays are consistent and, in combination with amino acid sequence comparison, increase understanding of the polymorphic epitopes recognized by the MA2.1, PA2.1, BB7.2 and BB7.1 antibodies. Comparison of two overlapping but distinctive bead sets from two sources gave similar results, but the overall levels of binding were significantly different. Several weaker reactions were observed with only one of the bead sets. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  16. Gene duplication and fragmentation in the zebra finch major histocompatibility complex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balakrishnan, Christopher N; Ekblom, Robert; Völker, Martin; Westerdahl, Helena; Godinez, Ricardo; Kotkiewicz, Holly; Burt, David W; Graves, Tina; Griffin, Darren K; Warren, Wesley C; Edwards, Scott V

    2010-04-01

    Due to its high polymorphism and importance for disease resistance, the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) has been an important focus of many vertebrate genome projects. Avian MHC organization is of particular interest because the chicken Gallus gallus, the avian species with the best characterized MHC, possesses a highly streamlined minimal essential MHC, which is linked to resistance against specific pathogens. It remains unclear the extent to which this organization describes the situation in other birds and whether it represents a derived or ancestral condition. The sequencing of the zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata genome, in combination with targeted bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) sequencing, has allowed us to characterize an MHC from a highly divergent and diverse avian lineage, the passerines. The zebra finch MHC exhibits a complex structure and history involving gene duplication and fragmentation. The zebra finch MHC includes multiple Class I and Class II genes, some of which appear to be pseudogenes, and spans a much more extensive genomic region than the chicken MHC, as evidenced by the presence of MHC genes on each of seven BACs spanning 739 kb. Cytogenetic (FISH) evidence and the genome assembly itself place core MHC genes on as many as four chromosomes with TAP and Class I genes mapping to different chromosomes. MHC Class II regions are further characterized by high endogenous retroviral content. Lastly, we find strong evidence of selection acting on sites within passerine MHC Class I and Class II genes. The zebra finch MHC differs markedly from that of the chicken, the only other bird species with a complete genome sequence. The apparent lack of synteny between TAP and the expressed MHC Class I locus is in fact reminiscent of a pattern seen in some mammalian lineages and may represent convergent evolution. Our analyses of the zebra finch MHC suggest a complex history involving chromosomal fission, gene duplication and translocation in the

  17. Gene duplication and fragmentation in the zebra finch major histocompatibility complex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Burt David W

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Due to its high polymorphism and importance for disease resistance, the major histocompatibility complex (MHC has been an important focus of many vertebrate genome projects. Avian MHC organization is of particular interest because the chicken Gallus gallus, the avian species with the best characterized MHC, possesses a highly streamlined minimal essential MHC, which is linked to resistance against specific pathogens. It remains unclear the extent to which this organization describes the situation in other birds and whether it represents a derived or ancestral condition. The sequencing of the zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata genome, in combination with targeted bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC sequencing, has allowed us to characterize an MHC from a highly divergent and diverse avian lineage, the passerines. Results The zebra finch MHC exhibits a complex structure and history involving gene duplication and fragmentation. The zebra finch MHC includes multiple Class I and Class II genes, some of which appear to be pseudogenes, and spans a much more extensive genomic region than the chicken MHC, as evidenced by the presence of MHC genes on each of seven BACs spanning 739 kb. Cytogenetic (FISH evidence and the genome assembly itself place core MHC genes on as many as four chromosomes with TAP and Class I genes mapping to different chromosomes. MHC Class II regions are further characterized by high endogenous retroviral content. Lastly, we find strong evidence of selection acting on sites within passerine MHC Class I and Class II genes. Conclusion The zebra finch MHC differs markedly from that of the chicken, the only other bird species with a complete genome sequence. The apparent lack of synteny between TAP and the expressed MHC Class I locus is in fact reminiscent of a pattern seen in some mammalian lineages and may represent convergent evolution. Our analyses of the zebra finch MHC suggest a complex history involving

  18. Inner-Sphere versus Outer-Sphere Coordination of BF4– in a NHC-Gold(I) Complex

    KAUST Repository

    Veenboer, Richard M. P.

    2017-07-20

    The role of counterions in chemistry mediated by gold complexes stretches much further than merely providing charge balance to cationic gold species. Interplay between their basicities and coordination strengths influences interactions with both the gold center and substrates in catalysis. Actual monogold(I) active species are generally believed to be monocoordinated species, formed from the abstraction or the decoordination of a second ligand from precursor complexes, but only a small amount of experimental evidence exists to underpin the existence of these transient species. The formation of a bench-stable neutral IPrCl-gold(I) tetrafluoroborate complex is reported herein. Experimental studies by X-ray diffraction analysis and NMR spectroscopy and theoretical studies by DFT calculations were conducted to determine the composition, structure, and behavior of this complex. The absence of an auxiliary ligand resulted in inner-sphere coordination of the counterion in the solid state. In solution, an equilibrium between two conformations was found with the counterion occupying inner-sphere and outer-sphere positions, respectively. Stoichiometric and catalytic reactivity studies with the tetrafluoroborate complex have been conducted. These confirmed the lability of the inner-sphere coordinating counterion that gives the IPrCl-gold(I) fragment behavior similar to that of related systems.

  19. Inner-Sphere versus Outer-Sphere Coordination of BF4– in a NHC-Gold(I) Complex

    KAUST Repository

    Veenboer, Richard M. P.; Collado, Alba; Dupuy, Sté phanie; Lebl, Tomas; Falivene, Laura; Cavallo, Luigi; Cordes, David B.; Slawin, Alexandra M. Z.; Cazin, Catherine S. J.; Nolan, Steven P.

    2017-01-01

    The role of counterions in chemistry mediated by gold complexes stretches much further than merely providing charge balance to cationic gold species. Interplay between their basicities and coordination strengths influences interactions with both the gold center and substrates in catalysis. Actual monogold(I) active species are generally believed to be monocoordinated species, formed from the abstraction or the decoordination of a second ligand from precursor complexes, but only a small amount of experimental evidence exists to underpin the existence of these transient species. The formation of a bench-stable neutral IPrCl-gold(I) tetrafluoroborate complex is reported herein. Experimental studies by X-ray diffraction analysis and NMR spectroscopy and theoretical studies by DFT calculations were conducted to determine the composition, structure, and behavior of this complex. The absence of an auxiliary ligand resulted in inner-sphere coordination of the counterion in the solid state. In solution, an equilibrium between two conformations was found with the counterion occupying inner-sphere and outer-sphere positions, respectively. Stoichiometric and catalytic reactivity studies with the tetrafluoroborate complex have been conducted. These confirmed the lability of the inner-sphere coordinating counterion that gives the IPrCl-gold(I) fragment behavior similar to that of related systems.

  20. Class I Cytokine Receptors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Steinocher, Helena

    , the minimal determinants for specificity between membrane spanning helices were investigated with small artificial low complexity peptides, prior found to activate the EPOR in cells. The placement of single methyl group in the so called transmembrane aptamers (traptamers) determined the stabilizing effect...... characteristics of membrane spanning helices, was designed and hGHR TMD and hEPOR TMD produced in sufficient amounts for spectroscopic investigations. The isolated hGHR TMD was revealed to associate in dimeric complexes in detergent micelles and first presumptions about the dimer interface could be made. Further...... the traptamers on the hEPOR TMD dimeric complex in detergent micelles. To gain a better understanding of hGHR regulation a point mutation in the hGHR intracellular domain (ICD), which has recently been linked to lung cancer, was characterized. The mutation was found to decrease binding of suppressor of cytokine...

  1. Congenital deficiency of two polypeptide subunits of the iron-protein fragment of mitochondrial complex I.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreadith, R W; Cleeter, M W; Ragan, C I; Batshaw, M L; Lehninger, A L

    1987-02-01

    Recently, we described a patient with severe lactic acidosis due to congenital complex I (NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase) deficiency. We now report further enzymatic and immunological characterizations. Both NADH and ferricyanide titrations of complex I activity (measured as NADH-ferricyanide reductase) were distinctly altered in the mitochondria from the patient's tissues. In addition, antisera against complex I immunoprecipitated NADH-ferricyanide reductase from the control but not the patient's mitochondria. However, immunoprecipitation and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of complex I polypeptides demonstrated that the majority of the 25 polypeptides comprising complex I were present in the affected mitochondria. A more detailed analysis using subunit selective antisera against the main polypeptides of the iron-protein fragments of complex I revealed a selective absence of the 75- and 13-kD polypeptides. These findings suggest that the underlying basis for this patient's disease was a congenital deficiency of at least two polypeptides comprising the iron-protein fragment of complex I, which resulted in the inability to correctly assemble a functional enzyme complex.

  2. Repression of MHC class I transcription by HPV16E7 through interaction with a putative RXRβ motif and NF-κB cytoplasmic sequestration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Hui; Zhan, TaiLan; Li, Chang; Liu, Mugen; Wang, Qing K.

    2009-01-01

    Down-regulation of transcription of the MHC class I genes in HPV16 tumorigenic cells is partly due to HPV16E7 associated with the MHC class I promoter and repressed chromatin activation. In this study, we further demonstrated that HPV16E7 is physically associated with a putative RXRβ binding motif (GGTCA) of the proximal promoter of the MHC class I genes by using reporter transcriptional assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. Our data also provide evidence that HPV16E7 inhibits TNF-α-induced up-regulation of MHC class I transcription by impaired nuclear translocation of NF-κB. More importantly, CaSki tumor cells treated with TSA and transfected with the constitutively active mutant form of IKK-α (which can activate NF-κB directly) showed a maximal level of up-regulation of MHC-I expression. Taken together, our results suggest that HPV16E7 may employ two independent mechanisms to ensure that either the constitutive or inducible transcription of MHC class I genes is down-regulated.

  3. Isolation and characterization of major histocompatibility complex class IIB genes from the nurse shark.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartl, S; Weissman, I L

    1994-01-04

    The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) contains a set of linked genes which encode cell surface proteins involved in the binding of small peptide antigens for their subsequent recognition by T lymphocytes. MHC proteins share structural features and the presence and location of polymorphic residues which play a role in the binding of antigens. In order to compare the structure of these molecules and gain insights into their evolution, we have isolated two MHC class IIB genes from the nurse shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum. Two clones, most probably alleles, encode proteins which differ by 13 amino acids located in the putative antigen-binding cleft. The protein structure and the location of polymorphic residues are similar to their mammalian counterparts. Although these genes appear to encode a typical MHC protein, no T-cell-mediated responses have been demonstrated in cartilaginous fish. The nurse shark represents the most phylogenetically primitive organism in which both class IIA [Kasahara, M., Vazquez, M., Sato, K., McKinney, E.C. & Flajnik, M.F. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci USA 89, 6688-6692] and class IIB genes, presumably encoding the alpha/beta heterodimer, have been isolated.

  4. The production of KIR-Fc fusion proteins and their use in a multiplex HLA class I binding assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hilton, Hugo G; Moesta, Achim K; Guethlein, Lisbeth A; Blokhuis, Jeroen; Parham, Peter; Norman, Paul J

    2015-10-01

    Soluble recombinant proteins that comprise the extracellular part of a surface expressed receptor attached to the Fc region of an IgG antibody have facilitated the determination of ligand specificity for an array of immune system receptors. Among such receptors is the family of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) that recognize HLA class I ligands. These receptors, expressed on natural killer (NK) cells and T cells, play important roles in both immune defense and placental development in early pregnancy. Here we describe a method for the production of two domain KIR-Fc fusion proteins using baculovirus infected insect cells. This method is more scalable than traditional mammalian cell expression systems and produces efficiently folded proteins that carry posttranslational modifications found in native KIR. We also describe a multiplex binding assay using the Luminex platform that determines the avidity and specificity of two domain KIR-Fc for a panel of microbeads, each coated with one of 97 HLA class I allotypes. This assay is simple to perform, and represents a major improvement over the assays used previously, which were limited in the number of KIR and HLA class I combinations that could be assayed at any one time. The results obtained from this assay can be used to predict the response of NK cell and T cells when their KIR recognize HLA class I. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Regulation of <i>MIR165/166i> by class II and class III homeodomain leucine zipper proteins establishes leaf polarity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Merelo, Paz; Ram, Hathi; Caggiano, Monica Pia

    2016-01-01

    A defining feature of plant leaves is their flattened shape. This shape depends on an antagonism between the genes that specify adaxial (top) and abaxial (bottom) tissue identity; however, the molecular nature of this antagonism remains poorly understood. Class III homeodomain leucine zipper (HD-...... show that class III and class II HD-ZIP proteins act together to repress MIR165/166 via a conserved cis-element in their promoters. Organ morphology and tissue patterning in plants, therefore, depend on a bidirectional repressive circuit involving a set of miRNAs and its targets....

  6. New bioactive silver(I) complexes: Synthesis, characterization, anticancer, antibacterial and anticarbonic anhydrase II activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozdemir, Ummuhan O.; Ozbek, Neslihan; Genc, Zuhal Karagoz; İlbiz, Firdevs; Gündüzalp, Ayla Balaban

    2017-06-01

    Silver(I) complexes of alkyl sulfonic acide hydrazides were newly synthesized as homologous series. Methanesulfonic acide hydrazide (L1), ethanesulfonic acide hydrazide (L2), propanesulfonic acide hydrazide (L3) and butanesulfonic acide hydrazide (L4) were used for complexation with Ag(I) ions. The silver complexes obtained in the mol ratio of 1:2 have the structural formula as Ag(L1)2NO3 (I), Ag(L2)2NO3 (II), Ag(L3)2NO3(III), (Ag(L4)2NO3 (IV). The Ag(I) complexes exhibit distorted linear two-fold coordination in [AgL2]+ cations with uncoordinated nitrates. Ligands are chelated with silver(I) ions through unsubstituted primary nitrogen in hydrazide group. Ag(I) complexes were characterized by using elemental analysis, spectroscopic methods (FT-IR, LC-MS), magnetic susceptibility and conductivity measurements. Silver(I) complexes were optimized using PBEPBE/LanL2DZ/DEF2SV basic set performed by DFT method with the Gaussian 09 program package. The geometrical parameters, frontier molecular orbitals (HOMOs and LUMOs) and molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) mapped surfaces of the optimized geometries were also determined by this quantum set. The anticancer activities of silver(I) complexes on MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line were investigated by comparing IC50 values. The antibacterial activities of complexes were studied against Gram positive bacteria; S. aureus ATCC 6538, B. subtilis ATCC 6633, B. cereus NRRL-B-3711, E. faecalis ATCC 29212 and Gram negative bacteria; E. coli ATCC 11230, P. aeruginosa ATCC 15442, K. pneumonia ATCC 70063 by using disc diffusion method. The inhibition activities of Ag(I) complexes on carbonic anhydrase II enzyme (hCA II) were also investigated by comparing IC50 and Ki values. The biological activity screening shows that Ag(I) complex of butanesulfonicacidehydrazide (IV) has the highest activity against tested breast cancer cell lines MCF-7, Gram positive/Gram negative bacteria and carbonic anhydrase II (hCA II) isoenzyme.

  7. Insights into the Halogen Oxidative Addition Reaction to Dinuclear Gold(I) Di(NHC) Complexes

    KAUST Repository

    Baron, Marco; Tubaro, Cristina; Basato, Marino; Isse, Abdirisak Ahmed; Gennaro, Armando; Cavallo, Luigi; Graiff, Claudia; Dolmella, Alessandro; Falivene, Laura; Caporaso, Lucia

    2016-01-01

    Gold(I) dicarbene complexes [Au2(MeIm-Y-ImMe)2](PF6)2(Y=CH2(1), (CH2)2(2), (CH2)4(4), MeIm=1-methylimidazol-2-ylidene) react with iodine to give the mixed-valence complex [Au(MeIm-CH2-ImMe)2AuI2](PF6)2(1 aI) and the gold(III) complexes [Au2I4(Me

  8. Effect of cyclodextrin complexation on the aqueous solubility and solubility/dose ratio of praziquantel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maragos, Stratos; Archontaki, Helen; Macheras, Panos; Valsami, Georgia

    2009-01-01

    Praziquantel (PZQ), the primary drug of choice in the treatment of schistosomiasis, is a highly lipophilic drug that possesses high permeability and low aqueous solubility and is, therefore, classified as a Class II drug according to the Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS). In this work, beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) and hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD) were used in order to determine whether increasing the aqueous solubility of a drug by complexation with CDs, a BCS-Class II compound like PZQ could behave as BCS-Class I (highly soluble/highly permeable) drug. Phase solubility and the kneading and lyophilization techniques were used for inclusion complex preparation; solubility was determined by UV spectroscopy. The ability of the water soluble polymer polyvinylpyrolidone (PVP) to increase the complexation and solubilization efficiency of beta-CD and HP-beta-CD for PZQ was examined. Results showed significant improvement of PZQ solubility in the presence of both cyclodextrins but no additional effect in the presence of PVP. The solubility/dose ratios values of PZQ-cyclodextrin complexes calculated considering the low (150 mg) and the high dose (600 mg) of PZQ, used in practice, indicate that PZQ complexation with CDs may result in drug dosage forms that would behave as a BCS-Class I depending on the administered dose.

  9. Isolation and characterization of major histocompatibility complex class IIB genes from the nurse shark.

    OpenAIRE

    Bartl, S; Weissman, I L

    1994-01-01

    The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) contains a set of linked genes which encode cell surface proteins involved in the binding of small peptide antigens for their subsequent recognition by T lymphocytes. MHC proteins share structural features and the presence and location of polymorphic residues which play a role in the binding of antigens. In order to compare the structure of these molecules and gain insights into their evolution, we have isolated two MHC class IIB genes from the nurse...

  10. Exploring the unbinding of Leishmania (L.) amazonensis CPB derived-epitopes from H2 MHC class I proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandt, Artur M L; Batista, Paulo Ricardo; Souza-Silva, Franklin; Alves, Carlos Roberto; Caffarena, Ernesto Raul

    2016-04-01

    New strategies to control Leishmania disease demand an extensive knowledge about several aspects of infection including the understanding of its molecular events. In murine models, cysteine proteinase B from Leishmania amazonensis promotes regulation of immune response, and fragments from its C-terminus extension (cyspep) can play a decisive role in the host-parasite interaction. The interaction between cyspep-derived peptides and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins is a crucial factor in Leishmania infections. Seven cyspep-derived peptides, previously identified as capable of interacting with H-2 (murine) MHC class I proteins, were studied in this work. We established a protocol to simulate the unbinding of these peptides from the cleft of H-2 receptors. From the simulations, we estimated the corresponding free energy of dissociation (ΔGd ) and described the molecular events that occur during the exit of peptides from the cleft. To test the reliability of this method, we first applied it to a calibration set of four crystallographic MHC/peptide complexes. Next, we explored the unbinding of the seven complexes mentioned above. Results were consistent with ΔGd values obtained from surface plasmon resonance (SPR) experiments. We also identified some of the primary interactions between peptides and H-2 receptors, and we detected three regions of influence for the interaction. This pattern was systematically observed for the peptides and helped determine a minimum distance for the real interaction between peptides and H-2 proteins occurring at ∼ 25 Å. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Philosophy, history and sociology of science: interdisciplinary relations and complex social identities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riesch, Hauke

    2014-12-01

    Sociology and philosophy of science have an uneasy relationship, while the marriage of history and philosophy of science has--on the surface at least--been more successful I will take a sociological look at the history of the relationships between philosophy and history as well as philosophy and sociology of science. Interdisciplinary relations between these disciplines will be analysed through social identity complexity theory in oider to draw out some conclusions on how the disciplines interact and how they might develop. I will use the relationships between the disciplines as a pointer for a more general social theory of interdisciplinarity which will then be used to sound a caution on how interdisciplinary relations between the three disciplines might be managed.

  12. Gapped sequence alignment using artificial neural networks: application to the MHC class I system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andreatta, Massimo; Nielsen, Morten

    2016-01-01

    . On this relatively simple system, we developed a sequence alignment method based on artificial neural networks that allows insertions and deletions in the alignment. Results: We show that prediction methods based on alignments that include insertions and deletions have significantly higher performance than methods...... trained on peptides of single lengths. Also, we illustrate how the location of deletions can aid the interpretation of the modes of binding of the peptide-MHC, as in the case of long peptides bulging out of the MHC groove or protruding at either terminus. Finally, we demonstrate that the method can learn...... the length profile of different MHC molecules, and quantified the reduction of the experimental effort required to identify potential epitopes using our prediction algorithm. Availability and implementation: The NetMHC-4.0 method for the prediction of peptide-MHC class I binding affinity using gapped...

  13. 127I Moessbauer study of some oxygen bonded iodine(I) and iodine(III) complexes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bardhan, M.; Birchall, T.; Frampton, C.; Kapoor, P.

    1988-01-01

    127 I Moessbauer spectra have been recorded at 4.2 0 K for a series of oxygen bonded iodine(I) and iodine(III) complexes. The sign of the quadrupole coupling constant is dependant only on the primary arrangement of ligands about the central iodine nucleus whereas the magnitude and the asymmetry parameter are more sensitive to ligand electronegativity and type. (orig.)

  14. Autoimmunity and inflammation are independent of class II transactivator type PIV-dependent class II major histocompatibility complex expression in peripheral tissues during collagen-induced arthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waldburger, Jean-Marc; Palmer, Gaby; Seemayer, Christian; Lamacchia, Celine; Finckh, Axel; Christofilopoulos, Panayiotis; Baeten, Dominique; Reith, Walter; Gabay, Cem

    2011-11-01

    To determine the regulation of class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) expression in fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) in order to investigate their role as nonprofessional antigen-presenting cells in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). Expression of class II MHC, class II MHC transactivator (CIITA), and Ciita isoforms PI, PIII, and PIV was examined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, and flow cytometry in human synovial tissues, arthritic mouse joints, and human and murine FLS. CIA was induced in mice in which isoform PIV of Ciita was knocked out (PIV(-/-) ), in PIV(-/-) mice transgenic for CIITA in the thymus (K14 CIITA), and in their control littermates. HLA-DRA, total CIITA, and CIITA PIII messenger RNA levels were significantly increased in synovial tissue samples from patients with rheumatoid arthritis compared with the levels in tissue from patients with osteoarthritis. Human FLS expressed surface class II MHC via CIITA PIII and PIV, while class II MHC expression in murine FLS was entirely mediated by PIV. Mice with a targeted deletion of CIITA PIV lack CD4+ T cells and were protected against CIA. The expression of CIITA was restored in the thymus of PIV(-/-) K14 CIITA-transgenic mice, which had a normal CD4+ T cell repertoire and normal surface levels of class II MHC on professional antigen-presenting cells, but did not induce class II MHC on FLS. Synovial inflammation and immune responses against type II collagen were similar in PIV(-/-) K14 CIITA-transgenic mice and control mice with CIA, but bone erosion was significantly reduced in the absence of PIV. Overexpression of class II MHC is tightly correlated with CIITA expression in arthritic synovium and in FLS. Selective targeting of Ciita PIV in peripheral tissues abrogates class II MHC expression by murine FLS but does not protect against inflammation and autoimmune responses in CIA. Copyright © 2011 by the American College of Rheumatology.

  15. Understanding Class in Contemporary Societies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Harrits, Gitte Sommer

    2007-01-01

    In this paper, I argue that claims about the death of class and the coming of the classless society are premature. Such claims are seldom genuinely empirical, and the theoretical argument often refers to a simple and therefore easily dismissible concept of class. By rejecting the concept of class...... altogether, sociological theory runs the risk of loosing the capacity for analysing stratification and vertical differentiation of power and freedom, which in late modernity seem to be a of continuing importance. Hence, I argue that although class analysis faces a number of serious challenges, it is possible...... to reinvent class analysis. The sociology of Pierre Bourdieu in many ways introduces an appropriate paradigm, and the paper therefore critically discusses Bourdieu's concept of class. Since the "Bourdieuan" class concept is primarily epistemological, i.e. a research strategy more than a theory, empirical...

  16. Defining the HLA class I-associated viral antigen repertoire from HIV-1-infected human cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ternette, Nicola; Yang, Hongbing; Partridge, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    Recognition and eradication of infected cells by cytotoxic T lymphocytes is a key defense mechanism against intracellular pathogens. High-throughput definition of HLA class I-associated immunopeptidomes by mass spectrometry is an increasingly important analytical tool to advance our understanding...

  17. MHC class I dowregulation, tumour escape from immune surveillance and design of therapeutic strategies

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Bubeník, Jan

    2005-01-01

    Roč. 51, č. 1 (2005), s. 1-2 ISSN 0015-5500 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA301/04/0492; GA MZd NR7807 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50520514 Keywords : MHC class I * immune surveillance * immunotherapy Subject RIV: EC - Immunology Impact factor: 0.719, year: 2005

  18. Derandomizing complexity classes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Miltersen, Peter Bro

    2001-01-01

    Consider a randomized algorithm, such as the Rabin primality test of Rabin, 1976. This algorithm is given as input an integer n, and as auxiliary input, a sequence of coin tosses, i.e., a vector of unbiased independent random bits. The test gives as output either "n is a prime" or "n is not a pri...

  19. New complexes of silver (I) with N-hydroxy-succinimide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sibiescu, Doina; Mîţǎ, Carmen; Vizitiu, Mihaela; Crudu, Andra Manuela

    2016-12-01

    Over the last period of time silver was considerably studied due to its lower resistivity. In the field of materials science, silver was used in applications such as: microelectronics components of high - temperature superconductiviting materials, bactericidal coatings and others domains. This study presents the process of obtaining and characterization the new complexes of silver (I) with Nhydroxy- succinimide. In the process of obtaining the new complex compounds in aqous solution, first we have to look at conductometry and UV-Vis absorbtion spectroscopy in order to determine the molar ratio silver : N-hydroxysuccinimide and the stability constants. The obtained solid coordination compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy and also was investigated of their thermostability. The X-ray powder diffraction reflects that the complexes compounds of silver (I) with N-hydroxysuccinimide are amorphous. In our further studies we want to determine if the new synthetized compounds will present the same or improuved properties as in the above mentioned silver characteristics.

  20. Genotype-phenotype correlation and functional studies in patients with cystic fibrosis bearing CFTR complex alleles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terlizzi, Vito; Castaldo, Giuseppe; Salvatore, Donatello; Lucarelli, Marco; Raia, Valeria; Angioni, Adriano; Carnovale, Vincenzo; Cirilli, Natalia; Casciaro, Rosaria; Colombo, Carla; Di Lullo, Antonella Miriam; Elce, Ausilia; Iacotucci, Paola; Comegna, Marika; Scorza, Manuela; Lucidi, Vincenzina; Perfetti, Anna; Cimino, Roberta; Quattrucci, Serena; Seia, Manuela; Sofia, Valentina Maria; Zarrilli, Federica; Amato, Felice

    2017-04-01

    The effect of complex alleles in cystic fibrosis (CF) is poorly defined for the lack of functional studies. To describe the genotype-phenotype correlation and the results of either in vitro and ex vivo studies performed on nasal epithelial cells (NEC) in a cohort of patients with CF carrying cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator ( CFTR ) complex alleles. We studied 70 homozygous, compound heterozygous or heterozygous for CFTR mutations: p.[Arg74Trp;Val201Met;Asp1270Asn], n=8; p.[Ile148Thr;Ile1023_Val1024del], n=5; p.[Arg117Leu;Leu997Phe], n=6; c.[1210-34TG[12];1210-12T[5];2930C>T], n=3; p.[Arg74Trp;Asp1270Asn], n=4; p.Asp1270Asn, n=2; p.Ile148Thr, n=6; p.Leu997Phe, n=36. In 39 patients, we analysed the CFTR gating activity on NEC in comparison with patients with CF (n=8) and carriers (n=4). Finally, we analysed in vitro the p.[Arg74Trp;Val201Met;Asp1270Asn] complex allele. The p.[Ile148Thr;Ile1023_Val1024del] caused severe CF in five compound heterozygous with a class I-II mutation. Their CFTR activity on NEC was comparable with patients with two class I-II mutations (mean 7.3% vs 6.9%). The p.[Arg74Trp;Asp1270Asn] and the p.Asp1270Asn have scarce functional effects, while p.[Arg74Trp;Val201Met;Asp1270Asn] caused mild CF in four of five subjects carrying a class I-II mutation in trans , or CFTR-related disorders (CFTR-RD) in three having in trans a class IV-V mutation. The p.[Arg74Trp;Val201Met;Asp1270Asn] causes significantly (pT] and a class I-II mutation had mild CF or CFTR-RD (gating activity: 18.5-19.0%). The effect of complex alleles partially depends on the mutation in trans . Although larger studies are necessary, the CFTR activity on NEC is a rapid contributory tool to classify patients with CFTR dysfunction. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  1. Combination of expansion and orthognathic surgery in a severe hyperdivergent skeletal Class III malocclusion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anadha Gujar

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Class III malocclusions with a severe hyperdivergent growth pattern are very complex to plan and treat. This case report describes the treatment of an adult with a skeletal Class III malocclusion with a midface deficiency, severe bilateral posterior crossbite, and a severe hyperdivergent growth pattern by a combination of a bonded rapid maxillary expansion appliance and surgical procedure of Le Fort I osteotomy for maxillary advancement.

  2. MHC class I cross-talk with CD2 and CD28 induces specific intracellular signalling and leads to growth retardation and apoptosis via a p56(lck)-dependent mechanism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ruhwald, M; Pedersen, Anders Elm; Claesson, M H

    1999-01-01

    Ligation of the major histocompatibility complex class I molecules (MHC-I) on human T lymphoma cells (Jurkat) initiates p56(lck)-dependent intracellular signalling events (phosphotyrosine kinase activity; [Ca(2+)](i)) and leads to augmented growth inhibition and apoptosis. MHC-I ligation in concert...... of apoptosis. In parallel experiments with the p56(lck)-negative Jurkat mutant cell, JCaM1.6, cross-linking neither influenced cell signalling nor cellular growth functions, indicating a cardinal role of the src kinases in signal transduction via MHC-I, CD2 and CD28 molecules. The results presented here...... with ligation of CD2 or CD28 augments, changes or modifies the pattern of activation. Ligation of MHC-I and CD2 alone resulted in growth inhibition, whereas CD28 ligation alone had no effect on cell proliferation. Ligation of MHC-I together with CD2 augmented growth inhibition and enhanced the level...

  3. Cyclometalated N-heterocyclic carbene iridium(iii) complexes with naphthalimide chromophores: a novel class of phosphorescent heteroleptic compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lanoë, Pierre-Henri; Chan, Jonny; Groué, Antoine; Gontard, Geoffrey; Jutand, Anny; Rager, Marie-Noelle; Armaroli, Nicola; Monti, Filippo; Barbieri, Andrea; Amouri, Hani

    2018-03-06

    A series of cyclometalated N-heterocyclic carbene complexes of the general formula [Ir(C^N) 2 (C^C:)] has been prepared. Two sets of compounds were designed, those where (C^C:) represents a bidentate naphthalimide-substituted imidazolylidene ligand and (C^N) = ppy (3a), F2ppy (4a), bzq (5a) and those where (C^C:) represents a naphthalimide-substituted benzimidazolylidene ligand and (C^N) = ppy (3b), F2ppy (4b), bzq (5b). The naphthalimide-imidazole and naphthalimide-benzimidazole ligands 1a,b and the related imidazolium and benzimidazolium salts 2a,b were also prepared and fully characterized. The N-heterocyclic carbene Ir(iii) complexes have been characterized by NMR spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and elemental analysis. Moreover, the molecular structures of one imidazolium salt and four Ir(iii) complexes were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The structures provide us with valuable information, most notably the orientation of the naphthalimide chromophore with respect to the N-heterocyclic carbene moiety. All compounds are luminescent at room temperature and in a frozen solvent at 77 K, exhibiting a broad emission band that extends beyond 700 nm. The presence of the naphthalimide moiety changes the character of the lowest excited state from 3 MLCT to 3 LC, as corroborated by DFT and TD-DFT calculations. Remarkably, replacing imidazole with a benzimidazole unit improves the quantum yields of these compounds by decreasing the k nr values which is an important feature for optimized emission performance. These studies provide valuable insights about a novel class of N-heterocyclic carbene-based luminescent complexes containing organic chromophores and affording metal complexes emitting across the red-NIR range.

  4. The complex and quaternionic quantum bit from relativity of simultaneity on an interferometer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garner, Andrew J P; Müller, Markus P; Dahlsten, Oscar C O

    2017-12-01

    The patterns of fringes produced by an interferometer have long been important testbeds for our best contemporary theories of physics. Historically, interference has been used to contrast quantum mechanics with classical physics, but recently experiments have been performed that test quantum theory against even more exotic alternatives. A physically motivated family of theories are those where the state space of a two-level system is given by a sphere of arbitrary dimension. This includes classical bits, and real, complex and quaternionic quantum theory. In this paper, we consider relativity of simultaneity (i.e. that observers may disagree about the order of events at different locations) as applied to a two-armed interferometer, and show that this forbids most interference phenomena more complicated than those of complex quantum theory. If interference must depend on some relational property of the setting (such as path difference), then relativity of simultaneity will limit state spaces to standard complex quantum theory, or a subspace thereof. If this relational assumption is relaxed, we find one additional theory compatible with relativity of simultaneity: quaternionic quantum theory. Our results have consequences for current laboratory interference experiments: they have to be designed carefully to avoid rendering beyond-quantum effects invisible by relativity of simultaneity.

  5. Structure of the Deactive State of Mammalian Respiratory Complex I.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blaza, James N; Vinothkumar, Kutti R; Hirst, Judy

    2018-02-06

    Complex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase) is central to energy metabolism in mammalian mitochondria. It couples NADH oxidation by ubiquinone to proton transport across the energy-conserving inner membrane, catalyzing respiration and driving ATP synthesis. In the absence of substrates, active complex I gradually enters a pronounced resting or deactive state. The active-deactive transition occurs during ischemia and is crucial for controlling how respiration recovers upon reperfusion. Here, we set a highly active preparation of Bos taurus complex I into the biochemically defined deactive state, and used single-particle electron cryomicroscopy to determine its structure to 4.1 Å resolution. We show that the deactive state arises when critical structural elements that form the ubiquinone-binding site become disordered, and we propose reactivation is induced when substrate binding to the NADH-reduced enzyme templates their reordering. Our structure both rationalizes biochemical data on the deactive state and offers new insights into its physiological and cellular roles. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  6. Chemotherapy, IL-12 gene therapy and combined adjuvant therapy of HPV 16-associated MHC class I-proficient and -deficient tumours

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Indrová, Marie; Bieblová, Jana; Jandlová, Táňa; Vonka, V.; Pajtasz-Piasecka, E.; Reiniš, Milan

    2006-01-01

    Roč. 28, č. 1 (2006), s. 253-260 ISSN 1019-6439 R&D Projects: GA MZd(CZ) NR7807; GA MZd(CZ) NR8004 Grant - others:Ministry of Scientific Research Information Society Technologies(PL) PBZ-KBN-091/PO5/2003 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50520514 Keywords : HPV 16 * MHC class I-deficient and MHC class I-proficient tumour cells * CMRTD Subject RIV: EC - Immunology Impact factor: 2.556, year: 2006

  7. Student emotions in class : The relative importance of teachers and their interpersonal relations with students

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mainhard, M.T.; Oudman, V.S.; Hornstra, T.E.; Bosker, R.J.; T., Goetz

    2018-01-01

    This study highlights the importance of teachers in relation to the emotions students experience in class. First, in line with the work of Kenny, we argue that the specific relationship that evolves between teachers and students drives students' emotional experiences. We decompose variability in

  8. Dedication for Safety-Related Fuses used in Class-1E Power System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hong, Younghee

    2014-01-01

    The safety-related fuses used in class-1E power system provide overcurrent protection for electrical system and isolate the class 1E circuit from a fault or overload condition. These days, the number of nuclear grade suppliers has been reduced. Accordingly, commercial grade, instead of safety-related, fuses are procured and used in the utilities through the dedication process. Therefore, this paper introduces the commercial grade fuse dedication process/engineering and how to assure the quality requirements with this process and engineering. The fuses used in class-1E power system are to protect overcurrent and to isolate fault. Therefore the fuse for acceptance in order to improve the quality and reliability for commercial grade fuses shall be dedicated. The fuse resistance value may be useful as an indicator of acceptance. The current carrying capacity test can change the fuse performance properties. Therefore these critical characteristics are needed for additional review and analysis with fuse manufactures

  9. Multispectroscopic DNA-Binding studies and antimicrobial evaluation of new mixed-ligand Silver(I) complex and nanocomplex: A comparative study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Movahedi, Elaheh; Rezvani, Ali Reza

    2018-05-01

    A novel mixed-ligand Ag(I) complex, , has been synthesized and characterized by the elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy and 1HNMR. In the formula, dian and phen are N-(4,5-diazafluoren-9-ylidene)aniline and 1,10-phenanthroline, respectively. This complex also has been prepared at nano size by sonochemical technique and characterized by the FTIR and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). To evaluate the biological preferences of the Ag(I) complex and nanocomplex and verify the relationships between the structure and biological function, in vitro DNA binding and antibacterial experiments have been carried out. DNA-complex interaction has been pursued by electronic absorption titration, luminescence titration, competitive binding experiment, effect of ionic strength, thermodynamic studies, viscometric evaluation and circular dichroism spectroscopy in the physiological pH. Each compound displays significant binding trend to the CT-DNA. The mode of binding to the CT-DNA probably is a moderate intercalation mode with the partial insertion of the planar ligands between the base stacks of double-stranded DNA. The relative viscosities and circular dichroism spectra of the CT-DNA with the complex solutions, confirm the intense interactions of the Ag(I) complex and nanocomplex with DNA. An in vitro antibacterial test of the complex and nanocomplex on a series of the Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis) and the Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) shows a remarkable antibacterial feature of the Ag(I) complex. The MIC values (minimum inhibitory concentration) of the compounds compare with silver nitrate and silver sulfadiazine. The bacterial inhibitions of the Ag(I) complex and nanocomplex are agreed to their DNA binding affinities.

  10. Effect of mitochondrial complex I inhibition on Fe-S cluster protein activity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mena, Natalia P. [Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago (Chile); Millennium Institute of Cell Dynamics and Biotechnology, Santiago (Chile); Bulteau, Anne Laure [UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMRS 975 - UMR 7725, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences, ICM, Therapeutique Experimentale de la Neurodegenerescence, Hopital de la Salpetriere, F-75005 Paris (France); Inserm, U 975, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences, ICM, Therapeutique Experimentale de la Neurodegenerescence, Hopital de la Salpetriere, F-75005 Paris (France); CNRS, UMR 7225, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences, ICM, Therapeutique Experimentale de la Neurodegenerescence, Hopital de la Salpetriere, F-75005 Paris (France); ICM, Therapeutique Experimentale de la Neurodegenerescence, Hopital de la Salpetriere, Paris 75013 (France); Salazar, Julio [Millennium Institute of Cell Dynamics and Biotechnology, Santiago (Chile); Hirsch, Etienne C. [UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMRS 975 - UMR 7725, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences, ICM, Therapeutique Experimentale de la Neurodegenerescence, Hopital de la Salpetriere, F-75005 Paris (France); Inserm, U 975, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences, ICM, Therapeutique Experimentale de la Neurodegenerescence, Hopital de la Salpetriere, F-75005 Paris (France); CNRS, UMR 7225, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences, ICM, Therapeutique Experimentale de la Neurodegenerescence, Hopital de la Salpetriere, F-75005 Paris (France); ICM, Therapeutique Experimentale de la Neurodegenerescence, Hopital de la Salpetriere, Paris 75013 (France); Nunez, Marco T., E-mail: mnunez@uchile.cl [Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago (Chile); Millennium Institute of Cell Dynamics and Biotechnology, Santiago (Chile)

    2011-06-03

    Highlights: {yields} Mitochondrial complex I inhibition resulted in decreased activity of Fe-S containing enzymes mitochondrial aconitase and cytoplasmic aconitase and xanthine oxidase. {yields} Complex I inhibition resulted in the loss of Fe-S clusters in cytoplasmic aconitase and of glutamine phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate amidotransferase. {yields} Consistent with loss of cytoplasmic aconitase activity, an increase in iron regulatory protein 1 activity was found. {yields} Complex I inhibition resulted in an increase in the labile cytoplasmic iron pool. -- Abstract: Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters are small inorganic cofactors formed by tetrahedral coordination of iron atoms with sulfur groups. Present in numerous proteins, these clusters are involved in key biological processes such as electron transfer, metabolic and regulatory processes, DNA synthesis and repair and protein structure stabilization. Fe-S clusters are synthesized mainly in the mitochondrion, where they are directly incorporated into mitochondrial Fe-S cluster-containing proteins or exported for cytoplasmic and nuclear cluster-protein assembly. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that inhibition of mitochondrial complex I by rotenone decreases Fe-S cluster synthesis and cluster content and activity of Fe-S cluster-containing enzymes. Inhibition of complex I resulted in decreased activity of three Fe-S cluster-containing enzymes: mitochondrial and cytosolic aconitases and xanthine oxidase. In addition, the Fe-S cluster content of glutamine phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate amidotransferase and mitochondrial aconitase was dramatically decreased. The reduction in cytosolic aconitase activity was associated with an increase in iron regulatory protein (IRP) mRNA binding activity and with an increase in the cytoplasmic labile iron pool. Since IRP activity post-transcriptionally regulates the expression of iron import proteins, Fe-S cluster inhibition may result in a false iron deficiency signal. Given that

  11. Effect of mitochondrial complex I inhibition on Fe-S cluster protein activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mena, Natalia P.; Bulteau, Anne Laure; Salazar, Julio; Hirsch, Etienne C.; Nunez, Marco T.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Mitochondrial complex I inhibition resulted in decreased activity of Fe-S containing enzymes mitochondrial aconitase and cytoplasmic aconitase and xanthine oxidase. → Complex I inhibition resulted in the loss of Fe-S clusters in cytoplasmic aconitase and of glutamine phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate amidotransferase. → Consistent with loss of cytoplasmic aconitase activity, an increase in iron regulatory protein 1 activity was found. → Complex I inhibition resulted in an increase in the labile cytoplasmic iron pool. -- Abstract: Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters are small inorganic cofactors formed by tetrahedral coordination of iron atoms with sulfur groups. Present in numerous proteins, these clusters are involved in key biological processes such as electron transfer, metabolic and regulatory processes, DNA synthesis and repair and protein structure stabilization. Fe-S clusters are synthesized mainly in the mitochondrion, where they are directly incorporated into mitochondrial Fe-S cluster-containing proteins or exported for cytoplasmic and nuclear cluster-protein assembly. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that inhibition of mitochondrial complex I by rotenone decreases Fe-S cluster synthesis and cluster content and activity of Fe-S cluster-containing enzymes. Inhibition of complex I resulted in decreased activity of three Fe-S cluster-containing enzymes: mitochondrial and cytosolic aconitases and xanthine oxidase. In addition, the Fe-S cluster content of glutamine phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate amidotransferase and mitochondrial aconitase was dramatically decreased. The reduction in cytosolic aconitase activity was associated with an increase in iron regulatory protein (IRP) mRNA binding activity and with an increase in the cytoplasmic labile iron pool. Since IRP activity post-transcriptionally regulates the expression of iron import proteins, Fe-S cluster inhibition may result in a false iron deficiency signal. Given that inhibition of complex

  12. Silver(I) and copper(I) complexes with the closo-decaborate anion B10H102- as a ligand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malinina, E.A.; Zhizhin, K.Yu.; Polyakova, I.N.; Lisovskij, M.V.; Kuznetsov, N.T.

    2002-01-01

    Studying the process of silver(I) and copper(I) complexing with closo-borate anion B 10 H 10 2- it is determined that the last can to play a role of intraspherical ligand forming stable coordination compounds of two types: Cat[MB 10 H 10 ] and [M 2 B 10 H 10 ] (M=Ag(I), Cu(I)). In these compounds the bond metal-boron skeleton is realized by means of formation of three-center bonds M-H-B. Structure of the complexes Cs[AgB 10 H 10 ] and [(C 2 H 5 ) 3 NH][AgB 10 H 10 ] and possible mechanism of their formation are discussed [ru

  13. Rejection of class I MHC-deficient haemopoietic cells by irradiated MHC-matched mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bix, M.; Nanshih Liao; Raulet, D.; Zijlstra, M.; Loring, J.; Jaenisch, R.

    1991-01-01

    Irradiated MHC-heterozygous mice often reject bone marrow cells transplanted from one of the homozygous parental strains, a phenomenon ('hybrid resistance') that appears to violate the laws of transplantation. Rejection of parental and allogeneic marrow cells also differs from conventional T cell-mediated rejection mechanisms as it is effected by NK1.1 + cells. To account for the unusual specificity of bone marrow rejection, it has been proposed that NK1.1 + cells destroy marrow cells that fail to express the full complement of self MHC class I (MHC-I) molecules. We show here that NK1.1 + cells in normal mice reject haemopoietic transplants from mice that are deficient for normal cell-surface MHC-I expression because of a targeted mutation in the β 2 -microglobulin gene. These findings demonstrate that deficient expression of MHC-I molecules renders marrow cells susceptible to rejection. (author)

  14. Social praxis, party, and class relations today

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Egni Malo

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Today’s political sociologists are once again interested in the study of the crisis of mass-based parties, anti-politics and anti-parliamentarism, crisis in the authority of the political class, prevailing corporate interests within republican institutions, and populism. Political sociology however, takes the party, as a construct of political sociology alone, without consideration upon its militancy and action, as the party, which objectifies the foundation of a State, and as a result the party becomes, simply an historical category. We approach the problem of the modern state from many angles; analysing the nature of a political party as such; the ideological dangers of determinism and spontaneism which a party necessarily must struggle with; the type of non-administrative internal regime which is necessary for a party to be effective and so on. The problem we seek to elaborate is the specific character of the collective action that makes possible the passage from a sectored, corporate and subordinate role of purely negative opposition, to a leading role of conscious action towards not merely a partial adjustment within the system, but posing the issue of the State in its entirety. In developing this theme – as a study of the real relations between the political party, the classes and the State – a two-fold consideration is devoted to the study of Machiavelli and Marx: first from the angle of the real relations between the two, as thinkers of revolutionary politics, of action; and secondly from a perspective which would derive from the Marxist doctrines an articulated system of contemporary politics, as found in The Prince.

  15. Lipoproteins comprise at least 10 different classes in rats, each of which contains a unique set of proteins as the primary component.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konishi, Tomokazu; Takahashi, Yoko

    2018-01-01

    Although lipoproteins are conventionally separated into a few classes using density gradient centrifugation, there may be a much higher number of physical classes that differ in origin or phase. Comprehensive knowledge of the classes of lipoproteins is rather limited, which hinders both the study of their functions and the identification of the primary causes of related diseases. This study aims to determine the number of classes of lipoproteins that can be practically distinguishable and identify the differences between them. We separated rat serum samples by gel filtration. The elution was continuously monitored for triglyceride (TG), cholesterol, and protein, and fractionated for further SDS-PAGE and immunological detection of apoprotein A-I (ApoA1) and apoprotein B (ApoB). The elution patterns were analyzed using a parsimonious method, i.e., the estimation of the least number of classes. Ten classes were recognized that contained different amounts of TG and cholesterol, as well as a unique protein content. Each of the classes contained much more protein than that observed previously, especially in low-density lipoproteins (LDL) classes. In particular, two major antiproteases formed complexes with specific classes of LDL; because these classes exclusively carry cholesterol and antiproteases, they may lead to the progression of atheroma by supplying materials that enlarge fatty streaks and protecting thrombi from enzymatic digestion. The separated classes may have specific biological functions. The attribution of protein species to certain classes will help understand the functions. A distinction among lipoprotein classes may provide important information in the field of vascular pathology.

  16. Restriction fragment polymorphisms in the major histocompatibility complex of diabetic BB rats

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kastern, W.; Dyrberg, T.; Scholler, J.

    1984-01-01

    DNA isolated from diabetic BB (BB/Hagedorn) rats was examined for restriction fragment length differences within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) as compared with nondiabetic (W-subline) BB rats. Polymorphisms were detected using a mouse class I MHC gene as probe. Specifically, a 2-kb Bam......HI fragment was present in all the nondiabetic rats examined, but absent in the diabetic rats. Similar polymorphisms were observed with various other restriction enzymes, particularly XbaI, HindII, and SacI. There were no polymorphisms detected using either a human DR-alpha (class II antigen heavy chain...

  17. Complexes of rhodium (I) and iridium (I) with mixed phosphorus-oxygen and phosphorus-nitrogen glands

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meintjies, E.; Singleton, E.; Schmutzler, R.; Sell, M.

    1985-09-01

    A series of four- and five-coordinate rhodium(I) and iridium(I) complexes of the type (MCl(cod)L) and (M(COD)L/sub 2/) sup(+)(M = Rh or Ir;cod = cycloocta-1,5-diene; L = P(C/sub 6/H/sub 4/OMe-o)/sub 3/, PMe/sub 2/(C/sub 6/H/sub 4/OMe-o), PPh/sub 2/(C/sub 6/H/sub 4/OMe-o), PPh/sub 2/-(C/sub 6/H/sub 4/NMe/sub 2/-o), PMe(C/sub 6/H/sub 4/OMe-o)/sub 2/ and PPh/sub 2/(C/sub 6/H/sub 4/OPr sup(i)-o)) have been prepared from the reactions of ((MCl(cod))/sub 2/) (M = Rh or Ir) with the appropriate stoichiometric amount of L in diethyl ether or methanol solution. N.M.R. evidence (/sup 1/H and /sup 13/C) is presented for non-chelation in the case of the ether ligands and chelation for the amine ligand. Thus, the complexes (MCl(cod)L)(L = ether ligand) are mononuclear square-planar species, whereas the amine ligand chelates to the metal atom, and a distorted trigonal bipyramidal structure is proposed. Attempts at displacing cod from the complexes (MCl(cod)L) with these ether and amine ligands, or with small phosphines, were unsuccessful. However, treatment of (MCl(cod)(P(C/sub 6/H/sub 4/OMe-o)/sub 3/))(M = Rh or Ir) with carbon monoxide gave (MCl(CO)/sub 2/ (P(C/sub 6/H/sub 4/OMe-o)/sub 3/)). In contrast, a disproportionation product, (RhCl(CNBu sup(t)/sub 2/(PPh/sub 2/ (C/sub 6/H/sub 4/OPr sup(i)-o))/sub 2/), was obtained from treatment of (RhCl(cod)(PPh/sub 2/(C/sub 6/H/sub 4/OPr sup(i)-o))) with t-butyl isocyanide. N.M.R. data (/sup 1/H and /sup 13/C) for the complexes are described.

  18. 41 CFR 301-10.162 - When may I use other than coach-class train accommodations?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 10-TRANSPORTATION EXPENSES Common Carrier Transportation Train § 301-10.162 When may I use other than... require other than coach-class rail accommodations. Exceptional security circumstances are determined by... accommodations on an authorized/approved foreign rail carrier do not provide adequate sanitation or health...

  19. Má oclusão Classe I de Angle com agenesia de incisivos laterais Angle Class I malocclusion and agenesis of lateral incisors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernanda Catharino Menezes Franco

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available O planejamento ortodôntico de pacientes com agenesia de incisivos laterais envolve considerações estéticas e funcionais de grande relevância para um resultado clínico satisfatório. Tanto o fechamento dos espaços correspondentes aos dentes ausentes quanto sua abertura ou manutenção oferecem vantagens e desvantagens que devem ser avaliadas de acordo com as características individuais do paciente. Fatores importantes que influenciam o planejamento são o padrão esquelético, o tipo de má oclusão e a coloração e forma dos caninos, dentre outros. Neste artigo, teve-se como objetivo relatar o tratamento de uma paciente com má oclusão Classe I de Angle, agenesia de incisivos laterais, sobressaliência e sobremordida diminuídas, tendência à mordida aberta e mordida cruzada.A abordagem clínica foi realizada com expansão maxilar, seguida de fechamento dos espaços, com auxílio de ancoragem esquelética extrabucal. Esse caso foi apresentado à diretoria do Board Brasileiro de Ortodontia e Ortopedia Facial (BBO, como parte dos requisitos para a obtenção do título de Diplomado pelo BBO.Orthodontic planning for patients with agenesis of lateral incisors should include extremely relevant esthetic and functional considerations so that a satisfactory clinical result is achieved. Both space closure and space opening and maintenance have advantages and disadvantages that should be evaluated according to the patient's individual characteristics. Some of the important factors that affect planning are the skeletal pattern, the type of malocclusion and the color and shape of canines. This study reports on the treatment of a patients with Class I malocclusion and agenesis of lateral incisors, overjet, decreased overbite, and a tendency to open bite and crossbite. The clinical approach included palatal expansion followed by space closure using extraoral anchorage. This case was presented to the Committee of the Brazilian Board of Orthodontics

  20. Predicting binding affinities of protein ligands from three-dimensional models: application to peptide binding to class I major histocompatibility proteins

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rognan, D; Lauemoller, S L; Holm, A

    1999-01-01

    A simple and fast free energy scoring function (Fresno) has been developed to predict the binding free energy of peptides to class I major histocompatibility (MHC) proteins. It differs from existing scoring functions mainly by the explicit treatment of ligand desolvation and of unfavorable protein...... coordinates of the MHC-bound peptide have first been determined with an accuracy of about 1-1.5 A. Furthermore, it may be easily recalibrated for any protein-ligand complex.......) and of a series of 16 peptides to H-2K(k). Predictions were more accurate for HLA-A2-binding peptides as the training set had been built from experimentally determined structures. The average error in predicting the binding free energy of the test peptides was 3.1 kJ/mol. For the homology model-derived equation...