An immune-related gene expression atlas of the shrimp digestive system in response to two major pathogens brings insights into the involvement of hemocytes in gut immunity.

Much of our current knowledge on shrimp immune system is restricted to the defense reactions mediated by the hemocytes and little is known about gut immunity. Here, we have investigated the transcriptional profile of immune-related genes in different organs of the digestive system of the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. First, the tissue distribution of 52 well-known immune-related genes has been assessed by semiquantitative analysis in the gastrointestinal tract (foregut, midgut and hindgut) and in the hepatopancreas and circulating hemocytes of shrimp stimulated or not with heat-killed bacteria.

The dengue vector Aedes aegypti contains a functional high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein with a unique regulatory C-terminus.

The mosquito Aedes aegypti can spread the dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever viruses. Thus, the search for key molecules involved in the mosquito survival represents today a promising vector control strategy. High Mobility Group Box (HMGB) proteins are essential nuclear factors that maintain the high-order structure of chromatin, keeping eukaryotic cells viable.

ABCB1 polymorphisms and the concentrations of lopinavir and ritonavir in blood, semen and saliva of HIV-infected men under antiretroviral therapy.

Introduction: Lopinavir and ritonavir are frequently included in highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens for HIV infection. These drugs are substrates, and may also inhibit and/or induce the P-glycoprotein (ABCB1) transporter, encoded by the polymorphic ABCB1 gene. We investigated the impact of three common exonic ABCB1 polymorphisms on the concentrations of lopinavir and ritonavir in blood, semen and saliva of HIV-infected men under stable HAART containing ritonavir-boosted lopinavir.

Distribution of ABCB1 polymorphisms among Brazilians: impact of population admixture.

Introduction: Interethnic admixture is a source of cryptic population structure that may lead to spurious genotype-phenotype associations in pharmacogenomic studies. We studied the impact of population stratification on the distribution of ABCB1 polymorphisms (1236C>T, 2677G>T/A and 3435C>T) among Brazilians, a highly admixed population with Amerindian, European and African ancestral roots.

Methods: Individual DNA from 320 healthy adults was genotyped with a panel of ancestry informative markers, and the proportions of African component of ancestry (ACA) were estimated.

Determination of lopinavir and ritonavir in blood plasma, seminal plasma, saliva and plasma ultra-filtrate by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry detection.

A method based on liquid-liquid extraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with positive ion electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) detection was developed for the simultaneous determination of lopinavir (LPV) and ritonavir (RTV) in human blood, semen and saliva samples. The acquisition was performed in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, monitoring the transitions: m/z 629 > 447.1 for LPV, 721.