Affinity maturation of antibody responses is mediated by differential plasma cell proliferation.

Increased antibody affinity over time after vaccination, known as affinity maturation, is a prototypical feature of immune responses. Recent studies have shown that a diverse collection of B cells, producing antibodies with a wide spectrum of different affinities, are selected into the plasma cell (PC) pathway. How affinity-permissive selection enables PC affinity maturation remains unknown.

Transcription of HIV-1 at sites of intact latent provirus integration.

HIV-1 antiretroviral therapy is highly effective but fails to eliminate a reservoir of latent proviruses, leading to a requirement for life-long treatment. How the site of integration of authentic intact latent proviruses might impact their own or neighboring gene expression or reservoir dynamics is poorly understood. Here, we report on proviral and neighboring gene transcription at sites of intact latent HIV-1 integration in cultured T cells obtained directly from people living with HIV, as well as engineered primary T cells and cell lines.

Transcription of HIV-1 at sites of intact latent provirus integration.

HIV-1 anti-retroviral therapy is highly effective but fails to eliminate a reservoir of latent proviruses leading to a requirement for life-long treatment. How the site of integration of authentic intact latent proviruses might impact their own or neighboring gene expression or reservoir dynamics is poorly understood. Here we report on proviral and neighboring gene transcription at sites of intact latent HIV-1 integration in cultured T cells obtained directly from people living with HIV, as well as engineered primary T cells and cell lines.

Ultrasound assessment of diaphragm and quadriceps muscles and its relationship with handgrip and respiratory muscle strength in patients with systemic sclerosis: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Muscle dysfunction may cause disability and reduce the quality of life of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) when compared to healthy individuals. However, the literature on the topic is scarce and uses several criteria for assessing muscle dysfunction in this population.

Objectives: To compare diaphragm and quadriceps muscle thickness, diaphragm mobility, and handgrip strength between patients with SSc and healthy individuals.

Depletion of pyruvate kinase (PK) activity causes glycolytic intermediate imbalances and reveals a PK-TXNIP regulatory axis.

Objective: Cancer cells convert more glucose into lactate than healthy cells, what contributes to their growth advantage. Pyruvate kinase (PK) is a key rate limiting enzyme in this process, what makes it a promising potential therapeutic target. However, currently it is still unclear what consequences the inhibition of PK has on cellular processes.

Central blood pressure and aortic pulse wave reflection in water-exercised postmenopausal hypertensive women: A cross-sectional study.

Exercise training has been associated with the attenuation of cardiovascular impairment after menopause. This study aimed to compare central and peripheral blood pressure and aortic pulse wave reflection in sedentary and trained (aerobic exercise in the water) hypertensive postmenopausal women. Hypertensive postmenopausal women were divided into sedentary (SED, n = 53) and trained groups (TR, n = 31).

Complete genome sequence of Streptococcus agalactiae strain GBS85147 serotype of type Ia isolated from human oropharynx.

Streptococcus agalactiae, also referred to as Group B Streptococcus, is a frequent resident of the rectovaginal tract in humans, and a major cause of neonatal infection. The pathogen can also infect adults with underlying disease, particularly the elderly and immunocompromised ones. In addition, S.

Reactive oxygen species involved in apoptosis induction of human respiratory epithelial (A549) cells by Streptococcus agalactiae.

Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Streptococcus; GBS) is an important pathogen and is associated with pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis in neonates and adults. GBS infections induce cytotoxicity of respiratory epithelial cells (A549) with generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ψm). The apoptosis of A549 cells by GBS was dependent on the activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9 with increased pro-apoptotic Bim and Bax molecules and decreased Bcl-2 pro-survival protein.

Prevalence of Group B Streptococcus serotypes III and V in pregnant women of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

GBS serotypes III and V were the most prevalent in pregnant women and exhibited resistance to tetracycline, clindamycin and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim. Serotype III showed high sialic acid content and PFGE analysis discerned 33 heterogeneous profiles. Phenotypic and genotypic characterization could be relevant to control GBS infections unaffected by intra-partum chemoprophylaxis.

A phosphoramidon-sensitive metalloprotease induces apoptosis of human endothelial cells by Group B Streptococcus.

We explored Group B Streptococcus (GBS)-induced apoptosis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and the role of phosphoramidon, a zinc metalloprotease inhibitor, in this process. GBS 90186 strain (serotype V, a blood isolate) and concentrated supernatant (CS) were used to investigate the viability and morphological alterations in HUVEC by Trypan blue uptake, electrophoresis in 2 % agarose gel and scanning electron microscopy assays. Apoptosis before and after phosphoramidon-treatment were verified by flow cytometry using annexin V-FITC labeling.

Effect of chelating agents on the growth, surface polypeptide synthesis and interaction of Streptococcus agalactiae with human epithelial cells.

In the present study, the influence of the chelating agents of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), ethylene glycol-bis (β-aminoethyl ether) (EGTA) and 1,10-phenanthroline (PHEN) on growth rate, cytoadherence ability and surface protein expression was examined in a clinical strain of Streptococcus agalactiae isolated from a blood sample. EDTA and EGTA at 10 mM did not inhibit the growth of S. agalactiae, while PHEN significantly arrested bacterial proliferation in a concentration range of 10-0.