Pan-American League of Associations for Rheumatology-Central American, Caribbean and Andean Rheumatology Association Consensus-Conference Endorsements and Recommendations on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Chikungunya-Related Inflammatory Arthropathies in Latin America.

Background/objective: Although mortality rates related with chikungunya (CHIK) outbreaks in Latin America's (LA's) dengue-endemic rural and new urban regions are low, dealing with symptoms and sequelae can both produce a significant burden of disease and diminish quality of life-from many months to years-after the acute phase of the infection, with a significant impact on public and individual health.The aim of this work was to establish Pan-American League of Associations for Rheumatology-Central American, Caribbean and Andean Rheumatology Association (ACCAR) consensus-conference endorsements and recommendations on the diagnosis and treatment of CHIK-related inflammatory arthropathies transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in LA.

Methods: Based on the Consensus Development Conference format, a panel of ACCAR rheumatologist voting members (n = 10) took part in this Pan-American League of Associations for Rheumatology initiative.

Regulation of Trk-dependent potassium transport by the calcineurin pathway involves the Hal5 kinase.

The phosphatase calcineurin and the kinases Hal4/Hal5 regulate high-affinity potassium uptake in Saccharomyces cerevisiae through the Trk1 transporter. We demonstrate that calcineurin is necessary for high-affinity potassium uptake even in the absence of Na(+) stress. HAL5 expression is induced in response to stress in a calcineurin-dependent manner through a newly identified functional CDRE (nt -195/-189).

The Ppz protein phosphatases regulate Trk-independent potassium influx in yeast.

The Ppz protein phosphatases have been recently shown to negatively regulate the major potassium transport system in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, encoded by the TRK1 and TRK2 genes. We have found that, in the absence of the Trk system, Ppz mutants require abnormally high concentrations of potassium to proliferate. This can be explained by the observation that trk1 trk2 ppz1 or trk1 trk2 ppz1 ppz2 strains display a very poor rubidium uptake, with markedly increased Km values.