Functional tradeoffs underpin salinity-driven divergence in microbial community composition.

Bacterial community composition and functional potential change subtly across gradients in the surface ocean. In contrast, while there are significant phylogenetic divergences between communities from freshwater and marine habitats, the underlying mechanisms to this phylogenetic structuring yet remain unknown. We hypothesized that the functional potential of natural bacterial communities is linked to this striking divide between microbiomes.

Prions and protein-folding diseases.

Prions represent a group of proteins with a unique capacity to fold into different conformations. One isoform is rich in beta-pleated sheets and can aggregate into amyloid that may be pathogenic. This abnormal form propagates itself by imposing its confirmation on the homologous normal host cell protein.

Nobel Prizes and the emerging virus concept.

The existence of infectious agents smaller than bacteria was demonstrated already during the 1890s. After this discovery it took more than 50 years before a resilient definition of viruses could be given. There were separate developments of knowledge concerning plant viruses, bacterial viruses and animal viruses.

Yellow fever and Max Theiler: the only Nobel Prize for a virus vaccine.

In 1951, Max Theiler of the Rockefeller Foundation received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of an effective vaccine against yellow fever--a discovery first reported in the JEM 70 years ago. This was the first, and so far the only, Nobel Prize given for the development of a virus vaccine. Recently released Nobel archives now reveal how the advances in the yellow fever vaccine field were evaluated more than 50 years ago, and how this led to a prize for Max Theiler.

Polio and Nobel prizes: looking back 50 years.

In 1954, John Enders, Thomas Weller, and Frederick Robbins were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discovery of the ability of poliomyelitis viruses to grow in cultures of various types of tissue."5370 This discovery provided for the first time opportunities to produce both inactivated and live polio vaccines. By searching previously sealed Nobel Committee archives, we were able to review the deliberations that led to the award.

Reliability of the instrument DOA: dialogue about ability related to work.

The aim of this study was to examine the reliability of the new instrument "DOA--a dialogue about ability related to work" [6]. DOA was developed using the Model of Human of Occupation as a theoretical base [12,13]. The instrument is divided into two sections; client self-assessment and professional assessment focusing on the individual's ability to perform work-related activities.

Construct validity of the instrument DOA: a dialogue about ability related to work.

This study examined the construct validity of the newly developed instrument A Dialogue About Ability Related To Work (DOA). DOA [18] was developed using concepts from the Model of Human Occupation [20] as theoretical framework. The instrument assumes the assessment of work ability by both the client and the occupational therapist, and is followed by a dialogue which is expected to distinguish possible goal-setting for further rehabilitation [18,19].

Characterization of T cell epitopes in measles virus nucleoprotein.

T cell epitopes of the measles virus (MV) nucleoprotein were studied by synthesizing overlapping 20 aa peptides over the known sequence of the protein and analysing the proliferation responses of a panel of MV-specific T cell lines and clones against these peptides. T cell lines were established from eleven healthy controls and seven multiple sclerosis patients, all with a history of past MV infection. The epitopes recognized by these lines were concentrated in a few regions of the polypeptide chain.

Development of human antibodies against linear antigenic and immunogenic regions of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) nucleocapsid and phospho-proteins shows the site-directed characteristics.

Background: The successful development of an RSV vaccine requires a better understanding of the pathogenesis of primary infection, susceptibility to reinfection, and the immunopathology of enhanced illness in children immunized with a non-replicating RSV candidate vaccine. The exact role of different immune parameters in RSV pathogenesis remains controversial.

Objectives: To study the contribution of antibodies directed to the linear antigenic and immunogenic regions of the N and P proteins in the titer rise and avidity maturation of total anti-RSV antibodies.

The cellular stress response increases measles virus-induced cytopathic effect.

Plaque area is a measure of the degree of cytopathic effect and a predictor of neurovirulence for tissue culture adapted morbilliviruses. In the present work, the cellular stress response was shown to be a determinant of the expression of distinct measles virus large plaque phenotypes in Vero cells. The emergence of these large plaque phenotypes was associated with increased mean viral transcriptional activity and expression of the viral fusion glycoprotein, but not upregulation of the virus receptor CD46.

Spread of measles virus through axonal pathways into limbic structures in the brain of TAP1 -/- mice.

The spread of measles virus into the brain was studied exploiting the olfactory pathway, which represents an important route of neuroinvasion by viruses. The virus was injected into the main olfactory bulb of wild-type mice and mice with disrupted TAP1 gene (TAP refers to the Transporter associated with Antigen Presentation), which codes for products essential for the cell-mediated immune response. Virus invasion was monitored for 4 weeks by immunohistochemistry.

Measles virus in the brain.

Measles virus can give three different forms of infections in the central nervous system. These are acute postinfectious encephalitis, acute progressive infectious encephalitis, and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE). The postinfectious acute disease is interpreted to reflect an autoimmune reaction.

Human antibodies from phage libraries: neutralizing activity against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 equally improved after expression as Fab and IgG in mammalian cells.

Human antibodies against HIV-1 have been sought to study neutralization events on the molecular level, and for possible use in passive immune intervention. The development of phage display techniques has opened the possibility of rapidly generating human monoclonal antibodies with desired specificities. We and others have isolated human HIV-1 neutralizing antibody fragments using this technique.

Biological phenotype of HIV type 2 isolates correlates with V3 genotype.

The biological phenotype of HIV-2 isolates can be divided into two groups, rapid/high and slow/low, based on the ability to infect CD4+ tumor cell lines. Similar differences in the biological phenotype of HIV-1 isolates are largely determined by the charge of two specific amino acids in the V3 loop of the envelope protein gp120. In this study we have sequenced the V3 loop and flanking regions of 14 HIV-2 isolates from Guinea-Bissau and the Ivory Coast and correlated the results to the biological phenotype of the isolates.

Solution conformation of an immunogenic peptide derived from the principal neutralizing determinant of the HIV-2 envelope glycoprotein gp125.

Background: The conformational preferences of a number of peptides with sequences related to the envelope glycoproteins of HIV-1 have been investigated in the past few years. Similar studies have not been made for HIV-2, which is a distinct virus with similar physiological effects to those of HIV-1. The discovery of common structural features would be a promising route to the design of immunogens for generally effective HIV vaccines.

Evaluation of subgroup-specific peptides of the G protein of respiratory syncytial virus for characterization of the immune response.

Two synthetic peptides, designated peptides 12G(A) and 12G(B), representing amino acids 174-188 of the G glycoprotein of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) subgroup A (strain A2) and subgroup B (strain CH18537) were evaluated for their properties as subgroup-specific antigens for enzyme immunoassay (ELISA). These peptides were used to characterize the immune response of children with naturally occurring RSV infection during six annual epidemics in the Huntington area, West Virginia, USA; viz. 1978-1979, 1979-1980, 1980-1981, 1983-1984, 1989-1990, and 1990-1991.