Rubella virus and chronic joint disease: is there an association?

Synovial fluid samples and/or biopsies from 79 patients with various chronic inflammatory joint diseases or traumatic joint injury were tested for rubella virus (RV) in order to confirm or refute results from other studies that suggested RV as a cause of chronic inflammatory joint disease. Sixty-eight of the 72 patients tested had RV antibodies. RV RNA was detected by reverse transcription-PCR in the synovial fluid cells from two patients.

A large pheromone and receptor gene complex determines multiple B mating type specificities in Coprinus cinereus.

Pheromone signaling plays an essential role in the mating and sexual development of mushroom fungi. Multiallelic genes encoding the peptide pheromones and their cognate 7-transmembrane helix (7-TM) receptors are sequestered in the B mating type locus. Here we describe the isolation of the B6 mating type locus of Coprinus cinereus.

Maternal viral load, CD4 cell count and vertical transmission of HIV-1.

HIV load and CD4 cell numbers were measured among 95 HIV infected women during pregnancy in order to determine their value as prognostic markers for transmission of virus from mother to infant. Among the 94 live births, 13 children were infected with HIV, 69 were uninfected and 12 were of unknown infection status. HIV RNA levels, as measured by nucleic acid sequence based amplification, were significantly higher (P < 0.

An altered intron inhibits synthesis of the acetylcholine receptor alpha-subunit in the paralyzed zebrafish mutant nic1.

The acetylcholine receptor (AChR), an oligomeric protein composed of five subunits, is a component of the postsynaptic membrane at the vertebrate neuromuscular junction that plays a central role in synaptic transmission. The zebrafish mutation nic1 blocks the expression of functional and clustered nicotinic muscle AChRs. To understand the mechanisms underlying this lack of AChRs, we characterized the molecular defect in nic1 mutants.

Alpha subunit isoform influences GABA(A) receptor modulation by propofol.

We have investigated the role of the alpha subunit in the modulation of gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA(A)) receptors by the general anesthetic propofol, using whole-cell patch clamp recordings made from distinct stable fibroblast cell lines which expressed only alpha1beta3gamma2 or alpha6beta3gamma2 GABA(A) receptors. At clinically relevant anesthetic concentrations, propofol potentiated submaximal GABA currents in alpha1beta3gamma2 receptors to a far greater degree than those in alpha6beta3gamma2 receptors. The alpha subunit influenced the efficacy of propofol for modulation, but not its potency.

Significance of placental damage in vertical transmission of human immunodeficiency virus.

The significance of physical breaches of the trophoblastic layer of the placenta in transmission of HIV from mother to infant was evaluated in 17 HIV-infected pregnant women. Samples of peripheral blood were obtained from the women during pregnancy and at delivery, at which time a small piece of placental tissue was obtained from a random site and immediately placed into fixative. Blood samples were obtained from infants at or shortly after birth and thereafter at approximately 3-month intervals, until the age of 18 months, in order to determine their HIV infection status.

Selective Oxygen Transfers with Iron(III) Porphyrin Nitrite.

The reaction of octaethylporphyrin iron(III) chloride with potassium crown ether (18-crown-6) nitrite in N-methylpyrrolidone-1% acetic acid under argon generates the iron(III) nitrite salt (PFeNO(2)). The latter is a unique and selective oxygen atom transfer reagent. The reaction of a broad range of substrates (S) proceeds quantitatively to yield the oxidized substrate and the iron(II) porphyrin-nitrosyl adduct: PFeNO(2) + S --> PFeNO + SO.

Multiple versions of the A mating type locus of Coprinus cinereus are generated by three paralogous pairs of multiallelic homeobox genes.

The A mating type locus of Coprinus cinereus determines mating compatibility by regulating essential steps in sexual development. Each A locus contains several genes separated into two functionally independent complexes termed A alpha and A beta, and the multiple alleles of these genes generate an estimated 160 A mating specificities. The genes encode two classes of homeodomain-containing proteins designated HD1 and HD2.

Use of PCR for prenatal and postnatal diagnosis of congenital rubella.

A reverse transcription-nested PCR assay (RT-PCR) was evaluated for diagnosis of congenitally acquired rubella in utero and during infancy. RT-PCR was compared with virus isolation for retrospective detection of rubella virus in placental and fetal tissues obtained after termination of pregnancy following primary rubella or rubella virus reinfection. Concordant results were obtained for 85% of samples; rubella virus RNA was detected by RT-PCR alone in four samples, and rubella virus was detected by isolation alone in two samples.

bcl-x is expressed in embryonic and postnatal neural tissues and functions to prevent neuronal cell death.

Previous studies have implicated the bcl-2 protooncogene as a potential regulator of neuronal survival. However, mice lacking functional bcl-2 exhibited normal development and maintenance of the central nervous system (CNS). Since bcl-2 appears dispensable for neuronal survival, we have examined the expression and function of bcl-x, another member of the bcl-2 family of death regulatory genes.

PCR for detection of rubella virus RNA in clinical samples.

A reverse transcription nested PCR (RT-PCR) assay for the detection of rubella virus RNA using primers from the E1 open reading frame was established. This assay was found to be sensitive (detecting approximately two synthetic RNA copies and RNA extracted from 0.1 50% tissue culture infective dose of rubella virus) and specific; five wild-type rubella strains and four vaccine strains were detected, and no nonspecific amplification of 16 other RNA viruses or RNAs from seven cell types occurred.

Rubella reinfection; role of neutralising antibodies and cell-mediated immunity.

Background: Rubella virus may be transmitted to the fetus following rubella reinfection in early pregnancy. The mechanisms responsible for maternal-fetal transmission in women with pre-existing rubella antibodies are, however, unclear.

Objectives: To evaluate the protective role of rubella specific neutralising antibodies and cell-mediated immunity in rubella reinfection.

Two classes of homeodomain proteins specify the multiple a mating types of the mushroom Coprinus cinereus.

The A mating type locus of the mushroom Coprinus cinereus regulates essential steps in sexual development. The locus is complex and contains several functionally redundant, multiallelic genes that encode putative transcription factors. Here, we compare four genes from an A locus designated A42.

A chimeric homeodomain protein causes self-compatibility and constitutive sexual development in the mushroom Coprinus cinereus.

The A mating type genes of the mushroom Coprinus cinereus encode two classes of putative transcription factor with distinctive homeodomain motifs (HD1 and HD2). A successful mating brings together different allelic forms of these genes and this triggers part of a developmental sequence required for sexual reproduction. In this report we provide evidence that this developmental programme is promoted by a physical interaction between the two classes of homeodomain protein.

Concomitant protein phosphorylation and endogenous acetylcholine release induced by nicotine: dependency on neuronal nicotinic receptors and desensitization.

1. Nicotine stimulated two Ca(2+)-dependent processes in rat frontal cortex synaptosomes: the phosphorylation of an 80-kDa protein band and the release of endogenous ACh.3 Both effects were mediated by neuronal nAChRs and coincided with depolarization of the synaptosomal plasma membrane induced by the drug.

Stability of infectious HIV in clinical samples and isolation from small volumes of whole blood.

Aims: To evaluate the stability of infectious HIV in clinical samples and the efficiency of isolating it from small volumes of whole blood.

Methods: Titres of infectious HIV were measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and plasma 2, 24, and 48 hours after peripheral blood had been collected from 10 HIV positive adult volunteers. Volumes of whole blood (1 ml to 5 microliters), collected from a further five volunteers, were used to determine the minimum volume from which HIV could be isolated.

Slow maturation of IgG1 avidity and persistence of specific IgM in congenital rubella: implications for diagnosis and immunopathology.

Without appropriately timed specimens, serological confirmation of congenital rubella infection may be a problem. We have compared the persistence of specific IgM and low avidity specific IgG1 in 141 sera from 120 cases of serologically confirmed congenital rubella infection with the known time scales for postnatal primary rubella. The results demonstrate that the maturation of the immune response to the rubella virus is abnormally slow in congenital rubella cases both in terms of the isotype switch and especially the development of high avidity specific IgG1.

Induction of thrombospondin 1 by retinoic acid is important during differentiation of neuroblastoma cells.

Neuroblastoma, a malignant neoplasm that arises in the adrenal medulla or sympathetic ganglion, is one of the most common solid tumors of childhood. Reports that neuroblastomas spontaneously mature to form benign ganglioneuromas have prompted investigations into the efficacy of using agents that induce neuronal differentiation in the treatment of this malignancy. Retinoic acid is one agent in particular that has been shown to induce growth inhibition and terminal differentiation of neuroblastoma cell lines in vitro.