Cholesteryl palmitate crystals in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid smears as a possible prognostic biomarker for chronic interstitial pneumonia: A preliminary study.

Background: We observed cholesterol-like crystals (Crystal X) in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) smears of patients with diffuse pulmonary disease. We analyzed the clinical data of patients with and without crystals, and elucidated the structure of Crystal X and its concentration in the BALF.

Methods: Two hundred eighty-nine patients with diffuse pulmonary disease who underwent bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) were analyzed.

Conference report: "Functional Glycomics in HIV Type 1 Vaccine Design" workshop report, Bethesda, Maryland, April 30-May 1, 2012.

A vital part of the renewed hope for a vaccine against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) is based on recent studies that have highlighted major sites of HIV-1 vulnerability that could be effectively targeted by a preventive vaccine. One of these potential vulnerabilities includes the dense cluster of carbohydrates surrounding HIV-1's envelope glycoproteins gp120 and gp41, typically referred to as the "glycan shield." Recent data from several laboratories have shown that glycans on the HIV-1 envelope form key epitopes for broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAb).

Bone marrow dendritic cell-mediated regulation of TLR and B cell receptor signaling in B cells.

Dendritic cells (DCs) play an essential role in regulation of immune responses. In the periphery, Ag presentation by DCs is critical for adaptive responses; for this reason, DCs are often targets of adjuvants that enhance vaccine responses. Activated mature DCs enhance B cell activation and differentiation by providing cytokines like BAFF and a proliferation-inducing ligand.

Importance of rostral ventrolateral medulla neurons in determining efferent sympathetic nerve activity and blood pressure.

Accentuated sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) is a risk factor for cardiovascular events. In this review, we investigate our working hypothesis that potentiated activity of neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) is the primary cause of experimental and essential hypertension. Over the past decade, we have examined how RVLM neurons regulate peripheral SNA, how the sympathetic and renin-angiotensin systems are correlated and how the sympathetic system can be suppressed to prevent cardiovascular events in patients.

Memory T cells are enriched in lymph nodes of selectin-ligand-deficient mice.

Fucosyltransferase-IV and -VII double knockout (FtDKO) mice reveal profound impairment in T cell trafficking to lymph nodes (LNs) due to an inability to synthesize selectin ligands. We observed an increase in the proportion of memory/effector (CD44(high)) T cells in LNs of FtDKO mice. We infected FtDKO mice with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus to generate and track Ag-specific CD44(high)CD8 T cells in secondary lymphoid organs.

Both systemic and mucosal LCMV immunization generate robust viral-specific IgG in mucosal secretions, but elicit poor LCMV-specific IgA.

Immunoglobulins in secretions play a critical role in protection at mucosal surfaces. We examined the generation of viral-specific IgG and IgA in plasma and mucosal secretions of mice following systemic or mucosal immunization with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), a widely used experimental model of viral infection. While there are early differences in humoral responses depending on the route of viral entry, we show that both routes generate comparably robust viral-specific IgG in plasma, vaginal, lung, and nasal secretions of immune mice.

Naïve T cells re-distribute to the lungs of selectin ligand deficient mice.

Background: Selectin mediated tethering represents one of the earliest steps in T cell extravasation into lymph nodes via high endothelial venules and is dependent on the biosynthesis of sialyl Lewis X (sLe(x)) ligands by several glycosyltransferases, including two fucosyltransferases, fucosyltransferase-IV and -VII. Selectin mediated binding also plays a key role in T cell entry to inflamed organs.

Methodology/principal Findings: To understand how loss of selectin ligands (sLe(x)) influences T cell migration to the lung, we examined fucosyltransferase-IV and -VII double knockout (FtDKO) mice.

The generation of influenza-specific humoral responses is impaired in ST6Gal I-deficient mice.

Posttranslational modification of proteins, such as glycosylation, can impact cell signaling and function. ST6Gal I, a glycosyltransferase expressed by B cells, catalyzes the addition of alpha-2,6 sialic acid to galactose, a modification found on N-linked glycoproteins such as CD22, a negative regulator of B cell activation. We show that SNA lectin, which binds alpha-2,6 sialic acid linked to galactose, shows high binding on plasma blasts and germinal center B cells following viral infection, suggesting ST6Gal I expression remains high on activated B cells in vivo.

Role of chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 2 in DNA damage response signaling and tumorigenesis.

The chromodomain helicase DNA-binding proteins (CHDs) are known to affect transcription through their ability to remodel chromatin and modulate histone deacetylation. In an effort to understand the functional role of the CHD2 in mammals, we have generated a Chd2 mutant mouse model. Remarkably, the Chd2 protein appears to play a critical role in the development, hematopoiesis and tumor suppression.

Candesartan and insulin reduce renal sympathetic nerve activity in hypertensive type 1 diabetic rats.

The nonlinearity of cardiovascular regulation is higher in normal physiology, whereas several diseases are characterized by a reduction in this nonlinearity. Reduced nonlinearity of heart rate regulation is a robust risk factor for high mortality in patients with myocardial infarction. We investigated the changes in linear and nonlinear correlations of cardiovascular regulation after administering drugs in hypertensive diabetic rats.

Systemic and mucosal infection program protective memory CD8 T cells in the vaginal mucosa.

Whether mucosal immunization is required for optimal protective CD8 T cell memory at mucosal surfaces is controversial. In this study, using an adoptive transfer system, we compare the efficacy of two routes of acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis viral infection on the generation, maintenance, and localization of Ag-specific CD8 T cells in tissues, including the vaginal mucosa. Surprisingly, at day 8, i.

Novel axonal projection from the caudal end of the ventrolateral medulla to the intermediolateral cell column.

We used an optical imaging technique to investigate whether axons of neurons in the caudal end of the ventrolateral medulla (CeVLM), as well as axons of neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM), project to neurons in the intermediolateral cell column (IML) of the spinal cord. Brain stem-spinal cord preparations from neonatal normotensive Wistar-Kyoto and spontaneously hypertensive rats were stained with a voltage-sensitive dye, and responses to electrical stimulation of the IML at the Th2 level were detected as changes in fluorescence intensity with an optical imaging apparatus (MiCAM-01). The results were as follows: 1) depolarizing responses to IML stimulation during low-Ca high-Mg superfusion were detected on the ventral surface of the medulla at the level of the CeVLM, as well as at the level of the RVLM, 2) depolarizing responses were also detected on cross sections at the level of the CeVLM, and they had a latency of 24.

Electrophysiological properties of rostral ventrolateral medulla neurons in angiotensin II 1a receptor knockout mice.

We compared the electrophysiological properties of neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla of neonatal angiotensin II type 1a receptor knockout mice and wild-type mice with responses to angiotensin II, its type-1 receptor blocker candesartan, and its type-2 receptor blocker PD123319. Using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique, we examined the characteristics of rostral ventrolateral medulla neurons in brain stem-spinal cord preparations in which the sympathetic neuronal network is preserved. Baseline membrane potential and firing rate were almost similar between angiotensin II type 1a receptor knockout mice and wild-type mice.

Lack of antigen-specific tissue remodeling in mice deficient in the macrophage galactose-type calcium-type lectin 1/CD301a.

Macrophage galactose-type C-type lectins (MGLs), which were recently named CD301, have 2 homologues in mice: MGL1 and MGL2. MGLs are expressed on macrophages and immature dendritic cells. The persistent presence of granulation tissue induced by a protein antigen was observed in wild-type mice but not in mice lacking an endogenous, macrophage-specific, galactose-type calcium-type lectin 1 (MGL1) in an air pouch model.

Magnesium-induced copper-catalyzed synthesis of unsymmetrical diaryl chalcogenide compounds from aryl iodide via cleavage of the Se-Se or S-S bond.

The methodology for a copper-catalyzed preparation of diaryl chalcogenide compounds from aryl iodides and diphenyl dichalcogenide molecules is reported. Unsymmetrical diaryl sulfide or diaryl selenide can be synthesized from aryl iodide and PhYYPh (Y = S, Se) with a copper catalyst (CuI or Cu(2)O) and magnesium metal in one pot. This reaction can be carried out under neutral conditions according to an addition of magnesium metal as the reductive reagent.

CD43 modulates severity and onset of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a mouse model of multiple sclerosis characterized by infiltration of activated CD4(+) T lymphocytes into tissues of the CNS. This study investigated the role of CD43 in the induction and progression of EAE. Results demonstrate that CD43-deficient mice have reduced and delayed clinical and histological disease severity relative to CD43(+/+) mice.

[Formaldehyde exposure levels and exposure control measures during an anatomy dissecting course].

The evaporation of formaldehyde from cadavers can produce high exposures among students and instructors. A possible causal role for formaldehyde has been considered likely for tumor of the nasopharynx and the nasal cavities in human beings. Due to this reason, Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has set a guideline, which includes--decrease in gaseous formaldehyde in gross anatomy dissection laboratories and a guide to medical students about the toxicity of formaldehyde and protective method to avoid damages to skin, mucous, membrane, etc, in 2002.

Heterologous immunity provides a potent barrier to transplantation tolerance.

Many strategies have been proposed to induce tolerance to transplanted tissue in rodents; however, few if any have shown equal efficacy when tested in nonhuman primate transplant models. We hypothesized that a critical distinction between specific pathogen-free mice and nonhuman primates or human patients is their acquired immune history. Here, we show that a heterologous immune response--specifically, virally induced alloreactive memory--is a potent barrier to tolerance induction.

Low-order chaos in sympathetic nerve activity and scaling of heartbeat intervals.

The mechanism of 1/f scaling of heartbeat intervals remains unknown. We recorded heartbeat intervals, sympathetic nerve activity, and blood pressure in conscious rats with normal or high blood pressure. Using nonlinear analyses, we demonstrate that the dynamics of this system of three variables is low-order chaos, and that sympathetic nerve activity leads to heartbeat interval and blood pressure changes.