Prolyl hydroxylase 2 inactivation enhances glycogen storage and promotes excessive neutrophilic responses.

Fully activated innate immune cells are required for effective responses to infection, but their prompt deactivation and removal are essential for limiting tissue damage. Here, we have identified a critical role for the prolyl hydroxylase enzyme Phd2 in maintaining the balance between appropriate, predominantly neutrophil-mediated pathogen clearance and resolution of the innate immune response. We demonstrate that myeloid-specific loss of Phd2 resulted in an exaggerated inflammatory response to Streptococcus pneumonia, with increases in neutrophil motility, functional capacity, and survival.

Identification of axon growth promoters in the secretome of the deer antler velvet.

Every spring, deer cast their old antlers and initiate a regeneration process, which yields a new set of antlers of up to 1m in length. Over the course of three months, branches of the trigeminal nerve, originating from the frontal skull, innervate velvet, a modified skin that covers the regenerating antler. The rate of growth of these axons reaches up to 2cm per day making them the fastest regenerating axons in adult mammals.

Atorvastatin modulates the profile of proteins released by human atherosclerotic plaques.

The mechanisms by which hydroxymethylglutaryl CoenzymeA reductase inhibitors (statins) reduce atherosclerotic cardiovascular morbidity and mortality remain poorly understood. Statins have been shown to modulate the levels of different inflammatory proteins both in carotid atherosclerotic plaques and in the blood of patients with atherosclerosis. In this work, we hypothesize that statins could also modulate the levels of the proteins secreted by cultured atherosclerotic plaques.

Ca2+-binding allergens from olive pollen exhibit biochemical and immunological activity when expressed in stable transgenic Arabidopsis.

Employing transgenic plants as alternative systems to the conventional Escherichia coli, Pichia pastoris or baculovirus hosts to produce recombinant allergens may offer the possibility of having available edible vaccines in the near future. In this study, two EF-hand-type Ca2+-binding allergens from olive pollen, Ole e 3 and Ole e 8, were produced in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants. The corresponding cDNAs, under the control of the constitutive CaMV 35S promoter, were stably incorporated into the Arabidopsis genome and encoded recombinant proteins, AtOle e 3 and AtOle e 8, which exhibited the molecular properties (i.