Browsing by Subject "Mice"

Now showing 1 - 14 of 14
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    Open Access
    Development of plant-produced protein body vaccine candidates for bluetongue virus
    (2017) van Zyl, Albertha R; Meyers, Ann E; Rybicki, Edward P
    BACKGROUND: Bluetongue is a disease of domestic and wild ruminants caused by bluetongue virus serotypes (BTV), which have caused serious outbreaks worldwide. Commercially available vaccines are live-attenuated or inactivated virus strains: these are effective, but there is the risk of reversion to virulence or reassortment with circulating strains for live virus, and residual live virus for the inactivated vaccines. The live-attenuated virus vaccines are not able to distinguish naturally infected animals from vaccinated animals (DIVA compliant). Recombinant vaccines are preferable to minimize the risks associated with these vaccines, and would also enable the development of candidate vaccines that are DIVA-compliant. RESULTS: In this study, two novel protein body (PB) plant-produced vaccines were developed, Zera®-VP2ep and Zera®-VP2. Zera®-VP2ep contained B-cell epitope sequences of multiple BTV serotypes and Zera®-VP2 contained the full-length BTV-8 VP2 codon-optimised sequence. In addition to fulfilling the DIVA requirement, Zera®-VP2ep was aimed at being multivalent with the ability to stimulate an immune response to several BTV serotypes. Both these candidate vaccines were successfully made in N. benthamiana via transient Agrobacterium-mediated expression, and in situ TEM analysis showed that the expressed proteins accumulated within the cytoplasm of plant cells in dense membrane-defined PBs. The peptide sequences included in Zera®-VP2ep contained epitopes that bound antibodies produced against native VP2. Preliminary murine immunogenicity studies showed that the PB vaccine candidates elicited anti-VP2 immune responses in mice without the use of adjuvant. CONCLUSIONS: These proof of concept results demonstrate that Zera®-VP2ep and Zera®-VP2 have potential as BTV vaccines and their development should be further investigated.
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    Open Access
    Diamphotoxin: the arrow poison of the Kung bushmen
    (1983) DE LA HARPE, J; REICH, E; REICH, K; DOWDLE, E
    Purification de la diamphotoxine et étude de ses caractéristiques pharmacologiques et biochimiques.
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    Open Access
    Glutamate 301 of the mouse gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor confers specificity for arginine 8 of mammalian gonadotropin-releasing hormone
    (1994) Flanagan, C A; Becker, I I; Davidson, J S; Wakefield, I K; Zhou, W; Sealfon, S C; Millar, R P
    The Arg residue at position 8 of mammalian GnRH is necessary for high affinity binding to mammalian GnRH receptors. This requirement has been postulated to derive from an electrostatic interaction of Arg8 with a negatively charged receptor residue. In order to identify such a residue, 8 conserved acidic residues of the mouse GnRH receptor were mutated to isosteric Asn or Gln. Mutant receptors were tested for decreased preference for Arg8-containing ligands by ligand binding and inositol phosphate production. One of the mutants, in which the Glu301 residue was mutated to Gln, exhibited a 56-fold decrease in apparent affinity for mammalian GnRH. The mutant receptor also exhibited decreased affinity for [Lys8]GnRH, but its affinity for [Gln8]GnRH was unchanged compared with the wild type receptor. The apparent affinity of the mutant receptor for the acidic analogue, [Glu8]GnRH, was increased more than 10-fold. The mutant receptor did not, therefore, distinguish mammalian GnRH from analogues with amino acid substitutions at position 8 as effectively as the wild type receptor. This loss of discrimination was specific for the residue at position 8, because the mutant receptor did distinguish mammalian GnRH from analogues with favorable substitutions at positions 5, 6, and 7. These findings show that Glu301 of the GnRH receptor plays a role in receptor recognition of Arg8 in the ligand and are consistent with an electrostatic interaction between these 2 residues.
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    Open Access
    HIV-1 sub-type C chimaeric VLPs boost cellular immune responses in mice
    (BioMed Central Ltd, 2010) Pillay, Sirika; Shephard, Enid; Meyers, Ann; Williamson, Anna-Lise; Rybicki, Edward P
    Several approaches have been explored to eradicate HIV; however, a multigene vaccine appears to be the best option, given their proven potential to elicit broad, effective responses in animal models. The Pr55Gag protein is an excellent vaccine candidate in its own right, given that it can assemble into large, enveloped, virus-like particles (VLPs) which are highly immunogenic, and can moreover be used as a scaffold for the presentation of other large non-structural HIV antigens. In this study, we evaluated the potential of two novel chimaeric HIV-1 Pr55Gag-based VLP constructs - C-terminal fusions with reverse transcriptase and a Tat::Nef fusion protein, designated GagRT and GagTN respectively - to enhance a cellular response in mice when used as boost components in two types of heterologous prime-boost vaccine strategies. A vaccine regimen consisting of a DNA prime and chimaeric HIV-1 VLP boosts in mice induced strong, broad cellular immune responses at an optimum dose of 100 ng VLPs. The enhanced cellular responses induced by the DNA prime-VLP boost were two- to three-fold greater than two DNA vaccinations. Moreover, a mixture of GagRT and GagTN VLPs also boosted antigen-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell responses, while VLP vaccinations only induced predominantly robust Gag CD4+ T-cell responses. The results demonstrate the promising potential of these chimaeric VLPs as vaccine candidates against HIV-1.
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    Open Access
    Influence of Tumour Necrosis Factor Alpha on the Outcome of Ischaemic Postconditioning in the Presence of Obesity and Diabetes
    (2012) Lacerda, Lydia; Opie, Lionel H; Lecour, Sandrine
    Obesity and diabetes contribute to cardiovascular disease and alter cytokine profile. The cytokine, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), activates a protective signalling cascade during ischaemic postconditioning (IPostC). However, most successful clinical studies with IPostC have not included obese and/or diabetic patients. We aimed to investigate the influence of TNFα on the outcome of IPostC in obese or diabetic mice. TNF knockout or wildtype mice were fed for 11 weeks with a high carbohydrate diet (HCD) to induce modest obesity. Diabetes was induced in a separate group by administration of a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. Hearts were then isolated and subjected to ischaemia (35 min of global ischaemia) followed by 45 min of reperfusion. HCD increased body weight, plasma insulin and leptin levels while the glucose level was unchanged. In streptozotocin-treated mice, blood glucose, plasma leptin and insulin were altered. Control, obese or diabetic mice were protected with IPostC in wiltype animals. In TNF knockout mice, IPostC failed to protect control and diabetic hearts while a slight protection was observed in obese hearts. Our data confirm a bidirectional role for TNFα associated with the severity of concomitant comorbidities and suggest that diabetic and/or modestly obese patients may still benefit from IPostC.
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    Open Access
    Interference with Hemozoin Formation Represents an Important Mechanism of Schistosomicidal Action of Antimalarial Quinoline Methanols
    (2009) Corrêa Soares, Juliana B R; Menezes, Diego; Vannier-Santos, Marcos A; Ferreira-Pereira, Antonio; Almeida, Giulliana T; Venancio, Thiago M; Verjovski-Almeida, Sergio; Zishiri, Vincent K; Kuter, David; Hunter, Roger; Egan, Timothy J; Oliveira, Marcus F
    BackgroundThe parasitic trematode Schistosoma mansoni is one of the major causative agents of human schistosomiasis, which afflicts 200 million people worldwide. Praziquantel remains the main drug used for schistosomiasis treatment, and reliance on the single therapy has been prompting the search for new therapeutic compounds against this disease. Our group has demonstrated that heme crystallization into hemozoin (Hz) within the S. mansoni gut is a major heme detoxification route with lipid droplets involved in this process and acting as a potential chemotherapeutical target. In the present work, we investigated the effects of three antimalarial compounds, quinine (QN), quinidine (QND) and quinacrine (QCR) in a murine schistosomiasis model by using a combination of biochemical, cell biology and molecular biology approaches.Methodology/Principal FindingsTreatment of S. mansoni-infected female Swiss mice with daily intraperitoneal injections of QN, and QND (75 mg/kg/day) from the 11th to 17th day after infection caused significant decreases in worm burden (39%–61%) and egg production (42%–98%). Hz formation was significantly inhibited (40%–65%) in female worms recovered from QN- and QND-treated mice and correlated with reduction in the female worm burden. We also observed that QN treatment promoted remarkable ultrastructural changes in male and female worms, particularly in the gut epithelium and reduced the granulomatous reaction to parasite eggs trapped in the liver. Microarray gene expression analysis indicated that QN treatment increased the expression of transcripts related to musculature, protein synthesis and repair mechanisms.ConclusionsThe overall significant reduction in several disease burden parameters by the antimalarial quinoline methanols indicates that interference with Hz formation in S. mansoni represents an important mechanism of schistosomicidal action of these compounds and points out the heme crystallization process as a valid chemotherapeutic target to treat schistosomiasis.Author SummaryHeme is an essential molecule to most living organisms, but once in a free state it exerts toxic effects. Blood-feeding organisms evolved efficient ways to detoxify free heme derived from hemoglobin digestion. A key mechanism present in some hematophagous organisms consists of the crystallization of heme into a pigment named hemozoin. Schistosoma mansoni is one of the etiologic agents of human schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease that affects over 200 million people in tropical and subtropical areas. Hemozoin formation represents the main heme detoxification pathway in S. mansoni. Here, we report that the antimalarial quinoline methanols quinine and quinidine exert schistosomicidal effects notably due to their capacity to interfere with hemozoin formation. When quinine or quinidine were administered intraperitoneally during seven days to S. mansoni-infected mice (75 mg/kg/day), both worm and eggs burden were significantly reduced. Interestingly, hemozoin content in female worms was drastically affected after treatment with either compound. We also found that quinine caused important changes in the cellular organization of worm gastrodermis and increased expression of genes related to musculature, protein synthesis and repair mechanisms. Together, our results indicate that interference with hemozoin formation is a valid chemotherapeutic target for development of new schistosomicidal agents.
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    Limited Contribution of IL-36 versus IL-1 and TNF Pathways in Host Response to Mycobacterial Infection
    (Public Library of Science, 2015) Segueni, Noria; Vigne, Solenne; Palmer, Gaby; Bourigault, Marie-Laure; Olleros, Maria L.; Vesin, Dominique; Garcia, Irene; Ryffel, Bernhard; Quesniaux, Valérie F. J.; Gabay, Cem
    IL-36 cytokines are members of the IL-1 family of cytokines that stimulate dendritic cells and T cells leading to enhanced T helper 1 responses in vitro and in vivo ; however, their role in host defense has not been fully addressed thus far. The objective of this study was to examine the role of IL-36R signaling in the control of mycobacterial infection, using models of systemic attenuated M . bovis BCG infection and virulent aerogenic M . tuberculosis infection. IL-36γ expression was increased in the lung of M . bovis BCG infected mice. However, IL-36R deficient mice infected with M . bovis BCG showed similar survival and control of the infection as compared to wild-type mice, although their lung pathology and CXCL1 response were transiently different. While highly susceptible TNF-α deficient mice succumbed with overwhelming M . tuberculosis infection, and IL-1RI deficient mice showed intermediate susceptibility, IL-36R-deficient mice controlled the infection, with bacterial burden, lung inflammation and pathology, similar to wild-type controls. Therefore, IL-36R signaling has only limited influence in the control of mycobacterial infection.
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    Plasma and vessel wall lipoprotein lipase have different roles in atherosclerosis
    (2000) Clee, S M; Bissada, N; Miao, F; Miao, L; Marais, A D; Henderson, H E; Steures, P; McManus, J; McManus, B; LeBoeuf, R C; Kastelein, J J; Hayden, M R
    Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is a key enzyme in lipoprotein metabolism, and has been hypothesized to exert either pro- or anti-atherogenic effects, depending on its localization. Decreased plasma LPL activity is associated with the high triglyceride (TG);-low HDL phenotype that is often observed in patients with premature vascular disease. In contrast, in the vessel wall, decreased LPL may be associated with less lipoprotein retention due to many potential mechanisms and, therefore, decreased foam cell formation. To directly assess this hypothesis, we have distinguished between the effects of variations in plasma and/or vessel wall LPL on atherosclerosis susceptibility in apoE-deficient mice. Reduced LPL in both plasma and vessel wall (LPL(+/-)E(-/-)) was associated with increased TG and increased total cholesterol (TC) compared with LPL(+/+)E(-/-) sibs. However despite their dyslipidemia, LPL(+/-)E(-/-) mice had significantly reduced lesion areas compared to the LPL(+/+)E(-/-) mice. Thus, decreased vessel wall LPL was associated with decreased lesion formation even in the presence of reduced plasma LPL activity. In contrast, transgenic mice with increased plasma LPL but with no increase in LPL expression in macrophages, and thus the vessel wall, had decreased TG and TC and significantly decreased lesion areas compared with LPL(+/+)E(-/-) mice. This demonstrates that increased plasma LPL activity alone, in the absence of an increase in vessel wall LPL, is associated with reduced susceptibility to atherosclerosis. Taken together, these results provide in vivo evidence that the contribution of LPL to atherogenesis is significantly influenced by the balance between vessel wall protein (pro-atherogenic) and plasma activity (anti-atherogenic)
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    Prominent role for T cell-derived Tumour Necrosis Factor for sustained control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection
    (2013) Allie, Nasiema; Grivennikov, Sergei I; Keeton, Roanne; Hsu, Nai-Jen; Bourigault, Marie-Laure; Court, Nathalie; Fremond, Cecile; Yeremeev, Vladimir; Shebzukhov, Yuriy; Ryffel, Bernhard; Nedospasov, Sergei A; Quesniaux, Valérie F J; Jacobs, Muazzam
    Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF) is critical for host control of M. tuberculosis, but the relative contribution of TNF from innate and adaptive immune responses during tuberculosis infection is unclear. Myeloid versus T-cell-derived TNF function in tuberculosis was investigated using cell type-specific TNF deletion. Mice deficient for TNF expression in macrophages/neutrophils displayed early, transient susceptibility to M. tuberculosis but recruited activated, TNF-producing CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells and controlled chronic infection. Strikingly, deficient TNF expression in T-cells resulted in early control but susceptibility and eventual mortality during chronic infection with increased pulmonary pathology. TNF inactivation in both myeloid and T-cells rendered mice critically susceptible to infection with a phenotype resembling complete TNF deficient mice, indicating that myeloid and T-cells are the primary TNF sources collaborating for host control of tuberculosis. Thus, while TNF from myeloid cells mediates early immune function, T-cell derived TNF is essential to sustain protection during chronic tuberculosis infection.
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    Regulation of Cytosolic Phospholipase A 2 Activation and Cyclooxygenase 2 Expression in Macrophages by the β-Glucan Receptor
    (2006) Suram, Saritha; Brown, Gordon D; Ghosh, Moumita; Gordon, Siamon; Loper, Robyn; Taylor, Philip R; Akira, Shizuo; Uematsu, Satoshi; Williams, David L; Leslie, Christina C
    Phagocytosis of non-opsonized microorganisms by macrophages initiates innate immune responses for host defense against infection. Cytosolic phospholipase A(2) is activated during phagocytosis, releasing arachidonic acid for production of eicosanoids, which initiate acute inflammation. Our objective was to identify pattern recognition receptors that stimulate arachidonic acid release and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) expression in macrophages by pathogenic yeast and yeast cell walls. Zymosan- and Candida albicans-stimulated arachidonic acid release from resident mouse peritoneal macrophages was blocked by soluble glucan phosphate. In RAW264.7 cells arachidonic acid release, COX2 expression, and prostaglandin production were enhanced by overexpressing the beta-glucan receptor, dectin-1, but not dectin-1 lacking the cytoplasmic tail. Pure particulate (1, 3)-beta-D-glucan stimulated arachidonic acid release and COX2 expression, which were augmented in a Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2)-dependent manner by macrophage-activating lipopeptide-2. However, arachidonic acid release and leukotriene C(4) production stimulated by zymosan and C. albicans were TLR2-independent, whereas COX2 expression and prostaglandin production were partially blunted in TLR2(-/-) macrophages. Inhibition of Syk tyrosine kinase blocked arachidonic acid release and COX2 expression in response to zymosan, C. albicans, and particulate (1, 3)-beta-D-glucan. The results suggest that cytosolic phospholipase A(2) activation triggered by the beta-glucan component of yeast is dependent on the immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif-like domain of dectin-1 and activation of Syk kinase, whereas both TLR2 and Syk kinase regulate COX2 expression.
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    RNAseq analysis of heart tissue from mice treated with atenolol and isoproterenol reveals a reciprocal transcriptional response
    (2016) Bergmann, Sven
    Abstract Background The transcriptional response to many widely used drugs and its modulation by genetic variability is poorly understood. Here we present an analysis of RNAseq profiles from heart tissue of 18 inbred mouse strains treated with the β-blocker atenolol (ATE) and the β-agonist isoproterenol (ISO). Results Differential expression analyses revealed a large set of genes responding to ISO (n = 1770 at FDR = 0.0001) and a comparatively small one responding to ATE (n = 23 at FDR = 0.0001). At a less stringent definition of differential expression, the transcriptional responses to these two antagonistic drugs are reciprocal for many genes, with an overall anti-correlation of r = −0.3. This trend is also observed at the level of most individual strains even though the power to detect differential expression is significantly reduced. The inversely expressed gene sets are enriched with genes annotated for heart-related functions. Modular analysis revealed gene sets that exhibit coherent transcription profiles across some strains and/or treatments. Correlations between these modules and a broad spectrum of cardiovascular traits are stronger than expected by chance. This provides evidence for the overall importance of transcriptional regulation for these organismal responses and explicits links between co-expressed genes and the traits they are associated with. Gene set enrichment analysis of differentially expressed groups of genes pointed to pathways related to heart development and functionality. Conclusions Our study provides new insights into the transcriptional response of the heart to perturbations of the β-adrenergic system, implicating several new genes that had not been associated to this system previously.
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    Synthesis and activity of tyrosinase in mouse skin melanocytes
    (1990) Nkabinde, Nkosana Cyril; Kidson, Susan H
    Tyrosinase (E.C. 1.14.18.1) is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of melanin. The control of melanin sythesis was explored in skin melanocytes of the following strains; wild type (C57BL/6J-C/C) (which maximally synthesize melanin at normal mammalian body temperature, Himalayan (C57BL/6J-cʰ/cʰ) (which maximally synthesize melanin at temperatures below 37°C) and albino (Balb c-c/c) (a mutant which does not synthesize melanin) The effect of a-MSH on tyrosinase activity was initially investigated. A skin culture tyrosinase assay that made it possible to measure the effect of α-MSH on the activity of this enzyme in vitro was first developed. It was found that α-MSH activated the wild type and Himalayan tyrosinase in a dose-dependent manner and that this activation did not require the de novo synthesis of new enzyme. The role of glycosylation on the wild type and particularly the Himalayan tyrosinase activity was next investigated. The results do not support, but are not in conflict with the theory that the Himalayan tyrosinase is inherently underglycosylated. Translation and transcription as additional control mechanisms of tyrosinase activity was finally investigated. The correlation between the levels of tyrosinase activity, abundance of the enzyme and the synthesis of tyrosinase mRNA in wild type, Himalayan and albino mice was determined. It was shown that the levels of newly synthesized tyrosinase and tyrosinase mRNA transcripts were higher in the wild type than in the Himalayan skin. This could account for the reduced tyrosinase activity in the Himalayan mutant at normal body temperature. Low levels of tyrosinase mRNA were found in the albino skin though there was no immunodetectable enzyme in this tissue.
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    The protective role of DOT1L in UV-induced melanomagenesis
    (2018) Yin, Chengqian; Zhang, Jie; Wei, Wenyi; Wei, Zhi; Pan, Jingxuan; Wang, Yongjun; Xuan, Zhenyu; Hess, Jay; Hayward, Nicholas K; Goding, Colin R; Chen, Xiang; Zhou, Jun; Cui, Rutao
    The DOT1L histone H3 lysine 79 (H3K79) methyltransferase plays an oncogenic role in MLL-rearranged leukemogenesis. Here, we demonstrate that, in contrast to MLL-rearranged leukemia, DOT1L plays a protective role in ultraviolet radiation (UVR)-induced melanoma development. Specifically, the DOT1L gene is located in a frequently deleted region and undergoes somatic mutation in human melanoma. Specific mutations functionally compromise DOT1L methyltransferase enzyme activity leading to reduced H3K79 methylation. Importantly, in the absence of DOT1L, UVR-induced DNA damage is inefficiently repaired, so that DOT1L loss promotes melanoma development in mice after exposure to UVR. Mechanistically, DOT1L facilitates DNA damage repair, with DOT1L-methylated H3K79 involvement in binding and recruiting XPC to the DNA damage site for nucleotide excision repair (NER). This study indicates that DOT1L plays a protective role in UVR-induced melanomagenesis.
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    UV-mediated Regulation of the anti-senescence factor Tbx2
    (2008) Abrahams, Amaal; Mowla, Shaheen; PARKER, M Iqbal; Goding, Colin R; Prince, Sharon
    Several lines of evidence have implicated members of the developmentally important T-box gene family in cell cycle regulation and in cancer. Importantly, the highly related T-box factors Tbx2 and Tbx3 can suppress senescence through repressing the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p19(ARF) and p21(WAF1/CIP1/SDII). Furthermore, Tbx2 is up-regulated in several cancers, including melanomas where it was shown to function as an anti-senescence factor, suggesting that this may be one of the mechanisms by which T-box proteins contribute to the oncogenic process. However, very little is known about whether Tbx2 is regulated by p21-mediated stress-induced senescence signaling pathways. In this study, using the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line known to overexpress Tbx2, we show that in response to stress induced by ultraviolet irradiation the Tbx2 protein is specifically phosphorylated by the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. Using site-directed mutagenesis and in vitro kinase assays, we have identified serine residues 336, 623, and 675 in the Tbx2 protein as the p38 target sites and show that these sites are phosphorylated in vivo. Importantly, we show by Western blotting, immunofluorescence, and reporter assays that this phosphorylation leads to increased Tbx2 protein levels, predominant nuclear localization of the protein, and an increase in the ability of Tbx2 to repress the p21(WAF1/CIP1/SDII) promoter. These results show for the first time that the ability of Tbx2 to repress the p21 gene is enhanced in response to a stress-induced senescence pathway, which leads to a better understanding of the regulation of the anti-senescence function of Tbx2.