Early pregnancy factor treatment suppresses the inflammatory response and adhesion molecule expression in the spinal cord of SJL/J mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and the delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction to trinitrochlorobenzene in normal BALB/c mice

Early pregnancy factor (EPF) is a secreted protein, present in serum during early pregnancy and essential for maintaining viability of the embryo. It is a homologue of chaperonin 10 (Cpn10) but, unlike Cpn10, it has an extracellular role. EPF has immunosuppressive and growth regulatory properties. Previously we have reported the preparation of recombinant EPF (rEPF) and shown that treatment with rEPF will suppress clinical signs of MBP-EAE in Lewis rats and PLP-EAE in SJL/J mice. In the present study, these findings have been extended to investigate possible mechanisms involved in the action of EPF. Following treatment of mice with rEPF from the day of inoculation, there were fewer infiltrating CD3+ and CD4+ cells in the parenchyma of the spinal cord during the onset of disease and after the initial episode, compared with mice treated with vehicle. Expression of the integrins LFA-1, VLA-4 and Mac-1 and of members of the immunoglobulin superfamily of adhesion molecules ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 was suppressed in the central nervous system (CNS) following rEPF treatment. The expression of PECAM-1 was not affected. To determine if rEPF suppressed T cell activation in the periphery, the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction of normal BALB/c mice to trinitrochlorobenzene (TNCB) following treatment with rEPF was studied. The results showed that treatment with rEPF suppressed the DTH reaction, demonstrating the ability of EPF to downregulate the cell-mediated immune response. These results indicate that suppression of immunological mechanisms by rEPF plays a major role in the reduction of clinical signs of disease in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

A protective effect of early pregnancy factor on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis induced in Lewis rats by inoculation with myelin basic protein

Experimental antoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an organ-specific autoimmune disease characterised by inflammation and demyelination of the central nervous system and is the best available animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Since previous studies have shown that EAE is less severe or is delayed in onset during pregnancy and that administration of the pregnancy hormone early pregnancy factor (EPF) down-regulates EAE, experiments in the present study were designed to explore further the role of EPF in EAE. By using the rosette inhibition test, the standard bioassay for EPF and, by semi-quantitative RT-PCR techniques, we have now shown that inflammatory cells from the spinal cord of rats with EAE can produce and secrete EPF, with production being greatest during recovery from disease. Administration of EPF to rats with EAE resulted in a significant increase in the expression of IL-4 and IL-10 mRNA and a significant decrease in IFN-gamma mRNA expression in spinal cord inflammatory cells. Encephalitogenic MBP-specific T cell lines were prepared from popliteal lymph nodes of rats with EAE. Proliferation assays using these cells demonstrated the ability of exogenous EPF to down-regulate the responses of T lymphocytes to MBP. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Parcerias intraeuropeias: 50 anos do Tratado do Eliseu (1963-2013)

Em 2013 o Tratado do Eliseu, de amizade e cooperação entre França e Alemanha completa 50 anos. O modelo de bilateralismo complementar por ele estabelecido instituiu um modelo de cooperação bem sucedido, de cujas características beneficiou-se tanto a dupla franco-alemã quanto o itinerário mesmo da União Europeia. A política externa de Paris e Berlim, tornada política interna à Europa, inspira a arquitetura da política externa e de segurança comum, cujo desenvolvimento somente começou com o Tratado de Lisboa, de 2009, cujos entraves operacionais subsistem. O texto dos tratados ecoa a parceria franco-alemã e registra as superposições institucionais remanescentes.

Intramolekulare Cyclisierungen chiraler, "C-zentrierter" Propargylsilane und enantioselektive Synthesen anellierter Azepine zum Aufbau des BD-Grundgerüstes von Cephalotaxin

Chiral auxiliaries, cyclizations, Lewis acids, Sakurai reaction, annulations, asymmetric induction, azepines, radical cyclization, spiro compounds

Estudo comparativo das domácias de fôlhas normais e domácias de fôlhas cujas plantas foram cultivadas com deficiências e excessos de micronutrientes (Fe, Mn, Mo, e Cu), em Coffea arabica L. variedade caturra K. M. C.

1. Quanto às características morfológicas, as domácias nas folhas tratadas não apresentaram diferenças apreciáveis, a não ser quanto à forma do orifício de entrada ou bôca, que ora é circular, ora é eliptico. Foram assinalados pelos nas adjacências da domácia. 2. Sob o ponto de vista anatômico, anotei na estrutura pequenas alterações na epiderme que reveste o interior da câmara e canal, constando de diferenças quanto ao tamanho, uniformidade, grau de cutinização e aspectos diversos nas- paredes externas das células. O tecido envolvente apresentou variações no número de camadas e na forma irregular de suas células.

Sombreamento dos cafezais IV - resultados de mais dois biênios: 1963/1964 - 1965/1966

This paper deals with data obtained in 1963, 1964, 1965 e 1966 in shaded and unshaded coffee plots at Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil. The results can be summarized as follows: a. the production, in shaded and unshaded plots, did not show differences statisticaly significant; b. the percentage of coffee berry borer infestations was higher in shaded plots as compared with unshaded ones; c. the percentage of green, ripened and dry fruits depends on the year and on the harvest time.

I. Supplement to the flora of Barro Colorado island, Panama [by] Leslie A. Kenoyer and Paul C. Standley.

v.4:no.6(1929)

Flora of Guatemala, by Paul C. Standley and J.A. Steyermark.

v.24:pt.4(1946)

Studies of American plants, by Paul C. Standley.

v.4:no.8(1929)

The Nyctaginaceae and Chenopodiaceae of northwestern South America, by Paul C. Standley.

v.11:no.3(1931)

Flora of Costa Rica ... by Paul C. Standley ...

v.18:pt:4(1938)

Studies of Central American plants. by Paul C. Standley and Julian A. Steyermark.

v.23:no.3(1944)

Flora of Guatemala / Paul C. Standley and Julian A. Steyermark.

v.24:pt.3(1952)

Flora of Costa Rica ... by Paul C. Standley ...

v.18:pt.3(1938)

Flora of Guatemala / by Paul C. Standley and Julian A. Steyermark.

v.24:pt.1(1958)