kDNA gene signatures of Trypanosoma cruzi in blood and oesophageal mucosa from chronic chagasic patients

Trypanosoma cruzi presents a high degree of intraspecific variability, with possible implications for the pathogenesis of Chagas disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate T cruzi kDNA minicircle gene signatures using the low-stringency single-specific-primer PCR technique in both peripheral blood and oesophageal. mucosa from chronic chagasic patients, with or without megaesophagus, atone or in combination with cardiopathy and megacolon. It was not possible to identify a uniform pattern of shared bands between blood and oesophageal mucosa samples from individuals with the same clinical. form or mixed forms, suggesting multiple T. cruzi infections with differential tissue tropism. Thus, the results indicate that there is an intense intraspecific variability in the hypervariable regions of T cruzi kDNA, which has so far made it impossible to correlate the genetic profile of this structure with the clinical manifestations of Chagas disease. (C) 2008 Royal. Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Published by Elsevier Ltd. AIL rights reserved.

Effects of self-, chase and mixed self/cross-pollinations on pistil longevity and fruit set in Ceiba species (Bombacaceae) with late-acting self-incompatibility

Background and aims Late-acting self-incompatibility (LSI). in which selfed flowers fail to form fruits despite apparently successful growth of the pollen tubes to the ovules, is a contentious and still poorly understood phenomenon. Some studies have indicated pollen tube-pistil interactions, and major gene control. Others favour an early acting inbreeding depression explanation.Methods Experimental pollinations, including selfs (in a subsample of which the style was cut before pollen tubes reached the ovary), chase self/cross-pollinations, crosses, and mixed self/cross-pollinations were used to study floral/pistil longevity and effect on fruit set and seed yield in two Ceiba species known to have LSI.Results Self-pollinations, including those with a cut style, had extended floral longevity compared with unpollinated flowers. Chase pollinations in which cross-pollen was applied up to 3 h after selfing set fruits, but with reduced seed set compared with crosses. Those with cross-pollen applied at 4 and 8 h after self-pollination all failed to set fruits. Flowers subjected to 1 : 1 and 2 : 1 self/cross-pollinations all produced fruits but again with a significantly lower seed set compared with crosses.Conclusions Extended floral longevity initiated with self-pollen tubes growing in the style indicates some kind of pollen tube-pistil interaction. Fruit set only in chase pollinations up to 3 h implies that self-pollen tubes either grow more slowly in the style or penetrate ovules more slowly on arrival at the ovary compared with cross-tubes. This agrees with previous observations indicating that the incidence of penetrated ovules is initially lower in selfed compared with crossed pistils. However, the low seed yield from mixed pollinations indicates that self- and cross-pollen tubes arrive at the ovary and penetrate ovules more or less simultaneously. Possible explanations for these discordant results are discussed. (C) 2004 Annals of Botany Company.

Methylation status of the SOCS 1 and JUNB genes in chronic myeloid leukemia patients

Alteração no padrão de metilação gênica pode contribuir para a progressão da leucemia mielóide crônica (LMC). Neste estudo, o padrão de metilação no exon 2 do gene SOCS- 1 e região promotora de ambos SOCS- 1 e JUNB foram avaliadas em pacientes com LMC. O padrão de metilação desses genes foi analisado usando a técnicamethylation- specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP) em 30 amostras de pacientes com LMC, 30 amostras desses mesmos pacientes após transplante de medula óssea (TMO) e 30 amostras controle de indivíduos saudáveis. As amostras de pacientes com LMC apresentaram o seguinte padrão de metilação: gene JUNB (3.3%), região promotora do gene SOCS- 1 (6.6%) e exon2 do gene SOCS- 1 (46.6%). Amostras dos indivíduos saudáveis apresentaram metilação somente no exon 2 do gene SOCS- 1 (10%, P = 0.002). Após o transplante, os pacientes apresentaram alterações no padrão de metilação da região promotora do gene SOCS- 1 (6.6%), no exon2 do gene SOCS- 1 (46.6%) e na região promotora do gene JUNB (16.6%). Metilação das regiões promotoras dos genes SOCS- 1 e JUNB não é um evento frequente em LMC. em contraste, metilação no exon 2 do gene SOCS- 1 apresenta- se como um evento frequente, suscetível a alterações no padrão de metilação após TMO.

Manifestation of a probable lethal gene in Holstein Friesian cows

In a study of the causes of abortion and stillbirth in a Holstein-Friesian herd, the most probable cause detected was a lethal gene transmitted through the pedigree line. Findings of this nature have already been reported both in the United States and Canada for the same line. Replacing the sires with others solved the problem, thus demonstrating a genetic etiology for abortion and stillbirth in this lineage. The differences noted in the time of fetal mortality may indicate the action of more than one gene or variable expressivity of the mutant gene. The importance of the data is discussed in terms of the elimination of genetic factors that cause fetal mortality. © 1985.

Oral manifestations during chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A case report

A 14-year-old, male patient was referred for the treatment of mucositis, idiopathic facial asymmetry, and candidiasis. The patient had been undergoing chemotherapy for 5 years for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He presented with a swollen face, fever, and generalized symptomatology in the mouth with burning. On physical examination, general signs of poor health, paleness, malnutrition, and jaundice were observed. The extraoral clinical examination showed edema on the right side of the face and cutaneous erythema. On intraoral clinical examination, generalized ulcers with extensive necrosis on the hard palate mucosa were observed, extending to the posterior region. Both free and attached gingivae were ulcerated and edematous with exudation and spontaneous bleeding, mainly in the superior and inferior anterior teeth region. The tongue had no papillae and was coated, due to poor oral hygiene. The patient also presented with carious white lesions and enamel hypoplasia, mouth opening limitation, and foul odor. After exfoliative cytology of the affected areas, the diagnosis was mixed infection by Candida albicans and bacteria. Recommended treatment was antibiotics and antifungal administration, periodontal prophylaxis, topical application of fluor 1.23%, and orientation on and control of proper oral hygiene and diet during the remission phase of the disease.

Clonagem e expressão da glicoproteína transmembrana do retrovírus HTLV-1 em células de mamíferos

The retrovirus HTLV-1 is the etiological agent of the adult T-cell leukemia and HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis. The proviral genome has 9,032 base pairs, showing regulatory and structural genes. The env gene encodes for the transmembrane glycoprotein gp 21. The development of methodologies for heterologous protein expression, as well as the acquisition of a cellular line that constituently expresses the recombinant, were the main goals of this work. The DNA fragment that encodes for gp 21 was amplified by nested-PCR and cloned into a pCR2.1-TOPO vector. After which, a sub-cloning was realized using the expressing vector pcDNA3.1+. The transfection of mammalian cells HEK 293 was performed transitorily and permanently. Production of the recombinant gp 21 was confirmed by flux cytometry experiments and the cell line producing protein will be used in immunogenicity assays.

Report of a chimeric origin of transposable elements in a bovine-coding gene

Despite the wide distribution of transposable elements (TEs) in mammalian genomes, part of their evolutionary significance remains to be discovered. Today there is a substantial amount of evidence showing that TEs are involved in the generation of new exons in different species. In the present study, we searched 22,805 genes and reported the occurrence of TE-cassettes in coding sequences of 542 cow genes using the RepeatMasker program. Despite the significant number (542) of genes with TE insertions in exons only 14 (2.6%) of them were translated into protein, which we characterized as chimeric genes. From these chimeric genes, only the FAST kinase domains 3 (FASTKD3) gene, present on chromosome BTA 20, is a functional gene and showed evidence of the exaptation event. The genome sequence analysis showed that the last exon coding sequence of bovine FASTKD3 is ∼85% similar to the ART2A retrotransposon sequence. In addition, comparison among FASTKD3 proteins shows that the last exon is very divergent from those of Homo sapiens, Pan troglodytes and Canis familiares. We suggest that the gene structure of bovine FASTKD3 gene could have originated by several ectopic recombinations between TE copies. Additionally, the absence of TE sequences in all other species analyzed suggests that the TE insertion is clade-specific, mainly in the ruminant lineage. ©FUNPEC-RP.

The mechanism of dephosphorylation of bis(2,4-dinitrophenyl) phosphate in mixed micelles of cationic surfactants and lauryl hydroxamic acid

(Figure Presented) Mixed micelles of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTABr) or dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTABr) and the α-nucleophile, lauryl hydroxamic acid (LHA) accelerate dephosphorylation of bis(2,4-dinitrophenyl) phosphate (BDNPP) over the pH range 4-10. With a 0.1 mole fraction of LHA in DTABr or CTABr, dephosphorylation of BDNPP is approximately 10 4-fold faster than its spontaneous hydrolysis, and monoanionic LHA - is the reactive species. The results are consistent with a mechanism involving concurrent nucleophilic attack by hydroxamate ion (i) on the aromatic carbon, giving an intermediate that decomposes to undecylamine and 2,4-dinitrophenol, and (ii) at phosphorus, giving an unstable intermediate that undergoes a Lossen rearrangement yielding a series of derivatives including N,N-dialkylurea, undecylamine, undecyl isocyanate, and carbamyl hydroxamate. © 2009 American Chemical Society.

Effects of BST and high energy diet on gene expression in mammary parenchyma of dairy heifers

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of dietary energy and recombinant bovine somatotropin (bST) injection to identify genes that might control mammogenesis. Total RNA was extracted from the parenchymal tissue of 32 heifers randomly assigned to one of four treatments: two diets (a standard diet and a high energy, high protein diet), each with or without bST. To perform microarray experiments, RNA samples were pooled (2 animals/pool) before reverse transcription and labeling with Cy3 or Cy5. A 4-node loop design was used to examine the differential gene expression among treatments using a bovine-specific cDNA micro array (National Bovine Functional Genomics Consortium Library, NBFGC) containing 18,263 unique expressed sequence tags (EST). Significance levels of differential gene expression among treatments were assessed using a mixed model approach. Injection of bST altered the expression of 12 % of the genes on NBFGC slide related to tissue development, whereas 6% were altered by diet. Administration of bST increases the expression of genes positively related to cell proliferation and mammary parenchyma to a greater extent than a high energy diet. © 2013 Sociedade Brasileira de Zootecnia.

Análise mutacional da região dos exons 5 a 8 do gene supressor de tumor p53 em neoplasias mamárias caninas

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Tumor venéreo transmissível espontâneo canino: a inserção do transposon line-1 no gene C-MYC e os critérios de malignidade

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Análise citogenética e molecular do gene FOXO3 em síndrome mielodisplásica

Pós-graduação em Genética - IBILCE

Filogenia molecular dos xenarthra (Mammalia): análise do grupo cingulata a partir de sequências nucleotídicas do gene mitocondrial rRNA 16S

Os Xenarthra são o grupo de mamíferos que inclui os tatus, os tamanduás e as preguiças. A América do Sul serviu de cenário para a história natural do grupo que, somente no fim do Cenozóico, dispersou-se para a América Central e, com uma perda de variedade, chegou à América do Norte e à algu-mas ilhas do Caribe. Trinta e uma espécies estão descritas dentro da linha-gem dos Xenarthra. Elas estão classificadas em 13 gêneros, quatro famílias (Bradypodidae, Megalonychidae, Myrmecophagidae e Dasypodidae) e duas ordens (Cingulata e Pilosa). A filogenia deste grupo tem sido alvo de diver-sas pesquisas que analisaram tanto dados morfológicos, quanto moleculares. Delsuc et al. (2003) analisaram seqüências de genes mitocondriais e nucleares e confirmaram a monofilia das três subfamílias (Dasypodinae, Euphacti-nae e Tolypeutinae) inclusas na família Dasypodidae. Delsuc et al. (2003) geraram a seguinte árvore: (((Bradypus, Choloepus)100, ((Myrmecophaga, Tamandua)100, Cyclopes)100), ((D. kappleri, D. novemcinctus)100, (Toly-pentes, (Priodontes, Cabassous)54)100, (Zaedyus, (Euphractus, Chaetophrac-tus)60)100)). Gaudin (2005) apresentou um trabalho que reviu e ampliou as análises morfológicas apresentadas até então, concluindo que os tatus atu-ais estão divididos em dois grupos, um mais basal (Dasypodinae) e outro mais derivado (Euphractinae), de acordo com o seguinte arranjo: (Bradypus, Tamandua), (Dasypus, (Priodontes, (Cabassous, (Tolypeutes, (Euphractus, Chaetophractus, (Zaedyus, Chlamyphorus)42)36)72)72)40)85). Neste traba-lho utilizou-se parte do gene mitocondrial rRNA 16S de 12 táxons atu-ais de Xenarthra para analisar a filogenia do grupo através do critério de máxima verossimilhança. Nossos resultados são apresentados analisando-se o gene 16S e analisando o banco de dados do 16S mais o de Delsuc et al. (2003). Nas duas situações, as filogenias apresentadas apóiam os resulta-dos de Delsuc et al. (2003): (Bradypus, (Choloepus, ((Cyclopes, (Myrme-cophaga, Tamandua)100)100, (Dasypus, (((Cabassous, Priodontes)68, Toly-peutes)100,((Chaetophractus, Euphractus)65, Zaedyus)100)100)100)100)100). Uma melhora nos valores de bootstrap nos ramos dentro das sub-famílias da família Dasypodidae é percebida em relação ao trabalho de Delsuc et al. (2003). Acreditamos que Elementos de Transposição do tipo (LINES) são os marcadores moleculares mais adequados para confirmar o arranjo obtido com as seqüências de genes mitocondriais e nucleares.

Lack of evidence for human infection with Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus in the Brazilian Amazon basin

Introduction: This study confirmed the absence of natural infection with Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) or XMRV-related disease in human populations of the Brazilian Amazon basin. We demonstrated that 803 individuals of both sexes, who were residents of Belem in the Brazilian State of Pará, were not infected with XMRV. Methods: Individuals were divided into 4 subgroups: healthy individuals, individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus, type 1 (HIV-1), individuals infected with human T-lymphotrophic virus, types 1 or 2 (HTLV-1/2), and individuals with prostate cancer. XMRV infection was investigated by nested PCR to detect the viral gag gene and by quantitative PCR to detect pol. Results: There was no amplification of either gag or pol segments from XRMV in any of the samples examined. Conclusions: This study supports the conclusions of the studies that eventually led to the retraction of the original study reporting the association between XMRV and human diseases.

Systematic and historical biogeography of the Bryconidae (Ostariophysi: Characiformes) suggesting a new rearrangement of its genera and an old origin of Mesoamerican ichthyofauna

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)