Automatic Recognition of Facial Features and Landmarking of Digital Human Head

Ergonomic design of products demands accurate human dimensions-anthropometric data. Manual measurement over live subjects, has several limitations like long time, required presence of subjects for every new measurement, physical contact etc. Hence the data currently available is limited and anthropometric data related to facial features is difficult to obtain. In this paper, we discuss a methodology to automatically detect facial features and landmarks from scanned human head models. Segmentation of face into meaningful patches corresponding to facial features is achieved by Watershed algorithms and Mathematical Morphology tools. Many Important physiognomical landmarks are identified heuristically.

ESAT-6 induced COX-2 expression involves coordinated interplay between PI3K and MAPK signaling

Macrophages, as sentinels of robust host immunity, are key regulators of innate immune responses against invading mycobacteria; however, pathogenic mycobacteria survive in the infected host by subverting host innate immunity. Infection dependent expression of early secreted antigenic target protein 6 (ESAT-6) by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is strongly correlated with subversion of innate immune responses against invading mycobacteria. As a part of multifaceted immunity to mycobacterial infection, induced expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) may act as an important influencing factor towards effective host immunity. In the current investigation, we demonstrate that ESAT-6 triggers COX-2 expression both in vitro and in vivo in a TLR2 dependent manner. Signaling perturbation data suggest that signaling dynamics of PI3K and p38 and JNK1/2 MAPK assume critical importance in ESAT-6 triggered expression of COX-2 in macrophages. Interestingly, ESAT-6 triggered PI3K-MAPK signaling axis holds the capacity to regulate coordinated activation of NF-kappa B and AP-1. Overall, current investigation provides mechanistic insights into ESAT-6 induced COX-2 expression and unravels TLR2 mediated interplay of PI3K and MAPK signaling axis as a rate-determining step during intricate host immune responses. These findings would serve as a paradigm to understand pathogenesis of mycobacterial infection and clearly pave a way towards development of novel therapeutics. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Expression of Sonic Hedgehog During Cell Proliferation in the Human Cerebellum

The regulation of cell proliferation in the external granular layer (EGL) of the developing cerebellum is important for its normal patterning. An important signal that regulates EGL cell proliferation is Sonic hedgehog (Shh). Shh is secreted by the Purkinje cells (PC) and has a mitogenic effect on the granule cell precursors of the EGL. Deregulation of Shh signaling has been associated with abnormal development, and been implicated in medulloblastomas, which are tumors that arise from the cerebellum. Given the importance of the Shh pathway in cerebellum development and disease, there has been no systematic study of its expression pattern during human cerebellum development. In this study, we describe the expression pattern of Shh, its receptor patched, smoothened, and its effectors that belong to the Gli family of transcription factors, during normal human cerebellum development from 10 weeks of gestational age, and in medulloblastomas that represents a case of abnormal cell proliferation in the cerebellum. This expression pattern is compared to equivalent stages in the normal development of cerebellum in mouse, as well as in tumors. Important differences between human and mouse that reflect differences in the normal developmental program between the 2 species are observed. First, in humans there appears to be a stage of Shh signaling within the EGL, when the PC are not yet the source of Shh. Second, unlike in the postnatal mouse cerebellum, expression of Shh in the PC in the postnatal human cerebellum is downregulated. Finally, medulloblastomas in the human but not in patched heterozygote mouse express Shh. These results highlight cross-species differences in the regulation of the Shh signaling pathway.

Luteinizing hormone regulates inhibin-alpha subunit expression through multiple signaling pathways involving steroidogenic factor-1 and beta-catenin in the macaque corpus luteum

We employed different experimental model systems to define the role of GATA4, beta-catenin, and steroidogenic factor (SF-1) transcriptional factors in the regulation of monkey luteal inhibin secretion. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions and western blotting analyses show high expression of inhibin-alpha, GATA4, and beta-catenin in corpus luteum (CL) of the mid-luteal phase. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor antagonist-induced luteolysis model suggested the significance of luteinizing hormone (LH) in regulating these transcriptional factors. Inducible cyclic AMP early repressor mRNA expression was detected in the CL and no change was observed in different stages of CL. Following amino acid sequence analysis, interaction between SF-1 and beta-catenin in mid-stage CL was verified by reciprocal co-immunoprecipitation experiments coupled to immunoblot analysis. Electrophoretic mobility shift analysis support the role of SF-1 in regulating luteal inhibin-alpha expression. Our results suggest a possible multiple crosstalk of Wnt, cAMP, and SF-1 in the regulation of luteal inhibin secretion.

Silencing of toxic gene expression by Fis

Bacteria and bacteriophages have evolved DNA modification as a strategy to protect their genomes. Mom protein of bacteriophage Mu modifies the phage DNA, rendering it refractile to numerous restriction enzymes and in turn enabling the phage to successfully invade a variety of hosts. A strong fortification, a combined activity of the phage and host factors, prevents untimely expression of mom and associated toxic effects. Here, we identify the bacterial chromatin architectural protein Fis as an additional player in this crowded regulatory cascade. Both in vivo and in vitro studies described here indicate that Fis acts as a transcriptional repressor of mom promoter. Further, our data shows that Fis mediates its repressive effect by denying access to RNA polymerase at mom promoter. We propose that a combined repressive effect of Fis and previously characterized negative regulatory factors could be responsible to keep the gene silenced most of the time. We thus present a new facet of Fis function in Mu biology. In addition to bringing about overall downregulation of Mu genome, it also ensures silencing of the advantageous but potentially lethal mom gene.

Viral Kinetics Suggests a Reconciliation of the Disparate Observations of the Modulation of Claudin-1 Expression on Cells Exposed to Hepatitis C Virus

The tight junction protein claudin-1 (CLDN1) is necessary for hepatitis C virus (HCV) entry into target cells. Recent studies have made disparate observations of the modulation of the expression of CLDN1 on cells following infection by HCV. In one study, the mean CLDN1 expression on cells exposed to HCV declined, whereas in another study HCV infected cells showed increased CLDN1 expression compared to uninfected cells. Consequently, the role of HCV in modulating CLDN1 expression, and hence the frequency of cellular superinfection, remains unclear. Here, we present a possible reconciliation of these disparate observations. We hypothesized that viral kinetics and not necessarily HCV-induced receptor modulation underlies these disparate observations. To test this hypothesis, we constructed a mathematical model of viral kinetics in vitro that mimicked the above experiments. Model predictions provided good fits to the observed evolution of the distribution of CLDN1 expression on cells following exposure to HCV. Cells with higher CLDN1 expression were preferentially infected and outgrown by cells with lower CLDN1 expression, resulting in a decline of the mean CLDN1 expression with time. At the same time, because the susceptibility of cells to infection increased with CLDN1 expression, infected cells tended to have higher CLDN1 expression on average than uninfected cells. Our study thus presents an explanation of the disparate observations of CLDN1 expression following HCV infection and points to the importance of considering viral kinetics in future studies of receptor expression on cells exposed to HCV.

IDH1 Mutations in Diffusely Infiltrating Astrocytomas Grade Specificity, Association With Protein Expression, and Clinical Relevance

IDH1 mutations are frequent genetic alterations in low-grade diffuse gliomas and secondary glioblastoma (GBM). To validate mutation frequency, IDH1 gene at codon 132 was sequenced in 74 diffusely infiltrating astrocytomas: diffuse astrocytoma (DA; World Health Organization WHO] grade II), anaplastic astrocytoma (AA; WHO grade III), and GBM (WHO grade IV). All cases were immunostained with IDH1-R132H monoclonal antibody. Mutational status was correlated with mutant protein expression, patient age, duration of symptoms, and prognosis of patients with GBM. We detected 31 (41.9%) heterozygous IDH1 mutations resulting in arginine-to-histidine substitution (R132H;CGT-CAT). All 12 DAs (100%), 13 of 14 AAs (92.9%), and 6 of 48 GBMs (12.5%) (5/6 83.3%] secondary, and 1/42 2.4%] primary) harbored IDH1 mutations. The correlation between mutational status and protein expression was significant (P < .001). IDH1 mutation status, though not associated with prognosis of patients with GBM, showed significant association with younger age and longer duration of symptoms in the whole cohort (P < .001). Our study validates IDH1 mutant protein expression across various grades of astrocytoma, and demonstrates a high incidence of IDH1 mutations in DA, AA, and secondary GBM.

Expression of VP1 protein of serotype A and O of foot-and-mouth disease virus in transgenic sunnhemp plants and its immunogenicity for guinea pigs

Recently, transgenic plants expressing immunogenic proteins of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) have been used as oral or parenteral vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). They exhibit advantages like cost effectiveness, absence of processing, thermostability, and easy oral application. FMDV VP1 protein of single serotype has been mostly used as immunogen. Here we report the development of a bivalent vaccine with tandem-linked VP1 proteins of two serotypes, A and O, present in transgenic forage crop Crotalaria juncea. The expression of the bivalent protein in the transgenic plants was confirmed by Western blot analysis. Guinea pig reacted to orally or parenterally applied vaccine by humoral as well as cell-mediated immune responses including serum antibodies and stimulated lymphocytes, respectively. The vaccine protected the animals against a challenge with the virus of serotype A as well as O. This is the first report on the development of a bivalent FMD vaccine using a forage crop.

Silencing of toxic gene expression by Fis

Bacteria and bacteriophages have evolved DNA modification as a strategy to protect their genomes. Mom protein of bacteriophage Mumodifies the phage DNA, rendering it refractile to numerous restriction enzymes and in turn enabling the phage to successfully invade a variety of hosts. A strong fortification, a combined activity of the phage and host factors, prevents untimely expression of mom and associated toxic effects. Here, we identify the bacterial chromatin architectural protein Fis as an additional player in this crowded regulatory cascade. Both in vivo and in vitro studies described here indicate that Fisacts as a transcriptional repressor of mom promoter. Further, our data shows that Fis mediates its repressive effect by denying access to RNA polymerase at mom promoter. We propose that a combined repressive effect of Fis and previously characterized negative regulatory factors could be responsible to keep the gene silenced most of the time. We thus present a new facet of Fis function in Mu biology. In addition to bringing about overall downregulation of Mu genome, it also ensures silencing of the advantageous but potentially lethal mom gene.

Under-representation of intrinsic terminators across bacterial genomic islands: Rho as a principal regulator of xenogenic DNA expression

Two transcription termination mechanisms - intrinsic and Rho-dependent - have evolved in bacteria. The Rho factor occurs in most bacterial lineages, and has been hypothesized to play a global regulatory role. Genome-wide studies using microarray, 2D-gel electrophoresis and ChIP-chip provided evidence that Rho serves to silence transcription from horizontally acquired genes and prophages in Escherichia coli K-12, implicating the factor to be a part of the ``cellular immune mechanism'' protecting against deleterious phages and aberrant gene expression from acquired xenogenic DNA. We have investigated this model by adopting an alternate in silico approach and have extended the study to other species. Our analysis shows that several genomic islands across diverse phyla have under-representation of intrinsic terminators, similar to that experimentally observed in E. coli K-12. This implies that Rho-dependent termination is the predominant process operational in these islands and that silencing of foreign DNA is a conserved function of Rho. From the present analysis, it is evident that horizontally acquired islands have lost intrinsic terminators to facilitate Rho-dependent termination. These results underscore the importance of Rho as a conserved, genome-wide sentinel that regulates potentially toxic xenogenic DNA. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Regulation of S100A2 expression by TGF-beta-induced MEK/ERK signalling and its role in cell migration/invasion

S100A2, an EF hand calcium-binding protein, is a potential biomarker in several cancers and is also a TGF-beta (transforming growth factor-beta)-regulated gene in melanoma and lung cancer cells. However, the mechanism of S100A2 regulation by TGF-beta and its significance in cancer progression remains largely unknown. In the present study we report the mechanism of S100A2 regulation by TGF-beta and its possible role in TGF-beta-mediated tumour promotion. Characterization of the S100A2 promoter revealed an AP-1 (activator protein-1) element at positions -1161 to -1151 as being the most critical factor for the TGF-beta 1 response. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and electrophoretic mobility-shift assays confirmed the functional binding of the AP-1 complex, predominantly JunB, to the S100A2 promoter in response to TGF-beta 1 in HaCaT keratinocytes. JunB overexpression markedly stimulated the S100A2 promoter which was blocked by the dominant-negative JunB and MEK1 MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase)/ERK (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase) kinase 1] inhibitor, PD98059. Intriguingly, despite the presence of a putative SMAD-binding element, S100A2 regulation by TGF-beta 1 was found to be SMAD3 independent. Interestingly, p53 protein and TGF-beta 1 show synergistic regulation of the S100A2 promoter. Finally, knockdown of S100A2 expression compromised TGF-beta 1-induced cell migration and invasion of Hep3B cells. Together our findings highlight an important link between the TGF-beta 1-induced MAPK and p53 signalling pathways in the regulation of S100A2 expression and pro-tumorigenic actions.

Cloning, expression, purification, and biochemical characterisation of the FIC motif containing protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The role of FIC (Filamentation induced by cAMP)(2) domain containing proteins in the regulation of many vital pathways, mostly through the transfer of NMPs from NTPs to specific target proteins (NMPylation), in microorganisms, higher eukaryotes, and plants is emerging. The identity and function of FIC domain containing protein of the human pathogen, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, remains unknown. In this regard, M. tuberculosis fic gene (Mtfic) was cloned, overexpressed, and purified to homogeneity for its biochemical characterisation. It has the characteristic FIC motif, HPFREGNGRSTR (HPFxxGNGRxxR), spanning 144th to 155th residue. Neither the His-tagged nor the GST-tagged MtFic protein, overexpressed in Escherichia coil, nor expression of Mtfic in Mycobacterium smegmatis, yielded the protein in the soluble fraction. However, the maltose binding protein (MBP) tagged MtFic (MBP-MtFic) could be obtained partly in the soluble fraction. The cloned, overexpressed, and purified recombinant MBP-MtFic showed conversion of ATP, GTP, CTP, and UTP into AMP. GMP, CMP, and UMP, respectively. Sequence alignment with several FIC motif containing proteins, complemented with homology modeling on the FIC motif containing protein, VbhT of Bartonella schoenbuchensis as the template, showed conservation and interaction of residues constituting the FIC domain. Site-specific mutagenesis of the His144, or Glu148, or Asn150 of the FIC motif, or of Arg87 residue that constitutes the FIC domain, or complete deletion of the FIC motif, abolished the NTP to NMP conversion activity. The design of NMP formation assay using the recombinant, soluble MtFic would enable identification of its target substrate for NMPylation. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.