Body fat distribution in white and black women: different patterns of intraabdominal and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue utilization with weight loss.

BACKGROUND: Intraabdominal adipose tissue (IAAT) is the body fat depot most strongly related to disease risk. Weight reduction is advocated for overweight people to reduce total body fat and IAAT, although little is known about the effect of weight loss on abdominal fat distribution in different races. OBJECTIVE: We compared the effects of diet-induced weight loss on changes in abdominal fat distribution in white and black women. DESIGN: We studied 23 white and 23 black women, similar in age and body composition, in the overweight state [mean body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)): 28.8] and the normal-weight state (mean BMI: 24.0) and 38 never-overweight control women (mean BMI: 23.4). We measured total body fat by using a 4-compartment model, trunk fat by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and cross-sectional areas of IAAT (at the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae) and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAAT) by using computed tomography. RESULTS: Weight loss was similar in white and black women (13.1 and 12.6 kg, respectively), as were losses of total fat, trunk fat, and waist circumference. However, white women lost more IAAT (P < 0.001) and less SAAT (P < 0.03) than did black women. Fat patterns regressed toward those of their respective control groups. Changes in waist circumference correlated with changes in IAAT in white women (r = 0.54, P < 0.05) but not in black women (r = 0.19, NS). CONCLUSIONS: Despite comparable decreases in total and trunk fat, white women lost more IAAT and less SAAT than did black women. Waist circumference was not a suitable surrogate marker for tracking changes in the visceral fat compartment in black women.

Hordein polypeptide patterns in relation to malting quality in Brazilian barley varieties

Since there is evidence that malting quality is related to the storage protein (hordein) fraction, in the present work the hordein polypeptide patterns from 13 barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) varieties of different malting quality were analysed in order to explore the feasibility of using hordein electrophoresis to assist in the selection of malting barleys. The formation of clusters separating the varieties with higher malting quality from the others with lower quality suggests that there is a relationship between the general hordein polypeptide pattern and malting quality in the varieties analysed. By the Sperman's correlation test three hordein bands correlated negatively with malting quality in the germplasm studied.

The evolution of unicoloniality in ant societies : recognition, dispersal and population genetic structure

Introduction Societies of ants, bees, wasps and termites dominate many terrestrial ecosystems (Wilson 1971). Their evolutionary and ecological success is based upon the regulation of internal conflicts (e.g. Ratnieks et al. 2006), control of diseases (e.g. Schmid-Hempel 1998) and individual skills and collective intelligence in resource acquisition, nest building and defence (e.g. Camazine 2001). Individuals in social species can pass on their genes not only directly trough their own offspring, but also indirectly by favouring the reproduction of relatives. The inclusive fitness theory of Hamilton (1963; 1964) provides a powerful explanation for the evolution of reproductive altruism and cooperation in groups with related individuals. The same theory also led to the realization that insect societies are subject to internal conflicts over reproduction. Relatedness of less-than-one is not sufficient to eliminate all incentive for individual selfishness. This would indeed require a relatedness of one, as found among cells of an organism (Hardin 1968; Keller 1999). The challenge for evolutionary biology is to understand how groups can prevent or reduce the selfish exploitation of resources by group members, and how societies with low relatedness are maintained. In social insects the evolutionary shift from single- to multiple queens colonies modified the relatedness structure, the dispersal, and the mode of colony founding (e.g. (Crozier & Pamilo 1996). In ants, the most common, and presumably ancestral mode of reproduction is the emission of winged males and females, which found a new colony independently after mating and dispersal flights (Hölldobler & Wilson 1990). The alternative reproductive tactic for ant queens in multiple-queen colonies (polygyne) is to seek to be re-accepted in their natal colonies, where they may remain as additional reproductives or subsequently disperse on foot with part of the colony (budding) (Bourke & Franks 1995; Crozier & Pamilo 1996; Hölldobler & Wilson 1990). Such ant colonies can contain up to several hundred reproductive queens with an even more numerous workforce (Cherix 1980; Cherix 1983). As a consequence in polygynous ants the relatedness among nestmates is very low, and workers raise brood of queens to which they are only distantly related (Crozier & Pamilo 1996; Queller & Strassmann 1998). Therefore workers could increase their inclusive fitness by preferentially caring for their closest relatives and discriminate against less related or foreign individuals (Keller 1997; Queller & Strassmann 2002; Tarpy et al. 2004). However, the bulk of the evidence suggests that social insects do not behave nepotistically, probably because of the costs entailed by decreased colony efficiency or discrimination errors (Keller 1997). Recently, the consensus that nepotistic behaviour does not occur in insect colonies was challenged by a study in the ant Formica fusca (Hannonen & Sundström 2003b) showing that the reproductive share of queens more closely related to workers increases during brood development. However, this pattern can be explained either by nepotism with workers preferentially rearing the brood of more closely related queens or intrinsic differences in the viability of eggs laid by queens. In the first chapter, we designed an experiment to disentangle nepotism and differences in brood viability. We tested if workers prefer to rear their kin when given the choice between highly related and unrelated brood in the ant F. exsecta. We also looked for differences in egg viability among queens and simulated if such differences in egg viability may mistakenly lead to the conclusion that workers behave nepotistically. The acceptance of queens in polygnous ants raises the question whether the varying degree of relatedness affects their share in reproduction. In such colonies workers should favour nestmate queens over foreign queens. Numerous studies have investigated reproductive skew and partitioning of reproduction among queens (Bourke et al. 1997; Fournier et al. 2004; Fournier & Keller 2001; Hammond et al. 2006; Hannonen & Sundström 2003a; Heinze et al. 2001; Kümmerli & Keller 2007; Langer et al. 2004; Pamilo & Seppä 1994; Ross 1988; Ross 1993; Rüppell et al. 2002), yet almost no information is available on whether differences among queens in their relatedness to other colony members affects their share in reproduction. Such data are necessary to compare the relative reproductive success of dispersing and non-dispersing individuals. Moreover, information on whether there is a difference in reproductive success between resident and dispersing queens is also important for our understanding of the genetic structure of ant colonies and the dynamics of within group conflicts. In chapter two, we created single-queen colonies and then introduced a foreign queens originating from another colony kept under similar conditions in order to estimate the rate of queen acceptance into foreign established colonies, and to quantify the reproductive share of resident and introduced queens. An increasing number of studies have investigated the discrimination ability between ant workers (e.g. Holzer et al. 2006; Pedersen et al. 2006), but few have addressed the recognition and discrimination behaviour of workers towards reproductive individuals entering colonies (Bennett 1988; Brown et al. 2003; Evans 1996; Fortelius et al. 1993; Kikuchi et al. 2007; Rosengren & Pamilo 1986; Stuart et al. 1993; Sundström 1997; Vásquez & Silverman in press). These studies are important, because accepting new queens will generally have a large impact on colony kin structure and inclusive fitness of workers (Heinze & Keller 2000). In chapter three, we examined whether resident workers reject young foreign queens that enter into their nest. We introduced mated queens into their natal nest, a foreign-female producing nest, or a foreign male-producing nest and measured their survival. In addition, we also introduced young virgin and mated queens into their natal nest to examine whether the mating status of the queens influences their survival and acceptance by workers. On top of polgyny, some ant species have evolved an extraordinary social organization called 'unicoloniality' (Hölldobler & Wilson 1977; Pedersen et al. 2006). In unicolonial ants, intercolony borders are absent and workers and queens mix among the physically separated nests, such that nests form one large supercolony. Super-colonies can become very large, so that direct cooperative interactions are impossible between individuals of distant nests. Unicoloniality is an evolutionary paradox and a potential problem for kin selection theory because the mixing of queens and workers between nests leads to extremely low relatedness among nestmates (Bourke & Franks 1995; Crozier & Pamilo 1996; Keller 1995). A better understanding of the evolution and maintenance of unicoloniality requests detailed information on the discrimination behavior, dispersal, population structure, and the scale of competition. Cryptic genetic population structure may provide important information on the relevant scale to be considered when measuring relatedness and the role of kin selection. Theoretical studies have shown that relatedness should be measured at the level of the `economic neighborhood', which is the scale at which intraspecific competition generally takes place (Griffin & West 2002; Kelly 1994; Queller 1994; Taylor 1992). In chapter four, we conducted alarge-scale study to determine whether the unicolonial ant Formica paralugubris forms populations that are organised in discrete supercolonies or whether there is a continuous gradation in the level of aggression that may correlate with genetic isolation by distance and/or spatial distance between nests. In chapter five, we investigated the fine-scale population structure in three populations of F. paralugubris. We have developed mitochondria) markers, which together with the nuclear markers allowed us to detect cryptic genetic clusters of nests, to obtain more precise information on the genetic differentiation within populations, and to separate male and female gene flow. These new data provide important information on the scale to be considered when measuring relatedness in native unicolonial populations.

Microfibril angle and density patterns of fertilized and irrigated Norway spruce

Abstract

Les inflammasomes et les maladies humaines

The understanding of the innate immunity, the first line of the host defence, was significantly modified following the sequential discovery of innate immune receptors such as the Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and the NOD-like receptors (NLRs). In response to recognition of microbial patterns or danger signals, some NLRs assemble a multimolecular platform termed as the inflammasome. Inflammasome assembly leads to the activation of the proinflammatory caspase-1. Consequently, an inflammatory immune response is mounted along with a programmed cell death, called pyroptosis. This review summarizes recent advances in the knowledge of the inflammasome and its role in auto-inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases, and most common metabolic, cardiovascular or rheumatic diseases.

Changing patterns of cancer incidence in the early- and late-HAART periods: the Swiss HIV Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: The advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in 1996 led to a decrease in the incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), but not of other cancers, among people with HIV or AIDS (PWHA). It also led to marked increases in their life expectancy. METHODS: We conducted a record-linkage study between the Swiss HIV Cohort Study and nine Swiss cantonal cancer registries. In total, 9429 PWHA provided 20,615, 17,690, and 15,410 person-years in the pre-, early-, and late-HAART periods, respectively. Standardised incidence ratios in PWHA vs the general population, as well as age-standardised, and age-specific incidence rates were computed for different periods. RESULTS: Incidence of KS and NHL decreased by several fold between the pre- and early-HAART periods, and additionally declined from the early- to the late-HAART period. Incidence of cancers of the anus, liver, non-melanomatous skin, and Hodgkin's lymphoma increased in the early- compared with the pre-HAART period, but not during the late-HAART period. The incidence of all non-AIDS-defining cancers (NADCs) combined was similar in all periods, and approximately double that in the general population. CONCLUSIONS: Increases in the incidence of selected NADCs after the introduction of HAART were largely accounted for by the ageing of PWHA.

Mutation patterns of amino acid tandem repeats in the human proteome

Background: Amino acid tandem repeats are found in nearly one-fifth of human proteins. Abnormal expansion of these regions is associated with several human disorders. To gain further insight into the mutational mechanisms that operate in this type of sequence, we have analyzed a large number of mutation variants derived from human expressed sequence tags (ESTs).Results: We identified 137 polymorphic variants in 115 different amino acid tandem repeats. Of these, 77 contained amino acid substitutions and 60 contained gaps (expansions or contractions of the repeat unit). The analysis showed that at least about 21% of the repeats might be polymorphic in humans. We compared the mutations found in different types of amino acid repeats and in adjacent regions. Overall, repeats showed a five-fold increase in the number of gap mutations compared to adjacent regions, reflecting the action of slippage within the repetitive structures. Gap and substitution mutations were very differently distributed between different amino acid repeat types. Among repeats containing gap variants we identified several disease and candidate disease genes.Conclusion: This is the first report at a genome-wide scale of the types of mutations occurring in the amino acid repeat component of the human proteome. We show that the mutational dynamics of different amino acid repeat types are very diverse. We provide a list of loci with highly variable repeat structures, some of which may be potentially involved in disease.

Calling and career preparation: Investigating developmental patterns and temporal precedence

The presence of a calling and career development are assumed to be closely related. However, the nature of and reason for this relationship have not been thoroughly investigated. We hypothesized the existence of reciprocal effects between calling and three dimensions of career preparation and assessed the change of the presence of a calling, career planning, decidedness, and self-efficacy with three waves of a diverse sample of German university students (N = 846) over one year. Latent growth analyses revealed that the intercepts of calling showed a significant positive correlation with the intercepts of all career preparation measures. The slope of calling was positively related to those of decidedness and self-efficacy but not to planning. Cross-lagged analyses showed that calling predicted a subsequent increase in planning and self-efficacy. Planning and decidedness predicted an increase in the presence of a calling. The results suggest that calling and career preparation are related due to mutual effects but that effects differ for different career preparation dimensions.

Prediction of cross-recognition of peptide-HLA A2 by Melan-A-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes using three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationships.

The cross-recognition of peptides by cytotoxic T lymphocytes is a key element in immunology and in particular in peptide based immunotherapy. Here we develop three-dimensional (3D) quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) to predict cross-recognition by Melan-A-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes of peptides bound to HLA A*0201 (hereafter referred to as HLA A2). First, we predict the structure of a set of self- and pathogen-derived peptides bound to HLA A2 using a previously developed ab initio structure prediction approach [Fagerberg et al., J. Mol. Biol., 521-46 (2006)]. Second, shape and electrostatic energy calculations are performed on a 3D grid to produce similarity matrices which are combined with a genetic neural network method [So et al., J. Med. Chem., 4347-59 (1997)] to generate 3D-QSAR models. The models are extensively validated using several different approaches. During the model generation, the leave-one-out cross-validated correlation coefficient (q (2)) is used as the fitness criterion and all obtained models are evaluated based on their q (2) values. Moreover, the best model obtained for a partitioned data set is evaluated by its correlation coefficient (r = 0.92 for the external test set). The physical relevance of all models is tested using a functional dependence analysis and the robustness of the models obtained for the entire data set is confirmed using y-randomization. Finally, the validated models are tested for their utility in the setting of rational peptide design: their ability to discriminate between peptides that only contain side chain substitutions in a single secondary anchor position is evaluated. In addition, the predicted cross-recognition of the mono-substituted peptides is confirmed experimentally in chromium-release assays. These results underline the utility of 3D-QSARs in peptide mimetic design and suggest that the properties of the unbound epitope are sufficient to capture most of the information to determine the cross-recognition.

Predicting current and future spatial community patterns of plant functional traits

Community-level patterns of functional traits relate to community assembly and ecosystem functioning. By modelling the changes of different indices describing such patterns - trait means, extremes and diversity in communities - as a function of abiotic gradients, we could understand their drivers and build projections of the impact of global change on the functional components of biodiversity. We used five plant functional traits (vegetative height, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, leaf nitrogen content and seed mass) and non-woody vegetation plots to model several indices depicting community-level patterns of functional traits from a set of abiotic environmental variables (topographic, climatic and edaphic) over contrasting environmental conditions in a mountainous landscape. We performed a variation partitioning analysis to assess the relative importance of these variables for predicting patterns of functional traits in communities, and projected the best models under several climate change scenarios to examine future potential changes in vegetation functional properties. Not all indices of trait patterns within communities could be modelled with the same level of accuracy: the models for mean and extreme values of functional traits provided substantially better predictive accuracy than the models calibrated for diversity indices. Topographic and climatic factors were more important predictors of functional trait patterns within communities than edaphic predictors. Overall, model projections forecast an increase in mean vegetation height and in mean specific leaf area following climate warming. This trend was important at mid elevation particularly between 1000 and 2000 m asl. With this study we showed that topographic, climatic and edaphic variables can successfully model descriptors of community-level patterns of plant functional traits such as mean and extreme trait values. However, which factors determine the diversity of functional traits in plant communities remains unclear and requires more investigations.

Insect eggs induce a systemic acquired resistance in Arabidopsis.

Although they constitute an inert stage of the insect's life, eggs trigger plant defences that lead to egg mortality or attraction of egg parasitoids. We recently found that salicylic acid (SA) accumulates in response to oviposition by the Large White butterfly Pieris brassicae, both in local and systemic leaves, and that plants activate a response that is similar to the recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), which are involved in PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI). Here we discovered that natural oviposition by P. brassicae or treatment with egg extract inhibit growth of different Pseudomonas syringae strains in Arabidopsis through the activation of a systemic acquired resistance (SAR). This egg-induced SAR involves the metabolic SAR signal pipecolic acid, depends on ALD1 and FMO1, and is accompanied by a stronger induction of defence genes upon secondary infection. Although P. brassicae larvae showed a reduced performance when feeding on Pseudomonas syringae-infected plants, this effect was less pronounced when infected plants had been previously oviposited. Altogether, our results indicate that egg-induced SAR might have evolved as a strategy to prevent the detrimental effect of bacterial pathogens on feeding larvae.

Cytolytic T lymphocyte recognition of the murine cytomegalovirus nonstructural immediate-early protein pp89 expressed by recombinant vaccinia virus.

The murine immediate-early (IE) protein pp89 is a nonstructural virus-encoded phosphoprotein residing in the nucleus of infected cells, where it acts as transcriptional activator. Frequency analysis has shown that in BALB/c mice the majority of virus-specific CTL recognize IE antigens. The present study was performed to assess whether pp89 causes membrane antigen expression detected by IE-specific CTL. Site-directed mutagenesis has been used to delete the introns from gene ieI, encoding pp89, for subsequent integration of the continuous coding sequence into the vaccinia virus genome. After infection with the vaccinia recombinant, the authentic pp89 was expressed in cells that became susceptible to lysis by an IE-specific CTL clone. Priming of mice with the vaccinia recombinant sensitized polyclonal CTL that recognized MCMV-infected cells and transfected cells expressing pp89. Thus, a herpesviral IE polypeptide with essential function in viral transcriptional regulation can also serve as a dominant antigen for the specific CTL response of the host.

Regional income inequality in Italy in the long run (1871–2001). Patterns and determinants

The chapter presents up-to-date estimates of Italy’s regional GDP, with the present borders, in ten-year benchmarks from 1871 to 2001, and proposes a new interpretative hypothesis based on long-lasting socio-institutional differences. The inverted U-shape of income inequality is confirmed: rising divergence until the midtwentieth century, then convergence. However, the latter was limited to the centrenorth: Italy was divided into three parts by the time regional inequality peaked, in 1951, and appears to have been split into two halves by 2001. As a consequence of the falling back of the south, from 1871 to 2001 we record σ-divergence across Italy’s regions, i.e. an increase in dispersion, and sluggish β-convergence. Geographical factors and the market size played a minor role: against them are both the evidence that most of the differences in GDP are due to employment rather than to productivity and the observed GDP patterns of many regions. The gradual converging of regional GDPs towards two equilibria instead follows social and institutional differences − in the political and economic institutions and in the levels of human and social capital – which originated in pre-unification states and did not die (but in part even increased) in postunification Italy.

Recognition of major histoincompatibilities after transplantation with marrow from HLA closely matched donors.

BACKGROUND: To determine the extent to which major histoincompatibilities are recognized after bone marrow transplantation, we characterized the specificity of the cytotoxic T lymphocytes isolated during graft-versus-host disease. We studied three patients transplanted with marrow from donors who were histoincompatible for different types of HLA antigens. METHODS: Patient 1 was mismatched for one "ABDR-antigen" (HLA-A2 versus A3). Two patients were mismatched for antigens that would usually not be taken into account by standard selection procedures: patient 2 was mismatched for an "HLA-A subtype" (A*0213 versus A*0201), whereas patient 3 was mismatched for HLA-C (HLA-C*0501 versus HLA-C*0701). All three HLA class I mismatches were detected by a pretransplant cytotoxic precursor test. RESULTS: Analysis of the specificity of the cytotoxic T lymphocyte clones isolated after transplantation showed that the incompatibilities detected by the pretransplant cytotoxic precursor assay were the targets recognized during graft-versus-host disease. CONCLUSIONS: Independent of whether the incompatibility consisted of a "full" mismatch, a "subtype" mismatch, or an HLA-C mismatch, all clones recognized the incompatible HLA molecule. In addition, some of these clones had undergone antigen selection and were clearly of higher specificity than the ones established before transplantation, indicating that they had been participating directly in the antihost immune response.

Low TCR avidity and lack of tumor cell recognition in CD8(+) T cells primed with the CEA-analogue CAP1-6D peptide.

The use of "altered peptide ligands" (APL), epitopes designed for exerting increased immunogenicity as compared with native determinants, represents nowadays one of the most utilized strategies for overcoming immune tolerance to self-antigens and boosting anti-tumor T cell-mediated immune responses. However, the actual ability of APL-primed T cells to cross-recognize natural epitopes expressed by tumor cells remains a crucial concern. In the present study, we show that CAP1-6D, a superagonist analogue of a carcinoembriyonic antigen (CEA)-derived HLA-A*0201-restricted epitope widely used in clinical setting, reproducibly promotes the generation of low-affinity CD8(+) T cells lacking the ability to recognized CEA-expressing colorectal carcinoma (CRC) cells. Short-term T cell cultures, obtained by priming peripheral blood mononuclear cells from HLA-A*0201(+) healthy donors or CRC patients with CAP1-6D, were indeed found to heterogeneously cross-react with saturating concentrations of the native peptide CAP1, but to fail constantly lysing or recognizing through IFN- gamma release CEA(+)CRC cells. Characterization of anti-CAP1-6D T cell avidity, gained through peptide titration, CD8-dependency assay, and staining with mutated tetramers (D227K/T228A), revealed that anti-CAP1-6D T cells exerted a differential interaction with the two CEA epitopes, i.e., displaying high affinity/CD8-independency toward the APL and low affinity/CD8-dependency toward the native CAP1 peptide. Our data demonstrate that the efficient detection of self-antigen expressed by tumors could be a feature of high avidity CD8-independent T cells, and underline the need for extensive analysis of tumor cross-recognition prior to any clinical usage of APL as anti-cancer vaccines.