Plant‐expressed Fc‐fusion protein tetravalent dengue vaccine with inherent adjuvant properties

Kim, Mi Young,Copland, Alastair,Nayak, Kaustuv,Chandele, Anmol,Ahmed, Muhammad S.,Zhang, Qibo,Diogo, Gil R.,Paul, Matthew J.,Hofmann, Sven,Yang, Moon&#x2010,Sik,Jang, Yong&#x2010,Suk,Ma, Julian K&#x20 BLACKWELL 2018 PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL Vol.16 No.7

<P><B>Summary</B></P><P>Dengue is a major global disease requiring improved treatment and prevention strategies. The recently licensed Sanofi Pasteur Dengvaxia vaccine does not protect children under the age of nine, and additional vaccine strategies are thus needed to halt this expanding global epidemic. Here, we employed a molecular engineering approach and plant expression to produce a humanized and highly immunogenic poly‐immunoglobulin G scaffold (PIGS) fused to the consensus dengue envelope protein III domain (cEDIII). The immunogenicity of this IgG Fc receptor‐targeted vaccine candidate was demonstrated in transgenic mice expressing human FcγRI/CD64, by induction of neutralizing antibodies and evidence of cell‐mediated immunity. Furthermore, these molecules were able to prime immune cells from human adenoid/tonsillar tissue <I>ex vivo</I> as evidenced by antigen‐specific CD4<SUP>+</SUP> and CD8<SUP>+</SUP> T‐cell proliferation, IFN‐γ and antibody production. The purified polymeric fraction of dengue PIGS (D‐PIGS) induced stronger immune activation than the monomeric form, suggesting a more efficient interaction with the low‐affinity Fcγ receptors on antigen‐presenting cells. These results show that the plant‐expressed D‐PIGS have the potential for translation towards a safe and easily scalable single antigen‐based tetravalent dengue vaccine.</P>

Molecular genetic diversity and population structure of a selected core set in garlic and its relatives using novel SSR markers

Zhao, W.&#x2010,G.,Chung, J.&#x2010,W.,Lee, G.&#x2010,A.,Ma, K.&#x2010,H.,Kim, H.&#x2010,H.,Kim, K.&#x2010,T.,Chung, I.&#x2010,M.,Lee, J.&#x2010,K.,Kim, N.&#x2010,S.,Kim, S.&#x2010,M.,Park, Y.&#x2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2011 Plant breeding Vol.130 No.1

<P> <I>With 7 figures and 6 tables</I> </P><P><B>Abstract</B></P><P>Garlic is widely consumed for its culinary and medical benefits. Six hundred and thirteen accessions of garlic and its relatives with diverse origin were evaluated for genetic diversity at eight recently novel simple sequence repeat loci in this study. A total of 113 alleles were detected, the average allelic richness was 14.1 alleles per locus. Using a heuristic approach, a core set of 95 accessions was successfully developed, which showed 100% coverage of alleles with minimum redundancy. The model‐based structure analysis here revealed the presence of four subpopulations in the selected core set, which was basically consistent with clustering based on the genetic distance. The analysis of molecular variance based on this core set showed that between‐population component of genetic variance is <15.6% in contrast to 84.4% for the within population component. Overall <I>F</I><SUB>ST</SUB> value was 0.1560, indicating a moderate differentiation among the four groups. These results will provide an effective aid for future allele mining, association genetics, mapping and cloning gene(s), germplasm conservation, and improvement programs.</P>

Ultrasensitive Near‐Infrared Raman Reporters for SERS‐Based In Vivo Cancer Detection

Samanta, Animesh,Maiti, Kaustabh Kumar,Soh, Kiat&#x2010,Seng,Liao, Xiaojun,Vendrell, Marc,Dinish, U. S.,Yun, Seong&#x2010,Wook,Bhuvaneswari, Ramaswamy,Kim, Hyori,Rautela, Shashi,Chung, Junho,Olivo, Ma WILEY‐VCH Verlag 2011 Angewandte Chemie Vol.123 No.27

<P><B>Zuverlässige Berichterstattung</B>: Das Screening einer 80‐teiligen Tricarbocyanin‐Bibliothek lieferte CyNAMLA‐381 als Nahinfrarot‐SERS‐Reporter mit guter Signalstabilität und höherer Empfindlichkeit als der Standard (SERS=oberflächenverstärkte Raman‐Spektroskopie). Durch Verkapselung von CyNAMLA‐381 an der Oberfläche von Gold‐Nanopartikeln und Konjugation mit Antikörpern wurden SERS‐Nanomarker mit ausgezeichneter Empfindlichkeit, Stabilität und Tumorspezifität in Xenograft‐Modellen erhalten (siehe Bild).</P>

Nanoplasmonic Ruler for Measuring Separation Distance between Supported Lipid Bilayers and Oxide Surfaces

Ferhan, Abdul Rahim,S&#x30c,pac&#x30c,kova&#x301,, Barbora,Jackman, Joshua A.,Ma, Gamaliel J.,Sut, Tun Naw,Homola, Jir&#x30c,i&#x301,Cho, Nam-Joon American Chemical Society 2018 ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY - Vol.90 No.21

<P>Unraveling the details of how supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) are coupled to oxide surfaces is experimentally challenging, and there is an outstanding need to develop highly surface-sensitive measurement strategies to determine SLB separation distances. Indeed, subtle variations in separation distance can be associated with significant differences in bilayer-substrate interaction energy. Herein, we report a nanoplasmonic ruler strategy to measure the absolute separation distance between SLBs and oxide surfaces. A localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensor was employed to track SLB formation onto titania- and silica-coated gold nanodisk arrays. To interpret measurement data, an analytical model relating the LSPR measurement response to bilayer-substrate separation distance was developed based on finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations and theoretical calculations. The results indicate that there is a larger separation distance between SLBs and titania surfaces than silica surfaces, and the trend was consistent across three tested lipid compositions. We discuss these findings within the context of the interfacial forces underpinning bilayer-substrate interactions, and the nanoplasmonic ruler strategy provides the first direct experimental evidence comparing SLB separation distances on titania and silica surfaces.</P> [FIG OMISSION]</BR>

A quantitative analysis of the optical reflection properties of self-assembled opal films

Q.M. Ngo,S. Kim,H. Lim,P.T. Nga,P.T. Linh,N.X. Nghia,F. Rotermund,K. Kim,A. Avoine,A. Maître 한국물리학회 2011 Current Applied Physics Vol.11 No.3

The reflection spectra of self-assembled opal films on glass substrates are analyzed in detail, with an eye to employing the film as a tunable filter, using the photonic band diagram and the simulation on the reflectance corresponding to the real structure. The reflection peak commonly thought to be due to the photonic pseudogap formed by the (111) planes is found to be actually formed by two different pseudogaps by the (111) planes and the (200) planes. The small value for the photonic pseudogap in the <111> direction makes the corresponding light frequency propagate more than 40 SiO_2 layers in the <111> direction. Therefore, a reflectivity of larger than 65% is difficult to achieve with an opal film whose thickness is smaller than 25 SiO_2 layers in any direction with incident angles between 5° and 75°. The reflectivity of annealed opal film is found to be lower than that of the ideal film due to the reduction of the photonic pseudogaps and a microscopic wavy surface that is believed to be due to the variation of the SiO_2 sphere size and the deformation of the SiO_2 spheres caused by the contraction of the SiO_2 spheres during the annealing process.

Enhanced Multiple Exciton Generation in PbS|CdS Janus-like Heterostructured Nanocrystals

Kroupa, Daniel M.,Pach, Gregory F.,Vo&#x308,ro&#x308,s, Ma&#x301,rton,Giberti, Federico,Chernomordik, Boris D.,Crisp, Ryan W.,Nozik, Arthur J.,Johnson, Justin C.,Singh, Rohan,Klimov, Victor I.,Galli, American Chemical Society 2018 ACS NANO Vol.12 No.10

<P>Generating multiple excitons by a single high-energy photon is a promising third-generation solar energy conversion strategy. We demonstrate that multiple exciton generation (MEG) in PbS|CdS Janus-like heteronanostructures is enhanced over that of single-component and core/shell nanocrystal architectures, with an onset close to two times the PbS band gap. We attribute the enhanced MEG to the asymmetric nature of the heteronanostructure that results in an increase in the effective Coulomb interaction that drives MEG and a reduction of the competing hot exciton cooling rate. Slowed cooling occurs through effective trapping of hot-holes by a manifold of valence band interfacial states having both PbS and CdS character, as evidenced by photoluminescence studies and <I>ab initio</I> calculations. Using transient photocurrent spectroscopy, we find that the MEG characteristics of the individual nanostructures are maintained in conductive arrays and demonstrate that these quasi-spherical PbS|CdS nanocrystals can be incorporated as the main absorber layer in functional solid-state solar cell architectures. Finally, based upon our analysis, we provide design rules for the next generation of engineered nanocrystals to further improve the MEG characteristics.</P> [FIG OMISSION]</BR>

Genome-wide association study in a Chinese population identifies a susceptibility locus for type 2 diabetes at 7q32 near <i>PAX4</i>

Ma, R. C. W.,Hu, C.,Tam, C. H.,Zhang, R.,Kwan, P.,Leung, T. F.,Thomas, G. N.,Go, M. J.,Hara, K.,Sim, X.,Ho, J. S. K.,Wang, C.,Li, H.,Lu, L.,Wang, Y.,Li, J. W.,Wang, Y.,Lam, V. K. L.,Wang, J.,Yu, W.,Ki Springer-Verlag 2013 Diabetologia Vol.56 No.6

<P><B>Aims/hypothesis</B></P><P>Most genetic variants identified for type 2 diabetes have been discovered in European populations. We performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in a Chinese population with the aim of identifying novel variants for type 2 diabetes in Asians.</P><P><B>Methods</B></P><P>We performed a meta-analysis of three GWAS comprising 684 patients with type 2 diabetes and 955 controls of Southern Han Chinese descent. We followed up the top signals in two independent Southern Han Chinese cohorts (totalling 10,383 cases and 6,974 controls), and performed in silico replication in multiple populations.</P><P><B>Results</B></P><P>We identified <I>CDKN2A/B</I> and four novel type 2 diabetes association signals with <I>p</I> < 1 × 10<SUP>−5</SUP> from the meta-analysis. Thirteen variants within these four loci were followed up in two independent Chinese cohorts, and rs10229583 at 7q32 was found to be associated with type 2 diabetes in a combined analysis of 11,067 cases and 7,929 controls (<I>p</I><SUB>meta</SUB> = 2.6 × 10<SUP>−8</SUP>; OR [95% CI] 1.18 [1.11, 1.25]). In silico replication revealed consistent associations across multiethnic groups, including five East Asian populations (<I>p</I><SUB>meta</SUB> = 2.3 × 10<SUP>−10</SUP>) and a population of European descent (<I>p</I> = 8.6 × 10<SUP>−3</SUP>). The rs10229583 risk variant was associated with elevated fasting plasma glucose, impaired beta cell function in controls, and an earlier age at diagnosis for the cases. The novel variant lies within an islet-selective cluster of open regulatory elements. There was significant heterogeneity of effect between Han Chinese and individuals of European descent, Malaysians and Indians.</P><P><B>Conclusions/interpretation</B></P><P>Our study identifies rs10229583 near <I>PAX4</I> as a novel locus for type 2 diabetes in Chinese and other populations and provides new insights into the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes.</P><P><B>Electronic supplementary material</B></P><P>The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00125-013-2874-4) contains peer-reviewed but unedited supplementary material, which is available to authorised users.</P>

Measurement of the Secondary Neutron Emission Differential and Double-Differential Cross Sections between 20 and 30 MeV

X. C. Ruan,G. C. Chen,H. X. Huang,X. Li,Y. B. Nie,B. Zhou,Z. Y. Ma,J. Bao,Q. P. Zhong,Z. Y. Zhou,H. Q. Tang,J. S. Zhang,C. L. Lan,Y. L. Zhang,Y. M. Li 한국물리학회 2011 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.59 No.23

More and more interests have been paid to the differential and double-differential neutron emission cross sections (DX and DDX) at above 20 MeV region in recent years. At the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE), a program to measure the DX and DDX between 20 and 30 MeV neutron energy region has been carried out. The d-T reaction neutron source was used to produce the 20 - 30 MeV neutrons with a tritium gas target at the HI-13 tandem accelerator at CIAE. The time-of-flight(TOF) technique was used to measure the neutron energy from about 1 MeV to 30 MeV with 3 BC501A liquid scintillators (with a size of Φ180 ×100 mm). A preliminary measurement has been carried out for ^9Be at 22 MeV. The measured data were analyzed by detailed Monte-Carlo simulation to perform the multiple scattering, flux attenuation and finite geometry corrections. The experimental details, the data analysis, the progress, the results and the future plan will be presented in this report.

Genetic Variations Analysis and Characterization of the Fifth Intron of Porcine NRAMP1 Gene

Yan, X.M.,Ren, J.,Ai, H.S.,Ding, N.S.,Gao, J.,Guo, Y.M.,Chen, C.Y.,Ma, J.W.,Shu, Q.L.,Huang, L.S. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2004 Animal Bioscience Vol.17 No.9

The natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1 (NRAMP1) gene was identified as a candidate gene controlling the resistance and susceptibility to a number of intracellular parasites in pigs. The genetic variations in a 1.6 kb region spanning exon 1 and exon 3 of the porcine NRAMP1 gene were investigated by PCR-HinfI-RFLP in samples of 1347 individuals from 21 Chinese indigenous pig populations and 3 western pig breeds. Three alleles (A, B, C) and four genotypes (AA, BB, AB, BC) were detected. Significant differences in genotype and allele frequencies were observed between Chinese indigenous pig populations and exotic pig breeds, while in general the differences in genotype and allele frequencies among Chinese indigenous pig populations were not significant. The allele C was detected only in Duroc, Leping Spotted and Dongxiang Spotted pig, and the two Chinese pig populations showed similar genotype and allele frequencies. Four Chinese Tibetan pig populations displayed genetic differentiation at the NRAMP1 gene locus. In addition, intron 5 of the NRAMP1 gene was isolated and characterized by directly sequencing the PCR products encompassing intron 5. The alignment of intron 5 of the porcine, human, equine and ovine NRAMP1 gene showed a similarity of 45.38% between pig and human, 52.55% between pig and horse, 63.47% between pig and sheep, respectively.

TRPV1 modulates morphine-induced conditioned place preference via p38 MAPK in the nucleus accumbens

Hong, S.I.,Nguyen, T.L.,Ma, S.X.,Kim, H.C.,Lee, S.Y.,Jang, C.G. Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press 2017 Behavioural brain research Vol.334 No.-

Emerging evidence suggests that the transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 channel (TRPV1) is a novel target for the treatment of drug addiction, such as cocaine and morphine. Previously we reported that TRPV1 inhibition reduced morphine reward in the dorsal striatum (DSt) of mice and morphine self-administration through a decrease in accumbal activity in rats. However, the role of TRPV1 on morphine-conditioned reward in addiction-related brain regions, such as the nucleus accumbens (NAc), has not been previously established. Here, we investigated the effects of TRPV1 on morphine conditioned place preference (CPP) and intracellular mechanisms of TRPV1 using Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry (IHC) in morphine-administered mice. TRPV1 knockout mice did not exhibit morphine reward responses, and both i.p. and intra-NAc injections of SB366791, a selective TRPV1 antagonist, reduced morphine-induced CPP in wild-type mice. Furthermore, i.p. injection of SB203580, a selective p38 MAPK inhibitor, also dampened morphine-induced CPP. To determine the molecular mechanisms of the TRPV1/p38 MAPK pathway in morphine CPP, we investigated the expression of adenylyl cyclase type 1 (AC1) and phospho-p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) in the NAc. Either SB366791 or SB203580 decreased the protein expression levels of phospho-p38 MAPK, phosphor-NF-κB, and AC1 in the NAc of morphine CPP mice. Taken together, our findings suggest that TRPV1 may modulate morphine-induced conditioned reward effects via the p38 MAPK signaling pathway in the NAc. Therefore, blockade of TRPV1 may provide a novel therapeutic approach for the prevention and treatment of opioid addiction.