Adoptive transfer of EAE-like lesions from rats with coronavirus-induced demyelinating encephalomyelitis

Viruses have been found to induce inflammatory demyelinating lesions in central nervous system (CNS) tissue of both animal and man, either by natural infections or after vaccination. At least two different pathogenic mechanisms have been proposed for these changes, a cytopathic viral infection of oligodendroglia cells with subsequent cell death, and a host immune reaction against virus and brain antigens. We now report the occurrence of cell-mediated immune reactions against basic myelin proteins in the course of coronavirus infections in Lewis rats. Infection of rats with the murine coronavirus JHM leads to demyelinating encephalomyelitis developing several weeks to months postinfection. Lymphocytes from these diseased Lewis rats can be restimulated with basic myelin protein (BMP) and adoptive transfer of these cells leads to lesions resembling those of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in recipients, which can be accompanied by a mild clinical disease. This model demonstrates that a virus infection in CNS tissue is capable of initiating an autoimmune response which may be of pathogenic importance.     

5-HT hyperpolarization of bullforg sympathetic ganglion cell membrane

Zusammenfassung Die Membran der sympathischen Ganglienzelle des Ochsenfrosches (Rana catesbiana) wird durch 5-HT depolarisiert; 5-HT erzeugt jedoch in Gegenwart von Nicotin eine Hyperpolarisation. Es scheint, dass sowohl die Depolarisation als auch die Hyperpolarisation von 5-HT durch direkte Wirkung auf die Zell-Membran zustande kommt. Die durch 5-HT erzeugte Hyperpolarisation zeigte ähnliche Eigenschaften wie des «slow IPSP» welches jedoch während der Entwicklung der 5-HT Hyperpolarisation stark zunimmt. Es wird vermutet, dass 5-HT wahrscheinlich nicht als Überträgerstoff für das «slow IPSP» in Frage kommt.     

Collagen synthesis of cultured fibroblast from Werner's syndromes of premature aging

Summary The difference of collagen producibility between 2 groups of skin fibroblasts from patients with Werner's syndrome with skin change and with normal skin, and the difference of collagen accumulation to cell layer between skin fibroblast from Werner's syndrome and controls were studied.Acknowledgments. We are grateful to Dr M. Ohkido and Dr I. Matsuo of the Department of Dermatology of Tokai University for their supply of materials and generous advice and Mr K. Takeichi of the Department of Pathology of Tokai University for his technical assistance.     

Drosophila RNAi screen identifies host genes important for influenza virus replication

All viruses rely on host cell proteins and their associated mechanisms to complete the viral life cycle. Identifying the host molecules that participate in each step of virus replication could provide valuable new targets for antiviral therapy, but this goal may take several decades to achieve with conventional forward genetic screening methods and mammalian cell cultures. Here we describe a novel genome-wide RNA interference (RNAi) screen in Drosophila that can be used to identify host genes important for influenza virus replication. After modifying influenza virus to allow infection of Drosophila cells and detection of influenza virus gene expression, we tested an RNAi library against 13,071 genes (90% of the Drosophila genome), identifying over 100 for which suppression in Drosophila cells significantly inhibited or stimulated reporter gene (Renilla luciferase) expression from an influenza-virus-derived vector. The relevance of these findings to influenza virus infection of mammalian cells is illustrated for a subset of the Drosophila genes identified; that is, for three implicated Drosophila genes, the corresponding human homologues ATP6V0D1, COX6A1 and NXF1 are shown to have key functions in the replication of H5N1 and H1N1 influenza A viruses, but not vesicular stomatitis virus or vaccinia virus, in human HEK 293 cells. Thus, we have demonstrated the feasibility of using genome-wide RNAi screens in Drosophila to identify previously unrecognized host proteins that are required for influenza virus replication. This could accelerate the development of new classes of antiviral drugs for chemoprophylaxis and treatment, which are urgently needed given the obstacles to rapid development of an effective vaccine against pandemic influenza and the probable emergence of strains resistant to available drugs.     

Chenguodaite （Ag9FeTe2S4）： a new tellurosulfide mineral from the gold district of East Shandong Peninsula,China

Chenguodaite, approved by IMA-CNMMN （2004-042a）, was discovered in the Bunan quartz vein-type gold deposit in the gold district of East Shandong Peninsula. The mineral occurs in high grade Au-Ag-Cu ores, coexisting with galena, chalcopyrite, hessite, electrum, unnamed Ag6TeS2 and AglsFeBiTe3Se, enclosed and replaced by native silver and acanthite. In the reflected light microscope, the mineral has light gray color, indistinguishable anistropism and hardness around 2-3. The color indices of chenguodaite relative to ICE C illuminator are： x=0.3027, y=0.3076, Y=25.78%,λd=474 nm, Pe=3.68%, similar to those of canfieldite. The average chemical composition from 16 microprobe analyses is Ag8.97Fe1.00Te1.99S4.04, idealized to AggFeTe2S4. The polycrystalline X-ray diffraction of chenguodaite by Gandolfi camera and synchrotron oscillation photography results in 67 reflections with the 12 strongest being （relative intensity in bracket）： 6.742（69）, 6.416（39）, 5.951（33）, 3.265（100）, 2.981（24）, 2.649（22）, 2.25（24）, 2.188（71）, 2.142（22）, 2.123（31）, 2.044（23）, 1.949（33）, which are indexed to a primitive orthorhombic cell with a=12.769 （2） A, b= 14.814（2） A, c= 16.233 （1） A, V= 3070.6 A^3, Z= 9, Dcal.=6.85 g/cm^3. The name is for the late Prof. Chen Guoda, a famous Chinese geologist and the founder of Diwa-Geodepression theory of tectonics.