The induction of tolerance in hamsters to transplants of mouse sarcoma by means of heteroparabiosis

Zusammenfassung Durch die Heteroparabiose Maus-Hamster wurde bei den Hamstern Toleranz auf Crockers Maussarkoma hervorgerufen. Der induzierende Einfluss der Heteroparabiose konnte nur dann beobachtet werden, wenn bei den parabiotischen Mäusen die vorher implantierte Geschwulst gut entwickelt war. Die heterotransplantierte Geschwulst zeigte ein rasches Wachstum nur dann, wenn Milzhomogenat einer geschwulsttragenden Maus in parabiotische Hamster injiziert worden war.     

Investigations on unknown ninhydrin-reacting substances in human blood serum. I. Attempts at identification of three such substances

Zusammenfassung Mittels Dünnschicht- und Papier-chromatographie wurden die ninhydrinpositiven Substanzen im Blutserum gesunder Versuchspersonen untersucht, wobei 26 freie Aminosäuren und 5 andere ninhydrinpositive Substanzen festgestellt wurden, wovon 3 neue Peptide sind.     

Retrograde spins of near-Earth asteroids from the Yarkovsky effect

Dynamical resonances in the asteroid belt are the gateway for the production of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs). To generate the observed number of NEAs, however, requires the injection of many asteroids into those resonant regions. Collisional processes have long been claimed as a possible source, but difficulties with that idea have led to the suggestion that orbital drift arising from the Yarkovsky effect dominates the injection process. (The Yarkovsky effect is a force arising from differential heating-the 'afternoon' side of an asteroid is warmer than the 'morning' side.) The two models predict different rotational properties of NEAs: the usual collisional theories are consistent with a nearly isotropic distribution of rotation vectors, whereas the 'Yarkovsky model' predicts an excess of retrograde rotations. Here we report that the spin vectors of NEAs show a strong and statistically significant excess of retrograde rotations, quantitatively consistent with the theoretical expectations of the Yarkovsky model.     

Drosophila <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hsp67Bc</Emphasis> hot-spot variants alter muscle structure and function

The Drosophila Hsp67Bc gene encodes a protein belonging to the small heat-shock protein (sHSP) family, identified as the nearest functional ortholog of human HSPB8. The most prominent activity of sHSPs is preventing the irreversible aggregation of various non-native polypeptides. Moreover, they are involved in processes such as development, aging, maintenance of the cytoskeletal architecture and autophagy. In larval muscles Hsp67Bc localizes to the Z- and A-bands, which suggests its role as part of the conserved chaperone complex required for Z-disk maintenance. In addition, Hsp67Bc is present at neuromuscular junctions (NMJs), which implies its involvement in the maintenance of NMJ structure. Here, we report the effects of muscle-target overexpression of Drosophila Hsp67Bc hot-spot variants Hsp67BcR126E and Hsp67BcR126N mimicking pathogenic variants of human HSPB8. Depending on the substitutions, we observed a different impact on muscle structure and performance. Expression of Hsp67BcR126E affects larval motility, which may be caused by impairment of mitochondrial respiratory function and/or by NMJ abnormalities manifested by a decrease in the number of synaptic boutons. In contrast, Hsp67BcR126N appears to be an aggregate-prone variant, as reflected in excessive accumulation of mutant proteins and the formation of large aggregates with a lesser impact on muscle structure and performance compared to the Hsp67BcR126E variant.     

Bacteriophages targeting intestinal epithelial cells: a potential novel form of immunotherapy

In addition to their established role as a physical barrier to invading pathogens and other harmful agents, intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) are actively involved in local immune reactions. In the past years, evidence has accumulated suggesting the role of IEC in the immunopathology of intestinal inflammatory disorders (IBD). Recent advances in research on bacteriophages strongly suggest that—in addition to their established antibacterial activity—they have immunomodulating properties that are potentially useful in the clinic. We suggest that these immunomodulating phage activities targeting IEC may open novel treatment perspectives in disorders of the alimentary tract, particularly IBD.