Immunization with virus-like particles conjugated to CIDRα1 domain of Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 induces inhibitory antibodies.

BACKGROUND: During the erythrocytic cycle, Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites express P. falciparum Erythrocyte Membrane Protein 1 (PfEMP1) that anchor the infected erythrocytes (IE) to the vascular lining of the host. The CIDRα1 domain of PfEMP1 is responsible for binding host endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR), and increasing evidence support that this interaction triggers severe malaria, accounting for the majority of malaria-related deaths. In high transmission regions, children develop immunity to severe malaria after the first few infections. This immunity is believed to be mediated by antibodies targeting and inhibiting PfEMP1, causing infected erythrocytes to circulate and be cleared in the spleen. The development of immunity to malaria coincides with acquisition of broad antibody reactivity across the CIDRα1 protein family. Altogether, this identifies CIDRα1 as an important vaccine target. However, the antigenic diversity of the CIDRα1 domain family is a challenge for vaccine development. METHODS: Immune responses in mice vaccinated with Virus-Like Particles (VLP) presenting CIDRα1 antigens were investigated. Antibody reactivity was tested to a panel of recombinant CIDRα1 domains, and the antibodies ability to inhibit EPCR binding by the recombinant CIDRα1 domains was tested in Luminex-based multiplex assays. RESULTS: VLP-presented CIDRα1.4 antigens induced a rapid and strong IgG response capable of inhibiting EPCR-binding of multiple CIDRα1 domains mainly within the group A CIDRα1.4-7 subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: The study observations mirror those from previous CIDRα1 vaccine studies using other vaccine constructs and platforms. This suggests that broad CIDRα1 antibody reactivity may be achieved through vaccination with a limited number of CIDRα1 variants. In addition, this study suggest that this may be achieved through vaccination with a human compatible VLP vaccine platform.

A new DNA sensor system for specific and quantitative detection of mycobacteria.

In the current study, we describe a novel DNA sensor system for specific and quantitative detection of mycobacteria, which is the causative agent of tuberculosis. Detection is achieved by using the enzymatic activity of the mycobacterial encoded enzyme topoisomerase IA (TOP1A) as a biomarker. The presented work is the first to describe how the catalytic activities of a member of the type IA family of topoisomerases can be exploited for specific detection of bacteria. The principle for detection relies on a solid support anchored DNA substrate with dual functions namely: (1) the ability to isolate mycobacterial TOP1A from crude samples and (2) the ability to be converted into a closed DNA circle upon reaction with the isolated enzyme. The DNA circle can act as a template for rolling circle amplification generating a tandem repeat product that can be visualized at the single molecule level by fluorescent labelling. This reaction scheme ensures specific, sensitive, and quantitative detection of the mycobacteria TOP1A biomarker as demonstrated by the use of purified mycobacterial TOP1A and extracts from an array of non-mycobacteria and mycobacteria species. When combined with mycobacteriophage induced lysis as a novel way of effective yet gentle extraction of the cellular content from the model Mycobacterium smegmatis, the DNA sensor system allowed detection of mycobacteria in small volumes of cell suspensions. Moreover, it was possible to detect M. smegmatis added to human saliva. Depending on the composition of the sample, we were able to detect 0.6 or 0.9 million colony forming units (CFU) per mL of mycobacteria, which is within the range of clinically relevant infection numbers. We, therefore, believe that the presented assay, which relies on techniques that can be adapted to limited resource settings, may be the first step towards the development of a new point-of-care diagnostic test for tuberculosis.

Specific detection of the cleavage activity of mycobacterial enzymes using a quantum dot based DNA nanosensor.

We present a quantum dot based DNA nanosensor specifically targeting the cleavage step in the reaction cycle of the essential DNA-modifying enzyme, mycobacterial topoisomerase I. The design takes advantages of the unique photophysical properties of quantum dots to generate visible fluorescence recovery upon specific cleavage by mycobacterial topoisomerase I. This report, for the first time, demonstrates the possibility to quantify the cleavage activity of the mycobacterial enzyme without the pre-processing sample purification or post-processing signal amplification. The cleavage induced signal response has also proven reliable in biological matrices, such as whole cell extracts prepared from Escherichia coli and human Caco-2 cells. It is expected that the assay may contribute to the clinical diagnostics of bacterial diseases, as well as the evaluation of treatment outcomes.

Communicating risk using absolute risk reduction or prolongation of life formats: cluster-randomised trial in general practice.

BACKGROUND: It is important that patients are well-informed about risks and benefits of therapies to help them decide whether to accept medical therapy. Different numerical formats can be used in risk communication but It remains unclear how the different formats affect decisions made by real-life patients. AIM: To compare the impact of using Prolongation Of Life (POL) and Absolute Risk Reduction (ARR) information formats to express effectiveness of cholesterol-lowering therapy on patients' redemptions of statin prescriptions, and on patients' confidence in their decision and satisfaction with the risk communication. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cluster-randomised clinical trial in general practices. Thirty-four Danish GPs from 23 practices participated in a primary care-based clinical trial concerning use of quantitative effectiveness formats for risk communication in health prevention consultations. METHOD: GPs were cluster-randomised (treating practices as clusters) to inform patients about cardiovascular mortality risk and the effectiveness of statin treatment using either POL or ARR formats. Patients' redemptions of statin prescriptions were obtained from a regional prescription database. The COMRADE questionnaire was used to measure patients' confidence in their decision and satisfaction with the risk communication. RESULTS: Of the 240 patients included for analyses, 112 were allocated to POL information and 128 to ARR. Patients redeeming a statin prescription totalled six (5.4%) when informed using POL, and 32 (25.0%) when using ARR. The level of confidence in decision and satisfaction with risk communication did not differ between the risk formats. CONCLUSION: Patients redeemed statin prescriptions less often when their GP communicated treatment effectiveness using POL compared with ARR.

Real-time detection of TDP1 activity using a fluorophore-quencher coupled DNA-biosensor.

Real-time detection of enzyme activities may present the easiest and most reliable way of obtaining quantitative analyses in biological samples. We present a new DNA-biosensor capable of detecting the activity of the potential anticancer drug target tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 1 (TDP1) in a very simple, high throughput, and real-time format. The biosensor is specific for Tdp1 even in complex biological samples, such as human cell extracts, and may consequently find future use in fundamental studies as well as a cancer predictive tool allowing fast analyses of diagnostic cell samples such as biopsies. TDP1 removes covalent 3'DNA adducts in DNA single-strand break repair. This enzymatic activity forms the basis of the design of the TDP1-biosensor, which consists of a short hairpin-forming oligonucleotide having a 5'fluorophore and a 3'quencher brought in close proximity by the secondary structure of the biosensor. The specific action of TDP1 removes the quencher, thereby enabling optical detection of the fluorophore. Since the enzymatic action of TDP1 is the only "signal amplification" the increase in fluorescence may easily be followed in real-time and allows quantitative analyses of TDP1 activity in pure enzyme fractions as well as in crude cell extracts. In the present study we demonstrate the specificity of the biosensor, its ability to quantitatively detect up- or down-regulated TDP1 activity, and that it may be used for measuring and for analyzing the mechanism of TDP1 inhibition.

Impact of effectiveness information format on patient choice of therapy and satisfaction with decisions about chronic disease medication: the "Influence of intervention Methodologies on Patient Choice of Therapy (IMPACT)" cluster-randomised trial in general practice.

BACKGROUND: Risk communication is an integral part of shared decision-making in health care. In the context of interventions for chronic diseases it represents a particular challenge for all health practitioners. By using two different quantitative formats to communicate risk level and effectiveness of a cholesterol-lowering drug, we posed the research question: how does the format of risk information influence patients' decisions concerning therapy, patients' satisfaction with the communication as well as confidence in the decision. We hypothesise that patients are less prone to accept therapy when the benefits of long-term intervention are presented in terms of prolongation of life (POL) in months compared to the absolute risk reduction (ARR). We hypothesise that patients presented with POL will be more satisfied with the communication and confident in their decision, suggesting understanding of the time-related term. METHODS/DESIGN: In 2009 a sample of 328 general practitioners (GPs) in the Region of Southern Denmark was invited to participate in a primary care-based clinical trial among patients making real-life clinical decisions together with their GP. Interested GPs were cluster-randomised to inform patients about cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and the effectiveness of statin therapy using either POL or ARR. The GPs attended a training session before informing their patients. Before training and after the trial period they received a questionnaire about their attitudes to risk communication and the use of numerical information. Patients' redemptions of statin prescriptions will be registered in a regional prescription database to evaluate a possible association between redemption rates and effectiveness format. The Combined Outcome Measure for Risk Communication And Treatment Decision Making Effectiveness (COMRADE) questionnaire will be used to measure patients' confidence and satisfaction with the risk communication immediately after the conversation with their GPs. DISCUSSION: This randomised clinical trial compares the impact of two effectiveness formats on real-life risk communication between patients and GPs, including affective patient outcomes and actual choices about acceptance of therapy. Though we found difficulties in recruiting GPs, according to the study protocol we have succeeded in engaging sufficient GPs for the trial, enabling us to perform the planned analyses.

A competing risk approach for the European Heart SCORE model based on cause-specific and all-cause mortality.

BACKGROUND: The European Heart SCORE model constitutes the basis for national guidelines for primary prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in several European countries. The model estimates individuals' 10-year CVD mortality risks from age, sex, smoking status, systolic blood pressure, and total cholesterol level. The SCORE model, however, is not mathematically consistent and does not estimate all-cause mortality. Our aim is to modify the SCORE model to allow consistent estimation of both CVD-specific and all-cause mortality. METHODS: Using a competing risk approach, we first re-estimated the cause-specific risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, and secondly we incorporated non-CVD mortality. Finally, non-CVD mortality was allowed to also depend on smoking status, and not only age and sex. From the models, we estimated CVD-specific and all-cause 10-year mortality risk, and the expected residual lifetime together with corresponding expected effects of statin treatment. RESULTS: The modified model provided CVD-specific 10-year mortality risks similar to those of the European Heart SCORE model. Incorporation of non-CVD mortality increased 10-year mortality risks, in particular for older individuals. When non-CVD mortality was assumed unaffected by smoking status, the absolute risk reduction due to statin treatment ranged from 0.0% to 3.5%, whereas the gain in expected residual lifetime ranged from 3 to 11 months. Statin effectiveness increased for non-smokers and declined for smokers, when smoking was allowed to influence non-CVD mortality. CONCLUSION: The modified model provides mathematically consistent estimates of mortality risk and expected residual lifetime together with expected benefits from statin treatment.

Droplet microfluidics platform for highly sensitive and quantitative detection of malaria-causing Plasmodium parasites based on enzyme activity measurement.

We present an attractive new system for the specific and sensitive detection of the malaria-causing Plasmodium parasites. The system relies on isothermal conversion of single DNA cleavage-ligation events catalyzed specifically by the Plasmodium enzyme topoisomerase I to micrometer-sized products detectable at the single-molecule level. Combined with a droplet microfluidics lab-on-a-chip platform, this design allowed for sensitive, specific, and quantitative detection of all human-malaria-causing Plasmodium species in single drops of unprocessed blood with a detection limit of less than one parasite/µL. Moreover, the setup allowed for detection of Plasmodium parasites in noninvasive saliva samples from infected patients. During recent years malaria transmission has declined worldwide, and with this the number of patients with low-parasite density has increased. Consequently, the need for accurate detection of even a few parasites is becoming increasingly important for the continued combat against the disease. We believe that the presented droplet microfluidics platform, which has a high potential for adaptation to point-of-care setups suitable for low-resource settings, may contribute significantly to meet this demand. Moreover, potential future adaptation of the presented setup for the detection of other microorganisms may form the basis for the development of a more generic platform for diagnosis, fresh water or food quality control, or other purposes within applied or basic science.

Medication effectiveness may not be the major reason for accepting cardiovascular preventive medication: a population-based survey.

BACKGROUND: Shared decision-making and patients' choice of interventions are areas of increasing importance, not least seen in the light of the fact that chronic conditions are increasing, interventions considered important for public health, and still non-acceptance of especially risk-reducing treatments of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is prevalent. A better understanding of patients' medication-taking behavior is needed and may be reached by studying the reasons why people accept or decline medication recommendations. The aim of this paper was to identify factors that may influence people's decisions and reasoning for accepting or declining a cardiovascular preventive medication offer. METHODS: From a random sample of 4,000 people aged 40-59 years in a Danish population, 1,169 participants were asked to imagine being at increased risk of cardiovascular disease and being offered a preventive medication. After receiving 'complete' information about effectiveness of the medication they were asked whether they would accept medication. Finally, they were asked about reasons for the decision. RESULTS: A total of 725 (67%) of 1,082 participants accepted the medication offer. Even quite large effects of medication (up to 8 percentage points absolute risk reduction) had a smaller impact on acceptance to medication than personal experience with cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, increasing age of the participant and living with a partner were significantly associated with acceptance. Some 45% of the respondents accepting justified their choice as being for health reasons, and they were more likely to be women, live alone, have higher income and higher education levels. Among those who did not accept the medication offer, 56% indicated that they would rather prefer to change lifestyle. CONCLUSIONS: Medication effectiveness seems to have a moderate influence on people's decisions to accept preventive medication, while factors such as personal experience with cardiovascular disease may have an equally strong or stronger influence, indicating that practitioners could do well to carefully identify the reasons for their patients' treatment decisions.