Effect of crystalline family and orientation on stimulated Brillouin scattering in whispering-gallery mode resonators.

Ultra-high Q whispering-gallery mode resonators pumped by a continuous-wave laser are known to enhance stimulated Brillouin scattering when optimal resonance and phase-matching conditions are met. In crystalline resonators, this process depends critically on the crystal orientation and family, which impose the elastic constants defining the velocity of the acoustic waves. In this article, we investigate the effect of crystalline orientation and family on this velocity which is proportional to the Brillouin frequency down-shift. In particular, the study is based on the development of a model and numerical simulations of acoustic wave velocities that propagate along the periphery of four fluoride crystals, namely calcium, magnesium, lithium and barium fluoride. We find that depending on the crystal and its orientation, the frequency excursion around the Brillouin offset can vary from few tens of kHz to more than a GHz.

Prenatal diagnosis of exophytic nevus sebaceous of the scalp.

Nevus sebaceous is a complex hamartoma most commonly found on the scalp, face, and neck and is often present at birth, although some may be diagnosed later in infancy. We report the first prenatal diagnosis of isolated nevus sebaceous that presented at 19 weeks' gestation as a large and exophytic tumor of the scalp. This case emphasizes the crucial role of ultrasound examination performed with high-frequency probes, which revealed associated diffuse lesions of the face. Identification of such a facial involvement could have a dramatic prognostic impact.

Outer membrane protein A (OmpA) activates human epidermal Langerhans cells.

Outer membrane protein (Omp)A is highly represented and conserved in the Enterobacteriaceae family. Using a recombinant OmpA from Klebsiella pneumoniae (kpOmpA), we have analysed the interaction between this bacterial cell wall protein and human Langerhans cells (LC), the antigen-presenting cells of the epidermis and mucosa. We showed that biotinylated kpOmpA binds to human LC freshly isolated from epidermis. kpOmpA up-regulated MHC class II, CD86 and CCR7 expression, enhanced migration in response to macrophage inflammatory protein-3beta (MIP-3beta) through a reconstituted basement membrane mimicking the prerequisite passage through the dermal-epidermal basement membrane on the way to lymph nodes. The allostimulatory function of kpOmpA-treated LC was more potent than that of untreated cells. Even though the proportion of LC which binds kpOmpA was shown to vary between individuals, our data indicate that kpOmpA binds to and activates LC, and suggest that recognition of OmpA by LC may be an initiating event in the antibacterial host response.

Expression of recombinant proteins in a lipid A mutant of Escherichia coli BL21 with a strongly reduced capacity to induce dendritic cell activation and maturation.

Mutations in the Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Salmonella lpxM gene have been shown to result in strains which grow normally and which produce a non-myristoylated lipopolysaccharide (nmLPS) with strongly reduced endotoxicity. Using homologous recombination, we inactivated the lpxM gene in BL21 (DE3), a strain widely used for the production of recombinant proteins. This led to a derivative unaffected in its capacity to support the production of recombinant proteins. This new strain expresses non-myristoylated LPS that induces markedly less activation and maturation of monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DC), as assessed by nuclear translocation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB), production of TNF-alpha and IL-8 or expression of CD86. Activation of the main signal transducing receptor for extracellular LPS, Toll like receptor (TLR) 4 in conjunction with the soluble accessory protein MD-2 was also markedly decreased. The modified BL21 strain represents a new application of lpxM inactivation for the expression of proteins to be tested on dendritic cells or other LPS sensitive cells/receptor complexes. It is likely to be useful for the identification of new proteins activating the innate immune response and to reducing the risk linked with low level of endotoxin contamination in therapeutic recombinant proteins.

Extremely low loss phonon-trapping cryogenic acoustic cavities for future physical experiments.

Low loss Bulk Acoustic Wave devices are considered from the point of view of the solid state approach as phonon-confining cavities. We demonstrate effective design of such acoustic cavities with phonon-trapping techniques exhibiting extremely high quality factors for trapped longitudinally-polarized phonons of various wavelengths. Quality factors of observed modes exceed 1 billion, with a maximum Q-factor of 8 billion and Q × f product of 1.6 · 10(18) at liquid helium temperatures. Such high sensitivities allow analysis of intrinsic material losses in resonant phonon systems. Various mechanisms of phonon losses are discussed and estimated.

The sesquiterpene lactone parthenolide inhibits LPS- but not TNF-alpha-induced maturation of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells by inhibition of the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway.

BACKGROUND: Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent antigen-presenting cells, and the manipulation of DC maturation provides a strategy for the treatment of allergic and inflammatory diseases. OBJECTIVE: In this study we examined the effect of the anti-inflammatory sesquiterpene lactone parthenolide (PTL) on DC maturation induced by LPS or TNF-alpha. METHODS: Human monocyte-derived DCs generated by means of culture with GM-CSF and IL-4 were pretreated with PTL and subsequently stimulated with LPS or TNF-alpha. RESULTS: PTL inhibited the upregulation of CD80, CD83, CD86, CD40, and MHC class II; the allostimulatory function; the production of TNF-alpha and IL-12; and the downregulation of FITC-labeled dextran uptake in human monocyte-derived DCs stimulated with LPS but not with TNF-alpha. The inhibitory effect of PTL on DC maturation was preceded by inhibition of the phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase but not the nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB. CONCLUSION: These results might offer PTL not only as a promising compound for the treatment of LPS-induced disorders, including sepsis or septic shock, by inhibition of excessive DC maturation but also as a tool to further dissect the signaling pathways involved in DC maturation.

Measurement of nuclear factor-kappa B translocation on lipopolysaccharide-activated human dendritic cells by confocal microscopy and flow cytometry.

BACKGROUND: Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) is a ubiquitously expressed transcription factor that regulates cytokine and immunoglobulin (Ig) gene expression. In most cell types, the inactive p50/p65 NF-kappaB heterodimer is located in the cytoplasm, complexed to its IkappaB inhibitory unit. Stimulation of cells by various reagents such as bacterial endotoxin or cytokines leads to a dissociation of NF-kappaB from IkappaB and a rapid translocation of free NF-kappaB to the nucleus. The aim of this article is to define optimal conditions for the measurement of NF-kappaB translocation by both confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. METHODS: Four commercial anti-NF-kappaB antibodies were evaluated by confocal microscopy, after using two methods of fixation and permeabilization of the cells. These antibodies were examined further by flow cytometry on purified nuclei. RESULTS: Paraformaldehyde-methanol treatment of dendritic cells is a good combination to visualize NF-kappaB translocation by confocal microscopy. Three of the four antibodies tested gave good results on nonactivated and on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated dendritic cells. The measurement of NF-kappaB translocation by flow cytometry on purified nuclei is a quick and sensitive method. Only one of the four evaluated antibodies showed a significant difference between nonactivated and activated cells. CONCLUSIONS; Microscopy and flow cytometry are quick and reproducible methods to measure NF-kappaB translocation and can be adapted to identify new molecules that activate dendritic cells.

Enhanced pulmonary immunopathology following neonatal priming with formalin-inactivated respiratory syncytial virus but not with the BBG2NA vaccine candidate.

Prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease will implicate neonatal priming. However, neonatal antigen exposure frequently results into Th2-like responses, some of which are critical for formalin-inactivated RSV (FI-RSV)-associated lung immunopathology. Neonatal immunization of mice may thus represent a more stringent model of RSV-enhanced pathology than adults. Indeed, after RSV challenge, lung cell infiltration, lymphocyte activation, and eosinophilia were higher following neonatal compared with adult FI-RSV priming of BALB/c mice. Unexpectedly, similar findings were obtained with Al(OH)(3)-adsorbed live RSV. In contrast, neonatal priming with BBG2Na, a recombinant RSV subunit vaccine candidate, formulated in either Al(OH)(3) or TiterMax (a Th1-driving adjuvant) resulted in predominant Th2- or Th1-like responses, respectively, but never elicited lung immunopathology post-challenge. Importantly, our data emphasize that the induction of Th2-like responses by RSV subunit vaccines do not necessarily imply lung immunopathology.

Gamma interferon-dependent protection of the mouse upper respiratory tract following parenteral immunization with a respiratory syncytial virus G protein fragment.

The protective mechanisms induced in the mouse upper respiratory tract (URT) after intraperitoneal immunization with G2Na, a recombinant respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) G protein fragment (amino acid residues 130 to 230), were investigated. This protection was recently shown to be mediated by CD4(+) T cells and to be critically dependent on the cysteines and amino acids 193 and 194 (H. Plotnicky-Gilquin, A. Robert, L. Chevalet, J.-F. Haeuw, A. Beck, J.-Y. Bonnefoy, C. Brandt, C.-A. Siegrist, T. N. Nguyen, and U. F. Power, J. Virol. 74:3455-3463, 2000). On G2Na, we identified a domain (amino acid residues 182 to 198) responsible for the T-helper-cell activity. This region coincided with a peptide designed AICK (residues 184 to 198) which includes the previously identified murine and human T-helper-cell epitope on the native G protein (P. W. Tebbey, M. Hagen, and G. E. Hancock, J. Exp. Med. 188:1967-1972, 1998). Immunization with AICK, in alum or complete Freund's adjuvant, significantly reduced nasal RSV titers in normal BALB/c mice. However, although lung protection was induced, in contrast to the case with live RSV, neither AICK nor G2Na was able to prevent nasal infection in gamma interferon (IFN-gamma)-knockout mice. Anti-IFN-gamma neutralizing antibodies partially inhibited URT protection after administration to G2Na-immunized BALB/c mice. Furthermore, while purified CD4(+) T cells from BALB/c mice immunized with G2Na or AICK significantly reduced lung and nasal infection of naive recipient mice after adoptive transfer, the cells from IFN-gamma-knockout mice had no effect. Together, these results demonstrated for the first time that the T-helper-cell epitope of RSV G protein induces URT protection in mice after parenteral immunization through a Th1-type, IFN-gamma-dependent mechanism.

A role for CD147 in thymic development.

We have previously identified a mAb that binds to a molecule expressed preferentially on the surface of cycling thymocytes. In this study the molecule recognized by this mAb has been identified in the mouse as CD147 (basigin) by expression cloning. We show that CD147 expression correlates with cycling of immature thymocytes even in the absence of TCRbeta selection and that ligation of this molecule on immature fetal thymocytes inhibits their further development into mature T cells.