Influence of MHC class I and II haplotypes on the experimental infection of Mauritian cynomolgus macaques with SHIVSF162P4cy.

Mauritian cynomolgus macaques (MCM) are widely used in human immunodeficiency virus research because of their restricted major histocompatibility complex (MHC) diversity which provides the opportunity to address the influence of host factors on vaccine studies. We herein report the impact of MHC haplotype on the outcome of 21 MCM infections with the CCR5-tropic simian/human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV)(SF162P4cy). MCM were susceptible to SHIV(SF162P4cy) infection as shown by viremia and loss of CD4+ T cells. A significant association between haplotype M7 (class IA, IB, II) and persistent viremia was observed in chronic phase, whereas recombinant class IA haplotype was associated with a reduction of viral RNA during acute infection. Class IB M4 haplotype displayed significantly lower acute phase provirus copy numbers. In addition, statistical analysis indicated a detrimental effect of haplotype M4 (class IA, IB) on the course of infection as indicated by lower CD4+ T-cell levels during chronic infection. A decrease in post-acute phase CD4+ T-cell numbers was also observed in haplotype M2 animals. This is the first report that documents the effects of host MHC class I and II molecules on the SHIV(SF162P4cy) infection in MCM, particularly with regard to the association between recombinant class IA, M4, and M7 haplotypes and the dynamic of viral replication and level of CD4+ T cells.

Mhc haplotype M3 is associated with early control of SHIVsbg infection in Mauritian cynomolgus macaques.

The restricted major histocompatibilty complex of Mauritian cynomolgus macaques confers exceptional potential on this species in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccine development. However, knowledge of the effects of Mhc genetics on commonly used simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) and simian/human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) stocks is incomplete. We determined the effect of Mhc haplotypes on SHIVsbg replication kinetics in a cohort of 25 naïve cynomolgus macaques. Haplotype M3 was associated with a 1.58log(10) reduction in viraemia at day 28 post infection (p.i.). Haplotype M6 was associated with elevated SHIVsbg viraemia at days 28 and 56. No significant effect of Mhc class II haplotypes on viral replication was observed. These data emphasise the importance of genetic characterisation of experimental macaques and advance our understanding of host genetic effects in SIV/SHIV models of HIV infection.

Low rates of transmission of SRV-2 and STLV-I to juveniles in a population of Macaca fascicularis facilitate establishment of specific retrovirus-free colonies.

BACKGROUND: Prevalence of simian retrovirus-2 (SRV-2) and simian T lymphotropic virus type I (STLV-I), was unknown in 337 captive cynomolgus macaques. METHODS AND RESULTS: Molecular assays identified 29% of animals as SRV-2 mono-infected, 4% of animals as STLV-I mono-infected and 9% of animals as dual-infected. Of 108 juvenile animals, 83% were SRV-2-negative and no juvenile animal was STLV-I-positive. A subsequent study of juvenile macaques over a period of 2.5 years detected no STLV-I and 10 SRV-2 infections, six of which occurred between testing and day of colony formation. The study also highlighted that an anti-SRV-2 serological response does not presuppose infection. Tissue reservoirs of latent SRV-2 were not identified in suspected SRV-2 infections. CONCLUSIONS: Low transmissibility of the viruses present in the parental cohort and improved knowledge of the host response to SRV-2 has facilitated the creation of specific-retrovirus-free colonies of cynomolgus macaques.

The Mhc class II DRB genotype of Macaca fascicularis does not influence infection by simian retrovirus type 2.

Simian retrovirus type 2 (SRV-2) is a natural pathogen of Macaca fascicularis. Although SRV-2 may be endemic in macaque colonies, it is not necessarily detected in all individuals suggesting differential susceptibility to SRV-2; factors contributing to this susceptibility are not fully understood. We have investigated the role of host genetic origin on virus susceptibility. We have shown that high levels of anti-SRV-2 antibodies correlate with failure to establish persistent virus infection, thus we targeted our genetic analysis of virus susceptibility with an investigation of the role of the polymorphic macaque major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II locus. DRB genotypes, both novel and previously characterised, were identified in individuals and family groups. A discordance with SRV-2 infection status suggests that an Mhc II DRB genotype is not overtly associated with the outcome of viral infection.

Sulfation of thyroid hormone by estrogen sulfotransferase.

Sulfation is one of the pathways by which thyroid hormone is inactivated. Iodothyronine sulfate concentrations are very high in human fetal blood and amniotic fluid, suggesting important production of these conjugates in utero. Human estrogen sulfotransferase (SULT1E1) is expressed among other tissues in the uterus. Here we demonstrate for the first time that SULT1E1 catalyzes the facile sulfation of the prohormone T4, the active hormone T3 and the metabolites rT3 and 3,3'-diiodothyronine (3,3'-T2) with preference for rT3 approximately 3,3'-T2 > T3 approximately T4. Thus, a single enzyme is capable of sulfating two such different hormones as the female sex hormone and thyroid hormone. The potential role of SULT1E1 in fetal thyroid hormone metabolism needs to be considered.

Chromosomal positioning of human T-lymphotropic type 1 proviruses by fluorescence in situ hybridisation.

Fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) was employed to identify the chromosomal integration site of the human T-cell lymphotropic virus, type 1 (HTLV-1) present in T-cell clones derived from HTLV-1-infected individuals and a virally transformed cell line, C8166-45. Proviral sequences were detected in C8166-45 but not uninfected Jurkat cells. Integration sites were reliably detected in T-cell clones determined previously to be infected with HTLV-1. The results indicated that the transformed cell line and some of the T-cell clones possessed more than one proviral integration site. This hybridisation system is useful for determining the number of integration events and for localising proviruses to specific chromosomal regions.

[Ocular burns caused by latex from manchineel trees]. / Brûlures oculaires par le latex de mancenillier.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY: The objective of this study is to enter on an inventory and to appreciate the severity of the ocular burn caused by the latex of manchineel tree and to propose a therapeutic attitude. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We report on the results of a prospective study included 11 patients examined in the Department of Ophthalmology (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Fort-de-France) between November 1992 and November 1993. All of them presented with ocular burn due to a contact with the latex of the manchineel tree. RESULTS: The study included 11 patients, 8 adults and 3 children, the mean age was 22.9 years (range 4-40). All of them had hyperhemia and conjunctival erosions of various intensity. Ten patients had corneal lesions: superficial punctate keratitis in 5 cases and corneal ulcers in 5 cases. Three cases of corneal ulcerations were associated with an inflammatory reaction of the anterior segment. Both eyes were affected in 4 cases (37%), and only the right one in the other cases (63%). Seven patients had cutaneous lesions (63%), of whom 4 periocular burns of superficial second degree. Full recovery was obtained within 15 days for all the patients. CONCLUSION: Ocular lavage is the first treatment, as for all chemical burns. Local antibiotherapy is used systematically to prevent superinfection. With a proper treatment, a complete recovery with no sequelae is obtained.

[Juvenile glaucoma. Seven case reports]. / Le glaucome juvénile. A propos de 7 cas.

BACKGROUND: Juvenile glaucoma is an uncommon form of chronic open angle glaucoma that appears between 3 and 35 years of age. METHODS: We report in this study seven cases of juvenile glaucoma that occurred in patients melanoderma. RESULTS: Three of them had unilateral blindness and in two others visual acuity was reduced to light perception in one eye. The intraocular pressure is above to 30 mmHg in 64.3% of the cases and a myopia was frequently associated. CONCLUSION: The insidious development of this pathology and the difficulty of its diagnosis among children often result in severe clinical manifestations with high visual field defects and optic disc cuppings particularly in melanoderma patients. Recent studies have proved autosomal dominant transmission with variable penetrance for one kind of juvenile glaucoma and location of the defective gene on chromosome 1q.

Structural studies of oxygen-bridged iron compounds.

Compound (I): cis-dichloro[mu-[bis[mu-[[2,6-diacetylpyridine dioximato](2-)-O:O']]dihydroxodiphenyl-diborato](3-)]- mu- mithoxydiiron, [Fe2(C30H29B2N6-O6)Cl2(CH3O)], M(r) = 804.9, monoclinic, Cc, a = 21.228 (6), b = 8.020 (2), c = 20.865 (5) A, beta = 105.2 (1) degrees, V = 3428 (2) A3, Z = 4, Dx = 1.56 g cm-3, lambda(Mo K alpha) = 0.7107 A, mu = 10.6 cm-1, F(000) = 1648, T = 275 K, R = 0.055 for 3018 unique reflections. Compound (I) contains a pseudo-twofold axis relating the two pyridine dioxime groups bound to the Fe atoms. In addition, two O atoms from the phenylborate moieties bridge the iron atoms, as does a methoxide. The two Cl atoms are bound to the seven coordinate metals axial to the methoxide. Compound (II): cis-dichloro[mu-[bis[mu-[[2,6-diacetylpyridine dioximato](2-)-O:O']]dihydroxodiphenyldiborato](3-)]-mu- hydroxodiiron, [Fe2(C30H29B2N6-O6)Cl2(OH)].H2O.2C2H3N, M(r) = 891.0, monoclinic, P2(1)/n, a = 11.860 (2), b = 20.911 (5), c = 16.175 (3) A, beta = 92.88 (1) degrees, V = 4006 (3) A3, Z = 4, Dx = 1.48 g cm-3, lambda(Mo K alpha) = 0.7107 A, mu = 9.1 cm-1, F(000) = 1832, T = 275 K, R = 0.051 for 7034 unique reflections. Compound (II) contains a hydroxide group replacing the methoxide in compound (I). The crystals also contain two acetonitriles of solvation. The bond lengths in the complex and the hydrogen-bonding pattern in the crystals are consistent with one of the bridging borate O atoms being protonated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

A Gly238Ser substitution in the alpha 2 chain of type I collagen results in osteogenesis imperfecta type III.

In general, osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease) is caused by heterozygous mutations in the genes encoding the alpha 1 or alpha 2 chains of type I collagen (COL1A1 and COL1A2, respectively). In this study we screened these genes in a proband presenting with the severe form (type III) of osteogenesis imperfecta for mutations which might result in the phenotype. Single-strand conformation polymorphism mapping analysis was used to identify a region suspected of harbouring the mutation and subsequent sequence analysis revealed a heterozygous G to A transition in the alpha 2(I) gene of type I collagen in the individual. The resulting substitution of the glycine at position 238 of the alpha chain by serine is the most N-terminal yet reported for this chain.

Virus inactivation in a proportion of human T-cell leukaemia virus type I-infected T-cell clones arises through naturally occurring mutations.

Human T-cell leukaemia virus type I (HTLV-I) is the aetiological agent of adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma and tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-I-associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM). The trans-activating protein (Tax) of HTLV-I is strongly implicated in cellular proliferation. We examined the tax gene and 5' long terminal repeat (LTR) sequences in eight naturally infected T-cell clones derived from TSP/HAM-affected individuals who were either productively (proliferate spontaneously) or silently (do not proliferate spontaneously) infected. In two silently infected clones point mutations within the proviruses resulted in truncation of the Tax protein. One clone harboured both a deleterious tax gene mutation and a point mutation in an enhancer element of the 5' LTR. Sequence changes, immunological escape mutation, integration site context and host cell phenotype may all contribute to the high proportion of latently or silently infected T-cells found in vivo in virus carriers.

An in vivo evaluation of iron-chelating drugs derived from pyridoxal and its analogs.

Chelating agents related to the newly described iron binding drug, pyridoxal isonicotinoyl hydrazone, were screened for their effects on iron excretion in the rat, employing a new and highly sensitive radioisotopic procedure. Pyridoxal itself induced significant iron excretion when given either parenterally or orally, the excreted iron being derived from the same pool as that tapped by the drug currently used in treating iron overload in man, desferrioxamine B. Schiff base derivatives of pyridoxal produced varying amounts of iron excretion, the hydrazone derivatives being much more effective than pyridoxal alone. These data suggested a number of possible mechanisms for the chelation of endogenous iron by such agents. Pyridoxal benzoyl hydrazone induced approximately 50% more iron excretion than did an equivalent dose of the parent isonicotinoyl analog and bile cannulation studies showed this difference to be associated with a prolonged duration of action of the benzoyl derivative. When give i.v., the benzoyl and isonicotinoyl hydrazones of pyridoxal and the benzoyl hydrazone of salicylaldehyde all produced levels of iron excretion which exceeded that seen with an equivalent dose of desferrioxamine B. It is concluded that the range of active Schiff base derivatives is likely to be large and that some of these, although not necessarily any of the particular compounds described here, may prove to be of clinical use.

Three unrelated individuals with perinatally lethal osteogenesis imperfecta resulting from identical Gly502Ser substitutions in the alpha 2-chain of type I collagen.

In general, osteogenesis imperfecta is caused by heterozygous mutations in either of the genes encoding the alpha 1 or alpha 2 chains of type I collagen (COL1A1 and COL1A2, respectively). Usually, these mutations are unique to the affected individual or individuals within a family. In this study, single-strand conformation polymorphism mapping analysis has been coupled with sequence analysis to identify a single base mutation in the alpha 2(I) gene of type I collagen; this mutation is identical in three unrelated individuals with perinatal lethal osteogenesis imperfecta. The heterozygous G to A transition at a CpG dinucleotide results in a Gly502Ser substitution in the alpha 2 chain of type I collagen.