Neural Computation links Neuroscience: a synergistic approach

Neural Computing and Applications -     

Changes with aging, sex and physical exercise in murine natural killer activity and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity

Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and natural killer (NK) activity were measured in leukocytes from the axillary nodes, the spleen and the thymus of young (12 +/- 2 weeks) and aged (60 +/- 2 weeks) male and female BALB/c mice, which had performed an acute bout of exercise (moderate swimming until exhaustion) or a training exercise (90 min of moderate swimming each day for 20 days). The results show that NK and ADCC activity in sedentary mice (controls) were similar in young and aged animals. However, both kinds of exercise resulted in higher cytotoxicity values in aged mice than in young mice. Acute exercise did not have any effect on NK activity in young and aged mice, nor on ADCC activity in young mice as compared to controls, while training exercise stimulated both cytotoxicities in the two age groups. No correlations between serum corticosterone levels and NK or ADCC activity were found. Our results suggest that moderate training exercise improves both NK and ADCC activity during aging.     

Purification of the Neisseria meningitidis transferrin binding protein-2 (TBP2) to homogeneity using column chromatography

The interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene is expressed by various stimuli including cytokines or viral infections, such as human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-1). However, it has not been well established how HTLV-1 induces the expression of the IL-6 gene. In the present study, we demonstrated that HTLV-1-derived transactivator protein, p40tax, could stimulate endogenous IL-6 gene expression. Furthermore, we showed that the NF-kappa B binding site (IL-6 kappa B site) located between -74 and -62 upstream of the cap site of the IL-6 gene was an essential cis-acting element for p40tax-mediated transactivation of the IL-6 gene expression by utilizing a series of 5' deletion mutants of the IL-6 5' flanking region as well as a construct with a mutated IL-6 kappa B site. We identified the presence of two nuclear factor complexes that bound to the IL-6 kappa B site. One was constitutively expressed, and the other was inducible by p40tax. Taken together, HTLV-1 p40tax directly induces IL-6 gene expression through the IL-6 kappa B site, indicating the close association between IL-6 overproduction and HTLV-1 infection.     

Molecular characterization of the phenylacetic acid catabolic pathway in Pseudomonas putida U: the phenylacetyl-CoA catabolon

Fourteen different genes included in a DNA fragment of 18 kb are involved in the aerobic degradation of phenylacetic acid by Pseudomonas putida U. This catabolic pathway appears to be organized in three contiguous operons that contain the following functional units: (i) a transport system, (ii) a phenylacetic acid activating enzyme, (iii) a ring-hydroxylation complex, (iv) a ring-opening protein, (v) a beta-oxidation-like system, and (vi) two regulatory genes. This pathway constitutes the common part (core) of a complex functional unit (catabolon) integrated by several routes that catalyze the transformation of structurally related molecules into a common intermediate (phenylacetyl-CoA).     

Epithelioise sarcoma. A myofibroblastoma tumor

A case of epithelioid sarcoma in a 48 year old man is described by the authors. The ultrastructural study showed the presence of abundant cellular elements showing some features closely similar to those of the so-called myofibroblasts. These were: folds in the nuclear membrane, abundant rough endoplasmic reticulum, thick bundles of microfilaments resembling those of the smooth muscle, junctional complexes and degenerative changes (lipid droplets and autophagic vacuoles). These findings suggest the possibility that the epithelioid sarcoma could be a neoplasia originating from the myofibroblasts.