Serum immunoglobulin (Ig)G1, IgG3 and total IgG were assessed by immunoabsorbent assay in 198 infants from a Tanzanian village highly endemic for Plasmodium falciparum. Antibodies were measured against epitopes of the circumsporozoite protein (the repetitive epitope (NANP)50 and a construct of the flanking regions (CS27IC)), the malaria vaccine SPf66, and two constructs of the merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1), a 19-kDa fragment from the C-terminal domain (MSP-119) and an N-terminal fragment spanning blocks 1-6 (H6-p190 M-1/6-H6). IgG1 and total IgG titres showed similar age profiles, all decreasing for the first 2 months of life. Anti-(NANP)50 titres remained very low throughout the first year of life, while anti-CS27IC antibody appeared to peak around 7 months of age. Only a slight tendency to increase with age was observed for levels of the other antibodies studied. IgG3 titres except for H6-p190(1/6), were very low initially and remained very low throughout the first year of life. Clinical malaria incidence at the village dispensary was analysed prospectively in relation to antibody. No IgG1 or total IgG titre showed protective effects, but low IgG3 against p190(1/6) appeared to be a risk factor in some age groups. Given the large number of antibodies tested, this single indication of possible protection could merely be chance. There were no strong associations between antibody titres and entomologically assessed sporozoite exposure suggesting that transmission-reducing interventions may have little effect on antibody levels in such children.
Apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) is a major genetic risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of this work was to find if carrying ApoE4 alleles correlates with molecular changes associated with specific processes involved in AD pathophysiology and whether they are useful as early biomarkers of AD. Fifty four young healthy adults (aged 20-55) were recruited. Of these, 33 carried at least one ApoE4 allele and 21 did not (ApoE 3/3). We also recruited eleven patients with clinical diagnoses of probable AD and nine persons of similar age without dementia who served as controls of the AD patients. Using peripheral lymphocytes, we measured RNA expression of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β), the regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1), calcineurin, and RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) by PCR and protein levels of RCAN1, calcineurin, GSK3β, and phospho-tau by western blotting. Young healthy persons carrying the ApoE 4/4 genotype express more RNA for RCAN1, calcineurin, and PKR and higher protein levels of calcineurin, RCAN1, GSK3β, and phospho-tau than controls (ApoE 3/3). Moreover, we found that carrying one or two alleles for ApoE4 is associated with subjective cognitive impairment. We conclude that lymphocytes from young, non-demented persons carrying the ApoE 4/4 genotype show molecular changes that are involved in specific processes associated with the pathophysiology of AD such as increased phosphorylation of tau or increased expression of stress-related proteins like calcineurin, GSK3β, or RCAN1. These changes may help to understand the development of AD and in the early diagnosis of the disease.
The effect of a dry heat treatment on trypsin inhibitors, protein quality and molecular weight of products obtained from enzymatic hydrolysis of chickpea flours was analysed in order to use chickpeas as food protein hydrolysates. Chickpea flour obtained from dehusked seeds was processed under different conditions, either by heating or enzymatic treatment. Heat treatment at 140 °C for varying times (1–24 h) inactivated trypsin inhibitors and facilitated enzymatic treatment but showed an unacceptable loss in the nutritional quality of the protein for heating times longer than 6 h. Enzymatic treatment with a commercial protease, Alcalase 0.6L, at pH 8 and 50 °C, increased the protein nutritional value of the chickpea by breaking the protein chains into shorter peptide chains more suitable to human nutrition.
17Caspase malfunction in stem cells often instigates the appearance and progression of multiple types 18 of cancer, including human colorectal cancer. However, the caspase-dependent regulation of 19intestinal stem cell properties remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that Dronc, the 20Drosophila ortholog of caspase-9/2 in mammals, limits the proliferation of intestinal progenitor cells 21 and prevents the premature differentiation of enteroblasts into enterocytes. Strikingly, these 22
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