SUMMARY BackgroundCoeliac disease is more prevalent than was previously thought. The association between coeliac disease and cardiovascular outcome is not clear.

Alopecia areata (AA) is widely believed to be an autoimmune disease. Hair loss is associated with a peri- and intrafollicular inflammatory infiltrate of anagen hair follicles primarily composed of CD4 + and CD8 + cells. A previous investigation involved in vivo depletion of CD8 + cells in the DEBR rat model to examine the cells' potential pathogenic activity in AA. The rat model is used here in a comparable study of CD4 + cell pathogenic activity. Eight AA affected DEBR rats were given intraperitoneal injections of a CD4 + cell depleting OX-35/OX-38 monoclonal antibody (MoAb) cocktail over a 15-day therapy course. A further eight AA-affected rats comprised a control group and were injected with equivalent volumes of an irrelevant MoAb, OX-21. Changes in both CD4 + and CD8 + peripheral blood cell populations were analysed by flow cytometry, and macrophotography was used to record any changes in hair growth. Of the eight CD4 + cell-depleted rats six responded with hair growth. The rats revealed significant hair growth within 23 days of treatment initiation. With rapid replacement of the CD4 + cell population the newly generated pelage hair was eventually lost. Two control rats also showed limited hair growth within the 112-day study period. In vivo depletion of CD4 + cells partially restores hair growth in AA affected rats. The response suggests that CD4 + cells may be actively involved in the pathogenesis of AA. Further research may elucidate whether CD4 + cells have a direct effect on hair follicles or exert their influence through their classic T helper cell supporting role for CD8 + cells.

We reconceptualize homeostasis from an inherently stochastic, intergenerational perspective. Here we use our SChemostat technology to directly record high-precision multigenerational trains of sizes of statistically identical non-interacting individual cells of Caulobacter crescentus in precisely controlled environmental conditions. We first show that individual cells indeed maintain stochastic intergenerational homeostasis of their characteristic sizes, then extract organizational principles in the form of an intergenerational scaling law and other "emergent simplicities", which facilitate a principled route to dimensional reduction of the problem. We use these emergent simplicities to formulate the precise theoretical framework for stochastic homeostasis, which not only captures the exact kinematics of stochastic intergenerational cell size homeostasis (providing spectacular theory-data matches with no fitting parameters), but also determines the necessary and sufficient condition for stochastic intergenerational homeostasis. Compellingly, our reanalysis of existing data published by other groups using different single-cell technologies demonstrates that this intergenerational framework is applicable to other microorganisms (Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis) in a variety of growth conditions. Finally, we establish that in balanced growth conditions stochastic intergenerational cell size homeostasis is achieved through elastic adaptation, thus precluding the possibility that cell size can act as a repository of intergenerational memory.

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BackgroundDetecting serum antibody against inhaled antigens is an important diagnostic adjunct for hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP). We sought to validate a quantitative fluorimetric assay testing serum from bird fanciers.MethodsAntibody activity was assessed in bird fanciers and control subjects using various avian antigens and serological methods, and the titer was compared with symptoms of HP.ResultsIgG antibody against pigeon serum antigens, quantified by fluorimetry, provided a good discriminator of disease. Levels below 10 mg/L were insignificant, and increasing titers were associated with disease. The assay was unaffected by total IgG, autoantibodies and antibody to dietary hen's egg antigens. Antigens from pigeon serum seem sufficient to recognize immune sensitivity to most common pet avian species. Decreasing antibody titers confirmed antigen avoidance.ConclusionIncreasing antibody titer reflected the likelihood of HP, and decreasing titers confirmed antigen avoidance. Quantifying antibody was rapid and the increased sensitivity will improve the rate of false-negative reporting and obviate the need for invasive diagnostic procedures. Automated fluorimetry provides a method for the international standardization of HP serology thereby improving quality control and improving its suitability as a diagnostic adjunct.