A phenotypical analysis carried out by indirect immunofluorescence and two-color cytofluorometry showed that the number of lymphocytes bearing the gamma delta T cell receptor (TcR) heterodimer was dramatically increased in the blood of six children with Brucella melitensis infection. Most in vivo expanded gamma delta T cells reacted with a monoclonal antibody which identifies V delta 2 gene products and a significant proportion expressed CD25 and HLA-DR activation antigens. In addition, whereas only a few gamma delta T lymphocytes were CD8+, nearly all were CD4-. Highly enriched populations of both alpha beta and gamma delta T cells were obtained by negative immunoselection from three subjects with brucellosis sampled during convalescence. Despite the different form of their TcR, the proliferation of these two major T cell subsets in response to a mitogenic anti-CD3 monoclonal reagent (OKT3) was optimal. In contrast, alpha beta, but not gamma delta, T lymphocytes proliferated vigorously in response to the antigenic stimulus elicited by heat-killed Brucella. Further studies are, therefore, needed to determine whether the selective expansion of the gamma delta T cell subpopulation observed during the clinical course of the infection is driven by antigenic determinant(s) borne by the pathogen in vivo or is due to host-derived stimuli, such as autologous heat-shock proteins expressed on the surface of the infected cells.

No abstract

Naive (unsensitized) and memory (antigen-primed) T cells can be phenotypically distinguished on the basis of the high or low intensity with which they express a number of immunologically relevant lymphocyte membrane antigens, including CD45R, CDw29, UCHL1, LFA-1, LFA-3, CD2 and Pgp-1. Here we report that in contrast to the two major T cell subsets found in the blood, milk T lymphocytes are almost exclusively composed of the one which exhibits the CD45Rlow, CDw29, UCHL1, LFA-1high memory T cell phenotype. In addition, while milk and autologous blood cells expressed similar levels of CD3 surface antigens, CD2 and ICAM-1 expression was approximately twofold greater on the milk T lymphocytes. This agrees with the finding that whereas colostrum T cells respond poorly to PHA, they proliferate and produce interferon-gamma normally when stimulated with either the anti-CD3 or anti-CD2 monoclonal antibodies. The selective colonization of the mammary gland during lactation by a population of T lymphocytes which displays the phenotype and functional characteristics of memory T cells may be one of the mechanisms whereby the suckling infant benefits form its mother's immunological experience.

No abstract

A large outbreak of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection occurred in 2004 in Campania, a region of southern Italy, with 882 cases reported between 1 January and 1 August. The local public health authorities and the Italian National Institute of Health carried out investigations in order to characterize the agent, identify the source of infection and the route of transmission, and implement appropriate control measures. A web-based reporting system enhanced the flow of information between public health authorities, providing real-time epidemic curves and frequency distributions. The same 1B HAV genotype was found in 90% of sera from a subset of patients with acute disease, suggesting a local common source. A case-control study in the municipality with the highest attack rate showed that raw seafood consumption, in particular if illegally sold in water, was strongly associated with HAV illness. Samples of seafood systematically collected from retailers were found contaminated by HAV.

Lymphocytes bearing the T cell receptor yb (TCR-yb) were searched for in human early milk lymphocyte suspensions by two colour cytofluorimetric analysis. It was found that the proportion of TCR-yb' ceils was twofold

The integration of ecosystem service mapping in decision-making is crucial to place effective urban design and sustainable planning solutions. Nonetheless, often ecosystem service maps are the product of different data inputs that influences the final modeling output thus affecting final decisions, especially when a finer and site-specific assessment is required to design practical and effective solutions. In this work, the city of Turin (Northwest Italy) was selected as a test site for an empirical experiment of ecosystem service mapping using the software Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST): two habitat quality models of the city were compared in a Geographic Information System environment, the first using the “traditional” sensitivity employed during the LIFE SAM4CP European research while the second using the natural difference vegetation index to re-assign the sensitivity scores. Results demonstrate that the integration of site-specific information in the habitat quality input model generates a different result, which is capable of differentiating all those dense built-up areas of the dense settlement system that provide ecosystem supporting functions at the city-level. These differences were analyzed to define new green hotspots in the compact city while furnishing a new perspective for sustainable city planning.

Improved methods are described for the isolation of pure, high molecular weight DNA from small and large scale cultures of filamentous fungi. The methods depend on the extraction of DNA under conditions which prevent nuclease activity and contamination by carbohydrate. The small scale method depends on enzymatic digestion of the wall whereas the large scale mathod uses partial damage followed by autolysis. High yields of DNA are obtained by both methods and the DNA is suitable for restriction analysis, Southern Blotting, RFLP analysis, dot blotting and the production of gene libraries. The small scale method can be used for the simultaneous analysis of multiple cultures.