This study provides direct evidence that SARS human coronavirus is capable of infecting the central nervous system, and that Mig might be involved in the brain immunopathology of SARS.

Induction of IP-10 is a critical event in the initiation of immune-mediated acute lung injury and lymphocyte apoptosis during the development of SARS. Superinfection after the immune injury is the main cause of death. The prompt elevation of interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 is a sign of superinfection, indicating a high risk of death.

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Although the efficacy of pharmacotherapy for tobacco dependence has been previously demonstrated, there is substantial variability among individuals in treatment response. We performed a systems-based candidate gene study of 1295 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 58 genes within the neuronal nicotinic receptor and dopamine systems to investigate their role in smoking cessation in a bupropion placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial. Putative functional variants were supplemented with tagSNPs within each gene. We used global tests of main effects and treatment interactions, adjusting the P-values for multiple correlated tests. An SNP (rs2072661) in the 3′ UTR region of the β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit (CHRNB2) has an impact on abstinence rates at the end of treatment (adjusted P = 0.01) and after a 6-month follow-up period (adjusted P = 0.0002). This latter P-value is also significant with adjustment for the number of genes tested. Independent of treatment at 6-month follow-up, individuals carrying the minor allele have substantially decreased the odds of quitting (OR = 0.31; 95% CI 0.18–0.55). Effect of estimates indicate that the treatment is more effective for individuals with the wild-type (OR = 2.14, 95% CI 1.20–3.81) compared with individuals carrying the minor allele (OR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.32–2.19), although this difference is only suggestive (P = 0.10). Furthermore, this SNP demonstrated a role in the time to relapse (P = 0.0002) and an impact on withdrawal symptoms at target quit date (TQD) (P = 0.0009). Overall, while our results indicate strong evidence for CHRNB2 in ability to quit smoking, these results require replication in an independent sample.

Estrogen has been reported to prevent development of cardiac hypertrophy in female rodent models and in humans. However, the mechanisms of sex steroid action are incompletely understood. We determined the cellular effects by which 17beta-estradiol (E2) inhibits angiotensin II (AngII)-induced cardiac hypertrophy in vivo. Two weeks of angiotensin infusion in female mice resulted in marked hypertrophy of the left ventricle, exacerbated by the loss of ovarian steroid hormones from oophorectomy. Hypertrophy was 51% reversed by the administration of E2 (insertion of 0.1 mg/21-d-release tablets). The effects of E2 were mainly mediated by the estrogen receptor (ER) beta-isoform, because E2 had little effect in ERbeta-null mice but comparably inhibited AngII-induced hypertrophy in wild-type or ERalpha-null mice. AngII induced a switch of myosin heavy chain production from alpha to beta, but this was inhibited by E2 via ERbeta. AngII-induced ERK activation was also inhibited by E2 through the beta-receptor. E2 stimulated brain natriuretic peptide protein expression and substantially prevented ventricular interstitial cardiac fibrosis (collagen deposition) as induced by AngII. Importantly, E2 inhibited calcineurin activity that was stimulated by AngII, related to E2 stimulating the modulatory calcineurin-interacting protein (MCIP) 1 gene and protein expression. E2 acting mainly through ERbeta mitigates the important signaling by AngII that produces cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in female mice.

Objective Evaluate nicotinic acetycholine receptor (nAChR) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) association with seven day point prevalence abstinence (abstinence) in randomized clinical trials of smoking cessation therapies (RCTs) in individuals grouped by pharmacotherapy randomization to inform the development of personalized smoking cessation therapy. Methods We quantified association of four SNPs at three nAChRs with abstinence in eight RCTs. Participants were 2,633 outpatient treatment-seeking, self-identified European ancestry individuals smoking ≥10 cigarettes per day, recruited via advertisement, prescribed pharmacotherapy, and provided with behavioral therapy. Interventions included nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), bupropion, varenicline, placebo or combined NRT and bupropion, and five modes of group and individual behavioral therapy. Outcome measures tested in multivariate logistic regression were end of treatment (EOT) and six month (6MO) abstinence, with demographic, behavioral and genetic covariates. Results “Risk” alleles previously associated with smoking heaviness were significantly (P<0.05) associated with reduced abstinence in the placebo pharmacotherapy group (PG) at 6MO [for rs588765 OR (95%CI) 0.41 (0.17–0.99)], and at EOT and at 6MO [for rs1051730, 0.42 (0.19–0.93) and 0.31 (0.12–0.80)], and with increased abstinence in the NRT PG at 6MO [for rs588765 2.07 (1.11–3.87) and for rs1051730 2.54 (1.29–4.99)]. We observed significant heterogeneity in rs1051730 effects (F=2.48, P=0.021) between PGs. Conclusions chr15q25.1 nAChR SNP risk alleles for smoking heaviness significantly increase relapse with placebo treatment and significantly increase abstinence with NRT. These SNP-PG associations require replication in independent samples for validation, and testing in larger sample sizes to evaluate whether similar effects occur in other PGs.

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Ma and colleagues identify CXXC5 as an epigenetic regulator required for maintaining the hypomethylation of a subset of CGIs, thereby promoting the expression of transcriptional factors such as IRF7 in pDCs to enable robust IFN response to viral infection.