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Tuberculosis in the TB endemic countries commonly manifests in the eye as tuberculous uveitis. There is a wide spectrum of the clinical manifestations of intraocular tuberculosis (IOTB). For want of any gold standard diagnostic tests or diagnostic criteria, the estimates of IOTB prevalence have varied greatly. None of the previously suggested guidelines for diagnosis of IOTB have been validated. We give definitions of clinical signs and diagnostic tests that have been used in the literature. Based on these, we propose a classification of IOTB comprising "confirmed IOTB," "probable IOTB," and "possible IOTB." This of necessity needs consensus among experts before carrying out studies to validate this classification.

BackgroundPrevious work has shown that the hypersaline-adapted archaeon, Halobacterium salinarum NRC-1, is highly resistant to oxidative stress caused by exposure to hydrogen peroxide, UV, and gamma radiation. Dynamic alteration of the gene regulatory network (GRN) has been implicated in such resistance. However, the molecular functions of transcription regulatory proteins involved in this response remain unknown.ResultsHere we have reanalyzed several existing GRN and systems biology datasets for H. salinarum to identify and characterize a novel winged helix-turn-helix transcription factor, VNG0258H, as a regulator required for reactive oxygen species resistance in this organism. This protein appears to be unique to the haloarchaea at the primary sequence level. High throughput quantitative growth assays in a deletion mutant strain implicate VNG0258H in extreme oxidative stress resistance. According to time course gene expression analyses, this transcription factor is required for the appropriate dynamic response of nearly 300 genes to reactive oxygen species damage from paraquat and hydrogen peroxide. These genes are predicted to function in repair of oxidative damage to proteins and DNA. In vivo DNA binding assays demonstrate that VNG0258H binds DNA to mediate gene regulation.ConclusionsTogether these results suggest that VNG0258H is a novel archaeal transcription factor that regulates gene expression to enable adaptation to the extremely oxidative, hypersaline niche of H. salinarum. We have therefore renamed VNG0258H as RosR, for reactive oxygen species regulator.

Apoptosis induction is an antiviral host response, however, influenza A virus (IAV) infection promotes host cell death. The nucleoprotein (NP) of IAV is known to contribute to viral pathogenesis, but its role in virus-induced host cell death was hitherto unknown. We observed that NP contributes to IAV infection induced cell death and heterologous expression of NP alone can induce apoptosis in human airway epithelial cells. The apoptotic effect of IAV NP was significant when compared with other known proapoptotic proteins of IAV. The cell death induced by IAV NP was executed through the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. We screened host cellular factors for those that may be targeted by NP for inducing apoptosis and identified human antiapoptotic protein Clusterin (CLU) as a novel interacting partner. The interaction between IAV NP and CLU was highly conserved and mediated through β-chain of the CLU protein. Also CLU was found to interact specifically with IAV NP and not with any other known apoptosis modulatory protein of IAV. CLU prevents induction of the intrinsic apoptosis pathway by binding to Bax and inhibiting its movement into the mitochondria. We found that the expression of IAV NP reduced the association between CLU and Bax in mammalian cells. Further, we observed that CLU overexpression attenuated NP-induced cell death and had a negative effect on IAV replication. Collectively, these findings indicate a new function for IAV NP in inducing host cell death and suggest a role for the host antiapoptotic protein CLU in this process.

Rapid and specific diagnosis of tubercular meningitis is of paramount importance to decrease morbidity and mortality. The aim of the study was to evaluate multiplex PCR using protein b, MPB 64, and IS6110 primers directed against M. tuberculosis complex for the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis (TBM). Multiplex PCR was performed on 18 TBM confirmed cases (culture was positive), 92 clinically suspected TBM cases and 100 non-TBM (control group) patients. Multiplex PCR had a sensitivity of 94.4% for confirmed cases and specificity of 100% for confirmed TBM cases. In 92 clinically diagnosed but unconfirmed TBM cases, multiplex PCR was positive in 84.78% cases. The overall sensitivity of microscopy, culture and multiplex cases were 1.81, 16.73, and 86.63% and specificity was 100, 100, and 100% respectively. Multiplex PCR using protein b, MPB 64, and IS6110 primers has a high sensitivity and specificity in diagnosis of tubercular meningitis.

BackgroundDouble-stranded RNA dependent protein kinase (PKR) is a key regulator of the anti-viral innate immune response in mammalian cells. PKR activity is regulated by a 58 kilo Dalton cellular inhibitor (P58IPK), which is present in inactive state as a complex with Hsp40 under normal conditions. In case of influenza A virus (IAV) infection, P58IPK is known to dissociate from Hsp40 and inhibit PKR activation. However the influenza virus component responsible for PKR inhibition through P58IPK activation was hitherto unknown.Principal FindingsHuman heat shock 40 protein (Hsp40) was identified as an interacting partner of Influenza A virus nucleoprotein (IAV NP) using a yeast two-hybrid screen. This interaction was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation studies from mammalian cells transfected with IAV NP expressing plasmid. Further, the IAV NP-Hsp40 interaction was validated in mammalian cells infected with various seasonal and pandemic strains of influenza viruses. Cellular localization studies showed that NP and Hsp40 co-localize primarily in the nucleus. During IAV infection in mammalian cells, expression of NP coincided with the dissociation of P58IPK from Hsp40 and decrease PKR phosphorylation. We observed that, plasmid based expression of NP in mammalian cells leads to decrease in PKR phosphorylation. Furthermore, inhibition of NP expression during influenza virus replication led to PKR activation and concomitant increase in eIF2α phosphorylation. Inhibition of NP expression also led to reduced IRF3 phosphorylation, enhanced IFN β production and concomitant reduction of virus replication. Taken together our data suggest that NP is the viral factor responsible for P58IPK activation and subsequent inhibition of PKR-mediated host response during IAV infection.SignificanceOur findings demonstrate a novel role of IAV NP in inhibiting PKR-mediated anti-viral host response and help us understand P58IPK mediated inhibition of PKR activity during IAV infection.

BackgroundThe objective of this study was to report the use of multi-targeted polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the diagnosis of presumed tubercular uveitis. Multi-targeted PCR using three targets specific for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, i.e., IS6110, MPB64, and protein b, was performed on intraocular fluid samples of 25 subjects. Nine had presumed tubercular uveitis, six had intraocular inflammation secondary to a nontubercular etiology (disease controls), and ten had no evidence of intraocular inflammation (normal controls). As described previously, response to antitubercular therapy was considered as the gold standard.ResultsMulti-targeted PCR was positive in seven out of nine patients with presumed tubercular uveitis and negative in all normal and disease controls. The sensitivity and specificity were 77.77% and 100%, respectively. For the diagnosis of presumed tubercular uveitis, multi-targeted PCR had a positive predictive value of 100% and a negative predictive value of 88.88%.ConclusionMulti-targeted PCR can be a valuable tool for diagnosing presumed tubercular uveitis.

Because iron toxicity and deficiency are equally life threatening, maintaining intracellular iron levels within a narrow optimal range is critical for nearly all known organisms. However, regulatory mechanisms that establish homeostasis are not well understood in organisms that dwell in environments at the extremes of pH, temperature, and salinity. Under conditions of limited iron, the extremophile Halobacterium salinarum, a salt-loving archaeon, mounts a specific response to scavenge iron for growth. We have identified and characterized the role of two transcription factors (TFs), Idr1 and Idr2, in regulating this important response. An integrated systems analysis of TF knockout gene expression profiles and genome-wide binding locations in the presence and absence of iron has revealed that these TFs operate collaboratively to maintain iron homeostasis. In the presence of iron, Idr1 and Idr2 bind near each other at 24 loci in the genome, where they are both required to repress some genes. By contrast, Idr1 and Idr2 are both necessary to activate other genes in a putative a feed forward loop. Even at loci bound independently, the two TFs target different genes with similar functions in iron homeostasis. We discuss conserved and unique features of the Idr1–Idr2 system in the context of similar systems in organisms from other domains of life.