Galectin-3 is a b-galactoside-binding lectin implicated in the fine-tuning of innate immunity. Rhodococcus equi, a facultative intracellular bacterium of macrophages, causes severe granulomatous bronchopneumonia in young horses and immunocompromised humans. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of galectin-3 in the innate resistance mechanism against R. equi infection. The bacterial challenge of galectin-3-deficient mice (gal3 À/À ) and their wild-type counterpart (gal3 1/1 ) revealed that the LD 50 for the gal3 À/À mice was about seven times higher than that for the gal3 1/1 mice. When challenged with a sublethal dose, gal3 À/À mice showed lower bacteria counts and higher production of IL-12 and IFN-c production, besides exhibiting a delayed although increased inflammatory reaction. Gal3 À/À macrophages exhibited a decreased frequency of bacterial replication and survival, and higher transcript levels of IL-1b, IL-6, IL-10, TLR2 and MyD88. R. equi-infected gal3 1/1 macrophages showed decreased expression of TLR2, whereas R. equi-infected gal3 À/À macrophages showed enhanced expression of this receptor. Furthermore, galectin-3 deficiency in macrophages may be responsible for the higher IL-1b serum levels detected in infected gal3 À/À mice. Therefore galectin-3 may exert a regulatory role in innate immunity by diminishing IL-1b production and thus affecting resistance to R. equi infection.Key words: Bacterial infections . Galectin-3 . IL-1b . Innate immunity . Toll-like receptor IntroductionActivation of resident macrophages is one of the earliest events in the cellular host response to microbial invasion, and macrophage-derived cytokines play a key role in the initiation and amplification of the inflammatory process as well as in the regulation of the immune response. On the basis of its capacity to recognize carbohydrates and its abundant expression in activated macrophages [1,2], galectin-3 has been considered an important factor in the interaction of host cells with microorganisms [3]. Extracellular galectin-3 is able to activate cells [4][5][6][7][8][9] cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions [10][11][12], and induce phagocyte migration [13]. However, galectin-3 also functions inside the cells and can contribute to macrophage functions that are essential in the cellular response during the infectious process, such as cell survival [14] and phagocytosis [15].As a result of its ability to recognize glycans containing b-galactoside, galectin-3 binds to glycoconjugates synthesized by several pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis [16], Leishmania major [17], Trypanosoma cruzi [18], Schistosoma mansoni [19] and Candida albicans [20]. Recently, galectin-3 and TLR2 have been found to be associated in C. albicans-infected differentiated macrophages, an association that has been considered essential for TLR2-dependent cytokine production in response to the fungal infection [21]. Therefore, galectin-3 has been considered as a novel pattern recognition receptor, acting either alone or in ...

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Two soybean (Glycine max) cultivars were used in this study, Ocepar 4, rated as moderately resistant to Meloidogyne incognita race 3 but susceptible to M. javanica, and 'BR 16', susceptible to both nematodes. The effect of nematodes infection on the uptake and transport of N, P and Ca to the shoot was studied in plants growing in a split root system. The upper half was inoculated with 0, 3,000, 9,000 or 27,000 eggs/plant while the lower half received 15N, 32P or 45Ca. Infected plants showed an increase of root but a decrease of shoot mass with increasing inoculum levels. In general, total endogenous nutrients increased in the roots and tended to decrease in the shoots with increasing inoculum levels. When concentrations were calculated, there was an increase in the three nutrients in the roots, and an increase of Ca but no significant variation of N and P was observed in the shoots. The total amount of 15N in the roots increased at the highest inoculum levels but 32P and 45Ca decreased. In the shoots there was a reduction of 32P and 45Ca. The specific concentrations of the labelled nutrients (abundance or radioactivity/tissue mass) also showed a decrease of 32P and 45Ca in the shoots and roots of infected plants and an increase of 15N in the shoots. Considering that overall nutrient concentrations reflect cumulative nutrient uptake and the data from labelled elements gave information at a specific moment of the infection, thus nematodes do interfere with nutrient uptake and translocation.

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Objetivo: Relatar 20 pacientes portadores de dermolipoma e 10 pacientes com prolapso de gordura orbitária, ressaltando aspectos que podem auxiliar para o diferencial clínico destas duas entidades. Métodos: Foi realizado estudo retrospectivo de 12 anos, avaliando-se portadores de dermolipoma e de prolapso de gordura orbitária, atendidos na Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu-SP. Resultados: No período foram detectados 20 (1,6 pacientes/ano) portadores de dermolipoma e 10 (0,8 pacientes/ano), de prolapso de gordura orbitária. Quanto ao sexo, o dermolipoma acometeu mais mulheres e o prolapso de gordura orbital ocorreu mais em homens. Nos portadores de dermolipoma, a lesão foi encontrada no canto externo em todos os pacientes, sendo bilateral em apenas um caso; nos com prolapso de gordura orbital, a lesão localizava-se no canto externo em 9 dos 10 portadores. Sete pacientes com dermolipoma possuíam associação com outras doenças oculares e em dez pacientes a lesão estava presente desde o nascimento. Conclusão: O dermolipoma é semelhante ao prolapso de gordura orbitária quanto à localização e aparência clínica. Porém, o dermolipoma está presente desde o nascimento, ocorre mais no sexo feminino, podendo estar associado a outras doenças oculares. O prolapso de gordura orbitária é alteração que ocorre em indivíduos idosos, geralmente do sexo masculino. Dermolipoma and orbital fat prolapse -two distinct entities

The effect of Heterodera glycines on photosynthesis, leaf area and yield of soybean (Glycine max) was studied in two experiments carried out under greenhouse condition. Soybean seeds were sown in 1.5 l (Experiment 1) or 5.0 l (Experiment 2) clay pots filled with a mixture of field soil + sand (1:1) sterilized with methyl bromide. Eight days after sowing, seedlings were thinned to one per pot, and one day later inoculated with 0; 1.200; 3.600; 10.800; 32.400 or 97.200 J2 juveniles of H. glycines. Experiment 1 was carried out during the first 45 days of the inoculation while Experiment 2 was conducted during the whole cycle of the crop. Measurements of photosynthetic rate, stomatic conductance, chlorophyll fluorescence, leaf color, leaf area, and chlorophyll leaf content were taken at ten-day intervals throughout the experiments. Data on fresh root weight, top dry weight, grain yield, number of eggs/gram of roots, and nematode reproduction factor were obtained at the end of the trials. Each treatment was replicated ten times. There was a marked reduction in both photosynthetic rate and chlorophyll content, as well as an evident yellowing of the leaves of the infected plants. Even at the lowest Pi, the effects of H. glycines on the top dry weight or grain yield were quite severe. Despite the parasitism, soybean yield was highly correlated with the integrated leaf area and, accordingly, the use of this parameter was suggested for the design of potential damage prediction models that include physiological aspects of nematode-diseased plants.

In calves, neonatal mortality and disease susceptibility are greatly influenced by failure in passive immunization, normally provided by colostrum ingestion just after birth. Formulations projected to replace natural colostrum have not been successful, and one of the possible reasons for such failure is that orally administered Ig are probably digested in the gastrointestinal tract, so they are not absorbed as intact functional molecules. With the aim of finding an adequate colostrum substitute, we used columns of immobilized jacalin, a lectin known by its ability to bind O-linked oligosaccharides, to obtain a colostral Ig population putatively protected against enzymatic cleavage by the presence of sugar chains. Immunoglobulin G1 is a major constituent of colostrum Ig bound to jacalin (JB-Ig). This preparation contains 10% of the total colostral Ig and is typically 3 to 6 times more resistant to pepsin digestion than the Ig contained in the fraction that is not bound to jacalin, which presumably does not contain O-glycans. Mass spectrometry analysis demonstrated that the tryptic peptides obtained from JB-Ig and unbound Ig were similar, indicating that their distinct susceptibility to enzyme hydrolysis was associated with differences in their sugar chains. Therefore, the present research suggests that the bovine colostrum JB-Ig has potential application in the immunotherapy of neonatal calves that have not been supplied with colostrum.

Although several generalist species of Pergalumna are known to be nematode predators, the potential of oribatid mites as natural enemies of phytonematodes has been underestimated. The objective of this work was to estimate the consumption rate of a Pergalumna sp. when feeding on two major pest nematodes, Meloidogyne javanica and Pratylenchus coffeae, under laboratory conditions. A new method was used, in which live nematodes are offered to mites and subsequently consumption is quantified based on the sclerotized, well preserved structures in the mite's fecal pellets. The assay was evaluated during 5 days, at 25 degrees C and 96% relative humidity, with three replicates for each nematode species. Every replicate consisted of a group of four mites isolated in an arena, to which 400 nematodes were transferred daily. The daily produced fecal pellets were mounted in Hoyer's medium for examination under a microscope. The nematode buccal stylets and cephalic frameworks were counted to estimate the number of nematodes consumed. It was estimated that a single mite daily ingested 18.3 +/- 0.8 (mean +/- SE) M. javanica (J(2) juveniles) or 41.6 +/- 7.2 P. coffeae (juveniles + adults), the maximal daily consumption being 34 M. javanica and 73 P. coffeae. The method showed to be practical, precise and suitable for laboratory studies in which nematophagous mites classified as engulfers are included.