SUMMARYLittle data are available on cellular immune responses during infection with hepatitis E virus (HEV). We therefore mapped CD4 T-cell epitopes in open reading frame (ORF)2 and ORF3 proteins of HEV using lymphocyte proliferation assays and overlapping peptide libraries. Proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 40 patients with acute hepatitis E and 21 healthy controls with recombinant HEV ORF2 protein or pools of overlapping HEV ORF2/ORF3 peptides was measured. HLA-DQB1 and HLA-DRB1 alleles were also determined. Mononuclear cells from patients with hepatitis E more often showed significant proliferation on stimulation with recombinant ORF2 protein than controls (32/40 vs 7/21), and had higher median (range) stimulation indices [2.6 (0.9-15.2) vs 1.3 (0.6-12.9)]. Peptide pools corresponding to amino acids 73-156, 289-372, 361-444 and 505-588 of HEV ORF2 protein were associated with significant proliferation. Individual peptides in these pools did not show a clear pattern of stimulation. HEV ORF3 peptide pools did not induce proliferative responses. Lymphocyte proliferation in response to the peptide pool corresponding to amino acids 289-372 of HEV ORF2 protein was associated with presence of HLA-DRB1 allele 010X. These data on mapping of T-cell epitopes in HEV proteins may prove useful for designing HEV vaccines and for studying the immunopathogenesis of hepatitis E.

No abstract

Background: Susceptibility to lung cancer has been shown to be modulated by inheritance of polymorphic genes encoding cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) and glutathione S transferases (GSTM1 and GSTT1), which are involved in the bioactivation and detoxification of environmental toxins. This might be a factor in the variation in lung cancer incidence with ethnicity. Materials and Methods: We conducted a case-control study of 218 northern Indian lung cancer patients along with 238 healthy controls, to assess any association between CYP1A1, GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphisms, either separately or in combination, with the likelihood of development of Lung cancer in our population. Results: We observed a significant difference in the GSTT1 null deletion frequency in this population when compared with other populations (OR=1.87, 95%CI: 1.25-2.80-0.73, P=0.002). However, GSTM1 null genotype was found associated with lung cancer in the non-smoking subgroup. (P=0.170). Conclusions: Our study showed the GSTT1 null polymorphism to be associated with smoking-induced lung cancer and the GSTM1 null polymorphism to have a link with non-smoking related lung cancer.

IL-1RN *2 allele appears to be significantly associated with the COPD female patients and TNF-α-308A allele is a risk factor for the development of COPD.

No abstract

Considering the magnificent optical and electric properties of polyaniline (PANI), in this study, PANI, PANI/MFe2O4 (M = Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn) composites were studied. Polyaniline and their composites with ferrites were prepared via chemical oxidation method. Ferrites were synthesized through co-precipitation method. Structural properties were investigated using X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) respectively. Their results reveal the semi-crystalline nature of synthesized materials with the crystallite size in the range of 21.78 to 37.20 nm. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis also confirmed the formation of all the nano-sized synthesized composites. In the UV-Vis analysis, the optical band gap of composites is reducing upto 1.01 eV for PANI-cobalt ferrite as compared to pure PANI (2.38 eV). The inclusions of ferrites particles have caused an enhancement in electrical conductivity of pure PANI. It is 3*10-4 S/cm at high frequency for PANI and increased upto 5*10-4 S/cm for PANI-Zinc Ferrite composite. The investigated data shows the enhanced optical and electric properties of PANI/ferrites composites to a great extent, making them promising materials for different applications.

No abstract

No abstract