Analysis of the dislocation activity of Mg-Zn-Y alloy using synchrotron radiation under tensile loading.

An understanding of deformation behavior and texture development is crucial for the formability improvement of Mg alloys. X-ray line profile analysis using the convolutional multiple whole profile (CMWP) fitting method allows the experimental determination of dislocation densities separately for different Burgers vectors up to a high deformation degree. A wider use of this technique still requires exploration and testing of various materials. In this regard, the reliability of the CMWP fitting method for Mg-Zn-Y alloys, in terms of the dislocation activity during tensile deformation, was verified in the present study by the combined analysis of electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) investigation and visco-plastic self-consistent (VPSC) simulation. The predominant activity of non-basal 〈a〉 dislocation slip was revealed by CMWP analysis, and Schmid factor analysis from the EBSD results supported the higher potential of non-basal dislocation slip in comparison with basal 〈a〉 dislocation slip. Moreover, the relative slip activities obtained by the VPSC simulation also show a similar trend to those obtained from the CMWP evaluation.

Treatment of progressive supranuclear palsy with autologous adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Progressive supranuclear palsy is a relentlessly progressive neurodegenerative disorder and is clinically characterized by parkinsonism. Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells have recently demonstrated the possibility of treating neurological disorders. Therefore, autologous adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells transplantation can be an alternative method for treating progressive supranuclear palsy. CASE PRESENTATION: This study was approved by the Korea Food and Drug Administration through the Emergency Use Investigational New Drug Application. A 71-year-old Asian man from South Korea with progressive supranuclear palsy was treated with five intravenous infusions (each time 2×108 cells) and four intrathecal infusions (each time 5×107 cells) with autologous adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells expanded under good manufacturing practice conditions. Clinical examinations were performed immediately before treatment and throughout the six months of follow-up. The tests included: 1) Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Rating Scale; 2) Berg Balance Scale; 3) Korean Mini Mental State Examination; 4) Modified Barthel Index; 5) grip strength; 6) Box and Block Test; and 7) Nine-Hole Peg Test.The Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Rating Scale results gradually decreased, and the clinical rating scale scores of the Berg Balance Scale, Korean Mini Mental State Examination, and Modified Barthel Index gradually increased. Grip strength was maintained. Performance in the Box and Block Test and Nine-Hole Peg Test improved after adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells treatment compared to baseline throughout the six months of follow-up. Except for the intermittent mild fever and transient elevated blood pressure, the treatment of our patient with progressive supranuclear palsy with autologous adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells showed no significant adverse events, and delayed the progression of neurological deficits by achieving functional improvement in the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: These results are encouraging and hopeful for further studies in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy using autologous adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells as a safe and effective therapy. This case report is the first known study of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells safely delaying the progression of progressive supranuclear palsy with functional improvement during the follow-up period.

Transplantation of CTLA4Ig gene-transduced adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells reduces inflammatory immune response and improves Th1/Th2 balance in experimental autoimmune thyroiditis.

BACKGROUND: Autoimmune thyroiditis is one of common organ-specific autoimmune disease. The aim of this study was to observe the effect of adipose tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells (ATMSC) and CTLA4Ig gene-transduced ATMSC on autoimmune thyroiditis. METHODS: Experimental autoimmune thyroiditis was induced by immunization with thyroglobulin. Animals were divided into three groups: (i) a half million of human ATMSC, (ii) a half million of murine CLTA4Ig gene-transduced human ATMSC (CTLA4Ig-MSC), or (iii) normal saline (as control), which were administered intravenously four times within a 3-week period. Blood and tissue samples were collected 1 week after the last cell transplantation. RESULTS: The absorbance of serum thyroglobulin autoantibody (TgAA) in the CTLA4Ig-MSC group was considerably lower than those in other groups. In culture supernatant of LPS-stimulated spleen cells, both of the MSC-treated groups showed significantly lower absorbances of TgAA than the control. Flow cytometric analysis of spleen cells revealed a significant decrease in the proportion of CD3+ and CD11b in the CTLA4Ig-MSC group compared to the other groups. Lymphocyte infiltration in the thyroid glands was also dramatically decreased in both of MSC-treated groups. Cytokine analysis showed that ATMSC decreased the production of proinflammatory cytokines and improved the Th1/Th2 balance by down-regulating Th1 cytokines. CONCLUSION: Although CTLA4Ig-MSC transplantation had better result in reduction of serum TgAA, both of ATMSC and CTLA4Ig-MSC transplantations are promising treatments for autoimmune thyroiditis judging from the results of histopathology and cytokine analysis. They may be attractive candidates for treating organ-specific autoimmune disease.

Genetically diverse group C rotaviruses cause sporadic infection in Korean calves.

This study examined the prevalence and genetic diversity of the bovine group C rotaviruses (GCRVs) in a total of 127 diarrhea fecal samples of calves from 52 Korean native beef calf herds using RT-PCR and nested PCR. Overall, seven of the 127 fecal samples (5.5%) from seven of the 52 herds (13.5%) tested positive for bovine GCRVs only by nested PCR. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses of a partial VP6 gene showed that Korean bovine GCRVs had marked genetic diversity; two Korean strains belonged to the bovine lineage, whereas five Korean strains belonged to the porcine lineage. These results suggest that the genetically diverse bovine GCRVs cause sporadic infections in diarrheic calves in South Korea.

Development of one-step real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assays for rapid detection of porcine group C rotaviruses.

Although the widespread occurrence of porcine group C rotaviruses (GCRV) is assumed, precise prevalence remains largely unknown because of the absence of reliable, specific, and rapid diagnostic methods. To detect and quantify porcine GCRV, the authors evaluated and optimized SYBR Green and TaqMan real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays and applied them to 108 piglet fecal samples. Using serially diluted standard RNA transcripts of porcine GCRV VP6 gene, both SYBR Green and TaqMan real-time RT-PCR assays detected as few as 1 x 10(1) genome copies/microl (correlation coefficiency >0.99), whereas conventional RT-PCR detected 1.0 x 10(3) copies/microl. In addition, the conventional assay detected porcine GCRV in 24% (26/108) of fecal samples, whereas the detection rates of both SYBR Green and TaqMan assays were 72% (78 of 108) and 64% (70 of 108), respectively. The current study indicated that both real-time RT-PCR assays were reliable, specific, and rapid methods for the detection of porcine GCRV in porcine fecal samples.

Comparison of cytokine expression in mesenchymal stem cells from human placenta, cord blood, and bone marrow.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are capable of self-renewal and differentiation into lineages of mesenchymal tissues that are currently under investigation for a variety of therapeutic applications. The purpose of this study was to compare cytokine gene expression in MSCs from human placenta, cord blood (CB) and bone marrow (BM). The cytokine expression profiles of MSCs from BM, CB and placenta (amnion, decidua) were compared by proteome profiler array analysis. The cytokines that were expressed differently, in each type of MSC, were analyzed by real-time PCR. We evaluated 36 cytokines. Most types of MSCs had a common expression pattern including MIF (GIF, DER6), IL-8 (CXCL8), Serpin E1 (PAI-1), GROalpha(CXCL1), and IL-6. MCP-1, however, was expressed in both the MSCs from the BM and the amnion. sICAM-1 was expressed in both the amnion and decidua MSCs. SDF-1 was expressed only in the BM MSCs. Real-time PCR demonstrated the expression of the cytokines in each of the MSCs. The MSCs from bone marrow, placenta (amnion and decidua) and cord blood expressed the cytokines differently. These results suggest that cytokine induction and signal transduction are different in MSCs from different tissues.

Detection and molecular characterization of porcine group C rotaviruses in South Korea.

Group C rotaviruses (GCRVs) cause acute diarrhea in humans and animals worldwide and the evidence for a possible zoonotic role of GCRVs has been recently provided. However, there is little evidence of porcine GCRV infections or of their genetic diversity in South Korea. We examined 137 diarrheic fecal specimens from 55 farms collected from six provinces. RT-PCR utilizing primer pairs specific for the GCRV VP6 gene detected GCRV-positive reactions in 36 (26.2%) diarrheic fecal samples. Of these, 17 samples (12.4%) tested positive for porcine GCRVs alone and 19 samples (13.8%) were also positive for other pathogens. Other enteric pathogens except for GCRV were detected in 64 feces samples (46.7%) and no enteric pathogens were evident in 37 feces samples (27.0%). Phylogenetic and sequence homology analyses of GCRV partial VP6 gene between 23 Korean and other known porcine GCRVs demonstrated that Korean strains belonged to the porcine lineage. Furthermore, one Korean porcine strain shared the highest nucleotide (89.7-89.0%) and deduced amino acid sequence (92.9-93.9%) identities with bovine GCRV strains and was placed in the bovine GCRV lineage indicative of bovine origin. In conclusion, porcine GCRV infections are widespread in piglets with diarrhea in South Korea. The infecting porcine GCRVs mostly belong to the porcine lineage with the exception of one bovine-like GCRV, which possibly originated from bovine GCRV due to interspecies transmission.

Comparison of immunological responses to the various types circumsporozoite proteins of Plasmodium vivax in malaria patients of Korea.

We compared the seroreactivities against four synthetic peptide antigens (VK210, VK247, Korean type 1, and type 2) and a full length recombinant circumsporozoite protein (CSP) antigen of Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax ) in samples of sixty-three tertian malaria patients in Korea. Among the various CSP antigens, the full-length recombinant CSP showed the highest reactivity in malaria-exposed groups (85.7%, 54/63). No significant difference was found in the percentage of malaria patients with antibodies among four peptides examined, except a full-length recombinant CSP. Absorbance values from the peptide-based ELISA showed high correlations (r > 0.9, P < 0.05) at significant values. Five sera without the immunoaffinity against peptides were reactive towards the full-length recombinant CSP in ELISA. Sera, which were not reactive to a full length recombinant CSP antigen, were not recognized by any of peptide based ELISA. These data suggested that peptide structures included in Korean isolates, GNGAGGQAA, and VK247 peptides had immune reactivity and recognition epitopes. Among the antigens, GNGAGGQAA was less recognized by patients exposed to Korean strains of P. vivax in comparison to the VK210 structures.

MHC class II engagement inhibits CD99-induced apoptosis and up-regulation of T cell receptor and MHC molecules in human thymocytes and T cell line.

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II surface levels on thymocytes increase after CD99 ligation. The functional implication of the up-regulated MHC class II was assessed by engaging MHC class II on CD99-ligated cells. MHC class II engagement down-modulated surface levels of T cell receptor and MHC molecules, and inhibited apoptosis of CD99-ligated thymocytes and CEM tumor cells, antagonistic effects on the previously reported CD99 functions. The results were reproducible regardless of the order of ligation of MHC class II and CD99. We suggest that signaling via MHC class II on CD99-engaged cells might be involved in the thymic maturation process by damping CD99 ligation effects.