IAI Infection And Immunity

Tuberculosis (TB) is the most common opportunistic disease and a potentially fatal complication among immunocompromised individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Effective vaccination against TB in persons with HIV has been considered unlikely because of the central role that CD4 cells play in controlling tuberculous infections. Here we show that the vaccination of CD8−/− mice with a TB DNA vaccine cocktail did not significantly enhance protective responses to a Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. In contrast, immunization with a DNA vaccine cocktail or with the current TB vaccine, Mycobacterium bovis BCG, induced considerable antituberculosis protective immunity in immune-deficient mice lacking CD4 cells. In vaccinated CD4−/− animals, substantially reduced bacterial burdens in organs and much improved lung pathology were seen 1 month after an aerogenic M. tuberculosis challenge. Importantly, the postchallenge mean times to death of vaccinated CD4−/− mice were significantly extended (mean with DNA cocktail, 172 ± 7 days; mean with BCG, 156 ± 22 days) compared to that of naïve CD4−/− mice (33 ± 6 days). Furthermore, the treatment of DNA-vaccinated CD4−/− mice with an anti-CD8 or anti-gamma interferon (IFN-γ) antibody significantly reduced the effect of immunization, and neither IFN-γ−/− nor tumor necrosis factor receptor-deficient mice were protected by DNA immunization; therefore, the primary vaccine-induced protective mechanism in these immune-deficient mice likely involves the secretion of cytokines from activated CD8 cells. The substantial CD8-mediated protective immunity that was generated in the absence of CD4 cells suggests that it may be possible to develop effective TB vaccines for use in HIV-infected populations. Read more...
pubmedcentral.nih.gov/

What Genes Did We Lose to Become Human? Did we really?

Genetics

Trace your Roots

http://www.dnaancestryproject.com/

Snakes Venom

Biology / Biochemistry News
Article Date: 22 Dec 2007
Venoms from different snake families may have many deadly ingredients in common, more than was previously thought. A study published in the online open access journal BMC Molecular Biology has unexpectedly discovered three-finger toxins in a subspecies of the Massasauga Rattlesnake, as well as evidence for a novel toxin genes resulting from gene fusion. Susanta Pahari from National University of Singapore, Singapore (currently working at Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College, Bangalore, India) used venom glands from a rare rattlesnake that lives in arid and desert grasslands. Known as Desert Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii), this pitviper is a subspecies of the North American Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus).

Together with Stephen Mackessy from the University of Northern Colorado, USA and R. Manjunatha Kini from National University of Singapore, Singapore, Pahari constructed a cDNA library of the snake's venom gland and created 576 tagged sequences. A cocktail of recognized venom toxin sequences was detected in the library, but the venom also contained three-finger toxin-like transcripts, a family of poisons thought only to occur in another family of snakes (Elapidae). The team also spotted a novel toxin-like transcript generated by the fusion of two individual toxin genes, a mechanism not previously observed in toxin evolution. Toxin diversity is usually the result of gene duplication and subsequently neofunctionalization is achieved through several point mutations (called accelerated evolution) on the surface of the protein. Pahari says "In addition to gene duplication, exon shuffling or transcriptional splicing may also contribute to generating the diversity of toxins and toxin isoforms observed among snake venoms." Previously, researchers identified venom compounds using protein chemistry or individual gene cloning methods. However, less abundant toxins were often missed.

The library method has now revealed new toxin genes and even new families of toxins. Taking low abundance toxins into consideration shows advanced snakes' venoms actually have a greater similarity than previously recognized. Snake venoms are complex mixtures of pharmacologically active proteins and peptides. Treating snake venom victims can be complicated because of the variation between venoms even within snake families. Kini says "Such a diversity of toxins provides a gold mine of bioactive polypeptides, which could aid the development of novel therapeutic agents." Read more...

• http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/92363.php

Is it true?

By Ben Hirschler Fri Nov 30, 3:28 PM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - Genetic tests to assess disease risk are proliferating but many are a waste of money and tell people little more than they would know from studying family history, medical experts said on Friday.

A host of companies now offer tests, typically costing hundreds of dollars, to calculate genetic risks for common conditions like cancer, diabetes and heart disease that involve multiple genes.

But Christine Patch, a genetic counselor at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and a member of Britain's Human Genetics Commission, said most had little clinical relevance.

"My message is you are wasting your money," she told a news briefing.

People also faced either unnecessary anxiety, if a test showed a raised risk, or false reassurance, if they were given an all-clear, she added.

Paul Pharoah, from the Cancer Research UK department of oncology at Cambridge University, said real strides were being made in science but researchers still did not know enough about enough genes for tests to be really useful.

Scientists have linked a growing number of genes to common diseases but these genes typically interact in a complicated fashion and their ultimate effect is influenced by environmental factors in ways that are poorly understood.

GENOME-WIDE SEARCH

The field of genetic testing has traditionally involved looking at a few specific genes.

But that is changing with the launch of new genome-wide searches that promise a brave new world of targeted healthcare, in which each individual can see his or her genetic code.

Two companies, Iceland's Decode Genetics Inc and 23andMe, a U.S. firm funded by Google Inc, launched rival services earlier this month offering people a glimpse of their entire genome for just under $1,000.

A third unlisted U.S. company, Navigenics, is set to join the fray shortly.

Stuart Hogarth of the Institute for Science and Society at University of Nottingham said the entry of these new players, with substantial financial backing, highlighted the growing commercialization of the gene testing business.

The risk, however, was that business development plans were running ahead of science, while regulators were left floundering with an inadequate system of oversight.

"We still do not have a regulatory framework that can control this burgeoning field," Hogarth said.

"In the absence of such a regulatory system, we are in severe danger of losing public confidence in what is a very promising and very exciting field of science."

The field of genetic testing has been revolutionized not only by scientific breakthroughs but also by the development of smart chips from the likes of Affymetrix Inc and Illumina Inc, which can test DNA at various sites along a person's genome.

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Rory Channing)

Hepatitis - a killer disease!

• http://www-hepatitis.net/

Symptoms

• http://www.hepctherapy.net/

How stupid!

What? Just a scrape from the inside of your cheek, you can mail in the sample to a lab for the genetic analysis plus several hundreds of dollars! This is a scam! Beware!

Source:

• theglobalmail.com

Cranberry Cocktail

250 ml (1 cup) cranberry juice or cocktail one in the morning and one at night, to stave off such infections. like UTI- urinary tract infection.

Source:
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20030329/food.asp

DNA tests show hospital mixed up babies

OMG! Your baby is not yours? I'm sorry, I got carried away with my emotion. Ah...negligence could be avoided if...

Source:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2188020,00.html

Biological & Mechanical realms

By A. Chris Gajilan
ROCKVILLE, Maryland (CNN) -- Biologist-entrepreneur J. Craig Venter is part of a new kind of scientific explorer whose uncharted territory was his own genes.
J. Craig Venter says knowing his DNA gives him incentive to stick to healthy habits.
Venter has just published almost all 6 billion letters, or 96 percent, of his own personal genetic code in the journal PLoS Biology. From diseases to personality traits, it's the most comprehensive human genome to date. Venter's gene map provides a new understanding of his genetic destiny, according to the DNA inherited from both his father and his mother.

Venter says it's just the beginning of a new era of personal genomics. "For the first time, we can answer almost any question of what's genetic, what's the environment. Our genes can tell us probabilities of what might happen and give us a chance to do something about it."
Today, Venter probably knows more about his own biology than any other human being. But as it stands now, the little that is understood about DNA is related to disease. For now, much of his insight is bad news.

His father's fatal heart attack may have been an early clue of heart disease risk, but his genome has now given him a glimpse of at least three genes linked to increased heart attack risk.
Venter says it gives him more motivation than just a simple family history. "In my case it gives me a little bit more motivation to try and persistently stick with healthy habits because you don't have the excuse of saying ... you know, I don't really have those traits. ... I know what is in my genetic code," he says. J. Craig Venter talks to Dr. Sanjay Gupta about the journey to mapping his own DNA. »

He's also identified a gene linked to Alzheimer's disease. It was a surprise to him, given that he had absolutely no family history of the illness. Now, he takes statins, or drugs that lower the cholesterol in the blood, because of their proven beneficial heart effects and possible memory protection.
Venter says he takes all the new discoveries in stride. "I'll be watching it obviously and looking for preventative ideas or hints of it. I'm not afraid of it in the sense that I feel it's a sentence, because I know that it is a statistical probability."
So far, he's found genetic proof of links to blindness, alcoholism, lactose intolerance, substance abuse, hypertension, obesity, even the type of earwax he has.

But the genome is far from perfect. He doesn't see it as an absolute, but rather as a clue. It's an indicator of risk, but not a certainty. For example, Venter has a normal risk for skin cancer, but still he recently battled melanoma.
The road to personal discovery has been long and contentious for Venter. In 2000, Venter led a private team that raced the publicly funded Human Genome Project to complete the first working drafts of the human genome, creating a blueprint for the DNA of all humanity. The public project eventually took 13 years and $3 billion to complete. It was a composite of 269 people's DNA.

As then-president of the private company Celera Genomics, Venter matched the public effort at a fraction of the cost and the time. Celera's genome was a composite of five people's DNA. Years later, it was revealed that much of the genome was, in fact, his own.
Don't Miss
· 360 Blog Venter reflects on seeing his own DNA

Then-President Bill Clinton declared the race a tie, pronouncing the result "the most important, most wondrous map ever produced by humankind."
Since then, Venter has left Celera and has started the J. Craig Venter Institute, which is looking for a faster way to crack the DNA code. Over the years, he has used the Celera work and $10 million to analyze DNA, including his own.

Given his past, Venter says he has carved out an unlikely place in history for himself. He says he almost flunked out of high school and spent most of youth surfing in California. He would later serve as a medic in Vietnam and eventually choose to become a scientist.
An avid diver and sailor, he's just finished a trip around the world. Between his adventure-seeking and high-risk business moves, he as well as his friends and family find it surprising that he doesn't have the gene type associated with risk taking.
He stresses that his genome is not so much about vanity, but understanding the complex balance between nature and nurture.

"It's not just straight-up determinism. The original thinking was we could really go into a preventive medicine paradigm," says Venter.
The idea is simple. Calculate the genetic probability of getting a disease and your chances at treating or beating it are better. Many genetic tests already exist for breast cancer, heart disease and diabetes, but they aren't always that reliable or predictive.

Your Health Tools
· MayoClinic.com: Health Library
· Healthology: Health Video Library
Venter and other geneticists think they're going to get exponentially better at providing more people a look at their genetic map. As the era of personal DNA sequencing evolves, several groups are racing to find new, cheaper and faster ways to map an individual's DNA. The nonprofit X Prize Foundation is offering $10 million to the first team that can sequence the DNA of 100 people within 10 days.

Dr. George Church, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, is working on a DNA test that would identify for the consumer 1 percent of his or her DNA at a cost of $1,000. He says that someday soon, people may be checking their DNA maps as they do their stock portfolios -- constantly adjusting to everyday developments and new gene discoveries.

"You'll have all that information sitting at your desk and as the information flows in you'll say, 'I only want to know things of certain type. I don't want to know about Alzheimer's, or I don't want to know about heart disease, or I do, or I want to know about everything, as soon as it comes in," says Church.
It's a habit Venter already follows. As more genes are discovered, he says, he constantly checks his own genome.
"There will be a tipping point where everybody wants it to be part of their medical history," says Church.

But someday soon it may affect more than just your medical history.
"Maybe this will be the new mating information. Once we all have our genomes, some of these extremely rare diseases are going to be totally predictable," says Vente
Source:
CNN