Multisulfonate hyperbranched polyglycerol functionalized graphene oxide as an efficient reusable catalyst for green synthesis of benzo[a]pyrano-[2,3-c]phenazines under solvent-free conditions

A novel acid catalyst was prepared based on growing hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG) on the surface of graphene oxide. Then, the hydroxyl groups of HPG on graphene oxide were functionalized by sulfonate groups to form an acid catalyst. The catalyst displayed a good loading level of acidic groups on the surface because of coating graphene oxide with HPG. This new catalyst is demonstrated to be highly effective in the preparation of benzo[a]pyrano[2,3-c]phenazine dyes.

A novel acid catalyst was prepared based on growing hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG) on the surface of graphene oxide. Then, the hydroxyl groups of HPG on graphene oxide were functionalized by sulfonate groups to form an acid catalyst.     

Tir Triggers Expression of CXCL1 in Enterocytes and Neutrophil Recruitment during Citrobacter rodentium Infection

The hallmarks of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) infection are formation of attaching and effacing (A/E) lesions on mucosal surfaces and actin-rich pedestals on cultured cells, both of which are dependent on the type III secretion system effector Tir. Following translocation into cultured cells and clustering by intimin, Tir Y474 is phosphorylated, leading to recruitment of Nck, activation of N-WASP, and actin polymerization via the Arp2/3 complex. A secondary, weak, actin polymerization pathway is triggered via an NPY motif (Y454). Importantly, Y454 and Y474 play no role in A/E lesion formation on mucosal surfaces following infection with the EPEC-like mouse pathogen Citrobacter rodentium. In this study, we investigated the roles of Tir segments located upstream of Y451 and downstream of Y471 in C. rodentium colonization and A/E lesion formation. We also tested the role that Tir residues Y451 and Y471 play in host immune responses to C. rodentium infection. We found that deletion of amino acids 382 to 462 or 478 to 547 had no impact on the ability of Tir to mediate A/E lesion formation, although deletion of amino acids 478 to 547 affected Tir translocation. Examination of enterocytes isolated from infected mice revealed that a C. rodentium strain expressing Tir_Y451A/Y471A recruited significantly fewer neutrophils to the colon and triggered less colonic hyperplasia on day 14 postinfection than the wild-type strain. Consistently, enterocytes isolated from mice infected with C. rodentium expressing Tir_Y451A/Y471A expressed significantly less CXCL1. These result show that Tir-induced actin remodeling plays a direct role in modulation of immune responses to C. rodentium infection.     

APOBEC3 enzymes restrict marginal zone B cells

In general, a long‐lasting immune response to viruses is achieved when they are infectious and replication competent. In the mouse, the neutralizing antibody response to Friend murine leukemia virus is contributed by an allelic form of the enzyme Apobec3 (abbreviated A3). This is counterintuitive because A3 directly controls viremia before the onset of adaptive antiviral immune responses. It suggests that A3 also affects the antibody response directly. Here, we studied the relative size of cell populations of the adaptive immune system as a function of A3 activity. We created a transgenic mouse that expresses all seven human A3 enzymes and compared it to WT and mouse A3‐deficient mice. A3 enzymes decreased the number of marginal zone B cells, but not the number of follicular B or T cells. When mouse A3 was knocked out, the retroelement hitchhiker‐1 and sialyl transferases encoded by genes close to it were overexpressed three and two orders of magnitude, respectively. We suggest that A3 shifts the balance, from the fast antibody response mediated by marginal zone B cells with little affinity maturation, to a more sustained germinal center B‐cell response, which drives affinity maturation and, thereby, a better neutralizing response.     

Effect of Helicobacter pylori eradication in Iranian patients with functional dyspepsia: a prospective,randomized, placebo-controlled trial

Introduction

Whether patients with functional dyspepsia (FD) should receive Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication therapy remains controversial. The objective of this trial was to evaluate the effect of H. pylori eradication therapy on dyspeptic symptoms of patients with FD.

Material and methods

A prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of H. pylori eradication for FD was conducted. A total of 720 FD patients diagnosed by Rome III criteria were consecutively enrolled. We randomly assigned 186 H. pylori infected patients with FD to receive quadruple therapy for 14 days and 173 such patients to receive identical-appearing placebos. Severity of abdominal symptoms was assessed with the Glasgow Dyspepsia Severity Score (GDSS), and eradication of H. pylori by ¹³C-urea breath test was evaluated during one year.

Results

The rate of eradication of H. pylori infection was 87.1% in the treatment group and 2.9% in the placebo group at 6 weeks (p = 0.001). The mean GDSS at 12 months was 4.9 ±2.8 in the treatment group, as compared to 5.2 ±3.4 in the placebo group (p = 0.064). The scores in both groups were lower than those at baseline. According to the intention-to-treat analysis, at 12 months, there was no significant difference between groups in the rate of successful treatment (48.6% in the treatment group and 51.2% in the placebo group; p = 0.84). There was no significant difference in mean symptom scores between the two treatment groups at any point during follow-up.

Conclusions

The results of our study provide no evidence that H. pylori eradication leads to relief of symptoms 12 months after treatment, and there is a need for further studies.     

Normative Values for Corneal Nerve Morphology Assessed Using Corneal Confocal Microscopy: A Multinational Normative Data Set

OBJECTIVECorneal confocal microscopy is a novel diagnostic technique for the detection of nerve damage and repair in a range of peripheral neuropathies, in particular diabetic neuropathy. Normative reference values are required to enable clinical translation and wider use of this technique. We have therefore undertaken a multicenter collaboration to provide worldwide age-adjusted normative values of corneal nerve fiber parameters.RESULTSThere was a significant linear age-dependent decrease in CNFD (−0.164 no./mm² per year for men, P < 0.01, and −0.161 no./mm² per year for women, P < 0.01). There was no change with age in CNBD (0.192 no./mm² per year for men, P = 0.26, and −0.050 no./mm² per year for women, P = 0.78). CNFL decreased in men (−0.045 mm/mm² per year, P = 0.07) and women (−0.060 mm/mm² per year, P = 0.02). CNFT increased with age in men (0.044 per year, P < 0.01) and women (0.046 per year, P < 0.01). Height, weight, and BMI did not influence the 5th percentile normative values for any corneal nerve parameter.CONCLUSIONSThis study provides robust worldwide normative reference values for corneal nerve parameters to be used in research and clinical practice in the study of diabetic and other peripheral neuropathies.