An immuno-wall microdevice exhibits rapid and sensitive detection of IDH1-R132H mutation specific to grade II and III gliomas

World Health Organization grade II and III gliomas most frequently occur in the central nervous system (CNS) in adults. Gliomas are not circumscribed; tumor edges are irregular and consist of tumor cells, normal brain tissue, and hyperplastic reactive glial cells. Therefore, the tumors are not fully resectable, resulting in recurrence, malignant progression, and eventual death. Approximately 69–80% of grade II and III gliomas harbor mutations in the isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 gene (IDH1), of which 83–90% are found to be the IDH1-R132H mutation. Detection of the IDH1-R132H mutation should help in the differential diagnosis of grade II and III gliomas from other types of CNS tumors and help determine the boundary between the tumor and normal brain tissue. In this study, we established a highly sensitive antibody-based device, referred to as the immuno-wall, to detect the IDH1-R132H mutation in gliomas. The immuno-wall causes an immunoreaction in microchannels fabricated using a photo-polymerizing polymer. This microdevice enables the analysis of the IDH1 status with a small sample within 15 min with substantially high sensitivity. Our results suggested that 10% content of the IDH1-R132H mutation in a sample of 0.33 μl volume, with 500 ng protein, or from 500 cells is theoretically sufficient for the analysis. The immuno-wall device will enable the rapid and highly sensitive detection of the IDH1-R132H mutation in routine clinical practice.     

Potentiating effect of inhaled acetaldehyde on bronchial responsiveness to methacholine in asthmatic subjects

BACKGROUND: It has recently been reported that acetaldehyde induces bronchoconstriction indirectly via histamine release. However, no study has been performed to assess whether acetaldehyde worsens bronchial responsiveness in asthmatic subjects so this hypothesis was tested. METHODS: Methacholine provocation was performed on three occasions: (1) after pretreatment with oral placebo and inhaled saline (P-S day), (2) after placebo and inhaled acetaldehyde (P-A day), and (3) after a potent histamine H1 receptor antagonist terfenadine and acetaldehyde (T-A day) in a double blind, randomised, crossover fashion. Nine asthmatic subjects inhaled 0.8 mg/ml acetaldehyde or saline for four minutes. After each inhalation a methacholine provocation test was performed. RESULTS: Methacholine concentrations producing a 20% fall in FEV1 (PC20-MCh) on the P-A day (0.48 mg/ml, 95% CI 0.21 to 1.08) and T-A day (0.41 mg/ml, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.77) were lower than those on the P-S day (0.85 mg/ml, 95% CI 0.47 to 1.54). There was no change in the PC20-MCh between the P-A and T-A days. A correlation was observed between the logarithmic values of PC20-MCh (log PC20-MCh) on the P-S day and the potentiating effect of acetaldehyde on the methacholine responsiveness [(log PC20-MCh on P-A day)-(log PC20-MCh on P-S day)] (rho = 0.82). CONCLUSIONS: Acetaldehyde induces bronchial hyperresponsiveness in patients with asthma by mechanisms other than histamine release.     

Interferon-��1b Increases Th2 Response in Neuromyelitis Optica

A Japanese randomized controlled study showed that Interferon â (IFN-â1b) therapy is clinically effective in decreasing the frequency of attacks in multiple sclerosis (MS), even in optico-spinal MS (OSMS). However, recent studies have shown that IFN-â (IFN-â1a/IFN-â1b) treatment was not effective in neuromyelitis optica (NMO) patients and that the diminished benefit of IFN-â treatment in NMO may be due to different immune responses to IFN-â. We determined longitudinally the expression of CCR5, CXCR3 and CCR4 on CD4+ T and CD8+ T cells in the blood from patients with NMO and MS treated with IFN-â1b. During a 12-month period of IFN-â1b therapy, the annualized relapse rate decreased in MS patients but not in NMO patients. There was no significant difference in the expression of the chemokine receptors between NMO and MS at baseline. The percentages of CD4+CCR5+ and CD4+CXCR3+ T cells, representative of the Th1 response, were decreased in both NMO and MS after treatment. The percentage of CD4+CCR4+ T cells, representative of the Th2 response, was decreased in MS, but those for NMO was significantly increased compared with the pretreatment levels. Our results indicate that IFN-â1b-induced up-modulation of the Th2 response in NMO patients may be the source of differences in the therapeutic response to IFN-â1b therapy. In the present study, Th2 predominance is involved in the pathogenesis of NMO.     

Tensile Behavior of a Quasi-Isotropic Carbon-Carbon Composite

This paper reports an analytical and experimental investigation of the tensile behavior of a two-dimensional woven carbon-carbon composite with a quasi-isotropic stacking sequence. Specimens in their as-received condition were already saturated with transverse cracks due to thermal stress induced during fabrication. Further cracking under load was not detected. The completely unloaded specimen showed that the slight residual strain tended to increase with applied tensile strain. Damage progression as seen on specimen edges and elastic moduli degradation were recorded. The predicted Young's moduli were in good agreement with the measured data.     

Unique very low-frequency heart rate variability during deep sleep in humans

We investigate heart rate variability (HRV) in the very low-frequency (VLF) range (0.003-0.04 Hz) during deep sleep in good sleepers. Spectral analysis of HRV during deep sleep reveals consistent peaks at <0.04 Hz. By using wavelet analysis, we find both stationary and nonstationary periodic patterns in the VLF range, the presence of which has been discussed but has not been fully established to date. Although the mechanism(s) behind the unique VLF oscillations remain to be fully explored, we conjecture that there is an endogenous rhythmic component in human HRV in the VLF range. Further, our results also suggest a need for caution in the interpretation of the VLF spectral power in HRV during deep sleep.