The rockefeller university

Background: IL-23 is associated with plaque psoriasis susceptibility and pathogenesis. BI 655066 is a fully human IgG(1) mAb specific for the IL-23 p19 subunit. Objective: This first-in-human proof-of-concept study evaluated the clinical and biological effects of BI 655066 in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Methods: We performed a single-rising-dose, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-dose cohort phase I trial. Patients received 0.01, 0.05, 0.25, 1, 3, or 5 mg/kg BI 655066 intravenously, 0.25 or 1 mg/kg BI 655066 subcutaneously, or matched placebo. The primary objective was safety evaluation. Results: Thirty-nine patients received single-dose BI 655066 intravenously (n = 18) or subcutaneously (n = 13) or placebo (n = 8). Adverse events were reported with similar frequency in the BI 655066 and placebo groups. Four serious adverse events (not considered treatment related) were reported among BI 655066-treated patients. BI 655066 was associated with clinical improvement from week 2 and maintained for up to 66 weeks after treatment. At week 12, 75%, 90%, and 100% decreases in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index were achieved by 87%, 58%, and 16% of BI 655066-treated patients (any dose), respectively, versus none receiving placebo. BI 655066 treatment resulted in reduced expression of lesional skin genes associated with IL-23/IL-17 signaling pathways and normalization of psoriatic lesion gene expression profiles to a profile approaching that of nonlesional skin. Significant correlation between treatment-associated molecular changes and psoriasis area and severity index improvement was observed (r = 0.73, P = 2 x 10(-6)). Conclusions: BI 655066 was well tolerated and associated with rapid, substantial, and durable clinical improvement in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis, supporting a central role for IL-23 in psoriasis pathogenesis.

Results are reported of a general search for pair production of heavy resonances decaying to pairs of hadronic jets in events with at least four jets. The study is based on up to 19.4 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC. Limits are determined on the production of scalar top quarks (top squarks) in the framework of R-parity violating supersymmetry and on the production of color-octet vector bosons (colorons). First limits at the LHC are placed on top squark production for two scenarios. The first assumes decay to a bottom quark and a light-flavor quark and is excluded for masses between 200 and 385 GeV, and the second assumes decay to a pair of light-flavor quarks and is excluded for masses between 200 and 350 GeV at 95% confidence level. Previous limits on colorons decaying to light-flavor quarks are extended to exclude masses from 200 to 835 GeV. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the CMS Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license.

Turnover and exchange of nucleosomal histones and their variants, a process long believed to be static in post-replicative cells, remains largely unexplored in brain. Here, we describe a novel mechanistic role for HIRA (histone cell cycle regulator) and proteasomal degradation-associated histone dynamics in the regulation of activity-dependent transcription, synaptic connectivity, and behavior. We uncover a dramatic developmental profile of nucleosome occupancy across the lifespan of both rodents and humans, with the histone variant H3.3 accumulating to near-saturating levels throughout the neuronal genome by mid-adolescence. Despite such accumulation, H3.3-containing nucleosomes remain highly dynamic-in a modification-independent manner-to control neuronal- and glial-specific gene expression patterns throughout life. Manipulating H3.3 dynamics in both embryonic and adult neurons confirmed its essential role in neuronal plasticity and cognition. Our findings establish histone turnover as a critical and previously undocumented regulator of cell type-specific transcription and plasticity in mammalian brain.

At least 170 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Owing to the narrow host range of HCV and restricted use of chimpanzees, there is currently no suitable animal model for HCV pathogenesis studies or the development of a HCV vaccine. To identify cellular determinants of interspecies transmission and establish a novel immunocompetent model system, we examined the ability of HCV to infect hepatocytes from a small nonhuman primate, the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). We show that the rhesus orthologs of critical HCV entry factors support viral glycoprotein-dependent virion uptake. Primary hepatocytes from rhesus macaques are also permissive for HCV-RNA replication and particle production, which is enhanced when antiviral signaling is suppressed. We demonstrate that this may be owing to the diminished capacity of HCV to antagonize mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein-dependent innate cellular defenses. To test the ability of HCV to establish persistent replication in vivo, we engrafted primary rhesus macaque hepatocytes into immunocompromised xenorecipients. Inoculation of resulting simian liver chimeric mice with either HCV genotype 1a or 2a resulted in HCV serum viremia for up to 10 weeks. Conclusion: Together, these data indicate that rhesus macaques may be a viable model for HCV and implicate host immunity as a potential species-specific barrier to HCV infection. We conclude that suppression of host immunity or further viral adaptation may allow robust HCV infection in rhesus macaques and creation of a new animal model for studies of HCV pathogenesis, lentivirus coinfection, and vaccine development. (Hepatology 2015;62:57-67)

Estrogen facilitates higher cognitive functions by exerting effects on brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. Estrogen induces spinogenesis and synaptogenesis in these two brain regions and also initiates a complex set of signal transduction pathways via estrogen receptors (ERs). Along with the classical genomic effects mediated by activation of ER alpha and ER beta, there are membrane-bound ER alpha, ER beta, and G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER1) that can mediate rapid nongenomic effects. All key ERs present throughout the body are also present in synapses of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. This review summarizes estrogen actions in the brain from the standpoint of their effects on synapse structure and function, noting also the synergistic role of progesterone. We first begin with a review of ER subtypes in the brain and how their abundance and distributions are altered with aging and estrogen loss (e.g., ovariectomy or menopause) in the rodent, monkey, and human brain. As there is much evidence that estrogen loss induced by menopause can exacerbate the effects of aging on cognitive functions, we then review the clinical trials of hormone replacement therapies and their effectiveness on cognitive symptoms experienced by women. Finally, we summarize studies carried out in nonhuman primate models of age-and menopause-related cognitive decline that are highly relevant for developing effective interventions for menopausal women. Together, we highlight a new understanding of how estrogen affects higher cognitive functions and synaptic health that go well beyond its effects on reproduction.

Deep dermatophytosis has been described in HIV and immunosuppressed patients. Recently, CARD9 (caspase recruitment domain-containing protein 9) deficiency has been reported in individuals with deep dermatophytosis previously classified as "immunocompetent". We report a 24-year-old Brazilian male patient with deep dermatophytosis born to an apparently non-consanguineous family. The symptoms started with oral candidiasis when he was 3 years old, persistent although treated. At 11 years old, well delimited, desquamative and pruriginous skin lesions appeared in the mandibular area; ketoconazole and itraconazole were introduced and maintained for 5 years. At 12 years of age, the lesions, which initially affected the face, started to spread to thoracic and back of the body (15 cm of diameter) and became ulcerative, secretive and painful. Terbinafine was introduced without any improvement. Trichophyton mentagrophytes was isolated from the skin lesions. A novel homozygous mutation in CARD9 (R101L) was identified in the patient, resulting in impaired neutrophil fungal killing. Both parents, one brother (with persistent superficial but not deep dermatophytosis) and one sister were heterozygous for this mutation, while another brother was found to be homozygous for the CARD9 wild-type allele. This is the first report of CARD9 deficiency in Latin America.

The effect of secondary structure on DNA duplex formation is poorly understood. Using oxDNA, a nucleotide level coarse-grained model of DNA, we study how hairpins influence the rate and reaction pathways of DNA hybridzation. We compare to experimental systems studied by Gao et al. (1) and find that 3-base pair hairpins reduce the hybridization rate by a factor of 2, and 4-base pair hairpins by a factor of 10, compared to DNA with limited secondary structure, which is in good agreement with experiments. By contrast, melting rates are accelerated by factors of similar to 100 and similar to 2000. This surprisingly large speed-up occurs because hairpins form during the melting process, and significantly lower the free energy barrier for dissociation. These results should assist experimentalists in designing sequences to be used in DNA nanotechnology, by putting limits on the suppression of hybridization reaction rates through the use of hairpins and offering the possibility of deliberately increasing dissociation rates by incorporating hairpins into single strands.

Hypertension induced by angiotensin II (Ang II) is associated with glutamate-dependent dysregulation of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN). Many forms of glutamate-dependent plasticity are mediated by NMDA receptor GluN1 subunit expression and the distribution of functional receptor to the plasma membrane of dendrites. Here, we use a combined ultrastructural and functional analysis to examine the relationship between PVN NMDA receptors and the blood pressure increase induced by chronic infusion of a low dose of Ang II. We report that the increase in blood pressure produced by a 2 week administration of a subpressor dose of Ang II results in an elevation in plasma membrane GluN1 in dendrites of PVN neurons in adult male mice. The functional implications of these observations are further demonstrated by the finding that GluN1 deletion in PVN neurons attenuated the Ang II-induced increases in blood pressure. These results indicate that NMDA receptor plasticity in PVN neurons significantly contributes to the elevated blood pressure mediated by Ang II.

It is shown that the most important feature of Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics is not the entropy production, but the organization of the currents in order to flow. This is also needed to obtain the maximum entropy in the equilibrium state, as is required by Equilibrium Thermodynamics. This article is supplemented with comments by Hong Qian and Yves Pomeau and a final reply by the author.

Histone modification and DNA methylation are associated with varying epigenetic "landscapes,''but detailed mechanistic and functional links between the two remain unclear. Using the ATRX-DNMT3-DNMT3L (ADD) domain of the DNA methyltransferase Dnmt3a as a paradigm, we apply protein engineering to dissect the molecular interactions underlying the recruitment of this enzyme to specific regions of chromatin in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). By rendering the ADD domain insensitive to histone modification, specifically H3K4 methylation or H3T3 phosphorylation, we demonstrate the consequence of dysregulated Dnmt3a binding and activity. Targeting of a Dnmt3a mutant to H3K4me3 promoters decreases gene expression in a subset of developmental genes and alters ESC differentiation, whereas aberrant binding of another mutant to H3T3ph during mitosis promotes chromosome instability. Our studies support the general view that histone modification "reading'' and DNA methylation are closely coupled in mammalian cells, and suggest an avenue for the functional assessment of chromatin-associated proteins.