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A search is performed for long-lived particles that decay into final states that include a pair of electrons or a pair of muons. The experimental signature is a distinctive topology consisting of a pair of charged leptons originating from a displaced secondary vertex. Events corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.6 (20.5) fb(-1) in the electron (muon) channel were collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC in proton-proton collisions at root s TeV. No significant excess is observed above standard model expectations. Upper limits on the product of the cross section and branching fraction of such a signal are presented as a function of the long-lived particle's mean proper decay length. The limits are presented in an approximately model-independent way, allowing them to be applied to a wide class of models yielding the above topology. Over much of the investigated parameter space, the limits obtained are the most stringent to date. In the specific case of a model in which a Higgs boson in the mass range 125-1000 GeV/c(2) decays into a pair of long-lived neutral bosons in the mass range 20-350 GeV= c(2), each of which can then decay to dileptons, the upper limits obtained are typically in the range 0.2-10 fb for mean proper decay lengths of the long-lived particles in the range 0.01-100 cm. In the case of the lowest Higgs mass considered (125 GeV/c(2)), the limits are in the range 2-50 fb. These limits are sensitive to Higgs boson branching fractions as low as 10(-1).

Background. Type 1 reactions (T1R) affect a considerable proportion of patients with leprosy. In those with T1R, the host immune response pathologically overcompensates for the actual infectious threat, resulting in nerve damage and permanent disability. Based on the results of a genome-wide association study of leprosy per se, we investigated the TNFSF15 chromosomal region for a possible contribution to susceptibility to T1R. Methods. We performed a high-resolution association scan of the TNFSF15 locus to evaluate the association with T1R in 2 geographically and ethnically distinct populations: a family-based sample from Vietnam and a case-control sample from Brazil, comprising a total of 1768 subjects. Results. In the Vietnamese sample, 47 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) overlapping TNFSF15 and the adjacent TNFSF8 gene were associated with T1R but not with leprosy. Of the 47 SNPs, 39 were cis-expression quantitative trait loci (cis-eQTL) for TNFSF8 including SNPs located within the TNFSF15 gene. In the Brazilian sample, 18 of these cis-eQTL SNPs overlapping the TNFSF8 gene were validated for association with T1R. Conclusions. Taken together, these results indicate TNFSF8 and not TNFSF15 as an important T1R susceptibility gene. Our data support the need for infection genetics to go beyond genes for pathogen control to explore genes involved in a commensurate host response.

Following their synthesis in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), voltage-gated sodium channels (Na-V) are transported to the membranes of excitable cells, where they often cluster, such as at the axon initial segment of neurons. Although the mechanisms by which Na-V channels form and maintain clusters have been extensively examined, the processes that govern their transport and degradation have received less attention. Our entry into the study of these processes began with the isolation of a new allele of the zebrafish mutant alligator, which we found to be caused by mutations in the gene encoding really interesting new gene (RING) finger protein 121 (RNF121), an E3-ubiquitin ligase present in the ER and cis-Golgi compartments. Here we demonstrate that RNF121 facilitates two opposing fates of Na-V channels: (i) ubiquitin-mediated proteasome degradation and (ii) membrane localization when coexpressed with auxiliary Na-V beta subunits. Collectively, these results indicate that RNF121 participates in the quality control of NaV channels during their synthesis and subsequent transport to the membrane.

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) loci and their associated (Cas) proteins provide adaptive immunity against viral infection in prokaryotes. Upon infection, short phage sequences known as spacers integrate between CRISPR repeats and are transcribed into small RNA molecules that guide the Cas9 nuclease to the viral targets (protospacers). Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 cleavage of the viral genome requires the presence of a 5'-NGG-3' protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) sequence immediately downstream of the viral target. It is not known whether and how viral sequences flanked by the correct PAM are chosen as new spacers. Here we show that Cas9 selects functional spacers by recognizing their PAM during spacer acquisition. The replacement of cas9 with alleles that lack the PAM recognition motif or recognize an NGGNG PAM eliminated or changed PAM specificity during spacer acquisition, respectively. Cas9 associates with other proteins of the acquisition machinery (Cas1, Cas2 and Csn2), presumably to provide PAM-specificity to this process. These results establish a new function for Cas9 in the genesis of prokaryotic immunological memory.

In mice, two restricted dendritic cell (DC) progenitors, macrophage/dendritic progenitors (MDPs) and common dendritic progenitors (CDPs), demonstrate increasing commitment to the DC lineage, as they sequentially lose granulocyte and monocyte potential, respectively. Identifying these progenitors has enabled us to understand the role of DCs and monocytes in immunity and tolerance in mice. In humans, however, restricted monocyte and DC progenitors remain unknown. Progress in studying human DC development has been hampered by lack of an in vitro culture system that recapitulates in vivo DC hematopoiesis. Here we report a culture system that supports development of CD34(+) hematopoietic stem cell progenitors into the three major human DC subsets, monocytes, granulocytes, and NK and B cells. Using this culture system, we defined the pathway for human DC development and revealed the sequential origin of human DCs from increasingly restricted progenitors: a human granulocyte-monocyte-DC progenitor (hGMDP) that develops into a human monocyte-dendritic progenitor (hMDP), which in turn develops into monocytes, and a human CDP (hCDP) that is restricted to produce the three major DC subsets. The phenotype of the DC progenitors partially overlaps with granulocyte-macrophage progenitors (GMPs). These progenitors reside in human cord blood and bone marrow but not in the blood or lymphoid tissues.

Measurements of two-particle angular correlations between an identified strange hadron (K-S(0) or A/(A) over bar) and a charged particle, emitted in pPb collisions, are presented over a wide range in pseudorapidity and full azimuth. The data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 35 nb(-1), were collected at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy (root s(NN)) of 5.02 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The results are compared to semi-peripheral PbPb collision data at root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV, covering similar charged-particle multiplicities in the events. The observed azimuthal correlations at large relative pseudorapidity are used to extract the second-order (v(2)) and third-order (v(3)) anisotropy harmonics of K-S(0) and A/(A) over bar particles. These quantities are studied as a function of the charged-particle multiplicity in the event and the transverse momentum of the particles. For high-multiplicity pPb events, a clear particle species dependence of v(2) and v(3) is observed. For p(T) < 2 GeV, the v(2) and v(3) values of K-S(0) particles are larger than those of A/(A) over bar particles at the same p(T). This splitting effect between two particle species is found to be stronger in pPb than in PbPb collisions in the same multiplicity range. When divided by the number of constituent quarks and compared at the same transverse kinetic energy per quark, both v(2) and v(3) for K-S(0) particles are observed to be consistent with those for A/(A) over bar particles at the 10% level in pPb collisions. This consistency extends over a wide range of particle transverse kinetic energy and event multiplicities. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by accumulation of the beta-amyloid peptide (A beta), which likely contributes to disease via multiple mechanisms. Increasing evidence implicates inflammation in AD, the origins of which are not completely understood. We investigated whether circulating A beta could initiate inflammation in AD via the plasma contact activation system. This proteolytic cascade is triggered by the activation of the plasma protein factor XII (FXII) and leads to kallikrein-mediated cleavage of high molecular-weight kininogen (HK) and release of proinflammatory bradykinin. A beta has been shown to promote FXII-dependent cleavage of HK in vitro. In addition, increased cleavage of HK has been found in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with AD. Here, we show increased activation of FXII, kallikrein activity, and HK cleavage in AD patient plasma. Increased contact system activation is also observed in AD mouse model plasma and in plasma from wild-type mice i.v. injected with A beta 42. Our results demonstrate that A beta 42-mediated contact system activation can occur in the AD circulation and suggest new pathogenic mechanisms, diagnostic tests, and therapies for AD.

Measurements of differential cross sections are presented for the production of a Z boson and at least one hadronic jet in proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV, recorded by the CMS detector, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 fb(-1). The jet multiplicity distribution is measured for up to six jets. The differential cross sections are measured as a function of jet transverse momentum and pseudorapidity for the four highest transverse momentum jets. The distribution of the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta is also measured as a function of the jet multiplicity. The measurements are compared with theoretical predictions at leading and next-to-leading order in perturbative QCD.

Long-term in vivo expression of a broad and potent entry inhibitor could circumvent the need for a conventional vaccine for HIV-1. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors can stably express HIV-1 broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs)(1,2). However, even the best bNAbs neutralize 10-50% of HIV-1 isolates inefficiently (80% inhibitory concentration (IC80) > 5 mu g ml(-1)), suggesting that high concentrations of these antibodies would be necessary to achieve general protection(3-6). Here we show that eCD4-Ig, a fusion ofCD4-Ig with a small CCR5-mimetic sulfopeptide, binds avidly and cooperatively to the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) and is more potent than the best bNAbs (geometric mean half-maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50), 0.05 mu g ml(-1)). Because eCD4-Ig binds only conserved regions of Env, it is also much broader than any bNAb. For example, eCD4-Ig efficiently neutralized 100% of a diverse panel of neutralization-resistant HIV-1, HIV-2 and simian immunodeficiency virus isolates, including a comprehensive set of isolates resistant to the CD4-binding site bNAbs VRC01, NIH45-46 and 3BNC117. Rhesus macaques inoculated with an AAV vector stably expressed 17-77 mu g ml(-1) of fully functional rhesuseCD4-Ig for more than 40 weeks, and these macaques were protected from several infectious challenges with SHIV-AD8. Rhesus eCD4-Ig was also markedly less immunogenic than rhesus forms of four well-characterized bNAbs. Our data suggest that AAV-delivered eCD4-Ig can function like an effective HIV-1 vaccine.