The rockefeller university

Psoriasis vulgaris is a chronic, debilitating skin disease that affects millions of people worldwide. There is no mouse model that accurately reproduces all facets of the disease, but the accessibility of skin tissue from patients has facilitated the elucidation of many pathways involved in the pathogenesis of psoriasis and highlighted the importance of the immune system in the disease. The pathophysiological relevance of these findings has been supported by genetic studies that identified polymorphisms in genes associated with NF kappa B activation, IL-23 signaling and T helper 17 (Th17)-cell adaptive immune responses, and in genes associated with the epidermal barrier. Recently developed biologic agents that selectively target specific components of the immune system are highly effective for treating psoriasis. In particular, emerging therapeutics are focused on targeting the IL-23-Th17-cell axis, and several agents that block IL-17 signaling have shown promising results in early-phase clinical trials. This review discusses lessons learned about the pathogenesis of psoriasis from mouse- and patient-based studies, emphasizing how the outcomes of clinical trials with T-cell-targeted and cytokine-blocking therapies have clarified our understanding of the disease.

Background: Behavioral inhibition (BI) to novelty is thought to be a stable temperament type that appears early in life and is a major risk factor for anxiety disorders. In the rat, habituation of such inhibition can be facilitated via neonatal novelty exposure (NNE), thus reducing BI to novelty. Here, we tested the hypothesis that this early intervention effect is modulated by the context of maternal self-stress regulation. Methods: The NNE was carried out during postnatal days 1-21, in which one half of each litter was exposed to a relatively novel nonhome environment for 3-min daily while the remaining one half stayed in the home cage. After weaning, BI to novelty was assessed in an open field with a measure of disinhibition defined as a greater increase in exploration across two brief trials. Maternal context was characterized by trait measures of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity, including basal and stress-evoked corticosterone (CORT) responses. Results: Family-to-family variations in the NNE effect were associated with variations in maternal HPA function-a low-basal CORT and high-evoked CORT response profile constituting the context for a novelty-induced facilitation of disinhibition (i.e., a greater increase in exploratory activity over repeated trials) and an opposite HPA profile constituting the context for a novelty-induced reduction of disinhibition. Conclusions: This result is consistent with the hypothesis that maternal self-stress regulation modulates the effect of early life intervention on BI to novelty and suggests that effective interventions should include strategies to help mothers improve their self-stress regulation.

Results are presented on a search for a light charged Higgs boson that can be produced in the decay of the top quark t -> H(+)b and which, in turn, decays into tau(+)nu(tau). The analysed data correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 2 fb(-1) recorded in proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The search is sensitive to the decays of the top quark pairs t (t) over bar -> H(+/-)W(-/+)b (b) over bar and t (t) over bar -> H +/- H -/+ b (b) over bar. Various final states have been studied separately, all requiring presence of a tau lepton from H+ decays, missing transverse energy, and multiple jets. Upper limits on the branching fraction B(t -> H(+)b) in the range of 2-4% are established for charged Higgs boson masses between 80 and 160 GeV, under the assumption that B(H+ -> tau(+)nu(tau)) = 1.

A number of studies have suggested that many properties of brain activity can be understood in terms of critical systems. However it is still not known how the long-range susceptibilities characteristic of criticality arise in the living brain from its local connectivity structures. Here we prove that a dynamically critically-poised model of cortex acquires an infinitely-long ranged susceptibility in the absence of input. When an input is presented, the susceptibility attenuates exponentially as a function of distance, with an increasing spatial attenuation constant (i.e., decreasing range) the larger the input. This is in direct agreement with recent results that show that waves of local field potential activity evoked by single spikes in primary visual cortex of cat and macaque attenuate with a characteristic length that also increases with decreasing contrast of the visual stimulus. A susceptibility that changes spatial range with input strength can be thought to implement an input-dependent spatial integration: when the input is large, no additional evidence is needed in addition to the local input; when the input is weak, evidence needs to be integrated over a larger spatial domain to achieve a decision. Such input-strength-dependent strategies have been demonstrated in visual processing. Our results suggest that input-strength dependent spatial integration may be a natural feature of a critically-balanced cortical network.

Agaricus blazei Murill (AbM) has been reported to possess immune activity against tumors and infections through stimulation of mononuclear phagocytes. Recently, AbM extract was shown to induce the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), in human monocytes. IL-1 beta is a key pro-inflammatory cytokine produced by activated macrophages and monocytes and its secretion is strictly controlled by the inflammasome. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of AbM water extracts on the regulation of IL-1 beta production and activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in human THP-1 macrophages. The NLRP3 inflammasome consists of an NLRP3 receptor, an adaptor protein called ASC, and the inflammatory protease, caspase-1. Typically, stimulation of immune cells with microbial products results in production of pro-IL-1 beta, but a second stress-related signal activates the inflammasome and caspase-1, leading to processing and secretion of IL-1 beta. Our results show that AbM enhances transcription of IL-1 beta and triggers NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated IL-1 beta secretion in human THP-1 macrophages. AbM-mediated IL-1 beta secretion was markedly reduced in macrophages deficient in NLRP3 and ASC, demonstrating that the NLRP3 inflammasome is essential for AbM-induced IL-1 beta secretion. In addition, caspase-1 was activated and involved in proteolytic cleavage and secretion of IL-1 beta in AbM-treated macrophages. AbM-mediated IL-1 beta secretion also decreased in cells treated with cathepsin B inhibitor, suggesting that AbM can induce the release of cathepsin B. Furthermore, our data show that AbM-induced inflammasome activation requires the release of ATP, binding of extracellular ATP to the purinergic receptor P2X(7), the generation of reactive oxygen species, and efflux of potassium. Taken together, these findings reveal that AbM activates the NLRP3 inflammasome via multiple mechanisms, resulting in the secretion of IL-1 beta.

Axonal and synaptic degeneration is a hallmark of peripheral neuropathy, brain injury, and neurodegenerative disease. Axonal degeneration has been proposed to be mediated by an active autodestruction program, akin to apoptotic cell death; however, loss-of-function mutations capable of potently blocking axon self-destruction have not been described. Here, we show that loss of the Drosophila Toll receptor adaptor dSarm (sterile alpha/Armadillo/Toll-Interleukin receptor homology domain protein) cell-autonomously suppresses Wallerian degeneration for weeks after axotomy. Severed mouse Sarm1 null axons exhibit remarkable long-term survival both in vivo and in vitro, indicating that Sarm1 prodegenerative signaling is conserved in mammals. Our results provide direct evidence that axons actively promote their own destruction after injury and identify dSarm/Sarm1 as a member of an ancient axon death signaling pathway.

Mice carrying bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) transgenes have become important tools for neuroscientists, providing a powerful means of dissecting complex neural circuits in the brain. Recently, it was reported that one popular line of these mice-mice possessing a BAC transgene with a D-2 dopamine receptor (Drd2) promoter construct coupled to an enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) reporter-had abnormal striatal gene expression, physiology, and motor behavior. Unlike most of the work using BAC mice, this interesting study relied upon mice backcrossed on the outbred Swiss Webster (SW) strain that were homozygous for the Drd2-eGFP BAC transgene. The experiments reported here were conducted to determine whether mouse strain or zygosity was a factor in the reported abnormalities. As reported, SW mice were very sensitive to transgene expression. However, in more commonly used inbred strains of mice (C57BL/6, FVB/N) that were hemizygous for the transgene, the Drd2-eGFP BAC transgene did not alter striatal gene expression, physiology, or motor behavior. Thus, the use of inbred strains of mice that are hemizygous for the Drd2 BAC transgene provides a reliable tool for studying basal ganglia function.

CLC proteins underlie muscle, kidney, bone, and other organ system function by catalyzing the transport of Cl- ions across cell and organellar membranes. Some CLC proteins are ion channels while others are pumps that exchange Cl- for H+. The pathway through which Cl- ions cross the membrane has been characterized, but the transport of H+ and the principle by which their movement is coupled to Cl- movement is not well understood. Here we show that H+ transport depends not only on the presence of a specific glutamate residue but also the presence of Cl- ions. H+ transport, however, can be isolated and analyzed in the absence of Cl- by mutating the glutamate to alanine and adding carboxylate-containing molecules to solution, consistent with the notion that H+ transfer is mediated through the entry of a carboxylate group into the anion pathway. Cl- ions and carboxylate interact with each other strongly. These data support a mechanism in which the glutamate carboxylate functions as a surrogate Cl- ion, but it can accept a H+ and transfer it between the external solution and the central Cl- binding site, coupled to the movement of 2 Cl- ions.