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Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is a foremost infectious disease in most parts of the world. Globally, tuberculosis is the second-leading cause of infectious diseases. This has become a significant world-wide social and public health issue, and one of the major diseases in China. In addition to environmental risk factors, genetic factors may play an important role in the development of tuberculosis., Methods: We conducted a case-control study to evaluate the genetic effects of functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): MBL2 rs1800450 C > T, MBL2 rs7095891 G > A and MBL2 rs7096206 C > G, and their influences on the development of tuberculosis. A total of 231 tuberculosis cases and 240 controls were included in this study. Genotypes were determined using a custom-designed 48-Plex SNPscanTM kit., Results: The MBL2 rs7095891 G > A polymorphism was associated with an increased risk of TB. However, there were no significant links with the other two SNPs. In any subgroup, there was no relvant risk of TB associated with MBL2 rs7095891 G > A polymorphism., Conclusion: These findings suggest that functional polymorphism MBL2 rs7095891 G > A may be positively correlated with susceptibility to tuberculosis. These findings may be somewhat limited by sample size. A further study with more focus on different regions, ethnic groups and larger sample sizes is therefore suggested., Competing Interests: None.

Because Schwann cells perform the triple tasks of myelination, axon guidance and neurotrophin synthesis, they are candidates for cell transplantation that might cure some types of nervous-system degenerative diseases or injuries. However, Schwann cells are difficult to obtain. As another option, ectomesenchymal stem cells (EMSCs) can be easily harvested from the nasal respiratory mucosa. Whether fibrin, an important transplantation vehicle, can improve the differentiation of EMSCs into Schwann-like cells (SLCs) deserves further research. EMSCs were isolated from rat nasal respiratory mucosa and were purified using anti-CD133 magnetic cell sorting. The purified cells strongly expressed HNK-1, nestin, p75(NTR), S-100, and vimentin. Using nuclear staining, the MTT assay and Western blotting analysis of the expression of cell-cycle markers, the proliferation rate of EMSCs on a fibrin matrix was found to be significantly higher than that of cells grown on a plastic surface but insignificantly lower than that of cells grown on fibronectin. Additionally, the EMSCs grown on the fibrin matrix expressed myelination-related molecules, including myelin basic protein (MBP), 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNPase) and galactocerebrosides (GalCer), more strongly than did those grown on fibronectin or a plastic surface. Furthermore, the EMSCs grown on the fibrin matrix synthesized more neurotrophins compared with those grown on fibronectin or a plastic surface. The expression level of integrin in EMSCs grown on fibrin was similar to that of cells grown on fibronectin but was higher than that of cells grown on a plastic surface. These results demonstrated that fibrin not only promoted EMSC proliferation but also the differentiation of EMSCs into the SLCs. Our findings suggested that fibrin has great promise as a cell transplantation vehicle for the treatment of some types of nervous system diseases or injuries.

Listeria monocytogenes is one of several Gram-positive bacteria known to contain an auxiliary ATPase (SecA2) involved in the Sec secretion of a subset of proteins important to bacterial pathogenesis, including autolysins. It is not known if IspC, a novel surface-associated autolysin essential for full virulence of L. monocytogenes serotype 4b, is SecA2-dependent for secretion. By creating a secA2 gene deletion (ΔsecA2) mutant from the wild type (WT) L. monocytogenes serotype 4b strain, in combination with the proteomic analysis of surface proteins and those secreted into the medium from both the mutant and the WT, we confirmed previous findings that two autolysins (p60 and NamA) are SecA2-dependent for secretion. However, this approach did not identify IspC as one of the surface proteins affected by the SecA2 deletion. Further experiments with immunofluorescence microscopy and Western blotting indicated that IspC was well displayed on the surface of both the ΔsecA2 mutant and WT cells, while p60 was not, clearly indicating that the secretion of IspC is not attributed to the SecA2 pathway. This finding sets IspC apart from other autolysins involved in virulence, such as p60 and NamA, in that SecA2 is not required for IspC secretion., (© 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A sequential three-component reaction of an aromatic aldehyde with an equimolar amount of 2-aminoanthracene and cyclic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds (such as tetronic acid, 5,5-dimethyl,3-cyclohexanedione, 1,3-indanedione, 3H-chromene-2,4-dione, quinoline-2,4(1H, 3H)-dione and barbituric acid) in acidic medium under microwave irradiation has been developed. In this one-pot reaction, a series of unusual fused heterocyclic compounds, naphtho[2,3-f]quinoline derivatives, were synthesized. This method has the advantages of operational simplicity, increased safety for small-scale fast synthesis, and minimal environmental impact. Most distinctively, this new class of naphtho[2,3-f]quinoline derivatives exhibit good luminescent properties in the ethanol solution, which can be used potentially as organic electroluminescent (EL) media.

Background: In experimental models in vivo, it is difficult to characterize the effect of thermal burns on epidermal keratinocytes. Since the response to thermal injury involves several systemic mechanisms, especially because of the stimulus to coagulation and inflammatory cascades, it becomes hard to evaluate the specific effect of thermal burns on keratinocytes. The aim of this study is to propose the use of human keratinocytes cultured on collagen matrix as an in vitro experimental burn model., Methods: Human keratinocytes derived from neonatal foreskins were isolated and cultured following standard methods. All experiments used the same keratinocyte lineage and were carried out in triplicate. Initially, gels of collagen and Matrigel were prepared. For each gel, 2 x 10(6) keratinocytes were seeded and cultured to form stratified epithelia. Following, burn wounds were induced at 170 degrees C., Results: Keratinocytes were cultured on collagen-coated Millicell membranes. Stratified epithelia were formed and burned on the seventh day after the cultures were raised to the air-liquid interface. The burn procedure is reproducible and can be easily executed., Conclusion: The proposed model can be used to study the effects of induced burn wounds on keratinocytes in a specific way.