Free Animal Kingdom Pack

At the end of ALuv’s 1st grade year, we focused on animals for a few weeks.  Since he already had a lot of knowledge about animals (habitats, needs, etc.), I took it a step deeper for him and decided to start working on grouping animals in the animal kingdom. I created several activities that we used, and today I’ve bundled them up to share.

One of his favorite activities was the trip to the pet store (what kid doesn’t like a pet store?).  As we walked around and looked at the pets, he carried a clipboard and he wrote down the animals he saw on the recording sheet you see above.  Later, he cut apart the animal names he’d written down and we sorted them by animal group.

I enjoyed the summative recording sheet at the end of each animal group.  It served as a review and and assessment of what he knew for each animal group we had studied.

We also used Adventures in Mommydom’s Animal Report Forms.  We used them a bit differently than she suggests, but I LOVE how her kids used them in such creative ways!

Stay connected to This Reading Mama so you don’t miss a thing:

~Becky

View the original article here

Free Animal Kingdom Pack

At the end of ALuv’s 1st grade year, we focused on animals for a few weeks.  Since he already had a lot of knowledge about animals (habitats, needs, etc.), I took it a step deeper for him and decided to start working on grouping animals in the animal kingdom. I created several activities that we used, and today I’ve bundled them up to share.

One of his favorite activities was the trip to the pet store (what kid doesn’t like a pet store?).  As we walked around and looked at the pets, he carried a clipboard and he wrote down the animals he saw on the recording sheet you see above.  Later, he cut apart the animal names he’d written down and we sorted them by animal group.

I enjoyed the summative recording sheet at the end of each animal group.  It served as a review and and assessment of what he knew for each animal group we had studied.

We also used Adventures in Mommydom’s Animal Report Forms.  We used them a bit differently than she suggests, but I LOVE how her kids used them in such creative ways!

Stay connected to This Reading Mama so you don’t miss a thing:

~Becky

View the original article here

FREE Nature's Plus Animal Parade KidGreenz Children's Chewable Sample

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Cancer-fighting immune activity boosted by dialing back Treg cell function in animal model

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Immune System / Vaccines
Article Date: 20 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Cancer-fighting immune activity boosted by dialing back Treg cell function in animal model

By carefully adjusting the function of crucial immune cells, scientists may have developed a completely new type of cancer immunotherapy - harnessing the body's immune system to attack tumors. To accomplish this, they had to thread a needle in immune function, shrinking tumors without triggering unwanted autoimmune responses.

The new research, performed in animals, is not ready for clinical use in humans. However, the approach, making use of a key protein to control immune function, lends itself to further study using candidate drugs that employ the same mechanisms.

"This preclinical study demonstrates proof of principle that using a drug to regulate the function of a special, immunosuppressive subset of so-called T-regulatory (Treg) cells safely controls tumor growth," said study leader Wayne W. Hancock, M.D., Ph.D., of the Division of Transplant Immunology at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). "It really moves the field along towards a potentially major, new cancer immunotherapy."

Hancock and colleagues published the study in Nature Medicine.

"There's a basic paradox in immunology: why doesn't the immune system prevent cancer in the first place?" said Hancock. The answer is complicated, he adds, but much of it involves a delicate balancing act among elements of the immune system: while immunity protects us against disease, an overly aggressive immune response may trigger dangerous, even life-threatening, autoimmune reactions in which the body attacks itself.

In the current study, Hancock focused on a subtype of immune cells called Foxp3+ Tregs, for short. Tregs were already known to limit autoimmunity, but often at the cost of curtailing immune responses against tumors. "We needed to find a way to reduce Treg function in a way that permits antitumor activity without allowing autoimmune reactions," he said.

Hancock's group showed that inhibiting the enzyme p300 can affect the functions of another protein, Foxp3, which plays a key role in controlling the biology of Tregs. By deleting the gene that expresses p300, the researchers safely reduced Treg function and limited tumor growth in mice. Notably, they also achieved the same effects on p300 and Tregs in mice by using a drug that inhibits p300 in normal mice.

Hancock will pursue further investigations into targeting p300 in immunotherapy. The preclinical findings offer encouraging potential for being translated into the clinic, said Hancock, who added that pharmaceutical companies have expressed interest in researching this approach as a possible cancer therapy.

The antitumor study, down-regulating Treg function, is the flip side of another part of Hancock's Treg research. In a 2007 animal study, also in Nature Medicine, he increased Treg function with the goal of suppressing the immune response to allow the body to better tolerate organ transplants. In the current study, decreasing Treg activity permitted the immune system to attack an unwelcome visitor - a tumor. In both cases, he relied on epigenetic processes - using groups of chemicals called acetyl groups to modify key proteins - but in opposite directions. "This is the yin and yang of immune function," he added.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our cancer / oncology section for the latest news on this subject.

The National Institutes of Health (grants AI073489, AI095353, and CA158941, all to Hancock) supported this research. In addition to his CHOP position, Hancock is on the faculty of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Yujie Liu et al., "Inhibition of p300 impairs Foxp3+ T regulatory cell function and promotes antitumor immunity," Nature Medicine, published online Aug. 18, 2013. doi:10.1038/nm.3286

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

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Prevention strategies the focus of first animal model for sexual transmission of HIV

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Also Included In: Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 17 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Prevention strategies the focus of first animal model for sexual transmission of HIV

Infection by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a debilitating disorder in which progressive weakening of the immune system makes affected individuals more susceptible to potentially life-threatening infections and chronic diseases. Despite advances in the treatment and management of AIDS, there is no cure, and HIV infection remains a major global health problem. According to the WHO, there were an estimated 34 million infected individuals in 2011. Over the last three decades, a number of animal models have been developed to study aspects of HIV infection, pathogenesis and control. However, the currently available models do not recapitulate the physiological environment of the most common route of HIV transmission worldwide, vaginal intercourse. Now, Mary Jane Potash and colleagues from St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center and Columbia University Medical Center in New York, NY, have developed an approach for modelling heterosexual transmission of HIV in vivo. Their work was published recently in Disease Models & Mechanisms.

The work stems from an earlier collaboration between Potash and David J. Volsky (also from Columbia University); they established a chimeric HIV clone with a genetic modification that allows the virus to propagate in rodents instead of humans. Infection of mice with these viruses has been successfully applied to study aspects of HIV neuropathogenesis and to evaluate antiretroviral drugs and potential HIV vaccines. In their latest study, Potash and colleagues describe the efficient and reproducible transmission of chimeric HIV from infected male mice to uninfected females via mating, providing the first report of HIV transmission by coitus in an animal model. Treatment of females with antiretroviral drugs prior to mating prevented transmission of the virus, in line with observations in humans. Intriguingly, the efficiency of viral transmission declined during estrus in mice, providing evidence that the hormonal environment in the female reproductive tract can impact on host susceptibility to HIV infection. This finding has implications for HIV infection in humans, where it has been suggested that vulnerability to viral infection could vary during the menstrual cycle.

The model described here has several advantages compared with previous experimental approaches for investigating sexual transmission of HIV. For example, transmission occurs during mating, in contrast with earlier systems in which viral stocks need to be applied manually to the vaginal surface; thus, the system preserves features of the male and female reproductive tracts. This is important, as previous work has shown that host factors and cells in the seminal fluid activate cells in the female reproductive tract and enhance HIV infection, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Similarly, as indicated in this study, the local environment in the female reproductive tract can influence the rate and efficiency of HIV sexual transmission. By preserving the physiological features of coitus, the approach allows the dynamic aspects of viral sexual transmission to be investigated in vivo. Furthermore, the system can be used to investigate the efficacy of new interventive strategies aimed at preventing the most frequent route of HIV transmission.

"We developed this system to study HIV spread by mating in mice with the hope that it can be applied to promote practical approaches to prevent HIV sexual transmission to people at risk" explained Dr Potash, when asked about the goals of this research.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our hiv / aids section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

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'Prevention strategies the focus of first animal model for sexual transmission of HIV'

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Malaria DNA vaccine demonstrates robust immune responses in animal models

Main Category: Tropical Diseases
Also Included In: Immune System / Vaccines
Article Date: 16 Aug 2013 - 2:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Malaria DNA vaccine demonstrates robust immune responses in animal models

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. have announced that its SynCon® DNA vaccine containing multiple malaria antigens delivered via its CELLECTRA® electroporation device demonstrated strong and durable antibody and T-cell immune responses in small animals and non-human primates. With these strong preclinical results, Inovio plans to initiate a phase I/IIa clinical trial next year.

These results appear in the American Society for Microbiology's peer-reviewed journal, Infection & Immunity, in a paper entitled: "Inducing humoral and cellular responses to multiple sporozoite and liver-stage malaria antigens using pDNA," authored by Inovio researchers and collaborators.

The World Health Organization estimated that in 2010 there were more than 200 million cases of malaria and almost 700,000 deaths due to malaria infection, the majority affecting young children in Africa. To date, the most advanced malaria vaccine candidate RTS,S, an adjuvanted recombinant protein vaccine, has not shown substantial protection in the key trial age group of infants. Scientists believe that a more effective malaria vaccine should generate both strong antibody and potent T-cell immune responses.

In this study, Inovio researchers and collaborators designed a highly optimized DNA vaccine composed of four sporozoite and liver-stage malaria antigens using Inovio's SynCon technology. These antigens were chosen because of their important role in the control or elimination of malaria infection. Delivered using Inovio's CELLECTRA delivery system, this malaria vaccine generated robust and long-lasting T-cell responses in both mice and non-human primates. Moreover, these vaccine-produced T-cells exhibited the functional ability to kill and eliminate malaria-infected cells. Researchers also found vaccine-induced CD8+, or "killer T-cells," in the liver, which is essential for rapid elimination of liver-stage malaria parasites. The Inovio DNA/electroporation platform has demonstrated in prior preclinical and human studies the ability to induce potent immune responses to multiple antigens; in this study, robust and sustained antibody responses to all four malaria antigens were observed, a strong indication for a preventive response in humans.

Inovio plans to initiate a phase I/IIa clinical trial in 2014 to test Inovio's DNA vaccine and electroporation technology in approximately 30 individuals as part of a "challenge trial" involving controlled human malaria infection. Volunteers will be administered Inovio's vaccine, then exposed to the malaria parasite through the bite of infected mosquitoes to see whether this approach prevents infection. If deemed successful, this trial would provide valuable information that may further the development of a vaccine against malaria and lead to larger efficacy studies in the field.

Dr. J. Joseph Kim, President and CEO of Inovio, said, "Published data from two clinical studies has demonstrated that Inovio's products generated best-in-class T-cell immune responses. Using the same synthetic vaccine technology that produced clinical candidates against HPV, HIV, and influenza and achieved potent antibody and T-cell immune responses against these targets, we have now generated strong immunology data with our malaria vaccine in non-human primates. We are excited to advance toward the very important healthcare goal of conquering malaria."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our tropical diseases section for the latest news on this subject.

"Inducing humoral and cellular responses to multiple sporozoite and liver stage malaria antigens using pDNA" Infection & Immunity, Published ahead of print 29 July 2013, doi: 10.1128/IAI.00180-13

About Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

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Pharmaceuticals, About Inovio. "Malaria DNA vaccine demonstrates robust immune responses in animal models." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 16 Aug. 2013. Web.
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