The role of the thymus in the pathogenesis of simian acquired immunodeficiency syndrome was investigated in 18 juvenile rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). The thymus was infected from the first week post-SIVmac inoculation, but the amount of virus-positive cells was very low « 1 in 1 04 T cells) as demonstrated by polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization. First morphological alteration was a narrowing of the cortex at 12 and 24 wpi. Morphometry revealed no increase of pyknotic T cells but a decrease of the proliferation rate andflow cytometry showed a reduction of the immature \(CD4^+/CD8^+\) double-positive T cells. Ultrastructural analysis revealed vacuolization, shrinkage, andfinally cytolysis of the cortical epithelial cells and the interdigitating dendritic cells. Immunofluorescence staining exhibited a widespread loss of cortical epithelial cells. This damage to the thymic microenvironment could explain the breakdown of the intrathymic T cell proliferation. It preceded fully developed simian acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and is therefore considered to play a major role in its pathogenesis.

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Rhesus monkeys (M. mulatta) were i. v. infected with SIV mac251. Three phases of lymph node changes were observed. 1: physiological follicular hyperplasia (3 and 6 weeks p.i.). 2: Alterations of germinal centers: loss of follicular mantle zone, fragmentation or sclerosis (12 and 24 weeks p.i.). 3: Partial depletion of T-lymphocytes, accumulation of plasma cells, increased numbers of syncytial giant cells, hemophgocytosis in the sinuses (about 1 year p.i.). The thymus of the juvenile animals showed first changes 12 and 24 weeks after infection with focalloss of immature (and Ki-67 positive) cortical thymocytes, leading to severe accidental involution of the thymuses one year after infection and reduced numbers of Hassalls corpuscles. These investigations show the value of this animal model for the study of morphology and pathogenesis of AIDS.

Background Physical activity (PA) and exercise have become an accepted and valued component of cystic fibrosis (CF) care. Regular PA and exercise can positively impact pulmonary function, improve physical fitness, and enhance health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, motivating people to be more active is challenging. Supervised exercise programs are expensive and labour intensive, and adherence falls off significantly once supervision ends. Unsupervised or partially supervised programs are less costly and more flexible, but compliance can be more problematic. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of a partially supervised exercise intervention along with regular motivation on forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) at 6 months in a large international group of CF patients. Secondary endpoints include patient reported HRQoL, as well as levels of anxiety and depression, and control of blood sugar. Methods/design It is planned that a total of 292 patients with CF 12 years and older with a FEV1 ≥ 35% predicted shall be randomised. Following baseline assessments (2 visits) patients are randomised into an intervention and a control group. Thereafter, they will be seen every 3 months for assessments in their centre for one year (4 follow-up visits). Along with individual counselling to increase vigorous PA by at least 3 h per week on each clinic visit, the intervention group documents daily PA and inactivity time and receives a step counter to record their progress within a web-based diary. They also receive monthly phone calls from the study staff during the first 6 months of the study. After 6 months, they continue with the step counter and web-based programme for a further 6 months. The control group receives standard care and keeps their PA level constant during the study period. Thereafter, they receive the intervention as well. Discussion This is the first large, international multi-centre study to investigate the effects of a PA intervention in CF with motivational feedback on several health outcomes using modern technology. Should this relatively simple programme prove successful, it will be made available on a wider scale internationally. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01744561; Registration date: December 6, 2012.

Fanconi anemia (FA) is a genetically heterogeneous disorder with 22 disease-causing genes reported to date. In some FA genes, monoallelic mutations have been found to be associated with breast cancer risk, while the risk associations of others remain unknown. The gene for FA type C, FANCC, has been proposed as a breast cancer susceptibility gene based on epidemiological and sequencing studies. We used the Oncoarray project to genotype two truncating FANCC variants (p.R185X and p.R548X) in 64,760 breast cancer cases and 49,793 controls of European descent. FANCC mutations were observed in 25 cases (14 with p.R185X, 11 with p.R548X) and 26 controls (18 with p.R185X, 8 with p.R548X). There was no evidence of an association with the risk of breast cancer, neither overall (odds ratio 0.77, 95%CI 0.44–1.33, p = 0.4) nor by histology, hormone receptor status, age or family history. We conclude that the breast cancer risk association of these two FANCC variants, if any, is much smaller than for BRCA1, BRCA2 or PALB2 mutations. If this applies to all truncating variants in FANCC it would suggest there are differences between FA genes in their roles on breast cancer risk and demonstrates the merit of large consortia for clarifying risk associations of rare variants.