Murine lupus nephritis: effect of azathioprine on glomerular permeability and localization of immunoreactants.

We investigated the effect of azathioprine on glomerular permeability and deposition of immunoreactants in NZB/W mice. Glomerular permeability, assessed by proteins excreted in the urine and by a molecular probe of anionic sites of the basement membrane, underwent negligible changes, in comparison to pre-treatment findings, and deposits of immunoreactants were largely mesangial and were decreased overall. Therapy with azathioprine preserved glomerular structure and function by decreasing the amount of immunoreactants, by inducing a preferential mesangial localization of immunoreactants, and, possibly, by interfering with factors that favor the deposition of immunoreactants in the glomerular capillary wall.     

Clinical Benchmark for Gastric Stapling Procedures

To help answer the call to cut costs of surgical care, hospitals and physicians have joined to compare methods of care for the more common Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) diagnoses to form a Benchmark. Since many bariatric surgeons are the only ones performing this surgery in their primary hospitals, they do not have two or more surgical routines for comparison. This presentation compares data for the preoperative work-up, operating-room, and methods of postoperative care used by 29 members of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS). There was representation of both academic and private surgeons and hospitals. To target areas for possible savings, the hospital bills of 16 patients without complication were compared. The synthesis of this information revealed significant differences in the extent and cost of preoperative work-up, antibiotic coverage, other postoperative care, and length of stay. These differences are examined under the assumption that patient outcome was the same.     

The effect of indomethacin on the cytokine cascade and body temperature following burn injury in rats.

This study investigates the hypothesis that indomethacin's ability to prevent "fever" following burn injury in rats is mediated via decreased plasma concentrations of IL-6, the putative mediator of increased body temperature. Sprague-Dawley rats had radio transmitters and osmotic pumps containing indomethacin placed in the peritoneal cavity. Seven days later full thickness scald burns to 50% of the body surface area were produced. Following burn injuries, daily blood samples were obtained from a carotid catheter for assay of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), interleukin-1alpha (IL-1alpha), IL-1beta, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and IL-6. In addition, body temperature (T(B)) and activity index were obtained every five minutes by telemetry. There were four experimental groups: burn + indomethacin (B-In); burn + polyethylene glycol (Peg) (B-Peg); control + indomethacin (C-In); and control + Peg (C-Peg). Burned animals demonstrated a significant two-fold increase in plasma IL-1alpha levels (p=0.004) and a seven-fold increment in IL-6 (p=0.0001) through the 7th PBD, and indomethacin administration had no significant effect upon the cytokine plasma levels. There were no significant increases in IL-1beta, TNF-alpha or LPS in any group. Indomethacin eliminated the chronic increase in T(B) following burn injury, and this effect was not produced by changes in plasma levels of the endogenous pyrogens IL-1alpha and IL-6.     

Characterisation of a myofibroblast-like cell line from an angiosarcoma

We have isolated a cell line (ASMM) by serial passage of cells from explant cultures of an angiosarcoma resected from the calf of a 62 year old female. ASMM has been in continuous culture for over eighteen months (>150 population doublings) and has a Fibroblast-like morphology with a doubling time of approximately 72 h. ASMM has a normal diploid karyology and is unable to generate tumors in nude mice or produce colonies in soft agar. Examination of the cytoskeletal proteins shows both desmin and vimentin and a low level of alpha-smooth muscle actin, which can be upregulated by treatment with TGF beta. Low levels of basal VCAM-1 are significantly upregulated with TNF alpha and reduced by the presence of TCF beta. Basal ICAM-1 is also upregulated with TNF alpha and we show an additional upregulation through TGF beta. ASMM expresses high levels of the hyaluronate receptor CD44, including the variant exons 6, 8 and 10. In addition, ASMM synthesises high levels of hyaluronate (HA), as did the original tumor. Unlike human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) these cells were unable to generate capillary-like tubes when seeded onto basement membrane gels, and generated cords of cells containing many synthetic organelles and intermediate filaments. We were unable to detect the expression of factor VIII-related antigen, von Willebrand factor (vWF), CD31 or CD34, and were not able to induce expression of E-selectin after TNF alpha stimulation. In conclusion, this cell line represents a partially transformed population of cells which show characteristics consistent with myofibroblast-like cells. The production of high levels of HA and expression of CD44 may help to explain the high degree of agressiveness of the tumor from which ASMM was derived, as these molecules have been shown to play a role in cell motility and adhesion.     

PREVALENCE OF MICROALBUMINURIA IN NON-INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES MELLITUS

The prevalence of microalbuminuria was assessed in 50 patients of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. The mean age of patients was 52.1 ± 11.6 years and the duration of diabetes was 8.3 ± 6.8 years. Twenty (40%) patients had microalbuminuria. Microalbuminuria was more common in patients with a longer duration of diabetes (more than 5 years), a poor glycaemic control, and higher systolic blood pressure.KEY WORDS: Microalbuminuria, Diabetes mellitus, Diabetic nephropathy, Chronic renal failure