Degenerative cerebral alterations in Chinese aged 65 years or older

The brains of 57 consecutive Chinese patients, aged 65 years or above, dying in a regional general hospital, the causes of death of whom were not primarily intracranial, were examined for parameters of degenerative brain disease--reduction in brain weight, ventricular enlargement, neurofibrillary tangles, senile plaques, granulovacuolar degenerations, and ischemic lesions. Semi-quantitative analysis of these morphological changes suggests that, though generally similar to those observed among Caucasians, they occurred much less frequently, and, as regards senile plaques, in smaller numbers. These observations suggest a lower prevalence of "senile" cerebral alterations in Chinese than in Caucasians.     

β-Methyl-15-p-iodophenylpentadecanoic acid metabolism and kinetics in the isolated rat heart

The use of 15-p-iodophenyl--methyl-pentadecanoic acid (Me-IPPA) as an indicator of long chain fatty acid (LCFA) utilization in nuclear medicine studies was evaluated in the isolated, perfused, working rat heart. Time courses of radioctivity (residue curves) were obtained following bolus injections of both Me-IPPA and its straight chain counterpart 15-p-iodophenyl-pentadecanoic acid (IPPA). IPPA kinetics clearly indicated flow independent impairment of fatty acid oxidation caused by the carnitine palmitoyltransferase I inhibitor 2[5(4-chlorophenyl)pentyl]oxirane-2-carboxylate (POCA). In contrast, Me-IPPA kinetics were insenstive to changes in fatty acid oxidation rate and net utilization of long chain fatty acid. Analysis of radiolabeled species in coronary effluent and heart homogenates showed the methylated fatty acid to be readily incorporated into complex lipids but a poor substrate for oxidation. POCA did not significatly alter metabolism of the tracer, suggesting that the tracer is poorly metabolized beyond Me-IPPA-CoA in the oxidative pathway.     

A novel in vivo lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT)-deficient mouse expressing predominantly LpX is associated with spontaneous glomerulopathy

Complete lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) deficiency is a rare genetic cause of extreme reduction in high density lipoproteins and there is a high prevalence of chronic renal dysfunction that may progress to renal failure. Previous in vitro studies suggest the vesicular lipoprotein X (LpX) particles commonly seen in LCAT-deficient plasmas may be causative. To test this hypothesis, we have generated a novel murine model that selectively accumulate LpX in the circulation by cross breeding the sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP) 1a transgenic mice (S+) with the LCAT knockout (lcat-/-) mice. Fast protein liquid chromatography fractionation of pooled plasma lipids revealed that virtually all cholesterol is concentrated in the very low density lipoprotein (VLDL)-sized fractions. These fractions are enriched in free cholesterol and phospholipid but extremely poor in triglyceride. Electron microscopy of the d <1.063 g/ml fraction of the S+lcat-/- mice revealed abnormal large vesicular particles, suggestive of LpX. The S+lcat-/- mice developed glomerular lesions spontaneously evident at 6 months with glomerular and tubulointerstitial lipid-deposits. Immunohistochemical staining with RhoA showed marked positive focal staining in glomeruli in the S+lcat-/- mice and undetectable in the S+/lcat+/+ control. By 10 months of age, the kidneys showed progressive glomerular injury including segmental foam cell infiltrates, mesangial expansion, and hyalinosis. Renal abnormalities are very similar to those seen in human LCAT deficiency. We conclude that the selective high-level accumulation of plasma LpX in the S+lcat-/- mice is strongly associated with a spontaneous glomerulopathy, providing in vivo evidence that LpX contributes to the LCAT deficiency-related nephropathy.     

Altered splenic B cell subset development in mice lacking phosphoinositide 3-kinase p85alpha

The signaling enzyme phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) is activated following B cell receptor (BCR) engagement and by many other receptors on B lymphocytes. Mice lacking p85alpha, the predominant PI3K regulatory isoform, exhibit defects in B cell development and activation that are grossly similar to those found in mice lacking Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) and other critical signaling molecules. However, a detailed analysis of splenic B cell subsets in p85alpha-deficient mice has not been reported. Here we show that these mice are deficient in four major B cell subsets: transitional-1, transitional-2, follicular and marginal zone. These defects are distinct from those observed in Xid mice that express a mutant Btk unable to interact with PI3K lipid products. Moreover, mice with both genetic lesions exhibit even greater impairment in B cell development. Finally, we show that transgenic expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 in p85alpha-deficient mice restores the transitional B cell subsets but not the marginal zone subset, and produces a follicular population with an aberrant phenotype. These findings establish a role for PI3K-p85alpha in differentiation of both follicular and marginal zone B cells, and suggest that these functions are required not solely for the propagation of anti-apoptotic signals.     

Quantitative evaluation of recall and precision of CAT Crawler,a search engine specialized on retrieval of Critically Appraised Topics

Background

Critically Appraised Topics (CATs) are a useful tool that helps physicians to make clinical decisions as the healthcare moves towards the practice of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM). The fast growing World Wide Web has provided a place for physicians to share their appraised topics online, but an increasing amount of time is needed to find a particular topic within such a rich repository.

Methods

A web-based application, namely the CAT Crawler, was developed by Singapore's Bioinformatics Institute to allow physicians to adequately access available appraised topics on the Internet. A meta-search engine, as the core component of the application, finds relevant topics following keyword input. The primary objective of the work presented here is to evaluate the quantity and quality of search results obtained from the meta-search engine of the CAT Crawler by comparing them with those obtained from two individual CAT search engines. From the CAT libraries at these two sites, all possible keywords were extracted using a keyword extractor. Of those common to both libraries, ten were randomly chosen for evaluation. All ten were submitted to the two search engines individually, and through the meta-search engine of the CAT Crawler. Search results were evaluated for relevance both by medical amateurs and professionals, and the respective recall and precision were calculated.

Results

While achieving an identical recall, the meta-search engine showed a precision of 77.26% (±14.45) compared to the individual search engines' 52.65% (±12.0) (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

The results demonstrate the validity of the CAT Crawler meta-search engine approach. The improved precision due to inherent filters underlines the practical usefulness of this tool for clinicians.

     

A screening assay for detecting CD8+ cell non-cytotoxic anti-HIV responses

The rate of HIV-1 disease progression is influenced by several factors that include pathogen and host genetic variations and the quality of antiviral immune responses. The CD8+ cell non-cytotoxic antiviral response (CNAR) substantially suppresses HIV replication in CD4+ cells and is positively associated with an asymptomatic clinical state. Traditionally, the measurement of CNAR has required several culture procedures and costly reagents. Here we report the development and validation of a screening assay for detection of CNAR that accurately identifies individuals benefiting from this response. Use of the CNAR screening assay should facilitate the evaluation of this important immune parameter in studies of HIV pathogenesis, resistance to infection, and vaccine development.     

Genetic imbalances in pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma detected by comparative genomic hybridization and literature review.

Pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA) is a rare, low-grade astrocytic tumor found in the central nervous system. Histologically, the tumor is characterized by markedly pleomorphic and lipidized cells. Although most of the patients have a favorable prognosis, a small number of cases undergoing recurrence or progression to anaplastic astrocytoma were reported. Very few genetic studies have been performed on PXA because of its rarity and the pathogenesis of this neoplasm is largely unknown. In order to provide an overview of genetic alterations in PXA, we performed comparative genomic hybridization to identify chromosomal imbalances (DNA gains and losses) in three cases of PXA. Genetic imbalance was detected on at least one chromosome for each case. One case, which revealed multiple genetic alterations, showed a poor prognosis. DNA gain on chromosome 7 and loss on 8p were demonstrated in two of three cases, suggesting that the candidate gene(s) located on these regions may play a role in the development of PXA. Further studies are needed to identify the residing candidate genes that are involved in the tumorigenesis of PXA. In addition, the histopathological features and previous genetic studies on PXA are reviewed.     

Tyrosine phosphatase-like protein (IA-2) and glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) autoantibodies: a study of Chinese patients with diabetes mellitus

Type 1 diabetes in most Asian populations may not have a salient autoimmune basis when assessed with single determinations of the major markers, islet cell antibodies (ICAs) and glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies (GAD65ab). With the inclusion of antibodies to tyrosine phosphatase-like protein IA-2 (IA-2ab) as an additional major marker, we re-examined autoimmune diabetes in a group of Chinese patients. We studied 272 subjects at various stages of disease with blood samples procured for biochemical analysis. ICAs were measured by immunofluorescence, GAD65ab and IA-2ab by radioimmunoassay. Sixty-seven patients fulfilled clinical diagnosis of type 1 diabetes and the remaining 205 patients were type 2. Prevalence of single autoantibody type in recent-onset type 1 diabetes ( < 1 year duration; n = 47) showed 10.6% with ICAs, 44.7% GAD65ab and 36.2% IA-2ab. GAD65ab account for more than two-thirds of the markers found in type 1 diabetes. Combined analysis further showed that 51.1% had at least one antibody type, 31.9% with two or more antibodies and 8.5% with all three antibodies. Islet autoimmunity presence in childhood-onset type 1 diabetes improved with the addition of IA-2ab, though less impact was seen in the adult-onset. Similarly, combined analysis for type 2 patients with recent diabetes showed a modest increase to 13% with islet autoimmunity compared to 8% when assessed by GAD65ab alone. Combining IA-2ab and GAD65ab assays results detected slightly more immune-mediated diabetes, compared to using a single GAD65ab determination. Non-autoimmune causes need to be considered in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes in Chinese, particularly in adults.