Intercellular communication between dorsal root ganglion cells and colonic smooth muscle cells in vitro

This study demonstrates that the use of high field 1H NMR spectroscopy permits individual detection of phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin molecules at the surface of native low density lipoprotein (LDL) particles. Distinct behaviour was observed for the choline head group -N(CH3)3 resonances of these different phospholipids revealing preferential immobilisation for phosphatidylcholine. This suggests the existence of reversible and irreversible phosphatidylcholine-apolipoprotein B interactions and is consistent with microdomain formation at the surface monolayer of LDL. The novel resonance assignment and results show that 1H NMR can provide efficient and practical means for future studies on the structure and dynamics at the LDL surface.     

Modulation of TCDD-induced fetotoxicity and oxidative stress in embryonic and placental tissues of C57BL/6J mice by vitamin E succinate and ellagic acid

Secretory middle ear otitis is of difficult assessment in children with severe hearing impairment. This otitis, very frequent in infants and children, influences negatively the auditive capacity and apprenticeship as well. Our study deals with the prevalence and severity of the secretive middle ear otitis in an scholar population handicapped by a heavy hypoacusia. Demographically, etiologic and seasonal correlations are considered in the paper. The outcome shows a high incidence of the condition, an inversely relation with the age, an evident seasonal distribution and the absence of correlation between etiology of middle ear disease and sensorineural deafness.     

IL-7 overexpression in transgenic mouse keratinocytes causes a lymphoproliferative skin disease dominated by intermediate TCR cells: evidence for a hierarchy in IL-7 responsiveness among cutaneous T cells

IL-7 is a keratinocyte-derived lymphocyte growth factor critical for the development of gammadelta T cells including murine dendritic epidermal T cells (DETC). We derived transgenic mice that overexpress IL-7 in basal keratinocytes under the control of the human K14 promoter. These K14/IL-7 mice develop dermal and epidermal T cell infiltrates associated with alopecia. This lymphoproliferative skin disease is substantially more severe in mice homozygous for the K14/IL-7 transgene. Conventional DETC expressing a Vgamma5 Vdelta1 TCR are rare or absent among the cutaneous T cells in these mice. The T cells in the skin infiltrates of young K14/IL-7 mice are predominantly gammadelta T cells that express intermediate levels of TCR, are negative for E-cadherin, often lack expression of CD2, and include cells that coexpress NK1.1. T cells expressing intermediate levels of a TCR-alphabeta are also present in transgenic skin, and progressively increase in number as the mice age. Phenotypically similar intermediate gammadelta and alphabeta T cell subsets also constitute the major lymphocyte populations recovered from organ culture of normal mouse skin in the presence of IL-7, suggesting that the T cells that accumulate in the epidermis of K14/IL-7 mice are derived from precursors normally resident in skin. We conclude that intermediate TCR cells, some of which coexpress NK1.1, can be selectively expanded in skin under the influence of IL-7 produced locally. Our results also suggest that features of the epidermal microenvironment besides keratinocyte-derived IL-7 account for the normal predominance of Vgamma5 Vdelta1 DETC in mouse epidermis.     

The effect of the special instruction of bronchial asthma patients on the efficacy of their treatment

As the data collected in a survey we conducted show, a major part of the modern general practitioner's work continues to be in the field of family medicine. This fact is also confirmed by the results of other surveys of general practice today. Patients still appreciate their GPs as a source of good medical care and counseling for the whole family. Our own study has shown that most patients would even like to see an expansion of the GP's counseling activities. The duration of the doctor-family relationship extends over many years, and is frequently longer than a decade.     

Acute hemorrhagic pulmonary infarction and necrotizing pneumonia in horses: 21 cases (1967-1993)

Specimens of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded non-small-cell lung carcinomas (NSCLCs; n = 187) were analysed immunohistochemically for expression of cyclin A. The analysis was intended to determine whether cyclin A has additional prognostic value for predicting patients' survival and drug response. Of the 187 NSCLCs, 141 cases (75%) showed expression of cyclin A. Patients with cyclin A-positive carcinomas had significantly shorter median survival times than patients with cyclin A-negative carcinomas (79 vs 129 weeks, P = 0.045). Similar results were obtained with more homogeneous groups of patients: patients with only T3 tumours, patients with epidermoid carcinomas and patients with lymph node involvement. The clinical parameters (age, stage, histology, extent of tumour size, lymph node involvement) had no influence on expression of cyclin A. A direct correlation between cyclin A and the proportion of S-phase cells (P = 0.08) and an inverse relationship between cyclin A and the proportion of G0/G1-phase cells (P = 0.04) were found. Furthermore, a significant correlation between the expression of cyclin A and the response of NSCLC to doxorubicin in vitro was detected (P = 0.026).     

The prognostic significance of tumor cell detection in intraoperative pleural lavage and lung tissue cultures for patients with lung cancer

METHODS: Three hundred forty-two patients with lung cancer and 99 patients with nonneoplastic lung diseases (control group) underwent intraoperative pleural lavage with 300 ml physiologic saline solution before (lavage I) and after resection (lavage II). RESULTS: Studies of the lavage fluid in all control patients were negative, that is, there were no false positive findings. Tumor cells were found in lavage I in 132 patients (38.6%) and also in lavage II in 99 of them. In stage I (pT1 N0, pT2 N0) lung cancer, tumor cell detection was possible in 47 patients (28.6%). The 4-year survival of patients with resected non-small-cell lung cancer was 24% (95% confidence interval, 16% to 32%) if lavage I results were positive and 52% (95% confidence interval, 45% to 59%) if lavage I results were negative (all stages, p = 0.007). For patients with stage I disease (n = 164) the 4-year survival was 35% (95% confidence interval, 18% to 52%) if lavage I results were positive (n = 47), and 69% (95% confidence interval, 60% to 78%) if lavage I results were negative (n = 117) (p = 0.037). On multivariate analysis the positive cytologic result in intraoperative pleural lavage was an additional prognostic factor for our patients. To prove how the tumor cells enter the pleural cavity, we performed tissue cultures of tumor-free parenchyma in 23 cases of lung cancer. Tumor cell detection by histology and immunohistology was possible in 16 cases (69.6%). Detection of tumor cells in pleural lavage fluid before resection proves that tumor cells have spread into the pleural cavity. CONCLUSION: The positive result in pleural lavage seems to be a prognostic predictor for patients with lung cancer.     

Developmental stability in stocks of White Leghorn chickens

The degree of asymmetry in bilateral morphological characters may reflect genetic and environmental stressors. Shank length and diameter, weight and length of the first primary wing feather, and distance between the junction of upper and lower mandibles and auditory canal (face length) were used to classify bilateral types and measure relative asymmetry (RA) in six genetic stocks. The stocks were the S23 generation of White Leghorn lines selected for high or low antibody response to SRBC, sublines in which selection had been relaxed for eight generations, and reciprocal crosses of the selected lines. Differences were found among all stocks for the traits measured. Rankings among traits for RA in descending order were face length, shank diameter, feather weight, and shank and feather lengths. The RA of shank and feather lengths did not differ from each other. An overall RA composed of mean RA of the five traits showed that the two selected lines exhibited greater RA than the crosses between them. The RA of the two lines where selection had been relaxed was similar to that of selected lines. This research suggests that an overall RA created as a combination of RA of several bilateral traits can be a valid measure of genetic stress in chickens and provides a method of comparing developmental stability among populations.     

The t(5;17) variant of acute promyelocytic leukemia expresses a nucleophosmin-retinoic acid receptor fusion

The classical action of the hormone 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (VD) is the regulation of calcium metabolism. In contrast, the peptide hormone atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) is one of the few known nonclassical VD responding genes. We screened the promoter of the rat ANF gene and identified a typical VD receptor (VDR) binding site formed by a direct repeat of two hexameric core binding motifs spaced by three nucleotides, between positions -907 and -891. Like most of the DR3-type VD response elements this sequence is bound with high affinity (Kd = 0.53 nM) by a heterodimer formed by VDR and retinoid X receptor. In a heterologous promoter context one copy of this sequence mediated an about fourfold gene activation by VD and a half-maximal activation (EC50) value of 0.48 nM VD. This characterizes the identified sequence as one of the most potent VD response elements.