The specific binding of transferrin to the murine fibroblast cell lines AKR-2B and its malignant counterpart AKR-MCA may be related to the transformed state

The specific binding of radiolabelled transferrin to AKR-2B and AKR-MCA murine fibroblasts was studied. The binding of radioligand to both cell lines was specific, being displaced by excess of unlabelled transferrin but not myoglobin, or lactoperoxidase. Under equilibrium conditions the transformed line AKR-MCA bound significantly more radioactive transferrin (22.5 +/- 3.5 fmol/micrograms DNA) than the parental line AKR-2B (14.5 +/- 1.5 fmol/micrograms DNA). The differences in the amount of ligand bound was due to altered receptor numbers. Treatment of AKR-MCA and AKR-2B cells with DMF eliminated the difference in transferrin binding capacities. The maximum decrease in specific ligand binding to AKR-MCA cells brought about by the polar solvent was observed after 48 h. These data suggest an association between transferrin binding and the transformed state of AKR-2B fibroblasts.     

Complications of the Kock pouch

Over the past 41/2 years, 395 consecutive Kock pouch procedures have been performed by the urology faculty at the University of Southern California School of Medicine as an alternative to conventional cutaneous urinary diversion. This article reviews the early and late complications experienced in the 386 patients surviving the operation and describes in detail modifications in surgical technique designed to reduce the complication rate and the subsequent need for re-operation. We remain convinced that construction from ileum of a low-pressure, high-capacity internal reservoir with continent and nonrefluxing valves as originally described by Kock remains the ultimate technique for patients requiring permanent urinary diversion or for those requiring conversion from a pre-existing form of diversion.     

Pituitary volume in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Abnormalities in the limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (LHPA) axis have been implicated in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To our knowledge, however, no prior study has measured pituitary gland volume in OCD. METHODS: Volumetric magnetic resonance imaging studies were conducted in 31 psychotropic drug-na?ve children (10 boys, 21 girls) aged 8-17 years and 31 case-matched healthy comparison subjects. RESULTS: Pituitary volume was significantly smaller in patients with OCD as compared with healthy control subjects (11% smaller). Smaller pituitary volume in patients with OCD was associated with increased compulsive but not obsessive symptom severity. Boys with OCD had smaller pituitary gland volumes compared with control boys (20% smaller). No significant differences in pituitary volume were observed between girls with OCD and control girls. Boys with OCD had significantly smaller pituitary volumes than girls with OCD (31% smaller), whereas control boys also had smaller pituitary gland volumes compared with control girls (21% smaller). CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide new evidence of reduced pituitary volume in pediatric OCD that seems to be more prominent in male patients. The observed alterations in pituitary volume are consistent with neuroendocrine studies that have reported abnormalities in the LHPA axis in OCD.     

Familial pericentric inversion inv(8)(p23q11).

We describe two families in whom a pericentric inversion, inv(8)(p23q11), is segregating. No examples of unbalanced karyotypes were encountered. The families originated from neighbouring parishes in western Finland. In one family a mild form of mental retardation segregated. However, this phenotype did not cosegregate with the inversion karyotype. There was no evidence of a higher than average abortion rate in the inversion carriers. Carrier matings produced 19 children with a balanced inversion and 14 children with a normal karyotype, concordant with a 1:1 segregation ratio. Of 13 karyotyped men at risk, 10 were inversion carriers. However, this difference was not statistically different from the expected 1:1 ratio. In females, the inversion carrier to normal ratio was 10:11.     

Fixed drug eruption to Tylenol: report of two cases and review of the literature.

Fixed drug eruptions due to Tylenol (paracetamol, acetaminophen) are very rare. The authors report two additional cases and review the literature.     

Genetic construction, expression, and melanoma-selective cytotoxicity of a diphtheria toxin-related alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone fusion protein.

The structural gene for diphtheria toxin, tox, has been modified at its Sph I site by the introduction of an oligonucleotide linker encoding a unique Pst I restriction endonuclease site and a synthetic oligonucleotide encoding alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH). The resulting fusion gene directs the expression of a diphtheria toxin-related alpha-MSH hybrid protein in which the diphtheria toxin receptor-binding domain has been replaced with alpha-MSH sequences. The chimeric toxin has been partially purified from periplasmic extracts of recombinant Escherichia coli K-12 and has been found to be selectively toxic for alpha-MSH receptor-positive human malignant melanoma NEL-M1 cells in vitro.     

Cultured fibroblasts in avian scleroderma, an autoimmune fibrotic disease, display an activated phenotype.

University of California, Davis, line 200 and 206 chickens spontaneously develop an autoimmune syndrome that has many features analogous to human scleroderma, including dermal fibrosis, antinuclear antibodies and antibodies to type II collagen. These birds also have thymic subcapsular epithelial defects and an abnormality in T cell calcium influx and proliferation in response to both T cell receptor-dependent and -independent activators. To determine whether fibroblast activation is a contributing factor to development of skin fibrosis in line 200/206 chickens, as it is in human scleroderma, we studied the collagen, non-collagenous protein and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) production of 34 separate fibroblast lines derived from the normal and fibrotic skin of line 200 and 206 chickens and from the skin of control chicken lines 058 and 254. The mean +/- SEM 24-h incorporation of 3H-proline or 3H-glucosamine into extracellular collagen, non-collagenous protein or GAG by first passage fibroblast lines derived from the fibrotic skin of diseased birds was 1,526 +/- 136, 859 +/- 82 and 25.7 +/- 1.3 dpm/10(3) cells, respectively, while fibroblast lines derived from the skin of control birds produced only 341 +/- 36, 343 +/- 42 and 15.2 +/- 1.4 dpm/10(3) cells. Similar differences in results were recorded for cell-associated production, and when collagen and non-collagenous protein production were assessed using non-radioactive electrophoretic methods. The activated phenotype of the fibroblast lines derived from the fibrotic skin of diseased birds persisted through 10 cell doublings in tissue culture. However, the ratio of type I:III collagen and the profile of GAG types produced were similar in all fibroblast lines studied. These results suggest that fibroblast activation is responsible for the skin fibrosis observed in this avian model of scleroderma.