In vitro biosynthesis of plasma proteins under ischemic conditions of closed-circuit perfusion of healthy and intoxicated rabbit liver

We are elaborating on the kinetics and mechanisms of septic rabbit liver to de novo biosynthesize acute-phase response (APR) proteins under in vitro conditions of deepening ischemia in reference to their in vivo prevalence in serum and cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) collected at predetermined times. The significance of the data is interpreted as relevant to grafting cadaveric liver into end-stage liver diseased patients and APR-induced ischemic heart diseases (IHD). Hepatic APR was induced by CCl(4)-intubation, and the administration of cholera toxin (CT) or scorpion venom (SV), or both, to rabbits. Hepatic functional efficiency, in terms of biosynthesis of APR proteins in closed circuit perfusion of the isolated intoxicated liver with oxygenated saline or L-15 media paralleled the two-dimensional immunoelectrophoresis (2D-IEP) spectrum of APR serum proteins at time of liver isolation. We are suggesting: (a) in vitro biosynthesis of plasma proteins by isolated perfused liver is the result of in vivo decoded and retained APR inflammatory signals; and (b) decoded inflammatory signals are expressed not withstanding the perfusate's organic composition. Furthermore, 90 min of ischemic perfusion in saline or L-15 medium precipitated mitochondrial aberrations which resulted in further deterioration of de novo biosynthesis of APR plasma proteins. Regardless of the nature of the inflammatory stimuli, mitochondrial aberrations rendered the perfused organ a biologically inert tissue mass that was incapable of resuming biological function upon perfusion with oxygenated L-15 medium. This is most likely due to ischemia-induced irreversible hepatic necrosis. Thus, in vitro aberrations of mitochondrial function(s) critically limit the capability of the isolated liver to resume its organic function to sustain biosynthesis of de novo plasma proteins. Extrapolation of these results to the surgical management of end-stage liver diseases points to the importance of the status and the handling protocol(s) of the cadaver donor liver prior to successful grafting. We conclude that although histology of a cadaver liver may reveal well-preserved hepatic cellular organelles with at least minimal intra- and intercellular communication required for viable hepatic function, we deem it essential to further define acceptable minimal capabilities to de novo biosynthesize plasma proteins by a cadaver liver as a measure of its functional viability and suitability for transplantation. Ultimately, this measure may improve the success of liver transplants with minimal surgical and drug interventions.     

抗蓖麻毒素A链人源化单域抗体的设计、原核表达及生物活性检测

目的 运用计算机辅助蛋白质分子设计的方法设计针对蓖麻毒素A链(RTA)的拮抗肽,实现在大肠杆菌B121中的可溶性表达,并对其生物学活性进行评价.方法 根据RTA的晶体结构、RTA-rRNA相互作用复合物模型,在CVFF(consistent-valence force field)、Amber力场下,对RTA的空间构象进行理论模拟,初步确定其生物活性功能域;然后针对该功能域设计小分子拮抗肽,并借助人抗体重链町变区骨架,在CDR3区对拮抗肽进行展示,用重叠延伸PCR全基因合成人源化的单域抗体并克隆至载体pET-32a(+);双酶切和DNA测序技术对构建的载体进行鉴定;IPrG诱导人源化的单域抗体表达,用镍离子亲和层析纯化,竞争ELISA和MTT法分别进行结合和中和活性检测.结果 从头搭建并设计合成了人源化的单域抗体,实现了其原核表达,并进行了牛物活性检测;建立了基于人源化的单域抗体的RTA和蓖麻毒素检测方法.结论 研究结果为新型蓖麻毒素小分子拮抗剂的研制奠定了理论和实验基础.     

Generators of pathologically enhanced excitation as determinant structures in the spinal cord

With the aid of tetanus toxin, which disturbs various types of inhibition, generators of excitation were created in the left and right anterior horns of the lumbar spinal cord in rats. The regimes of activity of the generators differed: the left-sided generator, formed during the longer action of the toxin, in response to activation by trigger stimulation first produced tonic, and then intermittent activity, or individual spontaneous discharges, whereas the righ-sided generator produced only tonic activity. If one generator was blocked by glycine, the other continued to operate as before. Activation of one generator led to concomitant depression of the effects of the other. During separate activation of each generator, all the spinal and supraspinal motoneuron pools synchronously reproduced the character of activity of the generator functioning at that particular moment. The generator thus played the role of a determinant structure, determining the behavior of the system. The results are examined from the standpoint of the general concept of the role of determinant structures in the activity of the nervous system and the theory of generator mechanisms of neuropathological syndromes characterized by hyperactivity of systems.Laboratory of General Pathology of the Nervous System, Institute of General Pathology and Pathological Physiology, Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 83, No. 5, pp. 515–519, May, 1977.     

Inhibition of the development of immediate hypersensitivity by staphylococcal enterotoxin B

We investigated the ability of staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) to modify the immediate hypersensitivity response induced in BALB/c mice following sensitization to ovalbumin (OVA), a response mediated by OVA-reactive Vβ8 T cells. Mice were sensitized by skin painting with OVA every second day over a period of 2 weeks. SEB, a potent activator of Vβ8⁺ T cells, was administered at the same site where OVA was applied (skin of the lower abdomen) following two different protocols. In protocol (A) SEB was injected intradermally 1 day before painting with OVA and on day 7; in protocol B, SEB was injected each time OVA was applied to the skin (eight times). SEB (but not SEA) altered the development of immediate hypersensitivity to OVA, as demonstrated by the reduction in allergen-specific IgE, decreased OVA-specific immediate skin test responsiveness, and prevented the development of increased airways responsiveness after bronchial challenge with OVA. Injections of SEB did not alter the proliferative responses of local draining lymph node cells or spleen mononuclear cells to OVA, indicating that administration of SEB did not inhibit the sensitization to OVA, but shifted the immune response away from an immediate type response (IgE/IgG₁) to IgG_2a, IgG_2b and IgG₃. Although both protocols of SEB treatment did not lead to a major deletion of the Vβ8 T cell population, they did reduce the proliferative response of Vβ8⁺ T cells to OVA. These data indicate that the bacterial toxin SEB is capable of modifying the immediate hypersensitivity response induced by OVA by altering the functional capacity of antigen-reactive Vβ8 T cells.     

β3‐Adrenoceptors modulate left ventricular relaxation in the rat heart via the NO‐cGMP‐PKG pathway

Aims: Using a model of isolated and Langendorff‐perfused rat heart we analysed whether activation of β₃‐adrenergic receptors (β₃‐ARs) influences ventricular lusitropic performance. We also focused on the NOS/NO/cGMP/PKG cascade as the signal transduction mechanism. Methods: Hearts were treated with increasing concentrations (from 10^?12 to 10^?6 m ) of BRL₃₇₃₄₄, a selective β₃‐AR agonist, and cardiac performance was evaluated by analysing both lusitropic parameters and coronary motility. Cardiac preparations were also perfused with BRL₃₇₃₄₄ in the presence of either isoproterenol (ISO) or nadolol, or pertussis toxin (PTx), or selective inhibitors of the NOS/NO/cGMP/PKG pathway. Results: BRL₃₇₃₄₄ caused a significant concentration‐dependent reduction in (LVdP/dt)_min, a decrease in half time relaxation significant starting from 10^?12 m , and an increase in (LVdP/dt)_max/(LVdP/dt)_min ratio (T/?t). BRL₃₇₃₄₄ abolished the ISO‐mediated positive lusitropism. β₃‐AR‐dependent effects on relaxation were insensitive to β₁/β₂‐AR inhibition by nadolol (100 nm ), and were abolished by G_i/o protein inhibition by PTx (0.01 nm ). NO scavenging by haemoglobin (10 μm ), and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibition by NG‐monomethyl‐l ‐arginine (10 μm ) revealed the involvement of NO signalling in BRL₃₇₃₄₄ response. Pre‐treatment with inhibitors of either soluble guanylate cyclase (ODQ; 10 μm ) or PKG (KT₅₈₂₃; 100 nm ) abolished β₃‐AR‐dependent negative lusitropism. In contrast, anantin (10 nm ), an inhibitor of particulate guanylate cyclase, did not modify the effect of BRL₃₇₃₄₄ on relaxation. Conclusion: Taken together, our findings provide functional evidence for β₃‐AR modulation of ventricular relaxation in the rat heart which involves PTx‐sensitive inhibitory Gi protein and occurs via an NO‐cGMP‐PKG cascade. Whether the effects of β₃‐AR stimulation on lusitropism are beneficial or detrimental remains to be established.     

Age-dependence of malonate-induced striatal toxicity

Malonate is an inhibitor of cellular metabolism, which, following intrastriatal injection, induces a striatal pathology similar to that seen in Huntington's disease. In two parallel studies, we have investigated the suggested relationship between the neuronal vulnerability to metabolic toxicity and the decline in metabolic function with increasing age. The first experiment investigated malonate-induced neuronal loss in animals aged from 6 weeks up to 27 months, and the second assessed the activities of two mitochondrial enzymes, succinate dehydrogenase and cytochrome oxidase (CYTOX) in animals aged 6 weeks, 3, 8 and 18 months. In the first study, male Lister-Hooded rats received intrastriatal stereotaxic injections of malonate (0.5 or 1.0 M). Animals were killed 10 days after surgery, and the brains were stained with cresyl violet and processed for NADPH-diaphorase activity and glial fibrillary-acidic-protein (GFAP) immunohistochemistry. Animals aged 6 months and older exhibited over 60% striatal neuronal loss. However, the degree of neuronal loss did not show any age-related increase in rats between 6 and 27 months of age, indicating that the extent of malonate-induced toxicity does not increase with age in animals older than 6 months. Infusion of 0.5 M malonate produced smaller lesions, which also demonstrated a consistent extent of neuronal loss from 6 months onwards. Metabolic enzyme activities were decreased in the striatum with increasing age, although this effect was only significant for CYTOX activity. Thus, the pattern of malonate-induced neuronal loss in aged animals partially reflects the changes in metabolic activity during ageing.     

Cell cycle arrest of human gingival fibroblasts and periodontal ligament cells by Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans: involvement of the cytolethal distending toxin

The cytolethal distending toxin (Cdt) is produced by several Gram-negative bacterial species and causes growth arrest and morphological alterations in mammalian cells. Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, which is involved in the pathogenesis of localized aggressive periodontitis, also produces a Cdt that affects periodontal connective tissue cells. The aim of this study was to investigate in which phase of the cell cycle these cells are arrested and enlarged when challenged with A. actinomycetemcomitans, and to evaluate the involvement of its Cdt. Human gingival fibroblasts and periodontal ligament cells were challenged with A. actinomycetemcomitans extract, or with purified Cdt, and cell cycle analysis was performed by propidium iodide staining and flow cytometry. Cells exposed to an A. actinomycetemcomitans wild-type strain, or to purified Cdt, were arrested in both G1 and G2/M phases, and appeared enlarged compared to the corresponding controls. The cellular enlargement occurred in both G1 and G2/M arrested cells. In contrast, cells exposed to an A. actinomycetemcomitans cdt-knockout mutant strain showed cell cycle phase distribution and size similar to the controls. In conclusion, A. actinomycetemcomitans causes a combined G1 and G2/M growth arrest and enlargement in periodontal connective tissue cells, which is attributed to its Cdt.     

Rapid detection of Clostridium difficile toxin A in stool specimens

Objective: To evaluate a rapid (15-min) enzyme immunoassay in the format of an individual cassette (ImmunoCard toxin A, Meridian, BMD, Marne-la-Vallée, France) for the detection of Clostridium difficile toxin A in stool specimens.
Methods: We compared this new test with the cytotoxicity assay using MRC-5 cells, the ToxA test (TechLab, BioWhittaker, Fontenay-sous-bois, France) and toxigenic culture for the diagnosis of C. difficile -associated diseases (CDAD). A total of 236 stool specimens collected from 220 patients was simultaneously tested with the four methods. Discordant results were resolved by reviewing patients' clinical records.
Results: The prevalence of CDAD was 13.9%. Test sensitivities and specificities were 100% and 99% respectively for the cytotoxicity assay, 87.5% and 100% for ImmunoCard toxin A, 77.4% and 100% for the ToxA test and 100% and 98% for toxigenic culture.
Conclusions: The ImmunoCard Toxin A is a very rapid, individual and easy-to-perform test for the diagnosis of CDAD. It provides same-day results and may be useful for both guiding appropriate treatment and controlling nosocomial spread of C. difficile.     

Does pertussis infection induce manifestation of allergy?

Summary To evaluate whether pertussis induces the development of allergy, a prospective study was performed in 25 children aged 0.8–12.2 years. The patients underwent allergy diagnostics during pertussis infection and at a follow-up visit 8–14 months later. Diagnostic criteria included the medical history of the patients and their families, a modified skin prick test, measurement of serum IgE and radio-allergosorbent test screening for specific sensitizations. At the time of pertussis, serum IgE concentration in the study group was 62+ 30 kU/ml. At the follow-up visit, there was a significant increase in serum IgE to 137 ± 51 kU/ml, which was also significantly higher than IgE in an age-matched control group. Children at a significantly higher risk for developing IgE increase or new allergic sensitizations were those with a family history of allergy or potentially allergic disease in their personal history. Our results indicate that pertussis may induce IgE production in affected children.Abbreviation SPT skin prick test Dedicated to Prof. Dr. N. Zöllner on the occasion of his 70th birthday