Intraspecific 16S rRNA gene diversity among clinical isolates of Neisseria species

In the present work, nearly the entire 16S rRNA gene sequences of 46 clinical samples of Neisseria spp. were determined, and the aligned sequences were analyzed to investigate the diversity of 16S rRNA genes in each commensal Neisseria species. Two 16S rRNA types were identified in two Neisseria sicca strains, three 16S rRNA types in five Neisseria macacae strains, fourteen 16S rRNA types in twenty Neisseria flavescens isolates, and fourteen 16S rRNA types in nineteen Neisseria mucosa isolates. The number of nucleotides that were different between 16S rRNA sequences within specie ranged from 1 to 15. We found high intraspecific sequence variation in 16S rRNA genes of Neisseria spp. strains.     

Splenic arteriovenous fistula and portal hypertension. A case report

The authors report a rare case of portal hypertension following to an arteriovenous fistula. The embolisation of the fistula permitted to treat portal hypertension and liver histologic alterations.     

Teneurin proteins possess a carboxy terminal sequence with neuromodulatory activity

We have previously shown that a bioactive neuropeptide-like sequence is present at the carboxy-terminus of the teneurin transmembrane proteins. We have subsequently called this peptide 'teneurin C-terminal associated peptide' (TCAP). The sequence encodes a peptide 40 or 41 amino acids long flanked by a cleavage motif on the amino terminus and an amidation motif on the carboxy terminus, characteristic of bioactive peptides. This sequence is highly conserved in all vertebrates. A TCAP-like sequence is encoded by each of the four teneurin genes. We have therefore examined the neurological role TCAP-1 may play in mice and rats. In situ hybridization studies showed that the teneurin-1 mRNA containing the TCAP-1 sequence is expressed in regions of the forebrain and limbic system regulating stress and anxiety. A synthetic version of amidated mouse/rat TCAP-1 was prepared by solid-phase synthesis and used to investigate the in vitro and in vivo activity. TCAP-1 induces a dose-dependent change in cAMP accumulation and MTT activity in immortalized mouse neurons. Administration of synthetic TCAP-1 into the basolateral amygdala significantly increases the acoustic startle response in low-anxiety rats and decreases the response in high-anxiety animals in a dose-dependent manner. When 30 pmol TCAP-1 is administered into the lateral ventricles each day for 5 days, the sensitization of the rats to the acoustic startle response is abolished. These data indicate that TCAP may possess functions that are independent of the teneurin proprotein and together, the teneurins and TCAP, may represent a novel system to regulate neuronal function and emotionality.     

Menetrier's disease: a case report

Menetrier's disease is an uncommon reason of hypertrophic gastropathy. The diagnosis is suspected when clinic, endoscopic and radiologic criteria are associated and is confirmed by histologic features which are a cryptric hyperplasia atrophy of gland of the fundus and an hypertrophy of the mucosa. The main complications of this disease are neoplasia and cachexia. The treatment of Menetrier's disease is first medical. Chirurgical treatment is indicated when bleeding or neoplasia occurred. In this paper, we report the case of patient who is 41 years old which, in spite of some therapeutic problems is in conformity with literature.     

Epidermal growth factor and temperature regulate keratinocyte differentiation

Received: 18 October 1996     

Triglyceride metabolism in human keratinocytes cultured at the air-liquid interface

Although epidermis reconstructed in vitro histologically demonstrates the presence of fully differentiated tissue with cornified strata, it does not synthesize or release epidermal barrier lipids in the same proportions as does native skin, causing the barrier function to be impaired. Lipids, the content of which deviates the most, include triglycerides that are present in high amounts and stored as lipid droplets. Our recent studies have revealed that a high triglyceride content may be a reflection of a high synthetic rate and a low turnover. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to examine whether the triglyceride accumulation in the air-exposed cultures may be a result of insufficient supplementation of cells with oxygen, an excessive supplementation of cells with glucose, dysregulation of lipogenesis, or an impaired catabolism of triglycerides caused either by insufficient activity of triglyceride lipase and/or accumulation of free fatty acids due to insufficient activity of -oxidase. When keratinocytes were cultured at the air-liquid interface in medium containing a standard glucose concentration, both the lactate and triglyceride production was high. Lowering glucose content in the medium resulted in a decrease in both lactate production and triglyceride synthesis. However, even when grown at a low glucose concentration the triglyceride content remained higher than found in vivo and synthesized triglycerides were stored in the cells as a stable pool, suggesting that the catabolism of triglycerides was impaired. Since both lipase and -oxidase were found to be active in cultured keratinocytes, another factor or other factors are probably implicated in the regulation of triglyceride metabolism.     

Molecular typing of Neisseria perflava clinical isolates

Multilocus sequence typing and pulsed‐field gel electrophoresis were used to type 22 commensal isolates of Neisseria perflava collected by swabbing from neutropenic patients. High genetic diversity was found among our N. perflava clinical isolates.     

Impact of lifestyle factors and nutrients intake on occurrence of gastrointestinal cancer in Tunisian population

This study aims to show the relationship between lifestyle and risk of colorectal and gastric cancers in Tunisian population. The food frequency survey method was used to obtain information about the dietary intake and way of life. Nutrients intake was calculated according to the food composition database. According to our results, the consumption of vegetables, fruits, fish, as well as coffee seems to be protective against digestive cancer, while the consumption of citrus and olive oil is protective against gastric cancer. Tobacco, alcohol, and tea represent a risk against gastrointestinal cancer. Highly educated people are more conscious of the crucial role of prevention. In addition, nutrients were significantly associated with colorectal and gastric cancer. The findings suggest that lifestyle is associated with a risk of gastrointestinal cancer. Moreover, higher intake of nutrients from foods was observed more in cases with colorectal and gastric cancer than controls.     

Teneurin C-terminal associated peptides: an enigmatic family of neuropeptides with structural similarity to the corticotropin-releasing factor and calcitonin families of peptides

The proliferation of genomic sequence data in recent years has led to the identification of numerous orthologous and paralogous genes in a variety of divergent taxa. Phylogenetic comparisons of this sequence information have led not only to the construction of improved evolutionary relationships among genes and species, but also led to greater understanding of how genes and their proteins evolve differently throughout the Metazoa. Our recent characterization of a biologically active corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF)-like sequence at the C-terminal region of the teneurin transmembrane proteins has led to a number of questions of how peptide genes evolve and develop new functions in the Metazoa. The teneurin C-terminal associated peptides show structural similarity to the calcitonin family of peptides as well as the CRF family, and like both peptide families, plays a role in the regulation of stress and anxiety.