LHRH-A对孕中期大鼠抗妊娠作用的研究

本文观察了[D-Ala⁶,Pro⁹-Ethylamide¹⁰]-LHRH(LHRH-A)对孕中期大鼠的抗妊娠作用。结果显示:在孕9～11d sc 200μg/d LHRH-A,血浆孕酮水平自第二次给药后明显下降(P<0.05),给药大鼠均流产终止妊娠;LHRH-A的抗妊娠作用可被醋酸甲地孕酮所拮抗;LHRH-A对体外培养的假孕大鼠和孕d 9大鼠黄体细胞分泌孕酮有明显的直接抑制作用。     

GGA1 acts as a spatial switch altering amyloid precursor protein trafficking and processing

The beta-amyloid (Abeta) precursor protein (APP) is cleaved sequentially by beta-site of APP-cleaving enzyme (BACE) and gamma-secretase to release the Abeta peptides that accumulate in plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD). GGA1, a member of the Golgi-localized gamma-ear-containing ARF-binding (GGA) protein family, interacts with BACE and influences its subcellular distribution. We now report that overexpression of GGA1 in cells increased the APP C-terminal fragment resulting from beta-cleavage but surprisingly reduced Abeta. GGA1 confined APP to the Golgi, in which fluorescence resonance energy transfer analyses suggest that the proteins come into close proximity. GGA1 blunted only APP but not notch intracellular domain release. These results suggest that GGA1 prevented APP beta-cleavage products from becoming substrates for gamma-secretase. Direct binding of GGA1 to BACE was not required for these effects, but the integrity of the GAT (GGA1 and TOM) domain of GGA1 was. GGA1 may act as a specific spatial switch influencing APP trafficking and processing, so that APP-GGA1 interactions may have pathophysiological relevance in AD.     

'Cialit' as a tissue preservative: a microbiological assessment

We describe bacterial contamination of a 'Cialit'-preserved cartilage bank which continued after a variety of changes to the harvesting and preservation protocols during a 3-year prospective study. Our results emphasize the importance of adequate tissue bank microbiological screening. Alternative methods of tissue preservation should be considered.     

Major fragment of soluble peptidoglycan released from growing Bordetella pertussis is tracheal cytotoxin.

Bordetella pertussis is known to release a factor which promotes the loss of ciliated respiratory epithelium and copurifies with a soluble peptidoglycan (PG) fragment termed tracheal cytotoxin (TCT). The objective of this study was to determine whether pertussis organisms turn over and release PG derivatives in addition to TCT. B. pertussis Tohama (phase III) was grown in liquid Stainer-Scholte medium containing [3H]diaminopimelic acid (DAP) to label PG specifically, washed to remove free label, and suspended in fresh medium without [3H]DAP. Molecular sieve chromatography of supernatants obtained from such cultures revealed a single included peak of 3H, the elution volume of which corresponded roughly to a disaccharide peptide monomer standard (ca. 10(3) daltons). This material (i) contained [3H]DAP in acid-hydrolyzable linkage, (ii) comigrated with 1,6-anhydro-N-acetylmuramic acid-containing disaccharide peptides on paper chromatography, (iii) was resistant to degradation by mild alkali, and (iv) was indistinguishable from authentic TCT by high-voltage paper electrophoresis and two reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography systems. Together, the data suggest that B. pertussis releases a markedly homogeneous set of PG fragments, consisting principally of TCT, and that TCT is possibly a nonreducing, anhydromuramic acid-containing fragment or a cyclic PG derivative.     

The effects of a 50% reduction of cis(z)-flupenthixol decanoate in chronic schizophrenic patients maintained on a high dose regime

Eighteen chronic schizophrenic patients who had shown improvement from increased maintenance dosages of cis(z)-flupenthixol decanoate were entered into a double-blind study in which half of the patients were randomly allocated to be maintained on 50% of their pre-trial dosage. During the 44 week study the reduced dosage group showed increased morbidity and one-third of these patients had a schizophrenic relapse. The greatest deterioration occurred in patients reduced from above to below 200 mg cis(z)-flupenthixol decanoate biweekly. A review of all the patients entered into the study showed a relationship between deterioration of schizophrenic and depressive features and cis(z)-flupenthixol plasma levels which reflected the administered dosage. Prolactin levels in general did not reflect control of schizophrenic symptoms. Side-effects were few, and there was no emergence of tardive dyskinesia. A multicentre trial is needed for further evaluation.     

Evaluation and audit in a paediatric disability service

Parental and professional responses to questionnaires evaluating a paediatric disability service are reported and the viability of auditing structural, process, and outcome aspects of clinical practice are discussed. Expectations of waiting time to first appointment (met for only 52% of consumers) illustrate structural issues. Process issues are reflected in consumer reactions to outreach work (for example, 94% of parents and 84% of professionals found this supportive). Outcome measures such as consumer satisfaction with the service (76% of consumers reported being 'very satisfied' and 20% 'fairly satisfied') suggest that service aims are being met. Good concurrence of service aims with consumer needs is indicated by parental reasons for referral (for example, 75% for diagnostic help, 73% for a better understanding of the disorder, 88% for practical help), referrers' reasons (for example, 55% for a second diagnostic opinion, 45% due to lack of local expertise), and reports from most other professionals involved with the case that a similar service was not provided locally.     

Genetic diversity among clinical isolates of Acremonium strictum determined during an investigation of a fatal mycosis

Primarily saprophytic in nature, fungi of the genus Acremonium are a well-documented cause of mycetoma and other focal diseases. More recently, a number of Acremonium spp. have been implicated in invasive infections in the setting of severe immunosuppression. During the course of routine microbiological studies involving a case of fatal mycosis in a nonmyeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplant patient, we identified a greater-than-expected variation among strains previously identified as Acremonium strictum by clinical microbiologists. Using DNA sequence analysis of the ribosomal DNA intergenic transcribed spacer (ITS) regions and the D1-D2 variable domain of the 28S ribosomal DNA gene (28S), the case isolate and four other clinical isolates phenotypically identified as A. strictum were found to have <99% homology to the A. strictum type strain, CBS 346.70, at the ITS and 28S loci, while a sixth isolate phenotypically identified only as Acremonium sp. had >99% homology to the type strain at both loci. These results suggest that five out of the six clinical isolates belong to species other than A. strictum or that the A. strictum taxon is genetically diverse. Based upon these sequence data, the clinical isolates were placed into three genogroups.