Variations of the origin of the artery of the sinoatrial node in normal human hearts

Summary The artery of the sino-atrial node was studied in 100 normal human hearts after injection of each coronary artery with coloured gelatine containing a radiopaque substance. The hearts belonged to 69 males and 31 females, being 64 Caucasians and 36 non-Caucasians (Negroes and Mulattoes) whose age ranged from 7 to 80 years. Since the individuals had committed suicide or were victims of accidents, their hearts, after pathologists' evaluation, were considered normal. The sinoatrial node of the normal human heart is supplied by the right coronary artery more frequently (58%±4.9% of the cases) than by the left (42%±4.9). The right anterior medial atrial artery, originating from the right coronary at the level of the medial third of the right anterior quadrant of the atrial dome, is most frequently (50%±5) responsible for the blood supply of the sinoatrial node. Among the branches of the left coronary artery, the left anterior medial atrial artery, originating at the level of the medial third of the left. anterior quadrant of the atrial cupola, was the most frequent blood supplier (25%±4.3) of the sinoatrial node. The origin of the artery of the sinoatrial node from the proximal portion or trunk of the left coronary artery was less frequent (12%±3.2) than the origin from the circumflex artery (30%±4.5). Neither sex nor race influenced the variations of the origin of the sino-atrial node.

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Variations d'origine de l'artère du noeud sinu-atrial du coeur humain normal

Résumé L'a. du noeud sinu-atrial a été étudiée sur 100 coeurs humains normaux après injection de chaque a. coronaire à la gélatine colorée additionnée d'une substance radio-opaque. Les coeurs provenaient de 69 hommes et 31 femmes, 64 caucasiens et 36 non caucasiens (nègres et mulâtres) âgés de 7 à 80 ans. Ces sujets étant décédés par suicide ou des suites d'accidents, leurs coeurs ont été considérés comme normaux après examen anatomo-pathologique. Le noeud sinu-atrial du coeur humain est vascularisé par l'a. coronaire droite plus fréquemment (58 %±4,9) que par l'a. coronaire gauche (42 %±4). L'a. atriale antéro-médiale droite, issue de l'a. coronaire droite au niveau du tiers médial du quadrant antérieur droit du dôme atrial est l'artère la plus fréquemment en cause (50 %±5) dans la vascularisation du noeud sinuatrial. Parmi les branches de l'a. coronaire gauche, l'a. atriale antéro-médiale gauche, née au niveau du tiers médial du quadrant antérieur gauche du dôme atrial, était la branche la plus fréquemment en cause (25 %±4,3) dans la vascularisation du noeud sinu-atrial. La naissance de l'a. du noeud sinu-atrial à partir de la partie proximale ou du tronc de l'a. coronaire gauche était moins fréquente (12 %±3,2) que son origine à partir du rameau circonflexe (30 %±4,5). Les variations d'origine de l'a. du noeud sinu-atrial n'apparaissaient pas influencées par le sexe ou la race.

     

Inverse association between skin response to aeroallergens and Schistosoma mansoni infection

BACKGROUND: Helminthic infections and allergic disease are highly prevalent in many areas of the world. It is known that IgE antibodies are involved in the pathogenesis of both helminthiasis and atopy. However, the consequences of the presence of helminthic infections in atopic patients are still not completely understood. METHODS: Subjects infected by Schistosoma mansoni with more than 200 eggs/g of feces (n = 42) and uninfected subjects (n = 133) were selected from an endemic area of schistosomiasis. The history of allergy and results of the immediate hypersensitivity prick tests with inhalant allergen extracts were registered. Total IgE and IgE specific to S. mansoni and aeroallergens were measured in serum by ELISA. RESULTS: The proportion of individuals with a positive skin test to allergens was higher in the uninfected group (24.3%) than in the group with more than 200 eggs/g of feces (4.8%). The odds of atopy (defined as a positive test for at least one of the antigens) were 5 times higher (odds ratio = 7.0; 95% confidence interval = 1.6-31.1%; p = 0.01) in the uninfected group, after taking into account the potential influence of gender and age. While there was a tendency for higher total and S. mansoni-specific IgE levels in infected patients, an opposite trend, that is higher aeroallergen-specific IgE, was observed in uninfected subjects. CONCLUSIONS: There was a strong and statistically significant inverse association between the immediate skin test response to common aeroallergens and infection by S. mansoni. The results indicate that immediate hypersensitivity reactions may be suppressed in S. mansoni-infected individuals.     

Mouse homologues of the human AZF candidate gene RBM are expressed in spermatogonia and spermatids, and map to a Y chromosome deletion interval associated with a high incidence of sperm abnormalities

An RNA-binding motif (RBM) gene family has been identified on the human Y chromosome that maps to the same deletion interval as the 'azoospermia factor' (AZF). We have identified the homologous gene family (Rbm) on the mouse Y with a view to investigating the proposal that this gene family plays a role in spermatogenesis. At least 25 and probably >50 copies of Rbm are present on the mouse Y chromosome short arm located between Sry and the centromere. As in the human, a role in spermatogenesis is indicated by a germ cell-specific pattern of expression in the testis, but there are distinct differences in the pattern of expression between the two species. Mice carrying the deletion Yd1, that maps to the proximal Y short arm, are female due to a position effect resulting in non-expression of Sry ; sex-reversing such mice with an Sry transgene produces males with a high incidence of abnormal sperm, making this the third deletion interval on the mouse Y that affects some aspect of spermatogenesis. Most of the copies of Rbm map to this deletion interval, and the Yd1males have markedly reduced Rbm expression, suggesting that RBM deficiency may be responsible for, or contribute to, the abnormal sperm development. In man, deletion of the functional copies of RBM is associated with meiotic arrest rather than sperm anomalies; however, the different effects of deletion are consistent with the differences in expression between the two species.      

Sequencing of the alpha-synuclein gene in a large series of cases of familial Parkinson's disease fails to reveal any further mutations. The European Consortium on Genetic Susceptibility in Parkinson's Disease (GSPD)

A mutation in exon 4 of the human alpha-synuclein gene was reported recently in four families with autosomal dominant Parkinson's disease (PD). In order to examine whether mutations in this exon or elsewhere in the gene are common in familial PD, all seven exons of the alpha- synuclein gene were amplified by PCR from index cases of 30 European and American Caucasian kindreds affected with autosomal dominant PD. Each product was sequenced directly and examined for mutations in the open reading frame. No mutations were found in any of the samples examined. We conclude that the A53T change described in the alpha- synuclein gene is a rare cause of PD or may even be a rare variant. Mutations in the regulatory or intronic regions of the gene were not excluded by this study.      

Heart rate reactivity and heart period variability throughout the first year after heart transplantation

Heart rate reactivity to mental stress is substantially blunted early after heart transplantation, suggesting that the loss of neural modulation limits the cardiovascular response to mental stress. We tested whether reactivity to mental stress recovers during the first year after heart transplantation. Hemodynamic and respiratory responses to mental arithmetic challenge were studied in 20 heart transplant recipients 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery. A normal comparison group was studied at equivalent intervals. Heart rate reactivity to mental arithmetic was significantly reduced in the cardiac transplant group compared to the normal subjects. This effect persisted up to 1 year after transplantation. Heart period variability in the heart transplant recipients was minimal in all three-test sessions. The findings suggest that no functional reinnervation or other compensatory adaptation occurs up to 1 year after heart transplantation.     

Studies of Antibody to Herpes Simplex Virus Fcγ-Binding Protein gE in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and Normal Controls

IgG antibody to gE, the Fc gamma-binding herpes simplex 1 (HSV-1) viral glycoprotein, was studied in 49 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and 43 normal controls. Antibody to gD, another important HSV-1 antigen, was assayed in parallel. No difference between RA patients and normal controls was found in levels of anti-gE antibody measured by reactivity of IgG F(ab')2 fragments reacting with gE coated to ELISA plates. No difference in anti-gD antibody was recorded between normals and patients with RA. Levels of IgG anti-IgE antibody did not correlate with quantitative elevations of serum rheumatoid factor (RF) in RA patients. When IgG anti-gE and anti-gD were assayed in 20 patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and 22 children controls, no significant differences were noted. However, when individual RFs from patients with RA were tested for reactivity against a panel of affinity-isolated F(ab')2 antibodies to gE, some evidence for individual autospecificity was obtained. Four of 20 monoclonal IgM RFs produced from RA patients' B cells showed marked elevations of reactivity with some RA patients' F(ab')2 antibodies to gE. All four of the monoclonal RFs showing this specificity were derived from RA synovial tissue B cells. These findings may provide support for the concept that some RFs in patients with RA show individual specificity for internal image determinants of IgG antibodies to viral Fc gamma-binding proteins.     

Aberrant cellular retinol binding protein 1 (CRBP1) gene expression and promoter methylation in prostate cancer

AIMS: Retinoids are involved in cell growth, differentiation, and carcinogenesis. Their effects depend on cytosolic transport and binding to nuclear receptors. CRBP1 encodes a protein involved in this process. Because altered CRBP1 expression and promoter hypermethylation occur in several tumours, these changes were investigated in prostate tumorigenesis. METHODS: The CRBP1 promoter was assessed by methylation specific polymerase chain reaction on tissue samples from 36 radical prostatectomy specimens (paired normal tissue, adenocarcinoma, and high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN)), 32 benign prostatic hyperplasias (BPHs), and 13 normal prostate tissue samples from cystoprostatectomies. Methylation of DNA extracted from microdissected tissue was examined blindly. CRBP1 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry on formalin fixed, paraffin wax embedded tissue. RESULTS: Loss of CRBP1 expression was seen in 15 of 36 adenocarcinomas and 18 of 36 HGPINs. Fifteen adenocarcinomas and nine HGPINs showed overexpression, whereas the remainder showed normal expression. BPH displayed normal expression. No significant associations were found between CRBP1 expression and Gleason score or stage. CRBP1 promoter hypermethylation was found in 17 of 36 adenocarcinomas, three of 35 HGPINs, one of 36 normal prostate tissues from the same patients, none of 32 BPHs, and none of 13 normal prostate tissues from cystoprostatectomies. Loss of expression and hypermethylation of CRBP1 were not significantly associated. CONCLUSIONS: Altered CRBP1 expression and hypermethylation are common in prostate carcinoma, although CRBP1 hypermethylation is not an early event in tumorigenesis. Moreover, both adenocarcinoma and HGPIN show frequent CRBP1 overexpression. The molecular mechanisms underlying altered CRBP1 expression in prostate cancer deserve further study.