Opioid peptides and receptors in joint tissues: study in the rat.

Using immunohistochemical and biochemical techniques, the occurrence of endogenous opioid peptides and their receptors in normal rat bone and joint tissues was investigated. Opioid receptors were detected, quantified, and characterized in homogenates from capsule/synovium and periosteum using radioligand binding assays. Receptor binding of the nonselective opioid [3H]naloxone to tissue homogenates was stereospecific and saturable, showing similar characteristics to that of brain tissue, although with lower binding capacities. By immunohistochemistry, the neuronal occurrence of four different enkephalins was demonstrated in synovium, bone marrow, periosteum, and juxta-articular bone, whereas no neuronal dynorphin immunoreactivity was detected. Double-staining studies disclosed that enkephalins coexisted with substance P in primary afferent fibers. The applied techniques can be used to assess changes in the distribution of endogenous opioids and their receptors in joint tissues in conditions associated with pain and inflammation. The endogenous opioid system now demonstrated might be targeted and exploited therapeutically to obtain peripheral control of symptoms in joint disorders.     

Rapid production of Candida albicans chlamydospores in liquid media under various incubation conditions.

The production of chlamydospores is a diagnostic tool used to identify Candida albicans; these structures also represent a model for morphogenetic research. The time required to produce them with standard methods is 48-72 hours in rice meal agar and tensoactive agents. This time can be shorted using liquid media such as cornmeal broth (CMB) and dairy supplements. Five media were tested: CMB plus 1% Tween-80, CMB plus 5% milk, CMB plus 5% milk serum, milk serum, and milk serum plus 1% Tween-80, under different incubation conditions: at 28 degrees C and 37 degrees C in a metabolic bath stirring at 150 rpm, and at 28 degrees C in a culture stove. The reading time points were established at 8 and 16 hours. The best results were obtained at 16 hours with CMB plus 5% milk under incubation at 28 degrees C and stirring at 150 rpm. The next most efficient methods were CMB plus 5% milk serum and CMB plus 1% Tween-80, under the same incubation conditions. The other media were ineffective in producing chlamydospores. The absence of stirring at 28 degrees C prevented the formation of chlamydospores within the set time points, and incubation at 37 degrees C decreased their production. This paper reports that the time to form C. albicans chlamydospores can be reduced.     

Clinical Results of Dynamic Cardiomyoplasty

Thirty-five cardiomyoplasty procedures were performed in five patients with dilated and 30 patients with ischemic cardiomyopathies. Russian-made cardiomyostimulators (CMS) were implanted in these patients. Twenty-one patients underwent a one-step procedure using a left thoracotomy for cardiomyoplasty, while in 14 patients, a two-step procedure that included a mid-line sternotomy was carried out. During the average follow-up period of 9 ± 2.1 months, studies were carried out that showed in survivors improved clinical functional status and decreased heart failure symptoms. Evidence of revascularization of the ischemic myocardium from the latissimus dorsi muscle (LDM) wrap was obtained by angiography and radioactive scintigraphy. In five patients, the CMS had to be removed due to complications, and in all these patients, their clinical functional status deteriorated following the cessation of cardiomyostimulation.     

Gene therapy for pituitary tumors

Pituitary tumors are the most common primary intracranial neoplasms. Although most pituitary tumors are considered typically benign, others can cause severe and progressive disease. The principal aims of pituitary tumor treatment are the elimination or reduction of the tumor mass, normalization of hormone secretion and preservation of remaining pituitary function. In spite of major advances in the therapy of pituitary tumors, for some of the most difficult tumors, current therapies that include medical, surgical and radiotherapeutic methods are often unsatisfactory and there is a need to develop new treatment strategies. Gene therapy, which uses nucleic acids as drugs, has emerged as an attractive therapeutic option for the treatment of pituitary tumors that do not respond to classical treatment strategies if the patients become intolerant to the therapy. The development of animal models for pituitary tumors and hormone hypersecretion has proven to be critical for the implementation of novel treatment strategies and gene therapy approaches. Preclinical trials using several gene therapy approaches for the treatment of anterior pituitary diseases have been successfully implemented. Several issues need to be addressed before clinical implementation becomes a reality, including the development of more effective and safer viral vectors, uncovering novel therapeutic targets and development of targeted expression of therapeutic transgenes. With the development of efficient gene delivery vectors allowing long-term transgene expression with minimal toxicity, gene therapy will become one of the most promising approaches for treating pituitary adenomas.     

DADOS-Survey: an open-source application for CHERRIES-compliant Web surveys

Background  

The Internet has been increasingly utilized in biomedical research. From online searching for literature to data sharing, the Internet has emerged as a primary means of research for many physicians and scientists. As a result, Web-based surveys have been employed as an alternative to traditional, paper-based surveys. We describe DADOS-Survey, an open-source Web-survey application developed at our institution that, to the best of our knowledge, is the first to be compliant with the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys (CHERRIES). DADOS-Survey was designed with usability as a priority, allowing investigators to design and execute their own studies with minimal technical difficulties in doing so.     

Phosphatidylglycerolphosphate synthase encoded by the PEL1/PGS1 gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is localized in mitochondria and its expression is regulated by phospholipid precursors

The PEL1/PGS1 gene of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is essential for the viability of rho ^–/rho° mutants and the normal cardiolipin content of cells. The PEL1-GFP fusion gene has been found to complement the pel1/pgs1 mutation and its fluorescent protein was localized to mitochondria similarly to the β-galactosidase activity of a protein encoded by the PEL1-lacZ fusion gene. The expression of the PEL1-lacZ reporter gene was repressed in cells grown in the presence of inositol and choline, reduced in the ino2 and ino4 strains, but constitutive in the opi1 null-mutant strain. The results demonstrate that Pel1p, playing a vital role in cells impaired in the mitochondrial DNA, is localized in the mitochondria and expressed in response to inositol and choline. Received: 15 June / 15 July 1998