The effect of gastrin on basal and aminoacid-stimulated insulin and glucagon secretion in man

Abstract. The effect of gastrin on basal and aminoacid-stimulated glucagon and insulin secretion was studied in eleven normal young subjects. The concentrations of glucagon, insulin and gastrin in plasma or serum were measured radioimmunochemically. The results of amino-acid-stimulation were compared to those obtained during a protein-rich meal.
Intravenous injection of synthetic human gastrin-17 in doses from 15.6 ng to 1 μg/kg increased the concentration of glucagon and insulin in peripheral venous blood to a maximum within 5 min. In spite of the enhanced concentrations of insulin induced by gastrin, corresponding concentrations of glucose were either unchanged or increased. Infusion of a mixture of fifteen aminoacids increased the concentrations of glucose, glucagon and insulin. While the increases in glucose and insulin concentrations were similar to those obtained after a protein-rich meal, the glucagon response was much larger after the infusion. Injection of gastrin-17 after 30 min of infusion of aminoacids did not potentiate either the glucagon or the insulin response.
The results indicate that gastrin, besides stimulating insulin secretion, can also stimulate glucagon secretion in a dose-dependent manner. The concentrations of gastrin necessary to stimulate glucagon secretion significantly correspond to the concentrations found in diseases with endogenous hypergastrinaemia (achlorhydria and Zollinger-Ellison syndrome). While gastrin potentiates the glucose-induced insulin secretion, it does not potentiate neither the aminoacid-induced insulin nor glucagon secretion.     

Progress in laparoscopic anatomy research: A review of the Chinese literature

The development of laparoscopic surgery has generated the new field of study, laparoscopic anatomy. This article reviews the reported literature on laparoscopic anatomy and explores how it has evolved along with advances in abdominal surgery. In addition, the principal concerns in current laparoscopic anatomy research are discussed, including: (1) types of special adjacent anatomical structures; and (2) special surgical planes and anatomical landmarks. Understanding of systematic laparoscopic anatomy can pr...     

The Hong Kong Society of Rheumatology consensus recommendations for the management of gout

Clinical Rheumatology - Gout is one of the most common noncommunicable diseases in Hong Kong. Although effective treatment options are readily available, the management of gout in Hong Kong remains...     

Pharmacologically Active Levels of PGE-, in Neonates with Congenital Heart Disease

ABSTRACT. In general, prostanoids act as local mediators, not as circulating hormones. A specific exception to this rule is the infusion of prostaglandin E₁ in patients with ductus arteriosus-depend-ent pulmonary or systemic blood flow associated with congenital heart disease. We therefore measured prostaglandin E, plasma levels by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry during effective infusion of prostaglandin E₁ in 10 neonates. Prostaglandin E₁ plasma levels ranged from 22 to 530 (median 56) pg/ml in these patients. Since prostaglandin E₁ is not synthesized endogenously to any significant extent, these plasma concentrations constitute genuine circulating levels not confounded by the common problem of e vivo artifacts. If endogenous prostanoids (e.g. prostaglandin E₂) are suspected as circulating mediators, plasma levels detected by reliable methods ought to be in the same range as prostaglandin E₁ plasma levels in the present investigation.     

Growth of asthmatic children is slower during than before treatment with inhaled glucocorticoids

Reports on the influence of inhaled glucocorticoids on growth have been controversial. We studied the growth of prepubertal asthmatic children prior to and during glucocorticoid therapy. We collected retrospectively the notes of 201 asthmatic children aged 1–11 years receiving inhaled beclomethasone dipropionate or budesonide. We calculated their height and height velocity standard deviation scores (HSDS and HVSDS, respectively) before the treatment and up to 5 years during the treatment and compared those with the growth of healthy peers. The dose of the medication was calculated and the severity of asthma was assessed. The asthmatic children grew similarly to their healthy peers before treatment with inhaled glucocorticoids: the mean HSDS was +0.02 and the mean HVSDS +0.01 for boys and -0.16 and +0.13 for girls, respectively. Growth retardation took place soon after the start of the treatment, the most profound decrease in the growth velocity (the change in the mean HVSDS from +0.05 to -0.88) occurring during the first year of treatment. The growth-retarding effect of inhaled glucocorticoids was not dose dependent. In the covariance analysis the increasing severity of asthma had a significant interaction with repeated measurements, showing more growth retardation along with more severe asthma, especially during long-term treatment. Asthma per se does not impair growth, but inhaled glucocorticoids may do so. Careful monitoring of the growth of all asthmatic children receiving inhaled glucocorticoids is necessary because the growth-retarding effect of the medication is not dose dependent. Individual sensitivity might explain the differences seen in the growth patterns of children receiving inhaled glucocorticoids.     

Confirmation of hepatitis C infection: a comparison of five immunoblot assays

BACKGROUND: Recently, new immunoblot assays for the detection of antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV) became available. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The performance of five confirmatory anti-HCV immunoblot assays was studied with samples with known HCV antibody and HCV RNA status. The assays were a third-generation strip recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA-3, Chiron Corp., Emeryville, CA), a second-generation HCV blot (DB-2 blot, Diagnostic Biotechnology, Singapore), the Wellcozyme HCV Western blot (Murex blot, Murex Diagnostics, Dartford, UK), an immunodot HCV assay (Matrix, Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, IL), and the third-generation HCV line immunoassay (Liatek-III, Organon Teknika, Boxtel, The Netherlands). RESULTS: Sensitivity on samples from 48 HCV RNA-positive, second-generation RIBA (RIBA-2)-positive persons and specificity on samples from 31 low-risk donors was 96 percent or better for all assays. The sensitivity on 31 HCV RNA-positive, RIBA-2- indeterminate samples was as follows: Liatek-III, 94 percent; RIBA-3, 90 percent; Murex blot, 61 percent; Matrix, 55 percent; and DB-2 blot, 39 percent. In testing 39 HCV RNA-negative, RIBA-2-indeterminate donor samples, the percentage found to be negative was Liatek-III, 77 percent; RIBA-3, 67 percent; Murex blot, 49 percent; DB-2 blot, 33 percent; and Matrix, 15 percent. The order of sensitivity on four HCV seroconversion series was (from high to low): RIBA-3, Liatek-III, DB-2 blot, Murex blot, and Matrix; the differences were small. CONCLUSION: Detection of HCV antibodies was not refined by the addition of new HCV antigens (NS5, E2/NS1), but by improved classical antigens (core, NS3, NS4). Replacement of the commonly used RIBA-2 will resolve the status of a high proportion of RIBA-2-indeterminate samples.     

胃癌雌激素受体的研究

自20世纪60年代发现雌激素受体以来,学者们开展了对各种不同器官肿瘤受体的研究,并形成了激素作用机制的3种模式(二步模式、核模式和平衡模式).目前已在众多的肿瘤中发现了性激素受体,如孕酮激素(PR)、雌激素(ER)和雄激素(AR).这些肿瘤包括激素依赖性器官和非依赖性器官的肿瘤.     

The CD11b promoter directs high-level expression of reporter genes in macrophages in transgenic mice [published erratum appears in Blood 1995 Apr 1;85(7):1983]

CD11b is the alpha chain of the Mac-1 integrin and is preferentially expressed in myeloid cells (neutrophils, monocytes, and macrophages). We have previously shown that the CD11b promoter directs cell-type- specific expression in myeloid lines using transient transfection assays. To confirm that these promoter sequences contain the proper regulatory elements for correct myeloid expression of CD11b in vivo, we have used the -1.7-kb human CD11b promoter to direct reporter gene expression in transgenic mice. Stable founder lines were generated with two different reporter genes, a Thy 1.1 surface marker and the Escherichia coli lacZ (beta-galactosidase) gene. Analysis of founders generated with each reporter demonstrated that the CD11b promoter was capable of driving high levels of transgene expression in murine macrophages for the lifetime of the animals. Similar to the endogenous gene, transgene expression was preferentially found in mature monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils and not in myeloid precursors. These experiments indicate that the -1.7 CD11b promoter contains the regulatory elements sufficient for high-level macrophage expression. This promoter should be useful for targeting heterologous gene expression to mature myeloid cells.