Inhibitory effect of intrathecal meptazinol on carrageenan-induced thermal hyperalgesia in rats

The effect of meptazinol in the spinal cord on carrageenan-induced hyperalgesia was investigated. The latency of paw withdrawal (PWL) to a thermal stimulus was used as an index of inflammatory hyperalgesia in awake rats. Intrathecal (i.t.) injection of 10 and 100 microg meptazinol markedly increased the PWL of the carrageenan-injected paw (P<0.01). The PWL of the non-injected paw was not detectably affected by the administration of meptazinol at the doses tested. I.t. injection of naloxone (5 microg) or atropine (1 microg) alone exhibited no effect on the PWLs of either the carrageenan-injected or non-injected paw. Pretreatment with naloxone, but not atropine, completely blocked the meptazinol-induced anti-hyperalgesia. These observations suggested that mu opioid receptor rather than muscarinic acetylcholine receptor may be involved in the anti-hyperalgesia of meptazinol in the spinal cord.     

黑尾蜡嘴雀原纹状体发声控制核团的传入性纤维联系

将HRP微电泳人黑尾蜡嘴雀(Eophona mihratoria)端脑原纹状体粗核内,观察其传入性纤维联系.在下列部位发现有密集的逆行标记细胞:(1):原纹状体带核;(2)上纹状体腹侧尾核;(3)新纹状体前部大细胞核外侧部;(4)脑桥蓝斑.以上标记细胞均出现在同侧.结果表明,原纹状体粗核接受原纹状体带核、上纹状体腹侧尾核、新纹状体前部大细胞核外侧部及脑桥蓝斑的传入性投射.     

Diversity of Hepatitis G Virus within a Single Infected Individual

The extent of population diversity among GB virus C (GBV-C)/hepatitis G virus (HGV) within a persistently infected individual (Iw) was investigated by sequence analysis of multiple clones generated from polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified products of cDNA analogous to fragments of 5 non-coding region (5NC), envelope region 1/2 (E1/E2) and non-structural region 3 (NS3) of viral genome. Although nucleotide substitutions were more common in coding regions than in the 5NC region, there was no region corresponding to the hypervariable region of hepatitis C virus in the E1/E2 region. Transition substitution exceeded transversion by 7 to 12-fold, and 79.4% of substitutions were synonymous. This bias against substitutions producing amino acid replacements and the use of Pfu DNA polymerase with an error rate 10 times lower than the observed frequency of substitution, suggests that most substitutions were not artefactual. This data suggests that individual genomes of HGV within an infected individual may differ from each other at 0.23–0.84% nucleotide position and at 0.42–0.61% amino acid position.     

Morphology and formation mechanism of hydroxyapatite coating by hydrothermal method on CaO-SiO2-B2O3-Na2O glass

Hydrothermal method was used to prepare the hydroxyapatite (HA) coating on CaO-SiO2-B2O3-Na2O glass. The phase composition, morphology and microstructure of HA coated glass composites were analyzed using XRD, EPMA, FT-IR and SEM techniques. It revealed that HA coating possessed a porous gradient construction; HA coating was tightly bonded with the glass substrate by the interface layer. During the formation of HA coating, the hydrated silica produced by the corrosion of glass substrate in the hydrothermal solution provided favorable sites for apatite nucleation. With the dissolving of HA powder and the growth of apatite small crystallites, Ca+, PO(4 (3-)) ions would precipitate on the surface of glass to form the HA coating. Silicon element released from glass reacted with calcium produced by the dissolution of HA to form the tight reaction layer. HA coating is formed by the mechanism of dissolving-ions immigrating-precipitating pattern.     

Hemokinin is a hematopoietic-specific tachykinin that regulates B lymphopoiesis

We report here the molecular cloning of a newly identified preprotachykinin gene, Pptc, which specifies the sequence for a new preprotachykinin protein and bioactive peptide designated hemokinin 1 (HK-1). PPT-C mRNA was detected primarily in hematopoietic cells in contrast to the previously described Ppta and Pptb genes, which are predominantly expressed in neuronal tissues. HK-1 has several biological activities that are similar to the most studied tachykinin, substance P, such as induction of plasma extravasation and mast cell degranulation. However, HK-1 also has properties that are indicative of a critical role in mouse B cell development. HK-1 stimulated the proliferation of interleukin 7-expanded B cell precursors, whereas substance P had no effect. HK-1, but not substance P, promoted the survival of freshly isolated bone marrow B lineage cells or cultured, lipopolysaccharide-stimulated pre-B cells. N-acetyl-L-trytophan-3,5-bistrifluromethyl benzyl ester, a tachykinin receptor antagonist, increased apoptosis of these cells and in vivo administration of this antagonist led to specific reductions of the B220lowCD43 population (the pre-B cell compartment) in the bone marrow and the IgMhighIgDlow population (the newly generated B cells) in the spleen. Thus, HK-1 may be an autocrine factor that is important for the survival of B cell precursors at a critical phase of development.     

An ER export signal accelerates the surface expression of shal potassium channels in pyloric neurons of the lobster stomatogastric ganglion

The shal gene encoding the transient potassium current, I _A, plays important roles in shaping the firing properties of neurons in the pyloric network in the stomatogastric ganglion (STG) of the spiny lobster, Panulirus interruptus. However, when we overexpressed the shal protein in pyloric dilator (PD) neurons, the effect of increased I _A was compensated by a parallel upregulation of the hyperpolarization activated inward current (I _h). In an attempt to temporally separate the overexpression of shal from the compensatory up-regulation of I _h channels, we inserted an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) export signal sequence, FCYENE, into the shal gene. This signal sequence accelerated the surface expression of shal protein in Xenopus oocytes and PD neurons. However, the accelerated expression of shal still did not alter the firing properties of the injected neuron, suggesting that the compensatory upregulation of I _h occurs simultaneously with the upregulation of I _A.     

Analysis of proteins and lipopolysaccharides from Chinese isolates of Coxiella burnetii with monoclonal antibodies.

Four Coxiella burnetii isolates in China and two reference strains were compared by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting. The SDS-PAGE profiles of whole cells and LPS of Chinese isolates Qiyi, Xinqiao, and YS-8 were found closely related to Henzerling strain, and different from the Grita strain. In immunoblot assay of LPS and proteinase K-digested whole rickettsiae minor differences were seen in polysaccharide structure among the Chinese isolates by phase I monoclonal antibody. The present results suggest that the strains reported here may be divided into three groups according to the polysaccharide structure: Xinqiao and Henzerling strains (1), YS-8 and Grita (2), and Qiyi (3).     

A new haplogroup pattern displayed in Fujian Han in China

Human Y-chromosomal binary polymorphisms have been considered to preserve the paternal genetic legacy and provide evidence on human evolution and the genetic relationships among and demographic history of different populations. To reveal the genetic origin and immigration of the Fujian Han, 13 binary markers on the Y chromosome were used to screen Fujian Han by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction. The results indicated that the M₉G marker was highly prevalent (96.20%), suggesting a significant genetic drift. In addition, M₁₂₂C frequency was only 22.78%, and M₄₅A and M₁₀₃T were default. The distinctive haplogroup frequencies (H₁, H₅, and H_6/7/8) imply that the haplogroup pattern is a relatively ancestral and interim type. Received: October 13, 2001 / Accepted: December 3, 2001     

Bacterial cell wall-induced arthritis: chemical composition and tissue distribution of four Lactobacillus strains

To study what determines the arthritogenicity of bacterial cell walls, cell wall-induced arthritis in the rat was applied, using four strains of Lactobacillus. Three of the strains used proved to induce chronic arthritis in the rat; all were Lactobacillus casei. The cell wall of Lactobacillus fermentum did not induce chronic arthritis. All arthritogenic bacterial cell walls had the same peptidoglycan structure, whereas that of L. fermentum was different. Likewise, all arthritogenic cell walls were resistant to lysozyme degradation, whereas the L. fermentum cell wall was lysozyme sensitive. Muramic acid was observed in the liver, spleen, and lymph nodes in considerably larger amounts after injection of an arthritogenic L. casei cell wall than following injection of a nonarthritogenic L. fermentum cell wall. The L. casei cell wall also persisted in the tissues longer than the L. fermentum cell wall. The present results, taken together with those published previously, underline the possibility that the chemical structure of peptidoglycan is important in determining the arthritogenicity of the bacterial cell wall.