Cell biology of smooth muscle in culture: implications for atherogenesis

Smooth muscle cells are one of the most important, if not the most important component of atheromatous plaque. Smooth muscle cells from developing and regenerating arteries, as well as atheromatous plaques, show similar morphological and biochemical characteristics which differ from adult tissue. During primary culture, adult smooth muscle cells alter their morphology to resemble those of the developing, regenerating and atheromatous material. We propose that primary cell culture of smooth muscle cells provides a model for the study of smooth muscle cell changes during atheroma formation.     

Effects of timing and quantity of chronic dietary ethanol consumption on azoxymethane-induced colonic carcinogenesis and azoxymethane metabolism in Fischer 344 rats

Epidemiological studies have shown an association between consumption of alcoholic beverages and carcinoma of the large bowel, but studies in experimental models of colonic carcinogenesis have yielded conflicting results. We assessed the effects on azoxymethane-induced colonic carcinogenesis of both timing of chronic dietary ethanol consumption relative to carcinogen administration and quantity of ethanol consumption. Ten-week-old male Fischer 344 rats were given 11%, 22%, or 33% of calories as reagent ethanol or no ethanol by pair feeding with Lieber-DeCarli-type liquid diets providing comparable total carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and calories. Ten weekly s.c. injections of the bowel carcinogen azoxymethane (AOM), 7 mg/kg, were given to all rats in weeks 1-10. Three experimental groups were given their respective ethanol diet during acclimatization and AOM administration (preinduction and induction phases) and then were given the no-ethanol diet from week 11 until sacrifice in week 26 (postinduction phase). Three other groups received the no-ethanol diet during acclimatization and AOM administration and then were changed to their respective ethanol diet until sacrifice. The control AOM group received the no-ethanol diet throughout the study. Suppression of colonic tumorigenesis occurred in the groups with high levels of chronic dietary ethanol consumption during acclimatization and AOM administration: in the 33% and 22% diet groups, the prevalence of colonic tumors was 3% and 20% as compared with 50% in control (P less than 0.001 and P less than 0.02, respectively). Tumorigenesis in the left colon was more affected than in the right colon, as tumor prevalence in the left colon was decreased in both the 33% and 22% diet groups (0% in both versus 24% in control, P less than 0.005), whereas prevalence in the right colon was decreased only in the 33% diet group (3% versus 38%, P less than 0.001). By contrast, prevalence of colonic tumors in the 11% diet group was not significantly different from control. Chronic dietary ethanol consumption after AOM administration had no effect on tumor outcome, regardless of quantity of consumption. In an analogous study of [14C]AOM metabolism in rats fed the 33% diet during acclimatization and AOM administration, 14CO2 was exhaled at a slower rate than in rats fed no-ethanol diet (P = 0.05), indicating suppression of AOM metabolism.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Activating effect of substance P on nerve tissue in culture

The effect of substance P on organotypic culture of rat sympathetic ganglia and spinal cord was studied. Substance P was able to stimulate the fibre outgrowth from explant, to increase the numbers of glial and fibroblasttypic cells in ganglia growth zone. The effect was observed in the range from 10(-5) to 10(-12) M (for sympathetic ganglia) and from 10(-5) to 10(-14) M (for spinal cord culture). It is suggested that substance P can be used as a nonspecific growth factor for peripheral and central nervous tissue.     

Increased prevalence of apolipoprotein E2 in patients with retinitis pigmentosa

Apolipoprotein E isoforms were determined in 139 unrelated patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). When compared to prevalence rates for the general population in Germany, an increased prevalence was observed for phenotypes E2/E2: 10.1 vs. 1.0% (p less than 0.001), E2/E3: 19.4 vs. 12.0% (p less than 0.05), and E2/E4: 5.8 vs. 1.5% (n.s.), while the prevalence appeared to be reduced for phenotypes E3/E3: 48.9 vs. 59.8% (n.s.) E3/E4: 13.7 vs. 22.9% (p less than 0.05), and E4/E4: 2.2 vs. 2.8% (n.s.). These findings suggest that genetically determined abnormalities of plasma lipoprotein metabolism may be associated with some forms of RP.     

Orthopedic disorders, morbidity, and sick absenteeism in men with different levels of serum gamma-glutamyltransferase

All orthopedic treatment administered between 1970 and 1982 was analyzed in random subsamples of men 28, 38, and 48 years old being screened for serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) levels. Of 1,151 screened participants, 631 men had been treated for fracture, distortion, contusion, low-back pain with or without sciatica, or radial epicondylitis. The extent of care and incidence of the different diagnoses over the 13 years, as well as the number of sick days incurred by these men during 1981, were investigated for different GGT brackets. Those men with the highest GGT values (greater than or equal to 1.34 mu kat/liter approximately 80 IU) had 4-6 times more fractures and consulted surgeons 6-13 times more often than those men with the lowest GGT values (less than 0.35 mu kat/liter approximately 20 IU). Epicondylitis and distortion showed the opposite frequency distribution, with the highest incidence occurring in the lowest GGT brackets. Increasing GGT values were also correlated with sick leave days. Men in the highest decile for sick leave had 25 times more fractures than those men with no sick absenteeism. We conclude that an accumulation of alcohol-related orthopedic disorders occurs among men with high GGT values.     

Development of analytical methods for hydrochloride salts of cardiocyclide,a new Russian class III antiarrhythmic

Cardiocyclide, a new Russian class III antiarrhythmic agent, was developed at the State V. V. Zakusov Science Research Institute Pharmacology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. The aims of the present work were to study the physicochemical properties of the hydrochloride salt of this agent (N¹-(3-diethylaminopropyl)-N¹-(p-nitrobenzoyl)aminoacetic acid N,N-dicyclohexylamide HCl) and to develop an analytical method for this compound. IR, ¹H NMR, and UV spectra were obtained for cardiocyclide; its solubility was studied; its melting temperature, weight loss on drying and the transparency, color, and pH of its solutions were determined. The purity of material containing compound I was determined by thin-layer chromatography; quantitative cardiocyclide contents were estimated by non-aqueous titration. __________ Translated from Khimiko-Farmatsevticheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 41, No. 8, pp. 42–45, August, 2007.     

Erosive gastropathy not associated with duodenal ulcer]

There was a study of 422 in-patient subjects of the therapeutic profile. Endoscopy enabled to discover mucous coat erosions of the antral part of the stomach associated with Helicobacter pylori and absence of ulcer in the anamnesis in 8.7% of them (more frequently in women). As many as 81% of such patients belonged to patients with the ischemic heart disease. Erosive gastropathy is accompanied by the activity of the chronic inflammation response in the duodenum mucous coat that is most evident in IHD patients.