Circulating levels of inhibin in cancer

Study on frequency distribution of serum inhibin levels--a peptide hormone involved in suppression of follicle stimulating hormone--was carried out using a specific radioimmunoassay developed in this laboratory, on 237 sera from normal men and women, from male and female patients with cancer prostate, lung, stomach and breast, and from patients with non-malignant disease of the respective organ. The mean serum inhibin levels in patients with malignant and non-malignant disease of prostate (90 +/- 19 ng/ml and 54 +/- 8 ng/ml) were significantly higher than found in normal men (31 +/- 9 ng/ml). However, the levels in cancer of stomach (70 +/- 9 ng/ml) and lung (45 +/- ng/ml) were higher than those in normal as well as benign condition of stomach and lung. The mean serum inhibin in case of women with cancer of breast (27 +/- 5 ng/ml) and lung (53 +/- 16 ng/ml) were significantly higher than those found in normal women (15 +/- 2 ng/ml) and in women with benign disease of breast (10 +/- 3 ng/ml) and lung (21 +/- 4 ng/ml). Considering the levels in individual patient basis, 66% of the patients with cancer of stomach had higher inhibin concentration than the uppermost limit of inhibin found in normal men and in contrast none in benign disease of stomach.     

Effect of muscimol,a central GABA receptor agonist,on the catalepsy,striatal homovanillic acid increase,and analgesia induced by pilocarpine in rats

Muscimol, a structural analog of GABA, significantly potentiated pilocarpine-induced analgesia in rats, but failed to alter pilocarpine-induced catalepsy. It also failed to affect pilocarpine-elicited increase in homovanillic acid levels in the striatum. These findings suggest that the potentiation of pilocarpine-induced analgesia by muscimol is unrelated to an interaction of the GABAergic system with the striatal cholinergic or dopaminergic systems.     

A novel approach to the management of persistent postpneumonectomy bronchopleural fistula

A 69-year-old man who had a left pneumonectomy for nonsmall cell lung cancer had a bronchopulmonary fistula develop that recurred after surgical closure. He had multiple organ failure develop precluding further operative intervention. Successful resolution of the fistula was achieved using a novel application of a covered expandable metallic stent.     

The role of adrenal and pineal glands on the hypothalamo-pituitary axis in adult male rats

Although there have been reports on the effects of adrenal and pineal gland secretions on the hypothalamus and the pituitary, the maintenance of rhythmicity by these glands has not been reported so far. The present data deals with the alterations in the periodicity of hypothalamo-pituitary axis after the surgical removal of either adrenal, gonad or pineal in adult male rats. The data indicated an alteration in the 24 hour pattern of hypothalamic content of LHRH after adrenalectomy, castration or pinealectomy. In adrenalectomy group, the in vitro responsiveness of pituitary decreased at 0600 h and 100 h as compared to the intact rats, resulting in a low amplitude of LH circadian rhythm. The pituitaries of pinealectomized rats showed increased sensitivity at 1000 h and 1800 h which resulted in two peak LH concentration at those time intervals. Further, pinealectomized rats showed a selective five fold increase over 24 hr in serum FSH concentration as compared to intact rats suggesting dissociation in the release of FSH and LH.     

Effect of testosterone, estradiol-17 beta, and 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone on inhibin production by sertoli cells in culture

Inhibin activity in charcoal-extracted spent culture medium of Sertoli cells in Primary culture (CSCCM) was monitored by following the temporal inhibition of serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in normal adult male rats. Subcutaneous injection of CSCCM reduced LH and FSH levels within 15 min and maintained the inhibition up to 10 hr. No selective suppression of FSH was observed. The model was used to assess inhibin activity in CSCCM from Sertoli cell cultures incubated with 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), testosterone (T), and estradiol -17 beta (E2) (5 micrograms/ml) for 24 hr. CSCCM from T and E2 treated groups suppressed gonadotropins while the group exposed to DHT failed to elicit any inhibition. DHT seems to inhibit the release of inhibin by Sertoli Cells.     

Comparative potency of formulations of mometasone furoate in terms of inhibition of 'PIRHR' in the forearm skin of normal human subjects measured with laser doppler velocimetry

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Topical glucocorticoid formulations are widely used for effective treatment and control of a variety of dermatoses. Mometasone furoate is a newer corticoid that has high potency but low systemic toxicity. Pharmaceutical factors are known to significantly influence potency and systemic absorption of topically applied glucocorticoids. We studied the potency of "Elocon", a topical formulation of mometasone furoate, compared with two other branded formulations of the same corticoid. METHODS: Corticoid potency was measured by employing a pharmacodynamic parameter of an inhibitory effect of the corticoid on post-ischemic-reactive-hyperemic-response (PIRHR) in human forearm skin under occlusive dressing. The PIRHR was expressed in terms of % increase in the skin blood flow (SBF) as measured with laser doppler velocimetry (LDV). RESULTS : All three active branded formulations of mometasone furoate produced significant inhibition of PIRHR. The AUC(0-2 min) of PIRHR was ( Mean +/- SEM ), Control = 213.52 +/- 11.80, Placebo = 209.77 +/- 19.31, Formulation A = 119.83 +/- 13.71, Formulation C = 53.67 +/- 4.85 and Formulation D = 111.46 +/- 22.87. Formulation "C" exhibited significantly higher topical anti-inflammatory potency than formulations "A" or "D". CONCLUSIONS: Thus, branded formulations of the same glucocorticoid, mometasone furoate significantly differed in their topical anti-inflammatory potency. "Elocon" was significantly more potent than the two other branded formulations studied.     

Society for Reproductive Biology Founders' Lecture 2003. The making of an embryo: short-term goals and long-term implications

During early development, the eutherian mammalian embryo forms a blastocyst comprising an outer trophectoderm epithelium and enclosed inner cell mass (ICM). The short-term goal of blastocyst morphogenesis, including epithelial differentiation and segregation of the ICM, is mainly regulated autonomously and comprises a combination of temporally controlled gene expression, cell polarisation, differentiative cell divisions and cell-cell interactions. This aspect of blastocyst biogenesis is reviewed, focusing, in particular, on the maturation and role of cell adhesion systems. Early embryos are also sensitive to their environment, which can affect their developmental potential in diverse ways and may lead to long-term consequences relating to fetal or postnatal growth and physiology. Some current concepts of embryo-environment interactions, which may impact on future health, are also reviewed.