Immunocytotherapy. A new trend in fetal tissue transplantation

The clinical applications of theoretical immunology are not numerous. The authors demonstrate present-day immunocytotherapeutic approaches to fetal tissue transplantation widely used in medicine. Results of therapy by injections of lymphokine-activated killer cells in combination with interleukin-2, T-cell vaccines, and genetically transformed T cells are presented. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 117, N ^o 4, pp. 412–415, April, 1994     

Analysis of the Equalization of Inverted Repeats and Neurovirulence Using a Pseudorabies Virus Mutant Strain Altered at the Ul/Ir Junction

A recombinant pseudorabies (Aujeszky’s disease) virus (PrV) designated as vE16lac was constructed by deleting a 3-kbp DNA segment spanning the junction of long and short components of the viral genome, and by replacing the deleted segment with a lacZ-expression cassette. The aim of constructing this mutant was (a) to determine whether the terminal repeat (Tr) can serve as a template for the regeneration of the internal repeat (Ir), and (b) whether this deletion causes a reduction in the neuroinvasiveness of the virus. To analyze the mechanism of equalization, revertant viruses were selected and structurally characterized from vE16lac infection of PK-15 cells, mice and pigs. Because all revertants acquired Ir sequences identical to that of the wild-type virus, the equalization process occurred using the Tr as a template to reconstitute the Ir. We also found that the recombinant virus vE16lac was virulent in both pigs and mice. The data are discussed in view of studies performed with similar PrV mutants by other authors (Rall et al., 1992, Dean and Cheung, 1995 and Dean et al., 1996). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition induces aggressivity of mucinous cystic neoplasm of the pancreas with neuroendocrine component: An immunohistochemistry study

Background

Pancreatic mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCN) are rare tumors that are usually diagnosed in females.

The role of the thalamic reticular neurons in alpha- and gamma-oscillations in neocortex: a mechanism for selective perception and stimulus binding

The long-term objective is to understand how large masses of neurons in the brain process information during various learning and memory paradigms. Both time- and space-dependent processes have been identified in animals through computer-based analytic quantifications of event-related extracellular potentials. New nonlinear analyses have been introduced that presume that the fine-grain variation in the signal is determined and patterned in phase-space. Some neurons in the primary visual cortex manifest gamma-band oscillations. These cells show both a nonspecific phase-alignment (response synchrony) and a specific tuning (orientation tuning) when stimuli are presented to their receptive fields. This dual regulation of the sensory cells is proposed to underlie stimulus binding, a theoretical mechanism for "object" perception. Nonlinear analytic results from gamma-activities in a simple model neuropil (olfactory bulb) suggest that neuroplasticity may arise through self-organization, a process in which a nonlinear change in the dynamics of the oscillatory field potentials is the hallmark. This self-organization may follow simple dynamical laws in which global cooperativity among the neurons is transiently brought about that, over trials, results in enduring changes in the nonlinear dynamics of some neurons. In conclusion, the sculpturing of the synaptic throughput in the sensory cortex (stimulus binding) may be associated with the irregular phases of the gamma-activities and may result from both specific and nonspecific systems operating together in a nonlinear self-organizing manner.     

Activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors does not alter the phosphorylation state of GluR1 AMPA receptor subunit at serine 845 in perirhinal cortical neurons

Activation of group I and group II metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) is thought to be required for long-term depression (LTD) of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA) receptor-mediated synaptic transmission in the perirhinal cortex. However, little is known about how activation of mGluRs leads to this form of synaptic plasticity. AMPA receptor phosphorylation has been implicated in several forms of modulation of synaptic transmission. In the CA1 area of the hippocampus, N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-dependent LTD is associated with the reduced phosphorylation of the GluR1 AMPA receptor subunit at serine 845 (GluR1-S845). Immunoblot analysis of perirhinal cortical neurons using GluR1 and GluR1-S845 phosphorylation state specific antibodies showed that stimulation of adenylyl cyclase (AC) with forskolin (FSK) dramatically increased PKA-mediated phosphorylation of GluR1-S845. However, selective or simultaneous application of mGluR5 agonist (S)-3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine (CHPG) and mGluR2/3 agonist (2S,2'R,3'R)-2-(2',3'-dicarboxycyclopropyl)glycine (DCG IV) did not produce detectable changes in GluR1-S845 phosphorylation. These results indicate that in the perirhinal cortex mGluR activation does not alter the phosphorylation state of GluR1-S845. Therefore, it is likely that the process involved in the modification of AMPA receptors in mGluR activation dependent LTD in the perirhinal cortex is mechanistically distinct from NMDA receptor-mediated LTD described in hippocampal neurons.     

Model identification and estimation of organ-function parameters using radioactive tracers and the impulse-response function

Examination of the input-output events in functioning organs by the use of the impulse-response function (IRF) for a radioactive tracer is gaining more and more ground in nuclear medicine. This study summarizes the development of deconvolution analysis, laying special stress on the model-free approach. System linearity and time invariance are discussed, and means of eliminating noise in IRFs originating from the input and organ-time-activity curves are outlined. Typical IRFs are illustrated by flow diagrams, time-domain curves, and their representation by Laplace transforms. The cases of nondiffusible and diffusible tracers as well as parenchymally extracted and transported substances are discussed. Methods for the derivation of models and for the calculation of physiologically important parameters from theIRFs are suggested.At present, a guest scientist at the Institute for Medicine, Nuclear Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Federal Republic of Germany     

Knowledge and Attitudes of Health Care Professionals and Laypeople in Relation to Brain Death Diagnosis and Organ Donation in Hungary: A Questionnaire Study

ObjectivesThe aim of the present work was to assess the knowledge and attitudes of different health care workers and laypeople toward the donation and transplantation procedure.Subjects and methodsA survey consisting of questions regarding brain death diagnosis, legal organization or organ donation, and the transplantation procedure were sent to participants: 56 intensive care unit (ICU) doctors, 76 ICU nurses, 188 sixth-year medical students, and 320 general practitioners (GPs). Laypeople were also asked to complete the survey.ResultsThe majority of participants reported being aware of legal regulations for organ donation in Hungary (88.5%). Roughly 25% of GPs and 60% of laypeople were unaware of the opt-out system effective in the country. Less than one-third of ICU physicians (26.9%) and nurses (34.7%) were able to list the organs that may be transplanted from a deceased donor; GPs (22.4%) and medical students (20%) performed even worse on this item. The willingness of ICU specialists (57%) and ICU nurses (45%) to support donating their own organs was moderate.ConclusionsThe results of this survey indicate a need for graduate and postgraduate education and regular teaching programs regarding organ donation and transplantation. More active use of modern media is proposed to improve public awareness and acceptance of organ donation.     

Kidney recipients with allograft failure,transition of kidney care (KRAFT): A survey of contemporary practices of transplant providers

Kidney allograft failure and return to dialysis carry a high risk of morbidity. A practice survey was developed by the AST Kidney Pancreas Community of Practice workgroup and distributed electronically to the AST members. There were 104 respondents who represented 92 kidney transplant centers. Most survey respondents were transplant nephrologists at academic centers. The most common approach to immunosuppression management was to withdraw the antimetabolite first (73%), while only 12% responded they would withdraw calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) first. More than 60% reported that the availability of a living donor is the most important factor in their decision to taper immunosuppression, followed by risk of infection, risk of sensitization, frailty, and side effects of medications. More than half of respondents reported that embolization was either not available or offered to less than 10% as an option for surgical intervention. Majority reported that ≤50% of failed allograft patients were re-listed before dialysis, and less than a quarter of transplant nephrologists performed frequent visits with their patients with failed kidney allograft after they return to dialysis. This survey demonstrates heterogeneity in the care of patients with a failing allograft and the need for more evidence to guide improvements in clinical practice related to transition of care.     

Diffuse inflammatory pseudotumor of the testis,the epididymis and the spermatic cord

Inflammatory pseudotumors have been recognized in many parts of the body. A case of a diffuse variant which involved the testis, the epididymis and the spermatic cord is described. The patient had enlarged left testis for several months. Clinically, the lesion mimicred cancer. Histologically, the lesion contained hyalinized fibrous tissue with spindle cells, plasma cells and lymphocytes. Gradual involvement of vascular channels by the cellular elements of inflammatory pseudotumor was observed. Results of immunohistochemical studies showed a myofibroblast differentiation in the majority of spindle cells: intense antibody staining for smooth muscle actin, muscle specific actin, and vimentin. The ultrastructural findings, intracytoplasmic filaments with dense bodies, were also consistent with the myofibroblastic nature of these cells. The histiocyte differentiation of spindle cells is questionable in our case, because only scattered histiocyte-like cells showed positivity with the KP-1 (CD-3) antibody.