Induction of apoptosis of human primary osteoclasts treated with extracts from the medicinal plant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Emblica officinalis</Emphasis>

Background  

Osteoclasts (OCs) are involved in rheumatoid arthritis and in several pathologies associated with bone loss. Recent results support the concept that some medicinal plants and derived natural products are of great interest for developing therapeutic strategies against bone disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. In this study we determined whether extracts of Emblica officinalis fruits display activity of possible interest for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis by activating programmed cell death of human primary osteoclasts.     

The molecular basis of Natural Killer (NK) cell recognition and function

Natural Killer cells are likely to play an important role in the host defenses because they kill virally infected or tumor cells but spare normal self-cells. The molecular mechanism that explains why NK cells do not kill indiscriminately has recently been elucidated. It is due to several specialized receptors that recognize major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules expressed on normal cells. The lack of expression of one or more HLA class I alleles leads to NK-mediated target cell lysis. Different types of receptors specific for groups of HLA-C, HLA-B, and, very recently, HLA-A alleles have been identified. While in most instances, they function as inhibitory receptors, an activatory form of the HLA-C-specific receptors has been identified in some donors. Molecular cloning of HLA-C-, HLA-B- or HLA-A-specific receptors has revealed new members of the immunoglobulin superfamily with two or three Ig-like domains, respectively, in their extracellular portion. While the inhibitory form is characterized by a long cytoplasmic tail associated with a non-polar transmembrane portion, the activatory one has a short tail asociated with a Lys-containing transmembrane portion. Thus, these human NK receptors are different from the murine Ly49, that is a type II transmembrane protein characterized by a C-type lectin domain. A subset of activated T lymphocytes expresses NK-type class I-specific receptors. These receptors exert an inhibiting activity on T cell receptor-mediated functions and may provide an important mechanism of downregulation of T cell responses.     

Identification of the three-element windkessel model incorporating a pressure-dependent compliance

A new one-step computational procedure is presented for estimating the parameters of the nonlinear three-element windkessel model of the arterial system incorporating a pressure-dependent compliance. The data required are pulsatile aortic pressure and flow. The basic assumptions are a steadystate periodic regime and a purely elastic compliant element. By stating two conditions, zero mean flow and zero mean power in the compliant element, peripheral and characteristic resistances are determined through simple closed form formulas as functions of mean values of the square of aortic pressure, the square of aortic flow, and the product of aortic pressure with aortic flow. The pressure across as well as the flow through the compliant element can be then obtained so allowing the calculation of volume variation and compliance as functions of pressure. The feasibility of this method is studied by applying it to both simulated and experimental data relative to different circulatory conditions and comparing the results with those obtained by an iterative parameter optimization algorithm and with the actual values when available. The conclusion is that the proposed method appears to be effective in identifying the three-element windkessel even in the case of nonlinear compliance.     

Threshold effect of urinary glycosaminoglycans and the walk test as indicators of disease progression in a survey of subjects with Mucopolysaccharidosis VI (Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome)

A cross-sectional survey in individuals affected with the lysosomal storage disease Mucopolysaccharidosis VI (MPS VI) was conducted to establish demographics, urinary glycosaminoglycan (GAG) levels, and clinical progression of the disease. The survey evaluated 121 bona fide MPS VI-affected individuals over the age of 4 years from 15 countries across the Americas, Europe, and Australasia representing greater than 10% of the estimated world prevalence of the disease. A medical history, complete physical exam, urinary GAG determination, and assessment of several clinical measures related to physical endurance, pulmonary function, joint range of motion, strength, and quality of life were completed for each participant. Although a wide variation in clinical presentation was observed, several general findings were obtained reflecting progression of the disease. Impaired physical endurance, as measured by the distance achieved in a 6-min walk, could be demonstrated across all age groups of MPS VI-affected individuals. High urinary GAG values (>200 mug/mg creatinine) were associated with an accelerated clinical course comprised of age-adjusted short stature and low body weight, impaired endurance, compromised pulmonary function, and reduced joint range of motion. An unexpected result was the predominance of urinary GAG values <100 mug/mg creatinine for those participants over the age of 20 years. Pending the collection of longitudinal data, these results suggest that urinary GAG levels predict clinical morbidity, and longer-term survival is associated with urinary GAG levels below a threshold of 100 mug/mg creatinine.     

Mechanical heart valve prostheses:: identification and evaluation (erratum)

Mechanical heart value prostheses have been in use since the 1950s. Many prostheses have been used for a while and then discontinued. Today, there are a large number and variety of prostheses in use and an even larger variety that are in place in patients. These may be explanted at any time for a number of reasons. It is essential for the practicing pathologist to be able to identify the prosthesis and be aware of some of its reported complications and modes of failure. This article, and a second one on bioprosthetic heart valves, is designed as a ready reference guide to heart valve prostheses, their important identifying features, their common complications, and modes of failure. It should help in the accurate identification of explanted prosthetic valves and more definitive reports. This accuracy of identification as well as tracking of abnormalities noted will, we hope, permit the identification of new failure modes and the recording of causes of failure of new (or even modified) prosthetic heart valves.     

Human and Murine Immune Responses to a Novel Leishmania major Recombinant Protein Encoded by Members of a Multicopy Gene Family

Vaccination of BALB/c mice with Leishmania major promastigote culture filtrate proteins plus Corynebacterium parvum confers resistance to infection with L. major. To define immunogenic components of this protein mixture, we used sera from vaccinated mice to screen an L. major amastigote cDNA expression library. One of the immunoreactive clones thus obtained encoded a novel protein of L. major with a molecular mass of 22.1 kDa. The predicted amino acid sequence of this clone exhibited significant homology to eukaryotic thiol-specific-antioxidant (TSA) proteins. Therefore, we have designated this protein L. major TSA protein. Southern blot hybridization analyses indicate that there are multiple copies of the TSA gene in all species of Leishmania analyzed. Northern blot analyses demonstrated that the TSA gene is constitutively expressed in L. major promastigotes and amastigotes. Recombinant TSA protein containing an amino-terminal six-histidine tag was expressed in Escherichia coli with the pET17b system and was purified to homogeneity by affinity chromatography. Immunization of BALB/c mice with recombinant TSA protein resulted in the development of strong cellular immune responses and conferred protective immune responses against infection with L. major when the protein was combined with interleukin 12. In addition, recombinant TSA protein elicited in vitro proliferative responses from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of human leishmaniasis patients and significant TSA protein-specific antibody titers were detected in sera of both cutaneous-leishmaniasis and visceral-leishmaniasis patients. Together, these data suggest that the TSA protein may be useful as a component of a subunit vaccine against leishmaniasis.     

In vitro and in vivo modulation of MDR1/P-glycoprotein in HIV-infected patients administered highly active antiretroviral therapy and liposomal doxorubicin

P-glycoprotein (P-gp) transports a wide range of structurally unrelated drugs, such as HIV protease inhibitors (PIs) and cytotoxic compounds such as anthracyclines. Because modification of P-gp phenotype and function is an important underlying mechanism of drug interactions, the current study was conducted in order to evaluate whether highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), HIV plasma viral load (VL), or cancer chemotherapy may induce in vivo changes of P-gp phenotype in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from HIV-infected treatment-naive and -experienced subjects at different stages of HIV infection and/or disease, including patients with HIV-associated Kaposi sarcoma (KS). Our results show that neither HAART nor HIV VL, nor the stage of HIV infection and/or disease, significantly alter P-gp expression on PBMCs. In particular, surface P-gp expression is expressed at low levels by T-cell subsets, B cells, and NK cells, whereas almost all monocytes are double positive and these results are not modified by HIV PI-containing regimens. By contrast, a significant phenotype modification is detected in PBMCs from AIDS/KS patients after challenge with the liposomal formulation of the anthracycline doxorubicin (L-DOX) with the higher expression reached 24 hours after the end of the drug infusion. In addition, accumulation of L-DOX is unaffected by P-gp-mediated drug efflux as documented by in vitro experiments, in sharp contrast to the kinetic of free DOX, based on HIV PI blockade experiments. Finally, P-gp expression was found in KS spindle cells from HIV-infected treatment-naive AIDS/KS patients. We conclude that P-gp phenotype in PBMCs and specific subsets is not altered by HAART and/or HIV, whereas a significant increase is induced by specific anticancer drugs such as L-DOX. Moreover, HIV PIs possess an inhibitory effect on P-gp function that may improve DOX sensitivity in KS spindle cells.