Estimation of body composition in Chinese and British men by ultrasonographic assessment of segmental adipose tissue volume.

It has been shown that ultrasonographic measurements can be used to predict body composition in adults. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between ultrasonograph and caliper (SKF) measurements of subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness in athletic Caucasian (English, E) and Asian (Chinese, C) men against estimates of body composition determined from hydrodensitometry (HYD). The usefulness of a proposed ultrasonographic method of estimating lean and fat proportions in the upper and lower limbs was also evaluated as a potential method of predicting body composition. Ultrasonography (US) was used to measure adipose and skin thickness at the following sites: biceps, triceps, subscapular, suprailiac, abdominal, pectoral, thigh and calf. Caliper measurements were also made at the above sites. Subcutaneous fat thickness and segmental radius were measured directly from the display screen of the ultrasonic scanner (Aloka 500 SD). By applying the geometry of a cone, the proximal and distal radii of the upper arm and upper leg were used to calculate the proportionate volumes of adipose tissue. The best correlations for US and SKF were obtained at the quadriceps, subscapular and pectoral sites for E (r = 0.96, 0.93 and 0.90, respectively) and at the quadriceps, calf and abdominal sites for C (r = 0.90, 0.81 and 0.75, respectively). The best ultrasonographic predictor of the percentage fat in both groups was the percentage adipose tissue volume in the upper leg (r = 0.83 and 0.79 for C and E, respectively). Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that the prediction of percentage fat was improved by the addition of the ultrasonographic abdomen measurement in both groups: Chinese sample: %fat = %fat(leg) (0.491) + US abdomen (0.337) + 0.95 ( R = 0.89, s.e.e. = 1.9%); English sample: %fat = %fat(leg) (0.435) + US abdomen (0.230) - 0.765 ( R = 0.80, s.e.e. = 3.6%). It is concluded that ultrasonographic measurements of subcutaneous adipose tissue and volumetric assessment of percentage adipose tissue in the thigh are useful estimates of body composition in athletic English and Chinese males.     

TRACP Influences Th1 pathways by affecting dendritic cell function.

TRACP, a marker of osteoclasts, is also expressed by cells of the immune system. We identified a novel function for TRACP in the dendritic cell. DCs from TRACP knockout mice have impaired maturation and trigger reduced Th1 responses in vivo. We postulate that TRACP has an important role in the presentation of antigens to T cells. INTRODUCTION: TRACP is highly expressed by osteoclasts, activated macrophages, and dendritic cells (DCs). Knockout mice lacking TRACP have an intrinsic defect in osteoclastic resorption and macrophages that display abnormal immunomodulatory responses and cytokine secretion profiles. Our aim in this study was to investigate the significance of TRACP in the inductive phase of the immune response by examining dendritic cells from TRACP(-/-) mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Maturational state and function of leukocyte subsets in mice was assessed by flow cytometry. The ability of the immune system to respond to nonspecific activation and to specific antigen was assessed by delayed type hypersensitivity and the presence of isotype-specific serum antibody in vivo and T-cell proliferation and cytokine production in vitro. RESULTS: The ability of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to upregulate MHC II and CD80 in DCs from TRACP(-/-) mice was reduced compared with wildtype mice, although production of IL-10 by DCs from TRACP-deficient animals was increased. T- and B-cell responses not involving antigen presentation (anti-CD3, TNP-ficoll) were normal in TRACP(-/-) mice, but responses to T-dependent antigens were impaired. Specifically, TRACP(-/-) mice had defective delayed hypersensitivity responses to picryl chloride and reduced proliferative responses to ovalbumin compared with wildtype mice. In response to ovalbumin, but not anti-CD3, T cells from TRACP(-/-) mice produced less interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), but there was no difference in IL-4 production: TRACP(-/-) mice also produced less ovalbumin (OVA)-specific IgG2a after immunization. CONCLUSIONS: The finding that DCs from TRACP(-/-) mice have impaired maturation and defective Th1 responses shows that TRACP is important for polarizing responses in na?ve T cells to antigen-presented dendritic cells.     

Intrinsic activity determinations at the dopamine D2 guanine nucleotide-binding protein-coupled receptor: utilization of receptor state binding affinities.

Guanine nucleotide-binding protein-coupled receptors have been shown to exist in both a high affinity agonist (HiAg) and a low affinity agonist (LowAg) state. The formation of the HiAg state is promoted by agonists, and the formation of this state of the receptor appears to be a critical factor in the generation of the effector-activating complex G alpha.GTP.Mg2+ and in the production of a stimulus. The magnitude of the difference in the affinity a compound has for the HiAg versus the LowAg state of the receptor has been related to the intrinsic activity of the compound. In this paper the HiAg and LowAg affinities (Ki) of full and partial dopamine agonists of varying levels of intrinsic activity were determined using membranes from Chinese hamster ovary cells stably transfected with the D2i receptor. The HiAg state was defined using the recently described dopamine agonist ligand [3H]U-86170, and the LowAg state was defined using [3H] raclopride plus 600 microM GTP. The LowAg/HiAg ratios for apomorphine (43), HW-165 (12.5), (-)-3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-N-(1-propyl)piperidine [(-)-3-PPP] (4.5), terguride (1.6), SDZ-208-911 (1.2), and SDZ-208-912 (0.3) were found to correlate well with their electrophysiologically derived intrinsic activities (r = 0.92). Using this relationship, the intrinsic activity for compounds such as (+)-3-PPP (112%), quinpirole (104%), U-68553B (102%), and U-86170 (95%) was predicted to be high (greater than 90%); (-)-apomorphine (73%) was of high/moderate intrinsic activity, HW-165 (52%), (+)-apomorphine (51%), and (-)-3-PPP (34%) were in the intermediate range, and terguride (16.5%), SDZ-208-911 (11.7%), and SDZ-208-912 (-12%) were at the lower end of the intrinsic activity spectrum. The receptor state binding-determined intrinsic activity values for quinpirole (100%), U-86170F (94.8%), HW-165 (52.1%), (-)-3-PPP (34.3%), SDZ-208-911 (11.7%), and SDZ-208-912 (-12%) were found to correlate well (r = 0.908) with their maximum response (intrinsic activity), as determined using ATP-mediated increases in arachidonic acid release from CHO-D2i cells. In addition, the maximal effect of several of these compounds on rat striatal homovanillic acid (HVA) levels was determined. The drug-induced changes in tissue HVA levels were found to be consistent with the affinity-derived intrinsic activities of the drugs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Metabolic expression of intrinsic developmental programs for dentine and enamel biomineralization in serumless,chemically-defined,organotypic culture

Summary Biomineralization was investigated using embryonic mouse mandibular first molars (M₁) cultured in the presence or absence of fetal calf serum. Metabolic features including cell division and Ca²⁺ and phosphate incorporation into dentine and enamel extracellular matrices were analyzed. The relative timing and magnitude of DNA synthesis for serumless cultures was comparable toin vivo controls. Isotopic calcium and phosphate incorporation into the mineral phase of dentine and enamel matrices, in the absence of serum, fluctuated during development. Molar tooth morphogenesis, cytodifferentiation, and extracellular matrix formation approximated late crown-stage development in serumless cultures. Von Kossa histochemical staining indicated calcium phosphate salt formation in serumless cultures. Analysis of anhydrous fixation-prepared enamel and dentine representing serumless cultured explants indicated that crystal size and orientation were comparable toin vivo enamel and dentine. In contrast, serum-supplemented cultures showed atypical crystal size and orientation. Calcium/phosphorous (Ca/P) ratio values for serumless cultures after 21 days showed Ca/P enamel values of 2.03 (SD±0.04, p<0.025) and dentine values of 1.89 (SD±0.01, p<0.025). Electron diffraction patterns of enamel and dentine formed in serumless cultures were principally those of highly-ordered crystalline hydroxyapatite. Our results suggest that tissue-specific dentine and enamel biomineralization is regulated by endogenous factors intrinsic to the developmental program of embryonic tooth organs during serumless culture.     

5-Lipoxygenase-activating protein is the target of a novel hybrid of two classes of leukotriene biosynthesis inhibitors.

An 18-kDa leukocyte membrane protein, termed 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP), has recently been shown to be the target of two structurally distinct classes of leukotriene biosynthesis inhibitors. These classes of inhibitors are based on indole and quinoline structures and are represented by MK-886 and L-674,573, respectively. A novel class of hybrid structure based on the indole and quinoline classes of inhibitors, termed quindoles, has recently been developed. These compounds, exemplified by L-689,037, are potent inhibitors of leukotriene biosynthesis, both in vitro and in vivo. In the present study, we have developed and characterized a potent radioiodinated photoaffinity analogue of L-689,037, termed [125I]L-691,678. This compound was used in immunoprecipitation studies with FLAP antisera to show that the quindole series of leukotriene biosynthesis inhibitors interact directly with FLAP. In addition, we show that MK-886, L-674,573, and L-689,037 specifically compete, in a concentration-dependent manner, with both [125I]L-691,678 and [125I]L-669,083, a photoaffinity analogue of MK-886, for binding to FLAP. These results suggest that these three classes of leukotriene biosynthesis inhibitors share a common binding site on FLAP, providing further evidence that FLAP represents a suitable target for structurally diverse classes of leukotriene biosynthesis inhibitors.