Reference values for vital capacity and flow-volume curves from a general population study

A longitudinal epidemiological respiratory study has been started in the North of Italy to investigate the natural history of obstructive airways disease and the long-term effect of SO2 exposure. The first cross-sectional study was completed in this unpolluted area before the activation of a thermoelectric power plant (500 tons of SO2 produced daily). Follow-up surveys are planned after pollution emission starts for a period of ten years. A sample (n = 3289) representative of the general population was drawn from the villages of the area according to the different risks of pollution exposure. Subjects completed questionnaires and performed lung function tests, including forced expiratory (FVC) manoeuvres. For 801 'normal' subjects, prediction equations have been derived in age/sex groups for slow vital capacity (VC) and variables from the FVC manoeuvre. Comparisons with predictions of other studies are reported. Differences among FVC predictions were found, indicating that the use of different criteria for determination of the FVC manoeuvre end-point can affect results. In 'normals' VC was higher than FVC in older subjects. The difference between VC and FVC may be hypothesized as an epidemiological indication of the ageing effect on the mechanical properties of the ventilatory system.     

Identification and Subcellular Localization of Neuronal Calcium Sensor-1 (NCS-1) in Human Neutrophils and HL-60 Cells

Secretion in neutrophils is thought to be regulated in different ways for the different granule types. Specific granules are endowed with proteins which are related to docking and fusion events and are absent on azurophilic granules. Furthermore, even if secretion of content from all neutrophil granules is a Ca(2+)-dependent process, a higher concentration of cytosolic calcium is required for azurophilic than for specific granule secretion. In this paper we show that human neutrophils and promyelocitic cells express neuronal calcium sensor-1 (NCS-1), a calcium binding protein involved in exocytosis in various cell types. Both mRNA and protein were found in mature cells and precursors. NCS-1 is shown to be mainly associated with azurophilic granules and, therefore could play an instrumental role in the calcium-dependent secretion of azurophilic granules.     

A springtime olympics demands special consideration for allergic athletes

BACKGROUND: The Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in September-October 2000, which is early to mid-spring in the southern hemisphere. Pollen-sensitive athletes may encounter problems with allergic symptoms triggered by pollen exposure, thus compromising their ability to attain peak performance. OBJECTIVE: We sought to monitor pollen levels at the major Olympic venues to provide information for allergic athletes and their team doctors in order to adequately prepare them for Olympic competition. METHODS: We performed aerobiologic monitoring of the major Olympic venues to provide a profile of the most prevalent pollen species appearing during the spring. In the second part of this study, we surveyed a population of elite Australian athletes from Olympic sports to ascertain the prevalence of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, to investigate the major allergens involved in sensitization, and to conduct a pilot study to assess the effect of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis on quality of life. RESULTS: The pollen counts obtained at the 3 major sites were high over the period of Olympic competition. Tree pollens appeared from July, and grasses appeared from early September and peaked in the second week of October, the beginning of Paralympic competition. A relatively small number of pollen varieties comprise the majority of the total pollen count. Two hundred fourteen athletes (61% male; mean age, 21 +/- 16 years) representing 12 Olympic sports participated in the study. Fifty-six percent gave a symptom history consistent with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, 41% had symptoms of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and a positive test response to any one allergen, and 29% had seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (a positive history and at least one positive skin prick test response to a seasonal allergen). Athletes from aquatic sports were more likely to have symptoms than those from other sports. Symptom scores were higher and quality of life ratings were poorer in allergic compared with nonallergic athletes over the spring period. CONCLUSION: Olympic team managers and medical officers need to adequately prepare Olympic athletes for the possibility of exposure to high pollen levels in the weeks leading up to this most important sporting event. Symptoms of pollen sensitivity, such as rhinoconjunctivitis and exacerbation of asthma, could be devastating to athletes expecting peak performance. Potential Olympic athletes should be screened for the possibility of pollen allergy and have medical programs with permitted medication tailored to meet their needs. This may involve preventative therapy with medication, such as intranasal corticosteroid sprays or immunotherapy programs, if symptoms are particularly severe. The newer nonsedating antihistamines are the treatment of choice for acute intermittent symptoms. Appropriate management will ensure that the allergic athlete will safely perform to maximum ability with permitted medication during the Spring 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.     

De novo engineering of reticular connective tissue in vivo by silk fibroin nonwoven materials

Biologically tolerated biomaterials are the focus of intense research. In this work, we examined the biocompatibility of three-dimensional (3D) nonwovens of sericin-deprived, Bombyx mori silk fibroin (SF) in beta-sheet form implanted into the subcutaneous tissue of C57BL6 mice, using sham-operated mice as controls. Both groups of mice similarly healed with no residual problem. Macroarray analysis showed that an early (day 3) transient expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) mRNA, but not of the mRNAs encoding for 22 additional proinflammatory cytokines, occurred solely at SF-grafted places, where no remarkable infiltration of macrophages or lymphocytes subsequently happened. Even an enduring moderate increase in total cytokeratins without epidermal hyperkeratosis and a transient (days 10-15) upsurge of vimentin occurred exclusively at SF-grafted sites, whose content of collagen type-I, after a delayed (day 15) rise, ultimately fell considerably under that proper of sham-operated places. By day 180, the interstices amid and surfaces of the SF chords, which had not been appreciably biodegraded, were crammed with a newly produced tissue histologically akin to a vascularized reticular connective tissue, while some macrophages but no lymphocytic infiltrates or fibrous capsules occurred in the adjoining tissues. Therefore, SF nonwovens may be excellent candidates for clinical applications since they both enjoy a long-lasting biocompatibility, inducing a quite mild foreign body response, but no fibrosis, and efficiently guide reticular connective tissue engineering.     

Regulation of organic cation transport

Transport of organic cations (OC) is important for the recycling of endogenous OC and also a necessary step for detoxification of exogenous OC in the body. Even though the identification and characterisation of numerous OC transporters in recent years has allowed the elucidation of molecular mechanisms underlying OC transport, elucidation of the regulation of this transport is just beginning. This review summarises the general properties of OC transport and then analyses the literature on the regulation of these processes. Studies on short- and long-term regulation of OC transport are considered separately. Important aspects of short-term regulation have been clarified and the regulatory pathways of several OC transporters have been characterised. Short-term regulation appears to be transporter subtype-, tissue- and species-dependent and to involve transporter phosphorylation. Transporter phosphorylation may alter the affinity for substrates or/and expression on the plasma membrane. Even though several studies have shown long-term regulation of OC transport, the pathophysiological meaning of these changes are not well understood. In this case, regulation seems to be subtype-, tissue- and gender-specific. Further research is necessary to clarify this important issue of regulation of OC transport.     

Investigations on the turnover of adrenocortical mitochondria. X. A correlated biochemical and stereological study of the effects of Chronic treatment with chloramphenicol on the mitochondria of the rat zona fasciculata

The effects of chloramphenicol (CAP) on rat adrenocortical cells were investigated by biochemical and stereological methods. It was found that administering 50 mg/kg of CAP every 12 hours provoked a persistent inhibition of the incorporation of ³H-leucine into mitochondrial proteins. Chronic treatment (up to 15 consecutive days) with this dose of CAP induced a significant decrease in the volume of the mitochondrial compartment, in the surface area of the outer and inner mitochondrial membranes and in the number of mitochondria per cell. These results confirm the hypothesis that the ACTH-induced maintenance of adrenocortical mitochondrial growth requires continuous mitochondrial DNA-dependent protein synthesis.     

Vasculitic purpura in vinyl chloride disease: a case report

Vinyl chloride (VC), a volatile substance mostly used for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) synthesis, is a systemic toxicant particularly noxious to endothelium. Angiosarcoma of the liver, Raynaud's phenomenon, scleroderma-like lesions, acroosteolysis and neuritis are known to be typical vinyl chloride-associated manifestations (VC disease). A so far unknown feature of the disease is purpura. This was first observed by the authors in a worker of a PVC-producing plant. The skin eruption was characterized by small purpuric maculae with tiny, palpable spots and papulae, mostly concentrated on the lower part of the legs, changing into bullae, pustules and crusts and tending to spontaneous regression after withdrawal from VC exposure. A skin biopsy revealed marked inflammatory reaction with a mostly lymphocytic and histiocytic infiltration around and in the walls of dermal arterioles. The finding of increased circulating immune complexes and anti-smooth muscle autoantibodies strengthens the hypothesis that immunologic changes play a role in the appearance of "vinylic purpura."     

Difference in sensitivity to cyclosporine in vitro of human alloreactive lines and clones

The effectiveness of cyclosporine (CsA) as immunosuppressive agent in human kidney graft rejection is well established. However, in spite of efforts to maintain optimal plasma levels, a fraction of transplanted patients undergo rejection episodes and/or irreversible chronic rejection. This suggests that immunosuppression by CsA cannot control the alloreactive response if there is a high degree of histoincompatibility for HLA or non-HLA antigens, or it has little effect on the "high responder" patient. Both possibilities are difficult to test in the human system. A third hypothesis, the existence of individual CsA resistance, was tested by evaluating the in vitro inhibitory activity of CsA on alloreactive T cell lines from several individuals. A different degree of in vitro sensitivity to the drug was observed among alloreactive lines generated from different individuals and among clones obtained from the same bulk line. The variability at the individual level and at the clonal level may account for the onset of CsA-resistant rejection assuming that in vivo a positive selection in the presence of the drug occurs and allows for the resistant clones, if present, to dominate the sensitive ones.