Prediction of diabetes in Biobreeding/Aburahi rats by the measurement of soluble L-selectin

L-selectin was initially identified as a homing receptor, recently soluble L-selectin has been used as a marker of the inflammation. Therefore, we investigated the relation between the development of diabetes and serum L-selectin levels in the Biobreeding (BB) rats. Serum L-selectin were measured from 30 days old to the onset of diabetes or to 90 days old in Biobreeding (BB) rats and Wistar Furth (WF) rats. Significant elevation of L-selectin was found in diabetes prone (DP) rats from 45 days old to the onset of diabetes or through 90 days old. No elevation was found in other strain of rats. In histological study, all of DP rats had insulitis and no other strain of rats had it. Therefore, we conclude that the measurement of serum L-selectin could be useful tool to predict the onset of diabetes or presence of insulitis in BB rats.     

Successful treatment for leg ulcers due to hydroxyurea in a patient with chronic myelogenous leukaemia

A 51-year-old male who had intractable leg ulcers during treatment for chronic myelogenous leukaemia with hydroxyurea (HU) is reported. His leg ulcers were treated by application of tretinoin tocoferil (TT) ointment after surgical debridement; good results were obtained. Although stopping HU administration is vitally important, surgical debridement and TT application are effective for treating leg ulcers due to HU.     

Adaptation of conduit artery vascular smooth muscle tone to induced hypertension

We studied the changes in vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cell tone during the adaptation of rat common carotids to induced hypertension. Hypertension was induced in 8 week old male Wistar rats by total ligation of the aorta between the two kidneys. Mean blood pressure increased abruptly from 92±2 mm Hg (mean±SE) to 145±4 mm Hg and remained constant thereafter. Rats were sacrificed 2, 4, 8, and 56 days after surgery and the left common carotid artery was excised for analysis. Pressure-diameter curves were measured in vitro under normal, maximally contracted, and totally relaxed VSM. The VSM tone was analyzed in terms of its basal tone (active stress at low strains) and its myogenic tone (increase in active stress at high strains). Our results show that the capacity of the VSM to develop maximal active stress is not altered in hypertension. Basal tone, however, increases rapidly in the acute hypertension phase (2–8 days postsurgery) and drops to nearly control values at 56 days postsurgery. Also, the onset of myogenic response decreases to lower strains following the step change in pressure, to be restored back to control levels at 56 days postsurgery. We conclude that VSM adaptation is most significant in the acute hypertension phase and acts as a first, rapid defense mechanism for the arterial wall. The VSM tone returns back to normal levels once the slower geometrical and structural remodeling is developed sufficiently to restore the biomechanical environment and function of the arterial wall to control levels. © 2002 Biomedical Engineering Society. PAC2002: 8719Rr, 8719Ff, 8719Uv     

Anti-allergic constituents in the culture medium ofGanoderma lucidum. (II) The inhibitory effect of cyclooctasulfur on histamine release

For centuries,Ganoderma lucidum has been used in Oriental medicine for the treatment of chronic bronchitis. Sequential fractions of the culture medium of this plant revealed that one of the active constitutents was cyclooctasulfur. The latter effectively inhibited hsitamine release from rat peritoneal mast cells and impeded⁴⁵Ca uptake into these cells without affecting the cyclic AMP content. SDS-PAGE analysis indicated that cyclooctasulfur induced some changes in protein bands obtained from the membrane fraction of mast cells, suggesting that this compound interacts with membrane proteins so as to inhibit⁴⁵Ca uptake, and that this may be the main cause of histamine release inhibition.     

Recovery of cell-free varicella virus from Vero cells

Summary The replication of varicella virus in Vero cells was studied and improved conditions for preparation of cell-free virus were defined.With 2 Figures     

Short-Term Biomechanical Adaptation of the Rat Carotid to Acute Hypertension: Contribution of Smooth Muscle

The biomechanical adaptation of the arterial wall to hypertension has been studied extensively in recent years; however, the exact biomechanical contribution of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) during the adaptation process in conduit vessels is not known. We induced hypertension in 8 wk old Wistar rats by total ligation of the aorta between the two kidneys. Mean blood pressure increased from 92 ± 2 (mean ± SE)mm Hg to approximately 150 mm Hg. Rats were sacrificed 2, 4, and 8 d after surgery and the left common carotid artery was excised for analysis. Wall thickness increased by 18% in 8 d and the opening angle by 32% in 4 d. The elastic properties were measured under normal VSMC tone (i.e., the amount of VSMC tone under normal conditions also called basal VSMC tone or normal resting VSMC tone), under maximally contracted VSMC (NE, 5 × 10 ^-7mol/L) and under totally relaxed VSMC conditions (papaverine, 10^-4 mol/L). The most pronounced modifications were the changes in elastic properties related to normal VSMC tone. The functional contraction ratio at 100 mm Hg, defined as the relative contraction under normal conditions (normal VSMC tone), increased by 439% 4 d after the induction of hypertension. The total contraction capacity of the VSMC increased by 38% within 8 d. The changes in normal VSMC tone led to important changes in the mechanical properties of the arterial wall. Under normal VSMC conditions, compliance at mean pressure (148 mm Hg) increased by 159% within 8 d, whereas in the absence of VSMC tone, compliance did not increase significantly. We conclude that in conduit vessels, the VSMC, which is the sensing and effecting element of the adaptation process, is subjected to large-scale changes during the early phase of arterial adaptation to acute hypertension. © 2001 Biomedical Engineering Society. PAC01: 8719Rr, 8719Ff, 8719Uv, 8717-d     

No association of C677T methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase and an endothelial nitric oxide synthase polymorphism with recurrent pregnancy loss

PROBLEM: It is controversial whether polymorphisms of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) and the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) are associated with recurrent pregnancy loss. METHOD OF STUDY: We studied the frequency of the C677T polymorphism of MTHFR and a eNOS gene polymorphism, as well as the plasma levels of homocysteine and NO, in 85 cases with a history of two or more unexplained embryonal losses, 40 patients suffering fetal loss and 76 controls. RESULTS: The frequency of the MTHFR gene T allele, which has been reported to be associated with miscarriages, in patients suffering fetal loss was rather significantly lower than in controls whereas there was no difference in the frequency of the eNOS gene A allele. There were no differences in the plasma homocysteine levels among the three groups. However, the NO concentrations in the embryonal loss and fetal loss groups were significantly higher than that in controls. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the NO concentration but not the polymorphism of MTHFR and eNOS gene and hyperhomocysteinemia are associated with recurrent pregnancy loss in Japanese.     

The Influence of Intravenous Immunoglobulin Treatment on Maternal Immunity in Women With Unexplained Recurrent Miscarriage

PROBLEM: Recently the protective value of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in the treatment of unexplained recurrent miscarriage has been reported to be similar to that of conventional immunotherapy with paternal leukocytes. We examined the effect of IVIG treatment on the cellular and humoral level of maternal immunity to demonstrate the possible mechanism by which IVIG might act to prevent recurrence of pregnancy loss. METHOD: Eight patients were treated with a 20- to 25-g dose of IVIG every 2 to 3 wk during their first-trimester pregnancies. The development of anti-idiotypic autoantibodies against maternal T-cell receptors, maternal anti-paternal lymphocyte antibodies detected by flow cytometric crossmatch, and changes of maternal lymphocyte subpopulations were monitored before pregnancy and then weekly during IVIG treatment. RESULTS: Five of eight patients gave birth successfully after IVIG treatment given during the first trimester of pregnancy (success rate: 62.5%). Although we could not demonstrate a general immunological effect of IVIG on maternal immunity in vivo, a few significant changes of immunological parameters were found in some patients. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the effect of IVIG on maternal immunity is not a passive increase of blocking antibody including anti-HLA antibody or modification of maternal T-cell subsets but, more likely, a passive increase of anti-idiotypic antibody against anti-HLA antibody or soluble HLA antigens. However, whether the immunomodulating effect of IVIG is related to its possible mechanism to prevent abortion remains unestablished.     

PCR-based random amplified polymorphic DNA fingerprinting of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and its practical applications.

The random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting method was used to distinguish between various strains of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, a causative agent of gastroenteritis in humans. The RAPD test uses arbitrarily chosen DNA oligomers of 10 nucleotides to prime DNA synthesis from genomic sites to which they are accidentally matched or almost matched. Most 10-nucleotide primers yielded strain-specific arrays. Ten Y. pseudotuberculosis type strains were distinguishable from each other by analyzing the RAPD arrays produced by using primers with a 50% G+C content. The RAPD patterns of Y. pseudotuberculosis strains were found to be constant regardless of the presence or absence of the large plasmid. RAPD tests were subsequently used to identify 30 clinical isolates of Y. pseudotuberculosis that were collected as the causative agent of an outbreak of Izumi fever, a disease showing clinical symptoms characteristic of atypical scarlet fever, in Japan. The RAPD arrays from all of the isolates yielded common patterns that were unique to each primer used. Since those 30 isolates belonged to serotype 5a and the restriction digest patterns of their large plasmids were all the same, the results of the RAPD tests confirmed the view that those isolates were from a single source and indicated that the RAPD test can be practically applied to survey transmission of the bacterium in humans.