Monoamine oxidase inhibitory coumarin from Zanthoxylum schinifolium

A methanol extract of Zanthoxylum schinifolium stems at a concentration of 250 microg/ml showed potent inhibitory activity against monoamine oxidase (MAO) in a mouse brain. Activity-guided separation and purification of the extract yielded lacinartin (1) as an active coumarin compound. Lacinartin showed significant inhibitory effects on MAO in a dose-dependent manner. The IC(50) value on MAO activity was 9.2 microM. The MAO-A (IC(50) value, 5.7 microM) sensitivity to lacinartin was greater than that of MAO-B (IC(50) value, 28.6 microM). An enzyme kinetic study revealed that lacinartin inhibited MAO activity by a non-competitive mode.     

Risk of ovarian failure and fertility after intravenous cyclophosphamide. A study in 84 patients

OBJECTIVE: To compare the risk of ovarian failure and the fertility of women treated with intravenous cyclophosphamide (IVCY) according to the underlying inflammatory disease. METHODS: Review of the data of 84 consecutive women: 56 with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 28 with other diseases, mainly Wegener's granulomatosis and systemic vasculitides. RESULTS: The mean age at IVCY initiation was 29 +/- 10 years (range 13-53). The mean dosage was 0.9 +/- 0.14 g per pulse (range 0.5-1), and the mean number of pulses 13 +/- 6.5 (range 3-42). With a mean followup of 5.1 +/- 3.7 years, 23 women developed amenorrhea, with a mean duration of 4 +/- 3.6 months between IVCY initiation and amenorrhea. Amenorrhea was sustained in 19 women (13 with SLE and 6 with other diseases, NS). The mean age at ovarian failure onset was 40 +/- 7.6 years. The risk of ovarian failure correlated with the age at IVCY institution (p < 0.0001), and was independent of underlying inflammatory disease. Eighteen women (13 with SLE and 5 with other diseases) became pregnant during or after CY therapy, with a total of 22 pregnancies. The mean age at IVCY initiation, and the mean number of IVCY (maximum 40 pulses) before pregnancy were similar in women with SLE and those with other diseases. Six pregnancies occurred during IVCY therapy, which ended in induced abortion (n = 3), spontaneous abortion (n = 1), and normal pregnancy after IVCY withdrawal (n = 2) in women who wished to keep their pregnancy despite the risk of teratogenicity. Sixteen pregnancies occurred 2.9 +/- 2.1 years (range 1-9) after IVCY withdrawal. They ended in: 3 induced abortions indicated for severe morphological anomalies (n = 2) and for SLE relapse (n = 1), 3 spontaneous miscarriages, and 10 deliveries of healthy newborns. CONCLUSION: The risk of ovarian failure depends essentially on the age at IVCY initiation. Pregnancy may occur during IVCY therapy, and an efficient contraception is mandatory. After IVCY withdrawal, pregnancy is possible with a favorable outcome in two-thirds of the cases.     

Influence of New Fenpropimorph Fungicides on the Growth and Sterol Composition in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Relationship Between Structure and Activity

The toxicity of fenpropimorph and seven newly synthesized analogues against Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been determined in liquid media. The inhibitory effect of the most efficient derivative is 120 times more than that of standard fenpropimorph. The non-linear relationship between hydrophobicity and toxicity indicates that the binding of the compounds to the receptors does not differ and so the differences in toxicity reflect changes in the rate of metabolism. The presence of inhibitors in the fermentation medium resulted in a reduction in harvested biomass and lipid yield, and changes in sterol composition - the amount of ergosterol decreased whereas the amounts of lanosterol, dihydroergosterol and squalene increased. The toxicity of the compounds was most influenced by their lipophilicity. Use of this information could lead to development of more potent ergosterol inhibitors.     

Hemochromatosis and femoral head aseptic osteonecrosis: a nonfortuitous association?

Chondrocalcinosis, chronic pseudo-osteoarthritis arthropathy, and osteoporosis are classic osteoarticular complications of hemochromatosis (HC). Within HC, femoral head aseptic osteonecrosis (FHAO) is not notified in textbooks. We describe 3 cases of FHAO occurring in this setting in 3 patients homozygous for the C282Y mutation on HFE gene who had no other risk factors for FHAO. FHAO was diagnosed 9 years before (Case 1), concomitantly with (Case 3), or 9 years after HC (Case 2). In one case, FHAO occurred although phlebotomies were regularly carried out. There are scarce data available in the literature on HC and FHAO. Our observations suggest FHAO may be an indicator for HC, and iron balance should be determined before considering FHAO as idiopathic. Thus phlebotomy may not be protective against the occurrence of FHAO. Studies are needed to determine the prevalence of HC in consecutive patients with FHAO.     

Role of dendritic cell phenotype, determinant spreading, and negative costimulatory blockade in dendritic cell-based melanoma immunotherapy

MART-1(27-35)-peptide-pulsed immature dendritic cells (DCs) resulted in immunologic and clinical activity in a prior phase 1 trial. A phase 2 cohort expansion was initiated to further characterize the phenotype and cytokine milieu of the DC vaccines and their immunologic activity in vitro and to further examine a possible link between clinical activity and determinant spreading. In an open-label phase 2 trial, 10(7) autologous ex vivo generated DCs pulsed with the HLA-A*0201 immunodominant peptide MART-1(27-35) were administered to 10 subjects with stage II-IV melanoma. The experimental vaccines were administered intradermally in a biweekly schedule for a total of three injections, and blood for immunologic assays was obtained before each administration and at three time points after. DC vaccine preparations had wide intra- and interpatient variability in terms of cell surface markers and preferential cytokine milieu, but they did not correlate with the levels of antigen-specific T cells after vaccination. Of four patients with measurable disease, one had stable disease for 6 months and another has a continued complete response for over 2 years, which is confounded by receiving a closely sequenced CTLA4 blocking antibody. The DC vaccines induced determinant spreading in this subject, and CTLA4 blockade reactivated T cells with prior antigen exposure. The DC phenotype and cytokine profile do not correlate with the ability to induce antigen-specific T cells, while determinant spreading after DC immunization may be a marker of an efficient antitumor response. Sequential CTLA4 blockade may enhance the immune activity of DC-based immunotherapy.     

Identification to the species level and differentiation between strains of Aspergillus clinical isolates by automated repetitive-sequence-based PCR

A commercially available repetitive-sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) DNA fingerprinting assay adapted to an automated format, the DiversiLab system, enables rapid microbial identification and strain typing. We explored the performance of the DiversiLab system as a molecular typing tool for 69 Aspergillus isolates (38 A. fumigatus, 15 A. flavus, and 16 A. terreus isolates) had been previously characterized by morphological analysis. Initially, 27 Aspergillus isolates (10 A. fumigatus, 9 A. flavus, and 8 A. terreus isolates) were used as controls to create a rep-PCR-based DNA fingerprint library with the DiversiLab software. Then, 42 blinded Aspergillus isolates were typed using the system. The rep-PCR-based profile revealed 98% concordance with morphology-based identification. rep-PCR-based DNA fingerprints were reproducible and were consistent for DNA from both hyphae and conidia. DiversiLab dendrogram reports correctly identified all A. fumigatus (n = 28), A. terreus (n = 8), and A. flavus (n = 6) isolates in the 42 blinded Aspergillus isolates. rep-PCR-based identification of all isolates was 100% in agreement with the contiguous internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) sequence-based identification of the respective isolates. Additionally, the DiversiLab system could demonstrate strain-level differentiation of A. flavus and A. terreus. Automated rep-PCR may be a time-efficient, effective, easy-to-use, novel genotyping tool for identifying and determining the strain relatedness of fungi. This system may be useful for epidemiological studies, molecular typing, and surveillance of Aspergillus species.     

Species difference in correlation between in vivo/in vitro liposome-complement interactions

The objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between in vitro and in vivo liposome-complement interactions. Third component of the complement (C3) fragments associated with hydrogenated egg phosphatidylcholine (HEPC)-based liposomes in vivo and complement-dependent destabilization in vitro were determined as an indication of liposome-complement interaction in vivo and in vitro, respectively. C3 fragments on the liposomes were detected in both rats and guinea pigs. Pretreatment with K76COOH (K76), a complement inactivating agent, reduced the binding of C3 fragments. These findings indicated that the liposomes remarkably activated the complement system in both animals in vivo. Interestingly, significant complement-dependent liposome destabilization was observed in rat serum, but not in guinea pig serum, indicating that the liposomes activated the complement system in rats, but not in guinea pigs in vitro. Taken together, it is apparent that in vitro complement activation by the liposomes is not in agreement with in vivo complement activation in ginea pigs. This discrepancy in the liposome-complement interaction would suggest the need for further investigation to utilize the information obtained from the liposome-complement interaction to predict in vivo behavior of the liposomes.