Inhibitory effect of melatonin on homocysteine-induced lipid peroxidation in rat brain homogenates

Oxidative damage is implicated in several pathologies including cardiovascular disease. As a model system to study the response of cells to oxidative insults, homocysteine toxicity was examined since it is an independent risk factor for atherosclerotic disease. The levels of malondialdehyde and 4-hydroxyalkenals were assayed as an index of oxidatively damaged lipid. In in vitro experiments, the increase of lipid peroxidation products induced by homocysteine were concentration- and time-dependent. To study the protective effect of melatonin on homocystine induced lipid peroxidation, brain homogenates were treated with different concentrations of melatonin. The accumulation of malondialdehyde and 4-hydroxyalkenals induced by homocysteine was significantly reduced by melatonin in a concentration-dependent manner. Additionally, a melatonin concentration of 1.5 mM reduced the levels of oxidatively damaged lipid products below those measured in control homogenates (no homocysteine, no melatonin). These data suggest that melatonin, an endogenous antioxidant may have a role in protecting cells from oxidative damage due to homocysteine and they support the idea that pharmacological concentrations could be used as a therapeutic agent in reducing cardiovascular disease where homocysteine may be a causative or contributing agent.     

Ketanserin and spiperone as templates for novel serotonin 5-HT(2A) antagonists

The structures of ketanserin (1) and spiperone (2) were examined in detail to determine the role of various substituent groups on 5-HT(2A) receptor affinity and selectivity. It was found that the presence of the quinazoline ring of ketanserin detracts from selectivity and that various ring-opened analogs displayed ketanserin-like affinity and up to 30-fold enhanced selectivity. The triazaspirodecanone portion of spiperone is a major determinant of its 5-HT affinity and selectivity. The conformational rigidity imposed by the ring, as well as the nature of the N(1)-substituent, are important factors in controlling binding at 5-HT(2A), 5-HT(2C), 5-HT(1A), and dopamine D2 receptors. Replacement of the N(1)-phenyl ring of spiperone with a methyl group (KML-010; 48) resulted in a compound that binds at 5-HT(2A) receptors with slightly lower affinity than spiperone, but that lacked affinity (Ki >10,000 nM) for 5-HT(2C) and 5-HT(1A) receptors and binds with 400-fold reduced affinity at D2 receptors.     

Effect of the spectral range of a UV lamp on the production of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers in human skin in situ

BACKGROUND: Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation has a broad spectrum of biological effects and a capacity to initiate skin carcinogenesis through DNA damage. The effect of different wave bands of UV light on the production of DNA damage in human skin in situ was studied with a broadband UV-B lamp TL-12 and a narrowband UV-B lamp TL-01. METHODS: Eight psoriasis patients participated in the study. Their minimal erythema dose was assessed separately for the two UV-B wave band ranges. Test areas of buttock skin were irradiated with the two spectrally differing lamps using erythemally equivalent UV doses of 40 and 80 mJ/cm2 CIE (Commission International de I'Eclairage). Punch biopsies were taken from the irradiated areas, and UV-induced DNA lesions (cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers, CPDs) in the skin were analyzed with a 32P high-performance liquid chromatography postlabelling method. RESULTS: No UV source-dependent differences in the induced levels of CPDs were detected in this study. CONCLUSION: CPD production with broadband TL-12 and narrowband TL-01 UV-B lamps in situ did not differ when erythemally equivalent UV doses were used. The preliminary result needs to be confirmed in a larger study.     

Microgravity culture condition reduces immunogenicity and improves function of pancreatic islets1

BACKGROUND: The failure of pancreatic islet allotransplants observed in almost all clinical attempts is related to poor initial islet function and allograft rejection. To remedy these problems we cultured islets in microgravity conditions to improve their function and to reduce their immunogenicity. METHODS: Fresh mouse islets or mouse islets cultured in stationary dishes or microgravity bioreactors were transplanted to streptozotocin-induced diabetic mouse recipients. RESULTS: Both allogeneic dish- or bioreactor-cultured islets survived more than 100 days compared with fresh allogeneic islets, which were rejected in less than 15 days. Islet titration studies revealed that 250 fresh or dish-cultured, but only 30 to 120 bioreactor-cultured, islets were necessary to produce euglycemia. Furthermore, glucose tolerance tests showed that bioreactor-cultured islets functioned better compared with fresh and dish-cultured islets on day 30 postgrafting. Immunostaining and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses showed the gradual disappearance of dendritic cells in cultured islets compared with fresh islets. TEM revealed that the ultrastructure of islets from bioreactor, but not dish, appeared healthy and closely resembled fresh islets. Interestingly, TEM and scanning electron microscopy showed that only bioreactor-cultured islets developed unique and multiple nutritional channels between arrays of islet cells. TEM with colloidal lanthanum tracer revealed that only bioreactor islet cell cultures were devoid of tight junctional complexes, which may facilitate channel formation. CONCLUSION: Microgravity condition decreases immunogenicity and significantly improves the function of secretory cells.     

Exercise increases mRNA levels for adhesion molecules N-CAM and L1 correlating with BDNF response

In situ hybridization was used to evaluate whether long-term moderate locomotor exercise, which up-regulates BDNF and TrkB levels in the spinal gray matter of the adult rat, similarly influences the expression of the cell adhesion molecules N-CAM and L1. Exercise doubled the level of N-CAM mRNA hybridization signal in the lumbar spinal gray. The increase in L1 mRNA was less consistent. N-CAM mRNA levels slightly increased in the white matter. BDNF mRNA levels also increased in cells of the ventral horn and the white matter due to the exercise. These results suggest that exercise-induced rearrangements of the spinal network involve N-CAM, L1 and BDNF, crucial in different aspects of synaptic plasticity and synapse formation.     

Immunophenotypic changes and induction of apoptosis of monocytes and tumour cells during their interactions in vitro

The in vitro model of tumour infiltrating macrophages (TIM)-tumour interactions in which monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) are cultured with cancer cells was used to assess immunophenotypic changes of interacting cells. Following short cocultures, monocytes, MDM and tumour cells were sorted out by FACS and the expression of several determinants was evaluated. Monocytes showed the induction of CD44v6 and v7/8, and up-regulation of CD16 (Fc gamma RIII), CD54 (ICAM-1), CD68 (macrophage maturation marker) and CD86 (costimulatory molecule B7.2). The increased expression of CD11a (LFA-1) and CD58 (LFA-3) was noted on some cancer cells. Up-regulation of TNFRII and HLA-DR was observed on both types of cells. MDM shared similar changes. Contact of monocytes, but not of MDM, with tumour cells led to Fas-FasL-dependent apoptosis of both types of cells. This study suggests that the immunophenotype of monocytes/macrophages and cancer cells may be modified during their bidirectional interactions in the absence of other microenvironmental elements that are present in the tumour stroma.     

Middle aortic syndrome caused by Takayasu's disease and treated by stent implantation: a report of medium-term follow-up

A 13-year-old girl with middle aortic syndrome caused by Takayasu's disease was treated by balloon angioplasty of the right renal artery stenosis and the implantation of 3 stents, 2 in the stenosed thoracic segment and 1 in the abdominal segment of the aorta. Spiral computed tomography one and two years after the stents were inserted showed that the disease had progressed despite treatment with immunosuppressants.     

CYP17 genotypes differ in salivary 17-beta estradiol levels: a study based on hormonal profiles from entire menstrual cycles.

Variation in the levels of sex-steroid hormones results from differences in developmental conditions, adult lifestyle, and genetic polymorphism. Genes involved in sex-steroid biosynthesis have been implicated to influence levels of hormones in premenopausal women, but the results were inconclusive. We tested variation among women in levels of salivary estradiol (E(2)) corresponding to CYP17 genotypes. CYP17 encodes cytochrome P450c17alpha, which mediates two enzymes important in E(2) synthesis. In contrast to the earlier studies that relied on one or a few samples for assessing the E(2) levels of an individual woman, our study is based on daily collected saliva samples for one entire menstrual cycle. Sixty Polish women, ages 24 to 36 years, with regular menstrual cycles and no reported fertility problems participated in the study. Women with A2/A2 genotype had 54% higher mean E(2) levels than women with A1/A1 genotype (P = 0.0001) and 37% higher than women with A1/A2 genotype (P = 0.0008). Heterozygous A1/A2 women had 13 % higher E(2) levels than homozygous A1/A1 women (but this difference was significant only in a nonparametric test). Levels of E(2) during the day with highest E(2) (day -1) were 72% higher in A2/A2 compared with A1/A1 (P = 0.01) and 52 % higher compared with A1/A2 (P = 0.03). Our results suggest that CYP17 genotype may serve as a biomarker of endocrine function in women of reproductive age. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(11):2131-5).     

Mutagenicity and toxicity of the DNA alkylation carcinogens 1, 2-dimethylhydrazine and azoxymethane in Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium

DNA alkylating agents such as 1, 2-dimethylhydrazine (SDMH)and azoxymethane (AOM) are potent carcinogens and are widelyused to induce colon tumors in experimental animals. However,standard bacterial mutagenesis assays have failed to detectthe mutagenic effects of these chemicals. Using derivativesof a set of Escherichia coli test strains developed by Cupplesand Miller (Proc. NatL Acad. Set USA, 86, 5345, 1989), we havedemonstrated that under two conditions, SDMH and AOM inducedpoint mutations by several-fold in a dose-dependent manner:(i) of six possible base substitutions, they only induced GC