Plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide in patients with cirrhosis.

Plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide, a recently identified cardiac hormone with natriuretic activity, were measured in 11 healthy subjects, 13 cirrhotic patients without ascites, 18 nonazotemic cirrhotic patients with ascites and 6 patients with cirrhosis, ascites and functional kidney failure. Plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide were similar in healthy subjects and cirrhotic patients without ascites (5.56 +/- 0.65 and 7.66 +/- 0.68 fmol/ml, respectively). In contrast, cirrhotic patients with ascites, with and without functional kidney failure, had significantly higher plasma concentrations of brain natriuretic peptide (19.56 +/- 1.37 and 16.00 +/- 1.91 fmol/ml, respectively) than did healthy subjects and patients without ascites (p less than 0.01); no significant difference was found between the two groups of cirrhotic patients with ascites with respect to this parameter. In the whole group of cirrhotic patients included in the study, brain natriuretic peptide level was directly correlated with the degree of impairment of liver and kidney function, plasma renin activity and plasma levels of aldosterone and atrial natriuretic peptide. The results of this study indicate that brain natriuretic peptide is increased in cirrhotic patients with ascites and suggest that sodium retention in cirrhosis is not due to deficiency of this novel cardiac hormone.     

False radiographic appearance of a right bronchial stump following extended right pneumonectomy.

The authors describe three cases in which postoperative frontal chest radiographs following extended right pneumonectomy showed a right hilar lucency producing the false appearance of a residual main bronchus that is shown by additional studies to represent a dilated esophagus.     

Conformation and structure of mildly heat-treated ovalbumin in dilute solutions and gel formation at higher protein concentrations

The conformation of heat-denatured ovalbumin aggregates has been examined at several concentrations and pH values, using measurements of optical rotation dispersion (ORD), circular dichroism (CD) and viscosity. The protein was subjected to heating at relatively low temperatures, ranging from 48.5 to 76d?; the particular temperature chosen depended on pH. The heat treatment was sufficient to remove the ability of the molecules to absorb heat on re-heating. The denatured molecules were shown to be rather compact, i.e. not much larger than the native molecule, and to retain a significant amount of secondary structure; this was also the case for molecules present in small aggregates. It is suggested that this type of ovalbumin monomer builds three-dimensional networks in denatured solutions at higher concentrations, and that gelation should be looked upon as arising from surface contacts between hydrated globules. The present results also imply that such globules have gelation properties which depend on whether pH is acidic or basic compared to the isoelectric point of the protein.     

新抗癌抗生素C1027及其单克隆抗体组装偶联物的抗肿瘤活性

C1027是链霉菌株产生的大分子肽类新抗癌抗生素,对肿瘤细胞具有显著的杀伤作用,它由一条肽链和一个发色团组成,后者是主要活性部分。本研究用甲醇拆分C1027并重新组建,重建的C1027与天然C1027活性相似;C1027的重建是特异的,肽链与发色团的结合不受BSA竟争影响。肽链不能与表阿霉素组建;单抗H16(IgG₁)不能与发色团组建。我们用不同的方法分别制备了C1027与抗人肝癌单抗H16直接偶联物和组装偶联物(单抗与肽链连接后再加入发色团);克隆形成测定,前者IC₅₀为42pmol·L^-1,后者为5.5pmol·L^-1;C1027与无关抗体M3组装偶联物的IC₅₀为240pmol·L^-1。结果表明H16-C1027组装偶联物对肝癌细胞的抑制作用比直接偶联物明显增强,并具有选择性杀伤作用。