Syngeneic bone marrow transplantation reduces the hearing loss associated with murine mucopolysaccharidosis type VII

MPS VII mice are deficient in beta-glucuronidase and share many clinical, biochemical, and pathologic characteristics with human mucopolysaccharidosis type VII (MPS VII). We have shown that syngeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) prolongs survival and reduces lysosomal storage in many organs of the MPS VII mouse. In this report, we quantify the hearing loss and determine the impact of syngeneic BMT on the development of deafness and the associated pathology in the MPS VII mouse. Eleven weeks after syngeneic BMT performed at birth, treated MPS VII mice had normal auditory-evoked brainstem responses (ABR), whereas untreated MPS VII mice had ABR thresholds 43 dB higher than normal. Treated MPS VII mice had beta-glucuronidase-positive cells in the temporal bone and in the subepithelial connective tissue of the external auditory canal. There was less thickening of the tympanic membrane and middle ear mucosa and decreased distortion of the ossicles and the cochlear bone. Although transplanted MPS VII mice had increased ABR thresholds by 33 weeks of age, four of the six had thresholds 12 to 32 dB lower than untreated mutants. These data indicate that syngeneic BMT in newborn MPS VII mice prevents early hearing loss and, in some animals, results in long-term improved auditory function.     

Dexamethasone suppresses phospholipase C activation and insulin secretion from isolated rat islets

Dexamethasone inhibits insulin secretion from isolated islets. In the present experiments, possible underlying biochemical mechanisms responsible for defective secretion were explored. Dexamethasone (1 micromol/L) had no immediate deleterious effect on 15 mmol/L glucose-induced insulin release from perifused rat islets. However, a 3-hour preincubation period with 1 micromol/L dexamethasone resulted in parallel reductions in both the first (64%) and second phases (74%) of 15 mmol/L glucose-induced insulin secretion monitored during a dynamic perifusion. When measured after the perifusion, there were no differences in insulin content or in the capacity of control or dexamethasone-treated islets to use glucose. Dexamethasone (1 micromol/L) preexposure also reduced phorbol ester- and potassium-induced secretion. In additional experiments, islets were labeled for 3 hours with 3H-inositol in the presence or absence of 1 micromol/L dexamethasone. The steroid did not affect total 3H-inositol incorporation during the labeling period. However, the capacity of 15 mmol/L glucose, 30 mmol/L KCl, and 100 micromol/L carbachol to activate phospholipase C (PLC), monitored by the accumulation of labeled inositol phosphates, was significantly reduced in dexamethasone-pretreated islets. Inclusion of the nuclear glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU486 (mifepristone, 10 micromol/L) abolished the adverse effects of dexamethasone on both glucose-induced inositol phosphate accumulation and insulin secretion. Quantitative Western blot analyses revealed that the islet contents of PLCdelta1, PLCbeta1, beta2, beta3, and protein kinase C alpha were unaffected by dexamethasone pretreatment. These findings demonstrate that dexamethasone pretreatment impairs insulin secretion via a genomic action and that impaired activation of the PLC/protein kinase C signaling system is involved in the evolution of its inhibitory effect on secretion.     

非嵌合性抗癌药物队小牛胸腺DNA拓扑异构酶I活力的影响

本文介绍从小牛胸腺中分离纯化DNA拓扑异构酶Ⅰ(简称拓扑酶Ⅰ)的方法,并用于检测了几种非嵌合性抗癌药物对该酶活力的影响。实验结果表明,一些已知的抗癌药物确有抑制DNA拓扑酶Ⅰ的作用。以抑制DNA拓扑酶Ⅰ为检测指标的方法可为筛选抗癌药物提供新的手段,并为药物抗癌机制的研究开辟了新的途径。     

睾丸酮、雌二醇和棉酚合并用药的雄性抗生育作用及其安全性的研究

睾丸酮、雌二醇和棉酚合并用药的雄性抗生育作用及其安全性的研究叶惟三，但凌，郭燕，钱晓菁，应骏，薛社普（中国医学科学院，中国协和医科大学基础医学研究所，北京１００００５）减轻有抗男性生育活性棉酚的副作用是发展棉酚成为男性避孕药急待解决的问题［１，２］。...     

Cholecystokinin-induced alterations in beta-cell sensitivity. Duration, specificity, and involvement of phosphoinositide metabolism

Prior exposure of isolated perifused rat islets to the sulfated gut hormone cholecystokinin-8 (CCK-8S) dramatically increased their insulin secretory response to 7.5 mM glucose, 10 mM arginine, and 10 mM alpha-ketoisocaproate. In the case of glucose, the heightened secretory response was still apparent 60-80 min after CCK-8S removal from the perifusion medium. Prior exposure of perifused islets to arginine (10 mM), tolbutamide (25 microM), or forskolin (1.0 microM) did not sensitize them to 7.5 mM glucose. CCK-8S exposure increased 3H efflux from islets prelabeled with [3H]inositol, and the increase in 3H efflux was sustained after CCK-8S removal from the perifusion medium. The duration of this increase in 3H efflux paralleled the temporal characteristics of this sensitization process and was significantly attenuated by 25 microM asperlicin, a competitive antagonist of CCK binding to its membrane receptor. Arginine, tolbutamide, or forskolin treatment of islets did not increase 3H efflux from [3H]inositol-prelabeled islets. The results suggest that the turnover of membrane phosphoinositides induced by CCK-8S is largely responsible for this heightened state of secretory responsiveness to various stimulants. Second-messenger molecules generated during phosphoinositide turnover may be responsible for the phenomenon of sensitization displayed by islet tissue to CCK-8S addition.