A preliminary in vivo assessment of acrylic acid graft-copolymers in the urinary tract

Polymers such as polyethylene, polytetrafluorethylene and polypropylene may be copolymerized with acrylic acid by radiation initiation to produce copolymers which are cationic hydrogels and thus possess physical properties different to the base polymers from which they are derived. The present preliminary study was undertaken to determine whether this class of material may have potential application for use within the urinary tract. Inserts of such copolymers in sheet form (5 mm. square) and their corresponding base polymers were placed in the bladders of male Wistar rats as free floating grafts and left in situ for 3 months. Stone formation and/or encrustation occurred on 12 of the 16 radiation graft copolymers and on 9 of 11 of the corresponding base polymers. The altered physical properties of the tested acrylic acid graft copolymers appear to offer no additional resistance to encrustation although their plasticity and ability to swell in water may provide some advantages over more conventional polymeric materials.     

A strategy for management of upper tract calculus disease

Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy, percutaneous nephrolithotomy and ureterorenoscopy now mean that approximately 98% of all renal and 85% of all ureteric calculi can be treated effectively, without recourse to open operative intervention, in centres possessing the necessary equipment and expertise. Experience with these techniques allows us to propose a strategy for the surgical treatment of upper tract stone disease.     

Selective damage to erythroblasts by 55-Fe

The low energy and short range of 55-Fe Auger electrons were utilized in mice to deliver lethal intracellular radiation to iron-incorporating erythropoietic precursors with minimal radiation damage to other bone marrow cells. The ensuing intramedullary, selective erythropoietic death was demonstrated by absolute and differential bone marrow cell counts and by decreased blood uptake of 59-Fe. The decreased number of colony-forming units in spleen colony assay and the decreased ability of tranplanted bone marrow to protect fatally irradiated mice shows that the bone marrow was partially depleted of pluripotent stem cells. These data are interpreted to indicate an increased pluripotent stem cell utilization in response to increased demand for differentiation of stem cells along the erythropoietic pathway.     

Measurement of intracellular calcium concentration in intact monolayers of human endothelial cells

Intracellular calcium ([Ca++]i) plays an important role in signal transduction and cell activation. The measurement of [Ca++]i in intact monolayers of human umbilical vein endothelial cells with the fluorescent calcium-sensitive probe fura 2 has been evaluated. Monolayers provide a more physiologic cell preparation than suspensions and allow a greater variety of experimental manipulation. Basal [Ca++]i was 117 +/- 5 nmol/L, with a range from 40 to 280 nmol/L that was not affected by cell age (days of primary culture) or degree of confluence. Thrombin in concentrations of 0.005 to 5 NIH units/ml produced a dose-dependent increase in [Ca++]i up to a maximum of 1500 +/- 147 nmol/L; this increase was shown to depend in part on the concentration of extracellular calcium. The presence of antithrombin III at physiologic concentrations abolished responses to 0.5 NIH units/ml thrombin but had no effect on 5 NIH units/ml. The potential of this technique was demonstrated further by our ability to examine [Ca++]i responses in endothelial cells following infection with herpes simplex virus type 1, a virus implicated in vascular injury. After 18 hours' infection, the response to both thrombin and histamine was dramatically reduced despite a normal resting [Ca++]i. It is concluded that this method may be useful for detecting early and subtle changes in endothelial cell function under a variety of physiologic and pathologic conditions.