The effects of co-culture of human spermatozoa with human immortalized
endometrial cells - epithelial or stromal - on sperm movement
characteristics, including hyperactivation, were studied using computer-
assisted sperm analysis (CASA). Epithelial and stromal cell types could be
separated following 8-10 days of culture of endometrial cells originating
from human biopsies. Both cell types were immortalized by the SV 40 large T
antigen. Co-incubation of sperm with epithelial and stromal monolayers
enhanced the rate of hyperactivation: 24.9% (P <0.05) and 17.8% (P =
0.05) versus 9.5% as control, respectively, whereas the majority of
motility parameters remained unchanged. Conditioned media had no effect
upon sperm parameters, including hyperactivation. Co-incubation with either
monolayer was able to maintain sperm motility over a longer period than
incubation in control medium alone. In four patients whose spermatozoa did
not exhibit hyperactivation, co-incubation with epithelial cells, but not
conditioned medium, allowed normal rates of hyperactivation (range: 6.9-
15.6%).
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Spondylocarpotarsal synostosis syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterised by vertebral fusions, frequently manifesting as an unsegmented vertebral bar, as well as fusions of the carpal and tarsal bones.
In a study of three consanguineous families and one non-consanguineous family, linkage analysis was used to establish the chromosomal location of the disease gene. Linkage analysis localised the disease gene to chromosome 3p14. A maximum lod score of 6.49 (q = 0) was obtained for the marker at locus D3S3532 on chromosome 3p. Recombination mapping narrowed the linked region to the 5.7 cM genetic interval between the markers at loci D3S3724 and D3S1300. A common region of homozygosity was found between the markers at loci D3S3724 and D3S1300, defining a physical interval of approximately 4 million base pairs likely to contain the disease gene.
Identification of the gene responsible for this disorder will provide insight into the genes that play a role in the formation of the vertebral column and joints.
Superoxide, an agent which attenuates the half-life of nitric oxide, is
metabolized and synthesized by superoxide dismutase (SOD) and xanthine
oxidase, respectively. Over the last few years much work has focused on the
role of nitric oxide in human parturition. The aim of this study was to
determine whether the onset of human parturition is associated with a
change in the expression of copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD),
manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn SOD) or xanthine oxidase within the
uterus. Samples of myometrium, placenta, decidua and fetal membranes were
obtained from women before and after the onset of labour at term.
Immunocytochemistry was used to localize Cu/Zn SOD, Mn SOD and xanthine
oxidase and measure SOD enzyme activity. Cu/Zn and Mn SOD-like
immunoreactivity was detected in syncytiotrophoblast cells, villous stromal
cells and endothelial cells of blood vessels in the placenta. In the
myometrium Cu/Zn and Mn SOD were localized to myocytes and endothelial
cells and to some vascular smooth muscle cells. In the fetal membranes we
observed staining for Cu/Zn SOD and Mn SOD in the amnion, chorion,
extravillous trophoblast and decidua. There was no difference in SOD enzyme
activity or staining intensity for SOD between different cell types before
and during labour. Xanthine oxidase immunoreactivity was identified in each
of the tissues examined and again there was no difference in immunostaining
in tissues obtained from women delivered before or after the onset of
labour. These results show that the pregnant uterus is capable of both
synthesizing and degrading superoxide and suggest that superoxide dismutase
and xanthine oxidase may play a role in the maintenance of uterine
quiescence during pregnancy, but not in the initiation of parturition.
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BACKGROUND: Black patients with heart failure have a poorer prognosis than white patients, a difference that has not been adequately explained. Whether racial differences in the response to drug treatment contribute to differences in outcome is unclear. To address this issue, we pooled and analyzed data from the Studies of Left Ventricular Dysfunction (SOLVD) prevention and treatment trials, two large, randomized trials comparing enalapril with placebo in patients with left ventricular dysfunction. METHODS: We used a matched-cohort design in which up to four white patients were matched with each black patient according to trial, treatment assignment, sex, left ventricular ejection fraction, and age. A total of 1196 white patients (580 from the prevention trial and 616 from the treatment trial) were matched with 800 black patients (404 from the prevention trial and 396 from the treatment trial). The average duration of follow-up was 35 months in the prevention trial and 33 months in the treatment trial. RESULTS: The black patients and the matched white patients had similar demographic and clinical characteristics, but the black patients had higher rates of death from any cause (12.2 vs. 9.7 per 100 person-years) and of hospitalization for heart failure (13.2 vs. 7.7 per 100 person-years). Despite similar doses of drug in the two groups, enalapril therapy, as compared with placebo, was associated with a 44 percent reduction (95 percent confidence interval, 27 to 57 percent) in the risk of hospitalization for heart failure among the white patients (P<0.001) but with no significant reduction among black patients (P=0.74). At one year, enalapril therapy was associated with significant reductions from base line in systolic blood pressure (by a mean [+/-SD] of 5.0+/-17.1 mm Hg) and diastolic blood pressure (3.6+/-10.6 mm Hg) among the white patients, but not among the black patients. No significant change in the risk of death was observed in association with enalapril therapy in either group. CONCLUSIONS: Enalapril therapy is associated with a significant reduction in the risk of hospitalization for heart failure among white patients with left ventricular dysfunction, but not among similar black patients. This finding underscores the need for additional research on the efficacy of therapies for heart failure in black patients. 相似文献
Oxygen radical generation is known to be detrimental to sperm function,
especially motility, through the lipid peroxidation of the membranes.
Generation of reactive oxygen species can be induced by leukocyte
contamination, sperm centrifugation and the presence of abnormal
spermatozoa with excess residual cytoplasm. This study aims to evaluate the
effect on sperm motility of incubation in an antioxidant-containing
solution, during liquefaction and centrifugation. Thirty semen samples were
each divided into two equal parts: one mixed with Tyrode's solution, the
other with a salt solution containing antioxidants (Sperm- Fit; Ellios
Bio-Media, Paris, France). All the procedures were identical in the two
groups. The ratio of leukocytes to spermatozoa was significantly correlated
with the motility after liquefaction and after a 24 h incubation in routine
in-vitro fertilization (IVF) medium and with the number of motile
spermatozoa recovered after Percoll preparation. Moreover, when this ratio
was > or = 0.2, all motility parameters were lowered. Incubation with
Sperm-Fit allowed a higher percentage of motility after Percoll preparation
when the ratio was > or = 0.2 (48 +/- 5% versus 41 +/- 6% for Sperm-Fit
and Tyrode's solution respectively; P < 0.05) and a greater number of
motile spermatozoa recovered after Percoll preparation, whatever the ratio
(3.2 +/- 1.0 x 10(6) versus 2.4 +/- 0.7 x 10(6) for Sperm-Fit and Tyrode's
solution respectively when ratio > or = 0.2; 18.1 +/- 3.4 x 10(6) versus
14.4 +/- 2.9 x 10(6) for Sperm-Fit and Tyrode's solution respectively when
ratio < 0.2; P < 0.05). These results show that incubation with
antioxidants during liquefaction and centrifugation increases recovery of
motile spermatozoa.
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We rescreened Papanicolaou smear slides from 40,245 women, which had been examined by 81 cytology screeners, scored the screeners' work performance, and compared these scores with the results of the screeners' performance on glass slide and computer-based proficiency tests. All diagnoses (i.e., from the proficiency tests, the original slides, and the rescreened slides) were classified in the 4 diagnostic categories specified in the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments. The rescreening scores were standardized to account for different distributions of abnormalities in the proficiency tests and rescreened slides. We compared a standardized score with the proficiency test scores. Of the cases, 91% were categorized as normal, benign, or reactive changes when rescreened, and 98% of these agreed with the original diagnosis. Sixteen percent of low-grade and 15% of high-grade intraepithelial lesions were classified as normal. The rank correlation between the rescreening scores and both proficiency tests was 0.24 using a scoring scheme for cytotechnologists. The correlation between the rescreening and proficiency testing scores indicates that performance on a 10-slide test gives some indication of the true performance of screeners. The computer-based test shows promise as an alternative to the glass slide test but needs further development and validation. 相似文献
Based on the dissection of 30 hemi-mandibles, the authors report a study of the inferior alveolar artery in its intraosseous course. On morphologic considerations they propose a classification of the collaterals into two groups: the principal collaterals destined for the teeth and the bony alveolar tissue and the secondary collaterals destined for the sheath and the nerve as well as the bony tissue around the canal. Loss of the teeth and absorption of the alveolar bone modify the caliber of the inferior alveolar arterial axis, the distribution of its collaterals and possibly its mode of termination. These facts suggest a consideration of the vascularization of the mandible in terms of four sectors. They arrive at practical conclusions that may be drawn from this study in stomatology. 相似文献
An effective immune response to an antigen requires two sets of decisions: Decision 1, the sorting of the repertoire, and
Decision 2, the regulation of effector class. The repertoire, because it is somatically generated, large, and random, must
be sorted by a somatic mechanism that subtracts those specificities (anti-self) that, if expressed, would debilitate the host,
leaving a residue (anti-nonself) that, if not expressed, would result in the death of the host by infection. The self-nonself
discrimination is the metaphor used to describe Decision 1, the sorting of the repertoire. In order to be functional, the
sorted repertoire must be coupled to a set of biodestructive and ridding effector functions, such that the response to each
antigen is treated in a coherent and independent manner. Although a reasonably complete framework for Decision 1 exists, Decision
2 lacks conceptualization. The questions that must be considered to arrive at a proper framework are posed. It should be emphasized
that manipulation at the level of Decision 2 is where clinical applications are likely to be found. 相似文献