Fructus Broussonetae extract improves cognitive function and endoplasmic reticulum stress in Alzheimer's disease models

This study investigated the effects and possible targets of Fructus Broussonetiae extract,a traditional Chinese medicinal herb,on a model of Alzheimer’s disease induced by beta-amyloid peptide 25-35 and D-galactose.The results revealed that intragastric administration of Fructus Broussonetiae significantly increased the expression of immunoglobulin-binding protein,a key factor in the endoplasmic reticulum stress-signaling pathway in rat hippocampus.In contrast,the treatment significantly decreased expression levels of PKR-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase and C/EBP homologous protein,and substantially improved learning,memory and spatial recognition dysfunction in rats.This evidence indicates that Fructus Broussonetiae extract improves spatial learning and memory abilities in rats by affecting the regulation of hippocampal endoplasmic reticulum stress and activation of the apoptosis pathway.     

Association of common variants in the human eyes shut ortholog (EYS) with statin-induced myopathy: evidence for additional functions of EYS

Introduction: Of the nearly 38 million people in the USA who receive statin therapy, 0.1‐0.5% experience severe or life‐threatening myopathic side effects. Methods: We performed a genome‐wide association study (GWAS) in a group of patients with severe statin myopathy versus a statin‐tolerant group to identify genetic susceptibility loci. Results: Replication studies in independent groups of severe statin myopathy (n = 190) and statin‐tolerant controls (n = 130) resulted in the identification of three single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs9342288, rs1337512, and rs3857532, in the eyes shut homolog (EYS) on chromosome 6 suggestive of an association with risk for severe statin myopathy (P = 0.0003–0.0008). Analysis of EYS cDNA demonstrated that EYS gene products are complex and expressed with relative abundance in the spinal cord as well as in the retina. Conclusion: Structural similarities of these EYS gene products to members of the Notch signaling pathway and to agrin suggest a possible functional role in the maintenance and regeneration of the structural integrity of skeletal muscle. Muscle Nerve, 2011     

Digital radiography of subtle pulmonary abnormalities: an ROC study of the effect of pixel size on observer performance

Forty conventional radiographs with examples of mild interstitial infiltrates and subtle pneumothoraces and 40 normal studies of the chest were selected and digitized, with pixel sizes of 1.0, 0.5, 0.2, and 0.1 mm. Observer performance tests were carried out using receiver operating characteristic analysis. Conventional radiographs and digitized images were compared. The results indicate that, in such cases, diagnostic accuracy increases significantly as the pixel size is reduced, at least to the 0.1-mm level. We conclude that, for digital systems using screen-film or similar image receptors, use of a pixel size substantially larger than 0.1 mm may result in some loss of diagnostic accuracy.     

Intact proenkephalin is the major enkephalin-containing peptide produced in rat adrenal glands after denervation.

We have shown previously that enkephalin-containing peptides of high molecular weight increase 10- to 15-fold 3 days after adrenal denervation and have suggested that much of this material may represent newly synthesized proenkephalin. In this paper we report that most of the material appearing after denervation is indeed intact proenkephalin. The putative proenkephalin was partially purified by gel filtration chromatography and HPLC. A molecular size of about 25 kDa was estimated by gel filtration. On HPLC, the putative proenkephalin was eluted at a much higher propanol concentration than the 18.2-kDa enkephalin-containing peptide isolated previously. Treatment of this putative proenkephalin with endoproteinase Lys-C showed it contain [Met]-enkephalin, [Leu]enkephalin, [Met]enkephalin-Arg6-Phe7, and [Met]enkephalin-Arg6-Gly7-Leu8 in the same ratios as are found in proenkephalin as deduced from sequencing of proenkephalin cDNA.     

Assessment of Multipotent Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in Bone Marrow Aspirate From Human Calcaneus

Bone marrow aspirates (BMAs), owing to their innate osteogenic potential, are well-documented supplements to osteoconductive and/or osteoinductive materials. The calcaneal body provides foot and ankle surgeons a convenient harvest site with low morbidity and minimal cost. In the present study, we sought to identify and characterize multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in BMAs harvested from the human calcaneal body. Ten healthy patients aged 18 to 65 years were enrolled in the present study. BMAs were harvested from the patients without any reported postoperative complications related to the harvest. Cells isolated from all the aspirates were adherent to culture plates and expressed positive MSC surface markers (CD105, CD90, and CD73) and a low level of negative MSC markers (CD34 and CD45). The cells maintained the ability to proliferate and differentiate into cells of mesenchymal lineages. The BMAs from the human calcaneal body offer a healthy source of multipotent MSCs.