Immunomodulatory Effects of γ-HCH (Lindane) in Mice

Mice were fed for 24 weeks with three different subtoxic dosages of γ-HCH (0.012, 0.12 and 1.2 mg/kg) mixed in powdered feed. The immunological profile was assessed at an interval of one month during the entire exposure period. Both the cell mediated and humoral components of immunity showed a biphasic response characterized initially by stimulation followed by suppression in a dose dependent manner. However, γ-HCH did not affect the functional properties of peritoneal macrophages. Histological changes in lymphoid organs were in accordance with the biphasic immunomodulatory effects of γ -HCH.     

Chronic ethanol intake may delay the onset of gossypol-induced infertility in the male rat

Summary. Parameters were obtained from the reproductive organs of ethanol-fed, gossypol-treated Sprague Dawley rats. The experimental animals were fed either on a normal (15.17%) or low protein (8.00%) diet. Measurements included reproductive organ weights, seminal characteristics, serum concentration of testosterone and histological, stereological and histomorphometric evaluation of the testis. The testis size, length and diameter of the seminiferous tubule had the least values in the protein-malnourished, gossy-pol-treated rats (3.01±0.26 g, 0.56 ± 0.03 m, 281.34±11.30 μn), in comparison to corresponding animals which had received ethanol simultaneously with gossypol (3.40 ± 0.25, 0.71±0.06m, 314.42 ± 11.61 μn). As gossypol and ethanol are both associated with reduced reproductive capacity, this unexpected but interesting finding lends support to the hypothesis that either a normal dietary protein or ethanol consumption may modify the action of gossypol on body tissues, including the testis. This effect, presumably mediated through changes caused to the bioavailability of gossypol, modifies its antifertility activity. The present observation further highlights the need to consider the concurrent administration of other drugs, such as alcohol, and the nutritional status in the evaluation of gossypol for various potential uses.     

Inhibition of spontaneous testicular Leydig cell tumor development in F-344 rats by dehydroepiandrosterone.

The incidence of spontaneous Leydig cell tumors of testis is very high in old F-344 rats. We have examined the effect of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a steroid hormone with antimitotic and anticarcinogenic properties, on spontaneous Leydig cell tumorigenesis. Fifteen-week-old male F-344 rats were fed a diet containing DHEA (0.45% w/w) for 84 weeks. At the termination of experiment none of the 13 rats had Leydig cell hyperplasia or Leydig cell tumors. All the eight control rats of comparable age had Leydig cell tumors. These findings suggest that DHEA is a potent inhibitor of spontaneous Leydig cell tumors of testis in aged rats.     

Dengue fever presenting with acute colitis.

Gastrointestinal manifestations of dengue fever are mainly in the form of bleeding or liver function abnormalities. Dengue fever presenting as acute colitis-like picture is not reported to date. We report a 50-year-old man with dengue fever presenting with lower gastrointestinal bleeding and colonoscopic features of acute inflammatory colitis.     

Screening term LGA neonates for hypoglycemia: the Colorado vs. the Portland Intrauterine Growth Chart

It was postulated that identification of term (LGA) large for gestational age newborns by the Portland Intrauterine Growth Curve rather than the Colorado Curve would classify a lesser number of neonates as LGA, but would identify the LGA neonates at risk for hypoglycemia. One hundred inborn neonates who plotted LGA on the Colorado Chart were reviewed. Sixty-one infants were LGA on the Portland Chart. Of the 100 infants, 17 were found to have dextrostix less than 45 mg% in the first two hours of life, 15 of these had quantitative blood glucose (BG) test performed. Eleven of the 15 neonates had a BG less than 40 mg%; all 11 hypoglycemic neonates were identified LGA on the Colorado Graph whereas only seven were identified LGA by the Portland Graph. The authors conclude that the Colorado Graph is a better tool in their population than the Portland in identifying term LGA neonates at risk for hypoglycemia.     

Benign synovioma causing internal derangement of the knee. A report of nine cases

Nine pedunculated benign synoviomata causing mechanical symptoms similar to those of a torn meniscus are described. The average age of the patients was 34.4 years. During the period of study, 2254 meniscal lesions causing mechanical symptoms were identified, giving an incidence of one benign synovioma for every 250 meniscal lesions. All the lesions were removed arthroscopically with relief of symptoms.     

Growth factor pre-treatment differentially regulates phosphoinositide turnover downstream of lysophospholipid receptor and metabotropic glutamate receptors in cultured rat cerebrocortical astrocytes

Reactive gliosis is an aspect of neural plasticity and growth factor (GF) stimulation of astrocytes in vitro is widely regarded as a model system to study astrocyte plasticity. Astrocytes express receptors for several ligands including lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), agonists for the G-protein-coupled lysophospholipid receptors (lpRs). Activation of lpRs by LPA or S1P leads to multiple pharmacological effects including the influx of calcium, phosphoinositide (PI) hydrolysis, phosphorylation of extracellular receptor regulated kinase (ERK), release of arachidonic acid, and induces mitogenesis. Treatment of astrocytes in vitro with a growth factor cocktail (containing epidermal growth factor [EGF], basic fibroblast growth factor [bFGF] and insulin) led to a marked attenuation of lpR-induced PI hydrolysis. In contrast, under identical conditions, GF treatment led to marked potentiation of PI hydrolysis downstream of activation of another abundantly expressed G-protein coupled receptor, mGluR5. Quantitative gene expression analysis of GF-treated or control astrocytes by TaqMan RT-PCR indicated that GF treatment did not change gene expression of lpa1 and s1p1, but increased gene expression of s1p5 which is expressed at very low levels in basal conditions. These results suggest that GF differentially affected PLC activation downstream of mGluR5 versus lpR activation and that the changes in mRNA levels of lpRs do not account for marked attenuation of agonist-induced phosphoinositide turnover.