Immediate ultrastructural effects of endothelin-1 on rabbit basilar artery

Summary In this study intra-arterial Endothelin-1 was applied to rabbit basilar arteries and morphological findings were compared between two groups who were either perfusion fixed or immersion fixed. We planned to establish the quantitative dimension of the drug-induced morphological alterations, independent of the fixation technique's effect.There was an abundance of collagenous fibres deposited among the smooth muscle cells which was not observed in control arteries and after immersion fixation. These degenerative changes are similar to the finding following subarachnoid haemorrhage. The only fixation-related difference was the fact that lamina elastica interna was not corrugated in the perfusion fixation group.It is concluded that, the observed changes in the connective tissue of the arterial wall alter the passive elastic properties and so affect the degree of the response to the vasoactive messengers.     

The modification of the new type of end-to-side anastomosis between carotid arteries in rats: A technical and Scanning Electron Microscopic study

Summary Modification of a type of end-to-side anastomosis that has been described before is studied. The recipient artery is occluded for only 3–4 minutes to complete the anastomosis by using only the running suture. The anastomotic site was studied by inspection and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) at different times after the operation on 30 rats.     

Effects of probucol in hyperlipidemic rabbit liver: a preliminary ultrastructural study

Probucol is a lipid-lowering agent with an antioxidant effect; however, its influence on the liver remains unclear. The effects of probucol on hyperlipidemic rabbit liver are investigated to add a structural data on its therapeutical profile. Local albino rabbits were divided into three groups. 1) Hyperlipidemic group: fed with 1% cholesterol (150 g/kg/day) enriched chow for 2 months. 2) Probucol treated group: group 1 + intraperitoneal probucol (10 mg/kg/day) administration for 15 days. 3) Control group fed with normal chow. The blood lipid profile was investigated biochemically. Liver samples were examined electronmicroscopically. Within the parenchymal cells of group 1, the amount of rough surfaced endoplasmic reticulum was increased, its cisterna was dilated displaying a moderately electron dense substance in it and showed close apposition with the condensed mitochondria. In group 2, smooth surfaced endoplasmic reticulum was in extensive amounts filling almost all of the cytoplasm, displayed a reticular, degenerated appearance and was in close relation with the condensed, degenerated mitochondria. Probucol may cause degenerative changes on the liver parenchyme at the subcellular level. It alters the structure of these cells mainly acting on the smooth surfaced endoplasmic reticulum and the mitochondria that are known to be involved in cellular detoxification.     

The KBG syndrome: confirmation of autosomal dominant inheritance and further delineation of the phenotype

We report on a Turkish family in which the father and his two sons were diagnosed as having the KBG syndrome. Large upper central incisors were the diagnostic finding in all three patients along with mental retardation, cryptorchidism, skeletal abnormalities, and short stature. Our report clearly confirms that the inheritance is autosomal dominant in KBG syndrome, although a high male to female ratio has been observed in published cases.     

Multiple genetic alterations in malignant metastatic insulinomas

Proto-oncogenes, growth factors/receptors, and tumour suppressor genes were analysed in malignant metastatic insulinomas. Normal pancreas showed only a moderate immunoreaction for c-myc proto-oncogene and a strong reaction for insulin. Benign insulinomas were slightly or moderately positive for transforming growth factor a (TGFα), weakly positive for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R), and strongly positive for c-myc and insulin. In malignant insulinomas, besides a strong immunoreaction for c-myc and TGFα, activation of c-K-ras and overexpression of p53 protein were found. Insulin reaction was moderate or strong. Three out of six malignant insulinomas displayed a c-K-ras point mutation at codon 12. All mutations were guanine to cytosine transversion, resulting in amino acid substitution, glycine to arginine. Mutations were present in metastatic insulinomas only. Patients with mutated c-K-ras oncogene had overexpression of p53 protein as well as c-myc and TGFα overexpression. Our results support the view that malignant progression is a consequence of more than one genetic lesion and suggest that activation of myc, TGFα, and ras genesα plays a role in a multistep process of tumour progression, perhaps serving as an initiating event.     

Mutation analysis of the SDHD gene in four kindreds with familial paraganglioma: description of one novel germline mutation.

The familial paraganglioma syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by the presence of carotid body paragangliomas and, less frequently, paragangliomas of the glomus jugulare, glomus vagale, and adrenal pheochromocytomas. Germline mutations of the genes for succinate dehydrogenase subunits D, B, or C (SDHD, SDHB, SDHC) have been identified in some kindreds with familial paraganglioma. In this study, we report the clinicopathologic features of four different kindreds with familial paraganglioma, which were screened for germline mutations in the SDHD gene. DNA was obtained from tumor and normal tissue, as well as from peripheral blood. Mutation analysis was performed by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis and DNA sequencing. SDHD germline mutations were detected in the affected family members of the four families, as well as in several asymptomatic carriers. An identical mutation in exon 4 of SDHD (334-337delACTG) was identified in two apparently unrelated kindreds. The third family showed a germline mutation in exon 2 (W43X). The mutations present in these three families had been previously described in Spanish families, suggesting a founder effect. The fourth family exhibited a mutation in exon 2 of SDHD (170-171delTT), which had not been previously identified. The affected family members of the four kindreds showed paragangliomas, located in the head and neck region, and all of them were benign. These results confirm that genetic testing of SDHD may be a powerful tool for the identification of the syndrome in patients with multiple or bilateral paragangliomas.     

秦巴山区初中学生心理健康状况调查研究

目的　了解秦巴山区初中学生心理健康状况及其影响的主要因素。方法　采用 SCL-90临床症状自评量表随机对陕西省安康地区双溪乡初中学生进行心理健康测查。结果　秦巴山区双溪乡初中学生心理健康状况与全国初中学生心理健康常模比较 ,并未出现显著性差异 ;影响初中男生心理健康因素从大到小的顺序为 :抑郁 >躯体化 >焦虑 >强迫 >精神病性 >恐怖 >人际关系 >偏执 >其它 >敌对 ;影响女生心理健康因素从大到小的顺序为 :抑郁 >躯体化 >焦虑 >人际关系>强迫 >精神病性 >恐怖 >敌对 >其它 >偏执。结论　秦巴山区初中学生心理健康状况良好。影响秦巴山区初中学生心理健康的最主要因素为 :抑郁、躯体化和焦虑。     

Oral DNA vaccination with a plasmid encoding soluble ICAM-1 modulates cytokine expression profiles in nonobese diabetic mice

Adhesion molecules are important for leukocyte extravasation and for the delivery of costimulatory signals in T cell activation. We therefore interfered in the immune process leading to islet inflammation in diabetes prone NOD mice by oral vaccination with plasmid DNA encoding soluble ICAM-1. Female NOD mice were treated orally with ICAM-1, TGF-beta, or control plasmid DNA and received a single injection of cyclophosphamide for synchronization and acceleration of the disease process in the pancreas. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of pancreatic mRNA showed that cyclophosphamide induced the expression of Th1 cytokines (IFN-gamma and IL-12p40) in vehicle- or control plasmid-treated mice. Treatment with ICAM-1 and TGF-beta DNA resulted in increased levels of IL-10 mRNA in the pancreas, indicating an anti-inflammatory regulatory immune response. Histological analysis of pancreatic islets showed that the DNA treatment did not alter islet infiltration in response to cyclophosphamide. Hence vaccination with the ICAM-1 plasmid had not suppressed leukocyte migration but rather modulated lymphocyte activity, similarly as seen for the TGF-beta-encoding plasmid. Neither of the three plasmids caused recognizable changes in cytokine expression in the small intestine, Peyer's patches, or mesenteric lymph nodes. We conclude that oral vaccination with DNA encoding immunoregulatory molecules such as ICAM-1 and TGF-beta represents an approach for modulating the ongoing inflammatory process in the pancreas of diabetes prone NOD mice.     

人类白细胞抗原-G突变体cDNA克隆及在K562细胞上的表达

目的：克隆人类白细胞抗原-G(Human leukocyte antligen-G，HLA-G)突变体cDNA，并使其在HLA-I类阴性的K562细胞上获得稳定表达，为研究配-受体之间的识别机制奠定基础。方法：用RT-PCR方法从人子宫蜕膜组织扩增出HLA-GcDNA，得到全长HLA-GPCR产物后，用桥式PCR方法进行定点点突变，将突变的目的基因亚克隆于逆转录，将突变的目的基因亚克隆于逆转录mG-pLNCX表达载体，采用感染的方法将重组质粒转入K562细胞，最后经G418筛选及有限稀释，利用单克隆抗体W6/32进行FACS及mRNA检测，观察HLA-G突变体在靶细胞表面的表达。结果：HLA-G突变体分子在经mG-pLNCX转染的靶细胞表面获得稳定高表达。结论：成功构建了mG-pLNCX表达载体，并使HLA-G突变体分子在HLA-I类阴性的靶细胞K562细胞上获得稳定表达。     

Health education for pregnant women: the role of background characteristics

This was a pilot study with the purpose of determining the effect of health education in enhancing the self-care agency of pregnant women and to define the role of their background characteristics in the success of this education. Subjects of this study were 30 pregnant women who visited a university hospital for check. The success of the given education was measured by pre- and post-tests that were applied before and after health education using "self-care agency scale". Data were evaluated according to t-test and variance analysis. After health education, the self-agency scores of the pregnant women increased significantly (P < 0.05). It was defined that pregnant women with the least self-care agency scores before health education, displayed the best progress after the education.