Properties of a Hemolysin Produced by Group B Streptococci

A hemolysin that appears to be responsible for the zones of beta-hemolysis surrounding colonies of group B streptococci (Streptococcus agalactiae) on blood agar plates has been isolated and partially purified. No soluble hemolysin was detectable in the supernatants of streptococcal cultures grown in several types of media. However, hemolytic activity was detected when streptococci were incubated with erythrocytes, and soluble hemolysin was isolated when bacterial suspensions were incubated in the presence of a variety of agents, including calf serum, albumin, Tween 80, and starch. Glucose and other fermentable carbohydrates stimulated hemolysin production, and metabolic inhibitors greatly reduced the titer of hemolysin that could be recovered, suggesting that cellular metabolism is necessary for hemolysin production or release. The soluble hemolysin was concentrated by ammonium sulfate precipitation and partially purified by gel filtration. Agents known to inhibit other streptococcal hemolysins, including phospholipids, trypan blue, proteases, and cholesterol, were tested for their effect on the group B hemolysin. Only the phospholipids inhibited hemolysin activity. The group B streptococcal hemolysin appears to be similar to, but distinct from, streptolysin S produced by Streptococcus pyogenes.     

Ellis‐van Creveld syndrome in a patient from Tanzania

We report an African infant with Ellis‐van Creveld (EVC) syndrome. EVC syndrome is a chondral and ectodermal dysplasia with autosomal recessive transmission. The baby presented with polydactyly, short limbs and atrioventricular septal defect, but was withdrawn from clinical follow up for the first year of life. Initial hematological abnormalities could not be explained and normalized later. EVC syndrome was confirmed by genetic analysis that showed two pathogenic mutations in the EVC2 gene, c.653_654del, p.Val218Glyfs*12 in exon 5, and c.2710C>T, p.Gln904* in exon 16. The variant c.653_654del; p.Val218Glyfs*12 in exon 5 has not been described before. Our review of medical literature suggested this is the first molecularly confirmed case of EVC syndrome in sub‐Saharan Africa.     

Mitochondrial DNA Heterogeneity in Tunisian Berbers

Berbers live in groups scattered across North Africa whose origins and genetic relationships with their neighbours are not well established. The first hypervariable segment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region was sequenced in a total of 155 individuals from three Tunisian Berber groups and compared to other North Africans. The mtDNA lineages found belong to a common set of mtDNA haplogroups already described in North Africa. Besides the autochthonous North African U6 haplogroup, a group of L3 lineages characterized by the transition at position 16041 seems to be restricted to North Africans, suggesting that an expansion of this group of lineages took place around 10500 years ago in North Africa, and spread to neighbouring populations. Principal components and the coordinate analyses show that some Berber groups (the Tuareg, the Mozabite, and the Chenini‐Douiret) are outliers within the North African genetic landscape. This outlier position is consistent with an isolation process followed by genetic drift in haplotype frequencies, and with the high heterogeneity displayed by Berbers compared to Arab samples as shown in the AMOVA. Despite this Berber heterogeneity, no significant differences were found between Berber and Arab samples, suggesting that the Arabization was mainly a cultural process rather than a demographic replacement.     

企业员工应对方式与心理健康之间的关系

目的：验证不同应对方式对心理健康的单独与共同影响。方法：对4745名被试用分层回归的方法分析不同应对方式对心理健康的单独影响和交互作用。结论：单独使用“消极应对”的应对方式,对心理健康水平存在不利影响;而单独使用“积极应对”的应对方式能在一定程度上改善心理健康水平。“消极应对”与“积极应对”两种应对方式结合使用能显著改善心理健康水平,比单独使用这两种应对方式对心理健康更有利。     

Identification of an immunodominant 32-kilodalton membrane protein of Leishmania donovani infantum promastigotes suitable for specific diagnosis of Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis.

Sera from 35 patients suffering from Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis (caused by Leishmania donovani infantum) and 59 patients with various forms of cutaneous leishmaniasis prevalent in the sub-Mediterranean countries (caused by Leishmania major, L. donovani infantum, or Leishmania tropica) were tested by immunoblotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with both membrane and soluble antigens prepared from L. donovani infantum parasites. Control sera were from healthy children (n = 41), adults with nonleishmanial diseases (n = 40), and patients with Chagas' disease (n = 12). A P32 antigen present in the membrane preparation from L. donovani infantum parasites was recognized by 95% of serum specimens from patients with Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis but not by serum specimens from patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis or sera from control individuals. An ELISA with electroeluted P32 antigen was found to have a specificity and sensitivity of 94% in the serodiagnosis of Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis. Healthy children with asymptomatic Leishmania infection were seronegative for the P32 antigen by ELISA. These results suggest that antibodies to P32 antigen develop only in patients with visceral leishmaniasis and that the P32 ELISA may be useful in areas where the disease is endemic for discriminating between patients with this disease and those with other clinical conditions.     

Nicotinic receptors on local circuit neurons in dentate gyrus: a potential role in regulation of granule cell excitability

Although the dentate gyrus is one of the primary targets of septo-hippocampal cholinergic afferents, relatively little is known about the cholinergic physiology of neurons in the area. By combining whole cell patch-clamp recording with brief local application of exogenous agonists in horizontal slices, we found that there is robust expression of functional somatic alpha 7-containing nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) on molecular layer interneurons, hilar interneurons, and the glutamatergic mossy cells of the dentate hilus. In contrast, the principal neurons of the dentate gyrus, the granule cells, are generally unresponsive to focal somatic or dendritic application of ACh in the presence of atropine. We also demonstrate that cholinergic activation of alpha 7-containing nAChRs on the subgranular interneurons of the hilus can produce methyllycaconitine-sensitive GABAergic inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) in nearby granule cells and enhance the amplitude of an electrically evoked monosynaptic IPSC. Further, activation of alpha 7-containing nAChRs on subgranular interneurons that is timed to coincide with synaptic release of glutamate onto these cells will enhance the functional inhibition of granule cells. These findings suggest that a complex interplay between glutamatergic afferents from the entorhinal cortex and cholinergic afferents from the medial septum could be involved in the normal regulation of granule cell function. Such a relationship between these two afferent pathways could be highly relevant to the study of both age-related memory dysfunction and disorders involving regulation of excitability, such as temporal lobe epilepsy.     

唐山大地震所致截瘫患者远期心身健康状况调查研究

目的 :研究唐山大地震所致截瘫患者远期心身健康状况。方法 :6 4例唐山大地震所致截瘫患者和 6 4例对照组完成了唐山大地震心身健康调查问卷和标准化评定工具的调查、评定和诊断。结果 :6 4例截瘫患者中有 6例患延迟性应激障碍 (posttraumaticstressdisorder ,PTSD)。PTSD现患率为 9 38%,显著高于正常人群中PTSD的抽样调查结果。 6 4例截瘫患者有 32例地震后发生急性应激性反应 (acutestressreaction ,ASR)。目前截瘫患者心身健康程度显著低于对照组 ,表现在SCL -90中的总分和部分因子分 ,SDS总分和标准分 ,SAS总分和标准分 ,CMI中部分因子分均显著高于对照组 (P均 <0 0 1～ 0 0 0 1)。结论 :心理创伤的严重程度与人类的心身健康之间存在着密切的关系。     

Characterization of FMR1 proteins isolated from different tissues

FMR1 protein expression was studied in different tissues. Inhuman, monkey and murine tissues, high molecular mass FMR1 proteins(67–80 kDa) are found, as shown in lymphobiastoid celiiines. The identity of these proteins was confirmed by theirabsence in tissues from patients with the fragile X syndromeand a FMR1 knock-out mouse. An IIe367Asn substitution in theFMR1 protein did not aiter the transiation, processing and localizationof FMR1 proteins in lymphoblastoid cells from a patient carryingthis mutation. All the high molecular mass FMR1 proteins isolatedfrom normal lymphoblastoid cells and cells from the patientwith the IIe367Asn substitution were able to bind RNA. However,the FMR1 proteins of the patient had reduced affinity for RNAbinding at high salt concentrations. In some human, monkey andmurine tissues low molecular mass FMR1 proteins (39–41kDa) were found, which had the same N terminus as the 67–90kDa isoforms, but differ in their C terminus and are thereforemost likely the result of carboxy-terminal proteolytic cleavage.These low molecular mass FMR1 proteins did not bind RNA, incontrast with the high molecular mass FMR1 proteins. The significanceof these low molecular mass proteins remains to be studied.     

A rapid and easy method for multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 mutation detection using conformation-sensitive gel electrophoresis

Until now, the study of the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) gene in patients suspected of having the disease was expensive and laborious due to the large size of the gene. We have optimized the conformation-sensitive gel electrophoresis (CSGE) technique to analyze by four rather simple multiplex PCR reactions, and a single electrophoresis run, the entire coding region of the MEN1 gene, plus the exon–intron boundaries. This improvement of the CSGE technique was confirmed as an effective procedure for screening for the MEN1 gene by detecting ten previously known MEN1 gene mutations and four polymorphisms. The MEN1 gene of 12 patients with unknown mutations was then screened, and an abnormal CSGE profile was identified in 10/12 cases. Subsequent DNA sequencing demonstrated 3 of them to be novel mutations (E45K, 4479delACAG, 6073insC) and 7 to have been previously reported; in the remaining 2 patients, we confirmed the absence of any alteration of the coding sequence of MEN1. Mutation screening of the MEN1 gene using CSGE was demonstrated to be a fast, simple, and inexpensive method to study patients suspected of having MEN1 disease. Received: November 29, 2001 / Accepted: January 28, 2002