Monitoring of serum markers for fibrosis during CCl4-induced liver damage. Effects of anti-fibrotic agents.

Liver fibrosis was induced in rats by repeated peritoneal injections of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) over a period of 2-11 weeks. Serum procollagen III peptide (SPIIINP), prolidase (SP) and alanine aminotransferase (SALT) levels were monitored during the period of induction. The extent of fibrosis was semi-quantitatively estimated after collagen staining, and the anti-fibrotic effects of 16,16-dimethyl prostaglandin E2 (DMPGE2), colchicine, and zinc sulphate were studied. SPIIINP and SP were increased the first 2 weeks after CCl4 administration and peaked at 6 weeks. Alterations in SPIIINP and SP correlated well to the semi-quantitative histological score of liver sections during the first 6 weeks, and SP was positively related to SPIIINP throughout the whole induction period. DMPGE2 decreased SPIIINP, SP and SALT significantly in addition to a markedly decreased formation of liver collagens. Colchicine had a similar but less dramatic effect, whereas zinc sulphate only reduced SPIIINP without influencing liver damage. In conclusion SPIIINP seems to be a valuable indicator of liver fibrogenesis, and SP may play a limited role in indicating accelerated collagen metabolism in the liver. DMPGE2 obviously inhibited the production of collagens induced by CCl4. Colchicine also had an apparent effect on liver fibrosis, whereas zinc sulphate merely seemed to postpone it.     

The echocardiographic evolution of left ventricular hypertrophy in treated hypertensive patients. A long-term follow-up]

In order to study the possible regressive changes of left ventricular hypertrophy in treated hypertensive patients and to correlate them either with the drugs they received and/or the blood pressure reduction obtained, a long-term (6 years) echocardiographic follow-up study was performed in 61 patients. B and M mode echocardiographic septum and posterior wall thickness and left ventricular mass index were measured yearly and the type of ventricular hypertrophy, asymmetric septal or concentric (symmetric), were compared before and after the follow-up. Sixteen patients received only diuretics; 14, only propranolol, and associated therapy was used in the remaining 31 patients. Average blood pressure was significantly reduced in the whole group of patients, but, individually, 30 of them achieved normal levels for the diastolic (90 mmHg), remaining it over this value in the other, although all of them experienced an average reduction 10 mmHg with therapy. Those patients with concentric hypertrophy at entry showed a significant septal, posterior wall thickness and total ventricular mass reduction during the follow-up, those with initial asymmetric septal hypertrophy, a significant septal thickness and ventricular mass reduction, and those without hypertrophy on admission, showed an average paradoxical increase in septal thickness. We conclude that left ventricular hypertrophy disappeared or decreased in 48% of the patients and that treatment seems to prevent its progression or development in the 43% of all patients. The regressive or favorable changes were significantly more frequent among patients with normal blood pressure after treatment as well as among patients treated only with propranolol in comparison to those treated only with diuretics.     

Six Cases of Prenatal and Neonatal Torsion of the Spermatic Cord

Torsions of the spermatic cord occurring from the intrauterine period to the end of the first year of life are termed perinatal. These are divided into prenatal and postnatal torsions, depending on their occurrence in the intrauterine or postuterine period. From January 1984 to January 1996, 6 cases were identified at our institution, involving 4 prenatal and 2 postnatal extravaginal torsions of the spermatic cord. These cases are reviewed with regard to optimal therapeutic approaches for the treatment of both the affected gonad as well as the contralateral one, and whether the event occurred prenatally or postnatally. The authors also propose several clinical indications useful for obstetricians, pediatricians, urologists and nurses.     

石杉碱甲对基底核大细胞部损毁所致工作记忆障碍的影响

目的：研究石杉碱甲对基底核大细胞部（ＮＢＭ）损毁诱导的工作记忆障碍的影响。方法：采用八臂迷宫延迟板程序研究空间记忆。胆碱乙酰转移酶（ＣｈＡＴ）活力测定采用［＾３Ｈ］乙酰辅酶Ａ转变成［＾３Ｈ］乙酰胆碱的方法。结果：单侧损毁ＮＢＭ（卡因酸０．０２μｍｏｌ）导致空间记忆障碍。在不同的延迟间隔，大鼠完成程序产生的正确数减少和错误数增多。损毁侧大脑皮层ＣｈＡＴ酶的含量下降了大约４０％。石杉碱甲（０．２ｍｇ·     

Further studies of the role of Ser-16 in the regulation of the activity of phenylalanine hydroxylase.

It was previously proposed that the activation of rat liver phenylalanine hydroxylase (EC 1.14.16.1) by cAMP-dependent protein kinase-mediated phosphorylation of Ser-16 is due to the introduction of the negatively charged phosphate group. To explore the validity of this proposal, we have applied site-directed mutagenesis to specifically replace Ser-16 with negatively charged amino acids, glutamic and aspartic; with polar uncharged amino acids, asparagine and glutamine; with the positively charged amino acid lysine; and with the nonpolar hydrophobic amino acid alanine. The wild-type and mutant enzymes were purified to homogeneity, and the importance of Ser-16 in the activation of phenylalanine hydroxylase was examined by comparing the state of activation of the phosphorylated form of the wild-type hydroxylase with that of the mutants. The kinetic studies carried out on the wild-type phosphorylated hydroxylase showed that all the activation could be accounted for by an increase in Vmax with no change in Km for either phenylalanine or the pterin cofactor. Replacement of Ser-16 with a negatively charged residue, glutamate of aspartate, resulted in the activation of the hydroxylase by 2- to 4-fold, whereas replacement with glutamine, asparagine, lysine, or alanine resulted in a much more modest increase. Further, lysolecithin was found to stimulate the phosphorylated hydroxylase and the mutant enzymes S16E and S16D by a factor of 6-7. In contrast, the mutants S16Q, S16N, and S16A all showed the same magnitude of activation as the wild-type with lysolecithin. Therefore, this study demonstrates that activation of the enzyme by phosphorylation of Ser-16 by cAMP-dependent protein kinase is due to the introduction of negative charge(s) and strongly suggests the involvement of electrostatic interaction between the regulatory and catalytic domains of the hydroxylase.