Clinical and hormonal effects of chronic gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist treatment in polycystic ovarian disease

Previously, we reported that short term administration of a highly potent GnRH agonist (GnRHa) for 1 month to patients with polycystic ovarian disease (PCO) resulted in complete suppression of ovarian steroidogenesis without measurable effects on adrenal steroid production. This new study was designed to evaluate the effects of long term GnRHa administration in PCO patients with respect to their hormone secretion patterns and clinical responses. Eight PCO patients and 10 ovulatory women with endometriosis were treated daily with sc injections of [D-His6-(imBzl]),Pro9-NEt]GnRH (GnRHa; 100 micrograms) for 6 months. Their results were compared to hormone values in 8 women who had undergone bilateral oophorectomies. In response to GnRHa, PCO and ovulatory women had rises of serum LH at 1 month, after which it gradually declined to baseline. In both groups FSH secretion was suppressed throughout treatment. Serum estradiol, estrone, progesterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, androstenedione, and testosterone levels markedly decreased to values found in oophorectomized women by 1 month and remained low thereafter. In contrast, serum pregnenolone and 17-hydroxypregnenolone were partially suppressed, and dehydroepiandrosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, and cortisol levels did not change. Clinically, hyperplastic endometrial histology in three PCO patients reverted to an inactive pattern, and proliferative endometrium in two other PCO patients became inactive in one and did not change in the other. Regression of proliferative endometrial histology occurred in all ovulatory women. Vaginal bleeding occurred in all women studied during the first month of GnRHa administration, after which all but one PCO patient became amenorrheic. Hot flashes were noted by all ovulatory women and by four of eight PCO patients. All PCO patients noted subjective reduction of skin oiliness, and five had decreased hair growth. We conclude that in premenopausal women: 1) chronic GnRHa administration results in apparently complete persistent suppression of ovarian steroid secretion; 2) adrenal steroid secretion is not influenced directly or indirectly; and 3) its use may be helpful in the treatment of endometrial hyperplasia and ovarian androgen excess in women with PCO.     

Functional recognition of the neuronal tyrosine hydroxylase cAMP regulatory element in different cell types.

Transient transfection of pLB2CAT constructs bearing short synthetic oligonucleotides derived either from the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) promoter or other sources was used to examine functional cAMP regulatory element (CRE) activity in a variety of cell lines. The region containing only the putative TH CRE was found to be as or more effective in conferring cAMP responsiveness onto pLB2CAT (which employs the TK promoter) than the immediate 272 bp region of the TH promoter. Increases in CAT activity of 10- to 20-fold were observed in JEG-3 cells with a single insert of the TH CRE region (-31 to -54) in pLB2CAT, and the presence of a second insert generated only a modest further increase. This construct also responded to cAMP in 4 other cell lines tested but the degree of increase was less dramatic. Inserts containing the consensus 8 bp CRE motif embedded in other natural or artificial contexts served generally as weak functional CREs in all cell lines tested. In vitro analysis revealed that a specific protein-DNA complex apparently containing a single protein with a MW of 45-50 kDa was formed equally well with JEG-3 cell nuclear extract and CRE-bearing-TH and other fragments which produced dramatically different cAMP effects in vivo. These results suggest specificity in the effects of cAMP on different CREs which are dictated by contextual differences.     

类保幼激素对三带喙库蚊幼期发育的影响

本文报告用亚致死剂量的 S—31183(类保幼激素)处理三带喙库蚊幼虫对其发育影响的研究,结果表明处理后蛹期死亡率明显高于幼虫期,并且与剂量大小有关。S—31183处理幼虫并不影响幼虫的发育时间,但可使幼虫化蛹时蜕皮受阻与羽化受到一定的抑制。     

Regulation of NGF gene expression in CNS glia by cell-cell contact.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) gene expression in central nervous system (CNS) glia appears to be associated with active glial growth. To study the underlying molecular mechanisms, we examined the effects of a number of growth-related factors on NGF mRNA expression in glial cultures. Our results suggest that glial membrane interaction, as a consequence of growth, actively inhibits NGF gene expression in CNS glia.     

Calcium-activated proteolysis of intracellular domains in the cell adhesion molecules NCAM and N-cadherin.

One of the consequences of increased intracellular calcium in response to a variety of physiological stimuli is the calcium activation of cytosolic proteases. Unlike lysosomal proteases with broad specificity, these calcium-activated neutral proteases show limited proteolysis of a restricted set of substrate proteins suggesting they may play a regulatory role in cellular physiology. In this study we show that the neural cell adhesion molecules NCAM-180 and N-cadherin are substrates for such endogenous calcium-activated neutral proteases. In contrast, a third neural cell adhesion molecule G4/L1 was not susceptible to calcium-activated proteolysis. The threshold for activation of NCAM and N-cadherin proteolysis is in the micromolar range of calcium suggesting that NCAM and N-cadherin are substrates for a mu-type calpain (calpain I). The site recognized by this protease is within intracellular domains of NCAM-180 and N-cadherin which are important for their interaction with cytoskeletal components. These results suggest that calcium-activated proteolysis at these sites in vivo could disrupt the linkage between extracellular ligand binding to these adhesion molecules and the normal intracellular effectors of such extracellular binding events.     

竹林区村庄白纹伊蚊孳生特点的调查

白纹伊蚊在竹林里孳生的阳性比为75.4%;而在竹林包围的居民区阳性比为15.3%。白纹伊蚊在居民区孳生密度布雷图指数为19.4,容器指数为6.2%。居民区孳生蚊虫的主要场所是泡菜坛,泡菜坛主要孳生蚊种是骚扰阿蚊,阳性比为73.7%,其次是淡色库蚊为20.2%,贪食库蚊为14.0%,白纹伊蚊最低,为9.1%。     

Intracellular Ca2+ suppressed a transient potassium current in hippocampal neurons

The effects of intracellular Ca2+ (Ca2+i) on K+ currents in hippocampal cells were examined using acutely isolated cells obtained from adult guinea pigs. Whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings were carried out in a configuration that allowed a continuous perfusion of the intracellular medium. Recording media were made to block inward currents and allowed selective activation of K(+)-dependent outward currents. Voltage-dependent outward currents consisted of an initial rapidly decaying component followed by a sustained component. The time constant of decay of the transient current was about 25 msec, and previous studies (Numann et al., 1987) showed that the kinetic and pharmacological properties of this current closely resembled the A current recorded in invertebrate neurons (Connor and Stevens, 1971; Thompson, 1982). Intracellular perfusion of hippocampal cells with a solution containing elevated Ca2+ (about 4.5 x 10(-4) M) elicited outward currents at the holding potential (-45 to -55 mV) and produced changes in voltage-dependent K+ currents. The transient outward current (IA) activated by depolarization was suppressed with increases in Ca2+i. Delayed, sustained K+ currents were greatly potentiated. Data also showed that, among the 3 effects elicited by Ca2+i, suppression of IA was most sensitive to Ca2+i elevation. Previous results (Numann et al., 1987) showed that IA had a lower threshold (about -45 mV) than sustained currents (about -40 mV). By using low levels of depolarization (-40 mV), IA can be selectively activated, and the suppressive effect of Ca2+i on IA was confirmed on the kinetically isolated IA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Treatment of ulcerative colitis by traditional Chinese medicine and dynamic study of immune functions

The effect of the traditional Chinese medicinal herbs enema and enteric-coated capsules in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) were compared in 260 cases. The immune complexes and the dynamic change of autoantibodies were monitored in 28 out of the 260 cases before and after treatment. The following results were observed. (1) There was no significant difference in the total effective rate between the enema group and the oral capsule group (93.3% and 87.5% respectively), but the recovery rates of purulent hemafecia, mucusfecia and erosion accompanying colitis, etc. in the former group were higher than those in the latter (P less than 0.01). (2) The circulating immune complexes were found 43 times above the normal range in 17 cases with positive rate 60.7%, and tended to decrease as the condition became better after treatment. Antinuclear antibodies were determined by the indirect fluorescent immune method and the indirect enzyme labelling method and the positive rates were 53.6% and 64.7% respectively, both being much higher than those in the controls (P less than 0.01).