Comparison of Ashdown's medium, Burkholderia cepacia medium, and Burkholderia pseudomallei selective agar for clinical isolation of Burkholderia pseudomallei

Ashdown's medium, Burkholderia pseudomallei selective agar (BPSA), and a commercial Burkholderia cepacia medium were compared for their abilities to grow B. pseudomallei from 155 clinical specimens that proved positive for this organism. The sensitivity of each was equivalent; the selectivity of BPSA was lower than that of Ashdown's or B. cepacia medium.     

Two case reports of pituitary adenoma associated with Toxoplasma gondii infection

The involvement of the pituitary in cases of toxoplasmosis has been described in the literature only rarely. This is the first report to describe pituitary adenoma in association with Toxoplasma gondii infection. The two patients were 43 and 19 year old women. Radiological examination revealed tumours in the sellar region. Microscopically, the tumours consisted of small homogeneous polygonal or round cells. Toxoplasma cysts were found among the tumour cells, a finding confirmed by Toxoplasma gondii specific antibody immunohistochemistry. The association between pituitary adenoma and toxoplasma raises the possibility that T gondii might be involved in the development of certain cases of pituitary adenoma.     

Expression of L-Selectin (CD62L), CD44, and CD25 on activated bovine T cells

Mycobacterium bovis infection of cattle represents a natural host-pathogen interaction and, in addition to its economic and zoonotic impact, represents a model for human tuberculosis. Extravasation and trafficking of activated lymphocytes to inflammatory sites is modulated by differential expression of multiple surface adhesion molecules. However, effects of M. bovis infection on adhesion molecule expression have not been characterized. To determine these changes, peripheral blood mononuclear cells from M. bovis-infected cattle were stimulated with M. bovis purified protein derivative (PPD) or pokeweed mitogen (PWM) and evaluated concurrently for proliferation and activation marker expression. Stimulation with PPD or PWM increased CD25 and CD44 mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) and decreased CD62L MFI on CD4(+) cells from infected animals. CD62L MFI on PPD- and PWM-stimulated gammadelta T-cell receptor-positive (TCR(+)) and CD8(+) cells was also reduced compared to that of nonstimulated gammadelta TCR(+) and CD8(+) cells. Using a flow cytometry-based proliferation assay, it was determined that proliferating cells, regardless of lymphocyte subset, exhibited increased expression of CD25 and CD44 and decreased expression of CD62L compared to cells that had not proliferated. In contrast to proliferation, activation-induced apoptosis of CD4(+) cells resulted in a significant down regulation of CD44 expression. Lymphocytes obtained from lungs of M. bovis-infected cattle also had reduced expression of CD44 compared to lymphocytes from lungs of noninfected cattle. These alterations in surface molecule expression upon activation likely impact trafficking to sites of inflammation and the functional capacity of these cells within tuberculous granulomas.     

High density of immobilized galactose ligand enhances hepatocyte attachment and function

Galactosylated surface is an attractive substrate for hepatocyte culture because of the specific interaction between the galactose ligand and the asialoglycoprotein receptor on hepatocytes. In this study, we described a scheme to achieve high density of immobilized galactose ligands on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) surface by first surface-grafting polyacrylic acid on plasma-pretreated PET film under UV irradiation, followed by conjugation of a galactose derivative (1-O-(6'-aminohexyl)-D-galactopyranoside) to the grafted polyacrylic acid chains. A high galactose density of 513 nmol/cm(2) on the PET surface was used in this study to investigate the behavior of cultured hepatocyte. This engineered substrate showed high affinity to fluorescein isothiocyanate-lectin binding. Primary rat hepatocytes, when seeded at a density of 2 x 10(5) cells/cm(2), attached to the galactosylated PET substrate at a similar efficiency compared with collagen-coated substrate. The hepatocytes spontaneously formed aggregates 1 day after cell seeding and showed better maintenance of albumin secretion and urea synthesis functions than those cultured on collagen-coated surface.     

小儿肝的年龄解剖学研究

分六个年龄组观察了180个(男98,女82)小儿肝的形态、度量、位置及体表投影.小儿肝相对较大,右叶大于左叶,下界位置较低并逐渐上移.在右锁骨中线的肋弓下一般均可触到.小儿肝重随其年龄(身高)的增长而增长,其增长速度相对较慢,尤以Ⅶ组小儿更明显.     

Squamous-lined cysts of the pancreas: lymphoepithelial cysts, dermoid cysts (teratomas), and accessory-splenic epidermoid cysts

In the pancreas, 3 types of morphologically similar lesions may present as "squamous cysts": Lymphoepithelial cysts, dermoid cysts (monodermal teratomas), and epidermoid cysts in intrapancreatic accessory spleen. Lymphoepithelial cysts (LECs) are seen predominantly in men (M/F: 4/1) and in adulthood (mean age, 56, and range, 35 to 74 years). They may occur at any site of the organ (head, body, or tail). LECs are well-delineated cysts that may be multilocular (60%) or unilocular (40%), and they are characterized microscopically by stratified squamous epithelium surrounded by a band of mature lymphoid tissue with intervening well-formed germinal centers. Solid lymphoepithelial clusters are seldom seen. The pathogenesis of LECs is unclear; clinical diseases that are known to be associated with their counterparts in the salivary glands such as Sjogren disease or human immunodeficiency virus have not been documented for the LECs of the pancreas. The second type of squamous-lined cyst in the pancreas is the epidermoid cyst arising in intrapancreatic accessory spleen. These are located almost exclusively in the tail of the pancreas, in the fourth decade of life (mean age = 38). Their mean size is 4.5 cm (range, 2.3 to 6.5). In some cases, the cyst lining may be partly mucinous. Dermoid cysts of the pancreas are also rare. The cases that appear to be true dermoid cysts occur in a younger age group (mean age, 23, range, 2 to 53 years), and in contrast with LEC, there is no gender predominance. Mucinous epithelium, respiratory-type mucosa and sebaceous units are more readily identifiable in dermoid cysts, and they may contain hair. Subepithelial lymphoid tissue is not a feature. They are sometimes complicated by suppurative infections. The importance of these lesions is in their distinction from other cystic neoplasms, especially mucinous cystic tumors.     

KOCH三角的解剖

本实验解剖了110例人心标本(成人70、儿童40)的Koch三角区,观察和测量了房室结的形态、大小、毗邻和标志。房间隔及冠状窦口上、下方均有肌束连于房室结。Todaro腱在儿童多全部为腱性;在成人,其后部为肌性。三角区的深面为左、右心房壁和室间隔顶所构成的锥形间隙,其内为进入房室结区的血管和神经。根据构成不同,可将三角区分为5个区,即前上角的纤维支架区和房室结区,其余部分自上向下分别为房间隔区、右房壁区和室间隔区。本文还讨论了这些形态结构的功能及外科意义。     

大鼠肝抑素纯化及其生物活性的检测

用ＳｅｐｈａｄｅｃＧ－５凝胶过滤层析法，进一步纯化具肝抑素生物活性的大鼠肝蛋白质粗提品，以分离的大鼠再生肝的肝细胞为靶细胞，体外检测各洗脱峰浓缩物对肝细胞增殖的制率结果证明，Ｅ峰浓缩物的抑制作用最强，其活性比为粗提品的２０倍，ＳＤＳ聚丙烯酰胺电泳图及蛋白质迁移率测定表明，该浓缩物的主要成分为分子量１３．５ｋＤ的多肽。本研究对大鼠肝抑素做了初步纯化，验证了该物质在肝再生中起重要调控作用的生物效应。     

Bruceine B, A Potent Inhibitor of Leukocyte-Endothelial Cell Adhesion

Leukocyte adhesion to vascular endothelial cells is an essential step in the development of inflammatory diseases. We have searched for inhibitors of leukocyte-endothelial cell adhesion that could be used as anti-inflammatory drugs and found that bruceine B (0.2 g/ml; 0.44 M) inhibited human neutrophil or T cell adhesion to tumor necrosis factor- (TNF) stimulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). The inhibition of neutrophil adhesion to TNF-stimulated HUVEC by bruceine B was not derived from cytotoxic effects, as determined by measurement of the level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in conditioned medium. The effect of bruceine B on neutrophil adhesion to HUVEC was not seen when the neutrophils were preincubated with bruceine B. However, inhibitory effects were evident when the HUVEC were preincubated with bruceine B. Bruceine B also inhibited neutrophil adhesion to lipopolysaccharide-stimulated HUVEC and T cell adhesion to TNF-stimulated HUVEC. These findings suggest that bruceine B may have anti-inflammatory activity.     

Optimization of 3-D hepatocyte culture by controlling the physical and chemical properties of the extra-cellular matrices

Hepatocytes are anchorage-dependent cells sensitive to microenvironment; the control of the physicochemical properties of the extra-cellular matrices may be useful to the maintenance of hepatocyte functions in vitro for various applications. In a microcapsule-based 3-D hepatocyte culture microenvironment, we could control the physical properties of the collagen nano-fibres by fine-tuning the complex-coacervation reaction between methylated collagen and terpolymer of hydroxylethyl methacrylate-methyl methacrylate-methylacrylic acid. The physical properties of the nano-fibres were quantitatively characterized using back-scattering confocal microscopy to help optimize the physical support for hepatocyte functions. We further enhanced the chemical properties of the collagen nano-fibres by incorporating galactose onto collagen, which can specifically interact with the asialoglycoprotein receptor on hepatocytes. By correlating a range of collagen nano-fibres of different physicochemical properties with hepatocyte functions, we have identified a specific combination of methylated and galactosylated collagen nano-fibres optimal for maintaining hepatocyte functions in vitro. A model of how the physical and chemical supports interplay to maintain hepatocyte functions is discussed.