Glucagon-like peptide 2 is a potent growth factor for small intestine and colon

Factors that stimulate gut mucosal proliferation may be beneficial during periods of gut disuse or atrophy. Recently glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) has been shown to stimulate small bowel growth. The purpose of our study was to compare the trophic effects of GLP-2 with those of neurotensin (NT), a potent gut trophic factor. Mice were randomized to receive either GLP-2, NT, or saline solution (control) for 10 days. The mice were killed on day 11, at which time the jejunum, ileum, and colon were removed, weighed, and DNA and protein content measured. Mice treated with GLP-2 showed a significant increase in the weight of the jejunum, ileum, and colon compared to both control and NT-treated mice. DNA content, a marker of cellular hyperplasia, was significantly increased in the small bowel and colon by treatment with GLP-2 and NT compared to control tissues. Small intestinal protein content, an indicator of cellular hypertrophy, was significantly increased by GLP-2 compared to both NT and control; protein content of the colon was greater in each of the treatment groups compared with control mice. We have demonstrated, for the first time, that GLP-2 stimulates colonic growth. In addition, GLP-2 is a potent trophic factor of normal small intestine with proliferative effects that are equal to or greater than those of NT Administration of GLP-2 may be useful clinically to enhance small intestinal regeneration and adaptation during periods of disease and in the early phases of the short bowel syndrome. Supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (PO1 DK35608, ROl AG10885, and T32-DK07633). Presented at the Thirty-Eighth Annual Meeting of The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, Washington, D.C., May 11–14, 1997, and published as an abstract in Gastroenterology 112:A1455, 1997.     

The Bihormonal Bionic Pancreas Improves Glycemic Control in Individuals With Hyperinsulinism and Postpancreatectomy Diabetes: A Pilot Study

OBJECTIVETo determine whether the bihormonal bionic pancreas (BHBP) improves glycemic control and reduces hypoglycemia in individuals with congenital hyperinsulinism (HI) and postpancreatectomy diabetes (PPD) compared with usual care (UC).RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSTen subjects with HI and PPD completed this open-label, crossover pilot study. Coprimary outcomes were mean glucose concentration and time with continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) glucose concentration <3.3 mmol/L.RESULTSMean (SD) CGM glucose concentration was 8.3 (0.7) mmol/L in the BHBP period versus 9 (1.8) mmol/L in the UC period (P = 0.13). Mean (SD) time with CGM glucose concentration <3.3 mmol/L was 0% (0.002) in the BHBP period vs. 1.3% (0.018) in the UC period (P = 0.11).CONCLUSIONSRelative to UC, the BHBP resulted in comparable glycemic control in our population.     

On-Demand Patient-Specific Phenotype-to-Genotype Ebola Virus Characterization

Biosafety, biosecurity, logistical, political, and technical considerations can delay or prevent the wide dissemination of source material containing viable virus from the geographic origin of an outbreak to laboratories involved in developing medical countermeasures (MCMs). However, once virus genome sequence information is available from clinical samples, reverse-genetics systems can be used to generate virus stocks de novo to initiate MCM development. In this study, we developed a reverse-genetics system for natural isolates of Ebola virus (EBOV) variants Makona, Tumba, and Ituri, which have been challenging to obtain. These systems were generated starting solely with in silico genome sequence information and have been used successfully to produce recombinant stocks of each of the viruses for use in MCM testing. The antiviral activity of MCMs targeting viral entry varied depending on the recombinant virus isolate used. Collectively, selecting and synthetically engineering emerging EBOV variants and demonstrating their efficacy against available MCMs will be crucial for answering pressing public health and biosecurity concerns during Ebola disease (EBOD) outbreaks.     

Subclinical Burkholderia pseudomallei Infection Associated with Travel to the British Virgin Islands

Phylogenetic analysis of a clinical isolate associated with subclinical Burkholderia pseudomallei infection revealed probable exposure in the British Virgin Islands, where reported infections are limited. Clinicians should consider this geographic distribution when evaluating possible infection among persons with compatible travel history.     

Potential Use for Serosurveillance of Feral Swine to Map Risk for Anthrax Exposure,Texas, USA

Anthrax is a disease of concern in many mammals, including humans. Management primarily consists of prevention through vaccination and tracking clinical-level observations because environmental isolation is laborious and bacterial distribution across large geographic areas difficult to confirm. Feral swine (Sus scrofa) are an invasive species with an extensive range in the southern United States that rarely succumbs to anthrax. We present evidence that feral swine might serve as biosentinels based on comparative seroprevalence in swine from historically defined anthrax-endemic and non–anthrax-endemic regions of Texas. Overall seropositivity was 43.7% (n = 478), and logistic regression revealed county endemicity status, age-class, sex, latitude, and longitude were informative for predicting antibody status. However, of these covariates, only latitude was statistically significant (β = –0.153, p = 0.047). These results suggests anthrax exposure in swine, when paired with continuous location data, could serve as a proxy for bacterial presence in specific areas.     

Antibiofilm phenylethanoid glycosides from Penstemon centranthifolius

Bioassay‐guided fractionation of the antibacterial ethyl acetate‐ethanol (50 : 50) extract obtained from the aerial parts of Penstemon centranthifolius led to the isolation of six phenylethanoid glycosides (1–6) and eleven iridoid glycosides (7–17). Their structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and comparison with the literature. Among them, two phenylethanoid glycosides, 4″′‐O–acetylverbascoside (1) and verbascoside (2), were found to show significant inhibition of the formation of bacterial biofilms by Escherichia coli UTI89. Compound 1 showed 77% biofilm inhibition at 2.5 µg/mL, and compound 2 showed 60% inhibition at 5 µg/mL. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evidence for multiple tumor suppressor genes on chromosome arm 8p in supraglottic laryngeal cancer

Loss of heterozygosity studies of a variety of human tumors suggest that there are several tumor suppressor genes on chromosome arm 8p. To localize these genes more precisely, we utilized polymerase chain reaction amplification of microsatellite repeat polymorphisms and examined the allelic loss patterns of 17 marker loci on 8p in a population of 59 supraglottic laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas. Twenty-three of these tumors (39%) had an allelic loss at one or more of the markers examined. The allelic loss patterns of these tumors support the presence of at least three different tumor suppressor genes on 8p: one in 8p23, one in 8p22–23, and another in 8p21. Genes Chromosom Cancer 16:164–169 (1996). © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.