胶质源性神经营养因子对脊髓损伤后前角运动神经元的保护作用

目的 :探讨胶质细胞源性神经营养因子 (GDNF)对脊髓损伤后运动神经元的保护作用。 方法 :大鼠分为假手术组、生理盐水 (NS)组和 GDNF组 ,改良 Allen法撞击致伤 T1 2 脊髓 ,蛛网膜下腔分别给予 NS和 GDNF,分别取不同时间的伤段脊髓进行切片 ,应用酶组织化学染色方法显示脊髓前角外侧核运动神经元中胆碱酯酶 (Ch E)和酸性磷酸酶 (ACP)活性 ,并结合计算机进行图像分析。结果 :GDNF组较 NS组 Ch E活性显著增加 ,ACP活性显著降低 ;2 1d时 NS组的 ACP及 Ch E活性均高于及低于假手术组 ;GDNF组与假手术组 Ch E和 ACP活性差别不显著。 结论 :GDNF对脊髓损伤后的前角外侧核运动神经元有一定的保护作用     

低密度脂蛋白对肾小球系膜细胞、TGF-β和FN mRNA表达的影响

目的:观察低密度脂蛋白(LDL)对体外培养的大鼠肾小球系膜细胞(MsC)生长及转化生长因子β(TGF-β)和纤维连接蛋白(FN)基因表达的影响.方法:体外培养的MsC培养液中加入LDL共同孵育,采用3H-TdR渗入法检测MsC增殖情况;应用Northern blot检测TGF-β mRNA和FN mRNA的表达;应用斑点杂交法检测抗TGF-β抗体对FN mRNA表达的影响.结果:(1) LDL刺激MsC在小剂量以剂量依赖(50～150 μg/ml)和时间依赖(24～72 h)促进增殖(P<0.05),大剂量(200 μg/ml)抑制增殖(P<0.05).(2) Northern blot显示LDL刺激MsC增殖,其TGF-β和FN mRNA表达以剂量和时间依赖方式增强.TGF-β mRNA表达较FN mRNA提前24 h.(3) Dot blot 显示,加入抗TGF-β抗体后,FN mRNA的表达较未加前明显减弱.结论:LDL不仅可刺激肾小球MsC的增殖,并且增加TGF-β和FN mRNA的表达.     

Marrow regeneration after mechanical depletion

The origin of marrow regeneration after mechanical depletion was reinvestigated in mouse chimeras. The results were compatible with the local origin of stem cells from remnants of incompletely removed marrow, but not with their origin from a common precursor of both bone and hemopoietic cell lines. In transplanted femurs depleted by a modified technique of in vivo evacuation of marrow, hemopoietic regeneration failed to occur. The presence of hemopoietic stem cells in the Haversian canals was thus excluded. The demonstration of ample hemopoiesis with minimal bone formation in nondepleted controls in which bone marrow initially became necrotic provided new evidence that osteogenesis was not a prerequisite of hemopoietic regeneration.     

Evaluation of neurodevelopmental outcome in highrisk infants in Australia

An understanding of the neurodevelopmental outcome of long-term survivors of neonatal intensive care is essential for the informed management of preterm or high risk infants. This annotation looks at the current status of neonatal follow-up services in Australasia and highlights problems in the collection and interpretation of data. It suggests that we should work towards achieving a consensus on standard definitions and test regimes and on national data collection.     

Adult height in patients with childhood onset atopic dermatitis

Cross sectional studies have reported impaired growth in children with atopic dermatitis. If this growth impairment is irreversible, it would be expected to adversely influence final height attainment. The standing heights and other anthropometric parameters were assessed in 35 adults with onset of atopic dermatitis before 5 years of age and a control group of 35 adults with adult onset contact dermatitis or psoriasis. There was no significant difference in the standing height SD score, mid-parental height SD score, sitting height SD score, subischial leg length SD score, nor body mass index between the atopic dermatitis and control groups. The standing height SD score was not significantly different among: (a) patients with atopic dermatitis affecting less than 50% of their body surface area and those with greater than 50% affected; (b) patients using the four different potency topical corticosteroids; and (c) patients with atopic dermatitis without asthma and those with coexisting asthma. It is concluded that short stature is not a feature of our group of adult patients with onset of atopic dermatitis before 5 years of age, continuing into adulthood, and severe enough to require specialist care. This suggests that if growth impairment occurs in childhood, it is likely to be temporary and reversible.     

Hydrogen peroxide inhibits gap junctional intercellular communication in glutathione sufficient but not glutathione deficient cells

Cell to cell communication via gap junctions is essential in the maintenance of the homeostatic balance of multicellular organisms. Aberrant intercellular gap junctional communication (GJIC) has been implicated in tumor promotion, neuropathy and teratogenesis. Oxidative stress has also been implicated in similar pathologies such as cancer. We report a potential link between oxidative stress and GJIC. Hydrogen peroxide, a known tumor promoter, inhibited GJIC in WB-F344 rat liver epithelial cells with an I50 value of 200 microM. Inhibition of GJIC by H2O2 was reversible as indicated by the complete recovery of GJIC with the removal of H2O2 via a change of fresh media. Free radical scavengers, such as t-butyl alcohol, propylgallate, and Trolox, did not prevent the inhibition of GJIC by H2O2, which indicated that the effects of H2O2 on GJIC was probably not a consequence of aqueous free radical damage. The depletion of intracellular GSH reversed the inhibitory effect of H2O2 on GJIC. The treatment of glutathione- sufficient cells with H2O2 resulted in the hyperphosphorylation of connexin43, which is the basic subunit of the hexameric gap junction protein, as determined by Western blot analysis. TPA, a well-known tumor promoter, also inhibits GJIC via hyperphosphorylation of GJIC, which is a result of protein kinase-C activation. However, H2O2 also induced hyperphosphorylation in GSH-deficient cells that had normal rates of GJIC. Therefore, the mechanism of GJIC inhibition must be different from the TPA-pathway and involves GSH.      

Dietary polyamines promote the growth of azoxymethane-induced aberrant crypt foci in rat colon

We have examined whether dietary polyamines influence the formation and initial growth of azoxymethane (AOM)-induced aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in rat colon. Effects of a combination of dietary polyamines at three dose levels (putrescine: 50, 280, 740 nmol/g; spermidine: 10, 261, 763 nmol/g; spermine: 1, 31, 91 nmol/g) in the polyamine-poor AIN-76A diet were studied in animals in two different experimental situations: animals treated with AOM alone and animals treated with AOM + difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), a specific inhibitor of endogenous polyamine synthesis. In both experimental situations, dietary polyamines enhanced the growth of ACF, expressed as the number of large ACF (foci with three or more aberrant crypts, ACF > or = 3), whereas the formation of ACF, expressed as the number of ACF, was apparently not altered. In animals treated with AOM alone, maximal growth enhancing effect on ACF was nearly obtained with the median level of dietary polyamine. In rats fed a low polyamine diet, basic AIN-76A, DFMO reduced the growth of AOM-induced ACF by 83%. This inhibitory effect of DFMO was counteracted by dietary polyamines in a dose- dependent manner, and it was abolished at the highest level of polyamines. In conclusion, it was demonstrated that dietary polyamines are able to enhance the growth of AOM-induced ACF. Further, dietary polyamines reversed the DFMO-caused inhibition of ACF growth, probably by compensating for the DFMO-reduced endogenous polyamine synthesis.      

Effect of the viable-yellow (A(vy)) agouti allele on skin tumorigenesis and humoral hypercalcemia in v-Ha-ras transgenic TGxAC mice

We previously reported that papillomas can arise from the follicular epithelium of v-Ha-ras transgenic TGxAC mice. Since the viable-yellow mutation (A(vy)) of the mouse agouti gene which regulates coat color pigmentation by acting within the micro-environment of the hair follicle has been shown to function as a tumor promoter in the liver, we hypothesized that it may also play a role in TGxAC skin tumorigenesis. Endogenous agouti protein product was detected in the outer root sheath of anagen hair follicles following plucking of the hair shaft, but not in the interfollicular epithelium, in TGxAC mice on an FVB/N genetic background. It was also detected in papillomas from these mice produced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) treatment or plucking. Expression of the A(vy) allele in the v-Ha-ras transgenic TGxAC mouse line results in an approximately 2-fold increase in papilloma development compared with controls which did not carry the A(vy) allele following twice-weekly treatment with 1.25, 2.5 or 5.0 microg TPA. In addition, TPA-treated, papilloma-bearing F1 mice which carried the A(vy) allele, but not F1 mice which did not carry the A(vy) allele, exhibited a syndrome of humoral hypercalcemia mediated by parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) that led to weight loss, hypercalcemia and hypophosphatemia. Thus, we conclude that the A(vy) allele can influence the development of skin tumors and PTHrP-mediated humoral hypercalcemia in v-Ha-ras transgenic TGxAC mice.      

The preterm gut microbiota: changes associated with necrotizing enterocolitis and infection

Aim: To describe gut colonization in preterm infants using standard culture and 16S gene rRNA profiling, exploring differences in healthy infants and those who developed NEC/late onset sepsis (LOS). Methods: Ninety‐nine stools from 38 infants of median 27‐week gestation were cultured; 44 stools from 27 infants had their microbial profiles determined by 16S. Ordination analyses explored effects of patient variables on gut communities. Results: Standard microbiological culture identified a mean of two organisms (range 0–7), DGGE 12 (range 3–18) per patient. Enterococcus faecalis and coagulase negative staphylococci (CONS) were most common by culture (40% and 39% of specimens). Meconium was not sterile. No fungi were cultured. Bacterial community structures in infants with NEC and LOS differed from healthy infants. Infants who developed NEC carried more CONS (45% vs 30%) and less Enterococcus faecalis (31% vs 57%). 16S identified Enterobacter and Staphylococcus presence associated with NEC/LOS, respectively. Conclusions: Important differences were found in the gut microbiota of preterm infants who develop NEC/LOS. The relationship of these changes to current practices in neonatal intensive care requires further exploration.     

New species and phylogeny of Perenniporia based on morphological and molecular characters

Three new resupinate, poroid, wood-inhabiting fungi, Perenniporia aridula, P. bannaensis and P. substraminea, are introduced on the basis of morphological and molecular characters. Molecular study based on sequence data from the ribosomal ITS and LSU regions supported the three new species’ positions in Perenniporia s.s., and all of them formed monophyletic lineages with strong support (100 % BP, 1.00 BPP). Phylogenetic analysis revealed seven clades for the 31 species of Perenniporia s.l. used in this study. Among them, Perenniporiella clustered with Perenniporia ochroleuca group, and then subsequently grouped with Abundisporus. In addition, the P. ochroleuca group, the P. vicina group, the P. martia group and P. subacida formed well supported monophyletic entities, which could be recognized as distinct genera, and they are not related to P. medulla-panis which belongs to Perenniporia s.s. clade. An identification key to 38 species of Perenniporia occurring in China is provided.