PCR-based detection of Bacillus anthracis in formalin-fixed tissue from a patient receiving ciprofloxacin

We demonstrate that Bacillus anthracis may be detected from a formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded biopsy specimen, even after the patient has received antibiotic treatment. Although traditional PCR methods may not be sufficiently sensitive for anthrax detection in such patients, cycle numbers can be increased or PCR can be repeated by using an aliquot from a previous PCR as the template.     

Expression of CD4 on peripheral blood granulocytes. a novel finding in a case of myelodysplastic syndrome in association with t(5;12)

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are associated with cell maturation defects that can manifest as abnormal surface antigen expression. We describe a patient with refractory anemia with excess blasts, who presented with infection and extensive dysplastic features in peripheral blood granulocytes. The granulocytes expressed CD11b, CD13, CD15, CD33, and CD43. The granulocytes also expressed CD4 antigen. Cytogenetic analysis showed a clonal t(5;12)(q33;p13). The patient improved on antibiotics with partial improvement in the dysplastic features. However, shortly after, the patient experienced paravertebral extramedullary blast transformation followed by a leukemia phase of acute monoblastic leukemia. The patient died a few days later. This is the first report describing anomalous expression of CD4 on granulocytes in MDS. Since the breakpoint on chromosome 12 is near the CD4 gene, which is mapped to 12p12, we hypothesize that dysregulation of the CD4 gene may have occurred resulting in its persistent expression on mature and maturing granulocytes.     

Prestimulation-Induced Startle Modulation in Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Nocturnal Enuresis

Startle modulation was induced by prestimulation in 43, 6-11 year old boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), 13 of whom were or had been enuretic, 17 age-matched enuretic boys, and 42 age-matched normal boys, using 60-ms and 120-ms prestimulation intervals and a 4000-ms continuous tone. There was a significant multivariate effect of enuresis on startle amplitude modulation. This effect was attributed primarily to the reduction of amplitude inhibition following the 120-ms prestimulation interval regardless of whether or not enuresis was associated with ADHD. There was no effect of ADHD on startle modulation by prestimulation. The inhibition following the 120-ms prestimulation interval in the enuretic boys was reduced to the level of 5-year-old normal children, suggesting a maturational component of the deficient startle inhibition. The neurophysiologic dysfunction underlying the deficient startle inhibition in enuresis, but not ADHD, is discussed in terms of a possible dysfunction of mesopontine reticular mechanisms mediating preattentive processing of signals associated with spinal reflexes involved in urinary bladder control.     

Ultrastructural Features of Epidermolysis Bullosa

Epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a heterogeneous group of hereditary diseases, varies in mode of inheritance, extent, severity, and presence or absence of scarring and dystrophy. Fourteen cases (13 in infants and 1 in a young adult) were studied. Subtyping by ultrastructural findings in normal and blistered skin biopsies was as follows: EB simplex (2), EB letalis (3), EBD dominant (2), and EBD recessive (7). One case diagnosed as recessive dystrophic by electron microscopy (EM) followed a benign course with little scaring and was re-classified clinically and after reviewing the EM as dominant dystrophic. Defining the level of bulla formation by EM allowed accurate diagnosis of subtypes. In 6 patients with EBD recessive, normal and bullous skin showed collagenolysis and no anchoring fibrils. In patients with EBD dominant, rudimentary fibrils were noted in normal skin. Whether absence of anchoring fibrils is primary or secondary in these two types and the role of collagenolysis remain unresolved.     

Cell-mediated immune responses to chlamydial antigens in guinea pigs injected with inactivated chlamydiae

Cell-mediated immunity (CMI) to chlamydial antigens was readily induced in guinea pigs by a single injection of Betaprone-inactivated chlamydiae in complete Freund adjuvant. The CMI was measured in vivo by delayed hypersensitivity skin tests, and in vitro by inhibition of migration of peritoneal exudate cells and by proliferation of lymph node lymphocytes. There was an overall correlation between in vivo and in vitro responses. Of the in vitro assays, migration inhibition reflected the state of sensitization, as judged by skin tests, more uniformly than lymphocyte stimulation. Extensive inter- and intra-species cross-reactivity was noted between LB-1, a strain ofC. trachomatis, and three strains ofC. psittaci, 6BC, GPIC, and 562F. Cross-reactivity between LB-1 and 6BC was one-way only, by all three parameters: LB-1 elicited strong cross-reactions in 6BC-immunized animals but not vice versa. Antichlamydial antibodies could not be demonstrated in any of the animals by microimmunofluorescence.     

Social anxiety in anorexia and bulimia nervosa: the mediating role of shame

Objective: The close relationship between social anxiety and eating disorders has attracted considerable scholarly attention in recent years. Shame has been identified as the key emotional symptom in the link between social anxiety and social phobia. While shame is commonly recognized as a meaningful construct for understanding eating disorders, empirical research into this issue has been lacking. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the strength of influence shame and social anxiety have in the psychopathology of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa compared with other clinical groups. Furthermore, the issue of whether shame can account for clinical group differences in the experienced levels of social anxiety was examined. Method: The sample consisted of 120 female inpatients, divided into four groups of 30 according to individual diagnoses: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, anxiety disorders and depression. The Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS), the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Internalized Shame Scale (ISS) were used to measure the target constructs for this investigation. Results: Patients with anorexia and bulimia nervosa have higher scores in internalized global shame than patients with anxiety disorders and depressions. In contrast to anorectic patients, however, patients with bulimia also have higher scores than the other two groups in the area of social performance anxiety; they also differ significantly from the anxiety disorders in terms of interaction anxiety. Once shame was partialled out, group differences of social anxiety were shown to disappear. Discussion: Both shame and social anxiety have to be regarded as important influencing factors in anorexia and bulimia nervosa, with shame making a significant contribution to the explanation of social anxieties. The interaction between shame and social anxiety as well as its relevance for eating disorders are discussed. With regards to the therapeutic implications, it would seem reasonable not only to focus on treating shame affect but also to specifically adopt a therapeutic strategy targeting social anxiety fears. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative actions of biologic and synthetic leukotrienes on isolated human bronchus and rat mast cells

The effects of biologically prepared leukotriene C4 (LTCb) and leukotriene D4 (LTDb), obtained from rat monocytes stimulated with the calcium ionophore A23187, were compared with those of chemically synthetized leukotrienes (LTCs and LTDs) using two in vitro systems. All four leukotriene preparations (10(-10) to 6 X 10(-6) M) showed equal activity upon human bronchi, inducing slow, sustained contractions. LTCb alone (10(-7) to 6.9 X 10(-7) M) elicited histamine release and enhanced compound 48/80-induced release in a dose-dependent manner from rat mast cells. In contrast, LTDb alone was without effect but inhibited release caused by 48/80. FPL 55712 failed to block the LTCb and LTDb effects on the release process. The synthetic leukotrienes neither caused histamine release nor modulated 48/80-induced release from rat mast cells. We conclude that biologic and synthetic leukotrienes exhibit comparable contractile activity on isolated human bronchi but only biologic preparations modulate histamine release by previously unappreciated substances that isolate with the biologic leukotrienes.     

Involvement of the RE V3 gene in the methylated base-excision repair system. Co-operation of two DNA polymerases, δ and Rev3p, in the repair of MMS-induced lesions in the DNA of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The ability of four yeast DNA polymerase mutant strains to carry out the repair of DNA treated with MMS was studied. Mutation in DNA polymerase Rev3, as well as the already known mutation in the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase δ, were both found to lead to the accumulation of single-strand breaks, which indicates defective repair. A double-mutant strain carrying mutations in DNA polymerase δ and a deletion in the REV3 gene had a complete repair defect, both at permissive (23°C) and restrictive (38°C) temperatures, which was not observed in other pairwise combinations of tested polymerase mutants. Other polymerases are not involved in the repair of exogenous DNA methylation damage, since neither mutation in the DNA polymerase ɛ, nor deletion in the DNA polymerase IV (β₇₀) gene, caused defective repair. The data obtained suggest that DNA polymerases δ and Rev3p are both necessary to perform repair synthesis in the base-excision repair of methylation damage. The results are discussed in the light of current concepts on the role of DNA polymerase Rev3 in mutagenesis. Received: 18 November / 10 December 1996     

The expression of B7-H1 on keratinocytes in chronic inflammatory mucocutaneous disease and its regulatory role

PD-1 and its ligands, B7-H1/PD-L1 and B7-DC/PD-L2, have been identified recently as CD28-B7 family molecules that are implicated in immune regulation. Lichen planus (LP) is a T cell-mediated chronic inflammatory mucocutaneous disease. We investigated the expression and function of PD-1 and its two ligands in LP. Immunohistochemical examination revealed the abundant expression of PD-1 and B7-H1 in infiltrating T cells and macrophages, and lower-level expression of B7-DC on macrophages in the subepithelium. Interestingly, substantial expression of B7-H1 on keratinocytes (KCs) was found close to the numerous T cell infiltrates in the subepithelium. Unstimulated cultured KCs expressed both B7-H1 and B7-DC, and their expression was upregulated by proinflammatory cytokines, particularly IFN-gamma. The T-cell proliferative responses and IFN-gamma production that were induced by IFN-gamma-treated KCs were augmented preferentially by anti-B7-H1 mAb, but not by anti-B7-DC mAb. These results indicate the regulatory role of B7-H1 on KCs in the interactions with T cells. Our results suggest that the induction of B7-H1 on KCs may play an important role in tolerance induction in the inflamed oral mucosa and skin.     

Running-related injury prevention through barefoot adaptations

A number of reports indicate an extremely low running-related injury frequency in barefoot populations in contrast to reports about shod populations. It is hypothesized that the adaptations which produce shock absorption, an inherent consequence of barefoot activity and a mechanism responsible for the low injury frequency in unshod populations, are related to deflection of the medial longitudinal arch of the foot on loading. It is also hypothesized that the known inability of this arch of the shod foot to deflect without failure (foot rigidity) is responsible for the high injury frequency in shod populations. To evaluate these hypotheses, 17 recreational runners were analyzed to study the adaptive pattern of the medial longitudinal arch of the foot due to increased barefoot weight-bearing activity. Changes occurred in the medial longitudinal arch which allowed deflection of this arch on loading which substantiated the hypotheses. Other evidence suggests that sensory feedback largely from the glabrous epithelium of the foot is the element of barefoot activity which induced these adaptations. The sensory insulation inherent in the modern running shoe appears responsible for the high injury frequency associated with running. The injuries are considered "pseudo-neuropathic" in nature.