4-Aminopyridine affects synaptosomal protein phosphorylation in rat hippocampal slices

Rat brain hippocampal slices were incubated with or without the convulsant 4-aminopyridine (4-AP). From these slices a crude mitochondrial/synaptosomal membrane fraction was prepared and analyzed for endogenous protein phosphorylation. 4-AP (10(-5) M) stimulated the phosphorylation of a 50 kDa protein by 86%. The phosphorylation of this 50 kDa protein is Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent and we suggest that this protein is the lower molecular weight subunit of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMK II).     

Sex effects in defensive behavior: Baseline differences and drug interactions

Female rats consistently show a pattern of differences in defensive behaviors compared to males which parallel the effects of exposure to a nonpainful threat stimulus (cat or cat odor) in the same tests and measures. These indications of greater defensiveness for females are particularly common in situations involving potential, as opposed to actual and present, threat, a factor which probably also reflects ceiling or floor effects in situations involving very intense defensiveness. In addition, pharmacological studies indicate sex differences in the effects of selective serotonin (5-HT) receptor agonists and antagonists on defensive responding. These findings indicate that sex effects must be considered in studies of the pharmacological control of defensive behaviors, and suggest that responsivity to sex effects may be an additional criterion for the suitability of animal models of anxiety.     

Is interleukin 2 a neuromodulator in the brain?

A bidirectional flow of information exists between the CNS and the neuroendocrine and immune systems, representing an important homeostatic mechanism in the body. Lymphokines and other products of immunocompetent cells seem to play a crucial role in this communication and seem to exert powerful effects on neurones in the brain. In this article, Giuseppe Nisticò and Giovambattista De Sarro describe the central effects following interleukin 2 (IL-2) microinfusion into several areas of the rat brain. The locus coeruleus seems to be the main site in the brain through which IL-2 exerts soporific effects. In addition, the possible transducing mechanisms coupling IL-2 receptor stimulation and the electroencephalogram (EEG) spectrum power responses elicited from the locus coeruleus seem to involve stimulation of specific receptors coupled to adenylate cyclase through a Gi protein.     

Prognosis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a retrospective multicentric study from the GIMEMA group

Clinical and biological data were evaluated using Desu univariate analyses or Cox multivariate analyses in a series of 1,777 chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients from an Italian Cooperative Group. In univariate analyses, age and sex of patients, presence of bone marrow (BM; greater than or equal to 50%), and peripheral blood (PB; greater than or equal to 60,000/microL) lymphocytosis, anemia (hemoglobin [Hb] less than 11 g/dL), thrombocytopenia (less than 100,000/microL), direct Coombs' test positivity, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, and extent of lymph node involvement were shown to be of significant prognostic value. Multivariate analyses, through a stepwise procedure, showed that the most important prognostic variables are Hb, hepatomegaly, lymph node involvement, PB lymphocytosis, and age and sex of patients. Further covariates would produce an improvement having a nonsignificant P value. Based on the results of multivariate analyses, a four-step staging using the significant variables of the Cox model is proposed.     

Inhibin and renin in follicular fluids of patients with one or two ovaries stimulated with a GnRH agonist and gonadotrophins

Follicular fluids from eight patients with one ovary and from ten patients with two ovaries were investigated for bioactive inhibin, total renin, oestradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4) concentrations. Four follicular fluids were pooled per patient before assessment. All women had been stimulated similarly using a protocol including a GnRH agonist, HMG and HCG. Renin levels were significantly lower and P4 significantly higher in pools of follicular fluid from patients with one ovary, whereas inhibin and E2 concentrations were similar in both patient groups. A significant negative correlation was found in the pools of follicular fluid between inhibin and E2 in both groups. These results suggest a role for inhibin and renin in the paracrine and autocrine control of stimulated follicular development.