Flow cytometric evaluation of platelet–leukocyte conjugate stability over time: methodological implications of sample handling and processing

Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis - Platelet activation and subsequent aggregation is a vital component of atherothrombosis resulting in acute myocardial infarction. Therefore, quantifying...     

Ethanol induces hyperprolactinemia by increasing prolactin release and lactotrope growth in female rats

BACKGROUND: Alcohol drinking is known to cause hyperprolactinemia in both humans and laboratory animals. The mechanism by which alcoholism causes hyperprolactinemia is not known. This study investigated whether increased pituitary production of prolactin, which leads to alcohol-induced hyperprolactinemia, results from an increase in cell number and/or cell production of prolactin in the pituitary. METHODS: The effects of ethanol on lactotropes were determined in vivo using female rats as an animal model and in vitro using primary cultures of mixed rat anterior pituitary cells and enriched lactotropes. In vivo experiments involved administration of ethanol for 2 and 4 weeks using a liquid diet containing 8.7% ethanol (v/v), which provides 37% of the calories in cyclic, ovariectomized, and estradiol-17beta-treated ovariectomized Fischer-344 rats. The control group was pair-fed an isocaloric diet minus the ethanol or fed a normal diet ad libitum. These animals were used to determine ethanol's effects on plasma prolactin levels, pituitary wet weights, pituitary total protein levels, and the number of mitotic lactotropes. In vitro studies determined ethanol's effects in the presence and absence of estradiol on prolactin release and lactotropic cell proliferation. Prolactin levels in plasma and media samples were measured using radioimmunoassay. Mitotic lactotropes were determined using bromodeoxyuridine incorporation assay. RESULTS: Ethanol treatment increased in a time-dependent manner the plasma levels of prolactin in cyclic, ovariectomized, and estradiol-treated ovariectomized rats. Ethanol treatment also increased pituitary wet weight and/or pituitary total protein levels and DNA synthesis in lactotropes. Determination of ethanol's action on lactotropic cell proliferation and hormone secretion in vitro using primary cultures of mixed pituitary cells revealed that ethanol stimulated both basal and estradiol-induced prolactin secretion and lactotropic cell proliferation. When ethanol's actions were studied in isolated lactotropes, ethanol alone or in combination with estradiol stimulated prolactin secretion but failed to increase lactotropic cell proliferation. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that ethanol causes hyperprolactinemia by elevating prolactin release from lactotropes and by increasing the number of lactotropes in the anterior pituitary gland. The mitotic action of ethanol requires cell-cell communication between lactotropes and other pituitary cells. Furthermore, ethanol's mode of action on prolactin release and lactotrope growth is similar to that observed for estradiol.     

Syncope in a middle aged male due to acute rheumatic fever

Rheumatic fever is a multi system disease which occurs following infection with group A beta hemolytic streptococcus. It is commonest in the age group of 5-15 years but can occur in adults also. First degree atrioventricular block is a common manifestation of acute rheumatic fever and is included in the Jones criteria but Wenckebacks phenomena and complete heart block are relatively rare manifestations of rheumatic fever. Syncope occurring in acute rheumatic fever is also infrequently reported. We report the case of a 38-year-old male with rheumatic carditis who had advanced atrioventricular block which resulted in syncope and required a temporary pacemaker insertion.     

BCG turns 100: its nontraditional uses against viruses,cancer, and immunologic diseases

First administered to a human subject as a tuberculosis (TB) vaccine on July 18, 1921, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) has a long history of use for the prevention of TB and later the immunotherapy of bladder cancer. For TB prevention, BCG is given to infants born globally across over 180 countries and has been in use since the late 1920s. With about 352 million BCG doses procured annually and tens of billions of doses having been administered over the past century, it is estimated to be the most widely used vaccine in human history. While its roles for TB prevention and bladder cancer immunotherapy are widely appreciated, over the past century, BCG has been also studied for nontraditional purposes, which include (a) prevention of viral infections and nontuberculous mycobacterial infections, (b) cancer immunotherapy aside from bladder cancer, and (c) immunologic diseases, including multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and atopic diseases. The basis for these heterologous effects lies in the ability of BCG to alter immunologic set points via heterologous T cell immunity, as well as epigenetic and metabolomic changes in innate immune cells, a process called “trained immunity.” In this Review, we provide an overview of what is known regarding the trained immunity mechanism of heterologous protection, and we describe the current knowledge base for these nontraditional uses of BCG.     

A molecular insight of CTLA-4 in food allergy

Food allergy is an immune provocation induced by certain food in susceptible individuals. Most of the food allergic manifestations are evident in the individual having impaired oral tolerance. In spite of worldwide prevalence, there is no permanent cure of food allergy. Food allergic reactions are complex immunological events that comprises of several immune molecules like IgE, IL-4, IL-13 and T-cells, therefore, researchers are trying to pick the correct molecule to find out pivotal therapeutic solutions. Being a key regulatory molecule in suppressing T-cells functional activities, cytotoxic T-cell lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) or cluster of differentiation-152 (CD-152) has contributed a novel and revolutionary dimension toward therapeutic research of several diseases. This review focuses on different immunological and mechanistic perspectives of CTLA-4 in correlation with food allergy.     

Effect of Immunosenescence on the Induction of Cardiovascular Disease Pathogenesis: Role of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells

It is well established that the immune potential declines with age. However, there is a great paucity of information regarding role of monocytes in elderly suffering from cerebrovascular accident. This present study was undertaken to investigate if the functions of peripheral blood mononuclear cells have any correlation to the manifestation of an age-associated cerebrovascular disorders: myocardial infraction, cerebrovascular (infract & hemorrhage). An age-associated inhibition in the production of interleukin-1 (IL-1) by monocytes was observed while the production of nitric oxide (NO) remained unaltered in the response of monocytes, obtained from normal elderly donors, to Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment in vitro. Cerebrovascular pathologies were found to be associated with an augmentation of IL-1 production by monocyte, while NO production was augmented in case of CVA (hemorrhage) and MI. Trace element copper was found to be lower in the serum of patients suffering from CVA, while concentration of zinc was found to be elevated in serum compared to these trace elements in normal adults. Thus these factors are likely to play a role in the pathogenesis of age-related cerebrovascular disorders.     

Revisiting rhino-orbito-cerebral acute invasive fungal sinusitis in the era of COVID-19: pictorial review

Emergency Radiology - COVID-19 patients have been found to have an increased incidence of superadded fungal infections because of multiple factors such as impaired cell-mediated immunity,...