Pituitary pathology in erdheim-chester disease

Pituitary morphologic changes in patients with Erdheim-Chester disease have not been described in detail. We report here the histologic and immunohistochemical findings in the autopsy obtained pituitary of a 35-yr-old woman with extensively disseminated Erdheim-Chester disease. The posterior lobe was completely replaced by xanthogranulomatous infiltrates, providing an explanation for the patient’s diabetes insipidus. The anterior lobe was intact and immunohistochemistry demonstrated expression of GH, TSH, FSH, LH, and alpha subunit within the normal range. A clinically observed decrease of anterior pituitary function was interpreted as hypothalamic in origin due to massive destruction of the hypophysial stalk and compression of the hypothalamus. Prolactin immunoreactive cells were numerous, consistent with the view that prolactin cell hyperplasia resulted from the loss of hypothalamic dopaminergic inhibition. Massive Crooke’s hyalinization in the ACTH-producing cells was considered unrelated to Erdheim-Chester disease and was the consequence of treatment with pharmacologic doses of glucocorticoid hormones. It can be concluded that prolactin cell hyperplasia may be the only finding in the adenohypophysis of patients with disseminated Erdheim-Chester disease. It appears that in our patient the clinically apparent anterior hypopituitarism was not due to the lack of storage but rather to insufficient release of adenohypophysial hormones caused by the defect in hypothalamic regulation.     

Platelet morphologic changes and fibrinogen receptor localization. Initial responses in ADP-activated human platelets.

Platelet exposure to agonists results in rapid morphologic changes paralleled by fibrinogen binding and platelet aggregation. The current study used standardized stereology in conjunction with immunogold electron microscopy to correlate the initial morphologic changes with fibrinogen receptor localization on the surfaces of ADP-activated human platelets. A 45% increase in platelet circumference was observed after 3 seconds of activation (P = 0.001). Virtually all of this increase was due to a 13-fold increase in projection membrane, and the projections observed by stereo microscopy at this time were mostly blunt. Both blunt and long projections also accounted for the increase in platelet-platelet contacts at 10 seconds of activation. Immunogold electron microscopy using the monoclonal antibodies P2 and AP-2 against the fibrinogen receptor, glycoprotein IIb/IIIa (GP IIb/IIIa), showed relatively equivalent immunogold densities on projections compared with cell body during 30 seconds of activation. The activation-dependent anti-GP IIb/IIIa monoclonal antibody, 7E3, showed an immunogold density 37% greater on projections compared with cell body (P = 0.0001). Colocalization studies using 7E3 with a polyclonal antifibrinogen antibody showed bound fibrinogen in close proximity to the GP IIb/IIIa localized by 7E3 on projections. These studies support an important role for platelet projections during the earliest stages of fibrinogen binding and ADP-induced aggregation.     

Heterosynaptic postactivation potentiation in hippocampal CA 3 neurons: Long-term changes of the postsynaptic potentials

Summary CA 3 neurons were excited synaptically by stimulation in the dentate hilus and the stratum radiatum of CA 1 in guinea pig hippocampal slices. Following repetitive stimulation (10–20 c/s, 10 s) of either stimulation site, the amplitudes of orthodromic population spikes or the probability of unitary discharges increased. Changes of the intracellularly recorded potentials were either (a) increased EPSP amplitudes associated with decreased IPSP amplitudes, or (b) increased IPSP amplitudes. A cell showing enhanced IPSPs after repetitive activation could respond with increased EPSP amplitudes and decreased IPSP amplitudes upon further repetitive activation. The potentiation, which was always preceded by a 5–10 min depression, lasted up to 3 h. This potentiation was heterosynaptic, since the responses to the non-stimulated input also changed and since the inputs were found to excite the pyramidal cells through separate synapses in double shock experiments. The heterosynaptic mode of the potentiation as well as the changes of the IPSPs indicate that not only the excitatory pathway but also the inhibitory pathway must be considered in explaining postactivation potentiation in this hippocampal field.     

Vibration-induced changes in movement-related EMG activity in humans

The effect of muscle tendon vibration during voluntary arm movement was studied in normal humans. Subjects made alternating step flexion and extension movements about the elbow. A small vibrator was mounted over either the biceps or the triceps muscle and vibration was applied during flexion or extension movements. The vibrator was turned off between movements. After a period of practice, subjects learned the required movements and were able to make them with their eyes closed. Application of vibration to the muscle antagonist to the movement being performed produced an undershoot of the required end-movement position. The undershoot was 20-30% of the total movement amplitude. In contrast, vibration of the muscle agonist to the movement resulted in no change in movement end position. The vibration-induced undershoot was associated with an increase in the EMG activity of the vibrated (antagonist) muscle and a resultant increase in the ratio of the antagonist to agonist EMG activity. The increase in antagonist EMG produced by the vibration occurred with a latency of approximately 60 ms from vibration onset. The observed results are consistent with vibration-induced activation of muscle spindle receptors in the lengthening muscle during movement. It is suggested that, during movement, the sensitivity of the spindle receptors in the shortening muscle is decreased and the information concerning limb position during movement comes primarily from the lengthening muscle.     

Comparison of influenza and parainfluenza RNP properties

Summary Fowl plague virus and Sendai virus were disrupted by Tween 20 in an alcaline medium. Whereas in the case of fowl plague virus sedimentation of the ribonucleoprotein (BNP) in sucrose gradients revealed three components sedimenting at 64S, 58S, and 48S, the RNP of Sendai virus showed a sedimentation coefficient of 110S only. During buoyant density studies in CsCl the three components of fowl plague virus RNP banded at the uniform density of 1.35–1.36 g/cm³ and the RNP of Sendai virus was found at a medium density of 1.32 g/cm³.     

Effect of iron on the surface, degradation and ion release properties of phosphate-based glass fibres

Phosphate-based glass fibres (PGF) have the unique characteristic of being completely soluble in an aqueous environment, releasing bioactive and biocompatible ions. They have been proposed as tissue engineering scaffolds for craniofacial skeletal muscle regeneration, where myoblasts are seeded directly onto the fibres. Studies have shown that these cells have a preference in their initial attachment to fibres of certain composition and size, which in turn control the rate of degradation. This study investigated the relationship between the surface properties, degradation properties and ion release (cationic and anionic species) by altering the chemical composition of the PGF. Iron oxide (Fe2O3) was incorporated into glasses containing P2O5 (50 mol%), CaO (30 mol%) and Na2O (20 mol%). Six glass compositions with Fe2O3 ranging from 0 to 5 mol% by replacing the equivalent Na2O mol% were investigated. Contact angle measurements showed that polar interactions occurring on the glass surfaces diminished with increasing Fe2O3 content. This behaviour was reflected in the estimated surface energies of the glasses, where the overall surface energy decreased with increasing Fe2O3 content due to the decrease in polar or acid/base component. The incorporation of up to 5 mol% Fe2O3 into PGF resulted in a significant reduction in the degradation rate (by two orders of magnitude), which can be related to the formation of more hydration resistant P-O-Fe bonds. However, the degradation rate increased with decreasing fibre diameter (comparing average diameters of 31.6 +/- 6.5 microm versus 13.1 +/- 1.3 microm) for a given mass of fibre, and this is related to the surface area to volume ratio. Taken together the results suggest that fibres with the larger diameters and containing 3-5 mol% Fe2O3 could initially be a more durable scaffold than ones with 1 or 2 mol% Fe2O3 for initial cell attachment.