Isolation of the right subclavian artery with subclavian steal in a child with Klippel-Feil anomaly: an example of the subclavian artery supply disruption sequence

We studied a patient with Klippel-Feil anomaly and subclavian steal due to isolation of the right subclavian artery. Other anomalies included hypoplasia of the right clavicle and right vertebral artery, low bifurcation of the left common carotid artery and left choanal atresia. The patient was mentally retarded with corticospinal, cerebellar, and brain stem signs. The entire brain and cervical spinal cord were small; there was no central nervous system malformation, hydrocephalus, or bony impingement on neural structures. Embryologic vascular disorders have been found to be responsible for various congenital systemic and neurologic anomalies such as intestinal atresia and hydranencephaly. Subclavian artery supply disruption sequence has been hypothesized to result in Klippel-Feil, Poland, and M?bius anomalies. In this case the vertebral and facial abnormalities may well be related to anomalous subclavian and carotid supply. An embryonic vascular "steal" has been thought to cause the sirenomelia anomaly. We postulate that the subclavian steal, during the embryonic period, may have been responsible for the small size of this patient's cerebral hemispheres, brain stem, cerebellum, and cervical spinal cord.     

X-ray determination of crystalline hydroxyapatite to amorphous calcium-phosphate ratio in plasma sprayed coatings

A method to measure the amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) content of plasma sprayed hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings is presented. The areas of the crystalline peaks and the broad amorphous "hump" in an X-ray diffraction scan of a mixture of crystalline and amorphous HA can be fitted using conventional nonlinear least-squares methods. The weight fraction of the amorphous component in a mixture of unknown proportions is obtained from the measured hump fraction using a linear expression requiring a single calibration constant. This calibration constant may be determined by applying the same sample preparation, X-ray measurement, and least-squares fitting methods to a single standard of known (weighed) proportions as used to measure the unknown(s). Application of this method to a set of 12 samples yields an "index of crystallinity" for plasma sprayed HA coatings with an estimated standard deviation of 1 wt % ACP across the entire compositional range.     

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Strain-specific development of the mossy fiber system in organotypic cultures of the mouse hippocampus

The postnatal development of the hippocampus of the inbred mice strains BALB/c, C57BL/6, and DBA/2 was studied in organotypic explant cultures using the roller-tube technique. In vivo, mice exhibit strain-specific mossy fiber distribution patterns. As a main result we found, that after cultivation of 3-4 weeks, similar strain-specific patterns became apparent in vitro, as visualized by a modified Timm staining. From this experiment we can conclude that a postnatal extrinsic influence cannot be the cause of the strain-specific hippocampal features.     

Nicotinamide reduces high secretion of IFN-gamma in high-risk relatives even though it does not prevent type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease suggested to be of a T helper (Th)1-like origin. This study aimed to investigate the Th1-like and Th2-like profile in high-risk individuals during the prediabetic phase and the immunologic effect of treatment with nicotinamide. High-risk first-degree relatives of T1D patients participating in the European Nicotinamide Diabetes Intervention Trial (ENDIT) were treated with either nicotinamide or placebo. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were obtained during the prediabetic phase and close to the onset of manifest T1D and from nondiabetic high-risk individuals. Using the sensitive enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) technique to distinguish Th1-like from Th2-like lymphocytes, secretion of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) was analyzed from PBMCs spontaneously and after in vitro stimulation with the diabetes-associated autoantigens, glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65, protein and peptide, aa 247-279), recombinant tyrosine phosphatase (IA-2), and heat shock protein (HSP, aa 437-460). High-risk individuals showed high spontaneous as well as autoantigen-induced IFN-gamma secretion. Secretion of IFN-gamma and the IFN-gamma/IL-4 ratio, induced by autoantigens, decreased in individuals developing T1D (p < 0.05), whereas nondiabetic individuals showed an increased IL-4 response (p < 0.05). Thus, a Th1-dominated cytokine profile observed in high-risk individuals inclined toward a diagnosis of diabetes. Nicotinamide caused decreased spontaneous (p = 0.05) and in vitro autoantigen-induced IFN-gamma secretion (p < 0.05) and may play a role in immune regulation, even though it has not been shown to prevent T1D.     

The cauliflower mosaic virus translational transactivator interacts with the 60S ribosomal subunit protein L18 of Arabidopsis thaliana

The cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) open reading frame VI product (P6) is involved in several aspects of the infectious cycle. P6 specifically controls the synthesis of other CaMV proteins by transactivating their expression from the polycistronic 35S RNA. By far-Western assays, we have demonstrated that P6 interacts with proteins from both healthy and CaMV-infected leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana. These proteins are found in ribosome-enriched extracts, suggesting that they participate in the translation process. One of these proteins, identified by microsequencing, corresponds to the 60S ribosomal subunit protein L18 (RPL18). Its cDNA was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, and the resulting RPL18 protein was shown to interact with the minimal region required for translational transactivation, designated the miniTAV domain of P6.     

Glucose Ingestion Attenuates Interleukin-6 Release from Contracting Skeletal Muscle in Humans

To examine whether glucose ingestion during exercise affects the release of interleukin-6 (IL-6) from the contracting limb, seven men performed 120 min of semi-recumbent cycling on two occasions while ingesting either 250 ml of a 6.4 % carbohydrate (GLU trial) or sweet placebo (CON trial) beverage at the onset of, and at 15 min intervals throughout, exercise. Muscle biopsies obtained before and immediately after exercise were analysed for glycogen and IL-6 mRNA expression. Blood samples were simultaneously obtained from a brachial artery and a femoral vein prior to and during exercise and leg blood flow was measured by thermodilution in the femoral vein. Net leg IL-6 release, and net leg glucose and free fatty acid (FFA) uptake, were calculated from these measurements. The arterial IL-6 concentration was lower (   P < 0.05  ) after 120 min of exercise in GLU, but neither intramuscular glycogen nor IL-6 mRNA were different when comparing GLU with CON. However, net leg IL-6 release was attenuated (   P < 0.05  ) in GLU compared with CON. This corresponded with an enhanced (   P < 0.05  ) glucose uptake and a reduced (   P < 0.05  ) FFA uptake in GLU. These results demonstrate that glucose ingestion during exercise attenuates leg IL-6 release but does not decrease intramuscular expression of IL-6 mRNA.     

Relationship of human adenoviruses 12, 18, and 31 as determined by hemagglutination inhibition.

Adenoviruses 12 and 31, but not Ad18, agglutinate rat blood cells at high titer, providing suitable blood cells be available and a prolonged contact period of virus with the erythrocytes is allowed. Purified virus particles show direct, and virus-free supernatants show direct and indirect, hemagglutination, ie, enhancement of HA by heterologous antiserum. Hemagglutination inhibition with rabbit antisera shows cross-reactions between Ad12 and Ad31 with titers 4--32 times lower than with homologous antigens; Ad18 antisera react with antigens from both of the other serotypes. No cross-reactions were seen with antisera from other adenoviruses. This suggests an antigenic relationship of the three viruses of subgroup IV in their fiber antigen gamma, in addition to the known relation in the hexon (epsilon), which is apparent in cross-neutralization.     

Quantitative bone remodelling resulting from the use of porous dental implants

Histomorphometric analyses were used to quantitatively determine the patterns of bony ingrowth which resulted from the placement of porous-surfaced dental implants into the mandibles of Rhesus monkeys for up to 74 months utilizing a two-stage approach. Quantitative histopathologic evaluations were made using ground section microscopy. Implant stability resulting from bone remodelling and ingrowth occurred to varying degrees with all implants. Bone ingrowth occurred from medullary trabeculae and contact with the adjacent cortical plates. Quantitative histomorphometric analyses revealed that in only one case was the bone ingrowth into the available internal pores less than 45%. Minimal fibrous connective tissue ingrowth was observed in the implant crypts and was not thought to be due to micro-motion. The observed bone remodelling indicated a favorable prognosis for long-term implant performance.     

Aortic endothelial cell proteoheparan sulfate. II. Modulation by extracellular matrix.

The effects of extracellular matrix components on proteoheparan sulfate biosynthesis was studied for bovine aortic endothelial cells in tissue culture. When the cells were maintained on a variety of different purified components of the extracellular matrix, the cells expressed the same three species of proteoheparan sulfates as the cells cultured on tissue culture plastic (HS I, HS II, and HS III). However, the amounts of the three species recovered from the tissue culture medium were found to be dependent on the substrate on which the cells are grown as well as on other factors. In comparison with plastic, much less HS I was found in the medium of cells maintained on substrates containing diverse matrix molecules, whereas the amounts of HS II and HS III essentially remained the same. In contrast, when bovine aortic organ cultures were analyzed under pulsatile flow, marked differences in the profile of proteoheparan sulfate biosynthesis were observed: HS I was found exclusively associated with the plasma membrane of the endothelial cells; HS II was localized only to the subendothelial matrix; and HS III represented the only proteoheparan sulfate species in the medium. This distribution is consistent with polarized secretion and deposition into the subcellular matrix of HS III and retention of HS I in the plasma membrane in the organ culture situation, a biosynthetic phenotype which can only be approximated at best by maintaining the endothelial cells on a substrate other than plastic. When aortic media (devoid of endothelial cells) was placed in organ culture, no HS III could be detected, which suggested that the vascular endothelial cell is the major cell type responsible for its synthesis in organ culture. Thus, the extracellular matrix, depending upon its composition and organization, may play an important role in stabilizing cell polarity and thereby contribute to maintenance of the differentiated phenotype appropriate for the endothelial cell.