Spectrophotometric investigation of complex formation of an oxime PAM-4Cl with palladium(II) and its analytical application

The colour reaction of 4-hydroxyiminomethyl-1-methylpyridinium chloride (PAM-4Cl) and palladium(II) chloride has been investigated. The optimum reaction conditions, spectral characteristics, conditional stability constant and composition of the yellow water-soluble complex have been established. A new spectrophotometric method is proposed for the microdetermination of PAM-4Cl.     

脾虚和肾虚雌性大鼠生育能力的实验观察

为系统观察脾虚和肾虚雌性ＳＤ大鼠的生育能力，将大鼠随机分为：脾虚组、脾虚复健组、肾虚组、肾虚复健组、正常组。脾虚组和肾虚组分别按常规方法用利血平和羟基脲制成脾虚模型和肾虚模型。虚证动物模型出现与人类相似的症状：动情周期紊乱，甚至消失；生殖器官萎缩；血清卵泡刺激素（ＦＳＨ）、雌二醇（Ｅ２）水平下降；子宫腺体数目减少，卵巢次级和成熟卵泡数减少，生育能力下降。而肾虚大鼠上述变化更显著。用四群子喂饲脾虚模     

Correlation between the intensity of cytomegalovirus infection and the amount of perivasculitis in aortic allografts

Abstract  We previously demonstrated that cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection enhanced perivascular inflammation in rat aortic allografts. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the CMV infection load and the magnitude of perivasculitis (chronic rejection) in aortic transplants. Rats received or-thotopic abdominal aortic grafts, different degrees of total body irradiation (TBI) for immunosuppres-sion and CMV inoculation. The spleens of the rats receiving 5 Gy of TBI contained more infectious virus and viral antigens than those of rats receiving 3 Gy of TBI or no TBI. Although the number of inflammatory cells infiltrating the perivascular area was decreased after TBI, CMV infection resulted in increased perivasculitis in rats that received 5 Gy of TBI as compared to non-infected animals. This virus-induced effect was characterized predominantly by an increased T-cell infiltration, including CD4 and CD8 T-cells. It is concluded that an enhanced systemic CMV infection during severe immunosuppressive therapy can accelerate the development of chronic rejection, which seems to be mediated mainly by T-cells.     

Ontogenetic Development of 5-HT1D Receptors in Human Brain: An Autoradiographic Study

The pattern of pre- and postnatal appearance of 5-HT_1D receptors throughout the different areas of the human brain was studied by quantitative in vitro autoradiography, using [¹²⁵I]GTI (serotonin O -carboxymethyl-glycyl-[¹²⁵I]tyrosinamide) as a ligand. The anatomical distribution of 5-HT_1D receptors in neonatal, infant and children's brain was in good agreement with that observed in the adult, the basal ganglia and substantia nigra being the most intensely labelled areas. The development of these receptors throughout the human brain was mainly postnatal: low densities of [¹²⁵I]GTI binding sites were observed at the fetal/neonatal stage in most regions analyzed, in contrast with the high levels of labelling found in infant and children's brains. Indeed, in a number of regions, including the globus pallidus, substantia nigra and visual cortex, a peak of overexpression of 5-HT_1D receptors was observed in the first decade of life. Such overexpression could support a regulatory role for 5-HT_1D receptors in advanced periods of the CNS developmental process. Our results also indicate that the administration of drugs acting on 5-HT_1D receptors during the early postnatal period of life could result in modifications of their properties, as these receptors are already functional in this period.     

Photodynamic therapy of tumours: value of quantum chemical procedures for characterization of new drugs. Prediction of the electronic structure of zinc(II) phthalocyanine with special emphasis on triplet state excitation energies

Zinc(II) phthalocyanine is the active component of the liposomal formulation CGP 55847 which showed a high activity in photodynamic therapy in a variety of animal tumours. The photophysical properties of zinc(II) phthalocyanine have been studied in detail and compared to those of Photofrin, the only sensitizing agent approved so far for phase III/IV clinical trials. Since the efficacy of photodynamic therapy intrinsically depends on the spectroscopic features of the sensitizer, quantum chemical methods have proven to be an efficient means for optimizing chemical structures. As will be shown, a simple modification of the time-honoured INDO model of Pople allows a prediction of the singlet and triplet state properties of molecules of the size of zinc(II) phthalocyanine with an rms error of ≤ 1000 cm⁻¹.     

Quantitative evidence of peripheral conversion of angiotensin within the human leg: effects of local angiotensin-I administration and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition on regional blood flow and angiotensin-II balance across the leg

Summary The renin-angiotensin system relevantly contributes to the maintenance of systemic vascular tone and there is experimental evidence that large amounts of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) are present in peripheral vascular tissues, including resistance vessels. To determine and quantify peripheral vascular conversion of angiotensin-I (ANG-I) to angiotensin-II (ANG-II) across the human leg, the response of regional blood flow to local regional intra-arterial infusion of ANG-I and changes in associated ANG-I1 balance were evaluated during ANG-I infusion and following additional ACE inhibition. Ten sodium-loaded healthy men were enrolled in the study. Following cannulation of both femoral arteries and the right femoral vein, leg blood flow was determined (indocyanine-green dye-dilution method) at baseline conditions and during constant intra-arterial infusion of haemodynamically ineffective doses of ANG-I as well as following concomitant intra-arterial administration of low doses of the non-sulfhydril ACE inhibitor cilazapril. From the transfemoral arterio-venous differences in ANG-II plasma concentrations and the corresponding regional blood (plasma) flow, the ANG-II balance across the leg was calculated. Systemic blood pressure did not change throughout the trial, indicating that no major systemic effects were present during ANG-I infusion or concomitant ACE inhibition. Moreover, arterial ANG-II plasma concentrations were not significantly changed by ANG-I infusion. Leg blood flow decreased to below baseline values following ANG-I infusion, increasing again then in a dose-dependent manner during concomitant cilazapril administration. The calculated baseline ANG-II balance across the leg revealed a net extraction in 6 out of 10 subjects and a net ANG-II formation in 4. Following ANG-I, a shift towards net ANG-II formation or decrease in extraction was seen in 8 subjects, while 2 had no change in ANG-II balance.During concomitant ACE inhibition, ANG-II balance was again shifted towards net extraction or reduced formation. Our results confirm that, in man, considerable regional arterio-venous differences in ANG-II plasma concentrations are present, resulting in either net transfemoral extraction or net formation of the peptide. It is suggested that systemic vascular conversion of circulating ANG-I might contribute to the maintenance of peripheral vasuclar tone in man. Send offprint requests to S. Gasic at the above address     

Expression and activation of 15-lipoxygenase pathway in severe asthma: relationship to eosinophilic phenotype and collagen deposition

BACKGROUND: Although 15(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15(S)-HETE), a product of 15-lipoxygenase (15-LO), may be involved in mild to moderate asthma, little is known about its potential roles in severe asthma. OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to evaluate 15(S)-HETE levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from severe asthmatics with and without airway eosinophils and from the control groups. In addition, 15-LO protein expression was examined in endobronchial biopsy, while its expression and activation were evaluated in BAL cells. RESULTS: While 15(S)-HETE levels in BALF were significantly higher in all severe asthmatics than normal subjects, severe asthmatics with airway eosinophils had the highest levels compared with mild, moderate asthmatics and normal subjects. 15(S)-HETE levels were associated with tissue eosinophil numbers, sub-basement membrane thickness and BALF tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 levels, and were accompanied by increased 15-LO expression in bronchial epithelium. In addition, activation of 15-LO was suggested by the increased proportion of 15-LO in the cytoplasmic membrane of alveolar macrophages from severe asthmatics. CONCLUSION: The data suggest that severe asthmatics with persistent airway eosinophils manifest high levels of 15(S)-HETE in BALF, which may be associated with airway fibrosis. It is likely that 15-LO expression and activation by airway cells explain the increased 15(S)-HETE levels.     

2,6—二叔丁基对甲酚对大鼠尿生化指标的影响

以２０，６０和１８０ｍｇ／ｋｇ体重剂量给大鼠喂食２，６－二叔丁基对甲酚（ＢＨＴ），检测尿中ＡＳＴ、ＡＬＰ、ＬＤＨ和ＧＧＴ等指标变化。结果表明：随染毒时间延长，各尿酶含量逐渐出现显著性增高，病理学检查发现高剂量组有１例间质性肾炎，提示ＢＨＴ对肾功能可能产生有害作用。     

男性不育症患者中YRRM2基因缺陷的研究

YRRM基因是控制精子生成与成熟的一个重要因素，一旦该基因缺陷，将会造成无精或少精。本研究对340例无精与少精患者的外周血标本进行了PCR基因扩增筛查，结果发现7例为该基因缺陷，占2％。证明YRRM2的缺陷也是造成中国人群男性不育的一个原因，从而可作为指导医生采用适当治疗方法的一个可靠指标。在实验过程中，采用直接加热白细胞提取基因组DNA，并以此作为模板对YRRM2基因进行扩增，既节省时间和经费，又保持良好的扩增效果，使之可用于临床医院作为常规检查。     

中国蒙,汉族酒依赖与醇脱氢酶和醛脱氢酶基因多态性的相关研究

为探讨醇脱氢酶（ＡＤＨ）基因和醛脱氢酶（ＡＬＤＨ）基因多态性与酒依赖患病的相互关系，用耳血干血痕聚合酶链反应、等位基因特异性寡核苷酸探针方法，检测乙醇代谢酶ＡＤＨ和ＡＬＤＨ基因型在我国蒙、汉民族酒依赖与非酒依赖者中分布频率。结果显示在酒依赖组（汉族５２例，蒙族３１例）与正常对照组（汉族４８例，蒙族３５例）之间：汉族的ＡＬＤＨ２基因型频率与等位基因频率的分布差异有非常显著性（Ｐ＜０．０１），而蒙族则表示为ＡＤＨ２基因型频率与等位基因频率的分布差异有非常显著性（Ｐ＜０．０１）。这提示汉族酒依赖的发病与ＡＬＤＨ２基因有关，蒙族则与ＡＤＨ２基因有关。