Central metabotropic glutamate receptors differentially participate in interleukin-1beta-induced mechanical allodynia in the orofacial area of conscious rats.

The present study investigated the role of central metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) in interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta)-induced mechanical allodynia and mirror-image mechanical allodynia in the orofacial area. Experiments were carried out on male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 230 to 280 g. After administration of 0.01, 0.1, 1, or 10 pg of IL-1beta into a subcutaneous area of the vibrissa pad, we examined the withdrawal behavioral responses produced by 10 successive trials of an air-puff ramp pressure applied ipsilaterally or contralaterally to the IL-1beta injection site. Subcutaneous injection of IL-1beta produced mechanical allodynia and mirror-image mechanical allodynia in the orofacial area. Intracisternal administration of CPCCOEt, a mGluR1 antagonist, or MPEP, a mGluR5 antagonist, reduced IL-1beta-induced mechanical allodynia and mirror-image mechanical allodynia. Intracisternal administration of APDC, a group II mGluR agonist, or L-AP4, a group III mGluR agonist, reduced both IL-1beta-induced mechanical allodynia and mirror-image mechanical allodynia. The antiallodynic effect, induced by APDC or L-AP4, was blocked by intracisternal pretreatment with LY341495, a group II mGluR antagonist, or CPPG, a group III mGluR antagonist. These results suggest that groups I, II, and III mGluRs differentially modulated IL-1beta-induced mechanical allodynia, as well as mirror-image mechanical allodynia, in the orofacial area. PERSPECTIVE: Central group I mGluR antagonists and groups II and III mGluR agonists modulate IL-1beta-induced mechanical allodynia and mirror-image mechanical allodynia in the orofacial area. Therefore, the central application of group I mGluR antagonists or groups II and III mGluR agonists might be of therapeutic value in treating pain disorder.     

Enhancement of hepatic hemangiomas with levovist on coded harmonic angiographic ultrasonography.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the pattern of contrast enhancement with Levovist on coded harmonic angiographic ultrasonography of hepatic hemangiomas. METHODS: Twenty hemangiomas were evaluated with coded harmonic angiographic ultrasonography and a microbubble contrast agent. Verification of the diagnosis of a hemangioma was made by means of dynamic computed tomography (n = 8), dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (n = 1), radionuclide scanning (n = 6), or follow-up ultrasonography (n = 5). Ultrasonographic images were obtained before contrast agent administration and with a bolus injection of 2.5 g of a microbubble contrast agent (300 mg/mL Levovist; Schering AG, Berlin, Germany) every 10 to 15 seconds for 5 minutes. The contrast enhancement patterns of the 20 hemangiomas were assessed. RESULTS: The tumor diameters as measured on ultrasonography were 7 to 97 mm (mean, 26.7 mm). Of the 20 hemangiomas, peripheral globular enhancement with progressive centripetal fill-in was shown in 15 (75%), rimlike enhancement with progressive centripetal fill-in was shown in 2 (10%), and homogeneous enhancement was shown in 1 (5%). In the remaining 2 lesions (10%), the enhancement patterns could not be seen, because they were not found on coded harmonic angiographic ultrasonography. CONCLUSIONS: Coded harmonic angiographic ultrasonography with a microbubble contrast agent can depict the typical enhancement pattern in most hepatic hemangiomas.     

Can a leukocyte depletion filter (LDF) reduce the risk of reintroduction of hepatocellular carcinoma cells?

During liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, HCC could theoretically be introduced into the systemic circulation when salvaged blood is used with an autotransfusion device. Several reports have shown that some types of leukocyte depletion filters (LDFs) could completely reduce the risk for reintroducing some types of tumor cells. In this study, we tested the ability of the LDF (RCEZ1T, Pall Biomedical Co, NY, USA) to reduce the risk for reintroducing HCC cells in vitro by using a very sensitive detection method. We divided the test group into 6 groups: group I was 10 cells, group II was 20 cells, group III was 2 x 10(3) cells, group IV was 2 x 10(5) cells, group V was 2 x 10(6) cells, and group VI was 2 x 10(7) cells. The counted cells in 200 mL saline were passed through the RCEZ1T using the force of gravity. To identify the presence of cells, the pellet was resuspended, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed. Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), a housekeeping gene, was used as a primer. In groups I and II, the HCC cells were completely filtered in all experiments. However, in groups III, IV, and V, the HCC cells were not completely filtered in a few of the repeated experiments, with the unfiltered rate of tumor cells being between 8% and 20%. In group VI, the HCC cells were not completely filtered in all the repeated experiments. In conclusion, the RCEZ1T filter markedly reduced the risk for reintroduction of HCC cells. However, at high HCC cell load the filter cannot completely remove all the tumor cells. Further studies are required to assess the impact in clinical settings.     

Simple measurement of spinal cord evoked potential: a valuable data source in the rat spinal cord injury model.

Measurement of spinal cord evoked potentials (SCEPs) is proposed as a means of predicting locomotion outcome in the rat spinal cord injury (SCI) model. Using 55 rats, three reproducible peak waves (waves I, II and III) were observed during stimulation at the C7 level with recording at the L1 epidural space. Hemisection at the T13 level showed three wave loss patterns: wave III loss only, loss of both wave II and III, and loss of all three waves. Defining an ideal SCI model as establishment of stable monoparesis or paraparesis, all animals in the wave II-III loss group showed favorable results. Histological data and electrophysiological properties allowed reasonable assumptions of wave origin: wave I from extrapyramidal tracts, wave II from the ventral corticospinal tract, and wave III from the dorsal corticospinal tract. Complete destruction of pyramidal tracts in both dorsal and ventral fibers was essential for long-term impairment of locomotion.     

Fibroblast growth factor 2 induces differentiation and apoptosis of Askin tumour cells

Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET)/Ewing's sarcoma (ES) and neuroblastoma (NB) are related tumours of neural crest origin with primitive neural characteristics. Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) is a critical signalling molecule for primitive neural crest cells. The treatment of NB cells with FGF2 variably affects biological characteristics such as growth and differentiation, while in PNET/ES, FGF2 predominantly induces apoptosis. The JK-GMS Askin tumour cell line can be induced to differentiate upon treatment with nerve growth factor (NGF), indicating the integrity of the cellular machinery necessary for differentiation. The present study assesses whether FGF2 can induce differentiation in JK-GMS cells. JK-GMS cells expressed high-affinity FGF receptors (FGFRs), and treatment with FGF2 induced phosphorylation of FGFR1 together with activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1/ERK2) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Subsequent biological effects were growth inhibition, neuronal differentiation, and apoptosis, and these changes were associated with increased expression of neurofilaments, reduction of c-myc and bcl-2 expression, and activation of caspase 3. Treatment of the cells with a specific inhibitor of the MAPK/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MEK)-1, PD98059, predominantly inhibited the effects of FGF2 on growth, differentiation, and apoptosis, while an inhibitor of JNK reduced apoptosis, indicating that the ERK1/2 and JNK pathways are critical components of FGF2-mediated effects in JK-GMS cells. Additional comparative analyses of FGF2-mediated effects in two ES cell lines (CADO-ES, RD-ES) and a PNET cell line (SK-N-MC) showed pronounced differentiation in SK-N-MC, but not in CADO-ES or RD-ES cells. This study demonstrates that FGF2 can induce neuronal differentiation of PNET including Askin tumour. These findings clearly indicate that the FGF2-mediated signalling pathway plays a critical role in controlling the major properties of PNET cells and may provide a potential therapeutic target for PNET.     

Effects of behavior modification on body image, depression and body fat in obese Korean elementary school children

This study was performed to investigate the effects of behavior modification on body image, depression and body fat in obese elementary school children. Sixty-two elementary students of the 4th to 6th grade were selected from two different Seoul schools. Thirty-four children in one school were designated as the experimental group, and 28 children from the other school as the control group. The experimental group received 60 - 70 minutes of behavior modification, once a week, for 8 weeks. The control group received neither management nor treatment. The results indicated a significant improvement of body image and a reduction in the increase rate of body fat for the experimental group. This finding strongly supports the theory that behavior modification can be used as an effective strategy in the treatment of obese children.     

Cloning, expression and characterization of a murine-human chimeric antibody with specificity for pre-S2 surface antigen of hepatitis B virus

The cloning, expression and characterization of a murine-human chimeric antibody with specificity for the pre-S2 surface antigen (Ag) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is described. The heavy and light chain variable region (VH and VL) genes encoding the murine monoclonal antibody (mAb) were isolated and combined with human γ 1 and κ constant region genes, respectively. The expression vectors containing the chimeric heavy and light chain genes were sequentially electroporated into murine Sp2/0 hybridoma cells and transfectomas secreting chimeric antibody were isolated. The chimeric antibody was purified and characterized by ELISA, Western analysis and competition immunoassay, demonstrating that the transfectoma functionally express and secrete murine-human chimeric antibody which retained the specificity and affinity of the parental murine mAb.     

Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy with infundibular stenosis treated by alcohol ablation therapy

This report describes an uncommon case of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) accompanying infundibular stenosis of the right ventricle treated by alcohol ablation therapy, in a 28-yr-old male patient presenting with dyspnea on exertion. HOCM with infundibular stenosis was detected by echocardiogram and cardiac catheterization and patient has dynamic obstructions of both ventricular outflow tracts. We performed alcohol ablation therapy to improve clinical symptoms and to relieve dynamic obstructions of both ventricular outflow tracts. This is the first case in which HOCM with infundibular stenosis of the right ventricle was treated by alcohol ablation therapy.