Learning to Observe Relationships and Coping

Milieu relationships provide the critical background presence to staff's attempts to motivate, regulate, and teach patients how to cope with stress. Forging a connection with hospitalized children and adolescents demands attention to how they respond to adults and engage with staff around milieu expectations. Assessment guides that deal with these issues are presented. Important aspects of children's relatedness are presented in the context of their working models of adults and the influence of these representations on their response to staff. Coping skills are explained with particular emphasis on behavioral coping strategies. Tied to the assessment process are interventions that emphasize staff's role in helping patients manage strong affects and avoid the use of nonproductive behavior regulation strategies.     

Structural and enzymatic parameters that determine alkyl dehydrogenation/hydroxylation of capsaicinoids by cytochrome p450 enzymes.

Previous studies on the metabolism of capsaicinoids, natural products isolated from chili peppers, demonstrated the production of unique macrocyclic, alkyl dehydrogenated, omega-, and omega-1-hydroxylated products. This study investigated the structural and enzymatic parameters that direct selective alkyl dehydrogenation and hydroxylation of capsaicinoids, using a variety of structurally related capsaicinoid analogs and cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes. CYP2C9 preferentially catalyzed alkyl dehydrogenation, whereas CYP2E1 and 3A4 catalyzed omega- and omega-1-hydroxylation, respectively. Analysis of incubations containing various P450s and structural variants of capsaicin by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry demonstrated similarities in the rate of capsaicinoid metabolism, but marked differences in the metabolite profiles. Production of macrocyclic and omega-1-hydroxylated metabolites from the various capsaicinoids was dependent on the structure of the alkyl terminus and P450 enzyme. A tertiary carbon at the omega-1 position, coupled to an adjacent unsaturated bond at the omega-2,3 position, enhanced the formation of the macrocyclic and dehydrogenated metabolites and were requisite structural features for omega-1-hydroxylated product formation. Conversely, substrates lacking these structural features were efficiently oxidized to the omega-hydroxylated metabolite. These data were consistent with our hypothesis that metabolism of the alkyl portion of capsaicinoids was governed, in part, by the stability and propensity to form an intermediate radical and a carbocation, and a direct interaction between the alkyl terminus and the heme of many P450 enzymes. These results provided valuable insights into potential mechanisms by which P450s metabolize capsaicinoids and highlight critical chemical features that may also govern the metabolism of structurally related compounds including fatty acids, monoter-penes, and isoprenoids.     

Combinatorial expression patterns of heparan sulfate sulfotransferases in zebrafish: I. The 3-O-sulfotransferase family.

Heparan sulfate (HS) is an unbranched chain of repetitive disaccharides, which specifically binds ligands when attached to the cell surface or secreted extracellularly. HS chains contain sulfated domains termed the HS fine structure, which gives HS specific binding affinities for extracellular ligands. HS 3-O-sulfotransferases (3-OST) catalyze the transfer of sulfate groups to the 3-O position of glucosamine residues of HS, a rare, but essential HS chain modification required for HS fine structure. We report here the first characterization and developmental expression analysis of the 3-OST gene family in a vertebrate. There are eight 3-OST genes in zebrafish: seven genes with homology to known 3-OST genes in mouse and human, as well as a novel, 3-OST-7. A phylogenetic comparison of human, mouse, and zebrafish indicates the 3-OST family can be subdivided into two distinct subgroups. We examined the mRNA expression patterns in several tissues/organs throughout early zebrafish development, including early cleavage stages, somites, brain, internal body organ primordial, and pectoral fin development. The 3-OST gene family has both specifically expressed and ubiquitously expressed genes, suggesting in vivo functional differences exist between members of this family.     

Follistatin and activin A production by the male reproductive tract

Follistatin is a binding protein for the activin and inhibin family of hormones, regulating their biological activity. In the male reproductive tract, the interaction of these factors is likely to be involved in the regulation of the proliferation of several cell types. We have investigated the presence of follistatin and activin A in seminal plasma using specific immunoassays and have localized follistatin and activin/inhibin subunits in the adult human testis, prostate and seminal vesicle to establish their likely sources. High concentrations of immunoreactive follistatin were present in seminal plasma in normal men (mean 97.9 ng/ml; 1.43 ng/ml in peripheral plasma) and were similar in men with oligo/azoospermia and following vasectomy. Follistatin immunoreactivity was localized to both Leydig and Sertoli cells of the testis, and to epithelial cells of the prostate gland and seminal vesicle, which are likely to be the predominant sources of the hormone in seminal plasma. Activin A was also present in seminal plasma in normal men but was undetectable following vasectomy, thus deriving from the testis. Consistent with this finding, the betaA-subunit was immunolocalized in Sertoli and Leydig cells but was not present in seminal vesicle or prostate gland. The functional significance of the high concentrations of follistatin secreted into seminal plasma by the prostate gland and/or seminal vesicle is uncertain, but they may regulate the biological activity of testis-derived activin A and inhibin B.