Comparison of antigen expression on normal urothelial cells in tissue section and tissue culture

Antigenic characterization of urothelial cells cultured from normal adult ureter was performed. These cells were cultured using a simplified isolation and culture technique and a commercially available serum-free medium. The cells growing in these cultures had epithelioid morphology and normal quantities of DNA. The antigen expression on these cultured normal urothelial cells was evaluated using a panel of monoclonal antibodies: 5G6.4, AN43, URO-5, anti-keratin and anti-blood group antibodies, and 425 (anti-epidermal growth factor receptor). Lower levels of anti-A and AN43 binding on cultured cells were observed than are seen on urothelial cells in sections of normal ureter, while the binding of anti-blood group H, 5G6.4, and URO-5 was unchanged. Binding of anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibody 425 was improved if the cells were grown in medium lacking epidermal growth factor. These results confirm the urothelial origin of these cultured urothelial cells but indicate that some antigenic differences between cultured normal urothelial cells and urothelial cells in situ in the normal ureter exist.     

Effect of “wet nights” on daytime behavior during concurrent treatment of enuresis and conduct problems

The case study reported in this paper focuses on the relationship between bedwetting and misconduct after the implementation of behavior therapy for both problems. A 6 -year-old girl was treated for enuresis and subsequently for conduct problems (lying, aggressiveness). After both bedwetting and misconduct displayed substantial and stable improvement, it was found that occasional nightly relapses in bedwetting were strongly associated with the occurence of misconduct the following day. Implications of this finding are discussed.     

Predominance of a rare type of HIV-1 in Estonia

An earlier study has indicated that a complex recombinant HIV-1 strain dominates the epidemic in Estonia. The objective of this study was to further investigate the molecular epidemiology and genetic structure of HIV-1 in Estonia. Most of the investigated individuals became infected after August 2000 when HIV-1 started to spread rapidly among Estonian intravenous drug users (IDUs). Two viral DNA regions, gag/pol and gp41, were sequenced and subtyped from peripheral blood mononuclear cells or plasma from 141 individuals. Phylogenetic analysis in the gp41 region revealed that the most frequent type of the virus among IDUs was a circulating recombinant form, CRF06_cpx, whereas a few samples showed highest sequence similarity to a subtype A strain circulating in Ukraine and Russia. Likewise, in the gag/pol region, most of the samples were classified as CRF06_cpx, with a few classified as subtype A. In this region, however, 16% of the sequences turned out to be mosaic unique recombinant forms consisting of CRF06_cpx and subtype A. At least 9 mosaic forms were identified, each with distinct patterns of multiple crossover. To characterize Estonian CRF06_cpx as well as recombinant isolates in more detail, 4 near-full-length HIV-1 genomes were sequenced.     

Restricted expression of measles virus in primary rat astroglial cells

Persistent infection of the central nervous system (CNS) with measles virus (MV) is associated with characteristic restrictions of viral envelope gene expression as documented in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), measles inclusion body encephalitis (MIBE), or subacute measles encephalitis (SAME) in rats. To determine whether these restrictions are the result of a long lasting virus-host cell interaction or primarily based on intrinsic brain cell factors MV gene expression was analyzed in primary rat astroglial cultures. It could be shown that MV infection of these cells led to a defective replication cycle with a reduced synthesis of viral envelope proteins and a steep expression gradient of the monocistronic viral mRNAs similar to the findings in brain tissue of SSPE, MIBE, and SAME. This restriction of MV gene expression has not been observed in cells of nonneural origin. We suggest that this cell-type specific regulation of MV gene expression contributes to early events in the establishment of MV persistent infection in CNS tissue.     

Growth factors in bladder cancer

Summary This article is an overview of peptide growth factors, their receptors, and signal-transduction pathways that play a role in bladder cancer. Included in this overview are epidermal growth factor receptor and its ligands, erbB2, fibroblast growth factors, insulin-like growth factor, the transferrin receptor, and transforming growth factor-. The use of growth factors or growth factor receptors for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions is also discussed.Supported in part by grant U01-CA 56973 from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health     

Apoptosis and the expression of Fas and Fas ligand (FasL) antigen in rejection and reinfection in liver allograft specimens

BACKGROUND AND METHODS: To investigate the frequency of apoptosis and the expression of Fas/Fas ligand (FasL) in liver allografts, we examined 97 biopsy specimens from 62 patients after orthotopic liver transplantation. The results of the biopsies were as follows: acute allograft rejection (n=32); hepatitis C virus (HCV) reinfection (n=18); cytomegalovirus infection (n=5); acute rejection plus HCV reinfection (n=3); and stable graft function (n=30); and after treatment of acute rejection (n=9). RESULTS: Apoptotic cells were found in all cases examined, and their frequency increased significantly during acute rejection (0.17 vs. 9.0; P<0.05). The immunoreactivity of Fas and FasL antigen was higher in specimens with acute rejection than in those with stable graft function. Increased apoptosis, Fas, and FasL expression, however, were also seen in HCV reinfection. CONCLUSION: We conclude that apoptosis plays an important role in the hepatocellular damage observed in acute rejection and also in HCV reinfection. However, these parameters are, taken by themselves, not useful as indicators of acute rejection or HCV reinfection.     

The effects of suggestions of altertness in hypnosis on pupillary response: Report on a single subject

The pupil size of a single S was recorded under 2 types of hypnotic suggestion: alertness instructions and traditional relaxation instructions. It was found that the size of the pupil increased significantly under alertness instructions. This result was taken as further corroboration of the hypothesis that changes in various parameters of arousal apparently associated with hypnosis may be attributed to specifiable characteristics of the instructions used rather than to stable characteristics of the “state” of hypnosis.     

Unilateral Direct Carotid Cavernous Fistula Causing Bilateral Ocular Manifestation

Unilateral carotid cavernous fistula presents with ipsilateral ocular findings. Bilateral presentation is only seen in bilateral fistulas, usually associated with indirect (dural) carotid cavernous fistulas. Direct carotid cavernous fistulas are an abnormal communication between the internal carotid artery and the cavernous sinus. They typically begin with a traumatic disruption in the artery wall into the cavernous sinus, presenting with a classic triad of unilateral pulsatile exophthalmos, cranial bruit and episcleral venous engorgement. We report the case of a 38-year-old male with traumatic right carotid cavernous sinus fistula and bilateral ocular presentation successfully treated by interventional neuroradiology.Key Words: Exophthalmos, Papilledema, Carotid artery injury, Carotid cavernous sinus fistula, Endovascular procedure, Therapeutic embolization     

Restriction of measles virus gene expression in measles inclusion body encephalitis

Measles virus (MV) infection in brain tissue of a patient with measles inclusion body encephalitis was characterized by immunologic and biochemical techniques. Of the five major structural proteins of MV, only nucleocapsid (N) protein and phosphoprotein (P protein) were consistently detected in diseased brain areas. In contrast, hemagglutinin protein was seen only occasionally, and no membrane and fusion proteins were found in any of the sections studied. Messenger RNAs (mRNAs) specific for these five viral proteins were detected in all brain extracts examined; however, the mRNAs for the envelope proteins were clearly underrepresented in comparison with lytically infected cells. Only the mRNAs for N and P proteins appeared active in in vitro translations. These findings indicate quantitative differences in the pattern of mRNA expression in brain tissue and a restricted expression of MV envelope proteins in infected cells as observed in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.