A study of beta 2-microglobulin skin deposits in dialyzed patients and healthy controls

This study reports on beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2M) deposits in the skin of 12 uremic patients and three kidney transplant recipients compared with eight healthy controls. Uremic patients were treated by hemodialysis (HD), hemofiltration (HF), hemodiafiltration (HDF), or continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) for a period lasting from 1 to 19 years. Congo red staining of the skin was negative in patients and controls. However, immunofluorescent staining with an anti-beta 2-microglobulin monoclonal antibody was positive in the skin of all patients and of six of the eight controls. Beta 2M skin deposition is more intense in patients than in controls and increases with patient age and the duration of dialysis. A stron correlation is observed between the extent of skin beta 2M deposits and clinical manifestations due to beta 2M deposits in internal organs. However, no correlation is found between beta 2M skin deposits and sex or beta 2M serum levels.     

Veinous thrombectomy. Six case reports]

The aim of this study is to raise up the effect of surgical thrombectomy among other alternative therapies. This retrospective study reports 6 patients (mean age 63 years) admitted with phlegmasia cerulea dolens. All patients underwent surgical venous thrombectomy associated with infracava filter insertion in 2 cases. One patient died in the early postoperative course. In all other cases we noticed good early and late outcome both on clinical examination and duplex scanning assessment. In conclusion, surgical venous thrombectomy can be considered as a good and efficient procedure in the presence of phlegmasia cerulea dolens in order to relieve ischemia and to prevent whenever possible severe chronic venous disorders. However, fibrinolytic therapy might achieve as good results as surgery. Thus, the latter is to be reserved to very severe veinous ischemia with limb loss threatening where fibrinolytic therapy fails or is contre-indicated.     

Post-mortem analysis for two prevalent β-oxidation mutations in sudden infant death

BACKGROUND: Fatty acid oxidation disorders may cause sudden and unexpected infant death and are associated with the histological hallmark of hepatic steatosis. The goal of the present study was to assess the value of post-mortem molecular analysis for medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (MCAD) and mitochondrial trifunctional protein (MTP) defects in unexplained sudden infant death (SID) associated with fatty infiltration of the liver. MCAD catalyzes the first step of medium-chain fatty acid oxidation while MTP catalyzes the last three steps of long-chain fatty acid oxidation. METHODS: In a retrospective study, 220 consecutive cases of sudden and unexplained infant death certified by medical examiners at Wake Forest University Medical Center were assessed for hepatic steatosis. Subjects with evidence of hepatic steatosis were screened for mutations in MCAD and MTPalpha-subunit using DNA isolated from paraffin-embedded liver tissue, single-strand conformation variance, and nucleotide sequence analyses. RESULTS: Sixteen cases (7.3%) were associated with diffuse micro-vesicular or mixed micro- and macro-vesicular hepatic steatosis. Two of these 16 cases (12.5%) had disease-causing mutations. One was homozygous for the prevalent MCAD A985G mutation. The second was a compound heterozygous for the prevalent MTP G1528C mutation and a novel 1 bp deletion in exon 18 of the MTPalpha-subunit gene. CONCLUSIONS: A significant proportion (7.3%) of SID is associated with hepatic steatosis. The present data support post-mortem molecular analysis for the MCAD A985G and MTP G1528C prevalent mutations in cases of sudden and unexplained infant death associated with hepatic steatosis.     

CYP3A5 and ABCB1 Polymorphisms and Tacrolimus Pharmacokinetics in Renal Transplant Candidates: Guidelines from an Experimental Study

Genetic polymorphisms in biotransformation enzyme CYP3A5 (6986G > A, CYP3A5*3; 14690A > G, CYP3A5*6) and drug transporter ABCB1 (1236C > T; 2677G > T/A; 3435C > T) are known to influence tacrolimus (Tac) dose requirements and trough blood levels in stable transplant patients. In a group of 19 volunteers selected with relevant genotypes among a list of 221 adult renal transplant candidates, we evaluated whether consideration of CYP3A5 and ABCB1 genetic polymorphisms could explain the interindividual variability in Tac pharmacokinetics after the first administration of a standard dose (0.1 mg/kg body weight twice a day). Lower area under the time versus blood concentration curves (AUC) or lower trough concentrations were observed among CYP3A5 expressors (n = 9) than among nonexpressors (n = 10) using two different analytical methods for Tac determination (liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and immunoassay). The median AUC(0-infinity) was 2.6- and 2.1-fold higher in nonexpressors for LC-MS/MS and immunologic methods, respectively. No difference was observed in Tac pharmacokinetic parameters in relation to ABCB1 polymorphisms. In conclusion, our study confirms the very significant effect of CYP3A5 polymorphism early after the first administration of Tac. It also provides a strong argument for a doubling of the loading dose in patients early identified a priori on the transplantation list as possessing at least one CYP3A5*1 allele.     

IL-6对人精子顶体反应影响机制的初步探讨

目的:探讨IL-6对人精子顶体反应(AR)的影响机制。方法:采用BAEE/ADH法测定精子顶体酶的活性,以及通过FITC-PSA法检测精子顶体反应。结果:IL-6可诱导精子顶体酶及超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)的活性,促进精子顶体反应;胞外Ca2+单独不能诱导精子顶体反应,且没有胞外Ca2+的参与,IL-6也不能诱导精子顶体反应;蛋白激酶C(PKC)抑制剂calphC能逆转IL-6诱导的精子顶体反应。结论:IL-6对精子顶体反应有一定的促进作用,可能通过诱导精子的顶体酶和SOD活性等途径来实现,在此作用中,也涉及了PKC的激活,且还需要外源性Ca2+的参与。     

Murine intranasal challenge model for the study of Campylobacter pathogenesis and immunity.

Campylobacter jejuni infection of mice initiated by intranasal administration was investigated as a potential model for studies of pathogenesis and immunity. By using a standard challenge (5 x 10(9) CFU), C. jejuni 81-176 was more virulent for BALB/c (72% mortality) than for C3H/Hej (50%), CBA/CAJ (30%), or C58/J (0%). Intranasal challenge of BALB/c was used to compare the relative virulence of three reference strains; C.jejuni 81-176 was more virulent (killing 83% of challenged mice) than C. jejuni HC (0%) or C. coli VC-167 (0%). The course of intranasally initiated C. jejuni 81-176 infection in BALB/c was determined. C. jejuni was recovered from the lungs, intestinal tract, liver, and spleen at 4 h after challenge, the first interval evaluated. After this initial interval, three distinct patterns of infection were recognized: (i) a progressive decline in number of C. jejuni CFU (stomach, blood, lungs), (ii) decline followed by a second peak in the number of organisms recovered at 2 or 3 days postchallenge (intestine, liver, mesenteric lymph nodes), and (iii) persistence of approximately the same number of C.jejuni CFU during the course of the experiment (spleen). Intranasally induced infection initiated with a sublethal number of bacteria or intranasal immunization with killed Campylobacter preparations resulted in both the generation of Campylobacter antigen-specific immune responses and an acquired resistance to homologous rechallenge. The model was used to evaluate the relative virulence of nine low-in vitro-passage (no more than five passages) isolates of C. jejuni species from patients with diarrhea. The patient isolates were differentially virulent for mice; one killed all exposed mice, three were avirulent (no deaths) and the remainder showed an intermediate virulence, killing 17 to 33%. Mouse virulence of Campylobacter strains showed a trend toward isolates originating from individuals with watery diarrhea; however, no association was found between mouse virulence and other signs or symptoms. There were no observed relationships between mouse virulence and bacterial Lior serotype or Fla polymorphic group. Intranasal challenge of BALB/c with C. jejuni is a useful model for the study of infection and vaccination-acquired immunity to this agent.     

5992例孕产妇梅毒筛查与分析

目的 了解妊娠期梅毒的流行情况及对围产结局的影响。方法 对5992例孕产妇进行甲苯胺红不加热血清试验（TRUST）筛查，对TRUST阳性病例再进行梅毒螺旋体血清颗粒凝集试验（TPPA）确诊。并对围产结局进行观察分析。结果 5992例孕产妇，检出梅毒患者43例（0．72％），其中30例经青霉素治疗的患者其新产儿经半年以上随访无1例感染梅毒，在未治疗的13例患者中有10例分娩的新生儿TPPA滴度均≥1：40，其中2例为先天性梅毒。1例为死亡梅毒婴儿。结论 开展妊娠期梅毒血清学的产前筛查，加强对妊娠期梅毒的治疗，对减少先天性梅毒的发生尤为重要。