Behavioural, biochemical and histochemical effects of locus coeruleus transplantation in rats with neurotoxic lesions of the catecholaminergic system

Exploratory activity in the open field and noradrenaline concentration in the neocortex and brain stem were investigated in intact rats (n = 10) and in the following groups of rats with early postnatal neurotoxic (6-hydroxydopamine) lesion of the catecholaminergic system: (i) rats with embryonal locus coeruleus grafts in the frontal neocortex (n = 5); (ii) rats with the same grafts in lateral ventricles (n = 4); (iii) a control group with intracortical hippocampal tissue grafts (n = 3); (iv) sham-operated rats (n = 3). Experiments were performed by four independent groups of investigators using a double-blind method. In sham-operated rats as well as in rats with hippocampal grafts, and with locus coeruleus grafts in the ventricles, both exploratory activity and noradrenaline content of the forebrain were significantly lowered. In the rats with intracortical locus coeruleus grafts the level of exploratory activity was much higher (almost as in intact controls). This improvement of exploratory behaviour correlated highly with increased noradrenaline concentration in the forebrain. In all animals with locus coeruleus in lateral ventricles a significant increase in noradrenaline level of the brain stem was present, but no change of exploratory behaviour was observed. The grafts with the 3-mm-thick slabs of the adjacent tissue were dissected from the brain and used for histological analysis. The presence of typical locus coeruleus cells was shown in neocortex of all animals which received the grafts of corresponding tissue. The data show the possibility of stable compensation of the forebrain noradrenaline level and exploratory behaviour by embryonic noradrenergic neurons grafted into the neocortex, but not into lateral ventricles.     

SUICIDE ATTEMPT DUE TO METOCLOPRAMIDE-INDUCED AKATHISIA

Akathisia as a side-effect of metoclopramide has received increasing attention in consultation-liaison psychiatry in recent years. A case of metoclopramide-induced akathisia resulting in a suicide attempt is reported in order to highlight the suffering of such patients and the factors that lead to misdiagnosis.     

3,5-甾二烯化合物的合成及抗早孕活性

以18-甲基-17β-羟基-17α-乙炔基-雌甾-4-烯-3-酮(18-甲基炔诺酮),17β-羟基-17α-乙缺基-雌甾-4-烯-3-酮(炔诺酮),17β-羟基-17α-乙炔基-雄甾-4-烯-3-酮(妊娠素)和17a-羟基孕甾-4-烯-3,20二酮(17α-羟基黄体酮)为原料,经NaBH,还原、脱水、双键转位和酯化等反应合成一系列3,5-甾二烯化合物,用¹HNMR和MS证明了它们的结构。动物筛选结果表明,17β-丙酰氧基-17α-乙炔基-雌甾-3,5-二烯(IV_b2有明显的抗早孕活性。中断早期妊娠的作用似与其雌激素活性有关。     

Synthesis and study the pharmacological activity of derivatives of 5-dimethylaminopyrano[3,2-c]quinolin-2-ones

A simple method of synthesizing derivatives of 5-dimethylaminopyrano[3,2-c]quinolin-2-ones is proposed which involves obttaining 4-chloro- or 4-oxo-3-formylquinolines using compounds having an active methylene group. The pharmacological activity of the synthesized compounds is studied.     

Safety and immunogenicity of a prototype enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli vaccine administered transcutaneously

Transcutaneous immunization (TCI) is a new method for vaccine delivery that has been shown to induce immunity relevant to enteric disease vaccines. We evaluated the clinical safety and immunogenicity of a recombinant subunit vaccine against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) delivered by TCI. Adult volunteers received patches containing the recombinant ETEC colonization factor CS6, either with heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) or patches containing CS6 alone. The vaccine was administered at 0, 1, and 3 months, and serum antibodies and antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) were assessed. Among the 26 volunteers that completed the trial, there were no responses to CS6 in the absence of LT. In the groups receiving both CS6 and LT, 68 and 53% were found to have serum anti-CS6 immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgA, respectively; 37 and 42% had IgG and IgA anti-CS6 ASCs. All of the volunteers receiving LT had anti-LT IgG, and 90% had serum anti-LT IgA; 79 and 37% had anti-LT IgG and IgA ASCs. Delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH), suggesting T-cell responses, was seen in 14 of 19 volunteers receiving LT and CS6; no DTH was seen in subjects receiving CS6 alone. This study demonstrated that protein antigens delivered by a simple patch could induce significant systemic immune responses but only in the presence of an adjuvant such as LT. The data suggest that an ETEC vaccine for travelers delivered by a patch may be a viable approach worthy of further evaluation.     

Comparative mapping of X chromosomes in vole species of the genus Microtus

Comparative mapping of X-linked genes has progressed rapidly since Ohno's prediction that genes on the X chromosome should be conserved as a syntenic group in all mammals. Although several conserved blocks of homology between human and mouse have been discovered, rearrangements within the X chromosome have also been characterized. More recently, some exceptions to Ohno's law have been reported. We have used fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to map five genes, Gla, G6pd, Hprt, Pgk1 and Xist, to two of the largest conserved segments of X material in five members of the genus Microtus (grey vole) and show that vole X chromosomes demonstrate greater homology to human than to mouse. Cytogenetic analysis indicates a relatively high frequency of rearrangement during vole evolution, although certain blocks of homology appear to be highly conserved in all species studied to date. On this basis we were able to predict the probable location of the rat X inactivation centre (Xic) based solely on high-resolution G-banding. Our prediction was then confirmed by mapping the rat Xist gene by FISH. The possible significance of conserving long-range chromosome structure in the vicinity of the Xic is discussed with respect to the mechanism of X inactivation.     

An approach to analysis of radiolabeled ligand interactions with specific receptors

The aim of the study was to reveal general characteristics of the ligand-receptor interaction in the binding and displacement of radiolabeled ligands. The binding and displacement of DL-[3H]propranolol hydrochloride ([3H]propranolol) and L-[propyl-2,3, -3H]dihydroalprenolol ([3H]dihydroalprenolol), beta-adrenoceptor antagonists, were studied with isolated rat red blood cells, their membranes and ghosts. The binding of [3H]dihydroalprenolol and L-quinuclidinyl-[phenyl-4-3H]-benzylate ([3H]quinuclidinyl benzylate), a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist, was studied with cerebral cortex membranes. The ligand-receptor interaction corresponded to that for a model of two pools of receptors in the same effector system, with the binding of two ligand molecules to the receptors and was described by the following equation: b=[(B(m1)A(2))/(K(d1)(2)+A(2))]+[(B(m2)A(2))/(K(d2)(2)+A(2))]. The parameters of [3H]propranolol binding to beta-adrenoceptors were as follows: K(d1)=0.74 nM, K(d2)=14.40 nM, B(m1)=24 unit/cell, and B(m2)=263 unit/cell for native red blood cells from rats; K(d1)=0.70 nM, K(d2)=19.59 nM, B(m1)=9 fmol/mg protein, and B(m2)=39 fmol/mg protein for blood ghosts. The parameters of [3H]quinuclidinyl benzylate binding to muscarinic acetylcholine receptors of cerebral cortex membrane were as follows: K(d1)=0.43 nM, K(d2)=2.83 nM, B(m1)=712 fmol/mg, B(m2)=677 fmol/mg. The analysis of the equilibrium binding and displacement of [3H]propranolol and [3H]dihydroalprenolol at beta-adrenoceptors of membranes, ghosts and native red cells of rats, [3H]dihydroalprenolol at beta-adrenoceptors and [3H]quinuclidinyl benzylate at muscarinic acetylcholine receptors of synaptosomal membranes from rat cerebral cortex demonstrated that the receptors bound two ligand molecules each and consisted of two discrete pools of high- and low-affinity receptors. Similar results were obtained for the displacement of [3H]propranolol, [3H]dihydroalprenolol and [3H]quinuclidinyl benzylate by propranolol, dihydroalprenolol and quinuclidinyl benzylate.     

Zinc replenishment reduces esophageal cell proliferation and N- nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBA)-induced esophageal tumor incidence in zinc-deficient rats

Previous work has shown that sustained increased and decreased cell proliferation, induced by dietary zinc deficiency and caloric restriction respectively, influence the course of N- nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBA)-induced esophageal carcinogenesis in rats. The present study considered whether the increased cell proliferation and esophageal tumor incidence induced by zinc deficiency are reversed upon zinc replenishment. Weanling rats were maintained initially on a deficient diet containing 4 p.p.m. zinc. After 5 weeks, carcinogen-treated animals were given six intragastric doses of NMBA (2 mg/kg twice weekly). Controls were untreated. After the second NMBA dose, the rats were divided into three dietary groups. One group was continued on the deficient diet, while the other two groups were switched to diets containing either 75 or 200 p.p.m. zinc, with half of the members in each group fed ad libitum and half pair-fed with deficient rats. NMBA-untreated controls were similarly replenished. At various time points, esophageal cell proliferation was assessed in five animals from each group by immunohistochemical detection of cells in S phase, with in vivo 5-bromo-2'deoxyuridine labeling. At 11 weeks after the first dose, esophageal tumor incidence was greatly reduced, from 100% in the deficient group to 26 and 14% respectively in the replenished groups fed ad libitum 75 and 200 p.p.m. zinc and to 14 and 11% respectively in the replenished groups pair-fed 75 and 200 p.p.m. zinc. In addition, the number of tumors per esophagus was reduced from 9.93 +/- 4.25 in deficient rats, to a range of 0.11 +/- 0.31-0.30 +/- 0.54 in replenished animals. Following zinc replenishment, esophageal cell proliferation, as measured by labeling index (LI), the number of labeled cells and the total number of cells, was markedly decreased in NMBA-untreated and -treated esophagi as compared with those in corresponding deficient esophagi. Thus, the esophageal cell proliferation induced by zinc deficiency is reversed by zinc replenishment and replenished animals have a markedly lower incidence of esophageal tumors.      

丹参及小剂量多巴胺治疗新生儿硬肿症伴心肌损害疗效观察

目的:探讨丹参及小剂量多巴胺治疗新生儿硬肿症伴心肌损害的疗效。方法:将54例患儿随机分为治疗组33例,对照组21例,两组均采用常规治疗,治疗组加用丹参注射液1~2ml/(kg·d)及小剂量多巴胺5μg/(kg·min)治疗。结果:治疗组新生儿硬肿消退、心音及心率恢复情况、总有效率优于对照组。结论:丹参及小剂量多巴胺可提高新生儿硬肿症伴心肌损害的治疗效果。