Mycoplasma pneumoniae Induces Chronic Respiratory Infection, Airway Hyperreactivity, and Pulmonary Inflammation: a Murine Model of Infection-Associated Chronic Reactive Airway Disease

Because chronic Mycoplasma pneumoniae respiratory infection is hypothesized to play a role in asthma, the potential of M. pneumoniae to establish chronic respiratory infection with associated pulmonary disease was investigated in a murine model. BALB/c mice were intranasally inoculated once with M. pneumoniae and examined at 109, 150, 245, 368, and 530 days postinoculation. M. pneumoniae was detected in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid by culture or PCR in 70 and 22% of mice at 109 and 530 days postinoculation, respectively. Lung histopathology was normal up to 368 days postinoculation. At 530 days, however, 78% of the mice inoculated with M. pneumoniae demonstrated abnormal histopathology characterized by peribronchial and perivascular mononuclear infiltrates. A mean histopathologic score (HPS) at 530 days of 5.1 was significantly greater (P < 0.01) than that for controls (HPS score of 0). Serum anti-M. pneumoniae immunoglobulin G was detectable in all of the mice inoculated with M. pneumoniae and was inversely correlated with HPS (r = -0.95, P = 0.01) at 530 days postinoculation. Unrestrained whole-body plethysmography measurement of enhanced pause revealed significantly elevated airway methacholine reactivity in M. pneumoniae-inoculated mice compared with that in controls at 245 days (P = 0.03) and increased airway obstruction at 530 days (P = 0.01). Murine M. pneumoniae respiratory infection can lead to chronic pulmonary disease characterized by airway hyperreactivity, airway obstruction, and histologic inflammation.     

Distribution and spatial geometry of dopamine interplexiform cells in the retina. II. External arborizations in the adult rat and monkey

The morphology and distribution of dopaminergic interplexiform cells in adult rat and monkey retinas were analyzed to determine any correlation with the function of dopamine in the outer retinal layers. The retinas were processed as whole mounts for tyrosine hydroxylase immunohistochemistry. There was a network formed by the sclerally directed processes of interplexiform cells in the inner nuclear, outer plexiform, and outer nuclear layers running throughout the retina. Their density was higher in the superior retina than in the inferior retina of the rat and was especially high in the superior temporal quadrant. The external network in this quadrant was significantly less dense in the monkey than in the rat, as are the interplexiform cells. The somata of interplexiform and other dopaminergic cells were about the same size in both rats and monkeys. Computer-assisted reconstruction of external arborizations of individual cells showed that external processes lay very close to horizontal and photoreceptor cells and also to blood capillaries. Because they were long, thin, and highly varicose; branched at right angles; and often arose from an axon hillock, the external processes were identified as axons. Therefore, we define the dopaminergic interplexiform cells as multiaxonal neurons, with at least one outwardly directed axon that reaches the outer plexiform layer. The function of the network of external processes from the interplexiform dopaminergic cells is discussed in terms of modulating the release of dopamine to external layers.     

A mutation analysis of the<Emphasis Type="Italic"> BRCA1</Emphasis> gene in 140 families from southeast France with a history of breast and/or ovarian cancer

A mutation analysis of the BRCA1 gene in 140 French families with a history of breast cancer or breast-ovarian cancer revealed several deleterious germline mutations, as well as rare sequence variants. The 19 genetics variants were of 15 different types, two of which had not been reported in the Breast cancer Information Core (BIC) database. Five distinct truncating mutations, leading to putative nonfunctional proteins, were identified out of 140 index cases (3.5%). One novel nonsense mutation, C4491T, was reported, whereas the four other BRCA1 deleterious mutations identified consisted of frequent frameshifts in the nucleotide sequence. One splice variant (331+3A>G) and thirteen missense variations leading to amino acid substitutions of unknown structural and functional importance were identified. Among these, two BRCA1 missense mutations, A120G and T243C could be considered as suspected deleterious. The first missense mutation modified the initiation codon (M1V) and the second (C39R) may have consequences on the structure and functioning of the BRCA1 protein by modifying cysteine ligands from the RING finger domain. As expected BRCA1 gene alteration, including missense mutations of unknown biological significance, were more frequent in families with a history of breast-ovarian-cancer (32%) than in breast-cancer-only families (12%).     

Genetic,household and spatial clustering of leprosy on an island in Indonesia: a population-based study

Background  

It is generally accepted that genetic factors play a role in susceptibility to both leprosy per se and leprosy type, but only few studies have tempted to quantify this. Estimating the contribution of genetic factors to clustering of leprosy within families is difficult since these persons often share the same environment. The first aim of this study was to test which correlation structure (genetic, household or spatial) gives the best explanation for the distribution of leprosy patients and seropositive persons and second to quantify the role of genetic factors in the occurrence of leprosy and seropositivity.     

Perturbation of hyaluronan interactions inhibits malignant properties of glioma cells

Malignant progression of gliomas is characterized by acquisition of inappropriate growth and invasive properties. In vitro, these malignant properties are reflected in, and measured by, the ability to grow in an anchorage-independent manner and to invade artificial extracellular matrices. The results of numerous studies have suggested that the extracellular and pericellular matrix polysaccharide, hyaluronan, plays an important role in these attributes of malignant cancer cells. However, with respect to glioma cells, most studies have addressed the effect of exogenously added hyaluronan rather than the function of endogenous tumor cell-associated hyaluronan. In this study we manipulate hyaluronan-glioma cell interactions by two methods. The first is administration of small hyaluronan oligosaccharides that compete for endogenous hyaluronan polymer interactions, resulting in attenuation of hyaluronan-induced signaling. The second is overexpression of soluble hyaluronan-binding proteins that act as a competitive sink for interaction with endogenous hyaluronan, again leading to attenuated signaling. We find that both treatments inhibit anchorage-independent growth, as measured by colony formation in soft agar, and invasiveness, as measured by penetration of reconstituted basement membrane matrices. Based on our findings, we conclude that endogenous hyaluronan interactions are essential for these two fundamental malignant properties of glioma cells.     

A role for glucose and insulin preprandial profiles to differentiate meals and snacks

A physiological distinction between eating occasions may help account for contradictory findings on the role of eating frequency in energy homeostasis. We assessed this issue using a midafternoon eating occasion known in France as the goûter that often consists of snack foods. Among the 24 male subjects, 8 habitually consumed four meals per day, i.e., were usual goûter eaters (GE) and 16 habitually took 3 meals per day, i.e., usual non-goûter non-snack eaters (NGNSE). All subjects were time blinded from lunchtime and had to request subsequent meals. Blood was continuously withdrawn and collected with a change of tube every 10 min until dinner request. During the session, 8 of the non-goûter eaters (NGE) were offered a snack 210 min after lunch and were designated as non-goûter snack eaters (NGSE) if they ate. Results showed that the goûter was preceded by high hunger scores and a linear decline in plasma glucose (−9.0±3.0%, P<.05) and insulin concentrations (−22.9±6.0%, P<.05). These profiles were not observed before the snack. The dinner of GE was requested later and was smaller compared to NGNSE, whereas the snack altered neither time of request nor energy intake (EI) at dinner. Among blood variables, leptin at the onset of eating was the only factor that was predictive of both intermeal interval and EI. The glucose and insulin profiles indicate that snacks should not be considered as meals in studies on the role of eating frequency in energy homeostasis.     

The effects of antiinflammatory steroids on the response of the guinea-pig isolated ileum to acetylcholine,histamine, nicotine, 5-hydroxytryptamine and electrical stimulation

Summary High concentrations of antiinflammatory steroids (2.5–40 g/ml) reversibly inhibited the electrically induced contractions of the guinea-pig isolated ileum. At 40 g/ml they also reversibly inhibited contractions clicited by acetylcholine, histamine, nicotine and 5-hydroxytryptamine. PGE₁ (2.5 ng/ml), PGE₂ (2.5 ng/ml) and PGF₂ (25 ng/ml) antagonized these effects.The inhibition of contractions elicited by direct agonists were less pronounced than those elicited by indirect or partly indirect agonists. The inhibitory effect of steroids may be related to non-specific actions on biological membranes. An overall sensitization of the smooth muscle by PG's may explain their antagonism to inhibition by steroids.     

DNA adduct formation in precision-cut rat liver and lung slices exposed to benzo[a]pyrene.

Chemical-DNA adducts provide an integrated measure of exposure, absorption, bioactivation, detoxification, and DNA repair following exposure to a genotoxic agent. Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), a prototypical polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), can be bioactivated by cytochrome P-450s (CYPs) and epoxide hydrolase to genotoxic metabolites which form covalent adducts with DNA. In this study, we utilized precision-cut rat liver and lung slices exposed to BaP to investigate tissue-specific differences in chemical absorption and formation of DNA adducts. To investigate the contribution of bioactivating CYPs (such as CYP1A1 and CYP1B1) on the formation of BaP-DNA adducts, animals were also pretreated in vivo with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD, dioxin) prior to in vitro incubation of tissue slices with BaP. Furthermore, the tissue distribution of BaP and BaP-DNA adduct levels from in vivo studies were compared with those from the in vitro tissue slice experiments. The results indicate a time- and concentration-dependent increase in tissue-associated BaP following exposure of rat liver and lung tissue slices to BaP in vitro, with generally higher levels of BaP retained in lung tissue. Furthermore, rat liver and lung slices metabolized BaP to reactive intermediates that formed covalent adducts with DNA. Total BaP-DNA adducts increased with concentration and incubation time. Adduct levels (fmol adduct/microg DNA) in lung slices were greater than liver at all doses. Liver slices contained one major and two minor adducts, while lung slices contained two major and 3 minor adducts. The tissue-specific qualitative profile of these adducts in tissue slices was similar to that observed from in vivo studies, further validating the use of this model. Pretreatment of animals with TCDD prior to in vitro incubation with BaP potentiated the levels of DNA adduct formation. TCDD pretreatment altered the adduct distribution in lung but not in liver slices. Together, the results suggest that tissue-specific qualitative and quantitative differences in BaP-DNA adducts could contribute to the lung being a target tissue for BaP carcinogenesis. Furthermore, the results validate the use of precision-cut tissue slices incubated in dynamic organ culture as a useful model for the study of chemical-DNA adduct formation.