A phase II study of sulofenur,a novel sulfonylurea,in recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer

Summary A total of 16 patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer were treated with sulofenur (LY 186641), a novel oral sulfonylurea. All subjects had received previous chemotherapy. Anaemia occurred in all 16 patients, 14 of whom required a blood transfusion, and 2/16 patients received methylene blue for breathlessness due to methaemaglobinaemia. Treatment was discontinued in 2/16 cases due to rising liver enzyme values, which reverted to normal on cessation of the drug. There was no nausea or alopecia. Only two minor responses were seen. Plasma drug levels were insufficient to result in antitumour activity as extrapolated from animal data. Further studies that attempt to increase the bioavailability and improve the therapeutic index are warranted.     

Linkage of the MHC to familial multiple sclerosis suggests genetic heterogeneity. The Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Group

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. While its etiology is not well understood, genetic factors are clearly involved. Until recently, most genetic studies in MS have been association studies using the case-control design testing specific candidate genes and studying only sporadic cases. The only consistently replicated finding has been an association with the HLA-DR2 allele within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on chromosome 6. Using the genetic linkage design, however, evidence for and against linkage of the MHC to MS has been found, fostering suggestions that sporadic and familial MS have different etiologies. Most recently, two of four genomic screens demonstrated linkage to the MHC, although specific allelic associations were not tested. Here, a dataset of 98 multiplex families was studied to test for an association to the HLA-DR2 allele in familial MS and to determine if genetic linkage to the MHC was due solely to such an association. Three highly polymorphic markers (HLA-DR, D6S273 and TNFbeta) in the MHC demonstrated strong genetic linkage (parametric lod scores of 4.60, 2.20 and 1.24, respectively) and a specific association with the HLA-DR2 allele was confirmed (TDT; P < 0.001). Stratifying the results by HLA-DR2 status showed that the linkage results were limited to families segregating HLA-DR2 alleles. These results demonstrate that genetic linkage to the MHC can be explained by the HLA-DR2 allelic association. They also indicate that sporadic and familial MS share a common genetic susceptibility. In addition, preliminary calculations suggest that the MHC explains between 17 and 62% of the genetic etiology of MS. This heterogeneity is also supported by the minority of families showing no linkage or association with loci within the MHC.      

Glucose-sucrose-potassium tellurite-bacitracin agar, an alternative to mitis salivarius-bacitracin agar for enumeration of Streptococcus mutans

An agar medium for selective recovery and enumeration of Streptococcus mutans was developed as an alternative to mitis salivarius-bacitracin (MSB) agar. Combinations of dyes, antibiotics, and tellurite were added to a nonselective medium which, because of its sucrose content, allowed easy recognition of S. mutans colonies. Candle jar incubation for 2 days, by comparison with anaerobic incubation, reduced background flora but did not diminish S. mutans recoveries from clinical samples. Quantitative comparisons were made of the simultaneous recoveries of a number of authentic S. mutans serotype representatives and fresh clinical isolates, using various glucose-sucrose-potassium tellurite-bacitracin (GSTB) formulations and mitis salivarius, MSB, and blood agars. Mitis salivarius counts were not detectably different from blood counts, but counts on MSB were distinctly lower. A formulation of the new medium containing 5% glucose 5% sucrose, 0.001% potassium tellurite, 0.3 U of bacitracin per ml (hence GSTB), and 2% agar gave recoveries nearly equal to those on mitis salivarius agar and much greater than those on MSB. The medium yielded readily recognized S. mutans colonies and facilitated detection of intracellular polysaccharide formers upon flooding with I2 reagent. Freshly isolated serotype c, E, and f colonies could often be distinguished from serotype d and g colonies, a distinction made reliable by testing for intracellular polysaccharide. A study of 300 salivary samples revealed GSTB to give significantly higher recoveries than MSB. About 72% of all samples were substantially underestimated for S. mutans with MSB, and 6.7% of samples were falsely negative for S. mutans with MSB. Recovery of background flora on GSTB was as low or lower than on MSB, and both types of agar could be stored for at least 9 weeks without notable change of selectivity. Thus, GSTB agar appears to be simple and reliable to use and requires no anaerobic incubation. Caution is voiced about interpretation of data previously reported which evaluated S. mutans on MSB agar.     

Mutation spectrum and genotype-phenotype analyses in Cowden disease and Bannayan-Zonana syndrome, two hamartoma syndromes with germline PTEN mutation

The tumour suppressor gene PTEN , which maps to 10q23.3 and encodes a 403 amino acid dual specificity phosphatase (protein tyrosine phosphatase; PTPase), was shown recently to play a broad role in human malignancy. Somatic PTEN deletions and mutations were observed in sporadic breast, brain, prostate and kidney cancer cell lines and in several primary tumours such as endometrial carcinomas, malignant melanoma and thyroid tumours. In addition, PTEN was identified as the susceptibility gene for two hamartoma syndromes: Cowden disease (CD; MIM 158350) and Bannayan-Zonana (BZS) or Ruvalcaba-Riley-Smith syndrome (MIM 153480). Constitutive DNA from 37 CD families and seven BZS families was screened for germline PTEN mutations. PTEN mutations were identified in 30 of 37 (81%) CD families, including missense and nonsense point mutations, deletions, insertions, a deletion/insertion and splice site mutations. These mutations were scattered over the entire length of PTEN , with the exception of the first, fourth and last exons. A 'hot spot' for PTEN mutation in CD was identified in exon 5 that contains the PTPase core motif, with 13 of 30 (43%) CD mutations identified in this exon. Seven of 30 (23%) were within the core motif, the majority (five of seven) of which were missense mutations, possibly pointing to the functional significance of this region. Germline PTEN mutations were identified in four of seven (57%) BZS families studied. Interestingly, none of these mutations was observed in the PTPase core motif. It is also worthy of note that a single nonsense point mutation, R233X, was observed in the germline DNA from two unrelated CD families and one BZS family. Genotype-phenotype studies were not performed on this small group of BZS families. However, genotype-phenotype analysis inthe group of CD families revealed two possible associations worthy of follow-up in independent analyses. The first was an association noted in the group of CD families with breast disease. A correlation was observed between the presence/absence of a PTEN mutation and the type of breast involvement (unaffected versus benign versus malignant). Specifically and more directly, an association was also observed between the presence of a PTEN mutation and malignant breast disease. Secondly, there appeared to be an interdependent association between mutations upstream and within the PTPase core motif, the core motif containing the majority of missense mutations, and the involvement of all major organ systems (central nervous system, thyroid, breast, skin and gastrointestinal tract). However, these observations would need to be confirmed by studying a larger number of CD families.      

Detection and characterization of beta-adrenergic receptors and adenylate cyclase in coated vesicles isolated from bovine brain

To assess whether internalization of beta-adrenergic receptor occurs in the CNS, we have isolated clathrin-coated vesicles from bovine forebrain and examined them for the presence of beta-adrenergic receptor binding and adenylate cyclase activities. A coated vesicle enriched preparation isolated by successive D2O-Ficoll density gradient centrifugations was applied to a glass bead permeation column to achieve further purification. Two major peaks of protein were eluted from the column and monitored by electron microscopy and SDS-PAGE. Peak II contained almost exclusively coated vesicles (98%), whereas peak I, which appeared in the void volume, contained larger smooth vesicles and few coated vesicles. beta-Adrenergic receptor binding to peaks I and II was measured with 125I-cyanopindolol (CYP) as ligand in Sepharose 4B column assays. 125I-CYP was found to bind specifically and saturably to both peaks I and II with a Bmax of 28 +/- 4 and 32 +/- 3 fmol/mg protein, respectively. 3H-CGP 12177, a hydrophilic beta-adrenergic receptor ligand, did not label receptors present in peak II, but it specifically bound to synaptic plasma membranes (SPM) prepared from bovine hippocampus and, to a lesser extent, to peak I. These results suggest that receptors present in coated vesicles are cryptic in nature. In the displacement of 125I-CYP binding by (-)-isoproterenol, addition of 50 microM GppNHp caused a significant "right shift" with SPM and peak I but not the peak II preparation. Adenylate cyclase activities could also be detected in both peaks I and II (specific activities, 21 +/- 0.6 and 24 +/- 0.5 pmol cAMP/mg protein/min, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Snow skiing for the physically disabled

The sport of snow skiing by the physically disabled, which originated in Europe in 1935 and first received attention in the United States in the 1940s, is reviewed in terms of opportunities available, instructions, adaptive equipment necessary, and benefits provided. Persons with a wide variety of disabilities (such as cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, hemiplegia, amputation, blindness, spina bifida, and muscular dystrophy) can participate. Accordingly, a wide range of adaptive equipment is available--including outrigger skis, flip-skis, canting wedges, ski bras, "toe spreaders," sit-skis, and mono-skis--to allow safe enjoyment of the sport. Programs for instruction of the disabled skier are increasing in number and popularity, and numerous opportunities are available to enter competitive events sponsored by National Handicapped Sports. Both the participants and the instructors relate the numerous physical and psychologic benefits that can be derived from skiing; the sport provides an almost universal enjoyment of the sense of freedom and independence. Snow skiing is an enjoyable, beneficial, outdoor cold-weather activity that the disabled population can safely learn with proper instruction.     

高效液相色谱法测定小儿磨积片中橙皮苷的含量

目的:建立以高效液相色谱法测定小儿磨积片中橙皮苷含量的方法。方法:色谱柱为SpherisorbC18,流动相为甲醇-冰醋酸-水(25∶4∶71),检测波长为283nm,流速为2·0ml/min,柱温为50℃,灵敏度为0·16AUFS,进样量为20μl。结果:橙皮苷进样量在0·024μg~1·2μg范围内与峰面积积分值呈良好的线性关系(r=0·9999),平均回收率为99·1%(RSD=0·8%)。结论:本方法简便、快捷,灵敏度及准确度高,可为小儿磨积片质量控制提供依据。