Acidosis and raised norepinephrine levels are associated with exercise dyspnoea in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Background and objective:   Exertional dyspnoea limits patients with IPF in their activities of daily living. The mechanism, however, has not been elucidated. This study tested the hypothesis in IPF that exertional dyspnoea correlates with cardiopulmonary exercise responses, specifically changes in arterial blood pH and plasma norepinephrine (NE).
Methods:   Cardiopulmonary exercise testing with measurements of dyspnoea (Borg scale), plasma NE, plasma lactate and arterial blood gases were performed in 29 patients with IPF and in nine controls.
Results:   Both groups showed obvious break points in dyspnoea changes during exercise. In IPF, an abrupt change in the Borg scale, pH, PaCO₂ and plasma NE occurred in the late exercise phase after the 'break point'. Compared with controls, patients with IPF had significantly higher HCO₃^- levels and physiologic dead space/tidal volume during exercise. In IPF, during both exercise phases, the dyspnoea slope (ΔBorg scale/Δminute ventilation) correlated with the pH slope (ΔpH/Δoxygen uptake) (before the break point: r  = −0.537, P  = 0.0022; r  = −0.886, P  < 0.0001, after the break point) and the NE slope (ΔNE/Δoxygen uptake) (before the break point: r  = 0.481, P  = 0.0075; R  = 0.784, P  < 0.0001, after the break point).
Conclusions:   In patients with IPF, exercise-induced acidosis and increases in circulating NE levels were associated with intensity of exertional dyspnoea.     

Chromosome Analysis in Preimplantation Stage Embryos of Non-Obese Diabetic (NOD) Mice

Abstract Congenital malformations such as exencephaly occur at a high incidence in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse embryos (Otani et al., 1987a). Using in vitro culture and embryo transfer, genetic predispositions as well as environmental factors were suggested to be the causes (Tatewaki et al., 1987).
Chromosomes of preimplantation embryos, cultured to transfer mutually between non-obese diabetic (NOD) and ICR mice, were analyzed as a clue to elucidate the cause of developmental anomalies. Among these preimplantation embryos, aneuploidy, mixoploidy and structural anomalies were found, but in incidence of chromosomal anomalies there was no significant difference, statistically, between preimplantation embryos from diabetic mothers and those from non-diabetic mothers. These findings are considered to show that no increase in developmental abnormality in chromosomes occurs during the preimplantation stage.     

Fluorescent Substances and High Molecular Weight Protein Aggregates Formed in Rat Heart Mitochondria upon Doxorubicin-induced Lipid Peroxidation

A rat heart mitochondrial suspension was incubated with doxorubicin, FeCl₃ and NADH. Fluorescent substances and high molecular weight protein aggregates were observed in the mitochondrial membranes upon the formation of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances. Since both fluorescent substances and high molecular weight protein aggregates are retained in mitochondrial membranes, they can be of use in the clarification of the site of doxorubicin-induced lipid peroxidation.     

Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) with 27 residues

The conformation of pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide with 27 residues (PACAP27) has been determined by two-dimensional NMR and CD spectroscopies and distance geometry in 25% methanol. Residues 9-20 and 22-25 have well-defined conformations but other residues do not show ordered conformations. The conformation of residues 9-20 is composed of three distinct regions of β turn-like conformation (residues 9-12), α helix (residues 12-14) and the looser helical conformation (residues 15-20), while residues 22-24 form α helix. PACAP27 has a 2 helices separated by a disordered region similar to a VIP analog reported by Fry et al. but is distinct from the VIP analog in the position of the first helix, which is shifted by 2 residues toward the C-terminus, and in the form of the second helix [Fry, D.C., Madison, V.S., Bolin, D.R., Greeley, D.N., Toome, V. and Wegrzynski, B.B. (1989) Biochemistry 28 , 2399-2409].     

Two cases of eosinophilic gastroenteritis associated with analgesic-induced bronchial asthma

Abstract Two patients (one male and one female) with bronchial asthma were diagnosed as having eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EG). The condition was revealed by biopsies through fibrescopic endoscopy. According to the Klein classification, they had mucosal disease. The symptoms were abdominal pain and nausea. The symptoms subsided with corticosteroid administration in one patient and with palliative treatment in the other patient. It was suggested that fibrescopic endoscopy biopsy is needed to identify coexisting EG if a bronchial asthma patient complains of severe gastrointestinal symptoms.