Monitoring Anti-HPA-1a Platelet Antibody Levels during Pregnancy Using the MAIPA Test

Anti-HPA-1a platelet antibody levels in pregnant women with a history of fetomaternal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FMAIT) were monitored longitudinally using the monoclonal antibody immobilisation of platelet antigens (MAIPA) assay, in order to examine any variation in optical density (OD) readings obtained over the course of pregnancy and after delivery. Seven women were selected; 4 were studied retrospectively and 3 prospectively (the latter being treated with intravenous gammaglobulin; IVGG). Levels of anti-HPA-1a were measured at various intervals after delivery of the first affected infant, to post delivery of the following affected infant. A decrease in MAIPA OD was demonstrated in all patients during the course of these pregnancies. This assay is a useful tool for monitoring anti-HPA-1a in women with a history of infants affected with FMAIT. A maternal antibody 'resting' level prior to, or early in the first trimester, must be established for comparison.     

Endothelial and smooth muscle properties of coronary and mesenteric resistance arteries in spontaneously hypertensive rats compared to WKY rats

Summary— To investigate if the functional alterations observed in resistance arteries of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) were also present at the coronary level, in vitro experiments were performed in mesenteric resistance arteries (MRA) and in right (RIC) and left interventricular coronary (LIC) arteries taken from 15–25-week-old SHR and age-matched Wistar Kyoto rats WKYs. Using a passive extension protocol, internal diameters corresponding to 100 mmHg intraluminal pressure (D₁₀₀) were determined and vessels were set up to a normalized internal diameter (0.9 D₁₀₀). SHR mesenteric resistance arteries had a significantly smaller diameter compared to WKY arteries, whereas both types of SHR coronary arteries had a greater diameter compared to those of WKY rats. In arteries in the absence of contracting agonist, nitro-L-arginine (NOLA, 100 μM) induced a progressive rise in basal tone, which could be reversed by subsequent addition of L-arginine (100 μM) but not D-arginine (100 μM). When expressed as percent of maximal contractions induced by agonists (noradrenaline, NA [10 μM] in MRA; serotonin, 5-HT [10 μM], in RIC and LIC), these contractions were significantly stronger in WKY compared to SHR coronary and mesenteric resistance arteries. In NA-precontracted MRA and 5HT-precontracted coronary arteries in the presence of indomethacin (10 μM), the magnitude of acetylcholine-induced maximal relaxations (expressed as percent of maximal contractions induced by agonists) was greater in WKY compared to SHR arteries. After a 30-min incubation period, NOLA (100 μM) completely inhibited relaxations induced by acetylcholine (0.01–10 μM) in all types of precontracted arteries. Subsequent additions of sodium nitroprusside, (SNP, 10 μM) induced complete relaxations in all preparations. These results show that a basal release of NO or NO-like compound by endothelial cells is present in isolated mesenteric resistance and coronary arteries of WKY rats and SHRs. The contribution of endothelium-derived relaxing factor-nitric oxide (EDRF-NO) to arterial tone was lower in MRA compared to coronary arteries in both strains and in SHR compared to WKY arteries. In the SHR preparations, the impaired relaxation induced by acetylcholine appeared to be due to a functional alteration of the endothelium in the presence of normal reactivity of the smooth muscle cells.     

麦冬类中药组织切片计算机三维重建图鉴

利用计算机技术实现麦冬类中药组织连续切片三维重建与动态显示,为计算机辅助生药学鉴定和教学提供了新的三维图像技术和研究资料。     

Brief communication The primate MHC contains sequences related to the fibroblast growth factor receptor gene family

We have cloned and sequenced a genomic region centromeric of the HLA-B locus from different MHC ancestral haplotypes. These haplotypes are associated with several diseases. The sequences were analyzed for coding potential and their relevance to disease associations were assessed with respect to the level of polymorphism. Analysis of sequences located approximately 25kb centromeric of HLA-B reveals the existence of fibroblast growth factor receptor related sequences. These sequences designated PERB1 (FGFR6 ) reveal 80% homology, at both nucleic acid and amino acid level, to the immunoglobulin domain 1 (Ig-1) of the human fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 ( FGFR3 ) gene. Amino acid comparison of the Ig-1 domain of PERB1 to those of other FGFR molecules indicates that PERB1 is more closely related to FGFR3 and FGFR5 than to FGFR1 , FGFR2 or FGFR4 . Genomic sequence analysis, however, reveals no consensus splice sites and indicates the existence of inframe premature stop codons in the putative coding sequences. The results suggest that these sequences may represent FGFR gene fragments existing within the central MHC. Sequence analysis of the Mhc in 6 chimpanzee and one orangutan indicates that the existence of PERB 1 predates the spe-ciation of the three species. The fact that the MHC contains a mixture of functional and nonfunctional (pseudo) genes suggests that a functional copy of PERB1 (FGFR6 ) may exist within or in close proximity to the MHC.     

表小檗碱对α受体的作用

表小檗碱(epiberberine,EB)是从湖北产黄连(Coptis chinensis Franch)中提取的一种生物碱,属苯喹嗪类原小檗碱,对其药理作用的研究资料甚少,未见其对α肾上腺素体作用的报道。资料表明,许多原小檗碱类化合物有α受体阻滞作用,为从该类化合物中选择     

氯仿重结晶棉酚的质量研究

报道了氯仿重结晶的棉酚的化学性质,样品在不同温度下干燥恒重后,经熔点、薄层层析、紫外光谱、红外光谱、X-射线衍射、热重量分析、元素(C,H,Cl)分析及棉酚合量测定等一系列的分析,确证了在60℃以下棉酚与氯仿成溶剂化物(solvate)。随着干燥温度的升高或在室温长时间的贮存,此现象逐渐消失,100℃真空干燥恒重后成为纯棉酚。     

Acute peripheral arterial and graft occlusion: treatment with selective infusion of urokinase and lysyl plasminogen

Thirty-five patients hospitalized for recent angiographically documented arterial occlusion in the legs (27 femoropopliteal arteries and eight grafts) benefited from local fibrinolytic therapy delivered at the site of the occlusion with a 4- or 5-F catheter. This therapy combined a continuous urokinase (UK) infusion of 1,000 U/kg/hour and a lysyl plasminogen (LYS-PLG) infusion of 15 microkatals every 30 minutes. Angiographically confirmed lysis was obtained in 85% of the cases. Only 3% of the patients had major and 6% had minor groin hematomas. Only two patients had concentrations of fibrinogen as low as 100 mg/dl. Intravascular infusion of UK-LYS-PLG is as effective as streptokinase. Its excellent tolerance makes it a good alternative in the treatment of acute ischemia in the lower limbs.