Bioavailability of Soil-Bound TCDD: Dermal Bioavailability in the Rat

Bioavailability of Soil-Bound TCDD: Dermal Bioavailability inthe Rat. SHU, H., TEITELBAUM, T., WEBB, A. S., MARPLE, L., BRUNCK,B. DEI ROSSI, D., MURRAY, J., AND PAUSTENBACH, D. (1988). Fundam.Appl. Toxicol. 10, 335-343. 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin(TCDD), an unwanted by-product formed during the manufactureof hexachlorophene and phenoxyherbicides, has been found asan environmental contaminant in many U.S. and Western Europeansites. This study examines in the rat the degree of dermal absorptionof TCDD bound to soil. Such information would assist regulatoryagencies in evaluating the degree of exposure of humans whocome in contact with TCDD-contaminated soil. Several parameterswhich may influence dermal absorption were studied, includingTCDD dose, duration of contact, presence of crankcase oil asa co-contaminant, and environmentally contaminated vs laboratory-preparedsoil. The dermal penetration of TCDD following 4 hr of contactwith skin was approximately 60% of that following 24 hr of contact(P 0.05). Following 24 hr of contact with the skin, the degreeof dermal uptake of TCDD contaminated soil was approximately1% of the administered dose. Under the conditions of the presentstudy, the degree of uptake does not appear to be influencedto any significant extent by the concentration of TCDD on soil,the presence of crankcase oil as co-contaminants, or by environmentallyvs laboratory-contaminated soil. Although a number of parametersexamined in this study did not significantly influence the degreeof dermal absorption of TCDD in the rat following 24 hr of contactwith the contaminated soil, the unqualified use of the 1% valueto estimate human exposure would overestimate human exposure,since there is general agreement among researchers that ratskin tends to be more permeable than human skin to highly lipid-solublecompounds such as TCDD.     

Schwann cell remyelination and recurrent demyelination in the central nervous system of mice infected with attenuated Theiler's virus.

Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) infection produces a chronic demyelinating disease in mice, and myelin breakdown appears to be immune-mediated. By using an attenuated TMEC strain, WW virus, to infect mice, the course of the disease was slowed and the severity of the inflammatory and glial responses were reduced. In this circumstance, most of the demyelinating lesions showed extensive remyelination, predominantly by Schwann cells. In addition, it was demonstrated that there was recurrent demyelinating activity in the central nervous system (CNS) of infected animals. It is suggested that the rapidity and intensity of demyelinating lesions may influence the potential for remyelination and that Schwann cell participation may be a more important mechanism of myelin repair than it is now thought to be. The fact that there is a recurrent demyelination in TMEV infection increases its relevance as an experimental animal model for multiple sclerosis.     

In vivo assembly and maturation of vesicular stomatitis virus.

Previous studies on vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) maturation in infected cells have utilized in vitro cell cultures. The present study is, to our knowledge, the first in vivo analysis of VSV-cell interaction in the central nervous system of weaning outbred Swiss mice. Intracerebral inoculation of wild-type VSV resulted in rapid viral replication in brain and spinal cord. By immunoflourescence, viral antigens were first seen in ependymal cells of brain and spinal cord and soon thereafter in surrounding neurons. The large anterior horn neurons of spinal cord appeared to be in the most heavily infected. Ultrastructurally, VSV-neuron interaction evolved in three phases. The first phase consisted of viral entry into the cell by fusion and viropexis. The second phase was characterized by nucleocapsid accumulation and resulted in the appearance of large cytoplasmic inclusions. The third phase was maturation and release from the infected cell and was accomplished by viral budding from plasma membranes. Degenerative changes in infected neurons were generally absent. Cells in the area of the central canal seemed to present a different pattern of virus-cell interaction especially at the level of maturation and release. Some of these cells in advanced stages of degeneration showed viral particles free in nucleocapsid material with no virus-membrane association. Viral budding was not observed and, because these cells do eventually die, it is possible that virus was released in the intercellular space at the moment of cellular disruption. These results suggest that VSV-cell interactions may vary depending upon the nature of the infected cells.     

Intergenerational instability of the CAG repeat of the gene for Machado- Joseph disease (MJD1) is affected by the genotype of the normal chromosome: implications for the molecular mechanisms of the instability of the CAG repeat

Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by unstable expansion of a CAG repeat in the MJD1 gene at 14q32.1. To identify elements affecting the intergenerational instability of the CAG repeat, we investigated whether the CGG/GGG polymorphism at the 3' end of the CAG repeat affects intergenerational instability of the CAG repeat. The [expanded (CAG)n-CGG]/[normal (CAG)n- GGG] haplotypes were found to result in significantly greater instability of the CAG repeat compared to the [expanded (CAG)n- CGG]/[normal (CAG)n-CGG] or [expanded (CAG)nGGG]/[normal (CAG)n-GGG] haplotypes. Multiple stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed that the relative risk for a large intergenerational change in the number of CAG repeat units (< -2 or > 2) is 7.7-fold (95% CI: 2.5-23.9) higher in the case of paternal transmission than in that of maternal transmission and 7.4-fold (95% CI: 2.4-23.3) higher in the case of transmission from a parent with the [expanded (CAG)n-CGG]/[normal (CAG)n-GGG] haplotypes than in that of transmission from a parent with the [expanded (CAG)n-CGG]/[normal (CAG)n-CGG] or [expanded (CAG)n- GGG]/[normal (CAG)n-GGG] haplotypes. The combination of paternal transmission and the [expanded (CAG)n-CGG]/[normal (CAG)n-GGG] haplotypes resulted in a 75.2-fold (95% CI: 9.0-625.0) increase in the relative risk compared with that of maternal transmission and the [expanded (CAG)n-CGG]/[normal (CAG)n-CGG] or [expanded (CAG)n- GGG]/[normal (CAG)n-GGG] haplotypes. The results suggest that an inter- allelic interaction is involved in the intergenerational instability of the expanded CAG repeat.      

Chromosomal aberrations and micronucleus frequency in nurses occupationally exposed to cytotoxic drugs

In this study, we evaluated the effect of low level occupationalexposure of nurses in a medical oncology unit in Cairo, Egypt,to anticancer drugs. Twenty nurses who constantly handled thesedrugs and 20 controls, matched according to age and sex, wereexamined. Metaphase chromosomes were studied. Percentages ofmetaphases with chromosomal aberrations were significantly higher(P < 0.001) in the exposed group (6.1 ± 2.7) versusthe controls (2.6 ± 1.6). The detected chromosomal aberrationswere in the form of chromatid gaps, chromatid breaks and acentricfragments. Micronucleated peripheral blood lymphocytes werealso analyzed in cytochalasin B treated binucleated lymphocytes.There was significant increase in cells with micronuclei (P< 0.001) in nurses (10.05 ± 4.71) in comparison tothe matched control (5.42 ± 2.22) (P < 0.001). Nursesexposed to the cytotoxic drugs for     

The mouse Mid1 gene: implications for the pathogenesis of Opitz syndrome and the evolution of the mammalian pseudoautosomal region

We have recently reported isolation of the gene responsible for X- linked Opitz G/BBB syndrome, a defect of midline development. MID1 is located on the distal short arm of the human X chromosome (Xp22. 3) and encodes a novel member of the B box family of zinc finger proteins. We have now cloned the murine homolog of MID1 and performed preliminary expression studies during development. Mid1 expression in undifferentiated cells in the central nervous, gastrointestinal and urogenital systems suggests that abnormal cell proliferation may underlie the defect in midline development characteristic of Opitz syndrome. We have also found that Mid1 is located within the mouse pseudoautosomal region (PAR) in Mus musculus , while it seems to be X- specific in Mus spretus. Therefore, Mid1 is likely to be a recent acquisition of the M. musculus PAR. Genetic and FISH analyses also demonstrated a high frequency of unequal crossovers in the murine PAR, creating spontaneous deletion/duplication events involving Mid1. These data provide evidence for the first time that genetic instability of the PAR may affect functionally important genes. In addition, we show that MID1 is the first example of a gene subject to X-inactivation in man while escaping it in mouse. These data contribute to a better understanding of the molecular content and evolution of the rodent PAR.      

HIV-1 and its causal relationship to immunosuppression and nervous system disease in AIDS: a review

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), caused by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), has claimed more than 10 million lives over the past 15 years. There are approximately 30 million HIV-positive people worldwide, 89% of whom reside in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The intricate relationship between the virus and HIV-related human multisystem pathology prompted scientists to modify many previously established concepts about infectious diseases and immunology, and to test new ones. The results of this work helped resolve many, albeit not all, long-standing problems concerning HIV-1 immune escape, its cellular tropism, and pathogenesis of HIV-related immunosuppression and nervous system disease. The most impressive advances have been made in antiretroviral drug treatment of HIV infection, which has resulted in dramatically reducing AIDS-related mortality, morbidity, and perinatal transmission. However, considering the magnitude of the worldwide HIV-AIDS pandemic, prohibitive cost and unusually exacting nature of combination drug treatment, as well as the emergence of drug-resistant HIV mutants, the disease and virus remain formidable and unpredictable, particularly in the area of prevention and vaccine development. Here, we have reviewed the most pertinent recently published studies of various aspects of HIV/AIDS intended to answer the following questions: what have we learned and what remains to be determined regarding this unorthodox viral disorder?