Fetal echocardiography during the 2nd half of pregnancy. Biometry and functional approach

Fetal cardiac biometry was conducted in the TM mode, after real time anatomical outlining of the plane of the four cardiac cavities, on 48 recordings of supposedly normal pregnancies of 23 to 39 weeks of amenorrhoea. Ten measurements were made for each patient, in an immediately subvalvular plane perpendicular to the septum (dimensions of the two ventricular cavities, of the wall of the two ventricles, and of the septum, in diastole and systole respectively). Functional results derived from this data showed that the difference between diastolic and systolic values for ventricular diameters increased with term, the ratio of the diastolic diameter of the right ventricle (RV) to that of the left ventricle (LV) was a constant: 1.23 +/- 0.12, and the size of the RV was always superior to that of the LV (+ + +). Alson noted was that percentage shortening of the LV was superior to that of the RV, and mean percentage thickenings of the RV and septum were inferior to that of the LV. A further observation was that interpretation of the kinetic of the septum requires precise knowledge of the plane of the section in relation to "the pivot point".     

Cloning and distribution of the rat parkin mRNA

We have isolated by RT-PCR and sequenced a partial cDNA coding for the rat homolog of parkin, a gene mutated in autosomal recessive juvenile parkinsonism. The 1.46 kb rat cDNA clone contains a 1376 bp coding sequence that shares strong similarity with the human parkin cDNA. RT-PCR and in situ hybridization revealed widespread expression of parkin in the rat brain and the periphery. The availability of the rat parkin cDNA and the initial elucidation of its distribution should facilitate further research on the pathophysiological role of parkin in the nervous system.     

Direct evidence in men for a role of endogenous oestrogens on gonadotrophin release

In six healthy subjects serum oestradiol was selectively decreased by administering an aromatase activity inhibitor, hydrotestolactone (HT). After HT administration serum oestradiol (Oe2) decreased from 18.7 +/- 2.3 (SEM) to 6.7 +/- 0.6 pg/ml whereas testosterone (T) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) blood levels were not modified. These oestradiol changes were associated with a significant increase in serum LH and FSH concentrations (P less than 0.001). The administration of tamoxifen, an oestrogen antagonist, to 5 subjects caused a sharp increase in LH and FSH levels (P less than 0.001). Oe2 was unchanged after the treatment with tamoxifen, whereas T levels were significantly higher. The sum of these data suggests that oestradiol under physiological conditions plays a specific role in the feedback mechanism of gonadotrophin release.     

The Neurobiological Basis of the Distress Thermometer: A PET Study in Cancer Patients

The objective of this study was to investigate the possible associations between the Distress Thermometer (DT) scores and the brain metabolism of structures involved in stress response. Twenty‐one cancer patients were assessed using the DT, Problem Checklist and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The psychological measures were correlated with [18 F]PET‐FDG brain glucose metabolism. Multiple and linear regression and binary logistic regression were run to analyse data. The DT and HADS scores illustrated that 48% of patients were distressed, 19% were depressed and48% were anxious. Results showed that some subcortical areas activity, such as part of midbrain and of hypothalamus, was correlated with the DT scores. The Problem Checklist scores correlated with the activity of the same areas and included more regions in the limbic forebrain and brainstem. Compared with the DT and Problem Checklist, HADS‐Depression scores showed a more extensive pattern of correlation with brain activity, including limbic and cortical areas. The results highlighted that the DT scores correlated with the activity of brain areas typically involved in stress response. Indeed, hypothalamus metabolism was found to be the best predictor of distressed patients. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tropomyosin is required for cardiac morphogenesis,myofibril assembly,and formation of adherens junctions in the developing mouse embryo

BACKGROUND: We explored a function for tropomyosin (TM) in mammalian myofibril assembly and cardiac development by analyzing a deletion in the mouse TPM1 gene targeting αTM1, the major striated muscle TM isoform. RESULTS: Mice lacking αTM1 are embryonic lethal at E9.5 with enlarged, misshapen, and non‐beating hearts characterized by an abnormally thin myocardium and reduced trabeculae. αTM1‐deficient cardiomyocytes do not assemble striated myofibrils, instead displaying aberrant non‐striated F‐actin fibrils with α‐actinin puncta dispersed irregularly along their lengths. αTM1's binding partner, tropomodulin1 (Tmod1), is also disorganized, and both myomesin‐containing thick filaments as well as titin Z1Z2 fail to assemble in a striated pattern. Adherens junctions are reduced in size in αTM1‐deficient cardiomyocytes, α‐actinin/F‐actin adherens belts fail to assemble at apical cell–cell contacts, and cell contours are highly irregular, resulting in abnormal cell shapes and a highly folded cardiac surface. In addition, Tmod1‐deficient cardiomyocytes exhibit failure of α‐actinin/F‐actin adherens belt assembly. CONCLUSIONS: Absence of αTM1 resulting in unstable F‐actin may preclude sarcomere formation and/or lead to degeneration of partially assembled sarcomeres due to unregulated actomyosin interactions. Our data also identify a novel αTM1/Tmod1‐based pathway stabilizing F‐actin at cell–cell junctions, which may be required for maintenance of cell shapes during embryonic cardiac morphogenesis. Developmental Dynamics 243:800–817, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Semen alterations and flow-citometry evaluation in patients with male accessory gland infections

Male accessory gland infections (MAGI) represent a major cause of male infertility mainly through the secretory dysfunction of the prostate, seminal vesicles, and epididymis. This study was undertaken to evaluate conventional and nonconventional sperm parameters in these patients, therefore 150 patients with MAGI were selected. Each of them underwent to two sperm analyses and evaluation of DNA fragmentation mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization, chromatin compactness, by flow cytometry. Results showed that patients with MAGI had a lower sperm progressive motility (11.4 ± 5.0 vs 34.0 ± 7.0%), and percentage of normal forms (9.0 ± 3.7 vs 33.0 ± 13.0%) compared to controls, instead, these patients showed higher number of seminal white blood cells (2.2 ± 1.0 vs 0.4 ± 0.6 106/ml). Patients with MAGI showed a higher number of spermatozoa with DNA fragmentation compared to controls (8.2 ± 3.0 vs 1.0 ± 1.0%). In addition, they have also a higher percentage of spermatozoa with low MMP (28.0 ± 4.0 vs 2.0 ± 2.0%). Patients with MAGI, showed a higher percentage of spermatozoa with PS externalization (8.0 ± 4.0 vs 3.0 ± 3.0%), an early sign of apoptosis, and lower percentage of viable spermatozoa (64.5 ± 12.0 vs 88.0 ± 10.0%). An increased percentage of spermatozoa with abnormal chromatin compactness (18.0 ± 4.0 vs 5.0 ± 3.0%) was found in patients with MAGI. In conclusion, patients with MAGI show alterations of conventional and biofunctional sperm parameters compared to controls. These results suggest to consider the flow cytometry evaluation among the diagnostic tools for male infertility.