Parenteral nutrition in oncologic patients]

A B16 melanoma-specific CD8+ T cell line (AB1) was established from the spleen cells of C57BL/6 mice cured of B16 melanoma with interleukin (IL)-12 treatment. The AB1 line exclusively used T cell receptor Vbeta11. The AB1 cells exhibited a cytolytic activity against both syngeneic B16 melanoma and allogeneic P815 mastocytoma, whereas a cold inhibition assay revealed specificity of the AB1 cells against B16 melanoma. Their lostability to kill a class I loss variant of B16 melanoma was restored by the transfection of H-2Kb gene. In addition, their interferon (IFN)-gamma production was significantly suppressed by the addition of anti-H-2Kb monoclonal antibody, and RT-PCR analysis showed that the AB1 line expressed the mRNA encoding IFN-gamma, but not IL-4 or IL-10. The experiment using synthetic peptides of tyrosinase-related protein-2 (TRP-2) revealed that the AB1 cells could recognize TRP-2(181-188) peptide. Moreover, the AB1 cells showed an in vivo antitumor effect against established pulmonary metastases of B16 melanoma. Overall, these results indicate that the Tc1-type Vbeta11+ AB1 cells exert an antitumor activity against syngeneic B16 melanoma through recognition of TRP-2(181-188) peptide in an H-2Kb-restricted manner.     

Can radioactive iodine be used in the treatment of diffuse non-toxic goiter?

Traditional treatment modalities of diffuse nontoxic goitre are thyroid hormone suppression or surgery. When treating nodular nontoxic goitre with 131I treatment, a reduction in thyroid volume to about 50% is seen. In the present study we evaluated the effect of 131I treatment in 21 patients treated for a diffuse nontoxic goitre and followed by evaluation of thyroid volume measured by ultrasound. Thyroid volume declined in all patients from median of 66 ml (range 27-160 ml) to 21 ml (9-108 ml) over a year, a reduction of 62%. Three patients developed hypothyroidism in the follow-up period (14%), one of these had a temporary hyperthyroid fase. In conclusion, 131I treatment of diffuse nontoxic goitre reduces thyroid volume by approximately 60% within 12 months. Hypothyroidism developed in 14% during a limited follow-up period.     

Regulation of the proliferative potential of cord blood long-term culture-initiating cells (LTC-IC) by different stromal cell lines: implications for LTC-IC measurement

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Long-term culture-initiating cells (LTC-IC) are the best available approximation to an in vitro assay of stem cells in humans although they still represent a heterogeneous population in terms of proliferative capacity and sensitivity to different growth factors. Human umbilical cord blood (CB) is rich in hemopoietic progenitor cells, as measured by clonogenic assays and contains stem cells capable of reconstituting the marrow after ablation in clinical transplantation. We evaluated the influence of culture conditions on the in vitro behavior of LTC-IC from CB. DESIGN AND METHODS: LTC-IC were evaluated in long-term cultures, comparing two types of murine stromal cell lines: M2-10B4 and M2-10B4 transfected with cDNAs for human G-CSF and IL-3. RESULTS: Two and five fold higher numbers of terminally differentiated cells were produced during nine weeks of culture of CB mononuclear or CD34+ cells respectively, in cultures containing a M2-10B4 IL-3 G-CSF cell line compared to cultures containing the parental cell line. Likewise, a higher number of colony-forming cells (CFC) were detected in the supernatant of cultures with the transfected cell line. In contrast, the number of CFC generated within the stromal layer, after 5 or 9 weeks of culture, was significantly higher in cultures on M2-10B4 cells than those on M2-10B4 IL-3 G-CSF. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that the proliferative capacity of CB LTC-IC can be strongly influenced by culture conditions and that the frequency of LTC-IC estimated using these cell lines as stromal support is not identical.     

Systemic and intracerebroventricular injections of vasotocin inhibit appetitive and consummatory components of male sexual behavior in Japanese quail.

The authors investigated the behavioral actions of vasotocin (VT) in castrated testosterone-treated male Japanese quail. The appetitive and consummatory components of sexual behavior as well as the occurrence frequency of crows were inhibited, in a dose-dependent manner, by injections of VT. The authors observed opposite effects after injection of the V1 receptor antagonist, dPTyr(Me)AVP. Lower doses of VT were more active after central than after systemic injection, and effects of systemic injections of VT were blocked by a central injection of dPTyr(Me)AVP. The behavioral inhibition was associated with a modified diuresis after systemic but not central injection. These results provide direct evidence that VT affects male sexual behavior in quail by a direct action on the brain independent of its peripheral action on diuresis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-awareness and other-awareness. II: Mirror self-recognition, social contingency awareness, and synchronic imitation.

Eighteen-month-old children were tested for mirror self-recognition using the classic rouge test or an alternative procedure, for social contingency awareness by being closely imitated for a long time, and for the capacity for communication by synchronic imitation. The classic mirror rouge test was shown to produce false negatives. Most recognizers and nonrecognizers became aware of being imitated and imitated the activity of a model, but only recognizers engaged in sustained synchronic imitation of the model. The results support our hypothesis that self-recognition and spontaneous perspective-taking develop in close synchrony because both require a capacity for secondary representation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nuclear calcium release by InsP3-receptor channels plays a role in meiosis reinitiation in the mouse oocyte

Cerebral palsy (CP) is classified as a static encephalopathy. CP is a nonprogressive disorder affecting posture and movement and is commonly associated with a spectrum of developmental disabilities. Serial testing of physiological function can provide a quantitative assessment of improvement or decline in the condition of the patient. Furthermore, there are increasing numbers of children with disability who are involved in athletic activity, and the need for physiological feedback to the disabled athlete and coach is the same as for able-bodied individuals. It is acknowledged that children and adolescents with CP have a lower maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) compared with their able-bodied peers. Children with CP also have distinctly subnormal values for peak anaerobic power and muscular endurance of the upper and lower limbs. Irrespective of the scaling method used (absolute or relative), when compared with normal data from healthy controls, children with CP scored between 2 and 4 standard deviations below the expected mean value for power. Gait abnormalities in children with CP have been shown to increase submaximal walking energy expenditure almost 3-fold compared with healthy children. Assessment of the metabolic cost alone is important but does not provide any information on the mechanisms giving rise to the high energy cost of locomotion in children with CP. Hence, a multidisciplinary (kinetic, kinematic and electromyographic) approach is an important noninvasive tool for studying some of the underlying mechanisms responsible for abnormal gait and elevated energy costs. A certain level of muscle co-contraction is necessary for achieving joint stability during locomotion, particularly at the ankle and knee. There appears, however, to be a co-contraction threshold beyond which there are associated elevated metabolic costs during locomotion in children with CP.     

The regulatory properties of autonomous subtelomeric P elements are sensitive to a Suppressor of variegation in Drosophila melanogaster

Genetic recombination was used in Drosophila melanogaster to isolate P elements, inserted at the telomeres of X chromosomes (cytological site IA) from natural populations, in a genetic background devoid of other P elements. We show that complete maternally inherited P repression in the germline (P cytotype) can be elicited by only two autonomous P elements at 1A and that a single element at this site has partial regulatory properties. The analysis of the surrounding chromosomal regions of the P elements at 1A shows that in all cases these elements are flanked by Telomeric Associated Sequences, tandemly repetitive noncoding sequences that have properties of heterochromatin. In addition, we show that the regulatory properties of P elements at 1A can be inhibited by some of the mutant alleles of the Su(var)205 gene and by a deficiency of this gene. However, the regulatory properties of reference P strains (Harwich and Texas 007) are not impaired by Su(var)205 mutations. Su(var)205 encodes Heterochromatin Protein 1 (HP1). These results suggest that the HP1 dosage effect on the P element properties is site-dependent and could involve the structure of the chromatin.     

Membrane topology and glycosylation of the human multidrug resistance-associated protein

The membrane topology of the human multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP) was examined by flow cytometry phenotyping, immunoblotting, and limited proteolysis in drug-resistant human and baculovirus-infected insect cells, expressing either the glycosylated or the underglycosylated forms of this protein. Inhibition of N-linked glycosylation in human cells by tunicamycin did not inhibit the transport function or the antibody recognition of MRP, although its apparent molecular mass was reduced from 180 kDa to 150 kDa. Extracellular addition of trypsin or chymotrypsin had no effect either on the function or on the molecular mass of MRP, while in isolated membranes limited proteolysis produced three large membrane-bound fragments. These experiments and the alignment of the MRP sequence with the human cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) suggest that human MRP, similarly to CFTR, contains a tandem repeat of six transmembrane helices, each followed by a nucleotide binding domain, and that the C-terminal membrane-bound region is glycosylated. However, the N-terminal region of MRP contains an additional membrane-bound, glycosylated area with four or five transmembrane helices, which seems to be a characteristic feature of MRP-like ATP-binding cassette transporters.     

Functional diversity and clonal frequencies of reactivity in the available antibody repertoire

Our objective was to determine the effect of level and chemical form of dietary selenium on productivity of beef cows, concentrations of triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroxine (T4) in plasma, and immunoglobulins (IgG and IgM) in plasma and colostrum of cows. Pregnant cows (n = 60) were randomly allocated among four dietary treatments of 20, 60, or 120 ppm Se as selenite and 60 ppm as selenomethionine from selenized yeast (SeY) in salts offered free-choice. Treatments began 90 d prepartum and continued through the second parturition. Treatments did not affect the final body weights of cows or birth weights or weaning weights of calves. At parturition, cows given salt with 20 ppm Se as selenite had lower (P < . 05) concentrations of Se in blood than cows with access to higher-Se salts. Treatments affected (P < .01) the concentration of T3 and the ratio of T3:T4 in plasma of cows. The concentration of T3 in plasma of cows with access to salt with 20 ppm Se was 14% lower than that in cows supplemented with 60 ppm Se as selenite or SeY. Plasma IgG in cows and calves, colostrum, and Se concentrations in colostrum, casein, and whey were lowest (P < .01) for cows given salt with only 20 ppm Se. Thus, salts with concentrations of 60 and 120 ppm Se improved measures of Se status in cows and calves. Consideration should be given to the concentrations of T3 and IgG when determining the nutritional requirements for Se in cattle.