Interaction of flagellar inner arm dynein isolated from sea urchin sperm with microtubules in the presence of ATP

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: In acute pancreatitis, contrast-enhanced CT is widely accepted to give reliable information in the early assessment of severity. This study critically evaluates the clinical data, outcome, and CE-CT findings in patients with incorrect radiological estimation of the severity of the condition. MATERIAL AND METHODS: All patients suspected of having severe pancreatitis underwent contrast-enhanced CT. Clinical data and CE-CT findings of 341 patients were re-examined. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: In 28 patients (8.2%) the radiological diagnosis was inconsistent with the clinical findings. The most common reason--in 20 of the 28 patients (71.4%)--for failure to estimate the severity of pancreatitis was partial necrosis of the gland. In severe cases the partial necrosis was overlooked in nine patients (32.1%). In mild cases clinical significance of partial necrosis--overestimated as representative for the whole gland and technical failure both explained the incorrect interpretation in six (21.4%) patients; and in five patients (17.9%) intermediate patchy enhancement was incorrectly regarded as low. The misleading estimation remained inexplicable in only two (7.1%) patients. These results emphasize adequate assessment of CE-CT and inclusion of all areas of the pancreas in the estimation of enhancement.     

Experimental monkey model sensitized with mite antigen

Nucleotide sequences that surrounded ATG initiation codons were examined in jawless and cartilaginous fish complementary DNA sequences. Both thymidine and cytidine residues were underrepresented at positions near the initiation codon, while an extremely high frequency of purine nucleotides was observed at position -3. Statistical analysis (chi2) indicated that the greatest compositional bias occurred at nucleotide positions -3 and +4, and suggested that a relatively short consensus sequence surrounded AUG initiation codons of primitive fish genes. ATG triplets within 5' leader sequences were flanked by nucleotides different from those that surrounded ATG initiation codons. Dinucleotide frequency analysis indicated a deficiency in TA and an excess in AA around initiation codons. DNA sequence analysis suggested that low CpG conversion occurred 5' to the translation start of primitive fish genes. The conservation of consensus sequences around initiation codons of primitive fish genes underscores the importance of nucleotide composition for initiation of translation.     

Protective activity of Borrelia duttonii-specific immunoglobulin subclasses in mice

To analyse the immune response of mice to Borrelia duttonii infection, BALB/c mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with B. duttonii strain 406K, and the titres of B. duttonii-specific immunoglobulins - IgM, IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b and IgG3 - were determined by ELISA. IgM antibodies appeared first, followed by IgG2a and IgG3, and then IgG1 and IgG2b. The protective activity of individual classes and subclasses of B. duttonii-specific immunoglobulins was then determined by passive immunisation of BALB/c mice with immunoglobulin preparations purified by affinity chromatography. The mice were then challenged by intraperitoneal inoculation of B. duttonii. The study demonstrated that B. duttonii-specific IgM and IgG3 protected against the development of spirochaetaemia and death after borrelial infection, whereas B. duttonii-specific IgG1, IgG2a and IgG2b had low protective activities.     

Hydroxyl group formation caused by hydrogen diffusion into optical glass fibre

Transmission loss increase of optical glass fibre caused by hydrogen diffusion is measured as a function of temperature and partial pressure of hydrogen gas. The activation energy of hydroxyl group formation from the diffused molecular hydrogen was found to be 15.9 kcal/mole. Also the hydroxyl absorption loss increase at 200°C was found to be proportional to the square root of the partial pressure of hydrogen gas.     

Effect of coal particle size on the coal hydrogenation reaction — In relation to the plasticity of coal

The effect of coal particle size on the catalytic hydrogenation of dry coal was investigated for three Hokkaido coals (Japan) of different ranks. It was found that the effect of coal particle size on conversion is dependent on coal rank. A greater difference in conversion with respect to coal particle size is noticed for coals of lower carbon content. The physical appearance of the products in the autoclave after the reaction suggests that the effect of particle size on conversion is dependent on the plastic properties of the heated coal sample. When the reaction proceeds with coal in the plastic state, the effect of particle size is small. As indicated by the product distribution, the plastic properties of a coal sample are related to the yield of asphaltene (hexane insoluble/benzene solubles) and/or the structural parts of original coal which yield asphaltene.     

Protective effect of FK506 on ischemia/reperfusion-induced myocardial damage in canine heart

We investigated the cardioprotective effect of FK506, a newly developed immunosuppressive agent, on ischemia-reperfusion-induced myocardial damage and the inhibitory effect of FK506 on superoxide radical formation by neutrophils. Open-chest anesthetized dogs were divided into two groups: group 1, 2-h occlusion of the coronary artery followed by 1-h reperfusion; and group 2, 2-h occlusion followed by 1-h reperfusion with preadministration of FK506 (0.5 mg/kg). After reperfusion, heart mitochondria were prepared from the normal and reperfused areas and mitochondrial function and mitochondrial GSH (the reduced form of glutathione) and GSSG (the oxidized form of glutathione) concentrations were measured. In addition, neutrophils were collected from normal healthy dogs, and the inhibitory effect of FK506 on superoxide radical formation by neutrophils was also investigated. One-hour reperfusion after 2-h coronary occlusion induced significant mitochondrial dysfunction associated with a marked depletion of mitochondrial GSH concentration. FK506 reduced mitochondrial dysfunction, depletion of mitochondrial GSH concentration, and development of reperfusion arrhythmias. FK506 also reduced stimulant-induced superoxide radical formation by normal neutrophils dose dependently. Radical scavenging activity decreased in association with reperfusion, and FK506 reduced superoxide radical formation by neutrophils, which might contribute to lessening ischemia-reperfusion damage.     

Effect of the interaction between fibronectin and VLA-4 on the proliferation of human B cells, especially a novel human B-cell line, OPM-3

Very late antigen (VLA)-4 integrin has been suggested to play an important role in haemopoiesis. However, little is known concerning the roles of the fibronectin (FN)/VLA-4 interaction in the proliferation of human B cells. In this study we investigated the effect of immobilized FN on the proliferation of various B-cell lines, including a newly-established B-cell line, OPM-3, and human tonsillar B cells, that primarily express VLA-4 but not VLA-5. Immobilized FN significantly promoted the proliferation of OPM-3 cells and normal B cells via VLA-4. The cross-linking of beta1 integrins of OPM-3 cells resulted in the phosphorylation of the focal adhesion kinase (FAK) associated 90 kD protein, an increase in FAK-associated kinase activity, and the phosphorylation of Raf-1. Furthermore, the MEK1 inhibitor, PD98059, inhibited the FN-promoted proliferation of OPM-3 cells. These results demonstrate that the FN/VLA-4 interaction transmits the growth signal(s) which may be mediated by Ras pathway in OPM-3 cells, and suggest that OPM-3 cells may be of great value in studying the roles of the FN/VLA-4 interaction in human B-cell growth.     

Structure-activity relationships of glucagon-like peptide-1(7-36)amide: insulinotropic activities in perfused rat pancreases, and receptor binding and cyclic AMP production in RINm5F cells

There are three classes of Fc gamma receptor proteins, Fc gamma RI (CD64), Fc gamma RII (CDw32), and Fc gamma RIII (CD16), which are encoded by at least eight genes. In this review we summarize some of the biological advances in the Fc gamma receptors during the past year, specifically: 1) identification of genes and their products; 2) regulation of gene expression and modulation of receptor number; 3) cellular functions and mechanisms of signal transduction; 4) ligand binding and the role of polymorphisms; and 5) soluble Fc gamma receptors. We also highlight the direct clinical applications of this Fc gamma receptor research.