Thymic alterations in feline GM1 gangliosidosis

GM1 gangliosidosis is an inherited metabolic disease characterized by progressive neurological deterioration with premature death seen in children and numerous animals, including cats. We have observed that thymuses from affected cats greater than seven months of age (GM1 mutant cats) show marked thymic reduction compared to age-matched normal cats. The studies reported here were done to describe alterations in the thymus prior to (less then 90 days of age) and during the development of mild (90 to 210 days of age) to severe (greater than 210 days of age) progressive neurologic disease and to explore the pathogenesis of the thymic abnormality. Although histologic examination of the thymus from GM1 affected cats less than 210 days of age showed no significant differences from age-matched control cats, thymuses from GM1 mutant cats greater than 210 days of age were significantly reduced in size (approximately 3-fold). Histologic sections of lymph nodes, adrenal glands, and spleens from GM1 gangliosidosis-affected cats showed no significant differences. Flow cytometric analyses showed a marked decrease in the percentage of immature CD4+CD8+ thymocytes (p < 0.001) and significantly increased CD4-CD8+ cells (p < 0.01) in GM1 mutant cats greater than 210 days of age when compared to normal age matched cats. Co-labelling with CD4, CD8, and CD5 indicated an increase in the percentage of GM1 mutant cat thymocytes at this age which were CD5high, suggesting the presence of more mature cells. Cytometric analyses of subpopulations of peripheral lymphocytes indicated an increase in CD4-CD8+ cells (p < 0.05) with concurrent decreases in CD4+CD8- and CD4-CD8- cells (which were not significant). Similar analyses of thymocyte and lymphocyte subpopulations from cats < 210 days of age showed no significant differences between GM1 mutant and normal cells. GM1 mutant cats at all ages had increased surface binding of Cholera toxin B on thymocytes, indicating increased surface GM1 ganglioside expression. Increases were highly significant in GM1 mutant cats greater than 210 days of age. In situ labelling for apoptosis was increased in GM1 mutant cats between 90 to 200 days of age when thymic masses were within normal limits. In GM1 mutant cats over 200 days of age, decreased labelling was observed when thymic mass was reduced and the CD4+CD8+ subpopulation, known to be very susceptible to apoptosis, was significantly decreased. These data describe premature thymic involution in feline GM1 gangliosidosis and suggest that increased surface GM1 gangliosides alters thymocyte development in these cats.     

Forward telescoping: the question matters

This study examines the effect of pulse repetition rate (PRR), pulse intensity, and bicuculline on the minimum threshold (MT) and latency of inferior collicular neurons of the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus, under free-field stimulation conditions. It tests the hypothesis that changes in MT and latency of collicular neurons are co-dependent on PRR. The number of impulses in inferior collicular neurons (n = 245) increased either monotonically (25%) or non-monotonically (75%) with pulse intensity. Latencies either decreased to a plateau (72%), fluctuated unpredictably within 3 ms (21%) or changed very little (7%) with increasing pulse intensity. Latencies and MTs of most collicular neurons increased by 1.5-24 ms (mean +/- SD = 4.8 +/- 3.3 ms) and 4-75 dB (mean +/- SD = 22.1 +/- 16.2 dB) with increasing PRR. In most neurons (94%), the latency increase was completely (42%) or partially (52%) eliminated when pulse intensity was compensated for the MT increase with PRR. Complete elimination of latency was achieved by bicuculline application. In a few neurons (6%), the latency increase with PRR was not affected by compensated pulse intensity or bicuculline application.     

The relationship between jaw posture and muscular strength in sports dentistry: a reappraisal

In a previous report, we observed by light microscopy the extracellular matrix in 51 vulvar squamous carcinomas and found that some tumors has a prominent stromal response in the form of a regional or diffuse zone of extracellular myxoid matrix containing immature collagen and fibroblasts at the tumor-stromal junction. These tumors were associated with clitoral involvement, ulcerative nonexophytic growth pattern, older age groups, poorer survival rate, and more extensive lymph node metastases than when prominent fibromyxoid stromal response (PFSR) was absent. This behavior was demonstrated despite the fact that these tumors were not larger, more deeply invasive, or of higher grade than when PFSR was absent. In the current immunohistochemical study, we examined cytokine, cell adhesion receptor, and tumor suppressor gene expression in 50 vulvar squamous carcinomas using a panel of antibodies to identify any potential role of these proteins in the development of a PFSR. Semiquantification of expression into none, focal (< 25% of cells showing expression), regional (25-50%), and diffuse (> 50%) patterns revealed PFSR to be statistically associated with high CD44, transforming growth factor (TGF) beta 3, and p53 protein expression, but not with fibroblast growth factor, epidermal growth factor, epidermal growth factor receptor, or E-cadherin expression. When expression of CD44 and either stromal or tumor TGF-beta 3 expression was high, i.e., regional or diffuse in distribution, 15 (50%) of 30 cases were associated with PFSR. In contrast, only 1 (7%) of 14 cases was associated with PFSR when expression was high for only one of these two proteins and none of 3 cases was associated with response when expression was low for both proteins (p = 0.005). Furthermore, in cases showing high expression for both TGF-beta 3 and CD44, PFSR was found in 13 (72%) of 18 cases when p53 expression was diffuse compared with 2 (17%) of 12 cases when expression was less (p = 0.01). Since TGF-beta acts mitogenically for fibroblasts and has been shown to be an inhibitor of epithelial cell growth, its high expression in a carcinoma with PFSR would suggest loss of effect on the epithelial component but an intact effect on the stroma. Since CD44 is known to act as a receptor for hyaluronic acid, which is a prominent stromal component and known to play an important role in cell mobility and tumor aggressiveness, its high expression in association with PFSR would suggest a role of CD44 overexpression in altered hyaluronate metabolism with accelerated tumor cell migration and subsequent distal spread. The current study demonstrates that alterations in cytokine and cell adhesion receptor status variably occur in vulvar squamous carcinoma and that such alterations may affect tumor morphology and behavior.     

Profile of a clinical practice: Thresholds for surgery and surgical outcomes for patients with primary hyperparathyroidism: a national survey of endocrine surgeons

A 1991 NIH Consensus Development Conference statement provided recommendations for the management of patients with asymptomatic and minimally symptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism (primary HPT), but adherence to these guidelines has not been documented. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of North American members of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons inquiring about surgeon and primary HPT patient characteristics, thresholds for surgery, and clinical outcomes. Multivariate regression was used to assess the relationship of physician characteristics to practice patterns and outcomes. Of 190 surgeons surveyed, 147 (77%) responded; 109 provided complete responses (57%). These surgeons spend 66% of their time in patient care and perform an average of 33 (range, 1-130) parathyroidectomies/yr. More than 72% of primary HPT patients who underwent surgery were asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic. High volume surgeons (>50 cases/yr) had significantly lower thresholds for surgery with respect to abnormalities in preoperative creatinine clearance, bone densitometry changes, and levels of intact PTH and urinary calcium compared to their low volume colleagues (1-15 cases/yr). Overall reported surgical cure rates were 95.2% after primary operation and 82.7% after reoperation. Compared to high volume surgeons, low volume endocrine surgeons had significantly higher complication rates after primary operation (1.9% vs. 1.0% respectively; P < 0.01) and reoperation (3.8% vs. 1.5%; P < 0.001) as well as higher in-hospital mortality rates (1.0% vs. 0.04%; P < 0.05). Endocrine surgeons operate on a large number of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic primary HPT patients. Even among a group of highly experienced surgeons who typically see patients after referral from endocrinologists, clinical outcomes and criteria for surgery vary widely and appear to be associated with surgeon experience. Their criteria for surgery diverge from NIH guidelines. These results implore the endocrine community to examine the evidential basis for decisions made in the management of primary HPT.     

The contribution of classical (beta1/2-) and atypical beta-adrenoceptors to the stimulation of human white adipocyte lipolysis and right atrial appendage contraction by novel beta3-adrenoceptor agonists of differing selectivities

The role of beta3- and other putative atypical beta-adrenoceptors in human white adipocytes and right atrial appendage has been investigated using CGP 12177 and novel phenylethanolamine and aryloxypropanolamine beta3-adrenoceptor (beta3AR) agonists with varying intrinsic activities and selectivities for human cloned betaAR subtypes. The ability to demonstrate beta1/2AR antagonist-insensitive (beta3 or other atypical betaAR-mediated) responses to CGP 12177 was critically dependent on the albumin batch used to prepare and incubate the adipocytes. Four aryloxypropanolamine selective beta3AR agonists (SB-226552, SB-229432, SB-236923, SB-246982) consistently elicited beta1/2AR antagonist-insensitive lipolysis. However, a phenylethanolamine (SB-220646) that was a selective full beta3AR agonist elicited full lipolytic and inotropic responses that were sensitive to beta1/2AR antagonism, despite it having very low efficacies at cloned beta1- and beta2ARs. A component of the response to another phenylethanolamine selective beta3AR agonist (SB-215691) was insensitive to beta1/2AR antagonism in some experiments. Because no [corrected] novel aryloxypropanolamine had a beta1/2AR antagonist-insensitive inotropic effect, these results establish more firmly that beta3ARs mediate lipolysis in human white adipocytes, and suggest that putative 'beta4ARs' mediate inotropic responses to CGP 12177. The results also illustrate the difficulty of predicting from studies on cloned betaARs which betaARs will mediate responses to agonists in tissues that have a high number of beta1- and beta2ARs or a low number of beta3ARs.     

Binding of the catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase-1 to the ryanodine-sensitive calcium release channel protein

A number of studies have reported that the activity of the ryanodine-sensitive calcium release channel (ryanodine receptor) in the junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum of skeletal and cardiac muscle can be modulated by protein phosphorylation-dephosphorylation through activation of endogenous protein kinases and/or by addition of exogenous protein kinases and protein phosphatases. In this study, we have investigated the possibility that protein phosphatase-1 (PP1) is targeted to the junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum by the direct isolation of PP1-binding proteins on PP1-Sepharose affinity columns. The results show that the ryanodine receptor of both skeletal and cardiac muscle bind to this affinity support, and are released at supraphysiological salt concentrations in a relatively pure state. Reciprocal experiments demonstrated that PP1 binds to the immobilized muscle ryanodine receptor. The direct binding of PP1 to the ryanodine receptor was supported by the finding that tryptic fragments of the receptor were retained on PP1-Sepharose. The ability of PP1 to dephosphorylate the ryanodine receptor that was phosphorylated by protein kinase A was also demonstrated. These studies show that PP1 is targeted to the junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum by binding to the ryanodine receptor, and provide a biochemical basis for the possibility that PP1 may play a role in the regulation of calcium flux via protein phosphorylation-dephosphorylation mechanisms.