Acquired gastric outlet obstruction during infancy and childhood: a report of five unusual cases

We present a patient with iliac vein stenosis and thrombosis, which occurred 2 weeks after renal transplantation and were secondary to a perivascular hematic collection. The vein stenosis was identified by color Doppler ultrasonography and venography. Computed tomography demonstrated a perivascular collection. One week later, control venography identified iliac vein thrombosis. The patient underwent pharmacological thrombolysis with local infusion of urokinase for 4 hr, percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, and percutaneous installation of a metallic stent (Wallstent), with immediate favorable results. The patient remains in stable condition at 2 years after the procedure.     

Immune response against the non-repeat region (293-310) of the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium vivax

Immunization by peptides based on the repeat sequences of Plasmodium falciparum or P. vivax antigen(s) have shown inconsistent results during clinical trials in humans. This could be attributed to the lack of T-cell help or antigenic polymorphism. Thus, attention has been focused towards the more conserved non-repeat regions. The present study was undertaken to map the antigenic determinant in the vicinity of region II (outside the repeat) of CS protein of P. vivax. The immunogenicity of the peptide was studied alone and after linking with polytuftsin (PT), using alum and Freund's adjuvant, in inbred strains of mice with different genetic backgrounds. The humoral response and antigen induced T-cell proliferation assays clearly demonstrated the immunomodulatory activity of PT. Comparable results were observed with antigen(s) administered either in alum or Freund's adjuvant. The induction of IgG2a and IgG2b antibody isotypes by both, peptide as well as the conjugate, may indicate that the T-helper response involved is of Th1 type. Further the immunofluorescence studies have shown that antibodies recognized the air dried sporozoites of P. cynomolgi. The results thus show that the above sequence has overlapping B and T-cell determinants and that alum can be substituted for Freund's adjuvant in generating an effective immune response.     

Effects of chronic U50,488H treatment on binding and mechanical responses of the rat hearts

The effects of chronic injection of U50,488H (trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)cyclohexyl]benzeacetamidel++ +), a selective kappa opioid agonist, on the properties of the binding sites of tritiated U69593 [(5 alpha,7 alpha,8 beta)-(-)-N-methyl-N-(7-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-1-oxaspiro (4,5)dec-8-yl)benzeneacetamide], another selective kappa opioid agonist, and mechanical responses to U50,488H of the heart were studied. Rats received injection twice a day with U50,488H for 4 days. Binding studies on the crude membrane homogenates revealed that there was no change in maximum binding, but a significant increase in Kd after the treatment, indicating that the number of kappa binding sites remained unchanged whereas the affinity of the binding sites to kappa-agonist decreased. The study on the mechanical responses to U50,488H in the isolated perfused heart preparation showed that although the agonist at 10(-6) M caused MR2266 reversible reductions in heart rate and force of contraction as well as ventricular ectopic beat in the heart of rats in the control group, its effects were absent in the U50,488H-treated group, indicating the development of tolerance to the mechanical effects of U50,488H on the heart. The results indicate that the development of tolerance to the mechanical effects of a kappa-agonist after chronic treatment with the agonist was not accompanied by down-regulation, but only a slight and significant reduction in affinity of kappa binding sites in the rat heart.     

Prostate cancer: local staging with endorectal magnetic resonance imaging

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer has received increasing attention during the past decades. Staging of tumors before treatment is imperative for planning appropriate therapy. The purpose of this study is to assess the role of endorectal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in local staging of prostate cancer. METHODS: Endorectal MRI was performed in 31 patients with histologically-proven prostate cancer. MRI was done three to 100 days (mean, 32.1 days) after either transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) with biopsy or transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). Radical prostatectomies were performed within two weeks after MRI. The diagnostic accuracy of endorectal MRI for local tumor staging, specifically for extracapsular extension (ECE) and seminal vesicle invasion (SVI), was evaluated by correlating MRI results with histopathologic findings of whole-mount specimens. RESULTS: The accuracy of endorectal MRI for the detection of tumor presence and estimation of tumor volume was 48%. Sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value for evaluation of ECE were 88%, 69% and 80%, respectively, and for SVI, were 66%, 84% and 50%, respectively. The overall accuracy of MRI in local tumor staging (using the TMN system) was 61%. Accuracy in differentiating localized from invasive cancer was 84%. CONCLUSION: Endorectal MRI is not accurate enough to detect tumor presence or estimate tumor volume. Diagnostic accuracy for local tumor staging is unsatisfactory. However, endorectal MRI is highly accurate in differentiating localized (stage B) from invasive (stage C) cancer.     

Complete nucleotide sequence of HTLV-II isolate NRA: comparison of envelope sequence variation of HTLV-II isolates from U.S. blood donors and U.S. and Italian i.v. drug users

Seven cardiac electrophysiology stimulators from four manufacturers (Biotronik, Bloom, Digitimer and Medtronic) in common current use are reviewed. The stimulators differ in the features provided and the design adopted to achieve these features. The number of output channels ranges from one to four, the number of extra-stimuli available ranges from two to six, and these can be delivered as a variety of sequences. Some of the stimulators (Digitimer and Bloom) are modular while others (Biotronik and Medtronic 532 series) are of an integrated design comprising a single physical unit. The design of the Medtronic EP-2 has both integrated and modular characteristics. The features of the stimulators associated with input, output, control and the user interface are specifically reviewed. The features are also compared against the published recommendations of the American Heart Association. In addition, a summary of stimulator user comments from a number of electrophysiology centres is presented. All of the stimulators fulfil, or are close to fulfilling, basic electrophysiological requirements, but some provide more complex facilities such as would be required by specialist centres.     

Detection of skeletal metastases in Nigerian breast cancer patients: evaluation of radioisotope bone scan and radiography

Cerebellar granule cells isolated from postnatal day 7 mice, and cultured in minimal medium containing only insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), both survive and differentiate. This differentiation is marked by neurite growth and expression of genes associated with terminal differentiation, the myocyte-specific enhancer factor 2A (MEF2A) and the alpha 6 subunit of the gamma-aminobutyric acidA receptor (GABAA alpha 6). Percoll gradient purified granule cells maintained without IGF-I, in minimal medium alone or in medium containing the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC), also express MEF2A and GABAA alpha 6. Thus, cultured granule neurons can differentiate to some extent cell-autonomously and IGF-I may not be a critical factor for this process.     

TR1, a new member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, induces fibroblast proliferation and inhibits osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption

A newly identified member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily shows activities associated with osteoclastogenesis inhibition and fibroblast proliferation. This new member, called TR1, was identified from a search of an expressed sequence tag database, and encodes 401 amino acids with a 21-residue signal sequence. Unlike other members of TNFR, TR1 does not contain a transmembrane domain and is secreted as a 62 kDa glycoprotein. TR1 gene maps to chromosome 8q23-24.1 and its mRNA is abundantly expressed on primary osteoblasts, osteogenic sarcoma cell lines, and primary fibroblasts. The receptors for TR1 were detected on a monocytic cell line (THP-1) and in human fibroblasts. Scatchard analyses indicated two classes of high and medium-high affinity receptors with a kD of approximately 45 and 320 pM, respectively. Recombinant TR1 induced proliferation of human foreskin fibroblasts and potentiated TNF-induced proliferation in these cells. In a coculture system of osteoblasts and bone marrow cells, recombinant TR1 completely inhibited the differentiation of osteoclast-like multinucleated cell formation in the presence of several bone-resorbing factors. TR1 also strongly inhibited bone-resorbing function on dentine slices by mature osteoclasts and decreased 45Ca release in fetal long-bone organ cultures. Anti-TR1 monoclonal antibody promoted the formation of osteoclasts in mouse marrow culture assays. These results indicate that TR1 has broad biological activities in fibroblast growth and in osteoclast differentiation and its functions.     

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV is cleaved by caspase-3 and calpain in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells undergoing apoptosis

We have previously demonstrated cleavage of alpha-spectrin by caspase-3 and calpain during apoptosis in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells (Nath, R., Raser, K. J., Stafford, D., Hajimohammadreza, I., Posner, A., Allen, H., Talanian, R. V., Yuen, P., Gilbertsen, R. B., and Wang, K. K. (1996) Biochem. J. 319, 683-690). We demonstrate here that calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV (CaMK IV) is cleaved during apoptosis by caspase-3 and calpain. We challenged SH-SY5Y cells with the pro-apoptotic agent thapsigargin. Western blot analysis revealed major CaMK IV breakdown products of 40, 38, and 33 kDa. Digestion of control SH-SY5Y lysate with purified caspase-3 produced a 38-kDa CaMK IV fragment; digestion with purified calpain produced a major fragment of 40 kDa. Pretreatment with carbobenzoxy-Asp-CH2OC(O)-2,6-dichlorobenzene or Z-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethylketone was able to block the caspase-3-mediated production of the 38-kDa fragment both in situ and in vitro. Calpain inhibitor II similarly blocked formation of the calpain-mediated 40-kDa fragment both in situ and in vitro. Digestion of recombinant CaMK IV by other caspase family members revealed that only caspase-3 produces a fragmentation pattern consistent to that seen in situ. The major caspase-3 and calpain cleavage sites are respectively identified as PAPD176*A and CG201*A, both within the CaMK IV catalytic domain. Furthermore, calmodulin-stimulated protein kinase activity decreases within 6 h in thapsigargin-treated SH-SY5Y. The loss of activity precedes cell death.