Factor V Leiden is not common in children with portal vein thrombosis

Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is a rare condition affecting both children and adults, and occurs in association with a wide variety of clinical situations. On the other hand, the development of PVT in patients under these situations indicates that other contributing factors could be involved. Recently a missense mutation in the factor V gene (1691G-->A), known as factor V Leiden, has been identified and results in abnormal factor V product, resistant to proteolytic inactivation by activated protein C and thus predisposes to thrombosis. This study was carried out to verify if children with PVT have an increase in frequency of factor V Leiden. Allele-specific restriction analysis and single strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) were used to test for factor V Leiden in 20 children with PVT and 64 normal children. None of the PVT children were heterozygous or homozygous for the factor V Leiden, and one control child was heterozygous. This study demonstrates that factor V Leiden is not common in children with PVT, and is not a prerequisite for this thrombotic event.     

TRAM regulates the exposure of nascent secretory proteins to the cytosol during translocation into the endoplasmic reticulum

Translocational pausing is a mechanism used by certain specialized secretory proteins whereby discrete domains of a nascent chain destined for the endoplasmic reticulum lumen are transiently exposed to the cytosol. Proteoliposomes reconstituted from total endoplasmic reticulum proteins properly assemble translocationally paused intermediates. The capacity of the translocon to correctly pause the nascent chain is dependent on a glycoprotein fraction whose active component is TRAM. In the absence of TRAM, the normally sealed ribosome-membrane junction still opens in response to a pause transfer sequence. However, nascent chain domains that are not exposed to the cytosol in the presence of TRAM are so exposed in its absence. Thus, TRAM regulates which domains of the nascent chain are visible to the cytosol during a translocational pause.     

Tuberculosis and iron overload in Africa: a review

Both pulmonary tuberculosis and dietary iron overload are common conditions in sub-Saharan Africa. The incidence of tuberculosis has increased markedly over the last decade, primarily as a result of the rapid spread of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Dietary iron overload affects up to 10% of adults in rural populations and is characterized by heavy iron deposition both in parenchymal cells and in macrophages. Mycobacterium tuberculosis grows within macrophages and, at the same time, the antimicrobial function of macrophages is important in the body's defence against tuberculosis. In vitro, the loading of macrophages with iron reduces the response of these cells to activation by interferon-gamma and diminishes their toxicity against micro-organisms. In the clinical setting, dietary iron overload appears to increase the risk for death from tuberculosis even in the absence of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The combination of dietary iron overload and infection with the HIV, with impaired function of both macrophages and T-cells, may make patients especially vulnerable to tuberculosis. It is possible that the prevention and treatment of dietary iron overload could contribute to the control of tuberculosis in African populations.     

Anti-MOC-31: a potential addition to the pulmonary adenocarcinoma versus mesothelioma immunohistochemistry panel

MOC-31 expression has recently been advocated as an immunohistochemical marker for distinguishing mesothelioma from adenocarcinoma in tissue sections. We studied formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue from 23 pleural mesotheliomas and 23 primary pulmonary adenocarcinomas for immunoreactivity with anti-MOC-31, a human epithelial-related antigen. All of the 23 adenocarcinomas strongly expressed the marker, whereas only one of the mesotheliomas showed weak reactivity. These results demonstrate the usefulness of anti-MOC-31 in differentiating pulmonary adenocarcinoma from mesothelioma.     

Production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) by macrophages and T-lymphocytes of rodents as affected by acute gamma-irradiation

BACKGROUND: The current classification dividing patients with functional gastrointestinal symptoms into subgroups remains controversial. AIMS: To determine whether distinct symptom groupings exist in the community. METHODS: A random sample of Sydney residents in Penrith, Australia was mailed a validated self report questionnaire. Gastrointestinal symptoms including the Rome criteria for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and dyspepsia were measured. RESULTS: Among 730 respondents, the 12 month age and gender adjusted prevalence (adjusted to the Australian population) of IBS, dyspepsia, and gastro-oesophageal reflux were 11.8% (95% confidence interval (CI) 9.3 to 14.3%), 11.5% (95% CI 9.6 to 14.6%), and 17.5% (95% CI 14.2 to 19.9%), respectively. In total, 60% of the population reported four or more gastrointestinal symptoms. There was considerable overlap of IBS with dyspepsia and among the dyspepsia subgroups by application of the Rome criteria. Independently, 10 symptom groupings were identified by factor analysis. The underlying constructs measured by these factors were generally the major abdominal syndromes recognised by the Rome classification: dyspepsia, IBS, reflux, painless constipation, painless diarrhoea, and bloating, in addition to a number of more specific symptom groupings. CONCLUSION: Gastrointestinal symptoms are common and overlap in the community, but distinct upper and lower abdominal symptom groupings can be identified.     

Antibacterial and antifungal activity of aromatic constituents of essential oils

Five aromatic constituents of essential oils (cineole, citral, geraniol, linalool and menthol) were tested for antimicrobial activity against eighteen bacteria (including Gram-positive cocci and rods, and Gram-negative rods) and twelve fungi (three yeast-like and nine filamentous). In terms of antibacterial activity linalool was the most effective and inhibited seventeen bacteria, followed by cineole, geraniol (each of which inhibited sixteen bacteria), menthol and citral aromatic compounds, which inhibited fifteen and fourteen bacteria, respectively. Against fungi the citral and geraniol oils were the most effective (inhibiting all twelve fungi), followed by linalool (inhibiting ten fungi), cineole and menthol (each of which inhibited seven fungi) compounds.