Reinforcement of PMMA bone cement with a continuous wire coil--a 3D finite element study

The changes in the mechanical response of a bone cement reinforcement, comprised of a continuous stainless steel coil imbedded within the PMMA bone cement matrix surrounding the distal tip of the total hip arthroplasty, was investigated. To achieve this, a 3D finite element model depicting two and one half rotations of the coil imbedded within the cement at the distal tip was constructed. Ideally, the wire coil should reduce the radial, and to a greater extent, the hoop stresses developing within the cement and at the cement-stem interface. As a means of comparison, a control model of only bone cement was also built. For the radial stresses, the control had about 4.5 times the compressive stress of the reinforced models (0.039 (+/-0.00065) MPa vs. 0.0087 (+/-0.0012) MPa) at the cement-stem interface. The tensile hoop stresses were also 4.5 times higher (4.272 (+/-0.0147) MPa and 0.95 (+/-0.0052) MPa) for the control than for the reinforced models. This indicates that the wire coil reinforcement is effective in reducing the cement mantle's radial and, more importantly, the hoop stresses which may lead to the failure of both the cement and the implant as a whole.     

Biomechanics of rigid tibial nail insertion sites

The use of a very proximal insertion site for rigid intramedullary nailing was evaluated in a biomechanical study. The purpose of this study was to compare the bursting strains generated in a proximal tibia fracture fragment during rigid nailing, using the recommended insertion sites versus a more proximal site just anterior to the tibial plateau in the midline. Proximal one-third tibia fractures were created in 12 pairs of fresh cadaver specimens. Strain gauges were applied to the medial and lateral cortices of the proximal fragments. Lottes nails, Grosse-Kempf nails, and unreamed Russell-Taylor nails were inserted in four successive pairs of specimens. In each pair, one side used the recommended starting point, and the other side used the proximal insertion site. The strain was recorded at successive 2- to 4-cm depth intervals during nail insertion. In the Lottes group, much larger bursting strains were generated in the lateral cortex when using a distal starting point (P < 0.05). In the unreamed Russell-Taylor group, the anteromedial surface strains were significantly increased using a distal starting point (P < 0.05). The Grosse-Kempf group showed no significant difference in strains associated with any insertion point during tibial intramedullary nailing.     

Isolation, cloning, and characterisation of a trp homologue from squid (Loligo forbesi) photoreceptor membranes

The invertebrate phototransduction system is a valuable model of the ubiquitous inositol lipid signalling system. Taking advantage of the ability to obtain relatively large amounts of retinal material from the cephalopod eye, partial protein sequence data were obtained for a 92-kDa component isolated from a detergent-insensitive cytoskeletal fraction of a squid retinal microvillar membrane preparation. Degenerate oligonucleotides, designed on the basis of these sequence data, were used to isolate a full-length cDNA, encoding the 92-kDa component, using both cDNA library screening and 5'-rapid amplification of cDNA ends (5'-RACE) techniques. Comparison of the amino acid sequence encoded by this cDNA with entries in the OWL composite protein sequence database reveals greatest sequence similarity with the products of the Drosophila trp and trpl genes. Greatest variation from the Drosophila Trp protein is seen in the carboxyl-terminal region, which is considerably truncated in the squid protein and which accounts for most of the substantial difference in molecular weight seen between these proteins. This variation may be significant as the carboxyl-terminal domain has been shown to be in the regulation of several ligand-gated channels. The carboxyl-terminal domain has been expressed and shown to interact with calmodulin in a calcium-dependent fashion, thereby supporting this hypothesis. The likely occurrence of other homologues in a variety of systems suggests that this is a novel and important family of regulated ion channels involved in calcium signalling.     

Enthesiopathy and bone disease during the course of inflammatory spondylarthropathies. Diagnostic and physiopathologic importance

Our studies concerning enthesopathies during the course of spondylarthropathies show that enthesopathies are very frequent: 58% among 48 spondylarthropathies in a preliminary study. The comparison of the frequency of enthesopathies in spondylarthropathies (58%) and in Rheumatoid Arthritis (6.6%) show a highly significant difference. In our latest study enthesopathies were found in 67% among 115 spondylarthropathies. We have also described the mean locations and clinical features. They are observed early in the course of the disease. Histological studies of enthesopatic and normal enthesis were also performed. They were unable to find a specific image. Nevertheless inflammatory changes in some of our cases and in cases retrieved in the medical literature confirm the involvement of enthesis in the pathological process of spondylarthropathies. Enthesopathies represent a very good diagnostic symptom. They are the hallmark of spondylarthropathies for adults and even more for children. Furthermore, if one admits the assertion that peripheral and spinal involvement is the result of bone remodeling enthesitic lesions, then enthesopathies and osteitis, ending in ankylosis, may be considered as the fundamental pathophysiological mechanism of spondylarthropathies in contrast with erosive lesions of rheumatoid arthritis.     

The effect on the insulin-like growth factor system in human prostate epithelial cells of immortalization and transformation by simian virus-40 T antigen

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system has been demonstrated to be important for proliferation and differentiation in tissues. This system has also been demonstrated to be an important regulator of the growth of normal prostate epithelium and has been implicated in the process of transformation to human epithelial prostate cancer. This study examined the function of the various components of the IGF system in benign prostate epithelium (BPE), simian virus-40 (SV40)-T antigen-immortalized prostate epithelial cells, P69SV40-T (P69), and two sublines generated from the parental line by serial passage through athymic mice: one tumorigenic (M2182) and one metastatic (M12). IGF-II messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and protein were detected in BPE cells, and each of the three P69 cell lines. IGF-II protein levels were significantly higher in medium collected from the P69, M2182, and M12 cells than in BPE. Proliferation in response to IGF was P69 > BPE > M2182 > M12. The proliferative responses in the four cell types were paralleled by an increase in c-jun. In addition, as the cells became progressively more tumorigenic, the basal level of c-jun mRNA increased. IGF-binding protein-2 (IGFBP-2), -3, -4, -5, and -6 could be detected in the primary epithelial cell medium; however, as the cells became progressively more tumorigenic, there was a decrease in IGFBP-2, -3, -5, and -6 in the medium. The type 1 IGF receptor (IGFr) also decreased as the cells became more tumorigenic. The M12 cells had 80% fewer receptors than the P69 cells and 70% fewer than M2182 cells. There was no change in the Kd for IGF between the cell lines. Based on these data it would appear that the difference in proliferation between the BPE cells and P69s may be due to an increased concentration of inhibitory IGFBPs in the P69 medium. The decrease in proliferation seen in response to IGF in M2182 and M12 cells compared to the P69s would appear at least in part to be due to a decreased IGFr number. IGFr mRNA is represented by 11.0- and 7.0-kilobase bands in the BPE and P69 cells, but only by an 11.0-kilobase band in M2182 and M12 cells. These data indicate that there are significant changes that occur in the IGF system during the process of malignant transformation of the prostate epithelium. The changes described in the P69 cell system are similar to those seen in vivo and suggest that an intact IGF system may be important in maintaining a differentiated epithelial cell.