Persistently exaggerated startle responses in rats treated with pyridostigmine bromide

Troops in the Persian Gulf War have registered complaints consistent with CNS dysfunction that emerged after returning from the Gulf. A common experience among Persian Gulf War veterans was exposure to pyridostigmine bromide (PB) for prophylaxis against nerve gas exposure. To determine whether PB causes emergent CNS dysfunction, Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were given PB for 7 consecutive days in their drinking water. The WKY, but not the SD, rats exhibited a delayed-onset, persistently exaggerated startle response. The WKY rats exhibited exaggerated startle responses that appeared 15 days after the end of PB treatment and were still evident 22 days after the end of treatment. Both the duration and the magnitude of the exaggerated startle responses were related to the dosage of PB. The PB-treated rats exhibited normal short-term and long-term habituation. However, exaggerated startle responses were related to the development of enhanced short-term sensitization. Treating the rats for a second time, 7 weeks after the end of the first PB treatment, induced an exaggerated startle response that appeared sooner and dissipated faster than was evident after the first PB treatment. Inasmuch as the WKY rat has inherently low butyrylcholinesterase activity, a scavenger for PB, these results suggest that prophylactic PB may influence CNS function in individuals with low butyrylcholinesterase activity. Elaboration of the factors that mediate enhanced sensitization in the WKY rat may provide insight into some of the complaints registered by veterans of the Persian Gulf War.     

The social recruitment of medical students at Copenhagen University 1992/1993

As part of a prospective survey of medical students' conditions and of the different kinds of influence they are subjected to during their study periods, we looked into the question of from which social strata the students were recruited. Two hundred and fifty-four (79%) of 323 medical students matriculated during the summer of 1992 answered a structured questionnaire forwarded to them. One hundred and thirty-one (52%) medical students were recruited from the highest social class (I), whereas only 19 (7%) were recruited from the lowest social class (V). In comparison, the underlying population in the age groups relevant for the survey is made up as follows: 7% in social class I and 20% in social class V. A comparison with earlier surveys shows that only insignificant changes in the medical students' social class profiles have taken place in spite of the introduction of better possibilities of financing medical studies irrespective of social class affiliations.     

Abdominal compartment syndrome

The ACS is a clinical entity that develops from progressive, acute increases in IAP and affects multiple organ systems in a graded fashion because of differential susceptibilities. The gut is the organ most sensitive to IAH, and it develops evidence of end-organ damage before the development of the classic renal, pulmonary, and cardiovascular signs. Intracranial derangements with ACS are now well described. Treatment involves expedient decompression of the abdomen, without which the syndrome of end-organ damage and reduced oxygen delivery may lead to the development of multiple organ failure and, ultimately, death. Multiple trauma, massive hemorrhage, or protracted operation with massive volume resuscitation are the situations in which the ACS is most frequently encountered. Knowledge of the ACS, however, is also essential for the management of critically ill pediatric patients (especially those with AWD) and in understanding the limitations of laparoscopy. The role of IAH in the pathogenesis of NEC, central obesity co-morbidities, and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia remains to be fully studied.     

Decreased release of glutathione into the systemic circulation of patients with HIV infection

The human DDX6 gene (alias RCK) at chromosome 11 band q23 was identified through the study of the breakpoint of t(11;14)(q23;q32) translocation in a B-cell lymphoma cell line, RC-K8. DDX6 encodes a DEAD box protein/RNA helicase. Positive mouse genomic and cDNA recombinant clones were obtained by screening mouse B-cell genomic and cDNA libraries with a human DDX6 cDNA probe. The deduced amino acid sequence of an open reading frame from a cDNA clone revealed a protein with 92.5% identity to human ddx6/p54. All positive mouse genomic recombinant clones, and cDNA clones containing mouse Ddx6 (previous gene symbol: Rck), were localized by fluorescent in situ hybridization to band B of mouse Chromosome 9, a region showing conserved linkage homology to human chromosome 11 band q23. Mouse Ddx6 was localized to the region between Ncam and D9Mit45 by molecular linkage analysis. A 7.5-kb mRNA and a 54-kDa protein were identified as mouse Ddx6 gene products which are similar in size to products of the human DDX6 gene, as shown by Northern and Western blot analyses.     

Crystal structure of carbonic anhydrase from Neisseria gonorrhoeae and its complex with the inhibitor acetazolamide

The crystal structure of carbonic anhydrase from Neisseria gonorrhoeae has been solved to a resolution of 1.78 A by molecular replacement using human carbonic anhydrase II as a template. After refinement the R factor was 17.8% (Rfree=23.2%). There are two molecules per asymmetric unit (space group P21), but they have essentially identical structures. The fold of the N. gonorrhoeae enzyme is very similar to that of human isozyme II; 192 residues, 74 of which are identical in the two enzymes, have equivalent positions in the three-dimensional structures. This corresponds to 85% of the entire polypeptide chain of the bacterial enzyme. The only two cysteine residues in the bacterial enzyme, which has a periplasmic location in the cell, are connected by a disulfide bond. Most of the secondary structure elements present in human isozyme II are retained in N. gonorrhoeae carbonic anhydrase, but there are also differences, particularly in the few helical regions. Long deletions in the bacterial enzyme relative to human isozyme II have resulted in a considerable shortening of three surface loops. One of these deletions, corresponding to residues 128 to 139 in the human enzyme, leads to a widening of the entrance to the hydrophobic part of the active site cavity. Practically all the amino acid residues in the active site of human isozyme II are conserved in the N. gonorrhoeae enzyme and have similar structural positions. However, the imidazole ring of a histidine residue, which has been shown to function as a proton shuttle in the catalytic mechanism of the human enzyme, interacts with an extraneous entity, which has tentatively been identified as a 2-mercaptoethanol molecule from the crystallization medium. When this entity is removed by soaking the crystal in a different medium, the side-chain of His66 becomes quite mobile. The structure of a complex with the sulfonamide inhibitor, acetazolamide, has also been determined. Its position in the active site is very similar to that observed in human carbonic anhydrase II.     

Vpx is required for dissemination and pathogenesis of SIV(SM) PBj: evidence of macrophage-dependent viral amplification

The viral accessory protein Vpx is required for productive in vitro infection of macrophages by simian immunodeficiency virus from sooty mangabey monkeys (SIV(SM)). To evaluate the roles of Vpx and macrophage infection in vivo, we inoculated pigtailed macaques intravenously or intrarectally with the molecularly cloned, macrophage tropic, acutely pathogenic virus SIV(SM) PBj 6.6, or accessory gene deletion mutants (deltaVpr or deltaVpx) of this virus. Both wild-type and SIV(SM) PBj deltaVpx viruses were readily transmitted across the rectal mucosa. A subsequent 'stepwise' process of local amplification of infection and dissemination was observed for wild-type virus, but not for SIV(SM) PBj deltaVpx, which also showed considerable impairment of the overall kinetics and extent of its replication. In animals co-inoculated with equivalent amounts of wild-type and SIV(SM) Pbj deltaVpx intravenously or intrarectally, the deltaVpx mutant was at a strong competitive disadvantage. Vpx-dependent viral amplification at local sites of initial infection, perhaps through a macrophage-dependent mechanism, may be a prerequisite for efficient dissemination of infection and pathogenic consequences after exposure through either mucosal or intravenous routes.     

Starvation selection restores elastase and rhamnolipid production in a Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum-sensing mutant

The las quorum-sensing system of Pseudomonas aeruginosa controls the expression of elastase and rhamnolipid. We report that starvation can select a mutant producing these virulence factors in spite of a lasR deletion. Expression of the autoinducer synthase gene rhlI was increased in this suppressor mutant, suggesting compensation by the rhl system. These data show that P. aeruginosa can restore elastase and rhamnolipid production in the absence of a functional las quorum-sensing system.