Regional variation in the lamina propria T cell receptor V beta repertoire in normal human colon

The Ewing's sarcoma cell line RD-ES, which carries the EWS/FLI-1 fusion gene, responded to the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor lovastatin with growth arrest. Replenishment of mevalonate (MVA) to the arrested cells restored cell growth. However, if tunicamycin (TM), which is an inhibitor of N-linked glycosylation, was present together with MVA the cells remained arrested, indicating that N-linked glycosylation is of importance for growth of Ewing's sarcoma cells. Inhibition of the biosynthesis of EWS/FLI-1 fusion protein by treatment with antisense oligonucleotides also led to growth arrest, suggesting that this protein is of importance for cell growth. We investigated whether MVA synthesis and N-linked glycosylation could be involved in regulation of the expression of the EWS/FLI-1 fusion protein, which in fact contains four potential sites for N-linked glycosylation. We found that inhibition of both HMG-CoA reductase and N-linked glycosylation drastically decreased the expression of the fusion protein, which mainly appears in the cell nuclei. There was no significant difference in the inhibitory effect on the fusion protein between the cytoplasm and the cell nuclei, indicating that the transport of the fusion protein to the cell nucleus is not affected. The fusion protein did not exhibit any gel electrophoretic mobility shift after treatment of the cells with lovastatin or TM, and it did not incorporate [3H]glucosamine. Therefore we can conclude that the fusion protein is not a glycoprotein. The decreased expression of the fusion protein following lovastatin or TM treatment was found to be due to a lowered stability of de novo-synthesized fusion protein. The down-regulation of the fusion protein was correlated to growth arrest. Furthermore, the kinetics between the expression of EWS/FLI-1 fusion protein and the initiation of DNA synthesis in MVA-stimulated cells were similar. Taken together, our data suggest that the regulatory role of N-linked glycosylation in the expression of the EWS/FLI-1 fusion protein is important for growth of Ewing's sarcoma cells. Possible mechanisms underlying TM-induced decrease in EWS/FLI-1 expression may involve the breaking of growth factor receptor pathways.     

The effect of exercise and rehabilitation on anterior-posterior knee displacements after anterior cruciate ligament autograft reconstruction

We studied the effect of rehabilitation strength training and return to activities on anterior-posterior knee displacements after patellar tendon autogenous anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. A total of 938 measurements were sequentially collected for 142 patients with the KT-2000 arthrometer. Rehabilitation included immediate knee motion and early weightbearing, light sports at 6 months, and competitive sports at 8 months or later. At a minimum of 2 years after surgery, 121 patients (85%) had normal displacements (less than 3 mm of increase at 134 N), 14 (10%) had 3 to 5.5 mm of increase (partial function), and 7 (5%) had more than 5.5 mm of increase (failed). There was no association found between the initial onset of the abnormal displacements in the 21 knees and either the amount of time after surgery or the rehabilitation program. Six of the seven grafts that failed did so in the 1st postoperative year. Serial displacement measurements allow early detection of graft stretching and subsequent modification of rehabilitation or delay in return to strenuous activities. These measurements showed that the rehabilitation program used in this study was not itself injurious and resulted in an acceptable failure rate of 5%.     

Treatment of gingivitis and periodontitis. Research, Science and Therapy Committee of the American Academy of Periodontology

This paper is one of three in a series prepared by the Research, Science and Therapy Committee of The American Academy of Periodontology and is intended for the information of the dental profession. It represents the position of the Academy regarding the current state of knowledge about treatment of gingivitis and periodontitis. The other papers are entitled The Etiology and Pathogenesis of Periodontal Diseases and Diagnosis of Periodontal Diseases.     

Call to molecular arms

In a prospective study, cultures were obtained of all intravascular catheters removed from children in an intensive care unit. Of 366 catheters removed from 217 children, 110 (30%) were found to be colonized, most commonly with coagulase-negative staphylococci. Despite the high rate of colonization, there were only nine instances (2%) of catheter-related bacteremia.     

Protection against lethal murine coccidioidomycosis by a soluble vaccine from spherules

The formaldehyde-killed, whole-spherule vaccine, which is protective against lethal challenge of laboratory animals with Coccidioides immitis, was fractionated. It yielded a soluble, multicomponent, subcellular fraction termed the 27K vaccine. This vaccine, when it was accompanied by adjuvant, protected mice against lethal intranasal and intravenous challenge with C. immitis.     

(E)-2-hexenal-induced DNA damage and formation of cyclic 1,N2-(1,3-propano)-2'-deoxyguanosine adducts in mammalian cells

(E)-2-Hexenal (hexenal), a natural flavor compound, acts as directly genotoxic agent and forms cyclic 1,N2-propano adducts with deoxyguanosine. Formation of this adduct in isolated DNA and in cells was studied with a modified 32P-postlabeling procedure including HPLC separation, nuclease P1 enrichment, two-dimensional TLC of adducted nucleotide bisphosphates on PEI-cellulose, and quantification of adduct spots by liquid scintillation counting. Adduct formation with the more reactive crotonaldehyde was included for comparison. Synthesized adducted dG-3'-phosphates served as external standards for identification and quantification. In calf thymus DNA, hexenal (0.2 mM) shows a time dependent formation of adducts, yielding 1.55 pmol/mumol of DNA at 5 h incubation. With crotonaldehyde (0.2 mM) the adduct rate was about 10-fold higher. Hexenal also generated 1,N2-propano-dG adducts in the human lymphoblastoid Namalva cell line (0.2 mM, 1 h, 86 fmol/mumol of DNA) and in primary rat colon mucosa cells (0.4 mM, 30 min, 50 fmol/mumol of DNA). In primary colon mucosa cells from rats and humans, hexenal and crotonaldehyde (0.4 mM, 30 min) induced DNA damage, detected by single cell microgel electrophoresis (comet assay). In primary rat gastric mucosa cells, hexenal was only weakly active, inducing detectable DNA damage in 20% of cells at 0.8 mM concentration. In contrast, primary mucosa cells from rat esophagus were as sensitive as colon cells. After single oral application of hexenal to rats (up to 320 mg/kg body wt) DNA damage was not detectable in gastrointestinal mucosa. Analysis of hexenal in selected flavored foods revealed concentrations up to 14 ppm (0.14 mM) that are comparable to its natural occurrence in some fruits and vegetables (up to 30 ppm). Thus, the concentration range selected for the toxicological studies described here clearly is relevant: Hexenal, at concentrations found in food, exerts genotoxic effects in cells from rat and human gastrointestinal tract.     

The G3 domain of versican inhibits mesenchymal chondrogenesis via the epidermal growth factor-like motifs

Versican is a highly expressed proteoglycan in zones of developing tissues. To investigate whether versican plays a role in cell differentiation, we studied its role in mesenchymal condensation and chondrogenesis. Here we report that a mini-versican gene product inhibits mesenchymal chondrogenesis but not condensation. The mini-versican-treated mesenchymal cultures form fewer, smaller cartilaginous nodules and produced lower levels of link protein and type II collagen. The versican G3 domain alone, but not G1, was sufficient to inhibit mesenchymal chondrogenesis. Deletion of two epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like motifs in the G3 domain abolished the effect of versican. The G3 domain of aggrecan, which does not contain an EGF-like motif, did not inhibit mesenchymal chondrogenesis. We also generated a chimera construct containing the two EGF-like motifs of versican and the G3 domain of aggrecan, and we observed that this chimera construct inhibited chondrogenesis to a lesser extent than did the full-length versican G3 construct. Direct transfection of mesenchymal cells with different constructs produced similar results. Furthermore, treatment with versican antisense oligonucleotides and transfection with a versican antisense construct promoted chondrogenesis. Taken together, our results strongly suggest that versican inhibits mesenchymal chondrogenesis via its EGF-like motifs.     

Prospective evaluation of criteria for microbiological diagnosis of prosthetic-joint infection at revision arthroplasty. The OSIRIS Collaborative Study Group

A prospective study was performed to establish criteria for the microbiological diagnosis of prosthetic joint infection at elective revision arthroplasty. Patients were treated in a multidisciplinary unit dedicated to the management and study of musculoskeletal infection. Standard multiple samples of periprosthetic tissue were obtained at surgery, Gram stained, and cultured by direct and enrichment methods. With reference to histology as the criterion standard, sensitivities, specificities, and likelihood ratios (LRs) were calculated by using different cutoffs for the diagnosis of infection. We performed revisions on 334 patients over a 17-month period, of whom 297 were evaluable. The remaining 37 were excluded because histology results were unavailable or could not be interpreted due to underlying inflammatory joint disease. There were 41 infections, with only 65% of all samples sent from infected patients being culture positive, suggesting low numbers of bacteria in the samples taken. The isolation of an indistinguishable microorganism from three or more independent specimens was highly predictive of infection (sensitivity, 65%; specificity, 99.6%; LR, 168.6), while Gram staining was less useful (sensitivity, 12%; specificity, 98%; LR, 10). A simple mathematical model was developed to predict the performance of the diagnostic test. We recommend that five or six specimens be sent, that the cutoff for a definite diagnosis of infection be three or more operative specimens that yield an indistinguishable organism, and that because of its low level of sensitivity, Gram staining should be abandoned as a diagnostic tool at elective revision arthroplasty.