Acute effects of the potent lacrimator o-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile (CS) tear gas

In this article, a girl with an especially severe form of autoimmune acute hepatitis was successfully treated with immunosuppressive medication. This 11 year-old girl was hospitalized with the chief complaint of persistent jaundice for three months. The pathohistology of liver biopsy was chiefly composed of massive necrosis and heavy lymphoid infiltration. With the clinical findings of pericardial effusion, arthritis, positive ANA, and positive anti-dsDNA, she initially was mistaken for a case of unusual SLE complicated with hepatic involvement. Differentiating the autoimmune hepatitis from the hepatic involvement of SLE for this case is illustrated by a review of the pertinent literature and our experiences with SLE. The characteristic features of autoimmune hepatitis, the relatively low titer of anti-dsDNA, and the inherent low level of C4 finally led to the conclusion that the cause for her liver disease was in favor of autoimmune hepatitis.     

The cytoskeletal protein talin contains at least two distinct vinculin binding domains

We have mapped the vinculin-binding sites in the cytoskeletal protein talin as well as those sequences which target the talin molecule to focal contacts. Using a series of overlapping talin-fusion proteins expressed in E. coli and 125I-vinculin in both gel-overlay and microtitre well binding assays, we present evidence for three separable binding sites for vinculin. All three are in the tail segment of talin (residues 434-2541) and are recognized by the same fragment of vinculin (residues 1-258). Two sites are adjacent to each other and span residues 498-950, and the third site is more than 700 residues distant in the primary sequence. Scatchard analysis of 125I-vinculin binding to talin also indicates three sites, each with a similar affinity (Kd = 2-6 x 10(-7) M). We also detect a substoichiometric interaction of higher affinity (Kd = 3 x 10(-8) M) which remains unexplained. By expressing regions of the chicken talin molecule in heterologous cells, we have shown that the sequences required to target talin to focal contacts overlap those which bind vinculin.     

Establishment of a protocol for testing antimicrobial activity in southern African macroalgae

Six southern African seaweeds, two Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta and Rhodophyta, were used to test for antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter Iwoffi and Escherichia coli. Extracts were prepared using a range of organic solvents (acetone, chloroform, diethyl ether, 80% ethanol and methanol), by soaking ground seaweed samples in the extraction solvent, evaporating to dryness, and redissolving in the respective solvent. In addition, milled and ground samples were boiled in 80% ethanol for 4 h. Crude extracts were tested for antibacterial activity using three application techniques, viz paper discs, direct spotting and wells, and onto three types of agar plates, viz seeded agar, bacterial lawns and overlay agar. Inhibition zone diameters were measured and analysed by multifactorial analysis of variance. Boiling milled seaweeds in 80% ethanol, with application of the extracts into 6.1 mm wells in overlay agar constituted the test protocol which yielded the highest activity indices.     

Potential roles of decidual prolactin in early pregnancy

Successful establishment of pregnancy is dependent on uterine receptivity at the time of trophoblast invasion and implantation. The endometrium undergoes morphological and functional differentiation during the mid- to late secretory phase of the menstrual cycle in preparation for such an event. These changes are orchestrated by ovarian steroid hormones. However, local autocrine-paracrine signalling at the deciduo-placental interface is crucial for successful establishment of pregnancy. One key cytokine that may regulate many functions in implantation is prolactin. Prolactin is secreted by the decidualized endometrium at the time of predicted conception and, in the event of pregnancy, local expression and secretion of prolactin persists until term. Prolactin mediates its effect on target cells through interaction with single-pass transmembrane receptors. Localization of the sites of expression of the prolactin receptor indicates that the cytokine may regulate an array of functions in the pregnant uterus that are crucial in im-plantation and early pregnancy.