The cell tropism of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 determines the kinetics of plasma viremia in SCID mice reconstituted with human peripheral blood leukocytes

Most individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) initially harbor macrophage-tropic, non-syncytium-inducing (M-tropic, NSI) viruses that may evolve into T-cell-tropic, syncytium-inducing viruses (T-tropic, SI) after several years. The reasons for the more efficient transmission of M-tropic, NSI viruses and the slow evolution ofT-tropic, SI viruses remain unclear, although they may be linked to expression of appropriate chemokine coreceptors for virus entry. We have examined plasma viral RNA levels and the extent of CD4+ T-cell depletion in SCID mice reconstituted with human peripheral blood leukocytes following infection with M-tropic, dual-tropic, or T-tropic HIV-1 isolates. The cell tropism was found to determine the course of viremia, with M-tropic viruses producing sustained high viral RNA levels and sparing some CD4+ T cells, dual-tropic viruses producing a transient and lower viral RNA spike and extremely rapid depletion of CD4+ T cells, and T-tropic viruses causing similarly lower viral RNA levels and rapid-intermediate rates of CD4+ T-cell depletion. A single amino acid change in the V3 region of gp120 was sufficient to cause one isolate to switch from M-tropic to dual-tropic and acquire the ability to rapidly deplete all CD4+ T cells.     

High postmortem concentrations of hypoxanthine and urate in the vitreous humor of infants are not confined to cases of sudden infant death syndrome

OBJECTIVE: High concentrations of hypoxanthine and urate have been found in the blood of rats who died suddenly during induced respiratory alkalosis as well as in cases of sudden death in malignant hyperthermia-susceptible pigs challenged with halothane. The origin of these metabolites is the excessive hydrolysis of adenine nucleotides, which is associated with the production of free radicals. We wished to establish whether high levels of these compounds were also to be found in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) victims, compared with other causes of death. DESIGN: Vitreous humor samples were analysed for hypoxanthine and urate by high-performance liquid chromatography. SETTING: Forensic Laboratories, Salt River, Cape Town. PARTICIPANTS: Vitreous humor samples were collected from 91 infants presented for postmortem examination. MAIN OUTCOME AND RESULTS: From autopsy reports, cause of death was classified as: (i) SIDS (N = 50); (ii) acute sudden death (N = 5); and (iii) all other causes of death (N = 36). There were no differences in the hypoxanthine or urate levels of groups (i) and (iii) over the first 5 days of the postmortem period. Group (ii) levels were lower than those of both (i) and (iii). CONCLUSION: Adenine nucleotide hydrolysis is not only a feature of SIDS, and possibly results from antemortem hypoxia in most deaths. The lower concentrations found in cases of acute sudden death probably resulted only from postmortem hydrolysis of the nucleotides.     

Relationship between infective load of Helicobacter pylori and reactive oxygen metabolite production in antral mucosa

Helicobacter pylori infection has been associated with stimulation of gastric mucosal reactive oxygen metabolite production. To provide further evidence of a causal relationship we looked for a dose-response relationship. We studied antral biopsy material from 110 patients. Quantitative H. pylori assessments were made using histologic and microbiologic methods. Reactive oxygen metabolite production was measured by luminol-dependent chemiluminescence. The usefulness of timed urease test colour changes as a guide to infective load was assessed. There was a positive association between mucosal reactive oxygen metabolite production and histologic (p = 0.002, n = 69) and microbiologic (Spearman's R = +0.6, p = 0.05, n = 18) quantitative H. pylori assessments. H. pylori infective load varied markedly over small areas (coefficient of repeatability of paired cultures (in colony-forming units/mg) = 1.9 x 10(6). Urease test timing correlated with histologic (p = 0.01) and microbiologic (p = 0.03) H. pylori quantitation. Histologically assessed mucosal damage was related to quantitative H. pylori assessment and to mucosal reactive oxygen metabolite production (p = 0.0001). These results support the hypothesis that H. pylori stimulates gastric mucosal reactive oxygen metabolite production and that this phenomenon is of pathogenic importance.     

Establishment of hormone-dependent and hormone-independent carcinoma cell lines with different metastatic potentials from spontaneous mammary tumors in aged Wistar rats

Three stable carcinoma cell lines, designated RM22-F5, RM17-5R, and RM1-4, were established from spontaneously occurring mammary carcinomas in old, outbred, female Wistar rats. The RM22-F5 and RM17-5R cells were keratin-positive and formed epithelial monolayers, whereas RM1-4 cells exhibited a spindle-like morphology and intense vimentin staining. When injected into nude mice, RM22-F5, RM17-5R and RM1-4 cells formed well-differentiated, poorly differentiated and undifferentiated carcinomas, respectively. The relative growth rates of the tumor cells in vitro were RM1-4 > RM22-F5 > RM17-5R. The growth of RM22-F5, but not of RM17-5R and RM1-4 cells, was significantly stimulated by insulin, epidermal growth factor, dexamethasone, 17 beta-estradiol and progesterone in vitro. Ovariectomy reduced the growth of RM22-F5 cells in vivo and these cells (but not RM1-4 or RM17-5R) were estrogen-receptor (ER)-positive. None of the lines were positive for the progesterone receptor (PR). Spontaneous lung and lymph-node metastases were observed in nude mice injected with RM22-F5 or RM17-5R cells, respectively. In contrast, RM1-4 cells were non-metastatic but invasive. Karyotype analysis revealed that RM22-F5 cells were hyperdiploid, RM17-5R were hypotetraploid, and RM1-4 were diploid with a sizeable insertion in chromosome 1. A point mutation in codon 12 (G to A transition) and loss of the normal allele of the H-ras-1 gene was detected in the DNA from RM22-F5 cells. No p53 mutations were apparent in any of the cell lines. The results indicate that RM22-F5 cells are hormone-dependent with an ER+/PR- phenotype, while the RM17-5R and RM1-4 lines are hormone-independent and ER-/PR-. These cell lines exhibit the spectrum of biological properties and genetic alterations observed in human breast cancers and may, therefore, be novel and useful models for understanding sporadic breast cancer in post-menopausal women.     

Genetic control of host resistance to flavivirus infection in animals

Flaviviruses are small, enveloped RNA viruses which are generally transmitted by arthropods to animals and man. Although flaviviruses cause important diseases in domestic animals and man, flaviviral infection of animals which constitute the normal vertebrate reservoir may be mild or sub-clinical, which suggests that some adaptation between virus and host may have occurred. While this possibility is difficult to study in wild animals, extensive studies using laboratory mice have demonstrated the existence of innate, flavivirus-specific resistance. Resistance is heritable and is attributable to the gene Flvr, which is located on chromosome 5 in this species. The mechanism of resistance is at present unknown, but acts early and limits the replication of flaviviruses in cells. While some evidence supports a role for Flvr in enhancing the production of defective interfering virus, thereby restricting the production of infectious virus, other reports suggest that Flvr interferes with either virus RNA replication or RNA packaging. Recent research suggests that cytoplasmic proteins bind to the viral replication complex and that allelic forms of these proteins in resistant mice may restrict the production of infectious progeny. Apparent resistance to flaviviruses has been described in other vertebrates, although it remains to be seen if this is attributable to a homologue of Flvr. Nonetheless, knowledge gained of the characteristics and function of Flvr in mice should be applicable to other host species, and improvement of resistance to flaviviral infection in domestic animals by selective breeding or gene technology may ultimately be possible.     

Langerhans' cell histiocytosis of the spine: use of MRI in guiding biopsy

The MRI features of two cases of spinal Langerhans' cell histiocytosis with multilevel involvement are presented in which MRI was of help in differentiating active from inactive healing lesions by the demonstration of signal changes in the vertebral body marrow of the active lesion, manifest as low signal intensity on T1-weighted sequences and high signal intensity on T2-weighted sequences. This distinction could not be made by plain radiography or bone scintigraphy. In cases where biopsy is required for diagnosis, MRI is recommended to guide the biopsy towards levels suggestive of active involvement.     

Sensitivity to ethanol across development in rats: comparison to [3H]zolpidem binding

Previous research has suggested that rats tested at 28 to 30 days of age show a marked subsensitivity to the sedative effects of ethanol. In the present study, rats of different ages were tested for aerial righting following acute ethanol (3 g/kg) treatment. These results were compared with the effects of the atypical benzodiazepine zolpidem (3 and 5 mg/kg) and pentobarbital (10 and 15 mg/kg). Animals tested at 25, 28, or 35 days of age were significantly less impaired by ethanol than preweanling rats (age 20 days) or older rats (age 65 to 75 days), whereas animals tested at 25 or 28 days of age were less impaired by the higher dose of zolpidem. With pentobarbital, the most distinct age-related trend was greater impairment in 20-day-old rats. Because ethanol may be active at the same type I GABA(A) receptor site selectively labeled by [3H]zolpidem, levels of [3H]zolpidem binding were determined for rats of different ages. Although some brain regions showed progressive increases in binding of [3H]zolpidem across development, other regions demonstrated increased binding from day 12 or 17 to day 20, then a plateau of binding levels across days 20, 25, and 28, with further increases occurring by day 36 or day 60. This pattern was observed in the cingulate cortex, medial septal nucleus, globus pallidus, inferior colliculus, red nucleus, and cerebellum. Overall, the results indicate that the period of subsensitivity to the sedative effects of ethanol is coincident with a change in the developmental pattern of GABA(A) receptor sites targeted by [3H]zolpidem.     

Uveitis and central nervous system vasculitis

The purpose of this double-blind study was to investigate the influence of adding a quercetin-containing supplement to the diet on plasma quercetin status, serum/platelet fatty acid levels and risk factors for heart disease. Healthy men and women with cholesterol levels of 4.0-7.2 mmol/L, consumed four capsules daily of either a quercetin-containing supplement (1.0 g quercetin/d) or rice flour placebo for 28 d. Quercetin intakes were approximately 50-fold greater than the dietary intakes associated with lower coronary heart disease mortality on the basis of epidemiologic studies. Subjects consuming quercetin-containing capsules had plasma quercetin concentrations approximately 23-fold higher than those of subjects consuming the control capsules. Quercetin supplementation did not modify serum total, LDL or HDL cholesterol or triglyceride levels. There were also no alterations of other cardiovascular disease or thrombogenic risk factors, including platelet aggregation, platelet thromboxane B2 production, blood pressure or resting heart rate. Furthermore, there was no effect on the levels of (n-6) or (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids in serum or platelet phospholipids. In conclusion, supplementation with quercetin-containing capsules markedly enhanced the plasma quercetin concentration but had no effect on other cardiovascular or thrombogenic risk factors.