Abdominal wall hematoma]

We describe three case reports of hematomas in the abdominal wall muscles and discuss etiology, diagnostic findings and treatment. Abdominal wall hematomas are uncommon, and the condition is often misdiagnosed. One of our patients was laparotomised owing to suspected appendicitis, and one patient presented a tuberculous abscess that may have been an infected hematoma. Ultrasonographic examination or CT gives the correct diagnose. Conservative management is the treatment of choice unless bleeding is severe or the course is complicated by infection.     

Effects of the intermediate retinoid metabolite retinal on the pattern of the dental lamina in vitro

Retinoids have important roles in pattern formation during embryonic development and might act as endogenous morphogens. They are necessary for normal odontogenesis and excess retinol alters the pattern of odontogenesis producing supernumerary buds of the dental lamina in the diastema region of the mouse mandible. Because the metabolism of retinoids in the developing mandible is unknown, the effects of retinal (an intermediate metabolite in the local conversion of retinol to retinoic acid) on the patterning of odontogenesis were examined. Retinal produces supernumerary buds and enhanced epithelial proliferation in day-9 mandibles in vitro. The endogenous levels of retinal in the mandible at the time of initiation of odontogenesis were also measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Retinal was detected only at day 10 and not at later stages of development. Local metabolism of this intermediate retinoid may be a rate-determining step in the production of active retinoid metabolites that may control the pattern of the dentition, which is established at the time of the appearance of the dental lamina at embryonic day 12.     

BMP-2 and BMP-4, but not BMP-6, increase the number of adrenergic cells which develop in quail trunk neural crest cultures

Isolated rat liver mitochondria were incubated under various metabolic conditions to determine their membrane potential (MMP) as measured continuously by a tetraphenylphosphonium (TPP+)-selective electrode. By flow cytometry, a parallel analysis of fluorescence emissions observing single mitochondria stained with the lipophilic cation 5,5',6,6'-tetrachloro-1,1'3,3'-tetraethylbenzimidazolcarbocyanine iodide (JC-1) revealed linear correlation between the median orange fluorescence (FL2) due to J-aggregate formations and MMP values measured by TPP+. No correlation was detected with the green fluorescence (FL1) emission. A significantly higher correlation appeared between the FL2/FL1 ratio and MMP values. Within the same mitochondrial population, cytofluorimetric analysis revealed the presence of various classes of organelles with different MMP, whose distribution was dependent on metabolic condition. The highest functional heterogeneity was found in deenergized mitochondria, while the highest homogeneity was observed during the first phase of the phosphorylative process. Thus, these data suggest that the cytofluorimetric use of JC-1 provides direct experimental evidence for the hypothesis of functional mitochondrial heterogeneity, at least with respect to their membrane potential.     

X-linked juvenile retinoschisis: localization between (DXS1195, DXS418) and AFM291wf5 on a single YAC

We studied 17 pedigrees with 108 affected males with X-linked juvenile retinoschisis (RS; McKusick No. 31270) and have analyzed all of the known polymorphic markers in the RS region of Xp22.1-p22.2 between DXS987 and DXS41. By haplotype analyses we found 7 individuals who showed crossovers in this interval surrounding RS. We previously reported AFM291wf5 as the centromeric boundary, and this remains unchanged in the present study. A new recombination was identified on the telomeric side at (DXS1195, DXS418). Our data support the locus order Xpter--(DXS987, DXS207, DXS1053, DXS43)--(DXS1195, DXS418)--(RS, DXS257, DXS999)--(AFM291wf5, DXS443)--DXS1052--(DXS1226, DXS274, DXS41)--Xcen; loci grouped in parentheses could not be mutually ordered by our genetic data. Physical mapping has indicated a distance of at most 900-1,000 kb between (DXS1195, DXS418) and AFM291wf5. No recombination was observed between RS and DXS257 which lies in our new interval of interest, but one critical individual was not informative with this marker. Our data now define the smallest RS inclusion interval. This interval is contained on a single YAC from which we have identified expressed sequences as candidate genes for RS.