Identification of a novel receptor tyrosine kinase expressed in acute myeloid leukemic blasts

Using the polymerase chain reaction with degenerate oligonucleotides derived from conserved motifs within the catalytic kinase domain of protein tyrosine kinases, and RNA extracted from embryonic stem cells, sequences that encode a segment of the kinase domain of several potentially novel receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) have been identified. One of these was selected for further study because in Northern analysis it hybridized to RNA from multipotential hematopoietic cell lines, but not from lines representative of lineage-committed cells. A cDNA for this receptor, designated developmental tyrosine kinase (DTK), was isolated and encodes a protein with structural similarities to AXL. Together these receptors form a new class of RTK. DTK is expressed in a number of human leukemic cell lines, and in the blasts of 6 of 11 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) analyzed. The structure of DTK suggests that it may function as a cell adhesion molecule, and mediate cell-to-cell or cell-matrix interactions between hematopoietic cells and their respective microenvironments.     

Fiberoptic transillumination: a new tool for the pediatric surgeon

Transillumination (TI) is a safe and reliable technique for evaluating masses or the presence of free air in the thorax or abdomen. TI can also be of help in the accurate placement of catheters or needles in the chest, abdomen, bladder, or vessels. Its use in several hundred cases has been documented by this report.     

Secretion of a bone resorbing factor by chick thyroid glands in organ culture

The ability of the thyroid gland to secrete a bone resorbing factor in vitro was studied using glands obtained from 20-day-old chick embryos. The glands were incubated in a modified BGJ medium containing 1 mg/ml bovine serum albumin under 5% CO2-40% O2 at 37 C. The culture media were assayed in vitro by measuring the stimulation of the release of previously incorporated 45Ca from cultured 19-day fetal rat bone shafts over a 48 h period. The glands secreted a stimulator of bone resorption which did not appear to be parathyroid hormone (PTH). The dose-response curve for the thyroid gland factor was not parallel to that obtained using PTH and secretion was not under calcium control. Neither thyroxine (T4) nor triiodothyronine (T3) produced a marked stimulation of bone resorption over a wide range of doses. Bone resorption stimulated by the thyroid gland factor was inhibited by calcitonin (CT). Concentrations of TH and thyroid gland factor which were minimally effective when tested separately, produced a marked synergistic response when added together. This synergism was not seen when T4, T3, PGE1, or PGE2 were tested with PTH. Media obtained by culturing explants of embryonic chick liver, heart and muscle did not have bone resorbing activity. Secretion of the bone resorbing factor by thyroid glands was blocked by Indomethacin (10(-5)M) but the effects of the factor on bone were not blocked by this agent. These results suggest that the thyroid gland is capable of secreting a stimulator of bone resorption, possibly a prostaglandin, which is capable of synergizing with PTH, and which may represent a tissue factor which under certain circumstances may exert an influence on bone.     

Bilinguals in psychotherapy: language as an emotional barrier

The English-speaking clinician frequently evaluates and treats patients whose mother tongue is not English. This paper summarizes some of the evidence supporting an emotional-detachment effect associated with speaking in a second language and describes its implications for the psychotherapy of this population.