Regulation of periodontal ligament cell functions by interleukin-1beta

Periodontal ligament (PDL) cells maintain the attachment of the tooth to alveolar bone. These cells reside at a site in which they are challenged frequently by bacterial products and proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), during infections. In our initial studies we observed that IL-1beta down-regulates the osteoblast-like characteristics of PDL cells in vitro. Therefore, we examined the functional significance of the loss of the PDL cell's osteoblast-like characteristics during inflammation. In this report we show that, during inflammation, IL-1beta can modulate the phenotypic characteristics of PDL cells to a more functionally significant lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-responsive phenotype. In a healthy periodontium PDL cells exhibit an osteoblast-like phenotype and are unresponsive to gram-negative bacterial LPS. Treatment of PDL cells with IL-1beta inhibits the expression of their osteoblast-like characteristics, as assessed by the failure to express transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1) and proteins associated with mineralization, such as alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin. As a consequence of this IL-1beta-induced phenotypic change, PDL cells become responsive to LPS and synthesize proinflammatory cytokines. The IL-1beta-induced phenotypic changes in PDL cells were transient, as removal of IL-1beta from PDL cell cultures resulted in reacquisition of their osteoblast-like characteristics and lack of LPS responsiveness. The IL-1beta-induced phenotypic changes occurred at concentrations that are frequently observed in tissue exudates during periodontal inflammation (0.05 to 5 ng/ml). The results suggest that, during inflammation in vivo, IL-1beta may modulate PDL cell functions, allowing PDL cells to participate directly in the disease process by assuming LPS responsiveness at the expense of their normal structural properties and functions.     

The envelope glycoprotein ectodomains determine the efficiency of CD4+ T lymphocyte depletion in simian-human immunodeficiency virus-infected macaques

CD4+ T lymphocyte depletion in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected humans underlies the development of acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Using a model in which rhesus macaques were infected with chimeric simian-human immunodeficiency viruses (SHIVs), we show that both the level of viremia and the structure of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein ectodomains individually contributed to the efficiency with which CD4(+) T lymphocytes were depleted. The envelope glycoproteins of recombinant SHIVs that efficiently caused loss of CD4(+) T lymphocytes exhibited increased chemokine receptor binding and membrane-fusing capacity compared with those of less pathogenic viruses. These studies identify the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein ectodomains as determinants of CD4(+) T lymphocyte loss in vivo and provide a foundation for studying pathogenic mechanisms.     

Atypical acute dystonia

Acute dystonia is a common adverse effect following anti-psychotic medication, which mainly appears shortly after beginning treatment or increasing the dosage. Laryngeal dysfunction may carely occur as part of the picture of acute dystonia and, if so, usually with dyspnoea. We describe a case of acute dystonia with atypical onset without relation to changes in dosage and with laryngeal involvement with aphonia, but without dyspnoea.     

The role of N-glycosylation for functional expression of the human platelet-activating factor receptor. Glycosylation is required for efficient membrane trafficking

Streptococcus pneumoniae has been shown to utilize the platelet activating factor receptor for binding and invasion of host cells (Cundell, D. R., Gerard, N. P., Gerard, C., Idanpaan-Heikkila, I., and Tuomanen, E. I. (1995) Nature, in press). Because bacterial binding is in part carbohydrate dependent, and the human platelet-activating factor (PAF) receptor bears a single N-linked glycosylation sequence in the second extracellular loop, we undertook studies to determine the role of this epitope in PAF receptor function. Binding of pneumococci to COS cells transfected with the human PAF receptor is greatly reduced for a receptor mutant that bears no N-linked glycosylation site. Immunohistochemical and binding analyses show decreased expression of the non-glycosylated molecule on the cell membrane relative to the wild type receptor; however, metabolic labeling and immunopurification indicate it is synthesized intracellularly at a level similar to the native molecule. A mutant receptor encoding a functional glycosylation site at the NH2 terminus is better expressed at the cell surface compared with the non-glycosylated form, indicating that trafficking to the cell surface is facilitated by glycosylation, but its location is relatively unimportant. The binding affinity for PAF is not significantly effected by the presence or location of the carbohydrate, and variations in cell surface expression have little influence on signal transduction, as the non-glycosylated PAF receptor is equally effective for activation of phospholipase C as the native molecule. These data are supportive of pneumococcal binding on protein moiety(ies) of the PAF receptor and indicate that N-glycosylation facilitates expression of the protein on the cell membrane.