The C-terminal domains of gammaS-crystallin pair about a distorted twofold axis

The 2-domain gammaS-crystallin, a highly conserved early evolutionaryoff-shoot of the gamma-crystallin family, is located in the water-richregion of eye lenses. The expressed C-terminal domain, gammaS-C, has beencrystallized and the 2.56 A X-ray structure determined. There are twodomains in the asymmetric unit which pair about a distorted twofold axis.One of the domains has an altered conformation in a highly conserved regionof the protein, the tyrosine corner. The distorted gammaS-C dimer ofdomains is compared with the highly symmetrical, equivalent recombinantdimer of C-terminal domains from gammaB- crystallin. Sequence changes closeto the interface, that distinguish gammaS from the other gamma-crystallins,are examined in order to evaluate their role in symmetrical domain pairing.     

Comparison of clinical diagnosis and standard laboratory and molecular methods for the diagnosis of genital ulcer disease in Lesotho: association with human immunodeficiency virus infection

A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (M-PCR) assay for Haemophilus ducreyi, Treponema pallidum, and herpes simplex virus (HSV) was compared with clinical and standard laboratory methods for the diagnosis of genital ulcer disease (GUD) in 105 patients; 36% were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive. Chancroid (80%), syphilis (8%), and genital herpes (8%) were the most frequent diagnoses. H. ducreyi and HSV were isolated from ulcers of 43% and 18% of patients, respectively; in 35%, all cultures were negative and the laboratory diagnosis indeterminate. M-PCR detected H. ducreyi, T. pallidum, and HSV in 56%, 23%, and 26% of patients, respectively; (no definitive diagnosis, 6%). The proportion of patients with more than one agent was 4% by culture and 17% by M-PCR (P = .002). Resolved sensitivities of M-PCR for H. ducreyi and HSV cultures were 95% and 93%, respectively. The sensitivities of H. ducreyi and HSV cultures were 75% and 60%, respectively. HSV, detected in 47% of specimens from HIV-infected versus 16% from HIV-uninfected patients (P < .001), may be emerging as a more frequent cause of GUD.     

Sequence variants in the pancreatic islet beta-cell inwardly rectifying K+ channel Kir6.2 (Bir) gene: identification and lack of role in Caucasian patients with NIDDM

The septate gregarine parasites of flour beetles (Tribolium spp.) include Gregarina minuta Ishii, 1914, a relatively small species in which both primite and satellite possess an obvious protomerite, and a larger species that lacks the satellite protomerite. The latter species has been placed in the genera Didymophyes and Hirmocystis by various authors, but studies reported here demonstrate that this species, herein described as Gregarina triboliorum, exhibits early pairing and produces oocyst chains, both characteristics of the genus Gregarina. The oocysts of this new species are described for the first time. In addition, experimental infections using oocyst from single gametocysts reveal that oocyst chain number is variable but is typically 1, 2, or 4. Prior experiments involving a related beetle, Tenebrio molitor, demonstrated extreme host specificity within the 4 Gregarina species parasitizing larval and adult hosts. However, G. triboliorum is not limited either stadially or specially, infecting both adults and larvae of Tribolium confusum and Tribolium castaneum.     

The effect of ischemic preconditioning on the recovery of skeletal muscle following tourniquet ischemia

It has been well documented that ischemic preconditioning limits ischemic-reperfusion injury in cardiac muscle, but the ability of ischemic preconditioning to limit skeletal muscle injury is less clear. Previous reports have emphasized the beneficial effects of ischemic preconditioning on skeletal muscle structure and capillary perfusion but have not evaluated muscle function. We investigated the morphologic and functional consequences of ischemic preconditioning, followed by a 2-hour period of tourniquet ischemia on muscles in the rat hindlimb. The 2-hour ischemia was imposed without preconditioning, or was preceded by three brief (10 minutes on/10 minutes off) preischemic conditioning intervals. We compared muscle morphology, isometric contractile function, and muscle fatigue properties in predominantly fast-twitch, tibialis anterior muscles 3 (n = 8) and 7 (n = 8) days after ischemia-reperfusion. Two hours of ischemia, followed by reperfusion, results in a 20 percent reduction of muscle mass (p < 0.05) and a 33 percent reduction in tetanic tension (p < 0.05) when compared with controls (n = 8) at 3 days. The same protocol, when preceded by ischemic preconditioning, results in similar decreases in muscle mass and contractile function. Neuromuscular transmission was also impaired in both ischemic groups 7 days after ischemia. Nerve-evoked maximum tetanic tension was 69 percent of the tension produced by direct muscle stimulation in the ischemia group and 65 percent of direct tension in the ischemic preconditioning/ischemia group. In summary, ischemic preconditioning, using the same protocol reported to be effective in limiting infarct size in porcine muscle, had no significant benefit in limiting injury or improving recovery in the ischemic rat tibialis anterior. The value of ischemic preconditioning in reducing imposed ischemic-reperfusion-induced functional deficits in skeletal muscle remains to be demonstrated.     

Genetic control of differential baseline breathing pattern

The purpose of the present study was to determine the genetic control of baseline breathing pattern by examining the mode of inheritance between two inbred murine strains with differential breathing characteristics. Specifically, the rapid, shallow phenotype of the C57BL/6J (B6) strain is consistently distinct from the slow, deep phenotype of the C3H/HeJ (C3) strain. The response distributions of segregant and nonsegregant progeny were compared with the two progenitor strains to determine the mode of inheritance for each ventilatory characteristic. The BXH recombinant inbred (RI) strains derived from the B6 and C3 progenitors were examined to establish strain distribution patterns for each ventilatory trait. To establish the mode of inheritance, baseline breathing frequency (f), tidal volume, and inspiratory time (TI) were measured five times in each of 178 mature male animals from the two progenitor strains and their progeny by using whole body plethysmography. With respect to f and TI, the two progenitor strains were consistently distinct, and segregation analyses of the inheritance pattern suggest that the most parsimonious genetic model for response distributions of f and TI is a two-loci model. In similar experiments conducted on 82 mature male animals from 12 BXH RI strains, each parental phenotype was represented by one or more of the RI strains. Intermediate phenotypes emerged to confirm the likelihood that parental strain differences in f and TI were determined by more than one locus. Taken together, these studies suggest that the phenotypic difference in baseline respiratory timing between male B6 and C3 mice is best explained by a genetic model that considers at least two loci as major determinants.     

Low-dose sodium nitroprusside reduces pulmonary reperfusion injury

BACKGROUND: Reperfusion injury is a significant cause of early allograft dysfunction after lung transplantation. We hypothesized that direct pulmonary arterial infusion of an intravascular nitric oxide donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), would ameliorate pulmonary reperfusion injury more effectively than inhaled nitric oxide without causing profound systemic hypotension. METHODS: Using an isolated, ventilated, whole-blood-perfused rabbit lung model, we studied the effects of both inhaled and intravascular nitric oxide during lung reperfusion. Group I (control) lungs (New Zealand White rabbits, 3 to 3.5 kg) were harvested en bloc, flushed with Euro-Collins solution, and then stored inflated for 18 hours at 4 degrees C. Lungs were then reperfused with whole blood and ventilated with 60% oxygen for 30 minutes. Groups II, III, and IV received pulmonary arterial infusions of SNP at 0.2, 1.0, and 5.0 micrograms.kg-1.min-1, respectively, whereas group V was ventilated with 60% oxygen and nitric oxide at 80 ppm during reperfusion. RESULTS: Pulmonary arterial infusions of SNP even at 0.2 microgram.kg-1.min-1 (group II) showed significant improvements in pulmonary artery pressure (31.35 +/- 0.8 versus 40.37 +/- 3.3 mm Hg; p < 0.05) and pulmonary vascular resistance (38,946 +/- 1,269 versus 52,727 +/- 3,421 dynes.s/cm-5; p < 0.05) when compared with control (group I) lungs after 30 minutes of reperfusion. Infusions of SNP at 1.0 microgram.kg-1.min-1 (group III) showed additional significant improvements in dynamic airway compliance (1.98 +/- 0.10 versus 1.46 +/- 0.02 mL/mm Hg; p < 0.05), venous-arterial oxygenation gradient (116.00 +/- 24.4 versus 34.43 +/- 2.5 mm Hg; p < 0.05), and wet-to-dry ratio (6.9 +/- 0.9 versus 9.1 +/- 2.2; p < 0.05) when compared with control (group I) lungs. Lungs that received inhaled nitric oxide at 80 ppm (group V) were significantly more compliant (1.82 +/- 0.13 versus 1.46 +/- 0.02 mL/mm Hg; p < 0.05) than control (group I) lungs. CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonary arterial infusion of low-dose SNP during lung reperfusion significantly improves pulmonary hemodynamics, oxygenation, compliance, and edema formation. These effects were achieved at doses of SNP that did not cause profound systemic hypotension. Direct intravascular infusion of SNP via pulmonary arterial catheters could potentially abate reperfusion injury immediately after allograft implantation.     

Responses of preterm infants to unimodal and multimodal sensory intervention

PURPOSE: To examine the immediate responses of preterm infants to two forms of unimodal [auditory only (A) and tactile only (T)] and two forms of multimodal sensory stimulation [auditory, tactile and visual (ATV); auditory, tactile, visual and vestibular (ATVV)]. METHOD: A convenience sample of 54 clinically stable preterm infants (33-34 postconceptional weeks) was randomly assigned to 1 of 5 experimental groups [Control (C); (A); (T); (ATV); and (ATVV)]. Stimulation was applied for 15 minutes once daily for 4 consecutive days. RESULTS: Outcome measures included pulse (PR) and respiratory rate (RR), oxygen saturation, behavioral state (BS), and body temperature. Repeated measures ANOVA identified significant differences among the groups during intervention for PR (p < .001), RR (p = .01), and BS (p < .02). Infants receiving any intervention with a tactile component showed increasing arousal (change in BS), and increased PR and RR during stimulation. Group T infants had higher proportions of PR > 180 while Group ATVV had higher proportions of PR < 140 (p = .0001). Group ATVV showed increased alertness following stimulation (24%) in contrast to having the least alertness during stimulation (11%). CONCLUSIONS: Tactile stimulation alone may be too arousing for these infants while the addition of vestibular stimulation may modulate arousal and facilitate optimal arousal prior to feeding.     

Urate oxidase in prevention and treatment of hyperuricemia associated with lymphoid malignancies

Standard prophylaxis and treatment of malignancy-associated hyperuricemia in the USA has been allopurinol with vigorous hydration, urinary alkalinization and osmotic diuresis. Urate oxidase, the enzyme that converts uric acid to allantoin (a readily excreted metabolite that has 5- to 10-fold higher solubility than uric acid), is an alternative therapy; however, few published findings support this practice. Between February 1994 and December 1996, we administered non-recombinant urate oxidase (Uricozyme) to 126 children with newly diagnosed non-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) during the first 5 days of chemotherapy with methotrexate, 6-mercaptopurine or both. Their blood levels of uric acid and other indicators of tumor lysis were measured at diagnosis and during treatment and then compared with findings in 129 similarly treated historical controls who had received allopurinol to control hyperuricemia. Clinical responses to urate oxidase were also determined in eight patients with newly diagnosed B cell ALL or advanced-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Patients treated with urate oxidase had rapid and significantly greater decreases in their blood uric acid levels than did the historical controls (median maximal level during treatment, 2.3 vs 3.9 mg/dl, P < 0.001). They also had lower creatinine (0.6 vs 0.7 mg/dl, P = 0.01) and blood urea nitrogen (11 vs 24 mg/dl, P < 0.001) levels. Similar findings were made in the eight cases of B cell ALL or non-Hodgkin lymphoma. None of the patients required dialysis for acute renal failure. Six (4.5%) of the 134 children given urate oxidase had allergic reactions, manifested primarily by urticaria, bronchospasm and hypoxemia. Thus, non-recombinant urate oxidase is a more effective uricolytic agent than allopurinol but is associated with acute hypersensitivity reactions, even in patients without a history of allergy.     

Strategy for development of a pre-erythrocytic Plasmodium falciparum DNA vaccine for human use

Data generated in the Plasmodium yoelii rodent model indicated that plasmid DNA vaccines encoding the P.yoelii circumsporozoite protein (PyCSP) or 17 kDa hepatocyte erythrocyte protein (PyHEP17) were potent inducers of protective CD8+ T cell responses directed against infected hepatocytes. Immunization with a mixture of these plasmids circumvented the genetic restriction of protective immunity and induced additive protection. A third DNA vaccine encoding the P. yoelii sporozoite surface protein 2 (PySSP2) also induced protection. The P. falciparum genes encoding the homologues of these three protective P. yoelii antigens as well as another P. falciparum gene encoding a protein that is expressed in infected hepatocytes have been chosen for the development of a human vaccine. The optimal plasmid constructs for human use will be selected on the basis of immunogenicity data generated in mice and nonhuman primates. We anticipate that optimization of multi-gene P. falciparum DNA vaccines designed to protect against malaria by inducing CD8+ T cells that target infected hepatocytes will require extensive clinical trials during the coming years.