Multiple organ injuries after abdominal high energy wounding in animals and the protective effect of antioxidants

Multiple organ injuries caused by high energy abdominal wounds were studied in 8 pigs and 24 dogs, and at the same time the protective effect of antioxidants in 14 dogs with multiple organ injuries was also studied. The experimental results showed that: 1) more than two organs (six organs at most) were wounded in each of the animals studied; 2) the injuries were characterized by hemorrhaging, tissue rupture and hematoma, and the main pathologic changes were local edema and necrosis; 3) the marked increase of lipid peroxide (LPO) levels in the vital organs indicated that multiple organ injuries could also involve the molecular level; 4) the injuries were due to the direct effect of pressure waves and ischemic reperfusion and not to shock or infection; and 5) antioxidants (vitamin E and Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge.) exhibited significant protective effects against multiple organ injuries through a free radical mechanism.

[Relation between lipid level and gallstone]

Serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), beta-lipoprotein (beta-L), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), ratio of HDL-C to TC and LDL-C to HDL-C, age and sex were compared among 252 patients with gallstones (gallstone group, 76 males, 176 females) in gallbladder and 399 controls (256 males, 134 females, control group), who were identified by ultrasonography in a general check-up during the same period. The high risk factors of gallstone were analyzed by stepwise logistic regression. The increase of beta-L concentration (P less than 0.001), female (P less than 0.001), and high ratio of LDL-C to HDL-C (P = 0.0087) were suspected as the high risk factors of gallstone formation in gallbladder.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Ten families of ankylosing spondylitis

Twenty-two patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) from 10 families were studied with special attention to their clinical findings, HLA-B27 examinations and family histories. Results showed that HLA-B27 was positive in 19 and negative in 3. The hereditary relationship between ankylosing spondylitis and HLA-B27 in Chinese was similar to that in westerners. We consider that subjective symptoms and clinical findings are essential to early diagnosis of AS, but HLA-B27 examination and family history are supportive.

Phosphorylation of avian retrovirus matrix protein by Ca2+/phospholipid-dependent protein kinase

The matrix protein from avian myeloblastosis virus and the Rous sarcoma virus, Prague C strain, is a phosphoprotein. A comparison of the amino acid sequences shows these phosphoproteins are very similar. The sites of phosphorylation of the matrix protein purified from virions are identified as serine residues 68 and 106. Treatment with purified rabbit skeletal-muscle protein phosphatase 1 or 2A, selectively releases phosphate from serine 68, while alkali treatment releases phosphate from both sites. When analyzed as a substrate for six different protein kinases, only the Ca2+/phospholipid-dependent protein kinase modifies the matrix protein. The serine residues phosphorylated in vivo are identical to those phosphorylated in vitro by this protein kinase. The role of these phosphorylation events in viral production is discussed.

Site-specific phosphorylation of avian retrovirus nucleocapsid protein pp12 regulates binding to viral RNA. Evidence for different protein conformations

Phosphorylation of serine 40 of the major nucleocapsid protein of avian retroviruses, pp12, regulates binding to viral RNA (Leis, J., Johnson, S., Collins, L. S., and Traugh, J. A. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 7726-7732). The phosphorylation state of the protein can be altered in vitro, resulting in the interconversion of the protein between a state of high affinity for single-stranded RNA and low affinity for single- or double-stranded RNA. The reversible phosphorylation of serine 40 is accompanied by a change in the conformation of the protein as demonstrated by quenching of intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence and chemical modification studies. Quenching of fluorescence of the sole tryptophan residue, Trp 80, by poly(U), KI, and CsCl indicates that the microenvironment of this residue is more positive in pp12 than in p12. Chemical modification studies indicate that the 3 lysine residues at positions 36, 37, and 39 of pp12 react with 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid, while only 1 of these residues reacts in p12. The addition of single-stranded, but not double-stranded RNA, to pp12 protects 2 of the 3 lysine residues from chemical modification, suggesting that the two protected lysyl groups are required for binding to single-stranded viral RNA. In contrast to the phosphorylation of serine 40, phosphorylation of serine 43, catalyzed by protease-activated kinase II in vitro, does not induce changes in the protein conformation nor does it alter the RNA binding properties of the protein.