Implantation of autologous skin fibroblast genetically modified to secrete clotting factor IX partially corrects the hemorrhagic tendencies in two hemophilia B patients

OBJECTIVE

To examine the safety and effects of gene therapy for hemophilia B by implantation of autologous fibroblasts genetically modified to secrete clotting factor IX (hFIX).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Two hemophilia B patients LD and LW were selected from one family to accept gene transfer study. The hFIX protein of both patients were about 100 ng/ml plasma and hFIX activity was about 2%. The autologous skin fibroblasts of the two patients were genetically modified by retrovirus-mediated gene transfer with XL-IX and N2CMVIX vector (HBSF-IX). Human hFIX protein was measured by ELISA, hFIX activity was measured by one-stage clotting assay and barium citrate sorbent method. hFIX inhibitor was assayed by Bethesda methods. Human hFIX cDNA was detected by PCR. HBSF-IX cells were mixed with collagen for injection after safety assessments.

RESULTS

The HBSF-IX cells from the two patients secreted hFIX at high levels in vitro. After implantation of autologous HBSF-IX cells, no treatment-related side effects were observed. Plasma hFIX protein in both patients increased over 2 folds after several injections of HBSF-IX cells and persisted for more than 420 days. Blood clotting activity increased significantly in both patients, hemorrhagic tendencies have been partially corrected after treatment. Further elevation of hFIX can be achieved by repeating the same treatment 420 days later in Patient LD.

CONCLUSIONS

Implantation of autologous fibroblast genetically modified to secrete human hFIX offers a simple, safe and effective approach to gene therapy of hemophilia B.

Recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation

OBJECTIVE

To examine the effect of rhG-CSF on allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

One hundred and twenty patients with acute or chronic leukemia received HLA-A.B.DR identical and MLC negative sibling donor allo-BMT. Among them, 58 cases of were treated with recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF), while the other 62 cases of the 120 patients were treated as control.

RESULTS

Clinical results showed that the time taken to reach an absolute neutrophil count > 0.5 x 10(9)/L was significantly faster in patients who received rhG-CSF compared with control patients (16.24 +/- 0.25 vs 25.20 +/- 0.16 days. P < 0.001), with significantly less early fever days in patients received rhG-CSF (1.17 +/- 1.10 vs 4.01 +/- 0.37 P < 0.001). We did not observe any increase in acute GVHD and relapse in myeloid leukemia patients. But 7 of 16 patients with ALL relapsed after allo-BMT in rhG-CSF group, while only 3 of 11 patients with ALL relapsed after allo-BMT in control grant (P > 0.05). This phenomenon has not been reported up to now.

CONCLUSIONS

rhG-CSF can promote engraftment and reduce early fever days after BMT. rhG-CSF has not any effect on a GVHD. The effect of rhG-CSF on leukemia relapse needs to be further studied.

Chronic control of high blood pressure in the spontaneously hypertensive rat by delivery of angiotensin type 1 receptor antisense

The renin-angiotensin system plays a crucial role in the development and establishment of the hypertensive state in the spontaneously hypertensive (SH) rat. Interruption of this system's activity by pharmacological means results in the lowering of blood pressure (BP) and control of hypertension. However, such means are temporary and require the continuous use of drugs for the control of this pathophysiological state. Our objective in this investigation was to determine if a virally mediated gene-transfer approach using angiotensin type 1 receptor antisense (AT1R-AS) could be used to control hypertension on a long-term basis in the SH rat model of human essential hypertension. Injection of viral particles containing AT1R-AS (LNSV-AT1R-AS) in 5-day-old rats resulted in a lowering of BP exclusively in the SH rat and not in the Wistar Kyoto normotensive control. A maximal anti-hypertensive response of 33 +/- 5 mmHg was observed, was maintained throughout development, and still persisted 3 months after administration of LNSV-AT1R-AS. The lowering of BP was associated with the expression of AT1R-AS transcript and decreases in AT1-receptor in many peripheral angiotensin II target tissues such as mesenteric artery, adrenal gland, heart, and kidney. Attenuation of angiotensin II-stimulated physiological actions such as contraction of aortic rings and increase in BP was also observed in the LNSV-AT1R-AS-treated SH rat. These observations show that a single injection of LNSV-AT1R-AS normalizes BP in the SH rat on a long-term basis. They suggest that such a gene-transfer strategy can be successfully used to control the development of hypertension on a permanent basis.

Central brain atrophy in childhood AIDS encephalopathy

OBJECTIVE

To determine differential patterns of brain atrophy in pediatric AIDS encephalopathy.

DESIGN

We measured the bicaudate, bifrontal, and ventricle-brain ratio in brain magnetic resonance imaging scans of 42 control children, nine children with progressive AIDS encephalopathy, 25 AIDS children without progressive encephalopathy, and 23 children with cerebral atrophy of other causes.

RESULTS

When compared with controls, encephalopathy patients showed significantly increased bicaudate and ventricle-brain ratios, but no significant increase in bifrontal ratio, whereas children with brain atrophy from causes other than AIDS showed increases in all three ratios.

CONCLUSION

Children with AIDS encephalopathy demonstrate a specific pattern of brain atrophy distinct from other etiologies: a central atrophy, primarily affecting the subcortical white matter or the basal ganglia regions.

Morphological classification of facial features in adult Caucasian males based on an assessment of photographs of 50 subjects

Fifty sets of photographs showing facial features of Caucasian males aged 18 to 60 years were examined to establish a morphological classification of the face. It is suggested that such a classification could assist facial identification by photocomparison. The selection criteria stress the importance of interassessor agreement and discrimination among feature subset units in formulating the proposed classification.

Angiotensin II regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase gene expression in the neuronal cultures of normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats

In the present study we investigated the regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) by angiotensin II (Ang II) in an attempt to provide cellular and molecular evidence that this hormone has increased neuromodulatory actions in the spontaneously hypertensive (SH) rat brain. Neuronal cells in primary culture from the hypothalamus-brain stem of both normotensive [Wistar-Kyoto (WKY)] and SH rats have been used. These cultures mimic in vivo situations. Ang II caused a time-dependent increase in TH activity in WKY rat brain neurons. A maximal increase of 2.5-fold was observed with 100 nM Ang II in an actinomycin- and cycloheximide-dependent process. In addition, Ang II caused a parallel increase in TH messenger RNA (mRNA) levels, with a maximal stimulation of 5-fold in 4 h by 100 nM Ang II in WKY rat brain neurons. The stimulation of TH mRNA was mediated by the AT1 receptor subtype, resulted from an increase in its transcription, and involved activation of phospholipase C and protein kinase C. Antisense oligonucleotide for c-fos attenuated Ang II stimulation of TH mRNA in a time- and dose-dependent fashion, indicating an involvement of c-fos as a putative third messenger in Ang II stimulation of TH. Ang II also caused stimulation of TH activity and its mRNA levels in neuronal cultures of SH rat brain by a mechanism similar to that observed for neuronal cultures of WKY rat brain, involving AT1 receptors, protein kinase C, and c-fos. However, the stimulation of TH activity and that of TH mRNA were approximately 30% and 80% higher, respectively, in the SH rat brain neurons than those in the WKY rat brain neurons. In vivo experiments have been carried out to validate the elevated response of TH gene expression to Ang II in SH rat brain neuronal cultures. Ang II stimulated both TH activity and TH mRNA levels in the hypothalami and brain stems of adult WKY and SH rats. The level of stimulation in the brain of the SH rat was significantly higher than that in the WKY rat. These observations are consistent with an increase in AT1, receptor gene expression and suggest that increased TH gene expression could be the cellular/molecular basis for the greater neuromodulatory action of Ang II in the SH rat brain.

Regulation of neuromodulatory actions of angiotensin II in the brain neurons by the Ras-dependent mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway

Angiotensin II (Ang II) stimulates norepinephrine transporter (NET) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the neurons, but the signal transduction mechanism of this neuromodulation is not understood. Treatment of neuronal cultures of hypothalamus-brainstem with Ang II resulted in a time- and dose-dependent activation of Ras, Raf-1, and mitogen-activated protein kinase. This activation was mediated by the interaction of Ang II with the AT1, receptor subtype and was associated with the redistribution of AT1 receptor with Ras and Raf-1 on the neuronal membrane. Treatment with antisense oligonucleotide (AON) to mitogen-activated protein kinase decreased mitogen-activated protein kinase immunoreactivity by 70% and attenuated Ang II stimulation of c-fos, NET, and TH mRNA levels. This demonstrates that induction of these genes requires mitogen-activated protein kinase activation by Ang II. In contrast, AON to mitogen-activated protein kinase failed to inhibit Ang II stimulation of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 mRNA levels. These results suggest that AT1 receptors are coupled to a Ras-Raf-1 mitogen-activated protein kinase signal transduction pathway that is responsible for stimulation of NET and TH, two neuro-modulatory actions of Ang II in the brain.

[Experimental study on human glioma SHG44 treated by HSV-tk gene therapy]

The paper reports the construction of retroviral vector pLNTK carrying HSV-tk gene driven by PGK promoter and the successful transfer into human glioma cell SHG44. The in vitro study confirmed that ayclovir (ACV) sensitive level of the gene-transferred glioma cell (SHGLNTK) was 1,000 times that of SHG44. 3H-TdR incorporation confirmed that the DNA replication in SHGLNTK was considerably suppressed when treated with ACV. The in vivo study confirmed that ACV could suppress tumor formation of the SHGLNTK cells. In situ gene transfer treatment of nude mice carrying SHG44 tumor showed good therapeutic results. Such treatment may be used as an innovative method for brain tumor therapy.

Angiotensin II regulation of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 gene expression in neurons of normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rat brains

Neuronal cells in primary culture from the hypothalamus-brain stem areas of normotensive [Wistar-Kyoto (WKY)] and spontaneously hypertensive (SH) rat brains have been used in the present study to investigate an interaction between the brain renin-angiotensin II system and the plasminogen activator system. This is an attempt to further our understanding of the role of brain Ang II in the control of neuronal development and differentiation through its regulation of the extracellular matrix. Ang II caused a 10-fold stimulation of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) messenger RNA (mRNA) in WKY rat brain neuronal cultures. The stimulation was mediated by the AT1 receptor subtype and was accompanied by an increase in PAI-1 gene transcription and the synthesis of cellular PAI-1 protein. The stimulation involved activation of protein kinase C, and alterations in the intracellular Ca2+ pool caused a significant inhibition of Ang II stimulation of PAI mRNA. Ang II stimulation of PAI-1 mRNA succeeded its action on c-fos mRNA and was attenuated by c-fos antisense oligonucleotide. Although PAI-1 gene expression was also stimulated by Ang II in neuronal cultures of SH rat brain, two differences between WKY and SH rat brain neurons were observed: 1) the level of Ang II stimulation in SH rat neurons was 50% of that in WKY rat neurons; and 2) Ang II stimulation of c-fos was 2.4-fold higher in SH neurons than in WKY neurons, but c-fos antisense oligonucleotide did not attenuate the stimulatory action of Ang II on PAI-1 mRNA in SH neurons. These observations suggest that the changes in the Ang II-mediated signaling pathways and/or the regulatory region(s) of the PAI-1 gene may contribute to the differential actions of Ang II in WKY and SH rat brain neurons.

[Prevention of peridural fibrosis and adhesion after laminectomy: an experimental study in rats]

An experimental study on the effectiveness of various materials including poly carboxymethylcellulose (PCMC), gelatin foam (GF), ligment (L), free fat (FF) in prevention of peridural fibrosis and adhension (PDA) was done in 144 SD rats using a total laminectomy model (L1-2). PDA was measured with a double-blind protocol at 2, 4, 8, 12 weeks postoperatively by gross anatomical appearance (blunt-dissection), microscopical evaluation, computed imaging analysis and MRI enhanced with gadolinium. The results demonstrated that the peak of PDA is within 8 weeks after operation. PCMC, as a three dimensional protective material, could effectively inhibit PDFA after laminectomy, but GF and L could not. SHA had some effect in the early stage, but not in the late period. For FF though it could effectively prevent PDA, the incision infection rate was higher, the atrophy and necrosis of FF were serious. What is more, almost all transplanted fat remained in situ extended into the spinal cord in some measure after 8 weeks postoperatively.

Proteolytic events that regulate factor V activity in whole plasma from normal and activated protein C (APC)-resistant individuals during clotting: an insight into the APC-resistance assay

Human factor V is activated to factor Va by alpha-thrombin after cleavages at Arg709, Arg1018, and Arg1545. Factor Va is inactivated by activated protein C (APC) in the presence of a membrane surface after three sequential cleavages of the heavy chain. Cleavage at Arg506 provides for efficient exposure of the inactivating cleavages at Arg306 and Arg679. Membrane-bound factor V is also inactivated by APC after cleavage at Arg306. Resistance to APC is associated with a single nucleotide change in the factor V gene (G1691-->A) corresponding to a single amino acid substitution in the factor V molecule: Arg506-->Gln (factor V Leiden). The consequence of this mutation is a delay in factor Va inactivation. Thus, the success of the APC-resistance assay is based on the fortuitous activation of factor V during the assay. Plasmas from normal individuals (1691 GG) and individuals homozygous for the factor V mutation (1691 AA) were diluted in a buffer containing 5 mmol/L CaCl2, phospholipid vesicles (10 micromol/L), and APC. APC, at concentrations < or = 5.5 nmol/L, prevented clot formation in normal plasma, whereas under similar conditions, a clot was observed in plasma from APC-resistant individuals. Gel electrophoresis analyses of factor V fragments showed that membrane-bound factor V is primarily cleaved at Arg306 in both plasmas. However, whereas in normal plasma production of factor Va heavy chain is counterbalanced by fast degradation after cleavage at Arg506/Arg306, in the APC-resistant individuals' plasma, early generation and accumulation of the heavy chain portion of factor Va occurs as a consequence of delayed cleavage at Arg306. At elevated APC concentrations (>5.5 nmol/L), no clot formation was observed in either plasma from normal or APC-resistant individuals. Our data show that resistance to APC in patients with the Arg506-->Gln mutation is due to the inefficient degradation (inactivation) of factor Va heavy chain by APC.

Lack of cross talk between alpha1-adrenergic and angiotensin type 1 receptors in neurons of spontaneously hypertensive rat brain

Norepinephrine causes downregulation of angiotensin II (Ang II) receptors in Wistar-Kyoto rat (WKY) brain neuronal cultures. The aim of this study was to compare the cross talk between Ang II and alpha1-adrenergic receptors in these neuronal cultures. Norepinephrine causes a 66 percent decrease in Bmax of Ang II type 1 (AT1) receptors in neuronal cultures of WKY brain. This decrease is mediated by the interaction of norepinephrine with the alpha1a-adrenergic receptor subtype. Norepinephrine also causes a decrease in mRNA levels for AT1 receptors. A maximal decrease of 83 percent in AT1, receptor mRNA is observed in 8 hours with 100 micromol/L norepinephrine, is blocked by 5-methyluradipil, and involves inhibition of AT1 receptor transcription. Furthermore, decreases in the AT1 receptor and its mRNA are associated with a significant attenuation of AT1 receptor-mediated stimulation of norepinephrine transporter mRNA in WKY brain neurons. In contrast, norepinephrine does not decrease AT1 receptors or mRNA and has no effect on Ang II stimulation of norepinephrine transporter mRNA in neuronal cultures of spontaneously hypertensive rat brain. Thus, these data show that norepinephrine-mediated downregulation of AT1 receptors is associated with a parallel decrease in AT1 mRNA and Ang II stimulation of norepinephrine transporter mRNA and involves the alpha1a-adrenergic receptor in neurons of WKY brain. This cross talk between the two receptors is lacking in neurons of spontaneously hypertensive rat brain.

Comparison of activated protein C/protein S-mediated inactivation of human factor VIII and factor V

The proteolytic cleavage and subsequent inactivation of recombinant human factor VIII (rhFVIII) and human factor VIIIa (rhFVIIIa) by recombinant human activated protein C (rAPC) was analyzed in the presence and absence of human protein S and human factor V (FV). Membrane-bound rhFVIIIa spontaneously looses most of its initial cofactor activity after 15 minutes of incubation at pH 7.4. The remaining activity can be eliminated after incubation with rAPC. Complete inactivation of the membrane-bound rhFVIII and rhFVIIIa by APC correlates with cleavage at Arg336. The inactivation of rhFVIII and human plasma FV by rAPC were also compared. Under similar experimental conditions, complete inactivation of membrane-bound FVIII (60 nmol/L) by rAPC (10 nmol/L) requires 4 hours of incubation, in contrast to 5 minutes for FV (60 nmol/L). The presence of protein S (100 nmol/L) enhances rhFVIII inactivation by rAPC by 6.4-fold and FVa inactivation by twofold, whereas membrane-bound FV showed no protein S dependence during inactivation. The addition of human FV to the APC/protein S inactivation mixture increases by approximately twofold the rate of inactivation of rhFVIII. The effect of FV on the rhFVIII inactivation by APC is protein S-dependent, because FV alone has no effect on the inactivation rate of rhFVIII by APC. Western blotting using a monoclonal antibody that recognizes an epitope between amino acid residues 307 and 506 of human FV showed that FV was completely cleaved by APC at the beginning of the rhFVIII inactivation process. These data suggest that FV fragments derived from the B region of the procofactor after incubation of the membrane-bound procofactor with APC, but not intact single-chain FV, stimulate APC activity in the presence of protein S. rhFVIII, FV, and rhFVIIIa were not inactivated by Glu20-->Ala-substituted rAPC (rAPCgamma20A), and membrane-bound factor Va was only partially inactivated. Our data suggest that (1) FV and FVa are the physiologically significant substrates for APC inactivation and (2) membranes-bound APC-treated FV is a cofactor for the APC inactivation of rhFVIII only in the presence of the intact form of protein S.

Proton MR spectroscopy of the basal ganglia in healthy children and children with AIDS

PURPOSE

To evaluate proton magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy in children with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and to establish an age-dependent spectroscopic database of the normal basal ganglia in children.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Eighteen healthy children and 45 children with AIDS underwent both brain MR imaging and single-voxel MR spectroscopy with a long-echo-time point-resolved technique. A large part of the region of interest studied at MR spectroscopy included the basal ganglia.

RESULTS

Seven patients with progressive encephalopathy and eight with static encephalopathy had significantly lower mean N-acetyl aspartate (NAA)/creatine (Cr) ratios than age-matched control subjects (P<.02). In determining the presence of progressive encephalopathy in children with AIDS, MR spectroscopy appears to be more sensitive and specific than MR imaging and immunologic testing. Thirty patients without encephalopathy had normal NAA/Cr ratios but significantly lower choline/Cr ratios than age-matched control subjects (P<.02).

CONCLUSION

Proton MR spectroscopy may be a more sensitive diagnostic technique than MR imaging in childhood AIDS encephalopathy.

Acute bacterial meningitis in children in Hefei, China 1990-1992

OBJECTIVE

To obtain etiologic and epidemiologic information about bacterial meningitis, especially the H influenza type B (Hib), from a medium-sized city, Hefei, China.

METHODS

Data were collected prospectively over 3 years, from 1990 to 1992 by a well-organized group including 13 hospitals. All children with a clinical diagnosis of acute bacterial meningitis were enrolled and the specimens were taken for the etiologic studies. CSF and blood were tested by standard bacteriologic technique. CSF, blood and concentrated urine were tested directly for detection of antigen by countercurrent immuno-electrophoresis (CIE). Data were analyzed by epidemiologic methods.

RESULTS

Bacterial culture and CSF Gram's staining were positive only in 13.3% and 11.7%, respectively. Bacterial antigen detection was positive in up to 90% by CIE which was more sensitive than bacterial culture (chi 2 = 67.7, P < 0.005). The annual incidence of acute bacterial meningitis in the city is calculated as 9.3 cases/100,000 children from 1 month to 15 years of age and 19.2 cases/100,000 children from 1 month to 5 years of age. Hib meningitis accounted for 51.7%, N. meningitis (Nm) for 38.3%, and S. pneumoniae (Sp) for 8.3%. There was no significant seasonal variation. Of the patients, 76.7% were children under 5 years of age, and 51.7% under 1 year of age. The case fatality rate was 11.7% for all bacterial meningitis, 9.7% for Hib, 17.4% for Nm and 20% for Sp. A total of 22.6% of survivors suffered from neurological or psychological problems.

CONCLUSIONS

Using antigen detection combined with bacterial culture, we could make an etiologic diagnosis in up to 90% of the patients in this group. Hib, Nm and Sp were the predominant pathogens, which was similar to the findings in other countries. Hib was the most common cause of bacterial meningitis, but the incidence was much lower than in most parts of the world.

Regional cardiac compression due to a large anaerobic bacterial empyema

Compression of the heart outside the pericardial sac is a rare cause of hemodynamic compromise and cardiac tamponade. We report an atypical case of regional cardiac compression caused by a large loculated anaerobic bacterial empyema.

[Applied anatomical study of the lingual nerve]

The lingual nerve and its adjacent structures were observed and measured on 32 adult cadavours. Its length was 69.7 mm and it was divided, bounded by the internal pterygoid muscle, into three segments and the length and diameter of them were respectively measured. According to its relationship with the lingual nerve, the submandibular ganglion can be classified into fusion type (being 46.9%) and free type (being 53.1%), and its superoinferior and transeversal diameters were separately measured to be 2.7 and 2.9 mm. The lingual nerve and its lingual branches were closely related to submandibular duct and there were two intersects. The relation and clinical significance of the third segment of lingual nerve and its neighbor structures were studied.

Research into analgesia by inhaling analgesic

This article deals with analgesia by inhaling analgesic. According to Chinese medical theories, TCM analgesics were chosen from the literature and folk prescriptions screened and proved by analgesic tests on animals. A reasonable prescription was made up and the drug inhaled. Its analgesic effect was superior to that of dolantin injection (3 mg/kg body weight, intraperitoneal injection). Clinical trials showed its analgesic effect in 3-10 minutes and it lasted for more than 2 hours in over 70% of the cases for a total effective rate of 94.6%. The drug is absorbed quickly and acts directly on the nerve center. Its use is not addictive.

Inhibition of Bcr serine kinase by tyrosine phosphorylation

The first exon of the BCR gene encodes a new serine/threonine protein kinase. Abnormal fusion of the BCR and ABL genes, resulting from the formation of the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph), is the hallmark of Ph-positive leukemia. We have previously demonstrated that the Bcr protein is tyrosine phosphorylated within first-exon sequences by the Bcr-Abl oncoprotein. Here we report that in addition to tyrose 177 (Y-177), Y-360 and Y283 are phosphorylated in Bcr-Abl proteins in vitro. Moreover, Bcr tyrosine 360 is phosphorylated in vivo within both Bcr-Abl and Bcr. Bcr mutant Y177F had a greatly reduced ability to transphosphorylate casein and histone H1, whereas Bcr mutants Y177F and Y283F had wild-type activities. In contrast, the Y360F mutation had little effect on Bcr's autophosphorylation activity. Tyrosine-phosphorylated Bcr, phosphorylated in vitro by Bcr-Abl, was greatly inhibited in its serine/threonine kinase activity, impairing both auto- and transkinase activities of Bcr. Similarly, the isolation of Bcr from cells expressing Bcr-Abl under conditions that preserve phosphotyrosine residues also reduced Bcr's kinase activity. These results indicate that tyrosine 360 of Bcr is critical for the transphosphorylation activity of Bcr and that in Ph-positive leukemia, Bcr serine/threonine kinase activity is seriously impaired.

Regulation of norepinephrine transport system by angiotensin II in neuronal cultures of normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rat brains

Brain angiotensin II (Ang II) plays a key role in blood pressure control in part by interacting with catecholamines (CA) and by stimulation of sympathetic pathways. The significance of Ang-CA interaction is further heightened by the presence of a hyperactive brain Ang II system in spontaneously hypertensive (SH) rat, a genetic model for essential hypertension. Neuronal cells in primary culture from the hypothalamus-brainstem that mimic in vivo situations in so far as many cellular actions of Ang II are concerned, have been used in the present study to elucidate Ang II regulation of CA by determining its cellular action on the norepinephrine transporter (NET) system. Ang II causes both acute and chronic stimulation of [3H]-norepinephrine (NE) uptake in neuronal cultures of Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rat brain. Acute stimulation begins as early as 5 min, reaches maximal levels in about 30 min in the presence of 100 nM Ang II, and is blocked by losartan, a specific antagonist for AT1 receptor subtype. In addition, this acute stimulation appears to be a posttranscriptional event and does not involve protein kinase C (PKC) or NET gene transcription. Chronic stimulation of [3H]-NE uptake by Ang II persists throughout the duration of Ang II incubation (24 h), is dose dependent, and is also mediated by AT1 receptor subtype. However, chronic stimulation of [3H]-NE uptake involves PKC, cfos, and NET gene transcription. Ang II also stimulates [3H]-NE uptake in neuronal cultures of SH rat brain, both acutely and chronically, by mechanisms similar to those observed in neuronal cultures of WKY rat brain. The stimulation of NET by Ang II is 2-fold higher than that seen in WKY and is consistent with increased AT1 receptor gene transcription and increased functional AT1 receptors in SH rat brain neurons compared with WKY rat brain neurons. The Ang II stimulation of the NET system is also higher in adult SH compared with WKY rats in vivo. These observations show that 1) Ang II stimulates the NET system both acutely and chronically, the former involving activation of preexisting transporters and the latter involving NET gene transcription and translation; and 2) Ang II stimulation of the NET system is elevated in SH rat brain neurons.

Parvoviral vectors for the gene therapy of cancer

Gene transfer vectors based on the replication-defective (adeno-associated virus, AAV) and autonomous parvoviruses are emerging as promising vehicles for gene therapeutic approaches for the treatment of cancer. AAV-based vectors are nonpathogenic, possess an extremely wide host and tissue range, stably integrate into cellular DNA, and transduce both proliferating and nonproliferating cells. Unlike AAV, autonomous parvoviruses such as the minute virus of mice (MVM) do not integrate. However, their tropism for transformed tissues and innate oncolytic properties may permit rapid in situ therapies. In this article, we briefly review basic parvovirus biology as it relates to vector development. In addition, parvoviral vectors are discussed within the context of applications for gene transfer approaches to cancer treatment including genetic marking studies, hematopoietic progenitor chemoprotection, interruption of oncogene expression, and modulation of antitumor immunity.

[Histopathological and immunohistochemical studies on gliosarcoma]

Immunohistochemical staining of 5 gliosarcomas was performed. Neoplastic glial component stained positive by GFAP. Endothelial cells lining the lumina of glomeruloid vascular structures stained positively with both UEA-1 and FVIII/RAg antibodies. Mesenchymal cells of sarcomatous areas stained positively with SMSA antibody and presence of PDGFR. The staining results demonstrate that the sarcomatous component of gliosarcoma is of smooth muscle origin and suggest that the vascular smooth muscle hyperplasia is related to PDGF.

AT1-receptors and cellular actions of angiotensin II in neuronal cultures of stroke prone-spontaneously hypertensive rat brain

AT1-receptors, its mRNA and cellular actions of angiotensin II (Ang II) have been compared between neuronal cultures of Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive (SP-SH) rat brains. Bmax for AT1-receptor binding is 2-fold higher and is associated with a parallel increase in the levels of AT1-receptor mRNA in SP-SH rat brain neurons compared with WKY rat brain neurons. Ang II causes stimulation of both c-fos and norepinephrine transporter (NET) mRNAs in both strains of neurons and this stimulation is also 2-3-fold higher in SP-SH rat brain neurons compared with WKY rat brain neurons. In contrast, Ang II stimulation of PAI-1 mRNA in SP-SH neurons is only 50% that of in WKY rat brain neurons suggesting that SP-SH neurons express a decrease in AT1-receptor coupling with PAI-1 response. These observations demonstrate that SP-SH neurons express AT1-receptor-functions similar to those described for SHR neurons.