Endocrine function and oocyte retrieval after autologous transplantation of ovarian cortical strips to the forearm

CONTEXT

In reproductive-age women, one of the common adverse effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy is premature ovarian failure. In addition, a significant number of women experience early menopause due to oophorectomy performed for benign indications.

OBJECTIVE

To develop an ovarian transplantation technique to preserve endocrine function in women undergoing sterilizing radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy, or oophorectomy.

DESIGN AND SETTING

Case study of 2 patients in New York who received autologous ovarian transplantation (patient A, November 1999; patient B, April 2000) to the forearm prior to pelvic radiotherapy or after oophorectomy.

PARTICIPANTS

Patient A is a 35-year-old woman with stage IIIB squamous cell cervical carcinoma and patient B is a 37-year-old woman with recurrent benign ovarian serous cysts.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Follicular development evident by ultrasound examination; cyclical production of estradiol and progesterone; restoration of serum follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and testosterone levels to nonmenopausal range; and disappearance of menopausal symptoms.

RESULTS

Menopause was confirmed immediately after the transplantation in both patients by serum follicle-stimulating hormone measurements (patient A, 47 mIU/mL; patient B, 50.7 mIU/mL). In patient A, follicle development was noted by physical and ultrasound examinations approximately 10 weeks after the transplantation. The mean (SE) follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone levels decreased to 8.6 (0.4) mIU/mL and 12.8 (0.8) mIU/mL, respectively. The peripheral estradiol levels showed cyclical variation (mean [SE], 115 [9.2] pg/mL [422 (33.8) pmol/L), and during the 18-month follow-up, a dominant follicle developed each month. The estradiol levels from the right cubital vein were consistent with ovarian vein measurements (mean [SE], 1069 [269] pg/mL [3924 (987.5) pmol/L]). Percutaneous oocyte aspirations yielded a mature oocyte. In patient B, ovarian function was demonstrated by ultrasound visualization of a 9-mm follicle by 6 months after transplantation. Thereafter, the patient had spontaneous menstruation every 25 to 28 days. Ovulation was further confirmed by midluteal progesterone measurements (range, 7-10.1 ng/mL; mean [SE], 8.5 [0.9] ng/mL). Patient B's ovarian graft was still functional 10 months after the transplantation.

CONCLUSIONS

Subcutaneous ovarian transplantation appears to be a relatively simple, novel technique to preserve endocrine function in women undergoing sterilizing cancer therapy or surgery.

Growth inhibition by keratinocyte growth factor receptor of human salivary adenocarcinoma cells through induction of differentiation and apoptosis

We have reported that normal human salivary gland-derived epithelial cells exclusively express keratinocyte growth factor receptor (KGFR). In the process of malignant transformation of human salivary gland tumors, KGFR gene expression disappeared concomitantly with the de novo expression of the fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) and FGFR4 genes. In the present study, we introduced wild-type KGFR cDNA or chimeric KGFR/FGFR1 cDNA, which encoded the extracellular domain of KGFR and the intracellular domain of FGFR1, into the HSY human salivary adenocarcinoma cell line. The KGFR tyrosine kinase suppressed the activity of FGF receptor substrate 2 (FRS2) and inhibited the growth of HSY by inducing differentiation and apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. Our results provided significant insight into the mechanism of KGFR tumor suppression and suggest that KGFR gene therapy might be a viable method of inhibiting human salivary adenocarcinoma growth.

A rare premalignant prostate tumor epithelial cell syndecan-1 forms a fibroblast growth factor-binding complex with progression-promoting ectopic fibroblast growth factor receptor 1

The abnormal appearance and age-dependent loss of resident fibroblast growth factor receptor-2 (FGFR2) and gain of activity of FGFR1 in epithelial cells is a hallmark of the slow progression to malignancy in some models of prostate cancer. Pericellular matrix heparan sulfate (HS) is an integral subunit of the FGFR tyrosine kinase complex that restricts activity in absence of FGF, facilitates binding of an activating FGF, and confers specificity for FGF isoforms. In this report, we isolated and purified HS proteoglycan (HSPG) from premalignant prostate tumor epithelial cells based on the ability of the HS chains to form a binary complex with immunoglobulin module II of the ectopic and progression-promoting FGFR1 that was competent to bind FGF. The FGFR1 affinity-purified product exhibited a specific activity of over 600 times that of crude cellular HSPG enriched from cell lysates by ion exchange chromatography. The purified preparation exhibited a single NH(2)-terminal sequence with 11 of 13 residues identical to syndecan-1. The activity of purified recombinant glutathione S-transferase-tagged syndecan-1 expressed in premalignant epithelial cells confirmed that syndecan-1 bears HS chains that exhibit the rare motif that forms the FGF-binding complex with ectopic FGFR1. These results are the first to identify by affinity purification a specific HSPG core protein, the HS chains of which act as an integral subunit of the FGFR complex. The results suggest that syndecan-1 provides HS chains in premalignant epithelial cells to both the FGFR2- and FGFR1-signaling complexes that are integral to their dual roles in progression to malignancy.

Evidence that the intracellular domain of FGF receptor 2IIIb affects contact of the ectodomain with two FGF7 ligands

Models of the oligomeric FGF signaling complex, including those derived from crystal structures, vary in stoichiometry and arrangement of the three subunits comprised of heparin/heparan sulfate chains, FGFR tyrosine kinase and activating FGF. Here, using covalent affinity crosslinking of radiolabeled FGF7 to binary complexes of FGFR2IIIb and heparin, we show that two molecules of FGF7 contact each FGFR2IIIb. This supports models that propose a dimeric complex of two units with stoichiometry 1 FGF:1 FGFR in which each FGF contacts both FGFR. The bivalent FGF7 contact was dependent on the full-length amino terminus of FGF7alpha and the intracellular domain of FGFR2IIIb extending through the juxtamembrane domain and the beta1 and beta2 strands of the kinase which is required for ATP binding. We propose that the differences in crosslinking report differences in relationships among subunits in the ectodomain of the complex that are affected by the amino terminus of FGF and the FGFR intracellular domain. From this, we suggest the corollary that conformational relationships among subunits in the ectodomain are transmitted to the intracellular and ATP binding domains during activation of the complex.

"Early" apoplexy due to traumatic intracranial aneurysm--case report

A 76-year-old man presented with a traumatic aneurysm of the left internal carotid artery which caused repeated subarachnoid hemorrhages within 20 hours of a fall from a height. Early computed tomography (CT) detected no brain abnormalities, but repeat CT found subarachnoid hemorrhage. Internal carotid angiography detected a pseudoaneurysm, which was not treated because of his poor clinical condition. He died of multiple organ failure. Early detection of a traumatic intracranial aneurysm is important for the prevention of aneurysmal rupture, or "delayed" apoplexy. Review of 171 cases with traumatic aneurysms from the literature found that false negative angiography occurred only in three cases on post-trauma day 7 and thereafter. Early diagnostic angiography within a week of the initial trauma is indicated if traumatic aneurysm is suspected to detect early signs of irregularity, spasm, and narrowing of the arterial wall. Repeat angiography is indicated if aneurysmal formation is still highly suspected in spite of negative initial angiography.

EFFECT OF FGF-1 AND FGF-2 ON VEGF BINDING TO HUMAN UMBILICAL VEIN ENDOTHELIAL CELLS

When FGF-1 or FGF-2 and VEGF were added together, the mitogenic effect of FGF-1 or FGF-2 and VEGF on HUVEC was additive. However, when HUVECs were preincubated for 2 days with 10 ng/ml FGF-1 in the absence of VEGF, the Scatchard plot of [125I]VEGF binding sites was shifted to the right: both affinity classes of VEGF binding sites were equally affected, such that the total number of sites increased twofold. It is suggested that this type of interaction may be related to tumor angiogenesis and wound repair.

The nonsense-mediated decay pathway and mutually exclusive expression of alternatively spliced FGFR2IIIb and -IIIc mRNAs

Exons IIIb and IIIc of the FGFR2 gene are alternatively spliced in a mutually exclusive manner in different cell types. A switch from expression of FGFR2IIIb to FGFR2IIIc accompanies the transition of nonmalignant rat prostate tumor epithelial cells (DTE) to cells comprising malignant AT3 tumors. Here we used transfection of minigenes with and without alterations in reading frame and with and without introns to examine how translation affects observed FGFR2 splice products. We observed that nonsense mutations in other than the last exon led to a dramatic reduction in mRNA that is abrogated by removal of downstream introns in both DTE and AT3 cells. The mRNA, devoid of both IIIb and IIIc exons (C1-C2), is a major splice product from minigenes lacking an intron downstream of the second common exon C2. From these observations, we suggest that repression of exon IIIc and activation of exon IIIb inclusion in DTE cells lead to the generation of both C1-IIIb-C2 and C1-C2 products. However, the C1-C2 product from the native gene is degraded due to a frameshift and a premature termination codon caused by splicing C1 and C2 together. Derepression of exon IIIc and repression of exon IIIb lead to the generation of both C1-IIIc-C2 and C1-C2 products in AT3 cells, but the C1-C2 product is degraded. The C1-IIIb-IIIc-C2 mRNA containing a premature termination codon in exon IIIc was present, but at apparently trace levels in both cell types. The nonsense-mediated mRNA decay pathway and cell type-dependent rates of inclusion of exons IIIb and IIIc result in the mutually exclusive expression of FGFR2IIIb and IIIc.

Differential behavior of VEGF receptor expression and response to TNP-470 in two immortalized human endothelial cell lines

Angiogenesis consists of endothelial cell proliferation, migration and tube formation. It is useful to investigate endothelial cell behavior using immortalized endothelial cell lines. We characterized cell growth property, growth factor dependency and response to angioinhibitory drugs; TNP-470, staurosporine, radicicol and genistein, using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) immortalized by human papilloma virus (HPV)-16 E6-E7, named HUVECs/E6-E7, and HUVECs/E6-E7 transformed by v-Ki-ras gene, named HUVECs/E6-E7/ras. The dependency to vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) for cell proliferation decreased in HUVECs/E6-E7, but were restored in HUVECs/E6-E7/ras. Flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that a VEGF receptor KDR/flk-1 was down-regulated in HUVECs/E6-E7 but not in HUVECs/E6-E7/ras. Expression of another VEGF receptor flt-1 was consistent in all cells including HUVECs, HUVECs/E6-E7 and HUVECs/E6-E7/ras. According to the analysis of the angioinhibitory drugs, HUVECs/E6-E7 was obviously resistant to TNP-470, but HUVECs/E6-E7/ras showed similar response compared to HUVECs which suggests that v-Ki-ras signaling pathway is associated with VEGF receptor expression and make HUVECs/E6-E7 sensitive to TNP-470 by modulating the signal transduction cascade. In conclusion, HPV-16 E6-E7 and v-Ki-ras genes have unique growth properties and these immortalized cells are useful for investigating signal transduction pathways of endothelial cells, and for screening of angioinhibitory drugs.

Ligand binding properties of binary complexes of heparin and immunoglobulin-like modules of FGF receptor 2

Epithelial cells, which express FGFR2IIIb, bind and respond to FGF-1, FGF-7 and FGF-10, but not FGF-2. Stromal cells, which bind and respond to FGF-1 and FGF-2, but not FGF-7 and FGF-10, express FGFR2IIIc or FGFR1IIIc. Here we show that when both isolated FGFR2betaIIIb and FGFR2betaIIIc or their common Ig module II are allowed to affinity select heparin from a mixture, the resultant binary complexes bound FGF-1, FGF-2, and FGF-7 with nearly equal affinity. In addition, FGF-2 and FGF-7 bound to both heparin-Ig module IIIb and IIIc complexes, but FGF-1 bound to neither Ig module III. The results show that in isolation both Ig modules II and III of FGFR2 can interact with heparin and that each exhibits a binding site for FGF. We suggest that the specificity of FGFR2IIIb and FGFR2IIIc is dependent on the cell membrane environment and heparin/heparan sulfate. Ig modules II and III cooperate both within monomers and across dimers with cellular heparan sulfates to confer cell type-dependent specificity of the FGFR complex for FGF.

Elevated cholesterol metabolism and bile acid synthesis in mice lacking membrane tyrosine kinase receptor FGFR4

Heparan sulfate-regulated transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor FGFR4 is the major FGFR isotype in mature hepatocytes. Fibroblast growth factor has been implicated in the definition of liver from foregut endoderm where FGFR4 is expressed and stimulation of hepatocyte DNA synthesis in vitro. Here we show that livers of mice lacking FGFR4 exhibited normal morphology and regenerated normally in response to partial hepatectomy. However, the FGFR4 (-/-) mice exhibited depleted gallbladders, an elevated bile acid pool and elevated excretion of bile acids. Cholesterol- and bile acid-controlled liver cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase, the limiting enzyme for bile acid synthesis, was elevated, unresponsive to dietary cholesterol, but repressed normally by dietary cholate. Expression pattern and cholate-dependent, cholesterol-induced hepatomegaly in the FGFR4 (-/-) mice suggested that activation of receptor interacting protein 140, a co-repressor of feed-forward activator liver X receptor alpha, may mediate the negative regulation of cholesterol- and bile acid-controlled liver cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase transcription by FGFR4 and cholate. The results demonstrate that transmembrane sensors interface with metabolite-controlled transcription networks and suggest that pericellular matrix-controlled liver FGFR4 in particular may ensure adequate cholesterol for cell structures and signal transduction.

[Studies on surfactant replacement therapy in pediatric measles pneumonitis]

Measles pneumonitis, as well as encephalitis, is the most important complication associated with mortality in measles. Many medications including steroids and vitamin A have been applied to pediatric measles pneumonitis. However, the efficacy of such medication has not yet been established. This study is aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of surfactant replacement therapy in pediatric measles pneumonitis. Five patients (aged 1-2 years) with measles pneumonitis were transferred to our emergency center. On the transferred day, Surfactant-TA was administered by intratracheal method. After administration of surfactant, PaO2/FIO2 increased from 63.6 +/- 11.0 (mean +/- SE) to 206.2 +/- 54.1 in an hour and to 163.8 +/- 34.8 in 24. At the same time, the CO2 elimination and the dynamic compliance were improved. Because of these effects, the peak inspiratory pressure employed in mechanical ventilation could be reduced. It is concluded that surfactant replacement therapy can prevent the patients with measles pneumonitis from hypoxemia and ventilation-induced lung injury. However, further study is needed to maintain the improved oxygenation. Recently, it is reported that the effect of exogenous surfactant on oxygenation and activity of pulmonary neutrophils is regulated by the amount and/or concentration of administered surfactant. Therefore, it is an urgent issue to find out the optimum amount and concentration of exogenous surfactant used clinically.

Up-regulation of the chondrogenic Sox9 gene by fibroblast growth factors is mediated by the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway

Recent experiments have established that Sox9 is required for chondrocyte differentiation. Here, we show that fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) markedly enhance Sox9 expression in mouse primary chondrocytes as well as in C3H10T1/2 cells that express low levels of Sox9. FGFs also strongly increase the activity of a Sox9-dependent chondrocyte-specific enhancer in the gene for collagen type II. Transient transfection experiments using constructs encoding FGF receptors strongly suggested that all FGF receptors, FGFR1-R4, can transduce signals that lead to the increase in Sox9 expression. The increase in Sox9 levels induced by FGF2 was inhibited by a specific mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MAPKK)/mitogen-activated protein kinase/ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitor U0126 in primary chondrocytes. In addition, coexpression of a dual-specificity phosphatase, CL100/MKP-1, that is able to dephosphorylate and inactivate mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) inhibited the FGF2-induced increase in activity of the Sox9-dependent enhancer. Furthermore, coexpression of a constitutively active mutant of MEK1 increased the activity of the Sox9-dependent enhancer in primary chondrocytes and C3H10T1/2 cells, mimicking the effects of FGFs. These results indicate that expression of the gene for the master chondrogenic factor Sox9 is stimulated by FGFs in chondrocytes as well as in undifferentiated mesenchymal cells and strongly suggest that this regulation is mediated by the MAPK pathway. Because Sox9 is essential for chondrocyte differentiation, we propose that FGFs and the MAPK pathway play an important role in chondrogenesis.

[Cervical pyogenic spondylodiscitis: 4 cases report and a review of the literature]

We report 4 cases of cervical spondylodiscitis presenting neurological and/or neuroradiological abnormalities. Such a lesion is rare in the cervical spine of adults, but should be suspected when the patient has radiculopathy and/or myelopathy associated with inflammatory signs. We discussed the clinical characteristics and the procedures of the diagnosis and treatment of cervical spondylodiscitis. Early and definitive diagnosis can be achieved by cervical X-ray, MR imaging and biopsy. It is very important to evaluate the pyogen for the lesion by needle biopsy. When the patient has the compression of the spinal cord and/or nerve roots and the neurological findings of radiculopathy and/or myelopathy, surgical exploration and decompression of the spinal cord and/or nerve roots should be carried out as soon as possible. Anterior debridement and fusion should be performed using the effective antibiotics. We were able to achieve good prognosis by treatment following this procedure of diagnosis in the four cases of cervical spondylodiscitis mentioned.

Marked regional heterogeneity in venous oxygen saturation in severe head injury studied by superselective intracranial venous sampling: case report

OBJECTIVE

Continuous monitoring of jugular venous oxygen saturation (SjvO2) is useful in the management of severe head injury. Abnormally high SjvO2 values can be caused by increased cerebral blood flow, decreased cerebral metabolism, brain death, contamination from extracerebral venous blood, or traumatic arteriovenous fistula.

CLINICAL PRESENTATION

A 20-year-old man with severe head injury was diagnosed to have a traumatic dural carotid-cavernous sinus fistula on the day of trauma. Continuous left SjvO2 monitoring from Days 4 to 12 revealed oxygen saturation ranging between 85 and 98%.

INTERVENTION

Superselective intracranial and extracranial venous sampling on Day 5 demonstrated marked regional heterogeneity in venous oxygen saturation as follows: superior sagittal sinus, 95 to 97%; straight sinus, 88%; right transverse sinus, 94%; left transverse sinus, 74%; right SjvO2, 95%; left SjvO2, 89%; the basilar plexus, 99%; right internal jugular vein, 98%; the left internal jugular vein, 94%. Extremely high oxygen saturation in the superior sagittal sinus and basilar plexus was attributed to severe brain damage and carotid-cavernous sinus fistula, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Although jugular bulb oximetry is useful in the management of severe head injury, high oxygen saturation values should be interpreted with caution because they cannot show the intracranial heterogeneity of venous oxygen saturation.

Requirement for anticoagulant heparan sulfate in the fibroblast growth factor receptor complex

A divalent cation-dependent association between heparin or heparan sulfate and the ectodomain of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor kinase (FGFR) restricts FGF-independent trans-phosphorylation between self-associated FGFR and determines specificity for and mediates binding of activating FGF. Here we show that only the fraction of commercial heparin or rat liver heparan sulfate which binds to immobilized antithrombin formed an FGF-binding binary complex with the ectodomain of the FGFR kinase. Conversely, only the fraction of heparin that binds to immobilized FGFR inhibited Factor Xa in the presence of antithrombin. Only the antithrombin-bound fraction of heparin competed with (3)H-heparin bound to FGFR in absence of FGF, whereas both antithrombin-bound and unretained fractions competed with radiolabeled heparin bound independently to FGF-1 and FGF-2. The antithrombin-bound fraction of heparin was required to support the heparin-dependent stimulation of DNA synthesis of endothelial cells by FGF-1. The requirement for divalent cations and the antithrombin-binding motif distinguish the role of heparan sulfate as an integral subunit of the FGFR complex from the wider range of effects of heparan sulfates and homologues on FGF signaling through FGFR-independent interactions with FGF.

Androgen-stimulated human prostate epithelial growth mediated by stromal-derived fibroblast growth factor-10

It has been suggested that prostate homeostasis is regulated indirectly by androgens through stromal-epithelial interactions in part by factors from the stromal cells acting on receptors in epithelial cells. In this report, the role of fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-10 in prostatic epithelial proliferation was investigated. The expression of FGF-10 mRNA was apparent in primary-cultured stromal cells, but not in epithelial cells derived from human tissue from patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The mitogenic activity of human recombinant FGF-10 assessed by 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation was demonstrated in isolated epithelial cells, but not in cultured stromal cells. No mitogenic activity of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) for either epithelial or stromal cells could be demonstrated, but quantitative PCR (real-time PCR) with a double-labeled fluorogenic probe demonstrated that expression of FGF-10 in stromal cells was enhanced 5.3-fold at a DHT concentration of 100 pM. Androgen receptor mRNA levels showed no significant change with DHT at concentrations less than 100 pM, but were reduced to 50% of control levels at a DHT concentration of 10 nM. These results suggest that stromal-derived FGF-10 stimulates human prostatic epithelial growth and its mRNA expression is induced by androgens, without an increase in the androgen receptor mRNA. Moreover, FGF-10 may be involved in the development or support of human BPH.

Specificity for fibroblast growth factors determined by heparan sulfate in a binary complex with the receptor kinase

A divalent cation-dependent association between heparin or heparan sulfate and the ectodomain of the FGF receptor kinase (FGFR) restricts FGF-independent trans-phosphorylation and supports the binding of activating FGF to self-associated FGFR. Here we show that in contrast to heparin, cellular heparan sulfate forms a binary complex with FGFR that discriminates between FGF-1 and FGF-2. FGFR type 4 (FGFR4) in liver parenchymal cells binds only FGF-1, whereas FGFR1 binds FGF-1 and FGF-2 equally. Cell-free complexes of heparin and recombinant FGFR4 bound FGF-1 and FGF-2 equally. However, in contrast to FGFR1, when recombinant FGFR4 was expressed back in epithelial cells by transfection, it failed to bind FGF-2 unless heparan sulfate was depressed by chlorate or heparinase treatment. Isolated heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) from liver cells in cell-free complexes with FGFR4 restored the specificity for FGF-1 and supported the binding of both FGF-1 and FGF-2 when complexed with FGFR1. In contrast, FGF-2 bound equally well to complexes of both FGFR1 and FGFR4 formed with endothelial cell-derived HSPG, but the endothelial HSPG was deficient for the binding of FGF-1 to both FGFR complexes. These data suggest that a heparan sulfate subunit is a cell type- and FGFR-specific determinant of the selectivity of the FGFR signaling complex for FGF. In a physiological context, the heparan sulfate subunit may limit the redundancy among the current 18 FGF polypeptides for the 4 known FGFR.

Fibroblast growth factor-10. A second candidate stromal to epithelial cell andromedin in prostate

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-10, a homologue of FGF-7, is expressed significantly in normal rat prostate tissue, well differentiated rat prostate tumors with an epithelial and stromal compartment and only in derived prostate stromal cells in culture. Similar to FGF-7, recombinant rat FGF-10 was a specific mitogen for prostate epithelial cells. In contrast to FGF-7 which is widely expressed among stromal cells in tissues, the expression of FGF-10 correlated with the presence of stromal cells of muscle origin. Radioreceptor binding assays and covalent cross-linking analysis revealed that FGF-10 binds with an affinity equal to FGF-7 to resident epithelial cell receptor, FGFR2IIIb, but unlike FGF-7 also binds the IIIb splice variant of FGFR1. Analysis of mRNA expression by RNase protection revealed that, similar to FGF-7, the expression of FGF-10 was responsive to androgen in stromal cells from normal prostate and non-malignant differentiated tumors. Although FGF-10 cDNA exhibits a signal sequence for secretion, cultured stromal cells exhibit strictly a cell-associated FGF-10 antigen that correlates with an alternately translated intracellular isoform. FGF-10 requires 1.4 times higher NaCl for elution from immobilized heparin than does FGF-7 and binds to four times the number of sites on the pericellular matrix of epithelial cells. The results show that prostate stromal cell-derived FGF-10, like FGF-7, exhibits the properties of an andromedin which may indirectly mediate control of epithelial cell growth and function by androgen. Although FGF-10 and FGF-7 bind and activate the same resident epithelial cell receptor (FGFR2IIIb), differences in cell type of origin, compartmentation by alternate translation, the affinity for FGFR1IIIb, and access to FGFR by differential interaction with pericellular matrix heparan sulfate suggest they may play both independent and compensatory roles in prostate homeostasis.

Common and specific determinants for fibroblast growth factors in the ectodomain of the receptor kinase complex

The assembly and activation of oligomeric complexes of FGF, the transmembrane receptor kinase (FGFR), and heparan sulfate transmit intracellular signals regulating growth and function of cells. An understanding of the structural relationships between the three subunits and their redundancy and specificity is essential for understanding the ubiquitous FGF signaling system in health and disease. Previously, we reported that a primary heparin or heparan sulfate binding site resides in a distinct sequence in immunoglobulin (Ig)-like module II of the three modules of FGFR. Here we report that in the absence of flanking sequences, isolated Ig module II of FGFR1 supports the binding of FGF-1, FGF-2, and FGF-7 in respective order of affinity. None of the three FGFs detectably bind Ig module I or the IIIb and IIIc splice variants of Ig module III in the absence of flanking sequences. Ig module I and the C-terminus of Ig module III are dispensable for high-affinity binding of FGF-1, FGF-2, and FGF-7. Alterations in highly conserved Ig module II in the heparin binding domain and substitution of individual sequence domains spanning the entire sequence of Ig module II with those from Ig module I obliterated FGF binding. Addition of a specific number of FGFR sequences to the C-terminus of Ig module II resulted in a gain in affinity for FGF-7. Several site-specific alterations in the C-terminus of full-length FGFR1IIIc, an isoform that otherwise absolutely rejects FGF-7, resulted in gain of FGF-7 binding. These results suggest that a complex of Ig module II and heparan sulfate is the base common active core of the FGFR ectodomain and that flanking structural domains modify FGF affinity and determine specificity.

A study of psychological stress created in dentists by children during pediatric dental treatment

Stresses on dental practitioners arising from pediatric examination and treatment can be broadly divided into those produced by the child and those produced by the child's guardian (usually the mother). The present study examined the psychological influence of the child. A series of questions regarding psychological stress caused by child patients was administered to a group of dentists and, by factor analysis, reduced to a 21-item scale. The effectiveness of this instrument was examined for reliability and validity. The following results were obtained: 1. The 21 items in the scale were selected for their association with three primary factors: stress from mild resistance behavior, stress from moderate resistance behavior, and stress from determined resistance behavior. 2. The scale demonstrated high internal consistency and, by test-retest, high stability over time. 3. High scores on a standardized scale for psychological stress in everyday life were found to correlate positively to scores on the scale created in the present study. The correlation was significant beyond the 5 percent level. Confirmatory factor analysis found factor loading for all items of 0.50 or greater, with no duplication of factors within items. Both tests confirmed the validity of the scale. The above results indicate that the scale created in the present study is an effective instrument for measuring psychological stress in dental practitioners created by children during pediatric dental treatment and examination.

[Application of ultrafast 3D-CT in cervical spine injury]

The authors investigated the usefulness of the ultrafast three-dimensional computed tomography (UF-3D-CT) in cervical spine injury. At Osaka City General Hospital, between April 1995 and March 1998, the authors examined 38 patients with cervical spine injury using UF-3D-CT. The ultrafast CT reduces scanning time. There were no complications associated with the examination. We examined 12 patients with vertebral body fracture, 11 patients with lamina fracture, 8 cases with subluxation including locking facet, 2 patients with atlanto-axial dislocation and 8 patients without bony abnormality. Results suggested that UF-3D-CT was very useful for helping us to understand the bony deformity and the relationship between the bone and the important vessels. UF-3D-CT is very useful for preoperative evaluation and pathophysiological evaluation in cervical spin injury.