Neuromyelitis optica-IgG in idiopathic inflammatory demyelinating disorders amongst Hong Kong Chinese

BACKGROUND

Idiopathic inflammatory demyelinating disorders (IIDD) affect the central nervous system. In classical multiple sclerosis (CMS), brain, optic nerves [optic neuritis (ON)] and spinal cord [acute transverse myelitis (ATM)] are affected. In neuromyelitis optica (NMO), optic nerves and spinal cord are predominantly affected. NMO-IgG, an autoantibody targeting aquaporin-4, is a marker for NMO. We studied the frequency and clinical relevance of NMO-IgG seropositivity in IIDD patients.

METHODS

Neuromyelitis optica-IgG was detected by indirect immunofluorescence using primate cerebellum.

RESULTS

Neuromyelitis optica-IgG was detected in six of 10 NMO patients (60%), six of 10 idiopathic relapsing transverse myelitis (IRTM) patients (60%), two of nine idiopathic relapsing ON patients (22%), one of 11 patients (9%) having single ON attack, one of 30 CMS patients (3%), and none of patients having single ATM attack or controls. Comparing NMO-IgG seropositive (n = 12) with NMO-IgG seronegative (n = 8) patients having NMO or IRTM, NMO-IgG seropositivity was associated with a higher relapse rate in first 2 years, 1.5 and 0.6 attacks/year for seropositive and seronegative groups respectively (P = 0.006), and non-significant trend towards more severe ON and myelitis with poorer clinical outcome.

CONCLUSION

Neuromyelitis optica -IgG facilitates diagnosis of NMO spectrum disorders. NMO-IgG seropositivity is associated with higher relapse rate in first 2 years.

Trichinella spiralis--a potential anti-tumor agent

Murine forestomach carcinoma (cell line MFC), ascitic hepatoma (cell line H22) and sarcoma (cell line S180) solid tumor models were used to test the anti-tumor effect of Trichinella spiralis in vivo. Mice previously infected by oral administration of 400 viable T. spiralis larvae per mouse for 7 days were grafted with various solid tumor cell lines. Other groups of tumor-bearing mice were given caudal vein injection of crude extracts of adult and newborn larvae at 17.5, 35.0 or 70.0 mg kg(-1). These treatments to inhibit tumor growth were dose-dependent (p<0.05). The anti-proliferative activity of crude T. spiralis extract was examined in vitro at 0.035, 0.070 or 0.140 mg ml(-1) using MFC, H22, S180, human chronic myeloid leukemia cell line (K562) and hepatoma cell line (H7402), tumor cell proliferation in vitro was measured by methyl thiazolium stain and was inhibited in dose-dependent manner (p<0.05). At the same doses, crude T. spiralis extracts induced apoptosis of K562 and H7402 as detected by DNA fragmentation. Cell cycle analysis indicated that crude T. spiralis extracts, at 0.140 mg ml(-1), arrested the cell cycle of K562 and H7402 in G1 or S phase. It is concluded that T. spiralis contains anti-tumor active agent.

Effects of repeated applications of chlorpyrifos on its persistence and soil microbial functional diversity and development of its degradation capability

Effects of repeated applications of chlorpyrifos on its persistence and soil microbial functional diversity were studied under laboratory conditions. The results showed that the degradation rate of chlorpyrifos increased whereas its inhibitory effect on soil microbial communities gradually decreased with application frequency of chlorpyrifos. A bacterial strain DSP capable of utilizing chlorpyrifos as a sole source of carbon and energy was isolated 21 days after the third chlorpyrifos application, which indicated that the capability of soil microorganism for degrading chlorpyrifos was formed during the experiment. It could be concluded that repeated applications of chlorpyrifos had no lasting impact on soil health.

Sustained elevation of Epstein-Barr virus antibody levels preceding clinical onset of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

We have monitored Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) IgA antibody levels of 39 nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cases for up to 15 years before clinical onset of NPC, and assessed preclinical serologic status of another 68 cases. Our results identify a serologic window preceding diagnosis when antibody levels are raised and sustained. This window can persist for as long as 10 years, with a mean duration estimated to as 37±28 months. Ninety-seven of these 107 NPC cases exhibited such a window. Cases that did not may reflect individual antibody response to EBV. Serologic screening at enrollment identified those cases who had already entered the window and became clinically manifested earlier (median=28 months) than those who entered the window after enrollment (median=90 months). The former account for 19 of 21 cases diagnosed within 2 years of screening. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma risk levels among seropositive subjects were also highest during this period. Both prediction rates and risk levels declined thereafter; cases detected at later times were composed of increasing proportions of individuals who entered the serological window after screening. Our findings establish EBV antibody as an early marker of NPC and suggest that repeated screening to monitor cases as they enter this window has considerable predictive value, with practical consequences for cancer treatment.

Bioavailability of butachlor and myclobutanil residues in soil to earthworms

To establish chemical extraction procedures for predicting bioavailability of butachlor and myclobutanil in soil, several solvent systems, including methanol, methanol-water (9:1), methanol-water (1:1), acetone-water (5:3), petroleum ether and water, were assessed for their feasibility in determining extractability of the target compounds from soil samples. Experimental data showed that the extractability of butachlor and myclobutanil by the solvents was well linearly correlated with their bioavailability to Eisenia foetida and Allolobophora caliginosa, indicating that these extraction procedures may be efficient for predicting bioavailability of the two pesticides. The concentrations of the pesticides accumulated in E. foetida and A. caliginosa varied with species, suggesting that the availability of the soil-sequestered pesticide is a species-dependent process.

The role of citric acid on the phytoremediation of heavy metal contaminated soil

Adsorption and hydroponics experiments were conducted to study the role of citric acid on the phytoremediation of heavy metal contaminated soil. The results show that addition of citric acid decreased the adsorption of both lead and cadmium, such an effect was bigger for cadmium than for lead. The decrease in the adsorption of Pb and Cd was mainly due to a decrease of pH in the presence of citric acid. The presence of citric acid could alleviate the toxicity of Pb and Cd to radish, and stimulate their transportation from root to shoot. The studies of heavy metal forms using sequential extraction demonstrated that lead was mainly existed as FHAC (a lower bioavailable form) in the root, while F(HCl) was the dominant form in the leaf. The addition of citric acid to the soil changed the concentration and relative abundance of all the forms. The detoxifying effect of citric acid to Pb in shoots might result from the transformation of higher toxic forms into lower toxic forms. Cadmium was mainly present as F(NaCl), therefore, it had higher toxicity than lead. The addition of citric acid increased the abundance of F(H2O) + F(NaCl), indicating that citric acid treatment could transform cadmium into more transportable forms.

Rapid degradation of butachlor in wheat rhizosphere soil

The degradative characteristics of butachlor in non-rhizosphere, wheat rhizosphere, and inoculated rhizosphere soils were measured. The rate constants for the degradation of butachlor in non-rhizosphere, rhizosphere, and inoculated rhizosphere soils were measured to be 0.0385, 0.0902, 0.1091 at 1 mg/kg, 0.0348, 0.0629, 0.2355 at 10 mg/kg, and 0.0299, 0.0386, 0.0642 at 100 mg/kg, respectively. The corresponding half-lives for butachlor in the soils were calculated to be 18.0, 7.7, 6.3 days at 1 mg/kg, 19.9, 11.0, 2.9 days at 10 mg/kg, and 23.2, 18.0, 10.8 days at 100 mg/kg, respectively. The experimental results show that the degradation of butachlor can be enhanced greatly in wheat rhizosphere, and especially in the rhizosphere inoculated with the bacterial community designated HD which is capable of degrading butachlor. It could be concluded that rhizosphere soil inoculated with microorganisms-degrading target herbicides is a useful pathway to achieve rapid degradation of the herbicides in soil.

Effect of cadmium on nodulation and N2-fixation of soybean in contaminated soils

The effects of cadmium stress on nodulation, N2-fixation capabilities of the root nodule, the change in ultrastructure of the root nodule, soybean growth, and the distribution of cadmium in plants were studied. The results obtained show that the nodulation of soybean roots was greatly inhibited by the addition of Cd, especially at the addition level of 10 and 20 mg kg(-1) soil. The inhibition of plant growth, especially the root growth, increased as the cadmium concentration increased, with deleterious effects observed for the roots. The weight ratio of soybean root/leaf decreased as the Cd concentration increased, which might explain the reason for nodulation decreases. The results also indicate that N2-fixation of root nodule was stimulated to some extent at the low levels of Cd addition, but decreased sharply with further increase of the Cd concentration. High Cd levels were also associated with changes in the ultrastructure of root nodule, in which the effective N2-fixing area was reduced and the N2-fixing cells in the area also reduced. In addition, the results also reveal that the content of Cd in different parts of the plants was as follows: roots >> stems > seeds, indicating that the accumulation of Cd by roots is much larger than that by any other part of the soybean plant, and might cause deleterious effects to root systems.

Physiological mechanism of plant roots exposed to cadmium

Physiological experiments on plant roots exposed to cadmium were conducted on carrot and radish using a liquid culture and a pot experiment with a series of cadmium applications. Activities of four enzymes (catalase, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, superoxide dismutase), and concentrations of free proline and malonaldehyde in the roots of both plants were investigated. Results showed that the germination rate and growth of roots of both plants were inhibited at the concentration of 20 mg Cd/l, and the inhibition was increased with the increasing concentrations of cadmium, both in the liquid culture and in the pot experiment; activities of the four enzymes declined similarly in both species. The concentration of proline in roots reached the maximum when the application of cadmium was at the level of 20 mg/l in the liquid culture (or 20 mg/kg in soil), and then it declined slowly with the increasing concentration of cadmium. However, the reverse trend was observed for the concentration of malonaldehyde. All of bio-indicators measured here was quite sensitive to the addition of cadmium.

Chemical behavior of Cd in rice rhizosphere

Chemical behavior of Cd in rice rhizosphere as affected or not by Pb was investigated. The NH4OAc extractable Cd in the rhizosphere was distinctly lower than that in bulk soil. The depletion of Cd in the rhizosphere could not be simply attributed to Cd uptake by rice. The observed phenomena could be attributed to the decreasing pH in the rhizosphere and the complexing capabilities of soluble exudates for Cd. Extractable Cd increased in both the rhizosphere and bulk soil after the addition of Pb, which might be caused by the replacement of Pb for Cd. The extractable Cd in the non-rhizosphere varied with the distance from the root surface, especially within 0-1 mm, which was greatly affected by the combined effects of mass flow, activation and fixation, and had the lowest extractable Cd. Pb addition affected the distribution of extractable Cd in the non-rhizosphere, implying that the affinity of Pb for organic matter was greater than that of Cd. The difference of Cd species between rhizosphere and bulk soil demonstrated that the transformation of exchangeable Cd (EXC-Cd) to OM-Cd (bound to organic matter) and FMO-Cd (bound to iron and manganese oxide) occurred in the rice rhizosphere due to the exudations from the rice root, the activity of microorganisms on the root surface and the activation of Fe and Mn oxides. The interaction between Pb and Cd resulted in the content of EXC-Cd being higher in the presence of Pb, whereas the OM-Cd content was lower in the presence of Pb.

Isolation of a novel legumin-like lectin with potent hemagglutinating activity from seeds of the Chinese chestnut Castanea mollisima

A novel mannose- and glucose-specific lectin with high hemagglutinating activity was isolated from seeds of the Chinese chestnut Castanea mollisima. The lectin possessed a molecular mass of 140 kDa and was made up of two subunits, one with a molecular mass of 31 kDa and another with a molecular mass of 32 kDa. They exhibited substantial homology in N-terminal sequence to the storage protein legumin. The lectin was unstable in the presence of acid and alkali and at temperatures above 50 degrees C, but it was unaffected by various salts. The lectin was purified with a procedure involving ion exchange chromatography on CM-Sepharose, Q-Sepharose and Resource Q and gel filtration on Superose 12.

[Cloning and characterization of syap1, a down regulated gene in human hepatocellular carcinoma]

Using a different fragment DE6 obtained from DD-PCR as probe, a full-length cDNA has been cloned from human liver cDNA library and named as syap1 (Synapse-associated protein 1) because its deduced amino acid sequence is homologous to SAP47 of D. melanogaster. Northern blot analysis reveals that two transcripts of syap1 mRNA are expressed in cultured human liver L-02 cells. Moreover, the syap1 mRNA was also detected in most of adult human tissues by RT-PCR analysis. Down-regulated expression of syap1 mRNA was confirmed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR assay in 5 of 10 (50%) cases of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Long-term causes of death after traumatic brain injury

OBJECTIVE

To determine which causes of death are more frequent in persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI), and by how much, compared with the general population. Our focus was the period beginning 1 yr after injury.

DESIGN

Subjects were 2320 Californians with long-term mental disability after a TBI at age 10 yr or more, followed up between 1988 and 1997. The units of study were person-years, each linked to the subject's age, gender, level of ambulation, time since injury, and cause of death (if any) for the specific year. Observed numbers of cause-specific deaths were compared with numbers expected according to general population mortality rates.

RESULTS

Mortality was higher between 1.0 and 5.0 yr postinjury than after 5.0 yr and was strongly related to reduced mobility. Death rates were elevated for circulatory diseases, respiratory diseases, choking/suffocation, and seizures, with seizure deaths being relatively frequent, even among the most ambulatory.

CONCLUSIONS

Death rates for several causes are elevated in persons with long-term sequelae of TBI. The increased risk of choking/suffocation should be of interest to caregivers. Life expectancy seems to be reduced, even for patients who are fully ambulatory.

CREB is one component of the binding complex of the Ces-2/E2A-HLF binding element and is an integral part of the interleukin-3 survival signal

The Ces-2/E2A-HLF binding element (CBE) is recognized by Caenorhabditis elegans death specification gene product Ces-2 and human acute lymphocytic leukemia oncoprotein E2A-HLF. In an attempt to identify a cellular CBE-binding protein(s) that may be involved in apoptosis regulation in mammals, multiple nuclear binding complexes of CBE were identified in various mammalian cell lines and tissues by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Cyclic AMP (cAMP)-responsive element (CRE)-binding protein (CREB) was present in one major CBE complex of Ba/F3 and TF-1 cells, and both in vitro-translated and Escherichia coli-synthesized CREB bound to CBE. Activation of CREB by cAMP-elevating chemicals or the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A (PKAc) resulted in induction of the CBE-driven reporter gene. Stimulation of Ba/F3 cells with interleukin-3 (IL-3) promptly induced phosphorylation of CREB at serine(133) partially via a PKA-dependent pathway. Consistently, Ba/F3 cell survival in the absence of IL-3 was prolonged by activation of PKA. Conversely, treatment of cells with a PKA inhibitor or expression of the dominant negative forms of the regulatory subunit type I of PKA and CREB overrode the survival activity of IL-3. Last, the bcl-2 gene was demonstrated to be one candidate cellular target of the CREB-containing CBE complex, as mutations in the CRE and CBE sites significantly reduced the IL-3 inducibility of the bcl-2 promoter. Together, our results suggest that CREB is one cellular counterpart of Ces-2/E2A-HLF and is part of IL-3 dependent apoptosis regulation in hematopoietic cells.

Isolation of a novel heterodimeric agglutinin from rhizomes of Smilax glabra, the Chinese medicinal material tufuling

A heterodimeric agglutinin with a molecular mass of 32 kDa, and comprised of a 15 and a 17 kDa-subunit, was isolated from Smilax glabra rhizomes. The isolation protocol entailed ion exchange chromatography on CM-Sepharose, DEAE-cellulose and Resource Q and gel filtration on Superose 12. The two agglutinin subunits resembled each other and lectins from other Liliaceae plants in N-terminal sequence. The hemagglutinating activity of the agglutinin was unstable under acidic and alkaline conditions and when exposed to temperatures at or higher than 50 degrees C. The activity was not altered by a number of monovalent, divalent and trivalent cations, nor by a variety of sugars and glycoproteins.

Lipophilic antioxidants and iron status in ESRD patients on hemodialysis

Cardiovascular disease remains the major cause of mortality in hemodialysis patients. Abnormal oxidative stress and impaired antioxidant defense may contribute to accelerated atherogenesis associated with uremia. As oxidative modification of lipids appears to be a prerequisite for the development of atherosclerotic lesions, lipophilic antioxidants may be protective. The aim of this study was to determine the plasma levels of lipophilic antioxidants in 82 hemodialysis patients and 30 controls and to investigate the influence of body iron status on the levels of lipophilic antioxidants. The patients were categorized into 3 groups according to their serum ferritin levels. We found that the plasma levels of lycopene, delta-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol and retinol of hemodialysis patients were lower than those of controls. On the other hand, both absolute and lipid-normalized plasma lycopene levels were significantly reduced in those patients in the groups with higher ferritin levels as compared to those with lower ferritin levels. In addition, our study showed that the lipid-normalized plasma levels of beta-carotene and alpha-carotene of hemodialysis patients with higher ferritin levels were lower than those of the patients with lower levels. These data suggest that the plasma levels of lipophilic antioxidants are altered in end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis and may be considered as markers of oxidative stress in these patients. Most importantly, elevated serum ferritin levels may affect the levels of these lipophilic antioxidants.

Enhanced oxidative stress in haemodialysis patients receiving intravenous iron therapy

BACKGROUND

Iron balance is critical for adequate erythropoiesis and there remains much debate concerning the optimal timing and dosage of iron therapy for haemodialysis patients receiving recombinant human erythropoietin therapy.

METHODS

In this study, we examined the influence of baseline ferritin level and intravenous infusion of 100 mg ferric saccharate on the oxidative status of the patients on maintenance haemodialysis. The levels of antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxides were determined in erythrocytes and plasma of 50 uraemic patients on haemodialysis. These patients were divided into groups 1, 2, and 3, based on their baseline serum ferritin levels of <300, 301-600, and >601 microg/l, respectively.

RESULTS

We found that the mean superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in the erythrocytes were similar in the three groups of patients and did not differ from those of the age-matched controls. On the other hand, all the haemodialysis patients showed significantly higher plasma SOD activity as compared to controls. After intravenous iron infusion, group 3 patients showed the largest decrease in plasma SOD activity. The plasma glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) activities of the patients in all three groups and the erythrocyte GSHPx activities of the patients in the groups 2 and 3 were lower than those of the healthy controls. In all three groups of patients, no difference in GSHPx activity was found before and after intravenous iron infusion. On the other hand, we found that the average baseline levels of plasma lipid peroxides of all three groups of patients were significantly higher than that of the controls. The patients in group 3 with the highest serum ferritin levels showed the highest levels of plasma lipid peroxides. More importantly, we found that after iron infusion, the patients in all three groups, particularly those in group 3, showed significantly elevated levels of plasma lipid peroxides.

CONCLUSION

We demonstrated that increased oxidative stress in the blood circulation of the uraemic patients on haemodialysis is exacerbated by the elevated baseline serum ferritin levels and intravenous iron infusion. The resultant oxidative damage may contribute to the increased incidence of atherosclerosis in the patients with end-stage renal disease on long-term haemodialysis.

Evaluation of pre- and postdilutional on-line hemodiafiltration adequacy by partial dialysate quantification and on-line urea monitor

On-line highflux hemodiafiltration (HDF) is a clinically interesting and effective mode of renal replacement therapy, which offers the possibility to obtain an increased removal of both small and large solutes. The fundamental role of urea kinetic monitoring to assess dialysis adequacy in conventional hemodialysis has been widely studied. Both direct measurement of the urea removed by the modified direct dialysate quantitation (mDDQ) based on partial dialysate collection (PDC) and dialysate-based urea kinetic modeling (DUKM) using urea monitor have been advocated. The validity of this assessment tool in the patients with on-line HDF remained unclear. The aims of this investigation were (1) to compare the delivered Kt/V, urea mass removal (UMR), solute removal index (SRI) and normalized protein catabolic rate (nPCR) between pre- and postdilutional high-flux HDF; (2) to verify and compare the efficiency of pre- and postdilutional HDF using DUKM with on-line dialysate urea sensor, and mDDQ with partial dialysate collection. During both mode of HDF, the paired analysis urea removed and Kt/V showed no significant difference. Using mDDQ, mean values for predilutional mode were as follows: Kt/V 1.53 +/- 0.01 UMR, 16.8 +/- 0.3 g/session; urea clearance 178 +/- 18 ml/min; SRI 75.5 +/- 7.7%; urea distribution volume (V) 28.3 +/- 1.2 liters; nPCR 1.34 +/- 0.18 g/kg/day; on the other hand, mean values for postdilutional mode were Kt/V 1.58 +/- 0.01; UMR 17.10 +/- 0.28 g/session; urea clearance 184 +/- 21 ml/min; SRI 77.2 +/- 3.5%; urea distribution volume, 27.8 +/- 1.5 liters; nPCR 1.34 +/- 0.19 g/kg/day. The mean value of urea generation rate was 5.82 +/- 1.12 mg/min during HDF. Our results showed that dialysis adequacy was achieved with both high-volume predilutional HDF and postdilutional HDF. These two modes of HDF provided similar and adequate small solute clearance. In addition, we found that on-line analysis of urea kinetics is a reliable tool for quantifying and assuring delivery of adequate dialysis.

Acute and chronic effects of ginseng total saponin and amphetamine on fixed-interval performance in rats

The effect of ginseng total saponin (GTS) on amphetamine (AMPH)-induced disruption of fixed-interval (FI) responding in rats was examined. GTS (50 mg/kg) significantly improved the temporal responding impaired by 2 mg/kg of AMPH. A higher dose of 100 mg/kg GTS disrupted performance when given alone; this disruption was reversed by a low dose of AMPH (0.5 mg/kg) and tolerance developed to the effects of GTS with its repeated administration. Neurochemical analysis revealed that GTS (50 mg/kg) attenuated the increase in striatal dopamine caused by AMPH leading to the conclusion that brain dopamine may partially mediate the behavioral effects of GTS.

L-DOPA exacerbates amphetamine-induced dopamine depletion

Administration of L-DOPA to Parkinson patients has been suggested to exacerbate "functional denervation" of the nigrostriatal system. Therefore, experiments were conducted to determine if L-DOPA combined with the DOPA decarboxylase inhibitor, Ro4-4602 (benserazide hydrochloride) would potentiate amphetamine-induced neurotoxicity. Mice received two injections of saline or benserazide + L-DOPA (25.0 or 100.0 mg/kg) interspersed with four injections of amphetamine (15.0 mg/kg) at 2-h intervals. Significant depletion of striatal dopamine, DOPAC, and HVA was evident 1 wk following amphetamine administered with or without 25.0 mg/kg L-DOPA + benserazide, whereas 100.0 mg/kg L-DOPA + benserazide potentiated amphetamine-induced depletion of striatal dopamine (17 vs 28% of control values). This enhanced toxicity may be consequent to increased dopamine turnover following L-DOPA (360 vs 231%), a situation akin to that observed in compromised dopaminergic nigrostriatal systems of parkinsonian patients. Furthermore, striatal 5-HT was not altered by amphetamine alone, whereas concurrent administration of L-DOPA/ benserazide depleted 5-HT to 82% of control values. No changes were evident in the frontal cortex following amphetamine with or without concurrent L-DOPA/benserazide; however, L-DOPA/benserazide administered alone reduced 5-HT and 5-HT turnover to 58% of control values.

Macrophage colony-stimulating factor accelerates wound healing and upregulates TGF-beta1 mRNA levels through tissue macrophages

Macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) is produced by many cell types involved in wound repair, yet it acts specifically on monocytes and macrophages. The monocyte-derived cell is thought to be important in wound healing, but the importance of the role of tissue macrophages in wound healing has not been well defined. Dermal ulcers were created in normal and ischemic ears of young rabbits. Either rhM-CSF (17 microg/wound) or buffer was applied to each wound. Wounds were bisected and analyzed histologically at Days 7 and 10 postwounding. The amounts of epithelial growth and granulation tissue deposition were measured in all wounds. The level of increase of TGF-beta1 mRNA level in M-CSF-treated wounds was examined using competitive RT-PCR. M-CSF increased new granulation tissue formation by 37% (N = 21, P < 0.01) and 50% (P < 0.01) after single and multiple treatments, respectively, in nonischemic wounds. TGF-beta1 mRNA levels in rhM-CSF-treated wounds increased 5.01-fold (N = 8) over vehicle-treated wounds under nonischemic conditions. In contrast, no effect could be detected in ischemic wounds treated with rhM-CSF, and these wounds only showed a 1.66-fold increase in TGF-beta1 mRNA levels when compared to ischemic wounds treated with vehicle alone. GAPDH, a housekeeping gene, showed no change. As mesenchymal cells lack receptors for M-CSF, the improved healing of wounds treated with topical rhM-CSF must reflect a generalized enhancement of activation and function of tissue macrophages, as demonstrated by upregulation of TGF-beta. The lack of effect under ischemic conditions suggests that either macrophage activity and/or response to M-CSF is adversely affected under those conditions; this may suggest the pathogenesis of impaired wound healing at the cellular level.

Alcohol utilization and dependence with special reference to protein level in a liquid diet for rats

Experiments were carried out with a nutritionally balanced diet to test the response of rats to levels of ethanol between 0% and 6%, and to different levels and sources of protein and amino acid supplements in relation to alcohol utilization and withdrawal seizures. The high-calorie/high-carbohydrate liquid diet was well tolerated when the alcohol level was less than 30% of total calories, or 4.5% of diet. When alcohol was provided at 6% of diet, or 33% of total calories, growth and withdrawal seizure rates were negatively affected in comparison with the lower ethanol levels, even though ethanol consumption (in g/kg/day) was not different. The 6% alcohol diet was then altered through the addition of more protein calories, from 13% to 20%. This supplementation improved growth rate of the animals and reduced the rate of withdrawal seizures. The improvement from the additional protein was observed with both casein and soy protein, and was not attributable to any one or even several amino acids that might serve as transmitter precursors. A mixture of all essential amino acids representing the difference in amino acids between 13% and 20% casein protein calories was an effective as the equivalent amount of intact protein. The nonessential amino acids equivalent to 7% casein protein calories, when added to the 13% protein calories diet, increased the rate of withdrawal seizures, presumably by exacerbating the protein deficiency in the 13% protein diet. It was concluded that a 1000-1200 kcal/kg diet with 20% kcal from protein and 50% kcal from carbohydrate provides an optimal nutrient balance for efficient utilization of a 6% ethanol liquid diet for rats.

Amphetamine and fenfluramine suppress ethanol intake in ethanol-dependent rats

Alcohol intake or preference for alcohol has been attributed to concomitant dopamine and serotonin dysfunction in rats. Amphetamine and fenfluramine, administered alone, have been shown to reduce food and fluid intake as well as alcohol consumption while acute coadministration of these agents has been shown to suppress audiogenic seizure in rats withdrawn from alcohol. The present study was designed to assess the effectiveness of chronic amphetamine and fenfluramine coadministration on reducing alcohol intake. Chronic coadministration of amphetamine (2 mg/kg) and fenfluramine (8 mg/kg) reduced alcohol consumption during choice trials in both alcohol-dependent and alcohol-nondependent rats while not affecting water intake. The findings indicate that coadministration of amphetamine and fenfluramine, a treatment effective in reducing alcohol withdrawal seizures, also selectively attenuates alcohol consumption.