Characterization and evolutionary relationships of Magnolia legumin-encoding cDNAs representing two divergent gene subfamilies

We have cloned and sequenced three different cDNAs encoding legumins of Magnolia salicifolia. Analysis of the nucleotide and derived amino acid sequences shows that the cDNAs designated A2, A11, and B14 represent two divergent subfamilies with nucleotide similarities of only about 55%. The B14 cDNA codes for a relatively methionine-rich legumin precursor, and the beta-chain of this protein is shown to be glycosylated; neither feature is common in legumin. In an evolutionary analysis, the B14 legumin cDNA is relatively similar to gymnospermous legumin sequences and paralogous to all angiosperm legumins hitherto known. The A legumin sequence clusters with those of monocot legumins in a low angiosperm branch. We conclude that the evolution of legumin genes in angiosperms involved an early gene duplication which resulted in the progenitor of the B14 legumin, on the one hand, and the progenitor of A2, A11 and modern angiosperm legumins, on the other hand.

Chronic granulomatous disease assessed by single-cell granulocyte oxidative burst activity

Here we report on a case of chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) in a 3-year-old boy who suffered from severe repeated bacterial infections including multiple liver abscesses. The case is of interest because (1) the disease is very rare (it is the first case of CGD diagnosed at the Clinic for Pediatric Medicine, University of Innsbruck), (2) the diagnosis, based on clinical parameters and the nitrobluetetrazolium test was completed and validated by single-cell measurements of respiratory-burst activity of the patient's granulocytes in a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS), and (3) the applied FACS method, adapted in our laboratory, presents one of the most sensitive and reliable methods to evaluate this aspect of disturbed granulocyte function.

cAMP-independent activation of CFTR Cl channels by the tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein

Genistein, a protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor, activates the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) in transfected NIH-3T3 fibroblasts that express the CFTR (3T3-CFTR). CFTR activity was assayed by 125I efflux and by patch clamping in the cell-attached mode. Both forskolin and genistein stimulated 125I efflux and activated a 9-10 pS anion channel in 3T3-CFTR cells but failed to activate 125I efflux in mock-transfected NIH-3T3 cells. Genistein, unlike forskolin and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, did not increase intracellular adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) above control levels. This demonstrates that genistein-dependent activation does not involve inhibition of phosphodiesterase activity and suggests that stimulation does not involve a direct activation of protein kinase A. Genistein stimulated 125I efflux to approximately 50% of the maximal rate with forskolin. Genistein did not increase 125I efflux at saturating forskolin but decreased the concentration of forskolin required for half-maximal stimulation. Orthovanadate (VO4), a phosphotyrosine phosphatase inhibitor, inhibited genistein-induced channel activation with an inhibition constant of approximately 20 microM. These effects suggest that, in addition to activation by protein kinase A, the CFTR is regulated by a tyrosine kinase-dependent pathway.

Adenosine release in the ventral striatum of the rat is modulated by endogenous nitric oxide

The influence of nitric oxide (NO) on adenosine release was investigated by the push-pull technique in the ventral striatum of the urethane-anaesthetized rat. Superfusion with the NO donor diethylamine-NO enhanced, whereas superfusion with the NO synthase inhibitor L-NG-nitroarginine methyl ester decreased the output of adenosine. The effect of L-NG-nitroarginine methyl ester was abolished by L-arginine methyl ester. These findings indicate that, in the ventral striatum of the rat, NO modulates adenosine release.

[Radiation exposure of radiologists during angiography: dose measurements outside the lead apron]

The aim of this study was to provide practical information to angiographers concerning radiation exposure to body parts not covered by lead aprons. Individual doses to the neck and hands of radiologists measured in micro-Sieverts were obtained during the course of 80 angiographies of various types. The number of diagnostic and interventional procedures, which might lead to exceeding permissible doses, have been calculated. Possibilities of estimating doses during angiography by means of parameters such as screening times were examined statistically. Especially with regard to the hands, estimations of the doses are insufficient (correlation r = 0.21). Radiologists who undertake much angiographic and particularly interventional work may reach exposure levels requiring protective measures in addition to lead aprons.

Remote sensing of trace gases in the midinfrared spectral region from a nadir view

High-resolution IR remote-sensing measurements from space by means of a nadir-viewing geometry are particularly suited to the detection of trace gases and yield high temporal and horizontal resolutions on a global scale. To identify the potential of such a technique, an extensive feasibility study has been performed. The column amount of some trace gases, namely H(2)O, CH(4), N(2)O, CO, and O(3), may be determined with accuracies of approximately 10%. In addition, some information on the vertical distribution of these species is also possible. Concerning CFC-12, an accuracy of 10%-20% may be expected. Furthermore, it is believed that column amounts can be derived with an accuracy of 20% for HNO(3), and 50% for species like NO(2), OCS, and CFC-11.

A point mutation within the ATP-binding site inactivates both catalytic functions of the ATP-dependent protease La (Lon) from Escherichia coli

A point mutant in the ATP-binding motif (GPPGVGK362T) of the ATP-dependent protease La from Escherichia coli was investigated in which the lysine at position 362 was replaced by an alanine. The catalytic efficiency of the K362A mutant is at least two orders of magnitude lower than that of wild-type protease La due to a decreased Vmax and an increased KM for ATP. Simultaneously, the peptidase activity of La K362A is almost completely eliminated. Since selective inactivation of the peptidase activity of La does not affect its intrinsic ATPase activity, coupling of proteolysis with ATP hydrolysis is only uni-directional in this energy-dependent protease.

Permanently damaged: long-term follow-up of shaken babies

Shaken baby syndrome (SBS) is a term denoting a particularly harmful form of child abuse. By definition, 1 these infants have intracranial and retinal hemorrhages in the absence of signs of head trauma or skull fracture. Most SBS victims appear to have significant neurologic damage at the time of diagnosis.2,3 The medical literature, however, does not describe these children as they grow older. A 1986 article4 called for follow-up studies on these children, but a computerized literature search turned up only one paper on long-term follow-up in SBS. Sinal and Ball5 described cranial computerized tomog-raphic (CT) and clinical follow-up in 24 brain-injured children, 17 of whom had SBS. They followed the 15 surviving shaken infants for about 4 years: seven had severe handicaps, and only one was normal.

[Successful therapy of a postpartum lymphangioleiomyomatosis. Case report and literature review]

Immediately after delivery a 17-year-old Turkish primipara developed edema, supraclavicular lymphoma and pleural effusion. CT-scans showed massive abdominal and mediastinal lymphoma. Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) was diagnosed by supraclavicular and retroperitoneal biopsy and progesterone receptors were documented in the tumor. There was no evidence of pulmonary involvement. 5 months' treatment with the LHRH-analogue goserelin showed neither clinical improvement nor regression of LAM. Irradiation of the ovaries and the abdomen with 30.2 Gy was followed by amenorrhea without immediate tumor remission. A follow-up examination 1 year later revealed clinical improvement and CT scans showed 50% abdominal and mediastinal regression of LAM. 5 1/2 years after diagnosis the asymptomatic patient is still in partial remission. Successful treatment of LAM is rare. We describe a case in which a major tumour reduction was documented by CT scanning.

Colonic and anorectal dysfunction in a patient with the tethered cord syndrome

Although visceral dysfunction is commonly encountered in the tethered cord syndrome, alteration of intestinal motor and sensory function has not yet been specifically addressed in this neurological disorder. We report the case of a 54-yr-old woman with a rare form of adult onset tethered cord syndrome who presented to us for preoperative assessment of marked constipation, urinary and fecal incontinence, and a rectal prolapse. It is shown that the tethered cord syndrome causes complex clinical patterns of bowel dysfunction and that careful efforts are mandatory to differentiate their underlying pathology. Specific diagnostic procedures directed to intestinal motility and perception were of decisive importance in enabling us to apply the appropriate treatment to our patient.

CFTR displays voltage dependence and two gating modes during stimulation

The patch-clamp technique in conjunction with current noise analysis was employed to clarify the events underlying the regulation of the CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) during cAMP-dependent stimulation. 3T3 fibroblast cells expressing the CFTR were stimulated in cell-attached mode with forskolin. The number (N) of activated channels per patch ranged from 1 to approximately 100. In true single-channel recordings, CFTR's gating was best described by two open states (approximately 5 and approximately 100 ms) and three closed states (< or = 5, approximately 100, and approximately 1,000 ms). Current noise analysis resulted in spectra containing two distinct Lorentzian noise components with corner frequencies of 1.3 Hz and approximately 50 Hz, respectively. Single-channel time constants were dependent on voltage. The fastest closed state increased its contribution from 48% at +100 mV to 87% at -100 mV, and the medium open state reduced its length to one half, resulting in gating dominated by fast events. Similarly, the fast Lorentzian increased its amplitude, and its corner frequency increased from 44 Hz at +100 mV to 91 Hz at -100 mV, while the slow Lorentzian was voltage independent. In multi-channel recordings N.Po (i.e., N times open probability) increased significantly, on average by 52% between -90 and +90 mV. Stimulation with forskolin increased Po of CFTR to approximately 0.5, which resulted from a decrease of the longest closed state while the faster open and closed states were unaffected. Neither corner frequency was affected during stimulation. Recordings from multichannel patches revealed in addition, unique, very long channel openings (high Po mode, average 13 s). Channels exhibiting high Po (i.e., Po approximately 1.0) or low Po (i.e., Po approximately 0.5) gating modes were both present in multichannel recordings, and CFTRs switched modes during stimulation. In addition, the switch to the high Po mode appeared to be a cooperative event for channel pairs. High forskolin concentration (i.e., 10 microM) favored transition into the high Po mode, suggesting a cellularly mediated regulation of model switching due to a fundamental change in configuration of the CFTR. Thus, during stimulation the CFTR increased its activity through two distinct effects: the reduction of the long closed state and modal switching to the high Po mode.

History of in utero cocaine exposure in language-delayed children

To determine whether children with language delays are more likely to have been exposed to cocaine in utero than children with normal language development, a case-control study was undertaken. Based on routine office screening in our primary-care clinic over a 1-year period, we identified 29 consecutive children, aged 24 to 48 months, as language-delayed. They were compared with an approximate 2:1 match of children without language delay who had been seen in the clinic on the same days and who were of similar age. There was more reported cocaine use during pregnancy (six of 29, 21%) among the language-delayed children than among the controls (five of 71, 7%). This difference is statistically significant (P < 0.05, chi 2 = 3.92; odds ratio = 3.4 +/- 2.2). Discriminant analysis revealed that both cocaine and nicotine exposure were associated with delayed language development--with an unexpected negative, i.e., an antagonistic, protective, interactive effect (F[3,96] = 4.66, R2 = 12.7%, P < .005); neither gender nor caretaker contributed to language development in this sample. These results suggest that children with language delay detected in a clinical setting are more likely to have been exposed in utero to cocaine than children with normal language development. Prenatal cocaine exposure should be a risk factor in monitoring development in children.

Expression of neu/c-erbB-2 in human brain tumors

The neu/c-erbB-2 oncogene encodes a 185 kd transmembrane protein (p185). Here we have used the monoclonal antibody (mAb) 3B5 to determine the expression of p185 in a series of fixed biopsy specimens of 180 human brain tumors, including the most frequent entities and, in addition, 18 recurrent gliomas with malignant progression. In summary, 3B5 immunoreaction was most prominent in astrocytomas of different grades of malignancies and in meningiomas. In World Health Organization (WHO) grade II astrocytomas mab 3B5-immunoreaction was related to the cytomorphological phenotype. Fibrillary astrocytomas showed no or only a weak immunoreaction (four of five, 80%) in contrast with protoplasmic or gemistocytic astrocytomas, where a strong reaction was observed in most cases (six of nine, 66.6%, and four of five, 80%, respectively). In WHO grade II to WHO grade IV astrocytomas a trend towards higher scores with increasing grade was found. In a limited number of cases (18 gliomas and two meningiomas) of the tumor series tested other mAbs against neu/c-erbB-2 epitopes, especially the mabs 9G6 and CB11, gave qualitatively comparable results. In WHO grade I pilocytic astrocytomas a wide range of 3B5 immunoreactivity has been observed. The results of in situ hybridization using a 32P-labeled neu/erbB-2 RNA probe performed on four WHO grade I and II astrocytomas, seven WHO grade IV glioblastomas, one WHO grade II oligoastrocytoma, one WHO grade III anaplastic astrocytoma, and three WHO grade I meningiomas were consistent with these immunomorphological data, and Northern blot analysis also indicated an overexpression of neu/c-erbB-2 mRNA in gliomas of different grades of malignancy and in meningiomas. These elevated neu-erbB-2 transcript levels occurred in the absence of gene amplification. In a second series of recurrent gliomas with malignant progression (n = 18) the higher 3B5-immunoreaction scores were apparent in the more malignant recurrent gliomas. In this series the overexpression of neu/c-erbB-2 parallels glioma progression. In our cases it was not, however, correlated with the postoperative relapse-free interval or with the overall length of survival.

Oral-facial-digital syndrome II. Transitional type between Mohr and Majewski syndrome: report of a new case with congenital stenosis of the trachea

We present a female patient with laryngeal anomalies, tracheostenosis and pre- and postaxial polydactyly. Bilateral duplication of the hallux, polydactyly of hands, growth retardation and conductive hearing defect are consistent with oral-facial-digital (OFD) type II syndrome. Three similar cases of OFD syndrome with hypoplasia of the larynx, epiglottis and/or trachea without tibial dysplasia have been previously reported by Silengo and Temtamy and McKusick. The present patient adds one more case to this group of variants of OFD syndrome. We believe that those cases may be considered to form a separate subentity of OFD syndromes although overlapping features within the different subtypes make a precise classification very difficult.