The heart of an acrobatic bird

The courtship behavior of some species of birds can be energetically demanding, but it is unknown if cardiovascular specializations enable such behaviors. While performing a highly acrobatic courtship dance, heart rate in male golden-collared manakins increases briefly to 1300 beats per minute, among the highest heart rates recorded in any bird or mammal. We hypothesize that male manakins have enhanced cardiovascular capabilities to meet these demands on the heart. Using histological and molecular techniques, we examined manakin heart structure as well as expression of genes involved in Ca²⁺ handling, action potential duration, steroidal signaling and cardiac growth. These measures were also made on the hearts of zebra finches, a similar-sized bird with limited cardiovascular demands. Compared to the zebra finch, the manakin had a significantly thicker left ventricular (LV) muscle (cross-sectional thickness of the free LV wall and septum) with a smaller LV chamber. In addition, compared to zebra finches, manakin hearts had significantly greater gene expression of ryanodine receptors as well as androgen receptors. Testosterone (T) treatment of non-breeding manakins (with low T) increased gene expression of the Ca²⁺ pump SERCA. These observations suggest that hearts of breeding male manakins require specialized Ca²⁺ handling and androgens may facilitate manakin cardiovascular function.

Simultaneous detection of barrier- and immune-related gene variations in patients with atopic dermatitis by reverse blot hybridization assay

BACKGROUND

Hereditary factors are involved in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD). However, AD-related gene variations are significantly different across ethnicities.

AIM

To identify mutations and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in barrier- or immune-related genes from Korean patients with AD and compare the variations with those observed in nonatopic healthy controls (HCs), and to use novel reverse blot hybridization assay (REBA) for AD-related gene variants.

METHODS

We carried out REBA to simultaneously detect variations in genes related to barrier or immune function, namely, FLG, SPINK5, KLK7, DEFB1, TNFα, KDR, FCER1A, IL4, IL5,IL5RA, IL9, IL10, IL12, IL12R, IL13 and IL18, from Korean patients with AD, and compared the variation to that in nonatopic healthy controls.

RESULTS

The homozygous mutants of KLK7 and SPINK5-2475, and the heterozygous mutants of FLG 3321delA, SPINK5-1156, DEFB1, KDR, IL5RA, IL9 and IL12RB1 were significantly more frequent in AD. It has been predicted that the larger the number of gene variants, the higher the odds ratio of AD prevalence; however, we did not find any significant correlation between the number of gene variants and AD severity.

CONCLUSION

Using REBA, we identified more genetic variants that can predict AD occurrence. We also verified that REBA can be used to easily and accurately detect multiple AD-related gene variants simultaneously. In addition, we identified a correlation between KLK7 mutation and AD in Koreans, which is the first such report, to our knowledge.

Method of osteotomy fixation and need for removal following bimaxillary orthognathic, osseous genioplasty, and intranasal surgery: a retrospective cohort study

The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and causes of fixation hardware removal after bimaxillary orthognathic, osseous genioplasty, and intranasal surgery. A retrospective study was performed, involving subjects with a bimaxillary developmental dentofacial deformity (DFD) and symptomatic chronic obstructive nasal breathing. At a minimum, subjects underwent Le Fort I osteotomy, bilateral sagittal ramus osteotomies (SROs), septoplasty, inferior turbinate reduction, and osseous genioplasty. The primary outcome variable studied was fixation hardware removal. Demographic, anatomical, and surgical predictor variables were assessed. Two hundred sixty-two subjects met the inclusion criteria. Their mean age at operation was 25 years (range 13-63 years); 134 were female (51.1%). Simultaneous removal of a third molar was performed in 39.9% of SROs. Three of 262 Le Fort I procedures (1.1%) and two of 524 SROs (0.4%) required hardware removal. There were four cases of ramus wound dehiscence, four of ramus surgical site infection (SSI), one of chin SSI, two of maxillary sinusitis, and one of lingual nerve injury; none of these subjects underwent hardware removal. A limited need for fixation hardware removal after orthognathic procedures was confirmed. There was no statistical correlation between hardware removal and patient sex, age, pattern of DFD, simultaneous removal of a third molar, or occurrence of wound dehiscence, SSI, or lingual nerve injury.