Variations in ocular hemodynamics in patients with early and late glaucoma

PURPOSE

To determine the retrobulbar hemodynamics in glaucoma patients with different degrees of optic nerve damage.

METHODS

Color Doppler imaging was performed in 52 patients with controlled primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and in 25 control subjects. Glaucomatous eyes were divided into early and late groups based on the perimetry findings. Peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), and resistive index of the central retinal artery (CRA) and posterior ciliary arteries (PCA) were evaluated.

RESULTS

Early glaucoma showed significantly decreased PSV in nasal PCA when compared with the normal. Late glaucoma showed significantly decreased PSV and EDV in the CRA and nasal PCA, and significantly decreased PSV in temporal PCA as compared with the control and early glaucoma. The resistive index of the CRA also increased significantly in late glaucoma.

CONCLUSION

Eyes with advanced glaucomatous optic neuropathy were associated with more marked alterations in retrobulbar circulation than eyes with less nerve damage.

Expression pattern of genes encoding farnesyl diphosphate synthase and sesquiterpene cyclase in cotton suspension-cultured cells treated with fungal elicitors

Cotton plants accumulate sesquiterpene aldehydes in pigment glands. The two enzymes farnesyl diphosphate synthase (FPS) and (+)-delta-cadinene synthase (CAD), a sesquiterpene cyclase, are involved in the biosynthesis of these secondary metabolites. A full-length cDNA (garfps) encoding FPS was isolated from Gossypium arboreum and identified by in vitro enzymatic assay of the garfps protein heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. Treatment of G. arboreum suspension-cultured cells with an elicitor preparation obtained from the phytopathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae dramatically induced transcription of both FPS and CAD, paralleling the accumulation of the sesquiterpene aldehydes in these cells. For G. australe, a wild species from Australia, the V. dahliae elicitor preparation also caused an induction of FPS but only a low rate of induction of CAD, apparently because of a constitutive expression of the sesquiterpene cyclase gene in suspension-cultured cells. Two transcripts and proteins of FPS were detected in the elicited G. australe cells; the smaller FPS seemed to be de novo synthesized after elicitation. Furthermore, G. australe-cultured cells accumulated the cadinene, instead of sesquiterpene aldehydes, indicating that the biosynthetic pathway leading to sesquiterpene aldehydes was absent or blocked after FPP cyclization.

Effects of latanoprost 50 micrograms/ml on Chinese patients with primary open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension

BACKGROUND

This study was designed to determine the efficacy and safety of latanoprost 50 micrograms/ml in Chinese patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and ocular hypertension (OH).

METHODS

A 14-day randomized, double-masked, parallel-group study comparing topical latanoprost with placebo was followed by a 10-week, one-armed, open-labeled latanoprost treatment study. Intraocular pressure (IOP), visual function, ocular manifestations and miscellaneous adverse effects were evaluated at baseline, and days 1, 7, 14, 15, week 6 and week 12 visits.

RESULTS

Twenty-six eligible patients were enrolled in the study. The mean IOP was significantly reduced from baseline only in the latanoprost-treated eyes during the first study period (p = 0.003 on day 1; p = 0.004 on day 7; p < 0.001 on day 14). Meanwhile, the mean IOP was significantly lower in the latanoprost-treated eyes than that in the placebo-treated eyes (p = 0.03 on day 1; p = 0.001 on days 7 and 14). Eyes in both groups showed significantly reduced IOP at each visit of the secondary 10-week latanoprost treatment period, with a mean decrease of 6.12 mmHg. The IOP-lowering effect showed no diminution throughout the study course. Conjunctival hyperemia occurred in 16 of all patients who underwent latanoprost treatment and was the most frequent adverse effect observed. No patient withdrew from the study because of intolerable side-effects.

CONCLUSIONS

Topical latanoprost is effective in reducing IOP for patients with POAG and OH. The pressure-lowering effect lasts for at least 24 hours after 1 drop instillation and no drift of effect is noted during this 12-week study. Conjunctival hyperemia was the most common side-effect, which was mild in degree and recovered after discontinuation of the medication.

Characteristics of three homologous 202 genes (Ifi202a, Ifi202b, and Ifi202c) from the murine interferon-activatable gene 200 cluster

The Ifi202 gene is part of the interferon-activatable murine gene 200 cluster on chromosome 1. Ifi202 encodes the p202 protein whose overexpression is growth inhibitory and which can bind and inhibit the activity of numerous transcription factors including c-Jun, c-Fos, NF-kappaB, E2F-1, E2F-4, MyoD, and myogenin. We report here the exon-intron structure of Ifi202 and the discovery of Ifi202b and Ifi202c, close homologs of Ifi202 (whose designation we now change to Ifi202a). Ifi202a, b, and c were colocalized to chromosome 1 bands H4-H5 by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Ifi202b encodes p202b, which is interferon-inducible and differs from p202a in only 7 of 445 amino acids. 202b mRNA is constitutively expressed in tissues in which 202a mRNA is expressed. Ifi202c is apparently an unexpressed pseudogene. In murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) from 129 mice, the level of 202b mRNA is approximately half that of 202a mRNA. We knocked out the Ifi202a gene from 129 mice. The expression of 202b mRNA, but not 202a mRNA, persisted in the knockout mice and their MEFs at the same level as in wildtype mice. However, in MEFs from the knockout mice, the constitutive and interferon-induced levels of p202b were approximately as high as the constitutive and the interferon-induced levels of p202a plus p202b, respectively, in MEFs from wildtype mice. These findings suggest dosage compensation at the posttranscriptional level. This might account for the apparent lack of phenotype of the knockout mice.

[Regulation of fungal elicitors on the cell growth and biosynthesis of saponin of Panax ginseng cell suspension culture]

Adding fungal elicitors to the Panax ginseng cell suspension cultures, the biosynthesis of saponin was obviously induced, the total productivity of saponin in cultures could increase more than 30% of the control. During elicitation, the accumulation patterns of saponin in suspension cultured cells were changed, the culture time for maximum biosynthesis of saponin was shortened 2-4 days comparing with that of the control, and about 80% of biosynthetic saponin in elicited cells was secreted into medium, meanwhile the uptake for sucrose in medium of cells was enhanced, and the disturbing of pH in medium was observed, which predicated that an ion exchange occurred between elicited cells and medium.

The interferon-inducible nucleolar p204 protein binds the ribosomal RNA-specific UBF1 transcription factor and inhibits ribosomal RNA transcription

p204, a member of the interferon-inducible p200 family of murine proteins, is primarily nucleolar. We generated cell lines in which p204 was inducible by muristerone. This induction resulted in retardation of cell proliferation and inhibition of rRNA transcription in vivo. Interferon treatment, resulting in p204 induction and retardation of proliferation, also caused inhibition of rRNA transcription in vivo. p204 also inhibited rRNA transcription in vitro. This inhibition was overcome by addition of UBF1, the rRNA-specific transcription factor. A direct interaction between p204 and UBF1 was revealed in vitro in pull-down assays, and in vivo by co-immunoprecipitation from cell extracts. UBF1 bound strongly to at least two regions of p204: the N-terminal segment linked to the conserved 200 amino acid a segment, and the conserved 200 amino acid b segment. Cleavage of the a or b segments into two segments (encoded by single exons) resulted in a strong decrease or loss of binding. The inhibition of rRNA transcription by p204 may be due to the inhibition by p204 of the specific DNA binding of UBF1. This was revealed in electrophoretic mobility shift, magnetic bead and footprinting assays. Thus, p204 serves as a mediator of the inhibition of rRNA transcription by interferon.

Evaluation of ocular arterial changes in glaucoma with color Doppler ultrasonography

The purpose of this study was to evaluate hemodynamic changes of the retrobulbar vasculature caused by different intraocular pressures with color Doppler ultrasonography. Fifty normal eyes in 25 patients, 13 patients with normal tension glaucoma, and 19 patients with acute glaucoma and increased intraocular pressure (greater than 30 mm Hg) were enrolled in this study. In 15 of 19 patients with acute glaucoma patients, follow-up color Doppler ultrasonography was also undertaken after laser peripheral iridectomy when the intraocular pressure had returned to normal. The peak systolic velocity, end diastolic velocity, resistive index, time average maximum velocity, and pulsatility index were compared in different vessels, including the central retinal artery, lateral posterior ciliary artery, medial posterior ciliary artery, and ophthalmic artery in each orbit. The peak systolic velocity, end diastolic velocity, and time average maximum velocity of the central retinal artery were significantly lower (P<0.01) in acute glaucoma patients than in the control group. The resistive index and pulsatility index of the central retinal artery were significantly higher (P<0.01) in acute glaucoma patients than in the control group. The end diastolic velocity of the lateral and medial posterior ciliary arteries was significantly lower in patients with acute glaucoma than in the control group, and the resistive index and pulsatility index of both of these arteries were significantly higher (P<0.001) in patients with acute glaucoma than in the control group. However, no statistical significantly differences were found in the peak systolic velocity or time average maximum velocity in either of the posterior ciliary arteries; similarly, no statistically significant differences were noted in any of the parameters in the ophthalmic artery between the control group and the group with acute glaucoma. The pulsatility index of the central retinal artery and of the lateral and medial posterior ciliary arteries was significantly lower (P<0.01) in acute glaucoma patients after laser therapy than in acute glaucoma patients before laser therapy. The resistive index of both posterior ciliary arteries was also significantly lower (P<0.004) in acute glaucoma patients after laser therapy than before laser therapy. All parameters for all vessels examined among the normal subjects, the patients with normal tension glaucoma, and the patients with acute glaucoma after laser therapy when the intraocular pressure had returned to normal showed no statistically significant differences. Color Doppler ultrasonography is a good modality for both imaging and studying the hemodynamics of the perioptic nerve vessels.

Minimal role of GB virus-C/hepatitis G virus in fulminant and subfulminant hepatitis in Taiwan

BACKGROUND

The role of GB virus-C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) in fulminant hepatitis (FH) and subfulminant hepatitis (SFH) remains unclear.

METHODS

Thirty-two FH or SFH patients, with adequate clinical information and serum specimens, were studied. Serum samples were tested for hepatitis markers and genomes of hepatitis A-E viruses, as well as GBV-C/HGV.

RESULTS

Of the cases of FH/SFH studied, one (3%) was caused by anti-tuberculosis agents, 26 (81%) had hepatotropic virus infection, and five (16%) had no identifiable cause. Of the 26 patients with hepatotropic virus infection, five had acute hepatitis B infection (one with acute hepatitis D virus (HDV) co-infection), one had acute hepatitis C infection, 16 were hepatitis B surface antigen carriers with reactivation or superimposed by unidentified agent(s) (two had triple virus infections), three were hepatitis B carriers with HDV superinfection, and one had GBV-C/HGV infection in addition to exposure to halothane. GBV-C/HGV-RNA was detected in only three of 32 patients (9%) and all had a history of blood transfusion or co-existing causative factors. Of the 26 patients with hepatotropic virus infection, 18 were tested for antibodies against GBV-C/HGV envelope protein and seven were reactive, suggesting past infection.

CONCLUSIONS

The role of GBV-C/HGV in causing FH and SFH is minimal in Taiwan and HBV infection remains the major aetiology. These findings also suggest the existence of as yet unrecognized agents, responsible for such catastrophic illnesses.

Coordinated accumulation of (+)-delta-cadinene synthase mRNAs and gossypol in developing seeds of Gossypium hirsutum and a new member of the cad1 family from G. arboreum

A new member of the (+)-delta-cadinene synthase (CAD1) family was isolated from a Gossypium arboreum cDNA library. This cDNA encodes a protein that showed 97.3%, 96.9%, and 79.2% sequence identities with the proteins encoded by previously isolated cDNAs of cad1-C1, cad1-C14, and cad1-A, respectively. It may be grouped into the cad1-C subfamily as cad1-C2. Seeds of a glanded cotton cultivar, G. hirsutum cv. Sumian-6, were collected at different intervals during maturation, and the cad1 mRNA levels were analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR. The transcripts could be detected in seeds of 27 DPA (days postanthesis) and increased dramatically along with the seed maturation, which coordinated with an increase in sesquiterpene cyclase activities and subsequently the accumulation of gossypol. The transcription level detected with primers specific to cad1-C (including at least C1, C14, and cdn1) was higher than that detected with primers specific to cad1-A, and mRNA was detected also with cad1-C2-specific primers. This investigation indicates that, in developing seeds of the glanded cotton cultivar, genes of both the CAD1-C and CAD1-A subfamilies are expressed and there is an active biosynthesis of cadinene-type sesquiterpenes.

Bacteremia and fungemia in patients with advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Taiwan

To understand the etiology and clinical outcome of bacterial and fungal sepsis in patients with advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Taiwan, we conducted a prospective study of nonmycobacterial bacteremia and fungemia in HIV-infected patients with fever who were admitted to a university hospital in Taiwan during a 42-month period. Of 210 patients, 41 (19.5%) had a total of 52 episodes of sepsis due to nonmycobacterial bacteria or fungi, or both (15.5% of 336 episodes of fever). All but one patient had acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and the mean CD4 lymphocyte count was 29/microL (range, 0-321/microL). A total of 57 pathogens (39 bacteria and 18 fungi) were isolated from blood; polymicrobial sepsis due to both bacteria and fungi occurred in four episodes. Nontyphoid Salmonella (NTS) was the most common cause of community-acquired bacteremia (24/30, 80%). Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia was diagnosed in three episodes while Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteremia was found in only one. Cryptococcus neoformans was the most common cause of fungemia and was responsible for 12 episodes, while fungemia due to Penicillium marneffei and Histoplasma capsulatum, two emerging fungi in Taiwan, were diagnosed in four cases and one case, respectively. Nine episodes, eight of bacteremia and one of candidemia, were nosocomial. The overall in-hospital mortality was 29%, and nosocomial sepsis was associated with a higher mortality rate (56%, p = 0.02). The mean duration of survival after recovery from initial sepsis was 426 days. We conclude that NTS bacteremia was the most common cause of sepsis in patients with advanced HIV infection in Taiwan and clinicians caring for such patients should watch for emerging fungal infections. Nosocomial sepsis was associated with a high mortality rate. The mean survival duration after recovery from sepsis of our patients was short.

Efficacy and safety of cefepime treatment in Chinese patients with severe bacterial infections: in comparison with ceftazidime treatment

An open label, randomized comparative study was conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of cefepime, in comparison with ceftazidime, in the treatment of adult hospitalized Chinese patients with severe bacterial infections. Forty patients with severe infections including septicemia, urinary tract infection and bacterial pneumonia were randomly assigned to receive treatment with cefepime (2 g intravenously every 12 h) or ceftazidime (2 g intravenously every 8 h). The cefepime group (20 evaluable patients) and ceftazidime group (16 evaluable patients) were comparable with respect to age, sex, underlying diseases and distribution of infection type. In both groups urinary tract infection was the most common type of infection and Escherichia coli was the most common etiologic microorganism. The rates of satisfactory clinical response were similar in the cefepime and ceftazidime groups (95 versus 93.7%; 95% confidence interval: -0.14 - 0.17, P = 0.87). The bacteriological response rates of the cefepime and ceftazidime groups did not differ significantly (88.9 versus 85.7%; 95% confidence interval: -0.30 - 0.36, P = 0.85). Both cefepime and ceftazidime were well tolerated, with similar incidence of side effects. The results of this study suggest that cefepime is as safe and effective as ceftazidime for the treatment of serious infections in adult hospitalized Chinese patients.

Retrobulbar haemodynamic changes studied by colour Doppler imaging in glaucoma

PURPOSE

To determine the effect of spontaneously elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) on the ocular circulation, and evaluate the result of IOP-lowering procedures in terms of haemodynamics.

METHODS

Colour Doppler imaging (CDI) was employed to determine the peak systolic velocity (PSV), end-diastolic velocity (EDV) and time average maximal velocity (TAMV), as well as the Pourcelot ratio (PR) and pulsatility index (PI), of the central retinal artery (CRA), posterior ciliary arteries (PCA) and ophthalmic artery. Various CDI parameters of the eyes with elevated IOP were compared with those of the clinically healthy fellow eyes and the control eyes, separately. Also, data from CDI of glaucoma eyes obtained during the period of elevated IOP and then following IOP-lowering procedures were compared, deliberately avoiding the influence of glaucoma medications.

RESULTS

Eyes (n = 12) with elevated IOP showed significantly decreased flow velocities of the CRA and significantly increased PR and PI of the nasal and temporal PCA, compared with the fellow and control eyes, respectively. Following IOP-lowering procedures, the PR and PI of the nasal PCA decreased significantly.

CONCLUSION

Spontaneously elevated IOP may induce haemodynamic changes in the CRA and PCA, but no significant change is identified in the ophthalmic artery. Flow velocities tend to decrease while the resistance indices tend to increase with elevated IOP. Such haemodynamic changes may reverse following normalisation of IOP.

Involvement of tyrosine phosphorylation of p185(c-erbB2/neu) in tumorigenicity induced by X-rays and the neu oncogene in human breast epithelial cells

Ionizing radiation is the exogenous agent best proven to induce breast cancer. c-erbB2/neu amplification and overexpression are known to occur in breast cancer and are correlated with aggressive tumor growth and poor prognosis. We have developed simian virus 40-immortalized cell lines from normal human breast epithelial cells (HBECs) with luminal and stem-cell characteristics. In this study, we examined whether x-rays and a mutated neu oncogene are capable of inducing tumorigenicity in these cells. The results indicated that x-rays were effective in converting immortal non-tumorigenic HBECs to weakly tumorigenic cells that then could be transformed to highly tumorigenic cells by the neu oncogene. The in vitro growth of these tumorigenic cells was significantly faster than that of the parental non-tumorigenic cells in growth factor- and hormone-supplemented or -depleted media. The neu oncogene, however, had no tumorigenic effect on immortal non-tumorigenic cells. The expression of p185(c-erb82/neu) was elevated in neu-transduced immortal or weakly tumorigenic cell lines. However, only in the latter was p185(c-erbB2/neu) found to be phosphorylated at tyrosine residues. Thus, x-rays appear to induce a genetic alteration that confers weak tumorigenicity on immortal HBECs and interacts with p185(c-erbB2/neu) directly or indirectly to give rise to fast-growing tumors.

Interspousal transmission of GB virus-C/hepatitis G virus: a comparison with hepatitis C virus

Although infection with GB virus-C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) by blood transfusion is well documented, little is known about the other routes of transmission. The prevalence of GBV-C/HGV infection in spouses of index patients and the related risk factors were studied. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and GBV-C/HGV infections were studied in spouses of 100 patients with hepatitis C, of whom 12 were found to be also positive for GBV-C/HGV RNA. For couples both with GBV-C/ HGV viremia, nucleotide sequences of the divergent envelope region were analyzed by phylogenetic tree constructions. For HCV infection, anti-HCV was found in 14 (14%) of the 100 spouses. Five spouses (42%) of the 12 patients with dual infection of GBV-C/HGV and HCV had evidence of GBV-C/HGV infection, three had viral RNA, and two had antibodies to a recombinant HGV envelope protein E2. Nucleotide sequence comparison and phylogenetic tree analysis of the genome in the GBV-C/HGV infected couple revealed the isolates to be closely related. These results suggest that spouses of patients with GBV-C/HGV infection are at a higher risk of acquiring GBV-C/HGV as compared with HCV, and they should be educated to avoid GBV-C/HGV infection from their spouses, in case GBV-C/HGV is shown to be pathogenic.

Combined trabeculectomy and extracapsular cataract extraction with mitomycin C

BACKGROUND

To evaluate the long-term intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction effect and safety of adjunctive mitomycin C (MMC) (0.02%) in combined trabeculectomy and extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) procedure.

METHODS

Thirty of forty-one consecutive patients who underwent MMC trabeculectomy and ECCE with a minimum follow-up of 12 months were evaluated.

RESULTS

The mean IOP was reduced significantly (p < 0.001) from preoperative 19.2 +/- 3.2 mmHg to postoperative 12.1 +/- 2.7 mmHg, while the mean number of medications decreased from 2.1 to 0.2 at 1-year follow-up. Twenty-seven (90%) patients had IOPs controlled at 15 mmHg or less, and 26 (86.7%) patients required no medication. Net astigmatism and polar value converted from keratometric readings were 1.43 +/- 0.94 diopters and 0.07 +/- 1.38 diopters, respectively, in 1-year follow-up, which were not significantly different from the preoperative values.

CONCLUSIONS

Intraocular pressure could be maintained in the low teens without the need for medication in a majority of patients even one year after the combined procedure. No adverse effect on corneal endothelium or limbal wound healing was detected with intraoperative application of 0.02% MMC.

Sebaceous carcinoma of buccal mucosa. Report of a case

A case of sebaceous carcinoma arising in the buccal mucosa is described.

Further evaluation of the safety and protective efficacy of live attenuated hepatitis A vaccine (H2-strain) in humans

A study on the possibility of transmission of live hepatitis A vaccine (H2-strain) from vaccinees to nonvaccinees was conducted. As a result, no seroconversion was found among 87 seronegative nonvaccinees, who had a close contact with their 141 subcutaneously vaccinated classmates nor was it found among 101 seronegative children administered the vaccine orally. The above fundings suggest that by losing the ability to be transmitted orally the vaccine virus may result in a decreasing possibility of dissemination among contacts. A 4-year study on the protective efficacy of the H2-strain vaccine was done at 11 primary schools starting at 1991 in Shaoxing County. Since then, there has been no hepatitis A reported among 18102 cumulative person-years in the vaccination group, while 495 cases occurred among 242168 cumulative person-years in the control groups. A large scale vaccination with a cumulative vaccination coverage of 89.45% was carried out in Jiaojiang City among children 1-15 years old. Hepatitis A in this age group in the city, which had 12-87 cases per annum with an average of 32 for 8 years before vaccination, decreased drastically to 0-1 cases after vaccination. The protective efficacy of H2-strain vaccine proved to be satisfactory.

Benign recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis

Benign recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis is a rare disorder of unknown etiology and has not yet been reported in Taiwan. We report a case with a typical clinical course. A 17-year-old Taiwanese boy had three episodes of pruritus and jaundice from February 1993 to July 1995, each lasting 3 to 4 months. Jaundice spontaneously subsided and he was symptom-free during periods of remission. A fourth episode of pruritus began in July 1995, with jaundice developing later and lasting for 3 months. Laboratory tests revealed direct hyperbilirubinemia. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography showed normal intra- and extrahepatic biliary trees. Light microscopy of a liver biopsy sample revealed hepatocellular and canalicular cholestasis with bile retention in the Kupffer cells. Benign recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis was diagnosed after exclusion of other possible causes of jaundice. The patient made an uneventful recovery.

2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-terminated polyurethane/polyurethane interpenetrating polymer networks

The interpenetrating polymer networks (INPs) of polyurethane (PU) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (MEHA)-terminated polyurethane (HPU) were prepared by solution polymerization. PU prepolymer was synthesized from 4,4-diphenyl methane diisocyanate (MDI) and poly(propylene oxide) glycol (PPG). HPU prepolymer was synthesized from MDI, poly(tetramethylene oxide) glycol and HEMA. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the resultant IPN membranes have good compatibility between their constituents. As the HPU content increased, the tensile strength of the IPNs first increased and then decreased. For the highest tensile strength, the optimum HPU content was about 25 wt %. The value of surface tension of IPNs varied from 44.4 to 50.5 dyne/cm, and polarity ranged from 0.59 to 0.91. The relative index of platelet adhesion (RIPA) of the IPN membranes was measured by the dynamic thrombosis test at constant shaking speed and temperature. By the criteria of this test, the IPN membranes with HPU content of about 25 wt% to the minimum platelet adhesion. When measured by the angular dependent ESCA technique on the surface of IPN samples, the variation in the RIPA correlated to the change in the surface soft segment to hard segment ratio. Higher HPU content resulted in more migration of soft segments toward the surface. The platelet adhesion was observed to be minimized when the surface O/N ratio was around 12.

[Preliminary studies on the rabbit oviductin "DPF-1"]

Anti-rabbit 64 kDa oviductin (named Development Promoting Factor-1, DPF-1) antibody could inhibit totally the early development of mouse fertilised eggs cultured in the conditioned medium derived from the rabbit oviduct mucosa epithelial cells, revealed that DPF-1 synthesized and secreted from rabbit oviduct mucosa has a function to overcome the developmental block of early mouse embryos. It seems that DPF-1 consists of a group of polypeptide isoforms, since its isoelectric points are ranging from 7.2 to 8.1 (Fig. 3). The synthesis and secretion of DPF-1 was not dependent on either 17 beta-estradiol or progesterone (Fig. 7), it can pass through zona pellucida easily and associate tightly with the early embryonic cell membrane (Fig. 6). By using Western blotting method, we found that DPF-1 was not appeared in the tissues of liver, heart, lung, spleen, uterus, ovary, small intestine, skeleton muscle and brain, but in that of oviduct (Fig. 4): some DPF-1 homologous molecules were also revealed in the oviduct tissues of mouse and golden hamster, their apparent molecular weights were 32 kDa, 72 kDa in mouse, and 49 kDa, 68 kDa in golden hamster (Fig. 5). Results obtained from the in vivo anti-fertility experiment, namely to analyse the anti-fertility effect in adult female mice after active immunization with DPF-1, showed that the fertility decreased significantly as compared to those of controls (p < 0.01) (Table 1). DPF-1 and its in vivo "loss of function" evidence we obtained will encourage us to study the mechanism of DPF-1 in overcoming the developmental block of early embryos, and its role in transition from maternal to embryonic control of early development.

[Cloning and identification of recombinant cDNA to a rabbit oviductin "DPF-1"]

A recombinant cDNA library to polyA + RNA isolated from rabbit oviduct epithelial cells was constructed, and screened with a polyclonal antibody against DPF-1 (64 kDa). 4 immunopositive plaques (DPF-1.1, DPF-1.2, DPF-1.3 and DPF-1.4) were purified. The polyclonal antibodies were epitope-selected respectively against the fused proteins produced by these positive recombinant plaques. Identification of recombinant clones by epitope selection revealed that the epitope-selected antibodies from DPF-1.1, DPF-1.2 and DPF-1.3 could recognise not only DPF-1, but 44 kDa protein also (Fig. 2). By using EcoRI-Not1 digestion method, the insert cDNA fragment size of these three recombinants was revealed to be 0.8 kb, 1.2 kb and 1.2 kb respectively (Fig. 3). These cDNA fragments were then isolated and subcloned into pBluescriptKS, and recombinant plasmids (pDPF-1.1, pDPF-1.2 and pDPF-1.3) were constructed (Fig. 4). Dot blot hybridization with a 32p-labeled 1.2 Kb-insert of cDNA from pDPF-1.3 indicated that these recombinant plasmids could cross-hybridized (Fig. 5), further indicating that they all possessed a common nucleic acid sequence. Dot and Northern blotting analysis of total RNA prepared from eight different tissues (skeleton muscle, heart, kidney, oviduct, liver, spleen, lung and small intestine) showed that the gene encoding DPF-1 was expressed specifically in the oviduct tissue (Fig. 6, Fig. 7).

The effect of genome and sex on recombination rates in Pennisetum species

The effects of homoeology and sex on recombination frequency were studied in crosses between cultivated pearl millet, Pennisetum glaucum, and two wild subspecies, P. violaceum and P. mollissimum. For the two wild x cultivated crosses, reciprocal three-way crosses were made between the F1 hybrid and an inbred line (Tift 23DB1). The three-way cross populations were mapped to produce a female map of each wide cross (where the F1 was the female) and a male map (where the F1 was the male). Total genetic map lengths of the two inter-subspecies crosses were broadly similar and around 85 % of a comparable intervarietal map. In the P. glaucumxP. mollissimum crosses, the map was further shortened by a large (40 cM) inversion in linkage group 1. Comparison of the recovered recombinants from male and female meiocytes showed an overall trend for the genetic maps to be longer in the male (∼10%) in both inter-subspecific crosses; however, analysis of individual linkage intervals showed no significant differences. Gametophytic selection was prevalent, and sometimes extreme, for example 12∶1 in favour of 'wild' alleles in the P. glaucumxP. mollissimum male recombinant population. One of the loci which determines panicle type in cultivated pearl millet and wild relatives, H, was mapped 9 cM from Xpsm812 on linkage group 7 in the P. violaceum cross.

Evidence for a low level of genomic specificity of sequence-tagged-sites in Stylosanthes

Genome-specific DNA markers are of great value in many applications. Recent work on different plants and animal species indicated that PCR- (polymerase chain reaction) based genetic marker systems using specific primers are highly genome-specific. To test the genome specificity of sequence-tagged-sites (STSs) as genetic markers in Stylosanthes, 20 pairs of primers were generated. Fifteen were from randomly selected single-copy Pstl genomic clones, and the other five were from two known gene sequences. These primer pairs were analysed against a set of 24 genotypes representing 12 different Stylosanthes species. Thirteen of these primer pairs amplified successfully. Overall, there was a low level of genome specificity, suggesting a low degree of genomic divergence within this group of Stylosanthes species. Of the 312 entries (24 genotypes by 13 primer pairs), PCR amplifications were unsuccessful (little or no products) in only 16 cases. The number of banding patterns detected by each of these primer pairs varied from 2 to 12 with an average pair-wise polymorphism of 44.3%. The level of intraspecific variation detected on normal agarose gels was only 3.8%. Further evidence that diploid S. hamata and diploid S. humilis are progenitors of tetraploid S. hamata and that S. viscosa is a progenitor of S. scabra, was obtained.