Involvement of the BLT2 receptor in the itch-associated scratching induced by 12-(S)-lipoxygenase products in ICR mice

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Recently, we reported that 12(S)-HPETE (12(S)-hydroperoxyeicosa-5Z,8Z,10E,14Z-tetraenoic acid) induces scratching in ICR mice. We hypothesized that 12(S)-HPETE might act as an agonist of the low-affinity leukotriene B4 receptor BLT2. To confirm the involvement of the BLT2 receptor in 12(S)-HPETE-induced scratching, we studied the scratch response using the BLT2 receptor agonists compound A (4'-[[pentanoyl (phenyl) amino]methyl]-1,1'-biphenyl-2-carboxylic acid) and 12(S)-HETE (12(S)-hydroxyeicosa-5Z,8Z,10E,14Z-tetraenoic acid).

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

A video recording was used to determine whether the BLT2 receptor agonists caused itch-associated scratching in ICR mice. Selective antagonists and several chemicals were used.

KEY RESULTS

Both 12(S)-HETE and compound A dose dependently induced scratching in the ICR mice. The dose-response curve for compound A showed peaks at around 0.005-0.015 nmol per site. Compound A- and 12(S)-HETE-induced scratching was suppressed by capsaicin and naltrexon. We examined the suppressive effects of U75302 (6-[6-(3-hydroxy-1E,5Z-undecadienyl)-2-pyridinyl]-1,5-hexanediol, the BLT1 receptor antagonist) and LY255283 (1-[5-ethyl-2-hydroxy-4-[[6-methyl-6-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)heptyl]oxy]phenyl]-ethanone, the BLT2 receptor antagonist) on the BLT2 agonist-induced scratching. LY255283 suppressed compound A- and 12(S)-HETE-induced scratching, but U75302 did not. LY255283 required a higher dose to suppress the compound A-induced scratching than it did to suppress the 12(S)-HETE-induced scratching. One of the BLT(2) receptor agonists, 12(R)-HETE (12(R)-hydroxyeicosa-5Z,8Z,10E,14Z-tetraenoic acid), also induced scratching in the ICR mice.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Our present results corroborate the hypothesis that the BLT2 receptor is involved in 12(S)-lipoxygenase-product-induced scratching in ICR mice. We also confirmed that this animal model could be a valuable means of evaluating the effects of BLT2 receptor antagonists.

Nutritional deficit as a negative prognostic factor in patients with miliary tuberculosis

The effects of malnutrition on outcomes in miliary tuberculosis (MTB) are not well described. The aim of the present study was to find predictors for the development of acute respiratory failure (ARF) and survival in MTB patients, focusing on parameters reflecting nutritional condition. Out of the patients from three hospitals who had microbiologically or histopathologically confirmed tuberculosis, 56 patients presenting with typical disseminated pulmonary nodules on radiographs were retrospectively enrolled. A four-point nutritional risk score (NRS) was defined according to the presence of four nutritional factors: low body mass index (BMI; <18.5 kg x m(-2)), hypoalbuminaemia (<30.0 g x L(-1)), hypocholesterolaemia (<2.33 mmol x L(-1)) and severe lymphocytopenia (<7 x 10(5) cells x L(-1)). The male to female ratio was 1:3. ARF developed in 25% of patients (14 out of 56), with a 50% fatality rate. A high NRS (> or =3 points) was an independent risk factor for the development of ARF and fatality. In 90-day survival analysis, ARF, severe lymphocytopenia, hypocholesterolaemia, low BMI and higher NRS were risk factors for poor outcome. In multivariate analysis, only high NRS was an independent risk factor for 90-day survival rate in patients with MTB. A high nutritional risk score was a good predictor of poor outcome in miliary tuberculosis patients. Additional approaches to recover the nutritional deficits may become a focus in future management of miliary tuberculosis.

Immune-related gene expression in two B-complex disparate genetically inbred Fayoumi chicken lines following Eimeria maxima infection

To investigate the influence of genetic differences in the MHC on susceptibility to avian coccidiosis, M5.1 and M15.2 B-haplotype-disparate Fayoumi chickens were orally infected with live Eimeria maxima oocysts, and BW gain, fecal oocyst production, and expression of 14 immune-related genes were determined as parameters of protective immunity. Weight loss was reduced and fecal parasite numbers were lower in birds of the M5.1 line compared with M15.2 line birds. Intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes from M5.1 chickens expressed greater levels of transcripts encoding interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), IL-6, IL-8, IL-12, IL-15, IL-17A, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha factor and lower levels of mRNA for IFN-alpha, IL-10, IL-17D, NK-lysin, and tumor necrosis factor superfamily 15 compared with the M15.2 line. In the spleen, E. maxima infection was associated with greater expression levels of IFN-gamma, IL-15, and IL-8 and lower levels of IL-6, IL-17D, and IL-12 in M5.1 vs. M15.2 birds. These results suggest that genetic determinants within the chicken MHC influence resistance to E. maxima infection by controlling the local and systemic expression of immune-related cytokine and chemokine genes.

Predictors of persistent airway stenosis in patients with endobronchial tuberculosis

SETTING

The university and municipal hospitals in Seoul, Korea.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the predictors of persistent airway stenosis following anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy in patients with endobronchial tuberculosis (TB).

DESIGN

Diagnosis of TB was confirmed by microbiology or histopathology. Bronchoscopic examinations revealed that patients had endobronchial lesions compatible with endobronchial TB. Study subjects had at least one follow-up bronchoscopy to evaluate their treatment response. Treatment response was determined by changes in the degree or extent of airway stenosis between the first and last bronchoscopic examinations.

RESULTS

Sixty-seven subjects were recruited retrospectively from Seoul National University Hospital and Seoul National University Boramae Hospital. Persistent bronchostenosis occurred in 41.8% of the patients. In multivariate regression analysis, age >45 years (OR 3.65), pure or combined fibrostenotic subtype (OR 5.54) and duration from onset of chief complaint to the initiation of anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy >90 days (OR 5.98) were identified as independent predictors of persistent airway stenosis. Oral corticosteroids (prednisolone equivalent >or=30 mg/d) did not reduce the frequency of persistent airway stenosis.

CONCLUSION

Early diagnosis and early administration of anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy before involvement of the deeper airways is important to prevent the development of unwanted sequelae of bronchostenosis.

Relationships of methacholine and AMP responsiveness with peak expiratory flow variability in children with asthma

BACKGROUND

Both bronchial responsiveness (BR) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) variability are increased in asthma. PEF variability is presumed to reflect the degree of BR in asthma. BR is commonly assessed by bronchial challenges using direct or indirect stimuli.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to compare methacholine and adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP) responsiveness with regard to their relationships with PEF variability in children with asthma.

METHODS

Methacholine and AMP challenge tests were performed in 79 children with mild to moderate asthma, and a provocative concentration causing a 20% decline in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (PC(20)) was calculated for each challenge. Subjects recorded PEF each morning and each evening for 14 consecutive days. PEF variability was expressed as amplitude percentage mean (amp%mean; high PEF minus low PEF on each day, expressed as a percentage of their mean, averaged over 14 days), and as the lowest percentage highest (low%high; the lowest PEF expressed as a percentage of the highest PEF recorded over the period).

RESULTS

Methacholine PC(20) correlated significantly but weakly with both indices of PEF variability (amp%mean: r=-0.285, P=0.011; low%high: r=0.238, P=0.034). However, there was a significant and strong correlation between AMP PC(20) and both amp%mean (r=-0.583, P=0.000) and low%high (r=0.496, P=0.000). For AMP PC(20), the correlations were stronger than for methacholine PC(20) (comparison of correlation coefficients with amp%mean: P=0.021; with low%high: P=0.063).

CONCLUSION

Both methacholine PC(20) and AMP PC(20) correlated significantly with PEF variability. However, the stronger correlations for AMP PC(20) than for methacholine PC(20) suggest that PEF variability may be better reflected by BR assessed by AMP than by methacholine.

Bronchial responsiveness to methacholine and adenosine 5'-monophosphate in young children with asthma: their relationship with blood eosinophils and serum eosinophil cationic protein

BACKGROUND

Bronchial hyperresponsiveness is a characteristic feature of asthma, and is usually measured by bronchial challenges using direct or indirect stimuli. Blood eosinophil numbers and serum levels of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) are considered as indirect measures of airway inflammation in asthma. The aim of this study was to investigate whether bronchial responsiveness to adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP) is more closely associated with blood eosinophil markers, compared with that to methacholine, in young children with asthma.

METHODS

Methacholine and AMP bronchial challenges were performed in 4- to 6-year-old children with asthma (n = 77) and in healthy controls (n = 32), using a modified auscultation method. The end-point was defined as the appearance of wheezing and/or oxygen desaturation. The peripheral blood eosinophil counts and serum ECP concentrations were determined in each subject.

RESULTS

A positive response to methacholine (end-point concentration < or =8mg/ml) and to AMP (end-point concentration < or =200 mg/ml) was observed in 74 (96.1%) and 66 asthmatic children (85.7%), respectively. A majority of controls was unresponsive to both challenges. In the asthma group, there was no significant correlation between methacholine end-point concentration and the eosinophil counts (r = -0.111, P = 0.337) or serum ECP levels (r = -0.126, P = 0.274). In contrast, AMP end-point concentration correlated significantly with the eosinophil counts (r = -0.372, P = 0.001) and with serum ECP levels (r = -0.371, P = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that bronchial responsiveness to AMP is more closely related to airway inflammation, compared with that to methacholine, and support the potential usefulness of AMP challenges in detecting inflammatory changes in young children with asthma.

Bronchial responsiveness to methacholine and adenosine 5'-monophosphate in atopic and non-atopic preschool children with recurrent wheezing

BACKGROUND

It is well known that atopy is a major determinant of bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR) in both asymptomatic and asthmatic children. However, the relationship between atopy and BHR has not been well studied in preschool children with wheezing. BHR is usually measured by bronchial challenges using direct and indirect stimuli.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate whether atopic and non-atopic preschool wheezers display similar or different BHR profiles for direct and indirect stimuli.

METHODS

Methacholine and adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP) bronchial challenges were performed in 4 to 6-year-old children with recurrent wheezing, using a modified auscultation method. The end-point was defined as the appearance of wheezing and/or oxygen desaturation. Atopy was determined to be present when a child had at least one positive reaction to a panel of 13 common airborne allergens in the presence of positive and negative controls.

RESULTS

A positive response to methacholine (an end-point concentration < or =8 mg/mL) was observed in 89.3% (50/56) of atopic wheezers and in 83.8% (31/37) of non-atopic wheezers (P=0.44) for the difference. By contrast, the frequency of a positive response to AMP (an end-point concentration < or =200 mg/mL) was significantly higher in the atopic group (47/56, 83.9%) compared with the non-atopic group (12/37, 32.4%; P<0.01).

CONCLUSION

While a majority of both atopic and non-atopic preschool wheezers were hyper-responsive to methacholine, atopic subjects were more hyper-responsive to AMP than non-atopic subjects. These findings suggest that atopic and non-atopic wheeze in preschool children are related to distinctive pathophysiologic pathways.

Podocyte biology in diabetic nephropathy

Glomerular visceral epithelial cells, namely podocytes, are highly specialized cells and give rise to primary processes, secondary processes, and finally foot processes. The foot processes of neighboring podocytes interdigitate, leaving between them filtration slits. These are bridged by an extracellular substance, known as the slit diaphragm, which plays a major role in establishing size-selective barrier to protein loss. Furthermore, podocytes are known to synthesize matrix molecules to the glomerular basement membrane (GBM), including type IV collagen, laminin, entactin, and agrin. Because diabetic nephropathy is clinically characterized by proteinuria and pathologically by glomerular hypertrophy and GBM thickening with foot process effacement, podocytes have been the focus in the field of research on diabetic nephropathy. As a result, many investigations have demonstrated that the diabetic milieu per se, hemodynamic changes, and local growth factors such as transforming growth factor-beta and angiotensin II, which are considered mediators in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy, induce directly and/or indirectly hypertrophy, apoptosis, and structural changes, and increase type IV collagen synthesis in podocytes. This review explores some of the structural and functional changes of podocytes under diabetic conditions and their role in the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy.

Determinants of diagnostic bronchial washing in peripheral lung cancers

OBJECTIVE

To establish clinical determinants affecting the diagnostic yield of bronchial washing.

SETTING

We performed bronchial washing in 241 consecutive patients with bronchoscopically invisible lung tumours. Of these, 150 patients known to have lung cancer were enrolled for the final analysis.

DESIGN

A multi-centre study.

RESULTS

Bronchial washing provided a diagnosis of lung cancer in 30 of the 150 patients (20%). Tumour size > or = 3 cm (P = 0.005), the location of the tumour within 8 cm of the carina (P = 0.003), and exposed type bronchus sign of tumour (P < 0.001) were factors affecting diagnostic bronchial washing for bronchoscopically invisible lung cancers. However, multivariate logistic regression revealed that exposed type bronchus sign was the sole determinant (OR 19.22, 95% CI 4.23-87.46, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Bronchial washing is a useful procedure for the diagnosis of bronchoscopically invisible lung cancers. As the tumour-bronchus relationship is the most important determinant of a diagnostic yield, the routine use of bronchial washing should be considered for tumours with exposed type bronchus sign.

Performance Evaluation of Telemedicine System based on multicasting over Heterogeneous Network

For appropriate diagnosis, medical image such as high quality image of patient's affected part and vital signal, patient information, and teleconferencing data for communication between specialists will be transmitted. After connecting patient and specialist the center, sender acquires patient data and transmits to the center through TCP/IP protocol. Data that is transmitted to center is retransmitted to each specialist side that accomplish connection after being copied according to listener's number from transmission buffer. At transmission of medical information data in network, transmission delay and loss occur by the change of buffer size, packet size, number of user and kind of networks. As there lies the biggest delay possibility in ADSL, buffer Size should be established by 1Mbytes first to minimize transmission regionalism and each packet's size must be set accordingly to MTU Size in order to improve network efficiency by maximum. Also, listener's number should be limited by less than 6 people. Data transmission consisted smoothly all in experiment result in common use network- ADSL, VDSL, WLAN, LAN-. But, possibility of delay appeared most greatly in ADSL that has the most confined bandwidth. To minimize the possibility of delay, some adjustment is needed such as buffer size, number of receiver, packet size.

Discoidin domain receptor 1 mediates collagen-induced nitric oxide production in J774A.1 murine macrophages

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important regulator of immune responses. Effects of cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha or IFN-gamma, and bacterial products, such as lipopolysaccharide, on macrophage NO production have been well documented; however, the role of the extracellular matrix proteins, including collagen, in this process remains unclear. We previously reported that discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1), a nonintegrin collagen receptor, was expressed in human macrophages, and its activation facilitated their differentiation as well as cytokine/chemokine production. Here, we examined the role for DDR1 in collagen-induced NO production using the murine macrophage cell line J774 cells that endogenously express DDR1. Activation of J774 cells with collagen induced the expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and NO production. Inhibition of DDR1, but not beta1-integrins, abolished collagen-induced iNOS and NO production. Activation of J774 cells with collagen-activated nuclear factor-kappaB, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and a pharmacological inhibitor of each signaling molecule significantly reduced collagen-induced NO production. Thus, we have demonstrated, for the first time, that the interaction of DDR1 with collagen induces iNOS expression and subsequent NO synthesis in J774 cells through activation of NF-kappaB, p38 MAPK, and JNK and suggest that intervention of DDR1 signaling in macrophages may be useful in controlling inflammatory diseases in which NO plays a critical role.

Discoidin domain receptor 2 is involved in the activation of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells caused by type I collagen

Discoidin domain receptors (DDRs), DDR1 and DDR2, are non-integrin receptor tyrosine kinases for collagen in many cell types. In this study, we investigated the contributions of DDRs to the activation of mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DCs) by type I collagen (ColI). Our data showed that transcript and protein of DDR2 were expressed constitutively in immature DCs and upregulated in TNF-alpha-stimulated mature DCs. ColI treatment induced DDR2 phosphorylation and subsequently induced the upregulation of IL-12 production, CD86 expression, and antigen uptake activity by immature DCs. Depletion of DDR2 by specific siRNA attenuated significantly an increase in expression of IL-12 and CD86 in ColI-treated DCs. Additionally, DDR2-ColI interaction upregulated the ability of mature DCs to activate allogeneic T cells. These findings suggest that DDR2 is a critical collagen receptor for DC activation and that DDR2-collagen interaction plays an important role in the functional capacity of DCs regulating immune responses.

Suppressive effect of non-anaphylactogenic anti-IgE antibody on the development of dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a spectrum of immune-mediated chronic disorders of the intestine. Patients with IBD tend to exhibit significantly elevated levels of IgE in their serum. In general, the pathogenesis of IBD exhibits inflammatory events such as immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated hypersensitivity. We examined the effect of the non-anaphylactogenic anti-IgE antibody, which has been known to block IgE functions, in an animal model of ulcerative colitis induced by the oral intake of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) for seven days. The non-anaphylactogenic anti-IgE antibody was subcutaneously injected on day 0 of DSS treatment. The disease activity index (DAI) was calculated by scoring intestinal states, including body weight loss, diarrhea, and rectal bleeding, and the activities of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and chymase were measured in the colon tissue. In addition, the expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 was determined by Western blotting. Administration of the anti-IgE antibody markedly reduced the histological damage to the colon and the DAI increment exhibited by the DSS-induced colitis. The anti-IgE antibody also significantly suppressed the activities of MPO and chymase as well as the expression of TNF-alpha and COX-2 in the DSS-treated colon tissue. Furthermore, the elevation of IgE levels in serum was induced by DSS and reduced by anti-IgE antibody injection. Thus, these results indicate that the IgE response played an important role in the clinical signs and the expression of inflammatory mediators in a colitis model caused by DSS treatment, suggesting that the non-anaphylactogenic anti-IgE antibody may be a useful therapeutic agent for ulcerative colitis.

A novel missense mutation of SLC7A9 frequent in Japanese cystinuria cases affecting the C-terminus of the transporter

Cystinuria is caused by the inherited defect of apical membrane transport systems for cystine and dibasic amino acids in renal proximal tubules. Mutations in either SLC7A9 or SLC3A1 gene result in cystinuria. The mutations of SLC7A9 gene have been identified mainly from Italian, Libyan Jewish, North American, and Spanish patients. In the present study, we have analyzed cystinuria cases from oriental population (mostly Japanese). Mutation analyses of SLC7A9 and SLC3A1 genes were performed on 41 cystinuria patients. The uptake of 14C-labeled cystine in COS-7 cells was measured to determine the functional properties of mutants. The protein expression and localization were examined by Western blot and confocal laser-scanning microscopy. Among 41 patients analyzed, 35 were found to possess mutations in SLC7A9. The most frequent one was a novel missense mutation P482L that affects a residue near the C-terminus end of the protein and causes severe loss of function. In MDCK II and HEK293 cells, we found that P482L protein was expressed and sorted to the plasma membrane as well as wild type. The alteration of Pro482 with amino acids with bulky side chains reduced the transport function of b(0,+)AT/BAT1. Interestingly, the mutations of SLC7A9 for Japanese cystinuria patients are different from those reported for European and American population. The results of the present study contribute toward understanding the distribution and frequency of cystinuria-related mutations of SLC7A9.

Methacholine and adenosine 5'-monophosphate challenges in children with post-infectious bronchiolitis obliterans

Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is a characteristic feature of asthma, but is also frequently demonstrated by children and adults with chronic obstructive lung diseases. AHR is usually measured by bronchial challenges using direct or indirect stimuli. The aim of this study was to compare these two types of bronchial challenge in children with post-infectious bronchiolitis obliterans (BO). Methacholine and adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP) challenges were used as tools for the evaluation of AHR to direct and indirect stimuli, respectively, in children with post-infectious BO (n = 28). These results were compared with those of asthmatic (n = 30) and control children (n = 25). Altogether, twenty-two patients (78.6%) with post-infectious BO were hyperreactive to methacholine with a provocative concentration causing a 20% fall in forced expiratory volume in one second (PC20) of <16 mg x mL(-1), but only six (21.4%) were hyperreactive to AMP with a PC20 of <200 mg x mL(-1). All patients with asthma responded positively to methacholine, and most (28, 93.3%) also responded positively to AMP. The majority of controls were insensitive to both challenges. Airway hyperresponsiveness to methacholine is a frequent, but by no means universal, finding in children with post-infectious bronchiolitis obliterans, but is usually not accompanied by airway hyperresponsiveness to adenosine 5'-monophosphate. This finding suggests that airway hyperresponsiveness in patients with post-infectious bronchiolitis obliterans has characteristics that differ from those of asthmatic subjects.

Birth month and sensitization to house dust mites in asthmatic children

BACKGROUND

Early exposure to high quantities of allergen has an important role in the incidence of atopic sensitization. In fact, subjects sensitized to house dust mites (HDMs) have a significantly higher proportion of births in the season when HDMs are most abundant.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate whether birth month patterns differ for asthmatic patients sensitized only to HDMs and for those sensitized to HDMs and other allergen(s).

METHODS

Among 2225 patients with asthma, aged 10-16 years, 1642 sensitized to HDMs were identified by skin prick testing. This group was composed of patients sensitized only to HDMs (n = 715) and patients sensitized to HDMs and other allergen(s) (n = 927). The birth month distributions of the group of HDM-sensitive asthmatics or its subgroups were compared with that of a reference population (total live births in the same years as the studied subjects). The risk ratio of a given birth month in relation to all the other months was calculated as an odds ratio (OR) with the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI).

RESULTS

A significant difference in birth month distribution was observed for HDM-sensitive asthmatics (chi(2) = 23.6, P = 0.015), with higher rates of birth in August (OR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.04-1.46) and September (1.24, 1.04-1.46). When the two subgroups were analyzed separately, significantly more births were noted in August (1.34, 1.06-1.71) and September (1.34, 1.05-1.70) for those sensitized only to HDMs, whereas no such birth month preference was observed for those sensitized to HDMs and other allergen(s).

CONCLUSIONS

The HDM-positive asthmatics showed a greater proportion of births in August and September, which correspond to high HDM exposure. However, this birth month pattern was evident in asthmatic-sensitive only to HDMs, but was not observed in those sensitive to HDMs and other allergen(s).

Effect of processed Scutellaria baicalensis on dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in mice

Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (Labiatae) has been used in the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Drug processing (Poje) is the process of treating crude drugs by several methods before use. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of processed Scutellaria baicalensis on experimental ulcerative colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). The types of processed Scutellaria baicalensis used in this study were parched Scutellaria baicalensis (PS) and rice wine-baked Scutellaria baicalensis (RWBS). Experimental colitis was induced in mice using a daily treatment of 5% DSS in the drinking water for 7 days. The water extracts of processed Scutellaria baicalensis (1 g/kg) were administered orally once a day for 7 days. The mice were divided in four groups: i) water plus DSS group, ii) crude Scutellaria baicalensis (CS) plus DSS group, iii) PS plus DSS group, and iv) RWBS plus DSS group. RWBS ameliorated all of the inflammatory symptoms, such as body weight loss, rectal bleeding and histological damage, compared to CS. Furthermore, RWBS significantly reduced the mucosal myeloperoxidase activity, and TNF-alpha (tumor necrosis factor-alpha), COX-2 (cyclooxygenase-2), NF-kappaB (nuclear factor-kappa B) and chymase expression more than CS. But these effects were not shown in the PS plus DSS group. Efficacy of Scutellaria baicalensis was increased after rice wine baking, but not after parching. The findings in this study suggest that RWBS may be a useful therapeutic agent for ulcerative colitis.

A set of testis-specific novel genes collected from a collection of Korean Native Chicken ESTs

We report a set of testis-specific novel genes by comparing the The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) chicken gene index with the 13,132 expressed sequence tag (EST) collection from Korean Native Chicken (KNC). A total of 553 novel transcripts have resulted after comparison of our EST contigs and singlets against the chicken gene index and chicken genome sequences. Interestingly, 76% of the new genes were from testis-specific EST contigs or singlet and analysis of exon/intron structure showed that a significant number of the contigs have intronless coding regions. A large portion of the testis-specific transcripts have intronless coding region indicating that the testis-specific expression pattern is related to a group of single exon genes in the chicken. The chicken EST data that are described in this paper have been submitted to the NCBI dbEST under accession numbers CO759017-CO764274, CO765331-CO768903 and CO769672-CO773972.

Coincidence of atopy profile in terms of monosensitization and polysensitization in children and their parents

BACKGROUND

Results from epidemiologic studies have shown that childhood atopy is probably a hereditary disorder, because the offspring of affected parents have a higher risk of developing atopy. Among the atopic population, some subjects are sensitized to only one class of allergens (monosensitized), while other subjects are sensitized to more than one class of allergens (polysensitized). The aim of this study was to investigate whether atopy profile (monosensitization/polysensitization) in children is linked to the same conditions in their parents.

METHODS

We evaluated sensitization to five classes of aeroallergens (house dust mites, animal danders, pollens, molds, and cockroach) by skin prick testing in a group of 494 children with suspicious allergic symptoms and in their parents.

RESULTS

The frequency of parental atopy was highest (51.6%) in polysensitized children (n = 189), intermediate (37.1%) in monosensitized children (n = 178), and was lowest (22.4%) in nonsensitized children (n = 127). The proportion of polysensitized subjects among atopic parents was significantly higher for polysensitized children (45.6%) than for monosensitized children (31.1%). Polysensitized children were found to more frequently have one or both parents polysensitized (32.3%, 7.4%) than monosensitized children (18.5%, 2.2%) with odds ratios of 2.09 (95% CI: 1.29-3.40) and 3.48 (1.12-10.78), respectively, whereas the likelihood of having one or two monosensitized parents was not increased for polysensitized children.

CONCLUSION

Our data suggest a familial coincidence of atopy profile in terms of monosensitization and polysensitization, although the relative importance of genetic or environmental influence should be studied further.

Case report: pericardial rupture and cardiac herniation after blunt trauma: a case diagnosed using cardiac MRI

Pericardial rupture following blunt chest trauma is rare, and is not usually diagnosed pre-operatively. If pericardial rupture is not recognized and treated promptly, it may be fatal owing to cardiac herniation. We report a case of traumatic herniation of the heart for which a CT scan and MRI made a major contribution to the diagnosis.

Analysis of testis-specific transcripts in the chicken

Sequences of candidate chicken testis-specific genes were analysed in order to develop a resource for functional genomic studies of the testis and male germ cells. Tentative consensus sequences (TC) containing expressed sequence tags expressed in testis libraries were selected from the TIGR Gallus gallus Gene Index, resulting in 292 TC. The transcriptional expression of these genes were evaluated in several chicken tissues, including testis and ovary. One hundred ten of the 292 TC were expressed in a testis-specific manner. Annotation of the TC using the Gene Ontology database terms showed that the proportion of testis-specific TC that were classified as having catalytic activity (within the molecular function branch) was higher than the proportion of total chicken TC classified in the same way. Our results may facilitate the investigation of testis-specific genes and their functional analysis in the chicken, as well as in other avian species.