Cigarette smoke extract increases albumin flux across pulmonary endothelium in vitro

Cigarette smoking causes lung inflammation, and a characteristic of inflammation is an increase in vascular permeability. To determine if cigarette smoke could alter endothelial permeability, we studied flux of radiolabeled albumin across monolayers of porcine pulmonary artery endothelium grown in culture on microporous membranes. Extracts (in either dimethylsulfoxide or phosphate-buffered saline) of cigarette smoke in a range estimate of concentrations simulating cigarette smoke exposure to the lungs in vivo caused a dose-dependent increase in albumin flux that was dependent on extracellular divalent cations and associated with polymerization of cellular actin. The effect was reversible, independent of the surface of endothelial cells exposed (either luminal or abluminal), and due primarily to components of the vapor phase of smoke. The effects occurred without evidence of cell damage, but subtle morphological changes were produced by exposure to the smoke extracts. These findings suggest that cigarette smoke can alter permeability of the lung endothelium through effects on cytoskeletal elements.

Erstdiagnose eines kompletten Aortenbogenverschlusses bei einer 65-jährigen Hypertonikerin

HISTORY AND PHYSICAL EXAMINATION

A 65-year-old woman presented in a hypertensive crisis and with angina pectoris. She had a history of hypertension for several years and medication included five different antihypertensive drugs. On physical examination a faint systolic murmur was heard. Weak femoral pulses were felt, but not the arterial pulses distal to the groin.

INVESTIGATIONS

An attempt to perform coronary arteriography failed because it was impossible to pass the catheter across the aortic arch. MR-angiography and cardiac catheterization via the brachial artery confirmed the diagnosis of a complete interruption of the aortic arch distal to the left subclavian artery and showed distinct collateral circulation predominantly via the internal mammary arteries.

DIAGNOSIS AND THERAPY

Because of the age of the patient we assumed that the pathogenesis of this interruption of the aortic arch probably was progression and finally occlusion of an aortic coarctation. It was not possible to distinguish the findings from a true congenital atresia, because there was no histological examination. The patient rejected surgery and conservative therapy with frequent monitoring seemed justified, considering the good blood pressure adjustment and the extensive collateral vascularization.

CONCLUSION

Patients with complete interruption of the aortic arch very rarely do reach late adult age without previous surgical intervention. Indeed, such a situation is only conceivable when there is a good collateral blood supply and no concomitant shunt defects. There is an indication for operation, but as there are insufficient follow-up data this should be weighed up carefully in elderly patients whose blood pressure is well controlled.

Murine T cell Ia antigens: specificity Iat.46 maps in I-J to I-E chromosomal segment of H-2 complex

An alloantiserum was prepared in C57BL/10 mice hyperimmunized with concanavalin A-stimulated B10.HTG thymocytes. Absorption with separated B10.A(3R)B and T lymphocytes, followed by titration on these cell types, revealed a new I-region controlled T-cell specificity, Iat.46. The determinant is present on a subpopulation of mature peripheral T cells but not on B lymphocytes, thymocytes, or bone marrow cells. It is also observed using (A.TH X B10.HTT)F1 anti-A.TL antiserum on B10.A(3R) T lymphocytes. The k and d haplotypes are fully crossreactive with regard to Iat.46 expression. B10.HTT, C57BL/10, and BSVS do not carry the Iat.46-encoding allele. Moreover, Iat.46 is not a determinant formed by I-A--I-E gene complementation. The Iat.46-controlling gene, Ia-8, may be positioned to the left of the B10.HTT crossover and to the right of the B10.A(3R) recombinational event. Thus, this determinant may be considered either to represent complexity within the I-J subregion or to demarcate a new I subregion between I-J and I-E.

Neighborhood Deprivation and Rurality Associated With Patient-Reported Outcomes and Survival in Men With Prostate Cancer in NRG Oncology RTOG 0415

PURPOSE

Rurality and neighborhood deprivation can contribute to poor patient-reported outcomes, which have not been systematically evaluated in patients with specific cancers in national trials. Our objective was to examine the effect of rurality and neighborhood socioeconomic and environmental deprivation on patient-reported outcomes and survival in men with prostate cancer in NRG Oncology RTOG 0415.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Data from men with prostate cancer in trial NRG Oncology RTOG 0415 were analyzed; 1,092 men were randomized to receive conventional radiation therapy or hypofractionated radiation therapy. Rurality was categorized as urban or rural. Neighborhood deprivation was assessed using the area deprivation index and air pollution indicators (nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers) via patient ZIP codes. Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite measured cancer-specific quality of life. The Hopkins symptom checklist measured anxiety and depression. EuroQoL-5 Dimension assessed general health.

RESULTS

We analyzed 751 patients in trial NRG Oncology RTOG 0415. At baseline, patients from the most deprived neighborhoods had worse bowel (P = .011), worse sexual (P = .042), and worse hormonal (P = .015) scores; patients from the most deprived areas had worse self-care (P = .04) and more pain (P = .047); and patients from rural areas had worse urinary (P = .03) and sexual (P = .003) scores versus patients from urban areas. Longitudinal analyses showed that the 25% most deprived areas (P = .004) and rural areas (P = .002) were associated with worse EuroQoL-5 Dimension visual analog scale score. Patients from urban areas (hazard ratio, 1.81; P = .033) and the 75% less-deprived neighborhoods (hazard ratio, 0.68; P = .053) showed relative decrease in risk of recurrence or death (disease-free survival).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with prostate cancer from the most deprived neighborhoods and rural areas had low quality of life at baseline, poor general health longitudinally, and worse disease-free survival. Interventions should screen populations from deprived neighborhoods and rural areas to improve patient access to supportive care services.

Antigenicity and specificity of very low molecular weight Onchocerca volvulus polypeptides in the range 2.2-12.5 kD

Onchocerca volvulus polypeptides in the molecular mass range of 2.2 to 12.5 kD were separated by Tricine-SDS-PAGE and the serological recognition of these very low molecular weight antigens (VLMW-OvAg) was then investigated by immuno-blotting. Sera from 21 onchocerciasis patients as well as from 53 individuals with other filariases were used to determine the sensitivity and specificity of detection of individual VLMW-OvAg. In onchocerciasis patients, up to 16 VLMW-OvAg were recognized predominantly by IgG1 and IgG4, while only few antigens were recognized by IgG2 and IgG3. The antigen recognition pattern varied individually, but 4 VLMW-OvAg of 8.6, 6.2, 5.4, and 5.1 kD, respectively, were bound by IgG4 from more than 90% of the onchocerciasis patients. Six VLMW-OvAg of 7.3, 5.8, 5.4, 4.0, 3.8, and 3.6 kD were recognized exclusively by IgG1 from onchocerciasis patients. In amicrofilaraemic filariasis patients with lymphatic pathology, a strong reactivity of IgG3 to an OvAg of 2.2 kD was observed, indicating a possible contribution of this antigen to the pathogenesis. In the molecular mass range below 13 kD, no specific carbohydrate residues or phosphorylcholine-containing (PC) determinants could be identified by lectin-blotting or PC-specific immunoblotting, respectively. Two-dimensional separation and immunoblotting distinctly resolved more than 40 antigenic polypeptides, the majority focusing at acidic isoelectric points. In O. volvulus-infected chimpanzees the IgG1- and IgG4-reactivity against OvAg below 13 kD appeared concurrently with onset of patent infection. These data suggest that some of these VLMW-OvAg might be associated with the production and release of microfilariae from gravid female worms as well as be involved in immune-mediated pathogenesis during filarial infections.

T cell determinant mapping between K and I-A with I-region properties

We investigated genes in the chromosomal segment between K and I-A. Recombination in strains AQR and A.TL previously established the right-hand K region and left-hand I-A subregion boundaries. This report provides evidence that strains AQR and A.TL differ in their intra-I-region crossover points; AQR has k haplotype genes between K and I-A which A.TL lacks. Using three different strain combinations, we produced antibodies specific for a T lymphocyte determinant, Iat.W41, encoded by genes in the Kk to I-Ak interval. Like A.TL, B10.MBR (an intra-I-region recombinant) lacks the Iat.W41-controlling gene. Immunofluorescence analysis and a cytotoxicity assay detected Iat.W41 determinants on mature T lymphocyte subset; thymocytes, bone marrow cells, B cells and macrophages do not express this specificity. Iat.W41-bearing lymphocytes display the Thy-1.2 antigen, but not Ly-1 or Ly-2 determinants. Iat.W41 expression is independent of non-H-2 genes. In addition to a strong mixed leukocyte reaction, genes between K and I-A contribute to a graft-versus-host reaction. The Iat.W41-controlling locus appears distinct from previously identified I-A loci.

Inhaled tobacco sterols: uptake by the lungs and disposition to selected organs of rats

Tobacco sterols (cholesterol, beta-sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol) are present in tobacco smoke and appear in plasma of mammals exposed to cigarette smoke. Because tobacco sterols may be important in the pathogenesis of smoking-induced lung and vascular diseases, we studied the pattern of deposition of cigarette sterols in the lungs and appearance of cigarette sterols in plasma and body organs of rats. After exposure to twenty 5 ml "puffs" of smoke from tobacco labeled with [4-14C]cholesterol or beta-[4-14C]sitosterol, rats were killed just after exposure (day 0) and on days 2, 5, 8, 11, 15, and 30, and the lungs and selected body organs analyzed for activity. We found that cigarette sterols are associated with particulates in cigarette smoke, deposited mostly in distal airspaces and parenchyma of the lungs, and appear in plasma and several body organs for more than 30 days after this single exposure to cigarette smoke. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid contained relatively small amounts of radiolabel for only the first few days, suggesting that most of the sterols were rapidly incorporated in lung parenchyma. Because disorders of sterol metabolism have been implicated in a variety of diseases including atherosclerosis and cancer, the significance of tobacco sterols to human smoking-induced diseases deserves further study.

Cardiovascular Mortality and Duration of Androgen Deprivation in Locally Advanced Prostate Cancer: Long-term Update of NRG/RTOG 9202

BACKGROUND

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has been associated with coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction (MI) in prostate cancer patients, but controversy persists regarding its effects on cardiovascular mortality (CVM).

OBJECTIVE

We assessed the long-term relationship between ADT and CVM in a prostate cancer randomized trial (NRG Oncology/Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 9202).

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

From 1992 to 1995, 1554 men with locally advanced prostate cancer (T2c-T4, prostate-specific antigen <150 ng/ml) received radiotherapy with 4 mo (short-term [STADT]) versus 28 mo (longer-term [LTADT]) of ADT.

OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Using the Fine-Gray and Cox regression models, the relationship between ADT and mortality was evaluated.

RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS

With a median follow-up of 19.6 yr, LTADT was associated with improved overall survival (OS) versus STADT (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.88; p = 0.03) and prostate cancer survival (subdistribution HR [sHR] 0.70, p = 0.003). Comparing LTADT with STADT, prostate cancer mortality improved by 6.0% (15.6% [95% confidence interval 13.0-18.3%] vs 21.6% [18.6-24.7%]) at 15 yr, while CVM increased by 2.2% (14.9% [12.4-17.6%] vs 12.7% [10.4-15.3%]). In multivariable analyses, LTADT was not associated with increased CVM versus STADT (sHR 1.22 [0.93-1.59]; p = 0.15). An association between LTADT and MI death was detected (sHR 1.58 [1.00-2.50]; p = 0.05), particularly in patients with prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD; sHR 2.54 [1.16-5.58]; p = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

With 19.6 yr of follow-up, LTADT was not significantly associated with increased CVM in men with locally advanced prostate cancer. Patients may have increased MI mortality with LTADT, particularly those with baseline CVD. Overall, there remained a prostate cancer mortality benefit and no OS detriment with LTADT.

PATIENT SUMMARY

In a long-term analysis of a large randomized prostate cancer trial, radiation with 28 mo of hormone therapy did not increase the risk of cardiovascular death significantly versus 4 mo of hormone therapy. Future studies are needed for patients with pre-existing heart disease, who may have an increased risk of myocardial infarction death with longer hormone use.