The study was designed to determine the role of interferon (IFN)-gamma in inflammatory responses against experimentally induced pneumonia caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae. The host immunological ...responses in IFN-gamma gene knockout (IFN-gamma(-/-)) mice and immunocompetent control mice were compared. K. pneumoniae strain T-113 was inoculated intranasally into anaesthetised mice to induce pneumonia. Infected control mice survived significantly longer than infected IFN-gamma(-/-) mice. Viable bacterial counts in lungs and blood abruptly increased in IFN-gamma(-/-) mice; in contrast, a gradual decrease in the number of bacteria was noted in control mice. During the early stages of infection, the concentrations of interleukin (IL)-1beta and IL-6 in broncho-alveolar lavage fluid and IL-1beta in serum of IFN-gamma(-/-) mice were significantly lower than in control mice. During the late stage of infection, serum IL-6 level in IFN-gamma(-/-) mice was significantly higher than in control mice. These results suggest that the defective immunological host response, including inflammatory cytokine production caused by deficiency of IFN-gamma, is one of the mechanisms that allow the progression of pulmonary infection to systemic septicaemia.
Hormonal responses were assessed in men with prostate cancer (T2-4, Nx, Mx) who were randomized to receive either a single injection of goserelin 3.6 mg or leuprolide 3.75 mg. Testosterone increased ...over the first week, with a significantly higher mean rate of change of total testosterone (day 3) and free testosterone (days 3 and 7) with leuprolide. Following the initial rise in luteinizing hormone (LH), the rate of decrease in LH levels was significantly greater with goserelin by day 28. There are significant differences in endocrine response to goserelin and leuprolide in the 4 weeks following administration.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The Drosophila somatic sex-determination regulatory pathway has been well studied, but little is known about the target genes that it ultimately controls. In a differential screen for sex-specific ...transcripts expressed in fly heads, we identified a highly male-enriched transcript encoding Takeout, a protein related to a superfamily of factors that bind small lipophilic molecules. We show that sex-specific takeout transcripts derive from fat body tissue closely associated with the adult brain and are dependent on the sex determination genes doublesex (dsx) and fruitless (fru). The male-specific Doublesex and Fruitless proteins together activate Takeout expression, whereas the female-specific Doublesex protein represses takeout independently of Fru. When cells that normally express takeout are feminized by expression of the Transformer-F protein, male courtship behavior is dramatically reduced, suggesting that male identity in these cells is necessary for behavior. A loss-of-function mutation in the takeout gene reduces male courtship and synergizes with fruitless mutations, suggesting that takeout plays a redundant role with other fru-dependent factors involved in male mating behavior. Comparison of Takeout sequences to the Drosophila genome reveals a family of 20 related secreted factors. Expression analysis of a subset of these genes suggests that the takeout gene family encodes multiple factors with sex-specific functions.
1 Laboratory of Cognitive Neurobiology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo; and 2 Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency, ...Saitama, Japan
Submitted 8 November 2004;
accepted in final form 2 January 2005
Temporal prediction of future events, especially regarding reward delivery, is critical for controlling/learning purposeful behavior. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been considered to be involved in behavioral control based on prospective coding for future events, including reward. Thus this area is likely to have a neuronal mechanism responsible for temporal prediction of forthcoming reward. To address this hypothesis, we recorded the neuronal activity from the DLPFC of macaque monkeys while they performed an oculomotor delayed-response task under two conditions regarding the time of reward delivery. In this task, when the subjects made a correct response, the reward was delivered after a reward-delay period of 0.5 or 2 s. At the behavioral level, the onset latency for saccades was significantly faster in the shorter reward-delay trials (0.5 s) than in longer reward-delay trials (2 s), indicating that our subjects actually predicted the time of reward delivery. At the neuronal level, we found that many DLPFC neurons showed differential activity depending on the predicted time of reward delivery during the cue and/or delay periods. These results suggest that a fraction of neurons in the DLPFC represent the temporal prediction of reward and probably a variety of other future events.
Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: T. Sawaguchi, Laboratory of Cognitive Neurobiology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, N15W7, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan (E-mail: toshi-sw{at}med.hokudai.ac.jp )
The placental transfer of propofol was investigated using the in vitro dually perfused cotyledon model of the human placenta, and the effects of protein binding in the foetal perfusate were examined. ...Both maternal and foetal circulations were perfused in a single-pass mode and >30 min of stabilization was allowed before adding propofol and antipyrine to the maternal perfusate. The placental clearances of propofol were significantly increased by the augmented albumin concentrations in the foetal perfusate (1.68 (sd 0.68), 3.08 (1.55), 4.79 (1.76), 5.75 (1.89) and 7.03 (1.46) ml h−1 g−1 at the albumin concentrations of 4.4, 11, 22, 33 and 44 g litre−1, respectively). Although the total propofol concentration in the foetal vein increased significantly with increasing albumin concentration, the concentration of free propofol remained unchanged. These results indicate that binding to foetal albumin is a determining feature in the control of the placental transfer of propofol, and that the pharmacological effects of propofol on the foetus can be expected to be fairly constant and predictable from the maternal propofol concentration.
First Department of Urology and Departments of *Microbiology and Pathology, Toho University School of Medicine, 52116 Ohmorinishi, Ohtaku, Tokyo 1438540 and Denkaseiken Co. Ltd. Gosenshi, ...Minami-motomachi 122, Niigata 95916, Japan
Corresponding author: Dr K. Tateda (e-mail: kazu{at}med.toho-u.ac.jp ).
Received 14 Sept. 1999; revised version accepted 8 March 2000.
Abstract
In Escherichia coli O157 infections, verotoxins (VT) play a critical role in causing the disease, although other factors such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and inflammatory cytokines may affect the progression and course of the disease. The present study examined the roles of VT and LPS in induction of serum cytokines and lethality in mice. LD50 of VT2 (13 ng) was c . 10 4 -fold smaller than that of LPS (400 µg). Although the lethal toxicity of these toxins was examined in several experimental conditions, such as VT2 (5, 10, 20, 40 ng/mouse) alone or in combination with LPS (100 µg/mouse) at various times (-2 days to +2 days), no evidence of synergy was observed. VT2 did not augment LPS-induced tumour necrosis factor- (TNF- ) or interleukin-6 production, and conversely suppressed TNF- production when it was injected 2 days before LPS challenge. The data failed to indicate either synergic or additive effects of VT and LPS on cytokine production or lethality in mice. In contrast, antagonistic interactions were clearly observed in cytokine production in certain conditions. The results suggested that these toxins may be co-operatively involved in the pathology of VT-related diseases, but not through synergic interactions.
SOME ASPECTS OF THE TODA MOLECULE NISHIZAWA, M.; OHTA, Y.; TSUJIMOTO, S.
Glasgow mathematical journal,
06/2005, Letnik:
47, Številka:
A
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
A $q$-discrete analog of the Toda molecule equation and its $N$-soliton solution are constructed by using the bilinear method. The solution is expressed in the Casorati determinant form whose ...elements are given in terms of the $q$-orthogonal polynomials.
The molecular events underlying vesicular trafficking probably involve the formation and dissolution of protein complexes between integral components of the vesicle and its target membrane. SNAP‐25 ...is associated with the plasma membrane and is a component of a core protein complex thought to be essential for neurotransmitter release. We have previously characterized a protein, hrs‐2, that interacts with SNAP‐25 and inhibits secretion from permeabilized PC12 cells. The cellular localization and developmental expression patterns of a number of proteins involved in the secretion machinery have been documented. To understand more about the possible cellular role of hrs‐2, we have examined hrs‐2 distribution, developmental expression and subcellular localization in rat tissues and cell lines. We show herein that the distribution of hrs‐2 in brain and periphery parallels that of SNAP‐23/25, and that recombinant hrs‐2 binds to both SNAP‐23 and SNAP‐25. Hrs‐2 mRNA and protein are found almost ubiquitously in neurons in the brain. Hrs‐2 mRNA is expressed in the neural tube at E10 and thereafter mRNA and protein levels remain relatively constant in the whole brain through adulthood. In cultured PC12 cells, endogenous hrs‐2 is expressed in the cytoplasm and on the limiting membranes of multivesicular bodies. Overexpression of hrs‐2 in mammalian cells results in the appearance of large intracellular compartments that are labelled with hrs‐2 antibodies. The wide distribution, the interaction with SNAP‐23 and the localization on multivesicular body membranes suggest a general role for hrs‐2 in cellular machinery.
Perirenal pyelocaliceal diverticulum in an infant cat Tsujimoto, S. (Azabu Univ., Sagamihara, Kanagawa (Japan). School of Veterinary Medicine); Okuda, K; Okuda, H ...
Journal of Veterinary Medical Science,
03/2005, Letnik:
67, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
A 3-month-old female tortoise-shell cat showing azotemia died with a marked swollen abdomen. Necropsy revealed a huge perirenal cyst (8.5 x 6.0 x 4.5 cm) on the ventral aspect of the right kidney. ...The cyst was filled with the pellucid yellow fluid with a smell of urine. The lumen was connected with irregularly dilated renal pelvis by a narrow channel passing through the renal parenchyma. The cyst was lined by epithelial cells and its wall was consisted of collagen fibers and smooth muscle cells as that of the renal pelvis and ureter, Renal parenchyma adjacent to the channel showed interstitial infiltration of the lymphoid cells. The cyst was a diverticulum of the renal pelvis due to an impaired development.
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