Ultraviolet radiation directly induces pigment production by cultured human melanocytes

In humans the major stimulus for cutaneous pigmentation is ultraviolet radiation (UVR). Little is known about the mechanism underlying this response, in part because of the complexity of interactions in whole epidermis. Using a recently developed culture system, human melanocytes were exposed daily to a physiologic range of UVR doses from a solar simulator. Responses were determined 24 hours after the last exposure. There was a dose-related increase in melanin content per cell and uptake of 14C-DOPA, accompanied by growth inhibition. Cells from donors of different racial origin gave proportionately similar increases in melanin, although there were approximately tenfold differences in basal values. Light and electron microscopy revealed UVR-stimulated increases in dendricity as well as melanosome number and degree of melanization, analogous to the well-recognized melanocyte changes following sun exposure of intact skin. Similar responses were seen with Cloudman S91 melanoma cells, although this murine cell line required lower UVR dosages and fewer exposures for maximal stimulation. These data establish that UVR is capable of directly stimulating melanogenesis. Because cyclic AMP elevation has been associated in some settings with increased pigment production by cultured melanocytes, preliminary experiments were conducted to see if the effects of UVR were mediated by cAMP. Both alpha-MSH and isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX), as positive controls, caused a fourfold increase in cAMP level in human melanocytes and/or S91 cells, but following a dose of UVR sufficient to stimulate pigment production there was no change in cAMP level up to 4 hours after exposure. Thus it appears that the UVR-induced melanogenesis is mediated by cAMP-independent mechanisms.     

Apical Scaffolding Protein NHERF2 Modulates the Localization of Alternatively Spliced Plasma Membrane Ca2+ Pump 2B Variants in Polarized Epithelial Cells

The membrane localization of the plasma membrane Ca²⁺-ATPase isoform 2 (PMCA2) in polarized cells is determined by alternative splicing; the PMCA2w/b splice variant shows apical localization, whereas the PMCA2z/b and PMCA2x/b variants are mostly basolateral. We previously reported that PMCA2b interacts with the PDZ protein Na⁺/H⁺ exchanger regulatory factor 2 (NHERF2), but the role of this interaction for the specific membrane localization of PMCA2 is not known. Here we show that co-expression of NHERF2 greatly enhanced the apical localization of GFP-tagged PMCA2w/b in polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. GFP-PMCA2z/b was also redirected to the apical membrane by NHERF2, whereas GFP-PMCA2x/b remained exclusively basolateral. In the presence of NHERF2, GFP-PMCA2w/b co-localized with the actin-binding protein ezrin even after disruption of the actin cytoskeleton by cytochalasin D or latrunculin B. Surface biotinylation and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments demonstrated that NHERF2-mediated anchorage to the actin cytoskeleton reduced internalization and lateral mobility of the pump. Our results show that the specific interaction with NHERF2 enhances the apical concentration of PMCA2w/b by anchoring the pump to the apical membrane cytoskeleton. The data also suggest that the x/b splice form of PMCA2 contains a dominant lateral targeting signal, whereas the targeting and localization of the z/b form are more flexible and not fully determined by intrinsic sequence features.     

Radioprotection après injection thérapeutique de [131I]-mIBG : données préalables à l’ouverture du protocole MIITOP-0607

IntroductionThe MIITOP-0607 protocol, studying the efficiency of administration of topotecan and myelosupressive [¹³¹I]-mIBG therapy in children affected by neuroblastoma, needed to assess irradiation risks on staff and family of children to obtain the agreement of the Autorité de sûreté nucléaire (ASN). Our aim was to quantify irradiation of the staff during preparation of the mIBG and to assay the irradiation and contamination of the accompanying persons.Patient and methodsRadiation exposure of the staff was measured during the preparation, transport and administration of the first treatment. Salivary and urinary excretions were monitored well as the atmospheric radioactivity. Radiation exposure and contamination of the accompanying persons were also measured.ResultsFinger dose of 3 mSv and whole body dose of 50 μSv were estimated for preparation of an 11.1 GBq syringe. Irradiation from urinary activity can be as low as 100 μSv if a dedicated device is used. Salivary excretion decreased rapidly during the first 24 hours. Atmospheric contamination always remained below 25 Bq m^?3. Total irradiation of the accompanying persons is about 2.35 mSv for the two consecutive injections (9,3 and 11,1 GBq). Internal contamination occurred only once and corresponded to a 27 μSv whole body irradiation and 670 μSv thyroid irradiation.ConclusionThis study shows the safety of [¹³¹I]-mIBG treatments using high activities. The involved dose is not negligible but seems to be acceptable in the specific paediatric oncology context if radioprotection instructions are met and if optimization of protocols is performed.     

The incidence of Weeksella- and Bergeyella-like bacteria in the food environment

Eighty-five catalase- and oxidase-positive Gram-negative rods and cocci susceptible to penicillin G were isolated from a variety of food sources. The phenotypic relationships of these isolates with reference cultures of Bergeyella -like, Chryseobacterium, Empedobacter, Myroides , Moraxella , Sphingobacterium and Weeksella -like strains were examined by numerical taxonomy. Seventy-three isolates were recovered in five groups; 80% of the isolates clustered in groups 1, 2 and 3 and produced indole, bearing a strong resemblance to Weeksella and Bergeyella . They could not, however, be regarded as belonging to the known species of W. virosa and B. zoohelcum . It is suggested that three species may be necessary to accommodate the environmental Weeksella - or Bergeyella -like bacteria. The isolates in groups 4 and 5 had white colonies and were unable to produce indole, in this way resembling the Moraxella genus.     

Correlation between the parameters of contingent negative variation and characteristics of variational pulsometry in Parkinsonian patients

In patients suffering from Parkinson's disease (PD), we analyzed correlations between the parameters of contingent negative variation (CNV) and data of variational pulsometry (according to the measurements of R-R ECG intervals). Studies were carried out on 35 patients (group PD), 49 to 74 years old, with the stage of disease of 1.5 to 3.0 according to the Hoehn-Yahr international classification. In the course of CNV recording (i.e., in the state of a certain functional loading), we observed significant negative correlations between the integral magnitude (area) of this potential and indices of variational pulsometry (RMSSD, SDNN, C. var, and HF) that characterize the intensity of parasympathetic (respiratory) influences on the cardiovascular system. In the control group, such correlations were absent. We found significant correlations between the autonomic balance, CNV magnitude, and stage of PD reflecting the level of generalization of the pathological process. In the subgroup of patients with the PD stage 1.5 to 2.0, significant changes in the mean values of indices of parasympathetic influences during recording of the CNV were not observed, while in another subgroup (the PD stage 2.5 to 3.0), these values increased significantly (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01). If the estimates of the PD stage were low, the CNV area demonstrated greater values (P < 0.01). The disturbance of coordination of muscle-to-muscle interactions in the PD group is, probably, an important factor responsible for parasympathetic dysregulation and suppression of the CNV generation. We found positive correlation between the intensity of parasympathetic influences in the course of CNV recording and the level of postural disorders (r = 0.37, P < 0.05). On the contrary, the CNV magnitude demonstrated a negative correlation with the intensity of these disorders (r = −0.36, P < 0.05), as well as with the level of postural instability (r = −0.55, P < 0.001). We hypothesize that alterations of the autonomic balance and the activity of those cerebral structures, which are responsible for the motor readiness, result, to a significant extent, from weakening of the activity of the noradrenergic system due to degenerative processes developing in cells of the locus coeruleus. The impairment of the latter structure, together with degeneration of neurons of the substantia nigra and a decrease in the level of nigro-striatal dopamine, underlies the pathomorphological pattern of PD. Neirofiziologiya/Neurophysiology, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 242–253, May–June, 2008.     

Immunofluorescent analysis of meiotic recombination in the domestic cat

The paper presents the analysis of the frequency, density, and distribution of recombination sites in the male meiosis of the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus). The study was carried out using immunofluorescent staining of synaptonemal complex (SC) proteins, centromeric proteins and mismatch repair protein MLH1, a reliable marker of crossingover sites. We mapped 2633 sites of crossing over in 1098 individual autosomes. Based on these data, we estimated the total length of the genetic map of the domestic cat to be 2176 centimorgans. Positive correlation between the length of SC and the number of recombination sites common for mammalians was also found in the domestic cat. It was shown that this species was characterized by the highest density of recombination and the lowest interference in mammals.