Isolation and characterization of plasma membrane-associated cortical granules from sea urchin eggs

Cortical granules, which are specialized secretory organelles found in ova of many organisms, have been isolated from the eggs of the sea urchins Arbacia punctulata and Strongylocentrtus pupuratus by a simple, rapid procedure. Electron micropscope examination of cortical granules prepared by this procedure reveals that they are tightly attached to large segments of the plasma membrane and its associated vitelline layer. Further evidence that he cortical granules were associated with these cell surface layers was obtained by (125)I-labeling techniques. The cortical granule preparations were found to be rich in proteoesterase, which was purified 32-fold over that detected in a crude homogenate. Similarly, the specific radioactivity of a (125)I-labeled, surface glycoprotein was increased 40-fold. These facts, coupled with electron microscope observations, indicate the isolation procedure yields a preparation in which both the cortical granules and the plasma membrane-vitelline layer are purified to the same extent. Gel electrophoresis of the membrane-associated cortical granule preparation reveals the presence of at least eight polypeptides. The major polypeptide, which is a glycotprotein of apparent mol wt of 100,000, contains most of the radioactivity introduced by (125)I-labeling of the intact eggs. Lysis of the cortical granules is observed under hypotonic conditions, or under isotonic conditions if Ca(2+) ion is present. When lysis is under isotonic conditions is induced by addition of Ca(2+) ion, the electron-dense contents of the granules remain insoluble. In contrast, hypotonic lysis results in release of the contents of the granule in a soluble form. However, in both cases the (125)I-labeled glycoprotein remains insoluble, presumably because it is a component of either the plasma membrane or the vitelline layer. All these findings indicate that, using this purified preparation, it should be possible to carry out in vitro studies to better define some of the initial, surface-related events observed in vivo upon fertilization.     

Aggregation-dependent turnover of flagellar adhesion molecules in chlamydomonas gametes

Previous studies on flagellar adhesion in chlamydomonas (Snell, W. and S. Roseman. 1979. J. Biol. Chem. 254:10820-10829.) have shown that as gametes adhere to flagella isolated from gametes of the opposite mating type, the adhsiveness of the added flagella but not of the gametes is lost. The studies reported here show that the addition of protein synthesis inhibitors (cycloheximide [CH] or anisomycin) to the medium of such cell- flagella mixtures causes the cells to lose their adhesiveness. This loss, however, occurs only after the cells have interacted with 4-8 flagella/cell and does not occur if the cells are kept in CH (7 h) without aggregating. The availability of an impotent (imp) mating type plus (MT(+)) mutant (provided by U.W. Goodenough), which adheres but is unable to undergo the fusion that normally follows adhesion, made it possible to determine whether a similar loss of adhesiveness occurs in mixtures of matting type minus (mt(-)) and imp mt(+) gametes. In the absence of inhibitor, mt(-) and imp mt(+) gametes adhered to each other (without fusing) for several hours; however, in the presence of CH or anisomycin, the gametes began to de-adhere 35 min after mixing, and, by 90 min, 100 percent of the cells were single again. This effect was reversible, and the rapid turnover of cells were single again. This effect was reversible, and the rapid turnover of molecules involved in adhesion occurred only during adhesion inasmuch as gametes pretreated for 4 h with CH were able to aggregate in CH for the same length of time as nonpretreated cells aggregated in CH. By the addition of CH at various times after the mt(-) and imp mt(+) gametes were mixed, measurements were made of the “pool size” of the molecules involved in adhesion. The pool reached a minimum after 25 min of aggregation, rapidly increased for the next 25 min, and then leveled off at the premixing level. These results suggest that flagellar adhesion in chlamydomonas causes modification of surface molecules (receptors, ligands), which brings about their inactivation and stimulates their replacement.     

Effect of paracetamol (acetaminophen) and ibuprofen on body temperature in acute ischemic stroke PISA, a phase II double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial [ISRCTN98608690]

Background

Body temperature is a strong predictor of outcome in acute stroke. In a previous randomized trial we observed that treatment with high-dose acetaminophen (paracetamol) led to a reduction of body temperature in patients with acute ischemic stroke, even when they had no fever. The purpose of the present trial was to study whether this effect of acetaminophen could be reproduced, and whether ibuprofen would have a similar, or even stronger effect.

Methods

Seventy-five patients with acute ischemic stroke confined to the anterior circulation were randomized to treatment with either 1000 mg acetaminophen, 400 mg ibuprofen, or placebo, given 6 times daily during 5 days. Treatment was started within 24 hours from the onset of symptoms. Body temperatures were measured at 2-hour intervals during the first 24 hours, and at 6-hour intervals thereafter.

Results

No difference in body temperature at 24 hours was observed between the three treatment groups. However, treatment with high-dose acetaminophen resulted in a 0.3°C larger reduction in body temperature from baseline than placebo treatment (95% CI: 0.0 to 0.6 °C). Acetaminophen had no significant effect on body temperature during the subsequent four days compared to placebo, and ibuprofen had no statistically significant effect on body temperature during the entire study period.

Conclusions

Treatment with a daily dose of 6000 mg acetaminophen results in a small, but potentially worthwhile decrease in body temperature after acute ischemic stroke, even in normothermic and subfebrile patients. Further large randomized clinical trials are needed to study whether early reduction of body temperature leads to improved outcome.     

Evolutionary distances for protein-coding sequences: modeling site- specific residue frequencies

Estimation of evolutionary distances from coding sequences must take into account protein-level selection to avoid relative underestimation of longer evolutionary distances. Current modeling of selection via site-to-site rate heterogeneity generally neglects another aspect of selection, namely position-specific amino acid frequencies. These frequencies determine the maximum dissimilarity expected for highly diverged but functionally and structurally conserved sequences, and hence are crucial for estimating long distances. We introduce a codon- level model of coding sequence evolution in which position-specific amino acid frequencies are free parameters. In our implementation, these are estimated from an alignment using methods described previously. We use simulations to demonstrate the importance and feasibility of modeling such behavior; our model produces linear distance estimates over a wide range of distances, while several alternative models underestimate long distances relative to short distances. Site-to-site differences in rates, as well as synonymous/nonsynonymous and first/second/third-codon-position differences, arise as a natural consequence of the site-to-site differences in amino acid frequencies.      

<Emphasis Type="Italic">TRAF1/C5</Emphasis>polymorphism is not associated with increased mortality in rheumatoid arthritis: two large longitudinal studies

Introduction  

Recently an association between a genetic variation in TRAF1/C5 and mortality from sepsis or cancer was found in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The most prevalent cause of death, cardiovascular disease, may have been missed in that study, since patients were enrolled at an advanced disease stage. Therefore, we used an inception cohort of RA patients to investigate the association between TRAF1/C5 and cardiovascular mortality, and replicate the findings on all-cause mortality. As TRAF1/C5 associated mortality may not be restricted to RA, we also studied a large cohort of non-RA patients.     

Accelerated hand bone mineral density loss is associated with progressive joint damage in hands and feet in recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction

To investigate whether accelerated hand bone mineral density (BMD) loss is associated with progressive joint damage in hands and feet in the first year of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and whether it is an independent predictor of subsequent progressive total joint damage after 4 years.

Methods

In 256 recent-onset RA patients, baseline and 1-year hand BMD was measured in metacarpals 2-4 by digital X-ray radiogrammetry. Joint damage in hands and feet were scored in random order according to the Sharp-van der Heijde method at baseline and yearly up to 4 years.

Results

68% of the patients had accelerated hand BMD loss (>-0.003 g/cm²) in the first year of RA. Hand BMD loss was associated with progressive joint damage after 1 year both in hands and feet with odds ratios (OR) (95% confidence intervals [CI]) of 5.3 (1.3-20.9) and 3.1 (1.0-9.7). In univariate analysis, hand BMD loss in the first year was a predictor of subsequent progressive total joint damage after 4 years with an OR (95% CI) of 3.1 (1.3-7.6). Multivariate analysis showed that only progressive joint damage in the first year and anti-citrullinated protein antibody positivity were independent predictors of long-term progressive joint damage.

Conclusions

In the first year of RA, accelerated hand BMD loss is associated with progressive joint damage in both hands and feet. Hand BMD loss in the first year of recent-onset RA predicts subsequent progressive total joint damage, however not independent of progressive joint damage in the first year.     

Increased incidence of pregnancy complications in women who later develop scleroderma: a case control study

Introduction  

Studies have shown that fetal progenitor cells persist in maternal blood or bone marrow for more than 30 years after delivery. Increased trafficking of fetal cells occurs during pregnancy complications, such as hypertension, preeclampsia, miscarriage and intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR). Women with these pregnancy complications are significantly more often HLA-class II compatible with their spouses. Women who later develop scleroderma also give birth to an HLA-class II child more often. From these prior studies we hypothesized that preeclampsia and other pregnancy complications could be associated with increased levels of fetal cell trafficking, and later be involved in the development of scleroderma.     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Mast cells are the main interleukin 17-positive cells in anticitrullinated protein antibody-positive and -negative rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis synovium

Introduction  

Mast cells have been implicated to play a functional role in arthritis, especially in autoantibody-positive disease. Among the cytokines involved in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), IL-17 is an important inflammatory mediator. Recent data suggest that the synovial mast cell is a main producer of IL-17, although T cells have also been implicated as prominent IL-17 producers as well. We aimed to identify IL-17 expression by mast cells and T cells in synovium of arthritis patients.