Cytokine profile of autologous conditioned serum for treatment of osteoarthritis, <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>effects on cartilage metabolism and intra-articular levels after injection

Introduction  

Intraarticular administration of autologous conditioned serum (ACS) recently demonstrated some clinical effectiveness in treatment of osteoarthritis (OA). The current study aims to evaluate the in vitro effects of ACS on cartilage proteoglycan (PG) metabolism, its composition and the effects on synovial fluid (SF) cytokine levels following intraarticular ACS administration.     

Antimicrobial Activity of Aroma Compounds against Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Improvement of Microbiological Stability of Soft Drinks as Assessed by Logistic Regression

The combined effects of a mild heat treatment (55°C) and the presence of three aroma compounds [citron essential oil, citral, and (E)-2-hexenal] on the spoilage of noncarbonated beverages inoculated with different amounts of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain were evaluated. The results, expressed as growth/no growth, were elaborated using a logistic regression in order to assess the probability of beverage spoilage as a function of thermal treatment length, concentration of flavoring agents, and yeast inoculum. The logit models obtained for the three substances were extremely precise. The thermal treatment alone, even if prolonged for 20 min, was not able to prevent yeast growth. However, the presence of increasing concentrations of aroma compounds improved the stability of the products. The inhibiting effect of the compounds was enhanced by a prolonged thermal treatment. In fact, it influenced the vapor pressure of the molecules, which can easily interact within microbial membranes when they are in gaseous form. (E)-2-Hexenal showed a threshold level, related to initial inoculum and thermal treatment length, over which yeast growth was rapidly inhibited. Concentrations over 100 ppm of citral and thermal treatment longer than 16 min allowed a 90% probability of stability for bottles inoculated with 10⁵ CFU/bottle. Citron gave the most interesting responses: beverages with 500 ppm of essential oil needed only 3 min of treatment to prevent yeast growth. In this framework, the logistic regression proved to be an important tool to study alternative hurdle strategies for the stabilization of noncarbonated beverages.     

Feedback control of the limbs position during voluntary rhythmic oscillation

The mechanisms that control the limbs position during rhythmic voluntary oscillations were investigated in ten subjects, who were asked to synchronise the lower peak of their hand or foot rhythmic oscillations to a metronome beat. The efficacy of the “position control” was estimated by measuring the degree of synchronisation between the metronome signal and the requested limb position and how it was affected by changing both the oscillation frequency (between 0.4 and 3.0 Hz) and the limbs inertial properties. With the limbs unloaded, the lower peak of both the hand and foot oscillations lagged the metronome beat of a slight amount that remained constant over the whole frequency range (mean phase delay −13.2° for the hand and −4.7° for the foot). The constancy was obtained by phase-advancing, at each frequency increment, the electromyogram (EMG) activation with respect of the clock beat of the amount necessary to compensate for the simultaneous increase of the lag between the EMG and the movement, produced by the limb mechanical impedance. After loading of either limb, the increase of the oscillation frequency induced larger EMG-movement delays and the anticipatory compensation became insufficient, so that the movement progressively phase-lagged the clock beat. The above results have been accurately simulated by a neural network connected to a pendulum model that shared the same mechanical properties of the moving limb. The network compares a central command (the intended position) to the actual position of the effector and acts as a closed-loop proportional, integrative and derivative controller. It is proposed that the synchronisation of rhythmic oscillations of either the hand or the foot is sustained by a feed-back control that conforms the position of each limb to that encoded in the central voluntary command.     

Neuroendocrine immunity in patients with Alzheimer's disease: toward translational epigenetics

The emerging domain of epigenetics in molecular medicine finds application for a variety of patient populations. Here, we present fundamental neuroendocrine immune evidence obtained in patients with senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type (sDAT), and discuss the implications of these data from the viewpoint of translational epigenetics of Alzheimer's disease. We followed 18 subjects with mild sDAT treated with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, and 10 control subjects matched for age in a repeated measure design every six months for 18 months. We monitored psychosocial profile (Mini-Mental State Examination, Functional Assessment Staging, Independence in Activities of Daily Living, Depression, Profile of Moods States) in parallel to immunophenotypic parameters of T cell subpopulations by flow cytometry. Based on change in the mini-mental state score at entry and at 18 months, patients with sDAT were assigned to a "fast progression" (delta greater than 2 points) or to a "slow progression" group (delta less than or equal to 2 points). The change in circulating activated T cells (CD3+Dr+) with time in patients with sDAT was significantly inversely correlated with the change in time in natural killer (NK) cytotoxic activity to cortisol modulation in these patients, which was greater in patients with fast progression, compared to slow progression sDAT. These data indicate underlying neuroendocrine immune processes during progression of sDAT. Our observations suggest that psychoimmune measures such as those we have monitored in this study provide relevant information about the evolving physiological modulation in patients with sDAT during progression of Alzheimer's disease, and point to new or improved translational epigenetic treatment interventions.     

Physiologic modulation of natural killer cell activity as an index of Alzheimer's disease progression

Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are characterized by an altered sensitivity to cortisol-mediated modulation of circulating lymphocytes. Longitudinal studies are needed to address the clinical applicability of these abnormalities as prognostic factors. Therefore, we designed a longitudinal study to address the clinical applicability of physiologic modulation of Natural Killer (NK) cell activity as a prognostic factor in AD. NK activity was assessed as baseline measurement and in response to modulation by cortisol at 10(-6)M. To verify the immunophysiological integrity of the NK cell population, we tested augmentation of NK cytotoxicity by human recombinant interleukin (IL)-2 (100 IU/ml) as control. The response to modulation by cortisol or by IL-2 was significantly greater in patients with AD. Based on change in the Mini-Mental State score at entry and at 18 months, patients with AD could be assigned to a "fast progression" (Delta > 2 points) or to a "slow progression" group (Delta 相似文献   

Gender related differences in the oxidative stress response to PCB exposure in an endangered goodeid fish (Girardinichthys viviparus)

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent xenobiotics within aquatic environments, which elicit diverse toxic effects such as induction of oxidative stress. Despite numerous earlier studies, no detailed information exists on the toxic response by different sexes in fish. The aim of this study was to determine sex-linked differences in oxidative stress response and antioxidant defenses in Girardinichthys viviparus, an endangered fish endemic to Mexico, when exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of waterborne PCBs. The biological markers evaluated were lipid peroxidation (LPOX), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity. Adult eight-month-old specimens born in the laboratory were exposed to ½ of the LC₀ (0.92 mg PCBs/L) in semi-hard synthetic water and sacrificed on days 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 for biomarker assays. Sex-linked differences were observed in the control fish with respect to all three factors assayed. PCBs elicited significant (p < 0.01) time- and sex-dependent LPOX levels which were higher in the case of males. In PCB-treated G. viviparus, SOD activity was depressed in both sexes and appears to return to pre-exposure levels after 16 days in males only. In contrast, CAT was significantly induced (p < 0.01) in both sexes. This enzyme may be responsible for balancing oxidative stress and antioxidant defenses under experimental conditions. PCBs at sub-lethal concentrations are hazardous to both sexes of G. viviparus since these compounds are able to induce liver LPOX and changes in the antioxidant defense activities. The relationship between these biomarkers and cytochrome P450 and CYP1A induction is also discussed.     

Molecular and karyological aspects of Batoidea (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchi) phylogeny

Although considerable progress has been made in elucidating the relationships within the Chondrichthyes, there is no agreement as it concerns the systematics of Batoidea, the most derived superorder among cartilaginous fishes, and many different interpretations exist. Our investigation provides the first assessment of relationships among the described batoid species using sequences from both mtDNA and nuclear genes as well as karyological morphology. Our work consists primarily in reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships of Batoidea by examining the mtDNA (16S) and nuclear gene (18S) sequences from 11 batoid species. The three analytical methods (NJ, MP and Bayesian analysis) grouped Rajiformes, Myliobatiformes and Rhinobatiformes. In these trees the two torpedoes diverge from the other batoid fishes. We also compare the molecular data with the available karyological evidence, which consist of the diploid number and the karyotype morphology of eight species belonging to the four orders examined. The results show that the karyological structure in the different species is generally consistent with the various phylogenetical trees, and that Torpediniformes confirm their unique genome organization.     

Multilocus phylogeography of the endemic and endangered angular angelshark (Squatina guggenheim) in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean

Hydrobiologia - The angular angelshark (Squatina guggenheim) is a coastal endangered angel shark from the Southwest Atlantic Ocean and one of the major bycatch victims. Despite major concerns about...