Comparison of 4 serological tests--complement fixation, neutralization, fluorescent antibody to membrane antigen and immune adherence hemagglutination--for assay of antibody to varicella-zoster (V-Z) virus.

Four tests for antibody to varicella-zoster (V-Z) virus were compared; these were tests of complement fixation (CF), neutralization (NT), fluorescent antibody to membrane antigen (FAMA) and immune adherence hemagglutination (IAHA). Fifty-two sera from patients with varicella and zoster and from recipients of live varicella vaccine were examined by the 4 tests. The CF test was least sensitive, but the antibody titers by the NT, FAMA and IAHA tests were roughly comparable. The IAHA test was the simplest and fastest to perform, and appeared suitable for routine serological assay to V-Z virus. The correlation between the IAHA antibody titer and susceptibility of individuals to clinical varicella was investigated retrospectively using sera obtained during 2 outbreaks of varicella in an institution for children, where all the unvaccinated children had developed varicella symptoms. Most of the 25 pre-exposure sera from unvaccinated children examined by the IAHA test had tiers of less than 1:2. In contrast, all the 23 sera from vaccinated children who did not develop varicella had detectable antibody titers of 1:2 to 1:64. These results indicate that the IAHA titer reflects the susceptibility or resistance of individuals to clinical varicella.     

Stimulatory effect of bleomycin on the synthesis of acidic glycosaminoglycans in cultured fibroblasts derived from rat carrageenin granuloma.

Cultured fibroblasts derived from rat carrageenin granuloma were treated with bleomycin and the synthesis of hexosamine-containing substances was compared with that in control cells. Four day treatment with o.1 mug bleomycin/ml resulted in a significant increase of the production of these macromolecules by the cells, though DNA synthesis was remarkably inhibited at this dose of bleomycin. The stimulatory effect could be seen as early as the second day of bleomycin treatment, and was enhanced with increasing treatment time. Further fractionation of the hexosamine-containing substances revealed that synthesis of acidic glycosaminoglycans was more sensitive to bleomycin than that of glycoproteins, i.e., acidic glycosaminoglycans increased by 80% and glycoproteins by 53% after four day treatment with 0.1 mug bleomycin/ml. The increased components of acidic glycosaminoglycans included not only hyaluronic acid but also sulphated glycosaminoglycans. Collagen synthesis was increased by 23% by the same dose of bleomycin. N-Acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase, one of the degradation enzymes for acidic glycosaminoglycans released into the cultured medium, was decreased significantly by bleomycin.     

Metabolism of PG in man: Effect of furosemide on the excretion of the main metabolite of PG F2α

The excretion rates of main urinary metabolite of PG F₂α were measured radioimmunologically in 4 healthy persons and in 13 essential hypertensives. The resting values were 9.3±0.73 in the former and 10.4±2.17 ng/min in the latter. There was no significant differences between them. The excretion of the metabolite decresed prominently after the administration of furosemide. The percent decrease was 57% in healthy persons and 70% in essential hypertension. The percent result supports that furosemide inhibit the catabolism of PG F₂α.     

A case report of Turner's syndrome with ring X chromosome.

A case of Turner's syndrome with short stature and 45, XO/46, XXr mosaicism in chromosome study was presented. With special emphasis on endocrinological study, the size of the breasts was normal in contrast to the poor development of the breasts in most of types of Turner's syndrome. She showed normal thyroid function, slightly low level of urinary 17-OHCS, decreased 17-KS, poor response in metopirone test and poor response of HGH to insulin.     

Wnt3a upregulates transforming growth factor-β-stimulated VEGF synthesis in osteoblasts

It is recognized that Wnt3a affects bone metabolism via the canonical Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway. We have previously shown that transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) stimulates the synthesis of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) via p44/p42 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase, stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK)/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 MAP kinase in osteoblast-like MC3T3-E1 cells. In the present study, we investigated the effect of Wnt3a on TGF-β-stimulated VEGF synthesis in these cells. Wnt3a, which alone had little effect on the VEGF levels, significantly enhanced the TGF-β-stimulated VEGF release. Lithium chloride and SB216763, inhibitors of glycogen synthase kinase 3β, markedly amplified the TGF-β-stimulated VEGF release. Wnt3a failed to affect the TGF-β-induced phosphorylation of Smad2, p44/p42 MAP kinase, p38 MAP kinase or SAPK/JNK. Wnt3a and lithium chloride strengthened the VEGF mRNA expression induced by TGF-β. These results strongly suggest that Wnt3a upregulates VEGF synthesis stimulated by TGF-β via activation of the canonical pathway in osteoblasts.     

4-Hydroxy hexenal derived from dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids induces anti-oxidative enzyme heme oxygenase-1 in multiple organs

It has recently been reported that expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) plays a protective role against many diseases. Furthermore, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) were shown to induce HO-1 expression in several cells in vitro, and in a few cases also in vivo. However, very few reports have demonstrated that n-3 PUFAs induce HO-1 in vivo.     

Critical requirement for the membrane-proximal cytosolic tyrosine residue for CD28-mediated costimulation in vivo

The YMNM motif that exists in the CD28 cytoplasmic domain is known as a binding site for phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and Grb-2 and is considered to be important for CD28-mediated costimulation. To address the role of the YMNM motif in CD28 cosignaling in primary T cells, we generated transgenic mice on a CD28 null background that express a CD28 mutant lacking binding ability to phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and Grb-2. After anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 Ab stimulation in vitro, the initial proliferative response and IL-2 secretion in CD28 Y189F transgenic T cells were severely compromised, while later responses were intact. In contrast to anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 Ab stimulation, PMA and anti-CD28 Ab stimulation failed to induce IL-2 production from CD28 Y189F transgenic T cells at any time point. Using the graft-vs-host reaction system, we assessed the role of the YMNM motif for CD28-mediated costimulation in vivo and found that CD28 Y189F transgenic spleen cells failed to engraft and could not induce acute graft-vs-host reaction. Together, these results suggest that the membrane-proximal tyrosine of CD28 is required for costimulation in vivo. Furthermore, these results indicate that the results from in vitro assays of CD28-mediated costimulation may not always correlate with T cell activation in vivo.     

Effect of antithrombin III on glycoprotein Ib/IX/V activation in human platelets: Suppression of thromboxane A(2) generation

We have previously shown that ristocetin, an activator of glycoprotein Ib/IX/V, induces release of soluble CD40 (sCD40) ligand via thromboxane (TX) A(2) production from human platelets. In the present study, we investigated the effect of antithrombin-III (AT-III), an anticoagulant, on the ristocetin-induced glycoprotein Ib/IX/V activation in human platelets. AT-III inhibited ristocetin-stimulated platelet aggregation. The ristocetin-induced production of 11-dehydro-TXB(2), a stable metabolite of TXA(2), and the release of sCD40 ligand were suppressed by AT-III. AT-III also reduced the ristocetin-stimulated secretion of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-AB. AT-III failed to affect U46619-, a TXA(2) receptor agonist, induced levels of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation or sCD40 ligand release. AT-III reduced the binding of SZ2, a monoclonal antibody to the sulfated sequence in the α-chain of glycoprotein Ib, to the ristocetin-stimulated platelets. These results strongly suggest that AT-III reduced ristocetin-stimulated release of sCD40 ligand due to inhibiting TXA(2) production in human platelets.     

The changes in glycosylation after partial hepatectomy enhance collagen binding of vitronectin in plasma

Vitronectin is a multifunctional glycoprotein present in the extracellular matrix and plasma. Changes in rat vitronectin were studied during liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy. Carbohydrate concentrations of vitronectin decreased to 2/3 of sham-operated rats at 24 h after partial hepatectomy. Carbohydrate composition and lectin reactivity indicated that N-glycosylation and sialylation of vitronectin changed markedly after partial hepatectomy, while amino acid composition did not change significantly. We previously showed that deN-glycosylation of vitronectin in vitro affects collagen binding among various ligands (Yoneda et al., Biochemistry (1998) 37, 6351-6360). Vitronectins from partially hepatectomized rats at 24 h were found to exhibit markedly enhanced binding to type I collagen. The effect of sialylation on collagen binding was further examined using enzymatically deglycosylated vitronectin of nonoperated rats. Collagen binding increased by 1.2 times after deN-glycosylation of vitronectin, while it increased more than 2.9 times after desialylation. Various glycosyltransferases in liver are known to change after partial hepatectomy, including the attenuation of N-oligosaccharide transferase. The findings therefore suggest that the collagen binding of vitronectin is modulated by the alteration of peptide glycosylation caused by postoperative physiological changes of glycosyltransferases and that the change may contribute to tissue remodeling processes.     

Histologisch-entwicklungsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen an Mauthnerschen Zellen von Fischen

Zusammenfassung Die Mauthnerschen Zellen in der Medulla oblongata von 15 Fischarten wurden histologisch, histochemisch und entwicklungsgeschichtlich untersucht. Bei allen Spezies sind Mauthnersche Zellen ausgebildet, ausgenommen bei Anguilla japonica, Fugu rubipes, Mola mola und Ranzania laevis.Die Mauthnerschen Zellen sind durch ihre beachtliche Größe und durch zwei dicke laterale und ventrale Hauptdendriten, ferner ein dickes, markhaltiges Axon mit der sog. Axonkappe charakterisiert. Die präsynaptischen Faserverdickungen sind mit Silberimprägnation leicht darstellbar, werden aber auch durch die PJS- und Bauersche Reaktion deutlich hervorgehoben.Untersuchungen an Embryonen und Jungfischen von Salmo irideus ergaben, daß die Mauthnerschen Zellen schon am 7. Tag vor den Ausschlüpfen in der Anlage des Nucleus motorius tegmenti erkennbar sind. Bereits bei 23 bzw. 25 Tage alten Larven zeigen sie den für sie typischen Feinbau.Das Nichtvorhandensein der Mauthnerschen Zellen wird mit dem Fehlen einer Schwanzflosse bzw. mit deren geringer Motorik in Zusammenhang gebracht.Herrn emer. Prof. Dr. K. Shimada zum 80. Geburtstag gewidmet.