Sex hormone-binding globulin and thrombin generation in women using hormonal contraception

Objectives: We investigated the impact of serum sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) on thrombin generation (TG) in women according to hormonal contraception.

Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study of SHBG and TG measured via calibrated automated thrombography was conducted in 150 healthy women, including 75 users of combined oral contraceptives (COC), 22 users of progestin-only contraceptives (POC) and 53 nonusers.

Results: COC but not POC-users had significantly higher SHBG levels compared with nonusers. In hormonal contraceptive users, SHBG was positively associated with both activated protein C (APC) resistance and baseline TG, and protein S and prothrombin were important mediators.

Conclusion: These data provide further evidence that SHBG may be used as a biomarker in assessing prothrombotic profile of hormonal contraception.     

Right and left ventricular adaptation to hypoxia: a tissue Doppler imaging study

Hypoxia has been reported to alter left ventricular (LV) diastolic function, but associated changes in right ventricular (RV) systolic and diastolic function remain incompletely documented. We used echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging to investigate the effects on RV and LV function of 90 min of hypoxic breathing (fraction of inspired O(2) of 0.12) compared with those of dobutamine to reproduce the same heart rate effects without change in pulmonary vascular tone in 25 healthy volunteers. Hypoxia and dobutamine increased cardiac output and tricuspid regurgitation velocity. Hypoxia and dobutamine increased LV ejection fraction, isovolumic contraction wave velocity (ICV), acceleration (ICA), and systolic ejection wave velocity (S) at the mitral annulus, indicating increased LV systolic function. Dobutamine had similar effects on RV indexes of systolic function. Hypoxia did not change RV area shortening fraction, tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, ICV, ICA, and S at the tricuspid annulus. Regional longitudinal wall motion analysis revealed that S, systolic strain, and strain rate were not affected by hypoxia and increased by dobutamine on the RV free wall and interventricular septum but increased by both dobutamine and hypoxia on the LV lateral wall. Hypoxia increased the isovolumic relaxation time related to RR interval (IRT/RR) at both annuli, delayed the onset of the E wave at the tricuspid annulus, and decreased the mitral and tricuspid inflow and annuli E/A ratio. We conclude that hypoxia in normal subjects is associated with altered diastolic function of both ventricles, improved LV systolic function, and preserved RV systolic function.     

Proposed involvement of adipocyte glyceroneogenesis and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase in the metabolic syndrome

Elevated concentration of plasma non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) is now recognized as a key factor in the onset of insulin-resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. During fasting, circulating NEFAs arise from white adipose tissue (WAT) as a consequence of lipolysis from stored triacylglycerols. However, a significant part of these FAs (30-70%) is re-esterified within the adipocyte, so that a recycling occurs and net FA output is much less than < true > lipolysis. Indeed, a balance between two antagonistic processes, lipolysis and FA re-esterification, controls the rate of net FA release from WAT. During fasting, re-esterification requires glyceroneogenesis defined as the de novo synthesis of glycerol-3-P from pyruvate, lactate or certain amino acids. The key enzyme in this process is the cytosolic isoform of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK-C; EC 4.1.1.32). Recent advance has stressed the role of glyceroneogenesis and of PEPCK-C in FA release from WAT. Results indicate that glyceroneogenesis is indeed important to lipid homeostasis and that a disregulation in this pathway may have profound pathophysiological effects. The present review focuses on the regulation of glyceroneogenesis and of PEPCK-C gene expression and activity by FAs, retinoic acids, glucocorticoids and the hypolipidemic class of drugs, thiazolidinediones.     

Novel C2-C3' N-peptide linked macrocyclic taxoids. Part 1: Synthesis and biological activities of docetaxel analogues with a peptide side chain at C3'

A series of novel docetaxel analogues possessing a peptide side chain at the C3'-N position was synthesized. These compounds were designed to mimic a region of the alpha-tubulin loop that is equivalent to the paclitaxel binding pocket in beta-tubulin. Eight new peptidic taxoids were obtained and evaluated as inhibitors of microtubule disassembly, as well as for their cytotoxicity.     

Early self-regulatory mechanisms control the magnitude of CD8+ T cell responses against liver stages of murine malaria

Following immunization with Plasmodium yoelii sporozoites, the CD8(+) T cell population specific for the SYVPSAEQI epitope expressed in sporozoite and liver stages of this malaria parasite revealed the existence of a short term Ag presentation process that translated into a single clonal burst. Further expansion of this CD8(+) T cell population in conditions of sustained Ag exposure and additional supply of naive cells was inhibited by regulatory mechanisms that were developed as early as 24-48 h after priming. Studies using mouse models for Plasmodium or influenza virus infections revealed that this mechanism is Ag specific and is mediated by activated CD8(+) T cells that inhibit the priming of naive cells. This interference of the priming of naive cells appeared to result from limited access to Ag-presenting dendritic cells, which become disabled or are eliminated after contact with activated cells. Thus, concomitantly with the development of their effector antimicrobial capacity, CD8(+) T cells also acquire a self-regulatory role that is likely to represent one of the earliest mechanisms induced in the course of an immune response and that limits the magnitude of the early expansion of CD8(+) T lymphocytes reactive to microorganisms.     

Rab27A and its effector MyRIP link secretory granules to F-actin and control their motion towards release sites

The GTPase Rab27A interacts with myosin-VIIa and myosin-Va via MyRIP or melanophilin and mediates melanosome binding to actin. Here we show that Rab27A and MyRIP are associated with secretory granules (SGs) in adrenal chromaffin cells and PC12 cells. Overexpression of Rab27A, GTPase-deficient Rab27A-Q78L, or MyRIP reduced secretory responses of PC12 cells. Amperometric recordings of single adrenal chromaffin cells revealed that Rab27A-Q78L and MyRIP reduced the sustained component of release. Moreover, these effects on secretion were partly suppressed by the actin-depolymerizing drug latrunculin but strengthened by jasplakinolide, which stabilizes the actin cortex. Finally, MyRIP and Rab27A-Q78L restricted the motion of SGs in the subplasmalemmal region of PC12 cells, as measured by evanescent-wave fluorescence microscopy. In contrast, the Rab27A-binding domain of MyRIP and a MyRIP construct that interacts with myosin-Va but not with actin increased the mobility of SGs. We propose that Rab27A and MyRIP link SGs to F-actin and control their motion toward release sites through the actin cortex.     

Functional divergence between histone deacetylases in fission yeast by distinct cellular localization and in vivo specificity

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are important for gene regulation and the maintenance of heterochromatin in eukaryotes. Schizosaccharomyces pombe was used as a model system to investigate the functional divergence within this conserved enzyme family. S. pombe has three HDACs encoded by the hda1(+), clr3(+), and clr6(+) genes. Strains mutated in these genes have previously been shown to display strikingly different phenotypes when assayed for viability, chromosome loss, and silencing. Here, conserved differences in the substrate binding pocket identify Clr6 and Hda1 as class I HDACs, while Clr3 belongs in the class II family. Furthermore, these HDACs were shown to have strikingly different subcellular localization patterns. Hda1 was localized to the cytoplasm, while most of Clr3 resided throughout the nucleus. Finally, Clr6 was localized exclusively on the chromosomes in a spotted pattern. Interestingly, Clr3, the only HDAC present in the nucleolus, was required for ribosomal DNA (rDNA) silencing. Clr3 presumably acts directly on heterochromatin, since it colocalized with the centromere, mating-type region, and rDNA as visualized by in situ hybridization. In addition, Clr3 could be cross-linked to mat3 in chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments. Western analysis of bulk histone preparations indicated that Hda1 (class I) had a generally low level of activity in vivo and Clr6 (class I) had a high level of activity and broad in vivo substrate specificity, whereas Clr3 (class II) displayed its main activity on acetylated lysine 14 of histone H3. Thus, the distinct functions of the S. pombe HDACs are likely explained by their distinct cellular localization and their different in vivo specificities.