Protective effect of l-carnitine against acrylamide-induced DNA damage in somatic and germ cells of mice

Recent findings of acrylamide (AA) in many common foods have sparked renewed interest in assessing human health hazards. AA was evaluated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as probably carcinogenic to humans. For this reason, the aim of this study is to evaluate the potential genotoxic effect of AA using chromosomal aberration analysis and micronucleus (MN) test in mouse bone-marrow cells and morphological sperm abnormalities. The result of the present work indicated that treatment with a single dose of 10, 20, or 30 mg/kg b.wt. of AA for 24 h and the repeated dose of 10 mg/kg b.wt. for 1and 2 weeks induced a statistically significant increase in the percentage of chromosomal aberrations and micronuclei in bone- marrow cells. These percentages reduced significantly in all groups treated with AA and the protective agent l-carnitine. Also the results indicated that the dose 10, 20 and 30 mg/kg b.wt. of AA induced a statistically significant percentage of morphological sperm abnormalities compared with the control group. Such effect reached its maximum (7.24 ± 0.61) with the highest tested dose which reduced to (4.02 ± 0.58) in the group treated with the same dose of AA and l-carnitine. In conclusion, the results confirm the protective role of LC against the mutagenicity of AA.     

Human models of acute lung injury

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a syndrome that is characterised by acute inflammation and tissue injury that affects normal gas exchange in the lungs. Hallmarks of ALI include dysfunction of the alveolar-capillary membrane resulting in increased vascular permeability, an influx of inflammatory cells into the lung and a local pro-coagulant state. Patients with ALI present with severe hypoxaemia and radiological evidence of bilateral pulmonary oedema. The syndrome has a mortality rate of approximately 35% and usually requires invasive mechanical ventilation. ALI can follow direct pulmonary insults, such as pneumonia, or occur indirectly as a result of blood-borne insults, commonly severe bacterial sepsis. Although animal models of ALI have been developed, none of them fully recapitulate the human disease. The differences between the human syndrome and the phenotype observed in animal models might, in part, explain why interventions that are successful in models have failed to translate into novel therapies. Improved animal models and the development of human in vivo and ex vivo models are therefore required. In this article, we consider the clinical features of ALI, discuss the limitations of current animal models and highlight how emerging human models of ALI might help to answer outstanding questions about this syndrome.     

Productive replication and evolution of HIV-1 in ferret cells

A rodent or other small animal model for HIV-1 has not been forthcoming, with the principal obstacles being species-specific restriction mechanisms and deficits in HIV-1 dependency factors. Some Carnivorans may harbor comparatively fewer impediments. For example, in contrast to mice, the domestic cat genome encodes essential nonreceptor HIV-1 dependency factors. All Feliformia species and at least one Caniformia species also lack a major lentiviral restriction mechanism (TRIM5α/TRIMCyp proteins). Here we investigated cells from two species in another carnivore family, the Mustelidae, for permissiveness to the HIV-1 life cycle. Mustela putorius furo (domesticated ferret) primary cells and cell lines did not restrict HIV-1, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), or N-tropic murine leukemia virus (MLV) postentry and supported late HIV-1 life cycle steps comparably to human cells. The ferret TRIM5α gene exon 8, which encodes the B30.2 domain, was found to be pseudogenized. Strikingly, ferret (but not mink) cells engineered to express human HIV-1 entry receptors supported productive spreading replication, amplification, and serial passage of wild-type HIV-1. Nevertheless, produced virions had relatively reduced infectivity and the virus accrued G→A hypermutations, consistent with APOBEC3 protein pressure. Ferret cell-passaged HIV-1 also evolved amino acid changes in the capsid cyclophilin A binding loop. We conclude that the genome of this carnivore can provide essential nonreceptor HIV-1 dependency factors and that ferret APOBEC3 proteins with activity against HIV-1 are likely. Even so, unlike in cat cells, HIV-1 can replicate in ferret cells without vif substitution. The virus evolves in this novel nonprimate cell adaptive landscape. We suggest that further characterization of HIV-1 adaptation in ferret cells and delineation of Mustelidae restriction factor repertoires are warranted, with a view to the potential for an HIV-1 animal model.     

Zygospore formation between homothallic and heterothallic strains of Closterium

Zygospore formation in different strains of the Closterium peracerosum-strigosum-littorale complex was examined in this unicellular isogamous charophycean alga to shed light on gametic mating strains in this taxon, which is believed to share a close phylogenetic relationship with land plants. Zygospores typically form as a result of conjugation between mating-type plus (mt⁺) and mating-type minus (mt⁻) cells during sexual reproduction in the heterothallic strain, similar to Chlamydomonas. However, within clonal cells, zygospores are formed within homothallic strains, and the majority of these zygospores originate as a result of conjugation of two recently divided sister gametangial cells derived from one vegetative cell. In this study, we analyzed conjugation of homothallic cells in the presence of phylogenetically closely related heterothallic cells to characterize the reproductive function of homothallic sister gametangial cells. The relative ratio of non-sister zygospores to sister zygospores increased in the presence of heterothallic mt⁺ cells, compared with that in the homothallic strain alone and in a coculture with mt⁻ cells. Heterothallic cells were surface labeled with calcofluor white, permitting fusions with homothallic cells to be identified and confirming the formation of hybrid zygospores between the homothallic cells and heterothallic mt⁺ cells. These results show that at least some of the homothallic gametangial cells possess heterothallic mt⁻-like characters. This finding supports speculation that division of one vegetative cell into two sister gametangial cells is a segregative process capable of producing complementary mating types.     

Primary malignant non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the breast: a study of seven cases and literature review

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Primary breast lymphoma is an uncommon disease with poor clinical outcome. Breast lymphomas present less than 0.5% of malignant breast neoplasms and 2.2% of extranodal lymphomas. This study investigated the clinicopathological features and optimal treatment of PBL. Case presentations Clinical records of seven Moroccan PBL patients, treated at the National Institute of Oncology, Rabat, Morocco, from 2002 to 2010, were reviewed. Six of the patients were women and one a man, with ages ranging from 32 to 76. Five patients had stage IE and two stage IIE. All of the patients were classified with DLBCL. Of seven patients, one received a mastectomy and three excision of the breast lesion. Axillary dissection was performed in three patients. Two patients received chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy, while four received chemotherapy alone. Complete remission (CR) following primary treatment for all patients with PBL except in two cases was obtained. In one patient, recurrence occurred. CONCLUSIONS: There is no consensus on the question of how to best treat PBL: Mastectomy offers no benefit in the treatment of PBL. The combined therapy approach, with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, is the most successful treatment. PBL is poorly represented in rituximab-containing trials in DLBCL patients; there is not much experience with this agent in breast DLBCL. Because of the high incidence of central nervous system (CNS) involvement in PBL patients, many authors strongly believe that patients with aggressive forms of PBL should receive CNS infiltration prophylaxis.     

Diversity of cyanobacteria and algae of urban gravel pit lakes in Bratislava,Slovakia: a survey

Hydrobiologia - This paper presents data on the diversity of cyanobacteria and algae of nine gravel pit lakes situated within the city boundaries of Bratislava, W Slovakia. During more than 30...     

Use of Taguchi's methods as a basis to optimize hybridoma cell line growth and antibody production in a spinner flask

Taguchi’s methods were used for the design of an experimental strategy aimed at optimizing cell density and monoclonal antibody (mAb) production from a spinner flask hybridoma culture. 23G11 is an antibody to the human leukocyte adhesion molecule, CR3 or β 2 integrin (CD11b/CD18). It recognizes specifically the A-domain of the α subunit CD11b. Anti β 2 integrin monoclonal antibodies hold a great potential for preventing inflammation mediated tissue injuries. An L8 orthogonal experimental design was used to investigate four different culture components: stirring speed, nature of serum, concentration of serum and nature of media (RPMI 1640 or RPMI 1640 supplemented with glucose and glutamine). The experiments were conducted using two levels for each factor studied and a direct ELISA test was used to estimate the level of antibody production. Statistical analysis of the collected data pointed to the stirring speed and serum concentration, and the interaction between these parameters, as the components that affected cell growth. Antibody production was affected by these factors and by the nature of medium but also by the following two interactions: stirring speed/nature of serum and stirring speed/concentration of serum. This study emphasizes the value of using Taguchi’s methods as a basis for optimization of mAb production from a hybridoma culture, in cost effective and significantly less labor intensive ways. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.