Apparatus for Bone Sectioning

A new type of apparatus for cutting 100-200µ sections of bone is described. This apparatus consists of an especially designed bone vise and a mounted circular saw with three directional movement controls. The saw is driven by one D.C. motor and its vertical movement assembly is driven by another. Their speeds can be regulated individually. The bone sections may be made serially at intervals of 0.3 to 0.5 mm. and bones as large as 2 cm. in diameter or longitudinal slabs of larger bones may be sectioned.     

Embedding and Sectioning Undecalcified Bone, and its Application to Radioautography

A method is described for embedding and sectioning hard, undecalcified bone, which is designed for use by technical personnel. Bone fixed in a variety of ways is progressed through alcohols to ether-alcohol and then infiltrated with ether-alcohol solvented plastic (plasticized nitrocellulose) by a combination of centrifugation and high pressure embedding technics. The ether-alcohol is evaporated in a partially closed container in a manner similar to that employed in celloidin embedding, but differs from the latter by the removal of all of the solvent. Celloidin is the source of nitrocellulose and Amoil-S, the added plasticizer. Undecalcified adult bone of all types is readily cut at a thickness of 5-8μ on a heavy duty sliding microtome. The sections are then mounted on gelatinized slides. The procedures for preparing strip film radio-autograms of bone sections and subsequent staining of the preparation are given. The results obtained are illustrated.     

Triglyceride (TG) down-regulates expression of MCP-1 and CCR2 in PMA-derived THP-1 macrophages

Triglycerides (TGs) are implicated in the development of atherosclerosis. A key contributing factor for atherosclerosis is the migration of macrophages to atherosclerotic lesions. MCP-1 is a major chemoattractant for macrophages to atherosclerotic lesions. We examined the expression profile of MCP-1 and CCR2 in THP-1 macrophages in response to TG treatment by RT-PCR analysis. Chemical inhibitors were used to identify cell signaling pathway(s) involved in regulation of MCP-1 and CCR2 expression. We found that treatment of THP-1 macrophages with TG down-regulated MCP-1 expression in a time and dose-dependent manner. PMA treatment alone did not affect MCP-1 expression. Using chemical inhibitors of cell signaling pathways, we found that the NF-κB inhibitor inhibited TG-induced down-regulation of MCP-1. CCR2 expression decreased after TG treatment in THP-1 macrophages and the PKC inhibitor alleviated TG-induced down-regulation of CCR2. Our results provide further insights into the role of TG on macrophages during atherosclerosis.     

Marine-Derived Aspergillus Species as a Source of Bioactive Secondary Metabolites

This report reviews biologically active secondary metabolites from marine-derived members of the fungal genus Aspergillus. Pharmacological activities and biological roles of the secondary metabolites from marine-derived Aspergillus spp. were addressed in respect of pharmaceutical potential.