UPTAKE BY AND FATE OF LYSOZYME IN ROOTS OF IASIONE MONTANA (CAMPANULACEAE)

A basic protein, lysozyme, labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate, is readily taken up by roots of lasione montana. Most of the protein taken up is tightly bound to cell walls of the roots. Fluorescent protein is diluted in the growing region of a root as cells elongate and divide. Fluorescence remains in mature nongrowing regions and root cap cells for one to two weeks. Redistribution and translocation of the protein within the root is minimal or nil. A layer of chloroform-soluble material that prevents lysozyme from interacting with stem cell walls exposed to fluorescent lysozyme was found on stems of germinating Iasione montana.     

The immunoelectronmicroscopic localization of human platelet factor 4 in tissue mast cells

Initial immunohistochemical localization of human platelet factor 4 (PF4) in tissue mast cells suggested that the protein was present in the mast cell granule. It was proposed that this could reflect binding of PF4 to heparin or heparan sulphate, known granule constituents. We report here the confirmation of granule localization by an immunoelectron microscopical method. The possible role of such binding is unknown, but the potential for cationic proteins of platelet origin interacting with vessel wall constituents is discussed.     

Cutaneous malignant melanoma in Scotland: incidence,survival, and mortality, 1979-94. The Scottish Melanoma Group.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the changing incidence of and mortality from cutaneous malignant melanoma in Scotland from 1979 to 1994. DESIGN: Detailed registration of clinical and pathological features, surgical and other treatment, and follow up of all cases of cutaneous malignant melanoma diagnosed from 1979 to 1994 and registered with specialist database for Scotland. SETTING: Scotland. SUBJECTS: 6288 patients with invasive primary cutaneous malignant melanoma diagnosed between 1 January 1979 and 31 December 1994. RESULTS: The annual age standardised incidence of cutaneous malignant melanoma rose significantly from 3.5 to 7.8 per 100,000 per year in men and from 6.8 to 12.3 per 100,000 per year in women (P < 0.001 for both). World standardised rates increased from 2.7 to 6.0 per 100,000 per year in men and 4.6 to 8.50 per 100,000 in women. The incidence of melanoma continued to increase significantly in men of all ages during the study, but the rate stabilised in women after 1986. Mortality from cutaneous malignant melanoma was 1.3 per million per annum in men in 1979, rising to 2.3 per million per annum in 1994 (P < 0.01); it was 2.4 per million per annum in women in 1979, falling to 1.9 per million per annum in 1994 (P = 0.09). The underlying mortality trends showed a continuing rise for men but a downward trend for women that was not significant (P = 0.09). In men, melanoma free survival was 69% at 5 years and 61% at 10 years; in women the corresponding rates were 82% and 75%. Younger patients had higher survival rates, which were not entirely explained by thinner tumours. Over the 15 year period, survival rates improved by 12% overall, only partly owing to thinner tumours. CONCLUSIONS: In Scotland the incidence of melanoma in women has stabilised, while mortality associated with melanoma in women shows a downward trend.     

Effect of praziquantel on the migration and survival of developmental stages of Schistosoma mansoni in mice

Compressed organ autoradiography has been used to determine whether the anthelmintic drug praziquantel (Pzq) modifies the migration of isotopically labelled Schistosoma mansoni during the first 16 days of infection in CBA/Ca mice. The mice were treated with 500 mg kg-1 body weight of the drug on day 1 or day 6. Treatment caused a marked delay in parasite migration from the skin when the drug was administered intradermally at the site of infection on day 1; migration from the lungs was also delayed after such treatment. Pzq injected either intradermally on day 1 or intramuscularly on day 6 effectively reduced the number of parasites that finally arrived in the lungs and the livers by 41 and 47%, respectively. Intramuscular administration of the drug on day 1 had a negligible effect. Worm recoveries assessed on day 38 by perfusion of the hepatic portal system were greatly reduced when Pzq was administered on day 14. The worms proved less susceptible when the drug was administered on day 21 and were completely resistant following drug delivery on day 28. The influence of drug preparation and route of delivery on parasite migration and survival are discussed.