An anatomic atlas of the medulla oblongata of the adult goat.

An anatomic atlas of the goat brain stem was developed for use in studies that analyze medullary neuronal groups, and factors that influence variability in the location of neuronal groups were determined. The medullas of 31 adult goats (weight, 17-88 kg) were fixed, harvested, frozen, serially sectioned, stained with 0.5% neutral red, and examined with a light microscope. Obex, the point at which the central canal opens into the fourth ventricle, was taken as the zero reference point from which the rostrocaudal and mediolateral coordinates of medullary neuronal groups were determined, whereas dorsoventral coordinates were calculated from the medullary surface. Histological variations with goat body weight were quantified, and linear regression analysis provided adjustment factors for weight in all three dimensions. Similar analysis of percentage of shrinkage on fixation and processing provided adjustment factors for precise coordinates of medullary neuronal groups. For accurate location of neuronal groups, body weight and histological procedure should be taken into account. The present study provided adjustment factors for body weight and standard histological processing to locate most major medullary neuronal groups in the adult goat.     

Impaired actin filaments decrease cisplatin sensitivity via dysfunction of volume-sensitive Cl− channels in human epidermoid carcinoma cells

Cisplatin is a widely used platinum-based anticancer drug in the chemotherapy of numerous human cancers. However, cancer cells acquire resistance to cisplatin. So far, functional loss of volume-sensitive outwardly rectifying (VSOR) Cl⁻ channels has been reported to contribute to cisplatin resistance of cancer cells. Here, we analyzed protein expression patterns of human epidermoid carcinoma KB cells and its cisplatin-resistant KCP-4 cells. Intriguingly, KB cells exhibited higher β-actin expression and clearer actin filaments than KCP-4 cells. The β-actin knockdown in KB cells decreased VSOR Cl⁻ currents and inhibited the regulatory volume decrease (RVD) process after cell swelling. Consistently, KB cells treated with cytochalasin D, which depolymerizes actin filaments, showed smaller VSOR Cl⁻ currents and slower RVD. Cytochalasin D also inhibited cisplatin-triggered apoptosis in KB cells. These results suggest that the disruption of actin filaments cause the dysfunction of VSOR Cl⁻ channels, which elicits resistance to cisplatin in human epidermoid carcinoma cells.     

Chromate-resistance in a chromate-reducing strain of Enterobacter cloacae

Resistance to toxic hexavalent chromium (chromate: CrO4(2)) in Enterobacter cloacae strain HO1, isolated from an activated sludge sample, was investigated under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Decreased uptake of 51CrO4(2-) in E. cloacae strain HO1 was observed under aerobic conditions, when compared with a standard laboratory E. cloacae strain (IAM 1624). Under anaerobic conditions E. cloacae strain HO1 was able to reduce hexavalent chromium to the less toxic trivalent form. When E. clocacae strain HO1 was grown with nitrate anaerobically, the cells were observed to lose simultaneously their chromate-reducing ability and chromate-resistance under anaerobic conditions.