Clinical application of Clostridium botulinum type A neurotoxin purified by a simple procedure for patients with urinary incontinence caused by refractory destrusor overactivity

Type A neurotoxin of Clostridium botulinum was purified by a simple procedure using a lactose gel column. This procedure was previously reported for type B neurotoxin. Hemagglutinin-positive toxins (19S and 16S) were bound to the column under acid conditions, and the neurotoxin alone was dissociated from these hemagglutinin-positive toxins by changing the pH of the column to an alkaline condition. The toxicity of this purified toxin preparation was retained for at least 1 year at -30 degrees C by supplementing it with either 0.1% albumin or 0.05% albumin plus 1% trehalose. This preparation was used to treat 18 patients with urinary incontinence caused by refractory idiopathic and neurogenic detrusor overactivity; 16 of the patients showed excellent improvement. Improvements started within 1 week after injection in most cases and lasted 3-12 months [corrected]     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rubus rosaefolius</Emphasis> Extract as a Natural Preservative Candidate in Topical Formulations

Even though the synthetic preservatives may offer a high antimicrobial efficacy, they are commonly related to adverse reactions and regarded as having potentially harmful effects caused by chronic consumption. The development of natural preservatives provides a way of reducing the amount of synthetic preservatives normally used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic preparations. In addition, these agents have less toxic effects and represent a possible natural and safer alternative of the preservatives. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the Rubus rosaefolius Smith extract efficiency as a natural preservative in base formulations. Of the extract, 0.2% (w/w) was assayed for its effectiveness of antimicrobial protection in two different base formulations (emulsion and gel). The microbial challenge test was performed following the standard procedures proposed by The United States Pharmacopoeia 33nd, European Pharmacopoeia 6th, Japanese Pharmacopoeia 15th, and the Cosmetics, Toiletries, and Fragrance Association using standardized microorganisms. The results demonstrated that R. rosaefolius extract at the studied concentration reduced the bacterial inocula, satisfying the criterion in all formulations, even though it was not able to present an effective preservative behavior against fungi. Thus, the investigation of new natural substances with preservative properties that could be applied in pharmaceutical and cosmetic products is relevant due to the possibility of substituting or decreasing the concentration of synthetic preservatives, providing a way for the development of safer formulas for the use of consumers.     

Hippocampal State-Dependent Behavioral Reflex to an Identical Sensory Input in Rats

We examined the local field potential of the hippocampus to monitor brain states during a conditional discrimination task, in order to elucidate the relationship between ongoing brain states and a conditioned motor reflex. Five 10-week-old Wistar/ST male rats underwent a serial feature positive conditional discrimination task in eyeblink conditioning using a preceding light stimulus as a conditional cue for reinforced trials. In this task, a 2-s light stimulus signaled that the following 350-ms tone (conditioned stimulus) was reinforced with a co-terminating 100-ms periorbital electrical shock. The interval between the end of conditional cue and the onset of the conditioned stimulus was 4±1 s. The conditioned stimulus was not reinforced when the light was not presented. Animals successfully utilized the light stimulus as a conditional cue to drive differential responses to the identical conditioned stimulus. We found that presentation of the conditional cue elicited hippocampal theta oscillations, which persisted during the interval of conditional cue and the conditioned stimulus. Moreover, expression of the conditioned response to the tone (conditioned stimulus) was correlated with the appearance of theta oscillations immediately before the conditioned stimulus. These data support hippocampal involvement in the network underlying a conditional discrimination task in eyeblink conditioning. They also suggest that the preceding hippocampal activity can determine information processing of the tone stimulus in the cerebellum and its associated circuits.     

Electrostatically constrained alpha-helical peptide inhibits replication of HIV-1 resistant to enfuvirtide

Alpha-helical peptides, such as T-20 (enfuvirtide) and C34, derived from the gp41 carboxyl-terminal heptad repeat (C-HR) of HIV-1, inhibit membrane fusion of HIV-1 and the target cells. Although T-20 effectively suppresses the replication of multi-drug resistant HIV variants both in vitro and in vivo, prolonged therapy with T-20 induces emergence of T-20 resistant variants. In order to suppress the emergence of such resistant variants, we introduced charged and hydrophilic amino acids, glutamic acid (E) and lysine (K), at the solvent accessible site of C34. In particular, the modified peptide, SC34EK, demonstrates remarkably potent inhibition of membrane fusion by the resistant HIV-1 variants as well as wild-type viruses. The activity was specific to HIV-1 and little influenced by serum components. We found a strong correlation between the anti-HIV-1 activities of these peptides and the thermostabilities of the 6-helix bundles that are formed with these peptides. We also obtained the crystal structure of SC34EK in complex with a 36 amino acid sequence (N36) comprising the amino-terminal heptad repeat of HIV-1. The EK substitutions in the sequence of SC34EK were directed toward the solvent and generated an electrostatic potential, which may result in enhanced alpha-helicity of the peptide inhibitor. The 6-helix bundle complex of SC34EK with N36 appears to be structurally similar to that of C34 and N36. Our approach to enhancing alpha-helicity of the peptide inhibitor may enable future design of highly effective and specific HIV-1 inhibitors.     

Indoor air microbiological evaluation of offices, hospitals, industries, and shopping centers

In this study it was compared the MAS-100 and the Andersen air samplers' performances and a similar trend in both instruments was observed. It was also evaluated the microbial contamination levels in 3060 samples of offices, hospitals, industries, and shopping centers, in the period of 1998 to 2002, in Rio de Janeiro city. Considering each environment, 94.3 to 99.4% of the samples were the allowed limit in Brazil (750 CFU/m3). The industries' results showed more important similarity among fungi and total heterotrophs distributions, with the majority of the results between zero and 100 CFU/m3. The offices' results showed dispersion around 300 CFU/m3. The hospitals' results presented the same trend, with an average of 200 CFU/m3. Shopping centers' environments showed an average of 300 CFU/m3 for fungi, but presented a larger dispersion pattern for the total heterotrophs, with the highest average (1000 CFU/m3). It was also investigated the correlation of the sampling period with the number of airborne microorganisms and with the environmental parameters (temperature and air humidity) through the principal components analysis. All indoor air samples distributions were very similar. The temperature and air humidity had no significant influence on the samples dispersion patterns.     

Induction and monitoring of definitive and visceral endoderm differentiation of mouse ES cells

Preparation of specific lineages at high purities from embryonic stem (ES) cells requires both selective culture conditions and markers to guide and monitor the differentiation. In this study, we distinguished definitive and visceral endoderm by using a mouse ES cell line that bears the gfp and human IL2R alpha (also known as CD25) marker genes in the goosecoid (Gsc) and Sox17 loci, respectively. This cell line allowed us to monitor the generation of Gsc+ Sox17+ definitive endoderm and Gsc- Sox17+ visceral endoderm and to define culture conditions that differentially induce definitive and visceral endoderm. By comparing the gene expression profiles of definitive and visceral endoderm, we identified seven surface molecules that are expressed differentially in the two populations. One of the seven markers, Cxcr4, to which a monoclonal antibody is available allowed us to monitor and purify the Gsc+ population from genetically unmanipulated ES cells under the condition that selects definitive endoderm.     

Identification of putative metabolites of docosahexaenoic acid as potent PPARgamma agonists and antidiabetic agents

We found that putative metabolites of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are strong PPARgamma activators and potential antidiabetic agents. We designed DHA derivatives based on the crystal structure of PPARgamma, synthesized them and evaluated their activities in vitro and in vivo. The efficacy of 5E-4-hydroxy-DHA 2a as a PPARgamma activator was about fourfold stronger than that of pioglitazone. Furthermore, the 4-keto derivative (10b) showed antidiabetic activity in animal models without producing undesirable effects such as obesity and hepatotoxicity.     

The RNA binding protein TLS is translocated to dendritic spines by mGluR5 activation and regulates spine morphology

Neuronal dendrites, together with dendritic spines, exhibit enormously diverse structure. Selective targeting and local translation of mRNAs in dendritic spines have been implicated in synapse remodeling or synaptic plasticity. The mechanism of mRNA transport to the postsynaptic site is a fundamental question in local dendritic translation. TLS (translocated in liposarcoma), previously identified as a component of hnRNP complexes, unexpectedly showed somatodendritic localization in mature hippocampal pyramidal neurons. In the present study, TLS was translocated to dendrites and was recruited to dendrites not only via microtubules but also via actin filaments. In mature hippocampal pyramidal neurons, TLS accumulated in the spines at excitatory postsynapses upon mGluR5 activation, which was accompanied by an increased RNA content in dendrites. Consistent with the in vitro studies, TLS-null hippocampal pyramidal neurons exhibited abnormal spine morphology and lower spine density. Our results indicate that TLS participates in mRNA sorting to the dendritic spines induced by mGluR5 activation and regulates spine morphology to stabilize the synaptic structure.     

Establishment of lymphotoxin beta receptor signaling-dependent cell lines with follicular dendritic cell phenotypes from mouse lymph nodes

Follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) have been shown to play a crucial role in the positive selection of high-affinity B cells that are generated by somatic hypermutation in germinal center (GC). Because of technical difficulties in preparing and maintaining pure FDCs, a role for FDCs in this complicated process has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we established a cell line designated as pFL that retained major FDC phenotypes from a three-dimensional culture of mouse lymph node cells. pFL cells proliferated slowly in response to an agonistic anti-lymphotoxin beta receptor mAb and TNF-alpha. A more rapidly growing clone, named FL-Y, with similar requirements for growth was isolated from a long-term culture of pFL. Analysis of surface markers in these two cell lines by immunostaining, flow cytometry, and DNA microarray revealed the expression of genes, including those of CD21, FcgammaRIIB, lymphotoxin beta receptor, ICAM-1, VCAM-1, IL-6, and C4, which have been shown to be characteristic of FDCs. In addition, B cell-activating factor was expressed in these two cell lines. At the pFL or FL-Y:B cell ratio of 1:100, the cell lines markedly sustained B cell survival and Ab production during 2 wk of culture, while most B cells collapsed within 1 wk in the absence of the FDC-like cells. Interestingly, expression of typical GC markers, Fas and GL-7, was notably augmented in B cells that were cocultured with Th cells on these two cell lines. Thus, pFL and FL-Y cells may be useful for providing insight into the functional role for FDCs in GC.