Surgical and Molecular Evaluation of Pediatric Hydatid Cyst Cases in Eastern Turkey

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) caused by Echinococcus granulosus is a major public health problem worldwide, including Turkey. The aim of the current study was to identify the strains and to estimate the potential risk factors of E. granulosus in operated pediatric cases in eastern Turkey. Ten pediatric patients (7 boys and 3 girls) living in rural areas, with ages ranging from 3 to 15 years old and various clinical histories, were included in this study. Eight patients had only liver hydatid cyst, while 1 patient had liver and lung hydatid cyst and the other liver, lung, and spleen, together. There were 2 ruptured liver cysts. After surgery, during follow-up, no increase was observed in hemagglutination levels, there were no mortalities, and there was no evidence of recurrence at 2 years post operation in all patients. Molecular analysis was performed on hydatid cyst samples obtained from the 10 pediatric cases. According to mt-12S rRNA PCR results, all cases were found to be G1/G3 cluster of E. granulosus sensu stricto.     

Insulin-Like Growth Factor I Receptor Binding in Brains of Alzheimer''s and Alcoholic Patients

Patients with chronic alcoholism and/or Alzheimer's disease show degenerative changes in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. To investigate possible changes in insulin-like growth factor I receptor binding sites in brain tissue of patients with these pathological conditions, the number of 125I-insulin-like growth factor I binding sites was determined in tissues obtained from control patients and those with Alzheimer's and/or with a history of alcoholism. The four experimental groups examined consisted of patients from similar age groups. Postmortem histology and a clinical history were used for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and alcoholism, respectively. Careful clinical records were kept concerning other variables such as immediate cause of death and medications administered before death. Specific binding of 125I-insulin-like growth factor I to homogenates prepared from cerebral cortex of Alzheimer's, alcoholic, alcoholic Alzheimer's, and age-matched control patients was similar, although Alzheimer's patients tended to have slightly higher binding values. No significant differences in insulin-like growth factor I binding in cerebral cortex were found with regard to age of patients, the interval between death and autopsy, and CNS-active medications. No statistical differences in 125I-insulin-like growth factor I binding were noted in hippocampal tissue from the four patient groups. Thus, human insulin-like growth factor I binding sites in cerebral cortex and hippocampus appear unaffected by several variables.     

Characterization of Prenylated C-terminal Peptides Using a Thiopropyl-based Capture Technique and LC-MS/MS

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Highlights

• •Brain membrane protein extraction.
• •Protein prenylation.
• •Prenyl peptide capture and characterization by LC-MS/MS.
• •HCD and EThcD peptide fragmentation.

     

Long-term treatment with fluoxetine induces desensitization of 5-HT4 receptor-dependent signalling and functionality in rat brain

The mode of action of antidepressant drugs may be related to mechanisms of monoamines receptor adaptation, including serotonin 5-HT₄ receptor subtypes. Here we investigated the effects of repeated treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine for 21 days (5 and 10 mg/kg, p.o., once daily) on the sensitivity of 5-HT₄ receptors by using receptor autoradiography, adenylate cyclase assays and extracellular recording techniques in rat brain. Fluoxetine treatment decreased the density of 5-HT₄ receptor binding in the CA1 field of hippocampus as well as in several areas of the striatum over the doses of 5–10 mg/kg. In a similar way, we found a significant lower response to zacopride-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity in the fluoxetine 10 mg/kg/day treated group. Furthermore, post-synaptic 5-HT₄ receptor activity in hippocampus-measured as the excitatory action of zacopride in the pyramidal cells of CA1 evoked by Schaffer collateral stimulation was attenuated in rats treated with both doses of fluoxetine. Taken together, these results support the concept that a net decrease in the signalization pathway of 5-HT₄ receptors occurs after chronic selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment: this effect may underlie the therapeutic efficacy of these drugs.     

Hyperosmolarity enhanced susceptibility to renal tubular fibrosis by modulating catabolism of type I transforming growth factor‐β receptors

Hyperosmolarity plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of diabetic tubular fibrosis. However, the mechanism of the involvement of hyperosmolarity remains unclear. In this study, mannitol was used to evaluate the effects of hyperosmolarity on a renal distal tubule cell line (MDCK). We investigated transforming growth factor‐β receptors and their downstream fibrogenic signal proteins. We show that hyperosmolarity significantly enhances the susceptibility to exogenous transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β1, as mannitol (27.5 mM) significantly enhanced the TGF‐β1‐induced increase in fibronectin levels compared with control experiments (5.5 mM). Specifically, hyperosmolarity induced tyrosine phosphorylation on TGF‐β RII at 336 residues in a time (0–24 h) and dose (5.5–38.5 mM) dependent manner. In addition, hyperosmolarity increased the level of TGF‐β RI in a dose‐ and time‐course dependent manner. These observations may be closely related to decreased catabolism of TGF‐β RI. Hyperosmolarity significantly downregulated the expression of an inhibitory Smad (Smad7), decreased the level of Smurf 1, and reduced ubiquitination of TGF‐β RI. In addition, through the use of cycloheximide and the proteasome inhibitor MG132, we showed that hyperosmolarity significantly increased the half‐life and inhibited the protein level of TGF‐β RI by polyubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Taken together, our data suggest that hyperosmolarity enhances cellular susceptibility to renal tubular fibrosis by activating the Smad7 pathway and increasing the stability of type I TGF‐β receptors by retarding proteasomal degradation of TGF‐β RI. This study clarifies the mechanism underlying hyperosmotic‐induced renal fibrosis in renal distal tubule cells. J. Cell. Biochem. 109: 663–671, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Variation of cytosine methylation in response to water availability in two contrasting growth types of an amphibious plant Alternanthera philoxeroides

We used methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphisms (MSAP) to examine the alterations of cytosine methylation in two contrasting growth types of an amphibious plant Alternanthera philoxeroides in response to change of water availability. Using 34 pairs of selective primer combinations, we amplified 1026 and 1128 clear and reproducible bands in root and leaf of A. philoxeroides, respectively. When the aquatic types of plants were transplanted into drought culture, we found a decrease in the overall DNA methylation. When the terrestrial types of plants were transferred into flood culture, we detected a higher frequency of methylation than demethylation events. Alterations of DNA methylation were more evident in root than in leaf in response to change of water availability. When the confounding effects of variable environmental factors were removed, differences of cytosine methylation profiles were observed between two growth types of plants under common growth conditions.