A pilot study of iron depletion as adjuvant therapy in chronic hepatitis C patients not responding to interferon.

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of iron depletion obtained by phlebotomy to enhance interferon response in 11 patients who had failed to respond to a standard 3-month interferon treatment. Despite a significant effect on serum aminotransferase levels, there was no effect on viremia, and iron depletion was unable to trigger interferon response.

Differential regulation of killer cell Ig-like receptors and CD94 lectin-like dimers on NK and T lymphocytes from HIV-1-infected individuals.

NK and T lymphocytes share various cell surface receptors, including NK receptors for MHC class I molecules (NKR). NKR include killer cell Ig-like receptors (KIR) and lectin-like dimers which are composed of the invariant CD94 associated with a variety of NKG2 molecules. The combination of KIR and CD94/NKG2 dimers expressed on NK and T cell subsets defines a repertoire of MHC class I recognition.

Molecular cloning of a lipolysis-stimulated remnant receptor expressed in the liver.

The lipolysis-stimulated receptor (LSR) is a lipoprotein receptor primarily expressed in the liver and activated by free fatty acids. Antibodies inhibiting LSR functions showed that the receptor is a heterotrimer or tetramer consisting of 68-kDa (alpha) and 56-kDa (beta) subunits associated through disulfide bridges. Screening of expression libraries with these antibodies led to identification of mRNAs derived by alternate splicing from a single gene and coding for proteins with molecular masses matching that of LSR alpha and beta.

Effects of locus coeruleus stimulation on the responses of SI neurons of the rat to controlled natural and electrical stimulation of the skin.

1. The effects of microstimulation of the locus coeruleus (LC) region on the spontaneous discharge and the response of SI neurons to natural and electrical stimulation of the skin have been investigated in 26 urethane anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats. In particular, one or two air puffs, 5-10 msec in duration, 1-2 psi, usually separated by an interval of 40 msec, were applied on the hairy skin of the wrist or the forepaw at the presentation rate of 1/sec.

Six-hour trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole-graded challenge in HIV-infected patients.

Background: Hypersensitivity reactions to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) are very common in HIV-infected patients, leading to drug discontinuation. However, it is the drug of choice as prophylaxis for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

Objectives: We sought to determine the safety and long-term efficacy of a 6-hour TMP-SMX-graded challenge in a group of hypersensitive HIV-infected patients.

Effect of weight change and metformin on fibrinolysis and the von Willebrand factor in obese nondiabetic subjects: the BIGPRO1 Study. Biguanides and the Prevention of the Risk of Obesity.

Objective: Insulin resistance is associated with hypofibrinolysis. Metformin has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and fibrinolysis. Its action on fibrinolysis and the von Willebrand factor was evaluated in the Biguanides and the Prevention of the Risk of Obesity (BIGPRO)1 trial in nondiabetic men (n = 151) and women (n = 306) aged between 34 and 65 years with a central fat distribution and a mean BMI of 32.

An inhibitor of HIV-1 protease modulates proteasome activity, antigen presentation, and T cell responses.

Inhibitors of the protease of HIV-1 have been used successfully for the treatment of HIV-1-infected patients and AIDS disease. We tested whether these protease inhibitory drugs exerted effects in addition to their antiviral activity. Here, we show in mice infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus and treated with the HIV-1 protease inhibitor ritonavir a marked inhibition of antiviral cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity and impaired major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted epitope presentation in the absence of direct effects on lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus replication.

[Epidemiology of hepatitis C virus infection in 1,304 HCV positive patients: variations according to the origin of transmission and year of diagnosis].

Unlabelled: The evolution of epidemiological data on hepatitis C virus infection is poorly documented and thus the impact of screening is difficult to evaluate.

Aim: To study epidemiological variations based on the origin of transmission and the year of diagnosis of hepatitis C virus infection.

Methods: The files of all 1304 patients seen in the hepatology unit of the Rennes University Hospital were analyzed (retrospectively before and prospectively after October 1995) in relation to epidemiological features.

Effect of siderophores, catecholamines, and catechol compounds on Listeria spp. Growth in iron-complexed medium.

Almost all bacteria require iron for growth and virulence expression. However, Listeria spp. do not produce any siderophore for iron acquisition.

Effects of human recombinant, plasma-derived and porcine von Willebrand factor in pigs with severe von Willebrand disease.

The effects of the infusion of a human recombinant von Willebrand factor (vWF) preparation in pigs homozygous for von Willebrand disease (vWD) were evaluated on serial measurements of von Willebrand factor antigen and activity, FVIII activity, vWF multimer analysis, in-vivo bleeding time and platelet adhesion and thrombus formation on collagen at high shear rates in an ex-vivo model of experimental thrombosis. Plasma-derived human and porcine vWF were used for comparison. Before infusion, the pigs were characterized by undetectable plasma vWF levels, a low level of FVIII, prolonged bleeding time, severely impaired platelet adhesion and thrombus formation.

Single blood donor exposure programme for preterm infants: a large open study and an analysis of the risk factors to multiple donor exposure.

Unlabelled: As the need for blood transfusions of very preterm infants remains considerable, various strategies are considered to minimize exposure to multiple blood donors along with blood wastage. In a large population of very preterm infants born between 24 and 31 weeks' gestation, we undertook an open study to assess the efficacy of a single blood donor exposure programme and to determine, among the population enrolled in this programme, the risk factors for exposure to multiple donors. One hundred and forty-two neonates were included in a single donor exposure programme with a 35-day expiry date blood unit.

Chemically induced mutations in mitochondrial DNA of human cells: mutational spectrum of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine.

We have observed a reproducible mitochondrial mutational spectrum in the MT1 human lymphoblastoid line treated with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG). The MNNG spectrum was distinct from the spontaneous mutational spectrum. However, our ability to observe MNNG-induced mitochondrial mutations above the high level of accumulated spontaneous mutations was dependent on the MT1 phenotype.

Role of plasma and platelet von Willebrand factor in arterial thrombogenesis and hemostasis in the pig.

To evaluate the relative role of plasma and platelet von Willebrand factor (vWF) pools in hemostasis and arterial thrombogenesis, pigs with vW disease (vWD) were injected with vWF concentrate and/or grafted with bone marrow from a normal pig. Hemostasis was assessed by measurement of ear immersion bleeding time, factor VIII (FVIII) activity, and plasma and platelet vWF antigen levels. The thrombotic process was explored at 650 s(-1) and 1600 s(-1) in an ex vivo cylindrical perfusion chamber.

Neck influences on the spatial properties of vestibulospinal reflexes in decerebrate cats: role of the cerebellar anterior vermis.

The vestibulospinal (VS) reflexes elicited by animal rotation modify the activity of limb musculature, thus preserving balance and postural stability. We investigated whether the orientation of these postural responses is strictly dependent upon the direction of head displacement or else can be modified by extralabyrinthine inputs to the goal of stabilizing body position. The experiments were performed in decerebrate cats, in which the effects of static body-to-head displacements were tested on the multiunit EMG responses of the medial head of the triceps brachii to wobble of the whole animal at 0.

Spatiotemporal response properties of cerebellar Purkinje cells to neck displacement.

The activity of 184 Purkinje cells and 58 unidentified neurons located within the cerebellar anterior vermis was recorded in decerebrate cats during wobble of the body under a fixed head. This stimulus induced a neck displacement of constant amplitude (2.5 degrees) whose direction rotated at the constant velocity of 56.

A dominant-negative mutant of the Rab5 GTPase enhances T cell signaling by interfering with TCR down-modulation in transgenic mice.

TCR triggering results in the down-modulation of engaged receptors by endocytosis. As a result of this process, Ag-binding sites are depleted from the surface and signaling responses should be attenuated. To test the importance of TCR down-regulation on T cell signaling, we generated mice expressing a dominant-negative form of Rab5 (Rab5N133I) in T cells.

[An unknown etiology of fetal ascites: acute intestinal intussusception].

Background: Intussusception is a frequent diagnosis during the first year of life. However, it is an uncommon and very rare pathology in neonates and premature infants.

Case Reports: Two full term neonates presented an antenatal intussusception associated with fetal ascites; another premature infant developed an intussusception at the age of 15 days.

Convergence of directional vestibular and neck signals on cerebellar purkinje cells.

Convergence of spatially oriented vestibular and neck signals within the cerebellar anterior vermis in decerebrate cats was studied by recording the simple spike discharge of Purkinje (P) cells during wobble either of the whole animal (vestibular input) or of the body under a fixed head (neck input) at 0.156 Hz, 5 degrees and 2.5 degrees , respectively.

Flow cytometric sorting and biochemical characterization of the late endosomal rab7-containing compartment.

Rab7 is a small molecular weight GTPase that is known to be associated with late endocytic compartments. Studies in which wild-type or mutant forms of this protein have been overexpressed in mammalian cells have indicated that rab7 plays a role in controlling membrane transport between late endocytic compartments. However, both the precise site(s) of action and localization of rab7 remain unclear.

Amino-acid change in the Epstein-Barr-virus ZEBRA protein in undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinomas from Europe and North Africa.

Different Epstein-Barr-virus(EBV) variants were found to be associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The type-C variant lacks the BamHI site between the BamHI W1* and I* regions and the type-f variant has an extra BamHI site in the BamHI F fragment. The BNLF1 gene (which encodes the LMP1 protein) from a nude-mouse-passaged CAO strain and from NPC biopsies from Taiwanese patients also exhibits variations resulting in structural and functional differences in the protein.

Inhibitory effects of specific apolipoprotein C-III isoforms on the binding of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins to the lipolysis-stimulated receptor.

ApoC-III overexpression in mice results in severe hypertriglyceridemia due primarily to a delay in the clearance of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. We have, in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes, characterized a lipolysis-stimulated receptor (LSR). The apparent number of LSR that are available on rat liver plasma membranes is negatively correlated with plasma triglyceride concentrations measured in the fed state.

Mitochondrial mutational spectra in human cells and tissues.

We have found that human organs such as colon, lung, and muscle, as well as their derived tumors, share nearly all mitochondrial hotspot point mutations. Seventeen hotspots, primarily G --> A and A --> G transitions, have been identified in the mitochondrial sequence of base pairs 10,030-10,130. Mutant fractions increase with the number of cell generations in a human B cell line, TK6, indicating that they are heritable changes.

Sporadic case of listeriosis associated with the consumption of a Listeria monocytogenes-contaminated 'Camembert' cheese.

Listeria monocytogenes is an intracellular gram-positive organism responsible for severe infections in both humans and animals. Whereas the food-borne transmission of listeriosis was demonstrated in several outbreaks, most cases of listeriosis occur sporadically and are rarely linked with consumption of contaminated foods. In this paper a case of septicaemia with L.