The Role of Corticosteroids in Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome caused by Viridans Group Streptococci Bacteremia in Neutropenic Patients.

In the past decades, viridans group Streptococci (VGS) have emerged as an important cause of bacteremia in neutropenic patients with cancer. The clinical course of VGS bacteremia can be devastating including septic shock and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). It has been suggested that septicemia with VGS triggers the development of noncardiogenic pulmonary edema in patients with pre-existing damage of the lungs due to aggressive cytotoxic treatment.

Modification of the cytosolic regions of GABA transporter GAT1 by calpain.

Cytosolic regions of sodium dependent neurotransmitter transporters regulate their surface density and transporting function by interconnecting themselves with intracellular signaling pathways. Here we show that calpain activation in rat brain synaptosomes leads to cleavage of both N- and C-terminal regions of GABA transporter GAT1. In the C-terminal region, calpain removes a short segment of amino acids involved in binding of GAT1 to a high-density PDZ anchoring matrix.