Biological activity of recombinant human growth factors released from biocompatible bone implants.

The present investigation was performed to study the bioactivity of osteoinductive and osteoproliferative growth factors after release from biocompatible bone implants. Three types of porous carriers were used in this study: hydroxyapatite, alpha tricalcium phosphate, and a neutralized glass ceramic. Implants were loaded with recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rh-BMP-2) and recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor (rh-bFGF) in a concentration of 2 microg/150 microL PBS each.

Adsorption and release properties of growth factors from biodegradable implants.

The present investigation was performed to study the adsorption behavior of growth factors and their release characteristics from biodegradable implants in an in vitro study. We investigated the stability of growth factors administered on various scaffolds. We used porous tricalcium phosphate ceramics (alpha-TCP), a neutralized glass-ceramics (GB9N), a composite (polylactid/-glycolid/GB9N), and solvent dehydrated human bone as carriers.

Inadequate suspension of neutral protamine Hagendorn (NPH) insulin in pens.

Background: Neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH) insulin is one of the most commonly used insulins in insulin pens. NPH in pen cartridges is in a two-phase solution with either a solvent or a short-acting insulin, and needs adequate mixing for complete resuspension. We assessed whether NPH insulin is accurately resuspended by patients and the association of suspension errors with diabetes control.

Neurofilament phosphorylation and axon diameter in the squid giant fibre system.

Electron energy loss spectroscopic analysis of squid giant axons in a phosphorus energy window yielded bright signals, which were shown to originate from highly phosphorylated neurofilaments. The frequency and distribution of these signals were analysed at defined intervals in cross-sections of the giant axon, starting from its origin in the stellate ganglion and extending distally along the stellar nerve. The analysis revealed a proximodistal gradient of increasing neurofilament phosphorylation.

Videodensitometric analysis of electron spectroscopic micrographs--a tool for detection of biologically relevant elements with high resolution.

Electron energy-loss spectroscopic imaging (ESI) yields high-resolution, element-sensitive images. However, ESI suffers from difficulties in distinguishing element-specific and background contributions. New methods have therefore been introduced which use grey-level measurements in micrographic images for a more accurate detection of element distributions.

High-resolution imaging of protein phosphorylation in squid axons and synapse by electron energy loss spectroscopy.

We demonstrate that clusters of phosphorus atoms can be detected in energy loss spectroscopic images (ESI) of cytoskeletal proteins of squid axons. In series of images taken at four energy windows below and three windows above the phosphorus P-L2,3 ionization edge, signal-to-background intensity differences were analyzed by videodensitometry. A distinct increase of relative intensities was recorded above the phosphorus edge in neurofilaments of the peripheral giant axon and in those of the presynaptic terminal.

Early changes of intracranial pressure, perfusion pressure, and blood flow after acute head injury. Part 1: An experimental study of the underlying pathophysiology.

The present study examines intracranial pressure (ICP), cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), and cerebral circulation immediately after experimental head injury in an animal model. The underlying systemic hemodynamic changes were also observed. To produce a standardized head injury, a fluid-percussion device was applied to the dura at the midline of 10 piglets.

Diphenylhydantoin (DPH) blocks HIV-receptor on T-lymphocyte surface.

Previous reports have shown the capacity of diphenylhydantoin (DPH) to attach to the membranes of lymphatic cells as a hapten and thus exert an unspecific influence on their ability to express certain recognition molecules. This led us to the hypothesis, that DPH might as well serve to manipulate the t-helper-lymphocytes in a way that the mode of infection of these cells by the HIV might be blocked. In order to verify this hypothesis, we exposed normal control lymphocytes as well as lymphocytes from DPH-treated patients (3 X 100-150 mg DPH/day, Phenhydan, for a minimum of 10 days) to radioactively labeled HIV (125I).

An experimental model for measuring intestinal permeability.

In the nonanesthetized rat, the jejunal permeability to four simultaneously administered molecules, mannitol, phenol red, inulin and PVP, was measured by analyzing blood, serum, urine and duodenal fluid for these compounds. Of the molecules which had entered the body, approximately 50% were found in the urine, another 50% in the extracellular space and only about 1% were excreted into the duodenal juice. The intracellular content of the molecules is not accounted for in these numbers.

Extracorporeal irradiation of dog blood: the effects of a radiostrontium irradiator on blood stem cells (CFU-C).

The radiation sensitivity of dog blood stem cells was measured in vitro and in an extracorporeal circulation passing through a radiation field. It was established that the calculated D0 was as low as 0.45 Gy.

Metabolism of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA) in the mature perfused human placenta (I).

A design for the perfusion of one (monoperfusion) or two (parallelperfusion) cotyledos of one placenta was developed for studies of the metabolism of the precursor steroid dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA). Several parameters are used as viability criteria: vascular resistance, glucose and oxygen consumption, lactate/pyruvate ratio, activity of lactate-dehydrogenase (LDH) in the perfusate, extent of perfusion by dye infusion, and morphological description by electron microscopy. A dosage of 2 mg DHA with 2.

The influence of estradiol and adriamycin on the RNA biosynthesis in breast cancer.

The extent of the relationship between hormone dependence and cytostatica sensitivity of the tumors was examined for primary breast cancers under standardized in vitro conditions. The effects of estradiol and adriamycin on the RNA biosynthesis in the tumor cells were compared on the basis of the 3H-uridine incorporation in a short-term test system. Estradiol particularly influenced the RNA metabolism of higly differentiated carcinomas, whereas adriamycin exhibited the greatest inhibitory effect on the RNA synthesis in the tumor cells of undifferentiated carcinomas.

[Cytostatic effects on nucleic acid synthesis in primary tumors and lymph node metastases of human breast cancer (author's transl)].

Nucleic acid synthesis and influence of cytostatic agents (adriamycin, cyclophosphamide) were investigated in 73 cases of human breast cancer and in 19 cases of correlating lymph node metastases. An interrelationship between nucleic acid synthesis, proliferation and tumor stage could not be proven at the time of the operation. The labeling index, expressing the proliferation of tumor cells, and the incorporation of radiolabeled nucleic acid precursors (3H-thymidine, 3H-uridine) as an indicator of nucleic acid synthesis were higher in the investigated lymph node metastases than in the primary tumor.

Incorporation studies of nucleic acid precursors in gastric cancer: an attempt in individualized chemotherapy.

Measurements of the rate of incorporation of radioactively labeled nucleic acid precursors into the DNA and RNA of gastric carcinoma cell suspensions indicated variable rates of proliferation for the tumors. The rate of incorporation generally correlates to the cytological level of differentiation of the carcinoma. Reduced differentiation of the tumors showed a corresponding increase in the rate of proliferation.

[Effect of estradiol on RNA biosynthesis of human breast carcinoma cells in vitro].

The possibility of differentiating estrogen-sensitive human breast cancer using incorporation studies with labeled uridine as a precursor of RNA metabolism is described. The purpose of this study was to explore inadequate function of the estrogen receptor as an alternative or supplementary aid in selecting patients for hormonal manipulation. The disadvantage of the test is that only hormone dependence of a proliferating tumor cell population can be evaluated.

[Pretherapeutic cytostatic agent sensitivity testing of breast cancer].

With and without addition of cytostatic agents, incorporation of radiolabeled precursors into the nucleic acid of breast cancer cells was determined in short-term culture. The labeling index, a measure of tumor proliferation, depended largely on cytologic differentiation. Incorporation of radiolabeled precursors in moderately and low differentiated breast cancers was significantly high, whereas only in a part of these tumors was incorporation inhibited by adriamycin and cyclophosphamide.

[Functional and metabolic changes of the mucosa during the occlusion of the small bowel of the rat (author's transl)].

In this study we investigated the function of the obstructed small bowel of the rat, the behaviour of the mucosal enzymes, the metabolic changes of the small bowel wall and the morphology of the mucosa. We found a decrease of passive transport of 3H-Antipyrine which was equal after 24 and 48 hrs. The active transport of 14C-Glucose was found to be progressively inhibited after occlusion.

Transport studies in the small bowel obstruction of the rat.

In the mechanically obstructed small bowel of the rat the decrease of passive transport of antipyrine was found to be equal after 24 and 48 h. The active transport of glucose was found to be progressively inhibited after occlusion.