An error in dystrophin mRNA processing in golden retriever muscular dystrophy, an animal homologue of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Golden retriever muscular dystrophy (GRMD) is a spontaneous, X-linked, progressively fatal disease of dogs and is also a homologue of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Two-thirds of DMD patients carry detectable deletions in their dystrophin gene. The defect underlying the remaining one-third of DMD patients is undetermined.

Sudden death.

Sudden death in athletes is a tragic, but fortunately infrequent, event. In young athletes (30 years old and younger) structural cardiovascular disease, often congenital, is usually responsible. Athletes over 30 years old who die suddenly are most frequently found to have severe atherosclerotic coronary artery disease.

Gene structure of mammalian acetylcholinesterase. Alternative exons dictate tissue-specific expression.

The genes encoding mouse and human acetylcholinesterases have been cloned from genomic and cosmid libraries. Restriction analysis and a comparison of sequence with the cDNAs have defined the exon-intron boundaries. In mammals, three invariant exons encode the signal peptide and the amino-terminal 535 amino acids common to all forms of the enzyme whereas alternative exon usage of the next exon accounts for the structural divergence in the carboxyl termini of the catalytic subunits.

Transendoscopic Nd:YAG laser ablation of vaginal septa in a bitch.

A vaginal septum was diagnosed in an English bulldog bitch during routine estrous cycle staging. The septum extended 16 cm from the vestibulo-vaginal junction to just caudal to the cervix. The septum was removed by two applications of an Nd:YAG laser via a flexible fiberoptic endoscope.

Developmental and structural studies of an intracellular lipid binding protein expressed in the ileal epithelium.

Enterocytes located in the pig distal small intestine (ileum) contain a cytosolic protein that is homologous to two proteins that are also synthesized in these cells: intestinal and "liver" fatty acid-binding proteins (I- and L-FABPc, respectively). To begin to investigate the functional interrelationships of these three proteins, we compared their patterns of tissue-specific expression and developmental regulation in the mouse. Blot hybridization analyses of RNA prepared from 12 adult tissues revealed that this mRNA was confined to the small intestine.

Mutagenesis of essential functional residues in acetylcholinesterase.

The cholinesterases are serine hydrolases that show no global similarities in sequence with either the trypsin or the subtilisin family of serine proteases. The cholinesterase superfamily includes several esterases with distinct functions and other proteins devoid of the catalytic serine and known esterase activity. To identify the residues involved in catalysis and conferring specificity on the enzyme, we have expressed wild-type Torpedo acetylcholinesterase (EC 3.

Molecular cloning of mouse acetylcholinesterase: tissue distribution of alternatively spliced mRNA species.

We have isolated cDNA clones encoding acetylcholinesterase from mouse muscle and brain. The polymerase chain reaction was used to amplify cDNA clones from C2 myotubes encoding the entire open reading frame and large segments of the 5' and 3' untranslated regions. The muscle cDNA clones were used to isolate clones from a brain library encoding the same mRNA species.

The Effect of Physical Activity and Inactivity on Aerobic Power in Older Men (A Longitudinal Study).

In brief To assess the decline in maximal aerobic power (V O2max) with age, two groups of men were studied: Fifteen exercisers were followed from age 45 to 68, and 15 controls were measured while training at age 52 and again at age 70 after being detrained for 18 years. Resting blood pressure of 120/78 was unchanged in the exercisers but rose from 135/85 to 150/90 in the nonexercisers. V O2max measured by open circuitry declined 13% in the exercisers from 44.

Comparison of the effects of PGF(2)alpha and bromocryptine in pregnant beagle bitches.

Termination of pregnancy (abortion) was successful in four of four bitches that received PGF(2)alpha (125 mug/kg bid s.c.) and in two or four bitches that received bromocryptine (62.

Heart Murmur in a Football Player With a Normal ECG.

Some athletes, though vigorous in their sports pursuits, may have life-thteatening cardiac anomalies. As this case conference demonstrates, such abnormalities are not always apparent on ECG or radiographic studies.

Serum progesterone determination as an aid for pregnancy diagnosis in goats bred out of season.

Nubian does (n = 12) were bred by artificial insemination after induction of estrus with medroxyprogesterone acetate impregnated vaginal sponges and pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin injections during the anestrous season. Pregnancy status was predicted from serum samples collected 21 days following the last breeding and analyzed using 1) a commercial bovine milk progesterone enzyme immunoassay test (EIA), and 2) a radioimmunoassay progesterone (RIA) test. Both tests detected nonpregnancy (EIA 100%, RIA 80%) more accurately than pregnancy (EIA 66%, RIA 75%).

Single gene encodes glycophospholipid-anchored and asymmetric acetylcholinesterase forms: alternative coding exons contain inverted repeat sequences.

Polymorphic forms of acetylcholinesterase are tethered extracellularly either as dimers membrane-anchored by a glycophospholipid or as catalytic subunits disulfidelinked to a collagen tail that associates with the basal lamina. Genomic clones of acetylcholinesterase from T. californica revealed that individual enzyme forms are encoded within a single gene that yields multiple mRNAs.

Primary ovarian adenocarcinoma associated with teratomatous elements in a mare.

An ovarian adenocarcinoma with teratomatous elements was removed from a 9-year-old mare. Although no other lesions were detected at ovariectomy, multifocal metastatic masses led to cachexia and euthanasia 2 months later. This case reaffirms the need to exercise caution when removing ovarian masses to prevent seeding of the abdomen.

Exercise Guidelines for the Elderly (Part 2 of 2).

In brief: A properly designed and implemented exercise program for the elderly can have many physical and emotional benefits. Most important, these benefits can allow older persons to maintain an independent, active life-style. However, the program or activity plan must be carefully followed to avoid exercise-related difficulties to which the elderly are prone.

Cardiovascular Aspects of Aging (Part 1 of 2).

In brief: With the unprecedented aging of Americans has come a need to consider its effects on cardiovascular function and on response to exercise. The study of the aging process is complicated by concurrent cardiac and noncardiac disease, as well as by the effects of decreased physical activity. There is, however, substantial evidence that the usually observed decline in exercise capacity among the elderly is neither inevitable nor-if it has already occurred-permanent.

Multiple messenger RNA species give rise to the structural diversity in acetylcholinesterase.

Acetylcholinesterase exists predominantly as a secreted enzyme which remains cell-associated at specific extracellular locations. Its extensive structural diversity appears responsible for the unique cellular disposition of the enzyme. To examine the molecular basis of the structural divergence of acetylcholinesterase species, we hybridized total RNA from Torpedo californica electric organ with restriction fragments from a cDNA encoding the catalytic subunits of asymmetric species of acetylcholinesterase.

Premature lactation in a heifer with a sex cord-stromal tumor.

A tumor of the ovary was believed to be responsible for initiating lactation in a nonpregnant heifer. The only abnormal clinical sign was milk secretion from all 4 mammary glands and a large mass in the abdomen. Concentrations of estrogen and progesterone were markedly high.

Endometrial biopsy of the mare. A review and update.

The endometrial biopsy is a safe and effective means of predicting a mare's prognosis for foaling. A thorough understanding of the normal cyclic and seasonal pattern displayed by the normal endometrium is necessary before interpreting pathologic changes. Several systems for prognostic classification have been proposed, including a recent one that combines many of the criteria used in the other systems.

Exercise-Related Sudden Death: Cardiovascular Evaluation of Exercisers (Part 2 of 2).

In brief: Part 1 of this two-part series of articles discussed the risks and factors associated with exercise-related sudden death. In this article the author discusses a primary goal of the cardiovascular evaluation of exercisers: to identify cardiovascular conditions that carry a risk of exercise-related sudden death. These conditions include hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, coronary heart disease, congenital anomalies of the coronary arteries, and others.

Exercise-Related Sudden Death: Risks and Causes (Part 1 of 2).

In brief: Exercise-related sudden death is a clinical syndrome that is well known both to the general public and to the medical community. Autopsy studies of victims have identified multiple structural cardiovascular diseases underlying sudden death in young athletes (aged 30 years and younger). These diseases include myocardial, coronary arterial, aortic, valvular, and cardiac conduction system disorders.