A randomized controlled trial to compare two methods of constraint-induced movement therapy to improve functional ability in the affected upper limb in pre-school children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy: CATCH TRIAL.

Objective: To determine the feasibility and short-term efficacy of caregiver-directed constraint-induced movement therapy to improve upper limb function in young children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.

Design: Randomized controlled trial with masked assessment.

Setting: Community paediatric therapy services.

CYP4F18-Deficient Neutrophils Exhibit Increased Chemotaxis to Complement Component C5a.

CYP4Fs were first identified as enzymes that catalyze hydroxylation of leukotriene B4 (LTB4). CYP4F18 has an unusual expression in neutrophils and was predicted to play a role in regulating LTB4-dependent inflammation. We compared chemotaxis of wild-type and Cyp4f18 knockout neutrophils using an in vitro assay.

Role of Cytochrome P450s in Inflammation.

Cytochrome P450 epoxygenases and hydroxylases play a regulatory role in the activation and suppression of inflammation by generating or metabolizing bioactive mediators. CYP2C and CYP2J epoxygenases convert arachidonic acid to anti-inflammatory epoxyeicosatrienoic acids, which have protective effects in a variety of disorders including cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. CYP4A and CYP4F hydroxylases have the ability to metabolize multiple substrates related to the regulation of inflammation and lipid homeostasis, and it is a challenge to determine which substrates are physiologically relevant for each enzyme; the best-characterized activities include generation of 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid and inactivation of leukotriene B4.

CD200R1 supports HSV-1 viral replication and licenses pro-inflammatory signaling functions of TLR2.

The CD200R1:CD200 axis is traditionally considered to limit tissue inflammation by down-regulating pro-inflammatory signaling in myeloid cells bearing the receptor. We generated CD200R1(-/-) mice and employed them to explore both the role of CD200R1 in regulating macrophage signaling via TLR2 as well as the host response to an in vivo, TLR2-dependent model, herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infection. CD200R1(-/-) peritoneal macrophages demonstrated a 70-75% decrease in the generation of IL-6 and CCL5 (Rantes) in response to the TLR2 agonist Pam(2)CSK(4) and to HSV-1.

Self Management Activation Randomised Trial for Prostatitis (SMART-P): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Chronic prostatitis otherwise known as chronic pelvic pain syndrome is a common urological diagnosis that causes many men significant morbidity and has a detrimental effect on their quality of life. Standard treatment with antibiotics and simple analgesia are often ineffective and many patients are managed by the chronic pain services.Cognitive behavioural therapy has been shown to be helpful in the management of many chronic diseases and has recently been proposed as an effective treatment for chronic prostatitis.

20-HETE mediates ozone-induced, neutrophil-independent airway hyper-responsiveness in mice.

Background: Ozone, a pollutant known to induce airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR), increases morbidity and mortality in patients with obstructive airway diseases and asthma. We postulate oxidized lipids mediate in vivo ozone-induced AHR in murine airways.

Methodology/principal Findings: Male BALB/c mice were exposed to ozone (3 or 6 ppm) or filtered air (controls) for 2 h.

Bilateral nasolabial cysts: a case report.

The nasolabial cyst is one of the rarer soft tissue cysts, and presents beneath the alae of the nose. There have been few reports of an association between nasolabial cysts and dacryocystitis (an infection of the nasolacrimal sac). This case report describes a female who presented with bilateral nasolabial cysts and longstanding symptoms of epiphora (watery eye).

The nuclear membrane organization of leukotriene synthesis.

Leukotrienes (LTs) are signaling molecules derived from arachidonic acid that initiate and amplify innate and adaptive immunity. In turn, how their synthesis is organized on the nuclear envelope of myeloid cells in response to extracellular signals is not understood. We define the supramolecular architecture of LT synthesis by identifying the activation-dependent assembly of novel multiprotein complexes on the outer and inner nuclear membranes of mast cells.

Cytochrome P-450 4F18 is the leukotriene B4 omega-1/omega-2 hydroxylase in mouse polymorphonuclear leukocytes: identification as the functional orthologue of human polymorphonuclear leukocyte CYP4F3A in the down-regulation of responses to LTB4.

Leukotriene B(4) (LTB(4)) is a potent chemoattractant for polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) and other cells. Human PMN inactivate LTB(4) by omega-oxidation catalyzed by cytochrome P-450 (CYP) 4F3A. The contribution of the enzymatic inactivation of LTB(4) by CYP4Fs to down-regulating functional responses of cells to LTB(4) is unknown.

The membrane organization of leukotriene synthesis.

Cell signaling leading to the formation of leukotriene (LT)C(4) requires the localization of the four key biosynthetic enzymes on the outer nuclear membrane and endoplasmic reticulum. Whether any macromolecular organization of these proteins exists is unknown. By using fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy and biochemical analysis, we demonstrate the presence of two distinct multimeric complexes that regulate the formation of LTs in RBL-2H3 cells.

Prostate-specific antigen doubling time and survival in patients with advanced metastatic prostate cancer.

The relation between tumor kinetics and disease progression in patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) has not been well described. Biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer is characterized by detectable prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels after treatment and occurs in approximately 30% of patients after therapy for apparent localized disease. An increase in PSA almost always occurs before clinical evidence of disease.

Myeloid expression of cytochrome P450 4F3 is determined by a lineage-specific alternative promoter.

The cytochrome P450 4F3 (CYP4F3) gene encodes two functionally distinct enzymes that differ only by the selection of exon 4 (CYP4F3A) or exon 3 (CYP4F3B). CYP4F3A inactivates leukotriene B4, a reaction that has significance for controlling inflammation. CYP4F3B converts arachidonic acid to 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, a potent activator of protein kinase C.

Membrane localization and topology of leukotriene C4 synthase.

Leukotriene C(4) (LTC(4)) synthase conjugates LTA(4) with GSH to form LTC(4). Determining the site of LTC(4) synthesis and the topology of LTC(4) synthase may uncover unappreciated intracellular roles for LTC(4), as well as how LTC(4) is transferred to its export carrier, the multidrug resistance protein-1. We have determined the membrane localization of LTC(4) synthase by immunoelectron microscopy.

Covalent linkage of prosthetic heme to CYP4 family P450 enzymes.

An extensive body of research on the structural properties of cytochrome P450 enzymes has established that these proteins possess a b-type heme prosthetic group which is noncovalently bound at the active site. Coordinate, electrostatic, and hydrogen bond interactions between the protein backbone and heme functional groups are readily overcome upon mild acid treatment of the enzyme, which releases free heme from the protein. In the present study, we have used a combination of HPLC, LC/ESI-MS, and SDS-PAGE techniques to demonstrate that members of the mammalian CYP4B, CYP4F, and CYP4A subfamilies bind their heme in an unusually tight manner.

A review of physical and psychological factors in vulvar vestibulitis syndrome.

This review is based on a MEDLINE search of all papers on vulvar vestibulitis syndrome (VVS) published 1995-2000. The causation, natural history and prevalence of VVS are unknown. There is no convincing evidence that VVS is the result of an infection or of an allergy.

Alternative splicing determines the function of CYP4F3 by switching substrate specificity.

Diversity of cytochrome P450 function is determined by the expression of multiple genes, many of which have a high degree of identity. We report that the use of alternate exons, each coding for 48 amino acids, generates isoforms of human CYP4F3 that differ in substrate specificity, tissue distribution, and biological function. Both isoforms contain a total of 520 amino acids.

Separation of NADH-fumarate reductase and succinate dehydrogenase activities in Trypanosoma cruzi.

A recent review suggested that the activity of NADH-fumarate reductase from trypanosomatids could be catalyzed by succinate dehydrogenase working in reverse (Tielens and van Hellemond, Parasitol. Today 14, 265-271, 1999). The results reported in this study demonstrate that the two activities can easily be separated without any loss in either activity, suggesting that fumarate reductase and succinate dehydrogenase are separate enzymes.

Differential localization of 5- and 15-lipoxygenases to the nuclear envelope in RAW macrophages.

Leukotriene formation is initiated in myeloid cells by an increase in intracellular calcium and translocation of 5-lipoxygenase from the cytoplasm to the nuclear envelope where it can utilize arachidonic acid. Monocyte- macrophages and eosinophils also express 15-lipoxygenase, which converts arachidonic acid to 15(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid. Enhanced green fluorescent 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) and 15-lipoxygenase (15-LO) fusion proteins were expressed in the cytoplasm of RAW 264.

Expression of the CYP4F3 gene. tissue-specific splicing and alternative promoters generate high and low K(m) forms of leukotriene B(4) omega-hydroxylase.

Cytochrome P450 4F3 (CYP4F3) catalyzes the inactivation of leukotriene B(4) by omega-oxidation in human neutrophils. To understand the regulation of CYP4F3 expression, we analyzed the CYP4F3 gene and cloned a novel isoform (CYP4F3B) that is expressed in fetal and adult liver, but not in neutrophils. The CYP4F3 gene contains 14 exons and 13 introns.

Defective muscle basement membrane and lack of M-laminin in the dystrophic dy/dy mouse.

M-laminin is a major member of the laminin family of basement membrane proteins. It is prominently expressed in striated muscle and peripheral nerve. M-laminin is deficient in patients with the autosomal recessive Fukuyama congenital muscular dystrophy but is normal in patients with the sex-linked Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies.