Gastrointestinal Mucormycosis-Induced Massive Lower Gastrointestinal Bleeding, Rectal Perforation, and Pulmonary Embolism: A Long Diagnostic Pathway in a Case Report.

Introduction: Mucormycosis is a rare systemic fungal infection, mainly observed in immunocompromised patients. It is responsible for surface and deep tissue destruction leading to perforations and hemorrhage. Its pathogenesis represented by an angio-invasion is at the origin of a local infarction and a vascular thrombosis.

Small bowel involvement documented by capsule endoscopy in Churg-Strauss syndrome.

Churg-Strauss syndrome is a small and medium vessel vasculitis and is also known as allergic granulomatous angiitis. Gastrointestinal involvement is common in patients with Churg-Strauss syndrome (20-50%). The most common symptoms are abdominal pain, diarrhoea and occasionally gastrointestinal bleeding and perforation.

From soil to plant, the journey of P through trophic relationships and ectomycorrhizal association.

Phosphorus (P) is essential for plant growth and productivity. It is one of the most limiting macronutrients in soil because it is mainly present as unavailable, bound P whereas plants can only use unbound, inorganic phosphate (Pi), which is found in very low concentrations in soil solution. Some ectomycorrhizal fungi are able to release organic compounds (organic anions or phosphatases) to mobilize unavailable P.

Ileocolic intussusception due to a cecal endometriosis: case report and review of literature.

Unlabelled: Cecal endometriosis and ileocolic intussusception due to a cecal endometriosis is extremely rare. We report a case of a woman who presented an ileocecal intussusception due to a cecal endometriosis. The patient gave two months history of chronic periombilical pain requiring regular hospital admission and analgesia.

Dependency of the regio- and stereoselectivity of intramolecular, ring-closing glycosylations upon the ring size.

Phenyl 3,4,6-tri-O-benzyl-2-O-(3-carboxypropionyl)-1-thio-β-D-galactopyranoside (1) was condensed via its pentafluorophenyl ester 2 with 5-aminopentyl (4a), 4-aminobutyl (4b), 3-aminopropyl (4c) and 2-aminoethyl 4,6-O-benzylidene-β-D-glucopyranoside (4d), prepared from the corresponding N-Cbz protected glucosides 3a-d, to give the corresponding 2-[3-(alkylcarbamoyl)propionyl] tethered saccharides 5a-d. Intramolecular, ring closing glycosylation of the saccharides with NIS and TMSOTf afforded the tethered β(1→3) linked disaccharides 6a-c, the α(1→3) linked disaccharides 7a-d and the α(1→2) linked disaccharide 8d in ratios depending upon the ring size formed during glycosylation. No β(1→2) linked disaccharides were formed.

Tomato Aux/IAA3 and HOOKLESS are important actors of the interplay between auxin and ethylene during apical hook formation.

Plants implement differential cell growth as an adaptation process in order to direct their development in a way that allow them to better cope with the environmental conditions. This process requires the complex integration of multiple hormone signalings, though, a lot remain to be known about the mechanisms and the molecular actors that take part in this hormonal dialogue. We have previously shown that Sl-, an gene, is a molecular link between auxin and ethylene responses in tomato plants.

[Long term results of treatment of hemorrhagic radiation proctitis by argon plasma coagulation].

Aim: To assess long term results of argon plasma coagulation (APC) treatment in hemorrhagic radiation proctitis.

Methods: Thirty patients treated with APC in 2 departments were enrolled. In 16 patients, APC was the first treatment used.

Pulsatile release of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) in cultured LHRH neurons derived from the embryonic olfactory placode of the rhesus monkey.

To study the mechanism of LH-releasing hormone (LHRH) pulse generation, the olfactory pit/placode and the migratory pathway of LHRH neurons from monkey embryos at embryonic age 35-37 were dissected out, under the microscope, and cultured on plastic coverslips coated with collagen in a defined medium for 2-5 weeks. First, we examined whether cultured neurons release the decapeptide into media. It was found that LHRH cells release LHRH in a pulsatile manner at approximately 50-min intervals.

Mutation of a conserved serine in TM4 of opioid receptors confers full agonistic properties to classical antagonists.

The involvement of a conserved serine (Ser196 at the mu-, Ser177 at the delta-, and Ser187 at the kappa-opioid receptor) in receptor activation is demonstrated by site-directed mutagenesis. It was initially observed during our functional screening of a mu/delta-opioid chimeric receptor, mu delta2, that classical opioid antagonists such as naloxone, naltrexone, naltriben, and H-Tyr-Tic[psi,CH2NH]Phe-Phe-OH (TIPPpsi; Tic = 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-3-carboxylic acid) could inhibit forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity in CHO cells stably expressing the chimeric receptor. Antagonists also activated the G protein-coupled inward rectifying potassium channel (GIRK1) in Xenopus oocytes coexpressing the mu delta2 opioid receptor and the GIRK1 channel.

The region in the mu opioid receptor conferring selectivity for sufentanil over the delta receptor is different from that over the kappa receptor.

We determined the binding domains of sufentanil and lofentanil in the mu opioid receptor by comparing their binding affinities to seven mu/delta and six mu/kappa chimeric receptors with those to mu, delta and kappa opioid receptors. TMHs 6 and 7 and the e3 loop of the mu opioid receptor were important for selective binding of sufentanil and lofentanil to the mu over the kappa receptor. TMHs 1-3 and the e1 loop of the mu opioid receptor conferred binding selectivity for sufentanil over the delta receptor.

Irreversible binding of cis-(+)-3-methylfentanyl isothiocyanate to the delta opioid receptor and determination of its binding domain.

Binding of cis-(+)-3-methylfentanyl isothiocyanate (SUPERFIT) to cloned opioid receptors stably expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells was characterized. SUPERFIT inhibited [3H]diprenorphine binding with much higher affinity for the delta than the mu or kappa receptor. Pretreatment with SUPERFIT followed by extensive washing reduced delta binding with an IC50 value of 7.

Transplantation of the fetal olfactory placode restores reproductive cycles in female rhesus monkeys (Mucaca mulatta) bearing lesions in the medial basal hypothalamus.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether loss of the reproductive cycle after lesions of the medial basal hypothalamus can be reversed by transplantation of the embryonic olfactory placode (OP) into female rhesus monkeys. Seven adult female rhesus monkeys with regular menstrual cycles received bilateral radiofrequency lesions in the arcuate nucleus and the median eminence. After confirmation of anovulation in these monkeys, four monkeys were stereotaxically implanted with the OP obtained from monkey fetuses on embryonic days 35-36.

Properties of a kappa-opioid receptor expressed in CHO cells: interaction with multiple G-proteins is not specific for any individual G alpha subunit and is similar to that of other opioid receptors.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the coupling pattern of a recently cloned kappa-opioid receptor stably transfected in CHO cells to individual G alpha subunits with subsequent comparison to that observed previously for delta- and mu-opioid receptors. Data presented in the current study indicate the successful stable expression of a kappa-opioid receptor in CHO cells. This is supported by experiments in which ligands with selectivity for kappa-, but not delta- or mu-opioid receptors demonstrated high affinity for the expressed receptor and were able to potently and efficaciously produce inhibition of adenylyl cyclase activity.

Neurotrophins in the developing and adult primate adenohypophysis: a new pituitary hormone system?

Expression of neurotrophins and of the low-affinity neurotrophin receptor p75 was examined immunocytochemically in pituitary glands of twelve developing and adult macaques, ranging in age from fetal day 100 through age 5 years. Neurotrophins were identified by labeling with a rabbit polyclonal antiserum raised against purified mouse nerve growth factor, which recognizes brain-derived neurotropic factor and neurotrophin-3 as well. During pituitary morphogenesis, neurotrophins were present in epithelial cells distributed throughout all divisions of the anterior pituitary (pars distalis, pars intermedia, and pars tuberalis).

Responses to cAMP depend on stage of neuronal differentiation of NGF-treated adrenal chromaffin cells.

The nerve growth factor (NGF)-dependent transdifferentiation of adrenal chromaffin cells into sympathetic neurons occurs in two sequential phases: The first phase, in which cells extend neurites and increase proliferation, is mimicked by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), an activator of protein kinase C. Analogs of cAMP, and forskolin, an activator of adenylate cyclase, antagonize the early effects of both NGF and PMA. The second phase of transdifferentiation, in which cells withdraw from the mitotic cycle and express a true neuronal phenotype, occurs after about 2 weeks of exposure to NGF and is neither mimicked by PMA alone nor antagonized by cAMP.

A primary cell culture system of luteinizing hormone releasing hormone neurons derived from embryonic olfactory placode in the rhesus monkey.

The purpose of this study is to establish a primary LHRH cell culture system using embryonic olfactory placode and to examine whether LHRH cells derived from olfactory placode and the migratory pathway of LHRH neurons mature in vitro. Six monkey fetuses at the ages of E34-E36 were delivered surgically and the area including the olfactory placode (PL) and the areas that encompass the migratory pathway (MP) were dissected out. The tissues were cut into small pieces and plated on collagen- or poly-L-lysine-coated glass coverslips in medium M199.

Effects of NGF and glucocorticoid on NGF receptor immunolabeling of cultured rhesus adrenal chromaffin cells.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) promotes the outgrowth of neurites from cultured adrenal chromaffin cells from adult rhesus monkeys, but little is known about the distribution, at the cellular level, of the NGF receptors (NGFR) responsible for this response. We examined changes in immunostaining for NGFR in chromaffin cells cultured for 4 weeks in the presence or absence of NGF, with or without dexamethasone (DEX), which inhibits neuritic outgrowth from these cells. Purified cultures of adrenal chromaffin cells from adult rhesus monkeys were grown for up to 9 weeks in NGF, DEX, NGF plus DEX, or control medium.

Early and late effects of NGF may be mediated by different pathways in transdifferentiating chromaffin cells.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) causes cultured adrenal chromaffin cells to extend neurites and, after about two weeks of exposure, to 'transdifferentiate' into mature sympathetic neurons. The molecular events leading to these responses are not fully understood, but one possible mediator of NGF's actions is protein kinase C (PKC), which can be directly activated by phorbol esters, including phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). Chronic exposure to PMA mimics the early effects of NGF, that is, it elicits the outgrowth of neurites and an enhanced rate of proliferation.

Chronic exposure to an activator of protein kinase C mimics early effects of NGF in chromaffin cells.

Adrenal chromaffin cells respond to nerve growth factor (NGF) in vitro by expressing neuronal characteristics and, over a period of 2 to 4 weeks, transdifferentiating into postmitotic sympathetic neurons. Phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) is a potent activator of protein kinase C (PKC); chronic exposure to PMA mimics the initial actions of NGF by promoting the outgrowth of neurites and increasing the incorporation of [3H] thymidine in primary cultures of adrenal chromaffin cells from young rats. PMA and NGF affect the same populations of cells and even individual neurites.

Acidic fibroblast growth factor stimulates adrenal chromaffin cells to proliferate and to extend neurites, but is not a long-term survival factor.

Acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) is a heparin-binding polypeptide that is a mitogen for endothelial cells and glial cells, as well as a differentiation factor for PC12 cells and certain neurons. We show here that aFGF is as potent as nerve growth factor (NGF) in stimulating both neuritic outgrowth and proliferation in adrenal chromaffin cells from young rats, but it fails to support long-term survival. Heparin strongly potentiates aFGF-dependent neuritic outgrowth but not aFGF-dependent proliferation.

Expression of NGF receptor in the developing and adult primate central nervous system.

Monoclonal antibodies against human NGF receptor have been used for immunocytochemical localization of NGF receptors in the CNS of macaques and baboons at various stages of development. In the adult, neurons in most brain regions are devoid of detectable NGF receptors. However, abundant NGF receptor immunoreactivity is present on a population of neurons in basal forebrain, which, on the basis of appearance and pattern of distribution, probably correspond, at least in part, to magnocellular cholinergic neurons of this region.