Pharmacological studies of proctolin receptors on foregut and hindgut of Blaberus craniifer.

Proctolin (Arg-Tyr-Leu-Pro-Thr) and proctolin analogs modified at position 1, 2, or 5 caused dose dependent contractions of Blaberus fore- and hindgut. The varying contractile effects between both tissues revealed the possible presence of receptor subtypes as identified by [GABA1]-proctolin. A single population of binding sites (Kd approximately 100 nM) was deduced from Scatchard analysis.

Biological effects of eleven combined oral contraceptives on serum triglycerides, gamma-glutamyltransferase, alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin and other biochemical variables.

The objectives of this paper are to update and quantify the biological effects of the most commonly used oral contraceptives (OC) on 15 biochemical tests currently determined in clinical laboratories and to compare these effects between the different types of OC. The sample population was constituted by 1604 women using combined OCs and the control group comprised 3466 women in the same age range not taking medication. Women taking OC were divided into 11 groups according to the estrogen/progestogen combination.

Human islet allotransplantation: world experience and current status.

Currently type-I diabetes mellitus is treated with exogenous insulin administration, but traditional insulin therapy does not prevent long-term systemic complications and therefore alternatives should be sought. Presently the only option is to substitute the insulin-producing beta cells in order to obtain a more physiological way to deliver insulin. Simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplantation is an established procedure.

Isolation, sequence determination, physical and physiological characterization of the neuroparsins and ovary maturing parsins of Schistocerca gregaria.

Neurosecretory products immunologically related to either neuroparsin (NP) or ovary maturing parsin (OMP) of Locusta migratoria (Lom) were purified from the nervous corpora cardiaca of Schistocerca gregaria (Scg). The determination of both their molecular masses by mass spectrometry and their sequences by automated Edman degradation established that they are members of the NP and OMP families respectively. NP molecules of Schistocerca (Scg NPs) consisted of two major forms having about the same molecular masses as NPA and NPB of Locusta and 88% primary structure similarity.

[Criteria for addition of apolipoprotein B measurement during routine health screening examinations: validation in a Stanislas cohort. The Biologist's Group of the Health Examination Center].

The purpose of this study was to determine the criteria in which apolipoproteins AI and B should be performed during periodic health screening examinations. Clinically, the results of apolipoproteins AI and B are most useful when there are minor lipid perturbations (cholesterol and triglycerides), but their routine determination is not justified. Several mathematical models, defined by discriminate factorial analysis, have been studied.

DNA complexes obtained with the integron integrase IntI1 at the attI1 site.

Integrons are genetic elements that are able to capture genes by a site-specific recombination mechanism. Integrons contain a gene coding for a lambda-like integrase that carries out site-specific recombination by interacting with two different target sites; the attI site and the palindromic sequence attC (59 base element). Cassette integrations usually involve the attI site, while cassette excisions use attC .

Prolactin induces an inward current through voltage-independent Ca2+ channels in Chinese hamster ovary cells stably expressing prolactin receptor.

There is still only limited understanding of the early steps of prolactin (PRL) signal transduction in target cells. Recent studies have identified some of the essential first steps: these include the rapid association of the PRL receptor with JAK tyrosine kinases and tyrosine phosphorylation of a number of proteins, including members of the signal transducer and activator of transcription (Stats) family. On the other hand, binding of PRL to its receptor is rapidly followed by calcium influx.

Effects of mutations in GrlA of topoisomerase IV from Staphylococcus aureus on quinolone and coumarin activity.

The grlA genes of Staphylococcus aureus ISP794 (wild type), MT5224c4 (grlA [Phe-80]), MT5224c2 (grlA [Pro-116]), and MT111 (grlA [Glu-116]) were cloned in pSK950, a shuttle vector, and introduced into S. aureus strains derived from strain RN4220. The mutations at position 116 of GrlA (Ala-->Pro or Glu) caused an increase in the level of fluoroquinolone resistance and a decrease in the level of coumarin susceptibility, whereas the mutation at position 80 (Ser-->Phe) caused only an increase in the level of fluoroquinolone resistance.

[Perceived health and pregnancy: study of several behavioral and environmental determinants among a population of pregnant women].

The aim of this study, based on data of the Centre for Preventive Medicine, is to compare the perceptions women have of their health within a population of pregnant women that was divided into two categories: one group of women who feel they are in a poor health, the others feel they are in good health. The study results seem to differentiate between both the psychological and physical profiles of the two groups of pregnant women. The women who are not followed by a doctor don't seem to have a more negative perception of their health status.

[Isolation of the pig islets of Langerhans: evaluation of in vitro and in vivo function].

Pig islets are considered the best alternative to human islets in the treatment of insulin-dependent diabetes. Pigs could represent a potential islet donor for xenotransplantation in humans because of the close similarity between human and porcine insulin and the theoretically unlimited availability of porcine pancreas. From November 1991 to January 1997 we performed 221 pig islet isolations from 3 pig sources: group 1: minipigs (age 9-18 months) and white pigs (3-8 months), group 2: large white pigs (5-8 months), group 3: large white pigs (12-24 months).

[Long-term follow-up of 9 islets of Langerhans autografts after resection of the pancreas].

Introduction: Preservation of physiological endocrine pancreatic function represents a major problem in pancreatectomised patients. In 40 to 100%, pancreatic resection can result in diabetes, which is often difficult to manage. Islet autotransplantation has been proposed to prevent this severe metabolic consequence.

Prolactin stimulation of phosphoinositide metabolism in CHO cells stably expressing the PRL receptor.

PRL receptor (PRL-R) activation by PRL triggers a cascade of intracellular events including homodimerization of the receptor, activation of cytoplasmic receptor-associated tyrosine kinase and tyrosine-phosphorylation of various signal transducers. In CHO cells, transfected with the long form of PRL-R, an increase in [Ca2+]i was observed following PRL stimulation whereas Ca2+ is generally coupled with the phosphoinositide metabolism. In this study, we investigated phosphoinositide involvement in the PRL transduction pathway.

Mutations in topoisomerase IV and DNA gyrase of Staphylococcus aureus: novel pleiotropic effects on quinolone and coumarin activity.

Previous studies have shown that topoisomerase IV and DNA gyrase interact with quinolones and coumarins in different ways. The MICs of coumarins (novobiocin and coumermycin) for MT5, a Staphylococcus aureus nov mutant, are higher than those for wild-type strains. Sequencing the gyrB gene encoding one subunit of the DNA gyrase revealed the presence of a double mutation likely to be responsible for this resistance: at codon 102 (Ile to Ser) and at codon 144 (Arg to Ile).

1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 induces the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in osteoblastic cells.

Angiogenesis is a fundamental process in skeletal development and repair, and previous studies indicate that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), an endothelial cell-specific angiogenic factor, may be involved in bone formation and repair. Therefore, we studied the hormonal regulation of VEGF expression in SaOS-2 osteoblast-like cells, both at the protein level, and at the transcriptional level by transient transfection experiments. 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25-(OH)2D3], increased VEGF expression by approximately 3-fold, and the increase was dose dependent, with maximum stimulation between 1.

Effects of clonidine and flesinoxan on blood pressure variability in conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats.

The effects of two centrally acting antihypertensive agents, clonidine (0.1 mg/kg/day s.c.

Variability of chromosomally encoded beta-lactamases from Klebsiella oxytoca.

The beta-lactamase genes of Klebsiella oxytoca were previously divided into two main groups: bla(OXY-1) and bla(OXY-2). The two beta-lactamase groups were each represented by beta-lactamases with four different pIs. In each group, one form of beta-lactamase is more frequent than the others combined.

Expression of the estrogen-related receptor 1 (ERR-1) orphan receptor during mouse development.

We studied the expression of the estrogen-related receptor 1 (ERR-1) during mouse embryonic development. ERR-1 is expressed at very early stages in ES cells and at E8.5 in the mesodermal cells of the visceral yolk sac.

The ERR-1 orphan receptor is a transcriptional activator expressed during bone development.

We studied the expression of estrogen-related receptor ERR-1 during mouse embryonic development. ERR-1 mRNA is present in bones formed by both the endochondral and intramembranous routes, and the onset of its expression coincides with bone formation. By RT-PCR experiments, we found that ERR-1, but not the related receptor ERR-2, is expressed in osteoblastic osteosarcoma cell lines as well as in primary osteoblastic cell populations derived from normal human bone.

The human peroxisomal multifunctional protein involved in bile acid synthesis: activity measurement, deficiency in Zellweger syndrome and chromosome mapping.

The dehydrogenation of 24R,25R-varanoyl-CoA, the physiological intermediate formed during the peroxisomal breakdown of the bile acid intermediate trihydroxycoprostanic acid, was studied in human liver. The reaction appeared to be catalyzed by two different enzymes. A first one, present in the cytosol, did not discriminate between the four possible varanoyl-CoA isomers and did not require the CoA moiety.

Quantitative ultrasound imaging at the calcaneus using an automatic region of interest.

A new approach to measuring bone properties at the calcaneus using ultrasound parametric imaging has recently emerged. However, an additional source of observer-related error is the substantial regional variations in the pattern of ultrasound parameters. The contribution of intra-observer and inter-observer variability to the coefficient of variation can be eliminated using an algorithm which selects the region of interest (ROI) completely automatically.

Assessment of the relationship between broadband ultrasound attenuation and bone mineral density at the calcaneus using BUA imaging and DXA.

The purposes of this study was to determine the relationship between broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) and bone mineral density (BMD) measured at different regions of the calcaneus with identical site-matched regions of interest (ROIs). Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measurements of the calcaneus and BUA imaging were performed in 30 women (15 premenopausal and 15 postmenopausal). Four square ROIs were located in the great tuberosity and one square ROI in the foramen calcaneus.