Hepato-gastric and spleno-mesenteric arterial trunks: anatomical variation report and review of literature.

The celiac trunk is one of the main arteries arising from abdominal aorta and supplies blood to several abdominal organs. The typical branching in left gastric, splenic and common hepatic arteries undergoes relatively frequent variations. The authors report a rare variation of the celiac trunk in a Caucasian cadaver, with a hepato-gastric and a spleno-mesenteric arterial trunks which arise from the abdominal aorta in a routine dissection of a 98-year-old male cadaver.

Aberrant expression of B203.13 antigen in acute lymphoid leukemia of B-cell origin.

The B203.13 monoclonal antibody was developed by immunizing mice with the B/monocyte biphenotypic cell line B1b. During normal hematopoiesis B203.

Efficient platelet delta-granule release induced by [Ca2+]i elevation is modulated by GPIIbIIIa.

Intracellular Ca2+ elevation generates a cascade of events that leads to platelet activation and degranulation. The GPIIbIIIa-ligand molecular complex plays a central role in several aspects of platelet activation. Taking advantage of the flow cytometric simultaneous analysis of surface GPIIbIIIa expression and intracellular serotonin content, we demonstrate here that the functional inhibition of GPIIbIIIa generates an impairment of delta-granule release even upon maximal intracellular Ca2+ elevation.

Anticancer agents sensitize osteosarcoma cells to TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand downmodulating IAP family proteins.

Although TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) usually induces cell death in tumor cells, there are some tumor cell types that are resistant to its apoptogenic effects. Some chemotherapeutic drugs, however, can sensitize resistant cancer cells to TRAIL by either upregulating surface TRAIL death receptor expression or by modulating intracellular signalling pathways emanating from TRAIL receptors. U2OS human osteosarcoma cells express TRAIL-R2 but are resistant to TRAIL-induced apoptosis.

Engagement of PI-3-kinase mediated protein kinase C zeta activation in protecting Friend cells from ionizing radiation-induced apoptosis.

Murine erythroleukemia cells (Friend) respond to ionizing radiation with the activation and nuclear translocation of p85alpha subunit of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI-3-kinase) which mediates the downstream activation and nuclear translocation of atypical Protein kinase C zeta (PKC zeta). This event occurs mainly upon high dose of ionizing radiation (15 Gy) and is concomitant to an increase in BrdU incorporation, which probably accounts for a predominant repair DNA synthesis. Following treatment with wortmannin, a relatively specific inhibitor of PI-3-kinase, both an increased number of apoptotic cells and the inhibition of protein kinase C zeta translocation were detected.

Noradrenergic and cholinergic innervation of the bone marrow.

Bone marrow is supplied by sensory and autonomic innervation. Although it is well established that hematopoiesis is regulated by cytokines and cell-to-cell contacts, the role played by neuromediators on the proliferation, differentiation and release of hematopoietic cells is still controversial. We studied the innervation of rat femur bone marrow by means of fluorescence histochemistry and immunohistochemistry.