Developmental considerations of sperm protein 17 gene expression in rheumatoid arthritis synoviocytes.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by proliferative synovial tissue. We used mRNA differential display and library subtraction to compare mRNA expression in RA and osteoarthritis (OA) synoviocytes. We initially compared the mRNA expression patterns in 1 female RA and 1 OA synovia and found a differentially expressed 350 bp transcript in the RA synoviocytes which was, by sequence analysis, 100% homologous to sperm protein 17 (Sp17).

Hypertension associated with reduced plasma thrombomodulin levels and a hypercoagulable state in rats.

The plasma thrombomodulin (TM) level, an indicator of systemic endothelial cell damage, was measured in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), deoxycorticosteron acetate (DOCA)-induced hypertensive rats and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats to clarify its changes in hypertension. Plasma TM levels, measured by enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay, decreased with aging (5-20-weeks-old) in both SHR and WKY, and they were lower in SHR than age-matched WKY in all ages examined. Deoxycorticosteron acetate-induced hypertensive WKY also showed decreased TM levels compared with normotensive WKY.

A new nonpeptide tachykinin NK1 receptor antagonist isolated from the plants of Compositae.

To find new tachykinin NK1 receptor antagonists from natural sources, we examined the tachykinin antagonist activity in the extracts of approximately 200 species of plants by the use of isolated guinea pig ileum. As a result, we discovered a novel and potent NK1 receptor antagonist in the extract of dried flowers of Matricaria chamomilla L. (chamomile).