Caspase-3 feeds back on caspase-8, Bid and XIAP in type I Fas signaling in primary mouse hepatocytes.

The TNF-R1 like receptor Fas is highly expressed on the plasma membrane of hepatocytes and plays an essential role in liver homeostasis. We recently showed that in collagen-cultured primary mouse hepatocytes, Fas stimulation triggers apoptosis via the so-called type I extrinsic signaling pathway. Central to this pathway is the direct caspase-8-mediated cleavage and activation of caspase-3 as compared to the type II pathway which first requires caspase-8-mediated Bid cleavage to trigger mitochondrial cytochrome c release for caspase-3 activation.

Niche differentiation of two sympatric species of Microdochium colonizing the roots of common reed.

Background: Fungal endophyte communities are often comprised of many species colonizing the same host. However, little is known about the causes of this diversity. On the one hand, the apparent coexistence of closely related species may be explained by the traditional niche differentiation hypothesis, which suggests that abiotic and/or biotic factors mediate partitioning.

A randomized, controlled trial of aerobic exercise in combination with paroxetine in the treatment of panic disorder.

Objectives: Regular aerobic exercise (running) has been shown to be superior to a pill placebo in the treatment of panic disorder. Combined drug and exercise treatment has not been investigated in randomized controlled studies to date.

Methods: This is a randomized, 10-week, controlled, parallel group, pilot study.

Switch from type II to I Fas/CD95 death signaling on in vitro culturing of primary hepatocytes.

Unlabelled: Fas/CD95-induced apoptosis of hepatocytes in vivo proceeds through the so-called type II pathway, requiring the proapoptotic BH3-only Bcl-2 family member Bid for mitochondrial death signaling. Consequently, Bid-deficient mice are protected from anti-Fas antibody injection induced fatal hepatitis. We report the unexpected finding that freshly isolated mouse hepatocytes, cultured on collagen or Matrigel, become independent of Bid for Fas-induced apoptosis, thereby switching death signaling from type II to type I.

Implementing a hospital-based smoking cessation programme: evidence for a learning effect.

Objective: This study assessed a newly set-up, hospital-based smoking cessation clinic with regard to continuous abstinence rates and the effectiveness of concomittant nicotine replacement therapy.

Methods: Smoking status of 369 participants of this 8-week cognitive-behavioural smoking cessation group programme was obtained using exhaled carbon monoxide at the end of the course as well as self-report 6 months after the course. In addition to demographic data, FTND score, SDS score, and usage of nicotine replacement products were recorded.

Sensitivity and specificity of qualitative muscle ultrasound in assessment of suspected neuromuscular disease in childhood.

Muscle ultrasound is considered a useful noninvasive technique for visualizing normal and pathological skeletal muscle. We determined the accuracy of qualitative muscle ultrasound in the discrimination of normal muscle from myopathic, neurogenic, and unspecifically abnormal tissue changes in the evaluation of suspected NMD in childhood. Sensitivity and specificity of muscle ultrasound were assessed by comparing sonographic classification of muscle tissue changes in 134 children with definitive diagnosis as provided by muscle histology or mutation analysis performed subsequently to the sonography.

Growth hormone response to low-dose apomorphine in restless legs syndrome.

Introduction: Low-dose apomorphine challenge has been shown to cause a rise in growth hormone (GH) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). This was interpreted as an increased postsynaptic sensitivity of hypothalamic dopamine receptors in the course of a generalized degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. The dopaminergic system in the restless legs syndrome (RLS) has been assumed to play a role in its pathophysiology.

Outcome of 12 drowned children with attempted resuscitation on cardiopulmonary bypass: an analysis of variables based on the "Utstein Style for Drowning".

Background: In 2003, the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) published the "Utstein Style for Drowning" (USFD) to advance knowledge on the epidemiology, treatment, and outcome prediction after drowning. Applying the USFD and evaluating its data template for outcome analysis, we report here on the largest study published thus far of drowned children (age 0-14) who underwent attempted resuscitation on cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of all drowned children admitted to Göttingen University Hospital between 1/1987 and 12/2005 in sustained cardiopulmonary arrest and resuscitation with CPB.

Total tau protein, phosphorylated tau (181p) protein, beta-amyloid(1-42), and beta-amyloid(1-40) in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with dementia with Lewy bodies.

The intra vitam diagnosis of different dementias is still based on clinical grounds. So far, no technical investigations have been available to support these diagnoses. For tau protein and beta-amyloid(1-42) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), promising results for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been reported; however, their differential diagnostic spectrum is limited, as was recently shown for dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and for AD.

Only a few fungal species dominate highly diverse mycofloras associated with the common reed.

Plants are naturally colonized by many fungal species that produce effects ranging from beneficial to pathogenic. However, how many of these fungi are linked with a single host plant has not been determined. Furthermore, the composition of plant-associated fungal communities has not been rigorously determined.

Levodopa treatment does not affect low-dose apomorphine test in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Challenge with low-dose apomorphine causes a significant rise in growth hormone (GH) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) compared to controls and patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA) who have not previously received dopaminergic treatment. To date, it has not been demonstrated whether an apomorphine-induced rise in GH can still be detected in PD patients who are currently treated with levodopa. We investigated whether an ongoing treatment with levodopa influences the GH response to subcutaneously applied low-dose apomorphine in PD patients.

Characterization of the signal that directs Bcl-x(L), but not Bcl-2, to the mitochondrial outer membrane.

It is assumed that the survival factors Bcl-2 and Bcl-x(L) are mainly functional on mitochondria and therefore must contain mitochondrial targeting sequences. Here we show, however, that only Bcl-x(L) is specifically targeted to the mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM) whereas Bcl-2 distributes on several intracellular membranes. Mitochondrial targeting of Bcl-x(L) requires the COOH-terminal transmembrane (TM) domain flanked at both ends by at least two basic amino acids.