A lung tissue bank for gene expression studies in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

A bank of surgically resected human lung tissues frozen at -70 degrees C after being inflated with support medium for cutting frozen tissue and a separate group inflated with fixative and embedded in paraffin has been established for studies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The present report concerns the quality of RNA that can be extracted from these frozen and fixed tissue samples and from cells obtained from them by laser capture microdissection. The results show that the RNA yield was 257+/-183 ng/mg and 77+/-56 ng/mg from randomly selected frozen and paraffin-embedded tissue, respectively.

A novel method to quantify the turnover and release of monocytes from the bone marrow using the thymidine analog 5'-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine.

The present study was designed to develop methods to study the production and release of monocytes from the bone marrow using the thymidine analog 5'-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU). Dividing monocytes in bone marrow were labeled with BrdU (MOBrdU), and their release into the blood and disappearance from the circulation were monitored using a double immunostaining method. The first MOBrdU appeared in the circulation 4 h after labeling with BrdU and peaked at 18 h when 34.

The effect of interleukin-6 on L-selectin levels on polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) shortens the transit time of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) through the marrow and accelerates their release into the circulation. In contrast to other inflammatory stimuli, this response is associated with a decrease in L-selectin levels on circulating PMN. The present study was designed to determine the effect of IL-6 on L-selectin levels of PMN in rabbits.

Particulate air pollution induces progression of atherosclerosis.

Objectives: We sought to determine the effect of exposure to air pollution particulate matter <10 microm (PM(10)) on the progression of atherosclerosis in rabbits.

Background: Epidemiologic studies have associated exposure to ambient PM(10) with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. We have previously shown that PM(10) exposure induces a systemic inflammatory response that includes marrow stimulation, and we hypothesized that this response accelerates atherosclerosis.