Neurotransmitter and neurotransmitter receptor expression in the saccule of the human vestibular system.

The saccule is one of the vestibular sensory organs of the inner ear. It detects head movements and provides information to maintain balance and orient in space. Despite its critical role, very little is known about its neurotransmission and regulation.

Aflibercept Intervention in Experimental Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion Results in Upregulation of DnaJ Homolog Subfamily C Member 17.

Aflibercept is an inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) used to treat macular edema following branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). Despite well-documented efficacy, there is limited knowledge about proteome changes following aflibercept intervention in BRVO. Proteome changes may provide insights into mechanisms of action as well as aspects related to safety profile.

Intravitreal bevacizumab upregulates transthyretin in experimental branch retinal vein occlusion.

Purpose: To identify retinal protein changes that mediate beneficial effects of intravitreal bevacizumab in experimental branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO).

Methods: In six Danish Landrace pigs, BRVO was induced with argon laser in both eyes. After BRVO was induced, the right eye of each animal was given an intravitreal injection of bevacizumab while the left eye was treated with saline water.

IL-18 and S100A12 Are Upregulated in Experimental Central Retinal Vein Occlusion.

Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is a common retinal vascular disease. RVO may be complicated by pronounced ischemia that often leads to severe loss of visual function. The present work aimed at studying the retinal proteome of RVO complicated by ischemia.

Modifications of cholera toxin subunit B binding to human large intestinal epithelium. An immunohistochemical study.

Binding of cholera toxin subunit B (CTB) to its receptor and toxin transport into the intestinal epithelial cells are the causative events for the potentially lethal disease cholera. The five sugar mono-sialo ganglioside GM1 is the cell surface receptor for cholera toxin B-subunit. CTB binding was determined by use of immobilized GM1 to microtiter plates and by immunohistochemistry.

Dexamethasone intravitreal implant downregulates PDGFR-α and upregulates caveolin-1 in experimental branch retinal vein occlusion.

A dexamethasone (DEX) intravitreal implant (OZURDEX) provides an effective treatment of inflammation secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). Retinal proteome changes which mediate the beneficial effects of the implant remain poorly understood. To study retinal proteome changes in BRVO following an intervention with a DEX implant this study combined an experimental model of BRVO with proteomic techniques.

Neuronal Fibers and Neurotransmitter Receptor Expression in the Human Endolymphatic Sac.

Introduction: Recent studies suggest that the human endolymphatic sac (ES) may have multiple functions, including an ion-transport capacity comparable to the kidney, an immunological capacity and a possible natriuretic capacity. Further, there have been speculations of a yet undefined role in intracranial pressure homeostasis. The anatomical location towards the sigmoid sinus would suggest a possible endo- and/or paracrine signaling.

Experimental Pseudomonas aeruginosa mediated rhino sinusitis in mink.

Objectives: The nasal and sinus cavities in children may serve as reservoirs for microorganisms that cause recurrent and chronic lung infections. This study evaluates whether the mink can be used as an animal model for studying Pseudomonas aeruginosa mediated rhino-sinusitis since there is no suitable traditional animal model for this disease.

Methods: Nasal tissue samples from infected and control mink were fixed in formalin, demineralized, and embedded in paraffin.

The human endolymphatic sac expresses natriuretic peptides.

Objectives/hypothesis: The function of the human endolymphatic sac (ES) has been enigmatic for decades. Hypotheses include controlling endolymphatic fluid homeostasis and inner ear immunological defense. Additionally, several studies indicate a possible endocrine capacity and a yet undefined role in intracranial pressure homeostasis.

Innate immune defense in the inner ear - mucines are expressed by the human endolymphatic sac.

The human endolymphatic sac has been shown recently to have immunological capacities and has thus been proposed as the main entity protecting the inner ear from pathogen invasion, equivalent to mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT). Although the sac expresses molecules of the innate immune system, the potential expression of members of the important mucin family has not been detailed. Thus, this paper explores endolymphatic sac expression of a number of mucins and mucin precursors.

Ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 positive macrophages and HO-1 up-regulation in intestinal muscularis resident macrophages.

Unlabelled: Small intestinal muscularis externa macrophages have been associated with interstitial cells of Cajal. They have been proposed to play various roles in motility disorders and to take part in a microbiota-driven regulation of gastrointestinal motility. Our objective was to understand the reaction of resident macrophages of the musculature to a pro-inflammatory stimulator, lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Binding of fluorescently labeled cholera toxin subunit B to glycolipids in the human submandibular gland and inhibition of binding by periodate oxidation and by galactose.

FITC-labeled cholera toxin subunit B (CTB) stained the surfaces of cells of mucous acini in the submandibular gland. CTB, also called choleragenoid, binds to the GM1 glycolipid in the cell membrane. The binding in most acini was inhibited by periodic acid oxidation of the sections, while some acini remained unaffected even after increased oxidation.

Expression of histamine receptors in the human endolymphatic sac: the molecular rationale for betahistine use in Menieres disease.

The human endolymphatic sac (ES) is situated in a duplicature of the dura in the posterior cranial fossa and constitutes a part of the inner ear. The sac possesses immunological capacities and is responsible for a major part of the trans-epithelial ion transport occurring within the inner ear, via molecular mechanisms similar to that of the kidney collecting duct epithelia. Dysfunction of the trans-epithelial ion transport has been hypothesized as the reason for the endolymphatic hydrops occurring in Menieres diseases.

Gene expression demonstrates an immunological capacity of the human endolymphatic sac.

Objectives/hypothesis: The purpose of the present study is to explore, demonstrate, and describe the expression of genes related to the innate immune system in the human endolymphatic sac. It is hypothesized that the endolymphatic sac has a significant immunological function in the human inner ear.

Study Design: DNA microarrays and immunohistochemistry were used for analyses of fresh human endolymphatic-sac tissue samples.

Gene expression in the human endolymphatic sac: the solute carrier molecules in endolymphatic fluid homeostasis.

Objectives/hypothesis: The purpose of the present study is to explore, demonstrate, and describe the expression of genes related to the solute carrier (SLC) molecules of ion transporters in the human endolymphatic sac.

Study Design: cDNA microarrays and immunohistochemistry were used for analyses of fresh human endolymphatic sac tissue samples.

Methods: Twelve tissue samples of the human endolymphatic sac were obtained during translabyrinthine surgery for vestibular schwannoma.

Cholera toxin B subunit-binding and ganglioside GM1 immuno-expression are not necessarily correlated in human salivary glands.

Objective: To determine and compare the presence and in situ localization of the glycosphingolipid ganglioside GM1 in human salivary glands using the biomarkers for GM1: cholera toxin and antibodies against GM1.

Materials And Methods: Immunohistochemical analyses were performed on sections of adult human submandibular, parotid and palatinal glands using cholera toxin sub-unit B and two polyclonal antibodies against ganglioside GM1 as biomarkers.

Results: Immunofluorescence microscopy showed that the toxin and antibodies were co-localized in some acini but not in others.

Proteomic analysis of tissue from α1,3-galactosyltransferase knockout mice reveals that a wide variety of proteins and protein fragments change expression level.

A barrier in a pig-to-man xenotransplantation is that the Galα1-3Galβ1-4GlcNAc-R carbohydrate (α-Gal epitope) expressed on pig endothelial cells reacts with naturally occurring antibodies in the recipient's blood leading to rejection. Deletion of the α1,3-galactosyltransferase gene prevents the synthesis of the α-Gal epitope. Therefore, knockout models of the α1,3-galactosyltransferase gene are widely used to study xenotransplantation.

Carbohydrate determinants in ferret conjunctiva are affected by infection with influenza H1N1 virus.

Background: Carbohydrates often accomplish as cell-surface receptors for microorganisms and influenza virus preferentially binds to sialic acid through the viral haemagglutinin. The virus may attach not only to the epithelium in the airways, but also to the surface ocular epithelium.

Purpose: To decide if ferrets can be used to study virus induced conjunctivitis and to evaluate changes in the conjunctival glycosylation pattern during an influenza attack.

Expression of the carcinoma markers: the sialylated Lewis A and X carbohydrate antigens in normal laryngeal surface epithelium and submucosal glands from old humans.

Aberrant surface expression of the carbohydrate ABH and Lewis antigens are often used as markers for the diagnosis of cancer, but while the distribution of these histo-blood group antigens is relatively well-described in tissues and organs from young and middle-aged humans little is known of their expression in old age. The objective for this study was to estimate if the Lewis A and X antigens together with their sialylated modifications, are expressed in sections of normal laryngeal tissue from old humans. Antibodies directed against the tumor markers Sialyl Lewis A and Sialyl Lewis X showed positive reaction in the surface epithelia from normal larynx autopsies obtained from people aged 77-90 years.

Chemical modification of carbohydrates in tissue sections may unmask mucin antigens.

Expression of mucins in cells and tissues is of great diagnostic and prognostic importance, and immunohistochemistry frequently is used to detect them. Reports concerning mucin localization in sections sometimes are conflicting, however, partly because immunogenic regions of the mucin molecule may be masked and thus not available for binding to an antibody. We modified carbohydrates in tissue sections chemically to enhance the binding of monoclonal mucin antibodies and of the lectin, Vicia villosa B4, to human tissue.

Sialylated glycans and mucins in the lacrimal gland and eyelid of man and pig. Potential receptors for pathogenic microorganisms.

The conjunctiva of the eyelid is coated by secretion products from the lacrimal and eyelid glands, and by mucins produced by conjunctival goblet cells, which together form a glycoprotein-rich layer that lubricates and protects the surface of the eye. However, these ocular carbohydrates may also act as adhesives for viruses and bacteria and thereby facilitate their colonization. This paper provides histochemical demonstration of the in situ localization of such carbohydrate receptors in the form of sialylated glycans and mucins in the lacrimal and eyelid glands and conjunctiva from both humans and pigs.

Bacterial adherence in otitis media: determination of N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) residues in the submucosal glands and surface epithelium of the normal and diseased Eustachian tube.

Background: Acute otitis media (AOM) is the most common childhood infection caused by bacteria. The pathogenesis of AOM implicates initial adherence of a pathogen to the nasopharyngeal epithelium, which is followed by bacterial colonization of the middle ear cavity through the Eustachian tube. N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) is an important constituent of mucins and GalNAc containing sugar residues seem to be essential for initial adherence of respiratory bacteria to the surface of epithelial cells.

MUC1 and the simple mucin-type antigens: Tn and Sialyl-Tn are differently expressed in salivary gland acini and ducts from the submandibular gland, the vestibular folds, and the soft palate.

Objective And Design: Autopsies of the submandibular gland, the vestibular folds and the soft palate from 65-87 old humans were examined to record the immunohistochemical expression of MUC1 and the simple mucin-type antigens Tn and Sialyl-Tn.

Results: (1) The serous acini in the submucosal glands from the larynx and the soft palate expressed MUC1-associated glycans that were not detectable in the serous acini from the submandibular gland. (2) Virtually all the submucosal acini at oral site of the soft palate are mucous, and in contrast to mucous acini in the vestibular folds and submandibular gland, the palatinal acini in the submucosa underneath the oral mucosa showed a well-defined cytoplasmic reaction with anti-MUC1 antibodies as wells as with anti-Tn.

Infection with human H1N1 influenza virus affects the expression of sialic acids of metaplastic mucous cells in the ferret airways.

Glycans terminating in sialic acids serve as receptors for influenza viruses. In this study ferrets were infected with influenza virus A/New Caledonia/20/99, and the in situ localization of sialic acids linked alpha2-3 and alpha2-6 in the airways was investigated in infected and non-infected animals by use of sialic acid detecting lectins and a monoclonal antibody towards the Sialyl-Tn antigen. The goblet cells in the bronchi from non-infected ferrets expressed Sialyl alpha 2-6Gal glycans, while the seromucinous glands in the submucosa expressed Sialyl alpha 2-3Gal glycans.

Individual variations in protective effects of experimentally formed salivary pellicles.

Salivary proteins protect teeth against acid-induced softening and demineralization by forming a pellicle. However, little is known about individual, gender and ethnic variations in this effect. Therefore, we aimed to determine differences in protective effects of experimentally formed pellicles from 10 healthy young Scandinavians (3 women and 7 men) and 10 healthy young non-Scandinavians (4 women and 6 men) including Arabic, Persian, Pakistan, Indian, and Chinese subjects.