[Acute coronary syndrome with unusual finding of double coronary occlusion, acute and chronic, of the left anterior descending coronary artery].

In patients with acute coronary syndrome, total chronic occlusion of a non-culprit vessel is a frequent angiographic finding (10-30%) and it is associated with increased mortality. The effective treatment of these lesions results in better outcomes, and procedural success depends partly on the anatomical features of the lesion. As indicated by current guidelines, the treatment of non-infarct-related artery lesions is not recommended in the acute setting, even in case of hemodynamic instability.

Pseudogene-mediated posttranscriptional silencing of HMGA1 can result in insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Processed pseudogenes are non-functional copies of normal genes that arise by a process of mRNA retrotransposition. The human genome contains thousands of pseudogenes; however, knowledge regarding their biological role is limited. Previously, we demonstrated that high mobility group A1 (HMGA1) protein regulates the insulin receptor (INSR) gene and that two diabetic patients demonstrated a marked destabilization of HMGA1 mRNA.

The cAMP-HMGA1-RBP4 system: a novel biochemical pathway for modulating glucose homeostasis.

Background: We previously showed that mice lacking the high mobility group A1 gene (Hmga1-knockout mice) developed a type 2-like diabetic phenotype, in which cell-surface insulin receptors were dramatically reduced (below 10% of those in the controls) in the major targets of insulin action, and glucose intolerance was associated with increased peripheral insulin sensitivity. This particular phenotype supports the existence of compensatory mechanisms of insulin resistance that promote glucose uptake and disposal in peripheral tissues by either insulin-dependent or insulin-independent mechanisms. We explored the role of these mechanisms in the regulation of glucose homeostasis by studying the Hmga1-knockout mouse model.

The eighth fibronectin type III domain of protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor J influences the formation of protein complexes and cell localization.

Regulation of receptor-type phosphatases can involve the formation of higher-order structures, but the exact role played in this process by protein domains is not well understood. In this study we show the formation of different higher-order structures of the receptor-type phosphatase PTPRJ, detected in HEK293A cells transfected with different PTPRJ expression constructs. In the plasma membrane PTPRJ forms dimers detectable by treatment with the cross-linking reagent BS(3) (bis[sulfosuccinimidyl]suberate).

Sensing lipid bilayer formation and expansion with a microfabricated cantilever array.

We show that cantilever array sensors can sense the formation of supported phospholipid bilayers on their surface and that they can monitor changes in mechanical properties of lipid bilayers. Supported lipid bilayers were formed on top of microfabricated cantilevers by vesicle fusion. The formation of bilayers led to a bending of the cantilevers of 70-590 nm comparable to a surface stress of 27-224 mN/m.

The rat tyrosine phosphatase eta increases cell adhesion by activating c-Src through dephosphorylation of its inhibitory phosphotyrosine residue.

The expression of the receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase r-PTPeta is drastically reduced in rat and human malignant thyroid cells, whereas its restoration reverts the neoplastic phenotype of retrovirally transformed rat thyroid cells. Moreover, reduced levels and loss of heterozygosity of DEP-1, the human homolog of r-PTPeta, have been found in many human neoplasias. Here, we report that the r-PTPeta protein binds to c-Src in living cells and dephosphorylates the c-Src inhibitory tyrosine phosphorylation site (Tyr 529), thereby increasing c-Src tyrosine kinase activity in malignant rat thyroid cells stably transfected with r-PTPeta.

Using the atomic force microscope to study the interaction between two solid supported lipid bilayers and the influence of synapsin I.

To measure the interaction between two lipid bilayers with an atomic force microscope one solid supported bilayer was formed on a planar surface by spontaneous vesicle fusion. To spontaneously adsorb lipid bilayers also on the atomic force microscope tip, the tips were first coated with gold and a monolayer of mercapto undecanol. Calculations indicate that long-chain hydroxyl terminated alkyl thiols tend to enhance spontaneous vesicle fusion because of an increased van der Waals attraction as compared to short-chain thiols.

The tyrosine phosphatase PTPRJ/DEP-1 genotype affects thyroid carcinogenesis.

We recently isolated the r-PTPeta gene, which encodes a receptor-type tyrosine phosphatase protein that suppresses the neoplastic phenotype of retrovirally transformed rat thyroid cells. The human homologue gene PTPRJ/DEP-1 is deleted in various tumors. Moreover, the Gln276Pro polymorphism, located in the extracellular region of the gene, seems to play a critical role in susceptibility to some human neoplasias.

Serum and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase Sgk1 inhibits insulin-dependent activation of phosphomannomutase 2 in transfected COS-7 cells.

Serum- and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase (Sgk1) is considered to be an essential convergence point for peptide and steroid regulation of ENaC-mediated sodium transport. We tried to identify molecular partners of Sgk1 by yeast two-hybrid screening. Yeast two-hybrid screening showed a specific interaction between Sgk1 and phosphomannomutase (PMM)2, the latter of which is an enzyme involved in the regulation of glycoprotein biosynthesis.

An adenovirus carrying the rat protein tyrosine phosphatase eta suppresses the growth of human thyroid carcinoma cell lines in vitro and in vivo.

We demonstrated previously that rat tyrosine phosphatase r-PTPeta expression was suppressed in rat and human thyroid neoplastic cells, and that restoration of r-PTPeta expression reverted the malignant phenotype. To investigate the potential of this gene for cancer therapy, we generated an adenovirus carrying the r-PTPeta cDNA (Ad-r-PTPeta). This virus infected human thyroid carcinoma cells and overexpressed the r-PTPeta protein.

Inhibitory effects of peroxisome poliferator-activated receptor gamma on thyroid carcinoma cell growth.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma) is a nuclear receptor involved in such cellular processes as adipogenesis, inflammation, atherosclerosis, cell cycle control, apoptosis, and carcinogenesis. PPAR gamma gene mutations have been found in 4 of 55 sporadic colon cancers, and a chimeric PAX8-PPAR gamma 1 gene frequently generates a chromosomal translocation in thyroid follicular carcinomas, implicating PPAR gamma in tumor suppression. We investigated whether PPAR gamma is involved in the growth regulation of normal and tumor thyroid cells.

Persistent redundant Eustachian valve interfering with Amplatzer PFO occluder placement: anatomico-clinical and technical implications.

A 28-year-old man with patent foramen ovale and a prominent Eustachian valve with a history of transient ischemic attack underwent transcatheter closure using Amplatzer patent foramen ovale occluder. During deployment, some of the prominent valve tissue was entrapped on the delivery cable and a piece of the valve was extracted unintentionally. Anatomico-clinical and technical implications are discussed.

Transcatheter treatment of coronary artery disease and atrial septal defect with sequential implantation of coronary stent and Amplatzer septal occluder: preliminary results.

Coronary stent implantation had been established as a highly effective revascularization technique in patients with occlusive coronary artery disease. Transcatheter closure of atrial septal defects is becoming a definite alternative to surgery in properly selected patients. During a 19-month period, 6 patients (50% women; mean age, 58 +/- 17 years; range, 32-73 years) of a consecutive series of 176 prospective multicenter registry patients undergoing transcatheter atrial septal defect closure were treated with sequential percutaneous coronary revascularization and Amplatzer septal occluder implantation.

Rat protein tyrosine phosphatase eta physically interacts with the PDZ domains of syntenin.

The tyrosine phosphatase r-PTPeta is able to suppress the malignant phenotype of rat thyroid tumorigenic cell lines. To identify r-PTPeta interacting proteins, a yeast two-hybrid screening was performed and an insert corresponding to the full-length syntenin cDNA was isolated. It encodes a protein containing two PDZ domains that mediates the binding of syntenin to proteins such as syndecan, proTGF-alpha, beta-ephrins and neurofascin.

Pivotal role of the RB family proteins in in vitro thyroid cell transformation.

Rat thyroid differentiated cells (PC Cl 3) are an excellent model system with which to study the interaction between differentiation and cell transformation. We previously demonstrated that PC Cl 3 cells expressing the adenovirus E1A gene no longer depend on thyrotropin for growth and do not express thyroid differentiation markers. Here we show that an E1A mutant unable to bind the RB protein failed to transform the PC Cl 3 cells.

The dog as a model system to study epididymal gene expression.

Advances in understanding the role of the epididymis in human sperm maturation and fertility are dependent upon the availability of appropriate model systems in which to examine regulatory mechanisms and functions in a controllable fashion. Of a number of mammalian species studied by us and others, we suggest that the dog epididymis offers an excellent compromise in terms of the similarity of the specific genes expressed to those in the human, their mode of regulation, and the availability of tissues suitable for cell culture studies. We have developed a set of important tools in the form of epididymis-specific canine cDNA clones and cell culture methods, with which to examine the functioning of the epididymal epithelial cells in vitro, as well as the expression of specific genes in vivo, under normal and pathological conditions (e.

Differential expression of novel abundant and highly regionalized mRNAs of the canine epididymis.

Three novel gene products have been cloned by differential screening of a dog epididymis cDNA library as part of a global appraisal of specific gene expression in the epididymis. The predicted proteins were provisionally named CE8-CE10 (for canine epididymal gene products 8-10). Northern blot analyses and in situ transcript hybridization confirmed that the cDNAs were all derived from tissue-specific, moderately to highly abundant mRNAs of the epididymal epithelium, showing a distinct regionalized expression pattern within the epididymal duct.

Function of human epididymal proteins in sperm maturation.

Human post-testicular proteins were cloned by subtractive screening of epididymal cDNA libraries, employing testis as the primary negative control. This method identified six human epididymal cDNAs, named HE1-HE6, which are derived from abundant epididymal mRNAs. With the exception of HE5, which turned out to be identical to the lymphocyte surface antigen CD52, they represented completely novel human gene products.

Dog epididymis-specific mRNA encoding secretory glutathione peroxidase-like protein.

A differential library screening procedure was used to clone a novel abundant and tissue-specific cDNA from the dog epididymis. It was tentatively named CE7 for dog epididymal gene product 7. By sequence similarity to homologous counterparts expressed in mice, rats, pigs, and macaque monkeys, it appears that the 1.

[Peri-infarct angiographic behavior of "non-culprit" coronary infarct lesions].

Because systemic factors, such as lipoproteins, autoantigens, infectious agents, may facilitate plaque rupture, thrombus formation and coronary occlusion, the question may arise of whether thrombosis be only a local plaque event or the consequence of an acute activity of the entire coronary tree. Taking changes at the narrowest point of non culprit lesions as reflecting progression or regression of the disease when > 0.27 mm, early (within a few days) and late (within 1 month) coronarographic findings in 23 patients with first infarction were compared with those of patients with stable angina, in whom coronary angiography was performed for diagnostic purposes and was repeated 1 month later, before angioplasty.

Regionalized expression of CD52 in rat epididymis is related to mRNA poly(A) tail length.

The regional pattern of CD52 expression in the rat epididymis was followed by Northern analyses and carbohydrate-labelling of glycoconjugates on Western blots. CD52 mRNA showed a novel aspect of regionalization, namely region-dependent length differences in its poly(A) tail. 'Short' CD52 mRNA molecules were present in all parts of this organ and also in the seminal vesicles.

Evidence of multifocal activity of coronary disease in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Destabilization of the fibrous cap facilitates plaque rupture, thrombus formation, and myocardial infarction. Because systemic stimuli, such as lipoproteins, infectious agents, and autoantigens, may incite this reaction, one may wonder whether disruption mechanisms are only local or systemic and infarction is caused by an arbitrary plaque event or by a systemic, acute activity of the coronary disease.

Methods And Results: Early (3 to 5 days) and late (1 month) peri-infarction coronary angiographic data in 23 patients with first infarction were compared with that in 23 similar patients, with angiography performed because of stable angina and repeated after 1 month before angioplasty.

The molecular biology of the sperm surface. Post-testicular membrane remodelling.

The membrane of testicular spermatozoa undergoes extensive changes in the epididymis, including rearrangement, modification and loss of pre-existing components, addition of new glycoproteins from epididymal secretions, and exchange of lipid constituents. As a result, the membrane of cauda epididymidal spermatozoa has a different composition and different properties, which collectively contribute to male fertility. Special significance has been attributed to sperm surface structures that only appear post-testicularly in the epididymis, the so-called "maturation antigens".