Morphometric effects of the recruitment maneuver on saline-lavaged canine lungs. A computed tomographic analysis.

Background: In the face of widespread use of lung-protective, low-volume ventilation in patients with acute lung injury, interest in the recruitment maneuver (RM) is growing. Little is known about lung-morphometric effects of the RM as compared with positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) titration (PT) without the RM.

Methods: RM was defined as a stepwise change in PEEP from baseline to 10, 20, 30, and 20 cm H(2)O every 30 s, after which PEEP was reset at the lower inflection point + 2 cm H(2)O.

Hydrogen peroxide induces association between glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase and phospholipase D2 to facilitate phospholipase D2 activation in PC12 cells.

Oxidative stress or signaling is widely implicated in apoptosis, ischemia and mitogenesis. Previously, our group reported that the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-dependent activation of phospholipase D2 (PLD2) in PC12 cells is involved in anti-apoptotic effect. However, the precise mechanism of PLD2 activation by H2O2 was not revealed.

Effect of alveolar recruitment maneuver in early acute respiratory distress syndrome according to antiderecruitment strategy, etiological category of diffuse lung injury, and body position of the patient.

Objective: To assess how the level of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) (antiderecruitment strategy), etiological category of diffuse lung injury, and body position of the patient modify the effect of the alveolar recruitment maneuver (ARM) in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Design: Prospective clinical trial.

Setting: Medical intensive care unit at a tertiary hospital.

Silencing of TonEBP/NFAT5 transcriptional activator by RNA interference.

TonEBP is a transcriptional activator that is expressed throughout development in many tissues and cell types. In the kidney medulla, TonEBP appears to be an important local regulator of differentiation by virtue of stimulating several genes. To study the function of TonEBP, two small interfering RNA (siRNA) duplexes were developed that reduced TonEBP expression effectively via RNA interference.

Concurrent Etoposide/Cisplatin Combination Chemotherapy (EP) and Thoracic Radiotherapy after Two Cycles of EP for Limited Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose: s: Although the standard management of limited stage small cell lung cancer is concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy with thoracic radiotherapy (TRT), the optimal timing of the TRT remains controversial. We investigated the feasibility of concurrent chemoradiation for the patients with limited stage small cell lung cancer after 2 cycles of combination chemotherapy with Etoposide/Cisplatin (EP).

Materials And Methods: EP consisted of Etoposide 100 mg/m2 on day 1 to 3 and Cisplatin 70 mg/m2 on day 1.

Preliminary Results of Paclitaxel, Cisplatin and Concurrent High-Dose Radiation Therapy for Locally Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose: To investigate the feasibility, toxicity and response rate, of concurrent chemoradiation therapy with paclitaxel/cisplatin in stage III locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Materials And Methods: Between May 1999 and December 2000, 80 patients with stage III NSCLC were enrolled in a prospective protocol. Radiotherapy was given to a total dose of 70.

TonEBP transcriptional activator in the cellular response to increased osmolality.

TonEBP is a member of the Rel family of transcriptional activators, distinct from other members NFkappaB and NFAT. In the medulla of mammalian kidney, TonEBP is a local differentiation factor that stimulates the transcription of several genes. The activity of TonEBP is regulated by changes in diuretic status mainly at the level of nucleocytoplasmic distribution.

Abnormal peripheral blood T-lymphocyte subsets in a subgroup of patients with COPD.

Background: Smoking may induce changes in T-lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood. Abnormalities of T-lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood and in BAL fluid, and increased CD8+ T lymphocytes in the airways have been reported in patients with COPD. These findings suggest that T-lymphocyte abnormalities might be involved in the pathogenesis of airflow limitation in people who smoke.

TonEBP/NFAT5 stimulates transcription of HSP70 in response to hypertonicity.

While hyperosmolality of the kidney medulla is essential for urinary concentration, it imposes a great deal of stress. Cells in the renal medulla adapt to the stress of hypertonicity (hyperosmotic salt) by accumulating organic osmolytes. Tonicity-responsive enhancer (TonE) binding protein (TonEBP) (or NFAT5) stimulates transcription of transporters and a synthetic enzyme for the cellular accumulation of organic osmolytes.

The major histopathologic pattern of pulmonary fibrosis in scleroderma is nonspecific interstitial pneumonia.

Background: The prognosis of pulmonary fibrosis associated with scleroderma (PF-SSc) has been reported to be significantly better than that of IPF. Because the nonspecific interstitial pneumonia-pattern (NSIP), a newly defined subgroup of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIP), has better prognosis than the usual interstitial pneumonia pattern (UIP), we postulated that NSIP may occur more frequently than UIP in patients with scleroderma who develop fibrosis.

Method: We reviewed the pathologic, radiologic and clinical outcomes in 19 patients with PF-SSc.

Dimerization is required for phosphorylation and DNA binding of TonEBP/NFAT5.

TonEBP (NFAT5) is a newly identified member of the Rel family of transcriptional activators that include NF-kappaB and NFAT1 to NFAT4. Activated in response to hypertonicity, TonEBP stimulates transcription of transporters of organic osmolytes, certain cytokines, and a molecular chaperone. We provide biochemical data demonstrating that full-length TonEBP dimerizes via the C-terminus of the Rel-homology domain (CRHD).

Adequately washed bronchoscope does not induce false-positive amplification tests on bronchial aspirates in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Study Objectives: To investigate the clinical usefulness of amplification (COBAS AMPLICOR; Roche Diagnostics Systems; Branchburg, NJ) on bronchoscopic aspirate specimens in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, with particular regard to the possibility of false-positive results in subsequent specimens due to residual Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA.

Design And Setting: A prospective clinical study at a tertiary referral medical center.

Participants And Methods: Four hundred fiberoptic bronchoscopic procedures were performed, using seven bronchoscopes on 335 consecutive patients, for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes.

Phosphorylation-dependent regulation of phospholipase D2 by protein kinase C delta in rat Pheochromocytoma PC12 cells.

Many studies have shown that protein kinase C (PKC) is an important physiological regulator of phospholipase D (PLD). However, the role of PKC in agonist-induced PLD activation has been mainly investigated with a focus on the PLD1, which is one of the two PLD isoenzymes (PLD1 and PLD2) cloned to date. Since the expression of PLD2 significantly enhanced phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)- or bradykinin-induced PLD activity in rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells, we investigated the regulatory mechanism of PLD2 in PC12 cells.